Zongzheng Huangyue swallowed hard and immediately threw a luminous pearl, embedding it directly into the nearby stone wall. The light instantly illuminated the dark cave.
“Roar!!!”
The creature staring back at Wen Li was indeed not human; it was a three-meter-tall Black Bear Demon. One snap of its jaws could have bitten off three human heads at once!
Unable to discern its cultivation level, Wen Li instinctively grabbed Hua Cishu by the collar and bolted. Zongzheng Huangyue followed close behind.
“Roar!”
The Black Bear Demon chased them relentlessly, its bellows filled with the fury of one whose sweet dreams had been disturbed.
While sprinting, Wen Li tried to reason with it. “Brother Bear, be reasonable! I’m the one who dug this cave, and those arrays in there are mine! You absorbed so many of my spirit cores to cultivate into a sentient demon—it’s already good enough that I’m not asking you for money! For you to try and bite me is just crossing the line!”
The only response was a furious roar from behind.
“Roar!”
“What do you mean yours?! I’ve lived here for a hundred years, so it’s mine!”
The Black Bear Demon actually spoke the human tongue. It seemed it had at least Third Realm cultivation, the equivalent of a Golden Core.
Hearing its disrespectful words toward Wen Li, Zongzheng Huangyue’s eyes turned cold. As she flew forward, she leaped into the air, drew her Moon Soul Arrow, and fired a shot at the Black Bear Demon.
“Roar!”
The Black Bear Demon spat out a burst of fire, attempting to incinerate the arrow.
To its surprise, the Moon Soul Arrow remained completely unharmed. Instead, it became even more piercing, erupting with toxic blue flames that instantly extinguished the red fire it had spat out.
The Black Bear Demon’s eyes widened, and it hurriedly dodged to the side.
The trio ignored what was behind them and dashed toward the cave exit.
Finally, they saw light at the end of the tunnel and flew out of the cave.
“Roar!”
Suddenly, a Brown Bear Demon appeared at the entrance.
It was even taller and more powerful than the Black Bear Demon, nearly half the size of a small mountain. It seemed to have been lying in ambush for a long time. Upon seeing the three emerge from the cave, it roared and charged, swinging a massive paw to crush them.
“Up we go.”
Seeing the paw—as large as a mountain ridge—descending rapidly, Wen Li launched the three of them straight up into the air. They landed in a towering tree, hiding beneath the leaves to conceal their auras and forms.
The three of them had just breathed a sigh of relief.
“Huff... huff... huff...”
Suddenly, the sound of rapid, non-human breathing came from beside them, accompanied by a faint, unpleasant odor.
Wen Li, Hua Cishu, and Zongzheng Huangyue all turned their heads to the left simultaneously.
There stood the Black Bear Demon that had been chasing them inside the cave.
“Hey, what a coincidence. I’m hiding from a bear; who are you hiding from?”
Large and helpless, the Black Bear Demon hugged the tree with both arms, its left foot stepping on its right. It grinned sheepishly, its deep voice sounding awkward. It wasn't chasing them to bite them anymore; it was just as terrified of the Brown Bear Demon and had fled up the tree to hide.
What was most awkward, however, was...
Trickle.
An unidentified liquid began to flow down the tree from beneath its backside.
The trio: “...”
It had actually pissed itself before they did. What happened to all that arrogance it had while chasing them just now?
On the ground, seeing that its prey had vanished, the Brown Bear Demon beat its chest and let out a frustrated roar.
“Roar!!! Cough!”
A section of warm liquid suddenly flew down from the sky and into its mouth.
The Brown Bear Demon instinctively smacked its lips. A second later...
“Roar!”
Tasting what it was, it roared in fury and looked up toward the source of the liquid. Sure enough, it spotted the wretched Black Bear Demon clinging to the tree. With a few great bounds, it grabbed the tree and ripped it right out of the ground by its roots.
“Ah! Don’t! Ah! Brother Bear, I beg you! The cave is yours! I don’t want it anymore!”
The Black Bear Demon screamed in terror. Its deep, honest voice was now laced with tears as it wailed and clung to the tree for dear life, begging for mercy.
Wen Li watched in amazement. “As expected of the Southern Province’s Beast Taming Sect’s territory. Even the demon beasts have become so sentient.”
These creatures had much more common sense than the ones she’d encountered in other provinces; they knew when to beg for mercy.
Even in the world of cultivation, the food chain still existed. She had forgotten—black bears were on the brown bear's menu.
Watching the Brown Bear Demon below swinging the massive tree around like a Pinwheel of Fire and Death, spinning it with glee, it looked like it was having the time of its life. The Black Bear Demon, who refused to let go, ended up vomiting out everything it had eaten for supper the night before. Wen Li quickly poked Zongzheng Huangyue.
“Quick, fire your arrow.”
This was the perfect opportunity for a sneak attack.
Zongzheng Huangyue took out the Moon Soul Arrow and placed her hand on the bowstring. A translucent, toxic blue long arrow instantly materialized as she aimed at the Brown Bear Demon.
She drew the bow and released!
Whoosh!
The arrow shot from the string, cutting through the air with a piercing whistle. The toxic blue flames burning at its tail traced a beautiful arc as it hurtled toward the Brown Bear Demon.
Sensing danger, the Brown Bear Demon immediately looked back. Despite its massive size, it was agile and moved instantly to dodge the arrow.
Boom!
However, Zongzheng Huangyue had predicted its movement and fired three arrows in succession.
This time...
Boom!
“Roar! Ah!!! No! Please, Great One, spare me!!! Ah!”
The Brown Bear Demon was hit in the left abdomen and right leg by two of the arrows. The toxic blue flames burning on the shafts instantly ignited its entire body. It struggled, screamed in pain, and roared for mercy.
But in just three seconds, its mountain-like body was reduced to a pile of ash.
Thud!
The tree the Black Bear Demon was clinging to crashed ten meters away. Having witnessed the power of that arrow, the bear remembered that Zongzheng Huangyue had shot at it earlier, too. It swallowed hard.
Splosh...
It had pissed itself again.
Wen Li landed on the ground, carrying the flightless Hua Cishu. She walked up to the pile of ash in the mud, a look of regret on her cool face.
“What a pity. I’ve never tasted bear meat before.”
“I haven't either.”
Hua Cishu nodded while holding her sleeve, his mouth watering. He suddenly turned his head, the silver bells on his red hair jingling as he stared at the terrified Black Bear Demon.
“Master, there’s still one right here.”
“...” Ah, me?
The Black Bear Demon’s dainty frame shuddered. Its eyes widened, and it slid into a smooth kneel on the ground, its maw opening in a wail.
“Don’t! Just now, this humble one was only joking with you, Great One! Look at this misunderstanding! Great One, I’m still young! I don’t have much meat on me, I won't taste good! Really!”
Wen Li stared seriously at its body, which was covered in layers of fat. Looking at it, the bear indeed didn't have much 'meat'—the poor child was so hungry it had developed its own built-in lifebuoy of lard.
Rate on N.U.
