On his way to Flame Valley, Jun Wuxie encountered several more attacks from Flame Beasts.
However, for him, who had Cultivated the Extreme Realm, these Rank 2, Level 6 Flame Beasts found it difficult to break his defense; he could even withstand their sharp claws without dodging.
He was very satisfied with such a Physical Body; wherever his iron fist struck, flesh and blood flew.
In just a few rounds, he killed the Flame Beast with his fist and took its beast core.
“This is the place.”
Jun Wuxie looked down at the valley from above.
This valley was surrounded by tall volcanic rock, and there were many ravines on the ground, with firelight flickering in them, like unsolidified magma flowing.
He observed carefully; the horizontal space inside the valley was about fifty meters, not very wide, and its depth was over a thousand meters.
At the deepest part of the valley was a cliff hundreds of meters high, straight and steep, and at the bottom of the cliff was a deep rock cave, with some broken weapons and human bones scattered in front of the cave.
The temperature here was exceptionally high; even with the strength of his Physical Body, he felt a slight burning sensation, and fine sweat seeped from his skin.
“How strong is a Rank 3 Vicious Beast? I need to test it first before I can figure out a way.”
Jun Wuxie carefully pondered the situation inside the entire valley and discovered a problem.
The broken weapons and human bones at the cave entrance were most likely members of the hunter mercenary group who had come here to kill the Flame Python in the past six months and were completely wiped out.
Throughout the valley, traces of fighting could be clearly seen on the ground and on the rocks on both sides, but at the mouth of the valley, these traces were almost invisible, and there were no signs of battle outside the valley at all.
“It seems the Flame Python won’t leave this valley; as long as I rush out of the valley’s range, it won’t pursue me anymore…”
Jun Wuxie deduced this conclusion from the clues, but why wouldn’t that Flame Python leave the valley even a single step?
After much thought, there was only one explanation.
Inside the deep rock cave in the valley, there must be something the Flame Python wants to guard.
Is it the Flame Python’s eggs, or something else?
“Let’s see how strong it is first!”
Jun Wuxie locked onto the small hills between the valley entrance and the rock cave, mentally simulated a plan, then leaped down, stepping on some protruding rocks on the cliff, and landed inside the valley in a few jumps.
As he went deeper into the valley, the temperature got higher and higher, but he inexplicably felt a chilling sensation.
When he was only two or three hundred meters from the rock cave, he felt as if a pair of chilling and terrifying eyes in the dark cave were watching him.
Just as he was about to continue forward, a sound like metal scraping the ground came from inside the rock cave, and his heart suddenly tightened.
He saw a pair of eyes, like two pale yellow rhomboid gems, staring intently at him from within the dark rock cave, chilling and bloodthirsty.
Whoosh!
Jun Wuxie took a deep breath, meeting the gaze of those rhomboid eyes across the space, his suspended footsteps slowly descended, and he continued forward.
At the same time, his muscles tensed all over, vigorous Blood Qi surged within his body, and the power of the Acquired Extreme Realm was raised to its Peak.
Jun Wuxie’s pace was very slow; he was about a hundred meters away from the nearest small hill behind him, and if he stretched the distance further, he might exceed the safe range.
“Hiss!”
Just as he was anxiously awaiting the Flame Python’s attack, the Flame Python finally burst out of the rock cave as he wished.
Its roar shook the valley; its body, as thick as a water bucket, about twenty meters long, covered in fiery red scales, was like cast iron, shattering the rocks at the cave entrance, incredibly violent.
It was like a thick, fiery red iron whip; the moment its python body burst out, it swung in the air.
A hum.
The python’s tail exploded the air, directly smashing over, forming a hurricane-like airflow.
Although Jun Wuxie was prepared, he was still startled by such a display.
He instantly retreated, avoiding the python tail’s strike, but the True Qi aftershock carried by the python tail still impacted his body, sending him flying over ten meters; the pain was excruciating, and looking down, his Physical Body and muscles were actually cracked, with fresh blood seeping out.
“So strong!”
Jun Wuxie’s heart sank; he had long known that Vicious Beasts above Rank 3 were extremely formidable, but he hadn’t expected them to be so terrifying.
His Physical Body was equivalent to the strength of a One-Star Low Grade Spirit Rank weapon, yet it was cracked by its True Qi aftershock?
Fortunately, he had achieved a Breakthrough into the Extreme Realm earlier; if it had been his quasi-Spirit Rank Physical Body before the Breakthrough, this hundred-plus pounds of his body would surely have been lost here.
Without any hesitation, he turned and ran, rushing towards the small hills, utilizing his small size for agility, using the mountain body to hinder the Flame Python’s offensive, and buying himself time to escape the valley.
At the same time, the Flame Python, failing its strike, immediately charged up, its speed astonishing Jun Wuxie, reaching behind him in an instant.
Its twenty-meter-long python body coiled towards him, and the surging True Qi made him almost unable to stand steady.
Jun Wuxie seized the opportunity, leaped up, stepped on the coiling python body with his tiptoes, and then leaped out again.
Seeing its prey escape again, the Flame Python roared, its snake head chasing after him, trying to swallow him in one bite.
Jun Wuxie’s heart pounded; at the critical moment, he twisted in the air, narrowly avoiding it, and after landing, he shot like an arrow behind the hill.
Rumble!
The Flame Python’s huge body crashed into the mountain, shaking it, cracking rocks, and raising volcanic ash high into the air.
Jun Wuxie ran two hundred meters at the fastest speed, rushing behind the second small hill.
Along the way, relying on the mountain rocks, he narrowly escaped the valley.
The Flame Python stopped abruptly at the mouth of the valley, its pale yellow rhomboid pupils staring coldly at him for a moment before it turned and left.
Whoosh!
Jun Wuxie sat down on the ground, his entire body soaked with sweat.
In that short moment, he had expended a large amount of vital energy, feeling a sense of exhaustion.
“This guy is too strong; I need to think carefully about how I can deal with it…”
After resting for a while, Jun Wuxie left the valley mouth, found a high vantage point, used a rock for cover, and carefully observed the environment inside and outside the entire valley to see what he could use.
He absolutely had to kill the Flame Python; otherwise, he wouldn’t get the bounty, wouldn’t have the resources to advance to the Innate Realm, and wouldn’t be able to contend with Xiao Xu.
However, this difficulty was too high!
He racked his brains for several hours; as the setting sun approached dusk, he finally had a preliminary idea.
However, to implement it successfully, there was a crucial link that he currently lacked the conditions for.
“If only another mercenary group took on this mission, I might be able to make use of them a little…”
Jun Wuxie couldn’t help but frown, his gaze falling on the summit of the cliff where the rock cave was located.
“Hmm? What’s that sound?”
His ears twitched slightly, and his thoughts immediately retracted from the cliff; he turned to look in the direction of the valley entrance.
“This is… hoofbeats?”
He almost suspected his ears were playing tricks on him; hoofbeats?
The hoofbeats were very rapid and getting closer.
Moments later, one person and one rider appeared in his sight.
A snow-white Thousand Spirit Steed, capable of traveling a thousand li a day, with True Qi flowing around its four hooves, was ridden by a woman in white armor with a silver spear, carrying a sword on her back, full of heroic spirit; she had now entered the Flame Valley.
The woman’s body, encased in white armor, outlined a graceful and perfect curve, but the distance was a bit far, so he couldn’t clearly see her facial features.
“Could she also have taken this mission to kill the Flame Python?”
Jun Wuxie’s heart sank; this woman came alone, certainly full of confidence; if she really killed the Flame Python, he would have no chance!