Chapter 1651: Chapter 1651

This time it’s genuinely dangerous. The two sword-wielding people immediately adopted defensive stances as they heard the sound of running from the dense forest. There was also the rustling of leaves, and the low growl of a beast.

Li Yifei gripped his longsword and only had time to tell Xu Shanshan to be careful before a huge creature suddenly leapt out from the bushes. The creature had enormous fangs, resembling a wolf, and was about two meters long, twice the size of a regular wolf. It opened its huge mouth and lunged at Li Yifei.

The foul breath hit him in the face as Li Yifei swung his sword horizontally, and with a cracking sound, his sword struck the giant wolf’s paw, producing a metallic screech.

Xu Shanshan wanted to help by swinging her sword, but suddenly felt the wind behind her. She quickly flipped to the side, narrowly avoiding it, and saw a gigantic wolf jumping at her.

Li Yifei’s strike didn’t cause the giant wolf much harm, but it did manage to cut its paw, causing the massive wolf to roar in anger.

There were not just these two wolves around, but four in total. They had been observing the two from the shadows for a long time, confirming that they posed no threat before launching their attack. They intended to hunt them, but didn’t expect the two were armed and managed to injure the alpha wolf’s paw.

Therefore, the alpha wolf and the other three wolves were extremely furious. They slowly moved towards the two, growling threateningly.

Xu Shanshan tightened her grip on the short sword in her hand. The animals here were all oversized—monkeys, pigs, and pythons were all too large, and now these four wolves were just as massive. If she were alone here, she would have been terrified to death. Thankfully, with Li Yifei accompanying her, Xu Shanshan didn’t become panicked or flustered.

"Be careful. If we can’t win, we’ll run first, and if worse comes to worse, we’ll climb a tree!" Li Yifei advised in a low voice.

Fortunately, the sword was sharp enough; one could tell by the alpha wolf’s walking posture that the strike just now had injured it.

Wolves are very ferocious animals—they’re sinister and cunning, and they have perseverance. On the prairie, they will even chase prey for several days. So once they target you, either show immense strength to make them realize that the prey isn’t easy to catch, or eliminate them directly.

Li Yifei decided to take the initiative. Seeing the wolves gradually approaching, he said, "Get ready to attack. I’ll keep the alpha wolf and this one occupied; you handle the other two. You don’t have to fight head-on—just hold your ground."

Xu Shanshan nodded forcefully. Li Yifei then softly counted, "1, 2, 3... Attack!"

At the shout of the final word, Li Yifei charged out, and Xu Shanshan also made her move.

The alpha wolf initially intended to attack first but didn’t expect the prey before it to charge first. It was momentarily stunned, then roared loudly, digging its claws into the ground and lunging forward, creating a gust of wind.

Seven or eight meters away from Li Yifei, the alpha wolf leapt up, waving its huge paws, with its sharp claws exposed. It seemed to want to grab Li Yifei and slit his throat.

Li Yifei greeted it with his greatsword. His sword was heavy, so when he swung it, it packed a punch, and with its sharpness, he aimed for the alpha wolf’s thigh and swung it fiercely.

Infusing True Qi into his arms, Li Yifei’s strength surged. He pressed his legs hard into the ground, launching himself like a rocket. In less than a second, Li Yifei collided with the alpha wolf, slashing twice. The alpha wolf deflected the first strike with its paw, but wasn’t so lucky with the second. Li Yifei’s sword struck its thigh, piercing into it, and the alpha wolf let out a cry of pain.

Man and wolf hit the ground. Li Yifei didn’t have time to check the alpha wolf’s injuries but rolled on the spot to dodge another wolf’s attack. A foul wind grazed past his ear as he supported himself with one hand on the ground and quickly jumped up.

The wolves were large, but their movements were slow, with exaggerated motions. They looked terrifying, but with some agility, it wasn’t hard to dodge them. Li Yifei engaged for only a few seconds before figuring out their tricks. So he immediately reminded Xu Shanshan to pay attention while holding his sword and entangling with two wolves.

Meanwhile, Xu Shanshan, listening to Li Yifei’s words, also grasped some tactics. She didn’t collide with the two wolves forcefully but kept dodging, seizing opportunities to thrust her sword once or twice.

The giant wolves were unlucky. Their prey this time wasn’t only an Innate Expert but also someone who had just replenished his stamina and been armed with weapons from the giant boar—Li Yifei and Xu Shanshan. They were destined not to succeed this time.

If they had encountered Li Yifei and Xu Shanshan right after they escaped the temple, Li Yifei and Xu Shanshan would likely have been torn apart by now.

But no hypothetical scenarios—after three minutes, Li Yifei thrust his sword forcefully right into the giant wolf’s neck. The more-than-one-meter-long sword almost went in entirely. The giant wolf’s neck, only about thirty to forty centimeters thick, was pierced through. Li Yifei retracted his sword with force, and blood spurted from the wolf’s neck. It let out a frenzied howl, its huge wolf eyes glaring red but unable to do anything to Li Yifei. It struggled for a bit and then collapsed with a loud thud.

The lead wolf was also wounded in many places at this time. Seeing its underling killed, a trace of hesitation appeared in its eyes.

These creatures were quite intelligent. Seeing Li Yifei’s ferocity, it wanted to change its target. As soon as it turned its head, it saw Xu Shanshan using the same tactic to thrust her short sword into the neck of another giant wolf. Upon inserting the sword, she quickly pulled it out, and a similarly hot jet of blood spurted out.

"Beautiful!" Li Yifei praised. Xu Shanshan executed her attack cleanly and swiftly, and the two giant wolves couldn’t even touch her hair. Xu Shanshan had already struck a blow and drifted back, flashing several meters away. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✦𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✦𝓷𝓮𝓽

The two giant wolves, seeing that they couldn’t survive, fell to the ground, struggling weakly. The howling from their mouths grew weaker. Finally, the lead wolf was scared. It realized it had provoked creatures that should not be messed with. These two small-looking beings were not prey that it could handle or devour.

Thinking this, the giant wolf let out a howl. Immediately, another giant wolf turned its head, and in the next second, both wolves turned around and ran for their lives. Within seconds, they had bolted into the dense forest.

Seeing Xu Shanshan wanting to pursue, Li Yifei stopped her, saying, "No need to chase, let them run away."

This was just a sudden fight, not considered dangerous, but only because those giant wolves encountered Li Yifei and Xu Shanshan. Had they met others, they might be feasting now instead of lying dead and injured, fleeing in panic.

Li Yifei looked at the two dying giant wolves, walked over, and slashed their throats with two cuts, releasing them.

After a short rest, the two continued forward. Entering the forest, they realized the valley was indeed vast. They had traversed from the territory of the monkeys to that of the giant boar and the white python, and eventually to where the giant wolves appeared, walking almost ten kilometers. After dealing with the two giant wolves, they encountered no more, having no idea where those creatures’ lair was.

The two were unaware of Bai Shan’s location, but the copper plate mentioned that they must release the two creatures below first; otherwise, Bai Shan would become incredibly powerful with the advantage of timing and terrain.

Li Yifei walked for a while, suddenly stopping to ponder. If they continued forward and encountered Bai Shan, would the two of them stand a chance in a fight?

Judging by strength alone, Li Yifei and Xu Shanshan’s abilities were just decent. But in two thousand years, it wasn’t only Li Yifei and Xu Shanshan who had visited here. The expert who had seen Bai Shan and left the map once departed alive. If Bai Shan was immensely powerful, it also proved that expert was extraordinarily strong.

He shared this thought with Xu Shanshan, who also shook her head, saying, "How about we go back first and rescue those two creatures?"

"Rescuing them seems very difficult... how about we proceed a bit further? It’s already midnight. Let’s find a place to rest and decide tomorrow whether to rescue them first or continue searching for Bai Shan."

"Okay, I’m not very hungry anyway. We can walk a bit further and collect some food along the way."

There were fruits in the forest; they had only seen some rabbits along the way. However, making a fire was cumbersome, so Li Yifei gave up the idea. Using leaves, he gathered some fruits, which he carried with his sword. He and Xu Shanshan then found a large tree, climbed up, and settled into a comfortable spot to rest.

On the next day, Li Yifei and Xu Shanshan returned to the small valley. From a distance, they saw a large monkey leading a group of its kin, standing by the edge, constantly throwing the fruits in its hands below. Initially, they thought the monkey was feeding the two large creatures below, but upon getting closer, they realized it was the opposite. The large monkey and its kin were mocking and taunting.

The giant boar and the white python below raised their bodies, roaring furiously, but helplessly. Even though the giant boar could toss things with its tusks, it couldn’t match the monkeys’ speed.

The large monkey swaggered around triumphantly for over ten minutes before bouncing away. Li Yifei and Xu Shanshan emerged from behind a tree, seeing the giant boar and white python helplessly raising their heads. Upon spotting them, the two creatures immediately perked up and hummed toward them.

"Let me see how to save you!" Li Yifei didn’t know what else to say. Last night, while joking around before sleeping, Xu Shanshan had remarked whether this place was the inspiration for Wu Cheng’en’s "Journey to the West." Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence: a monkey, a pig, and a white horse.

The white python circled and crawled, while the giant boar merely nodded. Li Yifei scanned the surroundings, just about to reveal his plan, when gunshots echoed from the forest where the monkeys resided.

Bam bam bam, continuous gunshots sounded. Li Yifei was all too familiar with this sound and couldn’t mistake it.

But how could there be gunshots in the valley?

Xu Shanshan and Li Yifei’s expressions changed, with the distant gunfire continuously ringing out. The giant boar and white python below still weren’t aware of what was happening.