Yan Luo felt that the challenge of ascending the peak was tailor-made for her.
Although the piercing cold and biting wind were harsh here, her Pure Yang Body naturally possessed strong resistance to the cold.
Added to that, the condensed essence of the Sun Fire within her required only a small amount of spiritual power to keep the bone-chilling cold at bay.
Still, it was fortunate that recently, with Yuyang’s help, she had learned the Flame Control Technique, allowing her to mobilize the Sun Fire more precisely.
Otherwise, even with her constitution, she wouldn’t be able to walk so leisurely here.
‘At my current pace, first place is definitely mine.’
Yan Luo secretly thought smugly.
However, the girl quickly reconsidered.
That might not be the case.
If Yuyang were also here, he could probably walk even faster than she could.
Thinking of Chen Yuyang, Yan Luo felt as if the Sun Fire within her burned a little hotter.
‘Would Yuyang have seen the same stone tablet pointing to the peak and be heading this way?’
If so, then the chances of them meeting were not small.
At this thought, Yan Luo couldn’t help but feel a bit of anticipation.
Night deepened, but the wind and snow grew fiercer.
The cold became more biting, and the mountain path grew steeper.
Yan Luo sensed that her spiritual power was already more than half depleted, and she felt a bit weary.
Looking up, she saw, not far ahead on the cliff wall, a naturally formed cave entrance.
It was mostly covered by snow, and she couldn’t see inside, only a pitch-black void.
‘Perfect. I’ll go in and rest, recover my spiritual power.’
….
Yan Luo thought to herself and quickened her pace toward the cave.
Brushing aside the snow at the entrance, she bent down and stepped inside.
But before she could see the cave’s interior, a foul, rancid smell hit her face.
Immediately after, a huge claw covered in long white fur, carrying a gale that seemed to tear the air, slammed straight toward Yan Luo!
“Not good!”
Yan Luo’s heart jolted violently.
Without time to think, instinct made her cross her arms in front of her chest.
Bang!
With a dull, heavy sound, Yan Luo felt a tremendous force come from her arms, as if she had been hit by a small mountain.
The girl flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the snow outside the cave, leaving a trail.
At the moment of impact, Yan Luo heard a cracking sound.
An excruciating pain shot through her right arm, which had been blocking the blow.
The bone in her arm had snapped cleanly from that powerful strike.
Her internal organs were also jolted by the impact.
Opening her mouth, Yan Luo spat out a mouthful of blood, dyeing the snow in front of her red.
Roar—
From inside the cave came an earth-shattering roar.
Then, Yan Luo saw a giant ape, two zhang tall, covered in thick white fur with a crimson face, charge out.
Its blood-red eyes stared fixedly at the fallen Yan Luo.
This was unmistakably a Fiend Beast at the Nascent Soul stage.
Yan Luo’s pupils dilated slightly.
….
‘Damn, I was too careless!’
‘I never thought such a powerful beast would be hiding here!’
Seeing that its strike hadn’t killed her, the white-furred giant ape let out another low roar, and using all four of its thick limbs, it charged straight at Yan Luo.
Its large hand, with hooked claws, swung again at Yan Luo’s body.
The wind it stirred up flung the surrounding snow into the air.
Yan Luo dared not take it head-on.
She rolled to the side, not very gracefully, barely avoiding the ape’s heavy, powerful blow.
The ape’s claws landed on the ground where she had just been, instantly smashing a huge crater and raising a cloud of snow dust.
Yan Luo quickly circulated her spiritual power and stood up.
But the pain from the broken bone in her right arm, combined with the shock to her internal organs, made her movements noticeably slower than usual.
Her broken arm couldn’t hold a sword.
Yan Luo could only grit her teeth and struggle to control the Sun Fire.
The Sun Fire gathered in her palm, forming a crimson ribbon of flame that shot toward the giant ape.
Feeling the extraordinary heat, the ape became wary.
Its blood-red eyes narrowed slightly, and its forward charge slowed.
It swung its thick arm, trying to disperse the flame ribbon heading for it.
However, even when scattered, the Sun Fire quickly burned the ape’s fur and flesh, causing it to cry out in pain and stop its pursuit.
Taking advantage of this, Yan Luo bit her lower lip and quickly retreated, trying to put distance between herself and the ape.
But the ape was not willing to give up so easily.
It let out a low growl and its massive form chased after her quickly.
Yan Luo’s heart tightened.
Once again, she manipulated the Sun Fire to weave in front of her, forming a huge net of flames.
…..
Seeing this, the ape stopped again.
This time, it dared not touch the fire net easily.
It only kept roaring, its blood-red eyes fixed on Yan Luo, but it showed no intention of retreating.
Yan Luo’s heart sank.
She could tell that although this ape was ferocious, it was not stupid.
On the contrary, it had considerable intelligence.
It knew she was injured and bleeding, and her spiritual power was quickly depleting.
If it just prolonged the fight, she would inevitably lose without a direct confrontation.
She glanced down at her right arm, still oozing blood.
The blood had already soaked her entire sleeve.
The damage to her internal organs made the flow of her spiritual power difficult.
Yan Luo knew she had to find a way to escape or find a chance to counterattack quickly; otherwise, defeat was only a matter of time.
But even if Yan Luo wanted to risk everything and go all out, that giant ape seemed determined not to attack proactively.
It kept a relatively far distance, refusing to come close easily.
Like a hunter, it waited for its prey to exhaust its last bit of strength.
When Yan Luo retreated, the ape followed.
When she tried to counterattack, the ape backed off.
Cold sweat formed at her temples.
Yan Luo could clearly feel her spiritual power draining away rapidly.
Her body gradually grew cold, and even the pain had gone numb.
Her consciousness was slowly fading.
At this moment, she had absolutely no control.
The ape’s blood-red eyes gleamed with mockery.
Now, it seemed to be enjoying the cat-and-mouse game, waiting for the moment Yan Luo completely lost the ability to resist.
Yan Luo’s breathing grew more labored.
Darkness crept into her vision.
She knew she might not be able to hold on much longer.
….
To be eliminated like this… because of a moment of carelessness?
Yan Luo was unwilling.
She hadn’t reached the summit yet, and she hadn’t seen Yuyang again…
‘If Yuyang knew I was defeated so easily by a mere Fiend Beast, he would surely be very disappointed in me.’
‘Damn it… what should I do… what can I do?’
Finally, Yan Luo’s body went limp, as if she could no longer support herself.
She collapsed straight forward, falling face-first into the cold snow.
The girl’s eyes were tightly shut.
She didn’t move.
In that moment, she was completely still.
The giant ape’s blood-red eyes stared intently at the fallen Yan Luo.
It observed for a moment, then let out a low growl from its throat.
After a while, seeing Yan Luo still motionless, the ape stepped forward.
It extended a claw, intending to poke at the girl to see if she was truly dead.
‘Now!’
Just as the ape’s claw was about to touch the girl’s body, Yan Luo’s eyes flew open.
The dim eyes that had been there now blazed with an astonishing light.
Yan Luo held nothing back.
She exploded with all the spiritual power remaining in her body.
The source of the Sun Fire surged violently, condensing quickly in front of her into a tightly focused beam of orange-red flame.
At the core of the flame, a faint blue glow flickered, radiating a searing heat that made one’s heart tremble.
The giant ape was startled by this sudden change.
Its eyes widened in shock.
…..
It wanted to retreat and dodge, but the distance between them was too close, far too close for it to make an effective evasive move.
The highly concentrated Sun Fire shot out like a bolt, striking the giant ape precisely in the chest.
Boom….
A deafening explosion followed!
The ape’s massive body was hit directly, and the point of impact triggered a violent explosion.
Flames, mixed with flesh and shattered bones, splattered everywhere.
A thick smell of burning filled the air.
The ape let out a piercing shriek.
Its huge body toppled backward heavily, kicking up a cloud of snow that obscured its fall.
Yan Luo’s chest heaved violently.
That attack had drained all her spiritual power.
Now, she couldn’t even stand up.
She used her left arm to prop herself up, sitting in the snow, her gaze fixed on the fallen ape, her heart pounding with anxiety.
That had been everything she had—her all-out blow.
Had it succeeded?
But reality said no.
With another roar, the giant ape, its chest blasted into a massive bloody hole, slowly climbed up from the snow!
Its blood-red eyes were now filled with brutality and madness.
Having survived in this Hanpo Snowfield, the ape’s physical body was unimaginably tough.
If Yan Luo had been in her prime, that blow might have seriously wounded or even killed it.
But now, with her spiritual power already low and her body severely injured, that single all-out strike had only injured it, far from fatal.
….
Yan Luo’s heart sank like a stone.
The last flicker of hope died out at that moment.
Now the giant ape was thoroughly enraged.
It charged at Yan Luo without any hesitation, swinging both massive claws to crush her completely!
‘It’s over!’
Yan Luo’s pupils dilated rapidly.
In them, the huge claws reflected, growing infinitely larger.
The girl closed her eyes.
She thought she would be teleported out of the secret realm in the next instant.
Because this blow would surely kill her.
As the Eldest Miss of the Yan Family, to lose so disgracefully… it really embarrassed her.
However.
The wind and snow still howled.
She was still on the snowy mountain, in the icy wind.
Yan Luo opened her eyes in surprise.
In front of her.
Stood an upright silhouette.
The newcomer was not burly, but standing there, he was as steady as a rooted pine. He held a long sword, still sheathed.
But that unsheathed sword, held horizontally, firmly blocked the giant ape’s two huge claws.
….
It was…
The girl’s pupils widened.
“Yuyang…”
A soft, weak cry escaped her lips.
The next moment, she closed her eyes and completely lost consciousness.
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