Chapter 26: The first battle.
Liang Chen did not immediately start looking for Demonic beasts after getting used to the pressure. If things followed their usual pattern, the two hunters would pass through the area again within the next day. To avoid encountering them face to face, Liang Chen decided to quietly wait for the couple to pass by him. After all, there were no laws in this hidden realm. If they spotted him as he killed a Demonic beast, they might just attack him to steal the corpse.
Just as he had expected, a few hours after he went into hiding, the couple moved through his area. They were dragging the corpse of a deer-like Demonic beast, grins on their faces, so it seemed like they had just completed a hunt and were on their way back to the entrance so that they could take the beast apart and sell it.
Liang Chen did not know what they had done, whether or not they had made a deal with them or whether or not they were part of the same group. But the couple didn't seem to have a problem with the same robbers that Liang Chen had encountered as he first entered the hidden realm.
Once Liang Chen made sure that the two had left the area and he was the only one left, he climbed higher up the tree. The higher he climbed, the greater the pressure he experienced. But the increase in pressure was not great enough to deter him, so he continued to climb higher until he reached halfway up the tree.
At the halfway point of the tree, the branches started to extend further out, connecting with the other trees and forming natural bridges that one could use to move from tree to tree. Since Liang Chen was unable to use his lightning to track the surrounding Demonic beasts, he had decided to use this method, moving from tree to tree while keeping an eye on the ground, to find any Demonic beasts.
Thanks to the constant snow that was fluttering towards the ground, the branches were a bit slippery, making it somewhat risky to traverse them. But Liang Chen was steady on his feet and was able to use his sword to cut marks into the branches, allowing him something to grab onto whenever he felt that things got risky.
Since Liang Chen only had to carry his sword on him, there was nothing weighing him down as he moved from branch to branch with nimble motions. He moved slower than he would in the outside world, but still far faster than he had once he first entered the hidden realm.
As he moved, Liang Chen would occasionally spot a human or Demonic beast, but as the few Demonic beasts he spotted had a higher cultivation than him, he made sure to stay hidden so that they would not detect him. Luckily, the forest was filled with Demonic beasts, so he only had to move through the trees for a few hours before he spotted a Demonic beast that was close to his level of strength.
The Demonic beast looked like a large porcupine, its back covered in spines that were almost half a meter long and as thick as two fingers. The beast itself was actually a bit larger than Liang Chen, almost reaching two meters in length. But it had very thick and short legs, so it was clear that it was not the fastest of beasts.
It was currently digging into the ground, releasing snorting sounds from time to time as it searched for any roots and vegetables. Liang Chen quietly made his way across the branches, slowly making his way down the tree that was closest to the Demonic beast. But no matter how quietly he moved, he was still facing a Demonic beast, so by the time his feet touched the ground, the beast had noticed him.
The porcupine stopped what it was doing and turned to face him, letting out several loud grunts in warning. It could sense that Liang Chen had the same strength as him, so it would be best if it could avoid combat that would leave the both of them with nothing to gain but a few injuries.
But how could it know that Liang Chen had no intention of backing off? Even if he ended up losing this fight and getting injured, he would still feel that it would be worth it, as he would have gotten more experience and training. As long as he made sure to leave before he died, he would gain something from this fight.
His right hand grasped his sword, arcs of golden lightning dancing around the blade, and his left hand started glowing with a light that kept changing between green and violet, his entire body tensing up as he stepped forward. The Demonic beast's eyes narrowed as it realized that the human in front of it was not willing to back down from this pointless fight.
A short moment of silence followed between the two, Liang Chen stepping forward and the porcupine taking a few steps backward. The silence between the two of them was shattered, both of them starting their attacks at the same time. Liang Chen coated his body with lightning, his speed rapidly increasing as he dashed forward. The Demonic beast, on the other hand, lowered its body slightly and pointed its spines at Liang Chen.
The spines turned into blurs that shot forward in a straight line, slightly catching Liang Chen off-guard, as he had not expected the beast to be able to shoot its spikes like projectiles. But he quickly reacted, lowering his body, his head almost touching the ground.
The spines grazed his back, one slicing a small gash into his left shoulder, blood dripping onto the snow. Despite Liang Chen's body being coated in lightning, the snow around him did not show any signs of melting, the blood that touched the snow quickly freezing and becoming part of the snow.
Liang Chen ignored the burning pain coming from his shoulder, pushing his body off the ground with his left arm and stepping forward at the same time. He slashed upwards with his weapon, aiming to cleave the head of the Demonic beast in two with a single attack.
As his sword neared the head of the Demonic beast, the monster raised its head slightly and opened its maw, revealing its thick and flat teeth. Liang Chen's weapon clashed with the teeth of the porcupine, cracking them and sinking a bit in, but it was unable to do any actual damage to the Demonic beast.
Liang Chen saw the eyes of the Demonic beast shine with a hint of a smile, but he simply ignored it. He let go of his weapon and reached out with his arm, grabbing at the neck of the Demonic beast. The beast sensed danger from Liang Chen's hand, so it quickly lowered its head and pushed forth its spines to force Liang Chen to pull his hand back.
But how could it expect Liang Chen to be as reckless as he was? Liang Chen ignored the spines, continuing to reach for the neck, even when one of the spines pierced through his palm. Lightning coiled around his finger as he grabbed onto the neck, his fingers piercing through its hide and giving Liang Chen access to the insides of the beast.
Poison flooded out from his fingers and into the neck of the Demonic beast, following the veins as well as the spine of the beast, overloading its heart and brain with Liang Chen's mixed and highly corrosive poison. Its mouth started to froth with a bloody foam, its eyes melting thanks to the poison and lightning that was rampaging through its body.
Thanks to the blood that landed on Liang Chen's fingers, they felt like they were lit ablaze with horrid flames, but he grit his teeth and forced himself to endure. He had to make sure that there was enough poison within the body of the Demonic beast before he pulled his arms back, otherwise, it might manage to survive.
After a little over two minutes, the beast was no longer able to resist, collapsing to the ground. Its eyes had completely melted, its brain and heart no more than a mushy mess thanks to the poison. Liang Chen finally pulled back his hand, plunging it into the snow to clean away any of the beast's blood that remained on his fingers.
Once his hand was clean of blood and the pain was gone, he looked at the corpse of the Demonic beast, a smile spreading on his face. This was not like the beasts he had killed in Sky Piercer Forest, nor was it like the wolves he had killed on the way here. This was an actual Rank 1 Demonic beast, one that did not rely on its pack for strength, and he had managed to kill it all on his own.
But he quickly forced his excitement down, vigilantly checking the surrounding area. Once he saw that there was no one around, he quickly grabbed onto the corpse of the beast and started dragging it after him. He could not bring it up into the trees with him, so he dragged it along the ground until he found an old and hollow tree that was somewhat hidden. He dragged the beast into the hollow tree, covering the entrance behind him with a mixture of fallen branches and snow. Now he just had to take the beast apart, and then he would see if he could use it to increase his strength.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone