Lu An, who was sitting on a large rock in the forest eating a steamed bun, froze and quickly turned his head to look.
He saw a member of the Yan Hunting Group running quickly towards him, and from a distance, he could see two wounds on the person's chest. Lu An's brows furrowed, and he stood up.
Soon, the person ran up to Lu An, bent over, supporting his knees, and gasped for breath. Lu An patted his back and frowned, asking, "What's wrong? What happened?"
"We were ambushed by a Heavenly Spirit Flame Leopard! Several brothers are seriously injured. You and I need to quickly go to the academy's infirmary and find a teacher to save them!" The person swallowed, speaking quickly!
Heavenly Spirit Flame Leopard?
Is this the name of the Strange Beast the Yan Hunting Group came to hunt this time?
Lu An's brows furrowed, and he quickly asked, "Where are they? Is that Heavenly Spirit Flame Leopard still there?"
"They are not far down the northern slope past the mountain peak. When I came back, Yan Jie and the others were still entangled with the Heavenly Spirit Flame Leopard!" The person's breathing improved a bit, and he quickly said, "Stop talking nonsense, let's go find someone quickly!"
Saying that, the person grabbed Lu An's hand, intending to leave, but found he couldn't pull him!
The person was stunned, turned to look at Lu An, and seeing Lu An's solemn expression, he couldn't help but ask, "What are you still dawdling for? Are you scared silly?"
"You go." Lu An shook his head, frowning as he said, "Go find help. One person and two people are the same. I'm going up the mountain to take a look!"
"What?" The person was stunned, then angrily said, "What are you going up for? What good will it do? You'll just be throwing your life away!"
Lu An glanced at the person. Although he knew his own strength was low, the Yan Hunting Group members were in danger, and since he was a part of it, he absolutely couldn't ignore them!
"You go first!" Lu An didn't want to argue with this person and said directly, "I'm going up the mountain!"
With that, Lu An turned and ran, quickly rushing up the mountain!
The person was stunned, gritted his teeth as he watched Lu An's frantic figure, cursed him silently as an idiot, and then quickly ran down the mountain.
Half an hour later.
A rustling sound came from the forest, the sound of footsteps rushing quickly. Then a figure quickly rushed out of the forest. Who else could it be but Lu An?
Arriving at an open space on the mountain peak, half an hour of continuous frantic running left him breathless, and he stood in place, gasping for air. After resting for about half a minute, he continued his journey forward.
Standing on the mountain peak, Lu An looked at the endless mountains ahead, and his heart couldn't help but tremble. He knew that this vast mountain range ahead contained countless Strange Beasts, and even many powerful Strange Beasts. And that Heavenly Spirit Flame Leopard was probably one of the weaker ones among them.
But even that Heavenly Spirit Flame Leopard could probably kill him easily.
Taking a deep breath, Lu An collected his thoughts, leaped off the giant rock, and quickly headed towards the northern slope.
Indeed, within less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he saw a group of people lying haphazardly under a large tree ahead, and heard cries of agony. Lu An's heart trembled, and he quickly rushed towards the group!
When Lu An arrived among the group, the first person he saw was Vice-Captain Dong Hao. He was sitting leaning against a large tree, with wounds on his shoulder, chest, and thigh, all bleeding. Although he had received simple bandaging, he was clearly unable to move.
"Brother Dong!" Lu An quickly ran and crouched in front of Dong Hao, frowning as he asked, "How are you?"
"Lu An? Why are you here?" Dong Hao looked at Lu An, tried to sit up straight to speak, but a sharp pain immediately shot through him as he supported himself on the ground, making him gasp and lean back against the tree.
Seeing this, Lu An's brows furrowed, and he quickly supported Dong Hao, saying quickly, "I just met the person we sent for help; he told me."
"Then why did you still dare to come here?" Dong Hao frowned, looking at Lu An with dissatisfaction.
"I..." Lu An froze, unsure how to explain, so he directly asked, "What exactly happened? Where's Yan Jie?"
Lu An looked around, and indeed, he didn't see Kong Yan.
"We originally wanted to set a trap here to lure and capture the Heavenly Spirit Flame Leopard, but we didn't expect to be ambushed by it." Dong Hao moved slightly, and another sharp pain shot through his body, making him hiss and his face twitch as he said, "But we're not to be trifled with either; that Heavenly Spirit Flame Leopard was also severely injured by us. We paid such a heavy price, we can't let it go, so Yan Jie went after it."
Lu An nodded upon hearing this, then looked at the people around him. Although some were seriously injured, they had been bandaged, indicating that the Yan Hunting Group members were experienced in treating external injuries.
Looking around, Lu An breathed a sigh of relief, thought for a moment, and asked, "Is that Heavenly Spirit Flame Leopard's rebirth crystal core really that good?"
"What do you know?" Dong Hao covered his wound, glanced at Lu An, and said, "That's a Tier 1 Strange Beast's rebirth crystal core. It contains a tremendous amount of Fire Attribute energy, as well as powerful Sky Origin. If it's made into a Medicinal Pill and consumed, Yan Jie, with her Tier 8 Sky Realm strength, could not only Breakthrough to Tier 9 but even potentially touch the barrier of a Heavenly Master!"
"That powerful?" Lu An was stunned and asked curiously.
"Nonsense, that's Fire Attribute, the best Body Tempering material!" Dong Hao looked at Lu An's still somewhat skeptical expression and couldn't help but shout.
Lu An looked at the slightly angry Dong Hao and quickly gave an apologetic smile, then his brows furrowed slightly, and he asked in a deep voice, "Brother Dong, how long has Yan Jie been gone?"
As soon as he said this, Dong Hao's face also darkened, and he frowned, saying, "It's been over half an hour. I'm a bit worried too; logically, a seriously injured Heavenly Spirit Flame Leopard shouldn't take this long."
Indeed.
Lu An's brows were tightly furrowed, just as he had worried, Kong Yan hadn't returned yet. Looking at the endless forest ahead, the deeper one went, the more dangerous it became. Kong Yan was very likely in trouble!
Just as Dong Hao was silently worrying, Lu An in front of him suddenly stood up, startling Dong Hao, who asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm going inside to check; I'm afraid Yan Jie is in trouble." Lu An looked down at Dong Hao and said.
"You're not even a Tier 1 Sky Realm. Going there would just be suicide!" Dong Hao frowned and rebuked in a low voice.
"No matter." Lu An smiled, his expression extremely calm, and said, "My strength is low; those Strange Beasts won't be interested in me. You all rest well here; I'll be back soon!"
With that, Lu An bypassed Dong Hao and ran quickly into the depths of the forest.
"Hey!" Dong Hao quickly waved, but Lu An's figure grew further and further away, soon disappearing into the forest.
"Damn it!" Dong Hao gritted his teeth and cursed, "He really doesn't know his place!"
In the forest, Lu An's figure moved quickly.
Compared to the southern slope, after running for about two quarters of an hour on the northern slope, he still hadn't seen a single wild beast. Occasionally, he only saw a few birds flying, making it much quieter than the southern slope.
His shoes rustled on the fallen leaves. As it was downhill, Lu An's strides were large, and he could cover a great distance in an instant.
However, Lu An didn't keep running downhill, but rather tried to follow Kong Yan's tracks. Although the ground was covered with fresh grass and leaves, making it impossible to see Kong Yan's footprints, he could clearly see the footprint of a huge claw. This claw was a full five feet long and wide, and the leaves and grass where it stepped had burn marks, making it easy to guess that it was the Heavenly Spirit Flame Leopard's tracks.
Thump, thump, thump!
Lu An leaped nearly half a zhang high, directly crossing a steep slope before continuing his journey. Finally, after running for nearly half an hour, he faintly heard a roar coming from ahead!
Lu An's heart tightened, and he quickly rushed forward. After running less than a li, he could clearly feel the ground shaking. Another half a li forward, and he clearly saw a giant Strange Beast several zhang tall, with scorching flames burning on its back!
Heavenly Spirit Flame Leopard!
From a distance, it indeed looked like a leopard-shaped Strange Beast, though its size was many times that of an ordinary leopard! He saw it letting out painful roars, its body constantly thrashing around, and the surrounding forest was ravaged by it. Many large trees were even burning with raging fires, looking like a disaster from afar.
Yan Jie!
Lu An's heart froze, and standing still, he quickly ran forward. Since the Heavenly Spirit Flame Leopard was here, then Yan Jie should be here too!
As Lu An ran frantically, he got closer and closer to the giant Heavenly Spirit Flame Leopard. Just as he was about to reach the ruins in front of him, a figure suddenly flew backward towards him!
Lu An's eyes narrowed, looking at the graceful figure in the air. Who else could it be but Kong Yan?