Time flows meaninglessly in the mountains, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Half a month passed in a flash.
On this day, Xiao Jian sat beneath the waterfall, circulating his Dou Qi.
The water from the waterfall, dozens of meters high, crashed onto his back, yet it could not cause him any harm.
On his back, a pair of purple tattoos shimmered brilliantly.
The Black and White Profound Sword rested on his lap, a chill radiating from its silvery-white blade.
Opening his eyes, Xiao Jian felt that he was on the verge of a breakthrough, but it seemed like he was missing something.
He just could not break through, and he did not know why.
He picked up his sword and began to practice the Vertical and Horizontal Sword Technique.
The blade sliced through the water, transforming into a flash of sword light, sometimes thrusting, sometimes slashing, sometimes lifting.
The Vertical and Horizontal Sword Technique was more than just swordsmanship; its movement techniques, footwork, and the circulation of internal energy all required great attention to detail.
Xiao Jian had wanted to cultivate another movement technique, but he found the simple ones beneath him, and the powerful ones were difficult to coordinate with, so he had never cultivated any.
Now he needed an opportunity, an opportunity to break through to Dou Master.
Having finished the sword technique, he prepared to go search for his opportunity.
He had no Yao Lao, no mentor, so he had to find his own way.
He did not know where the path lay, but he had a faint premonition in his heart.
He needed a battle, a battle between evenly matched opponents.
Sheathing his sword, Xiao Jian walked toward the depths of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
He needed a peak second-tier magical beast, or a third-tier one.
A person would also do, but there didn’t seem to be anyone that strong nearby, and even if there were, they wouldn’t be easy to find.
As an alchemist, he had a lot of knowledge about the habitats of various medicinal herbs, and many medicinal herbs were guarded by magical beasts.
Among the prescriptions he inherited, there was a third-grade medicinal pill called the Cold Life Pill.
Its function was to help resist flames when absorbing them and to rapidly recover from damage caused by flames.
This was also the only pill in the prescriptions he inherited that helped in refining flames.
Its main ingredient, the Cold Bone Ginseng, was also one of his targets this time.
Although the Cold Bone Ginseng had the word “cold” in its name, it was not an ice-attribute herb, but rather a yin-cold attribute one.
It only grew in places that never saw sunlight for years, and there were always Shadow Wolves nearby.
And the Shadow Wolf was a very strange kind of magical beast.
Most wolf clans were gregarious, but this kind of magical beast was different; they were all solitary.
Their attribute was also yin.
He hadn’t seen a Shadow Wolf, but he had seen a first-tier Black Mouse.
This kind of magical beast loved to make its home next to a Shadow Wolf.
So, he prepared to try his luck.
Not far away, there was a fruit tree.
Black Mice only came out at night, and these few days were exactly when the fruit on that tree was ripening.
Black Mice loved to eat that kind of fruit, and it was right next to that tree that he had seen the Black Mouse that day.
With his sword on his back, Xiao Jian walked toward the fruit tree and then hid in a tree not far away.
He had to wait; it was still an hour or two until dark.
As the sun set and the moon slowly rose, a palm-sized black, mouse-shaped magical beast quietly arrived at the base of the fruit tree, then climbed up the tree and began to eat.
Xiao Jian did not disturb it and waited quietly.
After about another hour, the Black Mouse finished eating and headed back toward its territory.
Using the Immortal Slaying Divine Scripture to lower his aura to the minimum, Xiao Jian followed quietly behind it.
The Black Mouse was still completely unaware, happy about its full meal.
The Black Mouse’s home was not far from here, but not close either.
After walking for about half an hour, Xiao Jian almost lost it along the way.
It was mainly because the Black Mouse was too small, and he had to both restrain his aura and guard against other magical beasts, which was quite troublesome.
Fortunately, no accidents occurred.
Xiao Jian was now crouching on a large tree.
Just a moment ago, the Black Mouse had burrowed into the dense forest ahead.
“There really might be a Shadow Wolf here!” Xiao Jian sized up the place.
Behind it was a cliff, located on the shady side, and the trees were tall and large, blocking out the wind.
The only question now was whether to go in.
Xiao Jian was eighty percent sure there was a Shadow Wolf here, but he didn’t know what tier it was.
If it was a second-tier one, that would be fine; even if it were a third-tier one, Xiao Jian was confident he could fight it.
If it were a fourth-tier one, he would be in danger, and he would have to end the battle quickly; otherwise, once discovered by other magical beasts, he would basically be as good as dead.
Taking a look at the Dou Ling Experience Card in his system space, Xiao Jian steadied his mind.
Go in.
At worst, he would use that card to escape.
As long as it wasn’t a fifth or sixth-tier magical beast, he could escape.
Feeling his way in the dark, Xiao Jian silently pushed into the dense forest.
Fortunately, the trees were quite large; although it was difficult to walk, there was still space.
After walking for about ten minutes, a cave appeared before Xiao Jian.
Inside the cave, a black, wolf-shaped magical beast, three or four meters tall, was lying on the ground sleeping.
And beside it, three snow-white bone ginsengs had already poked their heads out.
“White leaves, red flowers, one plant with six leaves, two plants with eight leaves.
Not bad, they all far exceed the standard.
But looking at that magical beast, it has already broken through to the third tier, although it probably hasn’t been long since the breakthrough.”
Xiao Jian took a deep breath.
“Do it!”
Circulating his Dou Qi, he drew his dual swords and shouted, “Hey!
You stupid wolf, come over here and fight!”
He needed a battle, a real battle.
Not the small skirmishes from before.
The black wolf opened its eyes, the stripes on its back emitting a purple-black light.
It was angry at this person who had disturbed its sleep.
Awoo!
The black wolf transformed into a black shadow in the gloom, and in an instant, its wolf claws were already in front of Xiao Jian.
“So fast!” He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly with his right hand.
Traverse All Directions!
An ink-colored dragon shadow flashed by, clashing with the black wolf shadow and separating instantly.
Ever since Xiao Jian came to this world, it seemed he possessed a talent: as long as he was fighting, he would be completely focused.
Just like that time he killed someone; even though he felt nauseous afterward, he hadn’t hesitated at all when he was killing.
“As expected of a Shadow Wolf, it really is fast!” Xiao Jian felt the warmth flowing from his left cheek.
If he hadn’t reacted quickly just now, his head would no longer be on his body, rather than just leaving a small wound like it was now.
“Continue!” The flowing blood did not make Xiao Jian afraid; instead, it made him feel a trace of excitement.
Holding his swords with both hands, he focused his Dou Qi.
Sword Qi gathered on the blade.
A leaf drifted down, brushed against the blade, turned into two pieces, and continued to drift down.
Dou Qi simultaneously gathered in his legs.
He moved quickly to the front of the Shadow Wolf.
He thrust his left sword straight out, aiming for the Shadow Wolf’s throat.
The Shadow Wolf was not stupid either, turning back into a shadow and dodging to the right to avoid the sword strike, but the sharp Sword Qi still sliced off a few of its whiskers.
His right sword swept across.
The Shadow Wolf didn’t have time to dodge, and it didn’t want to.
Black Dou Qi gathered on its head, colliding with the blade.
Copper head, iron bones, tofu waist—the heads of wolf-shaped magical beasts are all very hard, but it had still underestimated the sharpness of the Black and White Profound Sword.
The blade, carrying Sword Qi, cut through its Dou Qi and its skin.
Although it was ultimately blocked by bone, the intense pain still made it furious.
Shadow Attachment was the Shadow Wolf’s innate ability, which could increase speed in the dark, up to one-third of its own speed.
Night became the Shadow Wolf’s sharpest claw.
Ignoring the pain in its head, the Shadow Wolf opened its large mouth, biting toward Xiao Jian’s throat.
Xiao Jian used his left sword to defend.
His right sword left a nasty gash on the black wolf’s right leg.
Unfortunately, the Shadow Wolf’s left claw also left claw marks on Xiao Jian’s chest.
Exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale.
Xiao Jian continuously adjusted his breathing, his eyes fixed on the black shadow not far away.
The Shadow Wolf was best at surprise attacks; if one strike didn’t hit, it would hide and then continue to look for opportunities until it killed its prey.
The Shadow Wolf was very patient; it could always find the best opportunity.
However, Xiao Jian was different; he couldn’t drag this battle out for too long.
Otherwise, it would be terrible if other magical beasts appeared.
So he decided to take the initiative to lure this cunning wolf to attack.
His breathing became slightly erratic, and his body trembled a little.
Sure enough, the black shadow did not let this opportunity pass.
The foul-smelling teeth and sharp claws attacked him again.
When the Shadow Wolf attacked, it never used both claws, unless it felt it was a guaranteed kill.
This time was the same.
But this was enough; Xiao Jian only had two hands to deal with its attack.
Dou Qi collided, the friction between claws, teeth, and blades.
The black shadow always retreated after one strike, while the human’s breathing had already begun to quicken.
Almost there, just a little more and it would be able to kill this human in front of it, tear open his throat, and enjoy his blood.
He had already started to become chaotic.
In the darkness, the Shadow Wolf stared fixedly at Xiao Jian.
Xiao Jian was truly having a hard time now; that beast was very cunning, always launching sneak attacks, and the night was advantageous to it.
So he might truly be about to lose.
“Must find a way to make this beast fight me head-on, otherwise I will lose sooner or later!”
The black shadow attacked again; this time, it was aiming for Xiao Jian’s chest.
But this time, Xiao Jian did not choose to defend again; instead, he leaned slightly to the left, trading for an opportunity to attack.
Swish!
The sound of sharp claws tearing through clothes came first.
Xiao Jian gritted his teeth.
His pupils widened slightly.
He slashed down fiercely with his left sword, leaving a significant wound on the Shadow Wolf’s right side as well.
The Shadow Wolf felt the pain and wanted to retreat.
But Xiao Jian did not give it the chance; enduring the pain, he thrust his right hand toward it.
Dodging the left sword, the right sword arrived again.
Wolves are a very cruel kind of animal; they are not only cruel to their enemies but also to themselves.
Seeing it couldn’t leave, it used its left claw to block the right sword, completely ignoring what kind of damage Xiao Jian’s left sword would cause it, its wolf head lunging straight for Xiao Jian’s throat.
Xiao Jian was not as big as the magical beast, but he was more agile than it.
He directly abandoned the sword in his right hand and turned it into a fist.
“Mountain Breaking Strike!”
He hit the Shadow Wolf’s head fiercely, knocking it off balance, and he himself flashed to the side and picked up his sword again.
Mountain Breaking Strike was at least a Xuan-rank Dou Technique.
Although he couldn’t kill this wolf instantly right now, it was enough to buy Xiao Jian some time.
The wolf was also stunned, but this short amount of time gave Xiao Jian the chance to continue entangling with it.
Swinging sword after sword, Xiao Jian felt as if he had suddenly entered a strange rhythm, and the opponent in front of him seemed to have started to follow his rhythm.
Although he would still occasionally hurt himself, he wasn’t at such a disadvantage as before.
The Shadow Wolf was completely enraged at this moment, roaring.
It continuously attacked Xiao Jian, but every attack was blocked, and whenever it wanted to break away, it would be stopped by Xiao Jian.
Man and wolf were entangled in battle for another few dozen moves.
Then they separated.
Now both sides had consumed a lot of Dou Qi and had lost the qualifications to escape; they could only collide head-on.
Whoever wanted to escape might actually be the first to die.
Xiao Jian panted heavily, his clothes soaked with blood; some of it was his, and some of it was the magical beast’s.
“It’s time to send you on your way.
Vertical and Horizontal Alliance!”
This was the ultimate move of the Vertical and Horizontal Sword Technique.
Using it to send this wolf off was already the greatest respect for it.
The black wolf also sensed something.
It howled loudly.
“Awoo!…
Awoo!” Black Dou Qi covered its entire body.
It rushed toward Xiao Jian.
One black and one white, two dragon shadows passed through the black wolf shadow, severing a wolf head.
Ha…!
Ha…!
Ha…!
Xiao Jian panted heavily, one hand supporting himself on the ground, the other hand arduously sheathing his sword back into the sword sheath.
Then, stumbling, he walked toward the cave.