Chapter Thirty-Six: The Split-Toothed Bear

  The days have returned to calmness, and in the blink of an eye, another half month has passed.

  Behind the main hall, on a secluded mountain peak, the sky was dark and gloomy with thick clouds, thunder rumbled from time to time, and dazzling lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the surroundings in a brilliant white light.

  A young man with a resolute face is practicing at the top of the mountain, seeing him move like a cunning rabbit and surge like a fierce tiger. His feet are as if they have stepped on floating clouds, instantly sliding out for several meters, yet in the midst of rapid movement, he suddenly makes sharp turns and changes direction, appearing extremely agile and nimble.

  What's even more noteworthy, however, are his hands. As a series of intricate and complex movements come to an end, the youth's hands interlock with each other, suddenly forming a seal in front of him.

  As soon as the seal was formed, a bright color burst out, and it seemed that there was a faint electric light emanating from the boy's hand, making it impossible for people to look directly at it. Moreover, a heart-pounding aura burst forth.

  The young man didn't stop for a moment, but kept adding seals one after another. His hands danced out with residual shadows that were clearly visible even in the dark.

  As the power of Yin and Yang surged upwards, the young man's arm trembled slightly, his face covered in sweat, revealing a strained expression.

  Rumble!

  Suddenly, a massive thunderbolt fell from the dark clouds, instantly illuminating half of the sky. The deafening crash almost made all living things tremble with fear.

  That is the power of nature, compared with which human strength is as insignificant as an ant.

  With the flash of lightning, the seal in the young man's hand also became incredibly bright, as if holding a transparent and shining electric sphere, looking extraordinary and even more so with that bolt of lightning, seemingly merging seamlessly.

  The young man shook his arms and instantly released a seal, striking a nearby boulder that was half the height of a person.

  Bang!

  The hard boulder suddenly split into four or five pieces, turning into countless small stones flying out, and there was also a faint smoke rising, as if it had been burned by high-temperature flames.

  Wow! A torrential downpour poured down, and the mountains were instantly shrouded in a misty rain.

  Looking at the giant stone that was crushed by himself, a look of surprise and joy appeared on the young man's face.

  It seems that cultivating the Thunder Seal Technique between thunderclaps is indeed effective, and I've only grasped a hint of the Thunder's intent. With just a small test, it has such power, which is far stronger than the Fourth Heavenly Layer. I'm afraid even the Fifth Heavenly Layer may not be able to compare, but I wonder if I can fight against the Sixth Heavenly Layer. The young man thought with an air of pride and ambition.

  This young man was naturally Xia Chen.

  For the past half month, Xia Chen had been diligently practicing the Thunderbolt Seal. Although he had the guidance of the mysterious aura of the Aggregating Treasure Basin during his usual practice, he always felt like something was missing and his progress wasn't very obvious.

  With a sudden burst of inspiration, Xia Chen rushed to the back mountain of Zhengyuan, specifically waiting for the rainy weather to cultivate again. The effect was indeed very good, and at the summit, he had a close-up experience of the power of thunder, and Xia Chen also gained a deeper understanding of the subtleties of the Thunder Seal Technique.

  His cultivation was still at the peak of the fourth stage of the acquired realm, and he had not broken through to the fifth stage of the acquired realm. This was not because Xia Chen did not want to break through, but rather that he was suppressing his own cultivation. Xia Chen wanted to make his kung fu more pure, and his understanding even deeper, so that after breaking through, his future cultivation would be easier.

  The deeper and more stable the foundation is, the stronger the future's power will be.

  Raindrops pattered against Xia Chen's body and face, immediately vaporizing into a rising mist. Xia Chen pulled out a Yuanqi Pill from his storage space, swallowed it without looking, and replenished the energy he had consumed during his earlier cultivation.

  Yuánqì Dān is the most basic of elixirs, but even for disciples below the fifth rank of the mundane world, it's still quite rare. Only Xià Chén dares to treat Yuánqì Dān as if it were food.

  "Tang's senior left me this set of divine art, I only grasped a thread of the Thunder Seal, and I already possess such power. If I were to cultivate the entire set of divine art, what kind of power would it bring? It's truly something to look forward to." Xia Chen thought to himself as he walked down the mountain.

  He didn't know the mysterious woman's name, but there was a Tang character engraved on the jade pendant, so he took the mysterious woman as being surnamed Tang.

  A moment later, the rain stopped abruptly, it came quickly and went quickly as well.

  Xia Chen passed by the back mountain cave of Lian Dan and stopped in his tracks, walking inside.

  Although he knew the mysterious woman had long left, Xia Chen still couldn't help but stop and gaze every time he passed by. If it weren't for the mysterious woman teaching him alchemy and imparting her divine techniques to him, perhaps he wouldn't have been able to break through the Fourth Layer of the Acquired Realm yet.

  Moreover, in the depths of his heart, Xia Chen had an inexplicable feeling towards the mysterious woman. He didn't simply regard her as a respected senior or feel grateful for her teachings; it seemed he had other emotions as well.

  The Great Tang Dynasty... Xia Chen held the mysterious woman's jade pendant, slightly pensive. His understanding of this strange world was still limited to the Daliang Kingdom, and as for what lay beyond it, he had no idea at all.

  Roar!

  Suddenly, a low and muffled roar came from outside the cave, although it was suppressed to an extremely low level, but it couldn't hide the violent intent in the sound.

  Xia Chen was startled and looked out of the cave, only to see eight green eyes staring at him with bloodthirsty gazes.

  Behind the bloodthirsty gaze, there was a massive body of nearly ten feet tall, standing upright like a bear dog. The huge furry head, the ferocious face, and the large bloody mouth with sharp teeth protruding out like elephant tusks, under the dark sky, flashing a chilling cold light that made one's heart palpitate.

  Monster! Crack-toothed bear! Xia Chen was shocked!

  As a cultivator, Xia Chen had long known that this world had all kinds of ferocious beasts. The rift-toothed bear was born with a cruel nature, bloodthirsty and murderous, and it was one of the most common ferocious beasts!

  However, monsters are generally in desolate mountains or forests and will not appear in places with dense human populations.

  Although the back mountain is remote, it is extremely close to the Zhengyuan Gate. How could there be a demon beast? Moreover, he had been to the back mountain for cultivation many times and had never found any traces of demon beasts. Where did these few rift bears come from?

  Xia Chen's heart was pounding, fully alert and not daring to move. Most demon beasts were extremely powerful, even the most ordinary adult demon beast had strength comparable to a divine realm cultivator. A mortal cultivator would surely die if they encountered one.

  However, these four fissured bears did not have the kind of powerful oppression that a divine cultivator would have, and their bodies were much smaller. They should be young fissured bears, but even if they were young, they were not something Xia Chen could afford to provoke.

  Those four split-toothed bears stared coldly at Xia Chen, occasionally letting out low growls, but did not charge into the cave.

  Suddenly, a giant bear with the largest body size stretched out its sharp claws and waved at Xia Chen.

  Xia Chen was stunned. Although the demon beast couldn't speak, its spiritual intelligence was almost close to that of a human. Looking at the meaning of the cracked-toothed bear, it seemed to be summoning him out?

  What's calling you out for? Xia Chen's heart tightened, anyway, no one would invite himself to eat and drink, where did he dare to move.

  The summer dust didn't move, the cracked tooth bear's green eyes chilled, and it swung its claws at Xia Chen again. The other three cracked tooth bears let out a low growl in unison, taking a few steps closer to the cave entrance, full of menacing intent.

  It seems that if Xia Chen doesn't come out, these four rift bears will have to force their way into the cave.

  Xia Chen's face changed, and he had to grit his teeth and walk out of the cave with caution. Being captured was not his style, but the interior of the cave was narrow, and if the bear were to rush in, there would be no room for maneuvering.

  As soon as he walked out, four split-toothed bears formed a lightning-fast formation in the front, back, left and right positions, surrounding him in the middle.

  Xia Chen placed his hand on his abdomen, ready to risk his life at any moment. He didn't know what level of cultivation these few rift-toothed bears were equivalent to, but even if it meant death, Xia Chen was determined to take these beasts down with him.

  Unexpectedly, the four split-toothed bears did not pounce on him, but instead stared at him tightly. The leading bear looked at Xia Chen with a cold gaze, suddenly pointed with its paw, then tilted its head and turned its massive body, indicating that Xia Chen should follow it.

  Xia Chen was stunned, and immediately behind him came the low growls of two saber-toothed tigers, forcing him to follow the lead saber-toothed tiger.

  Xia Chen's heart skipped a beat. The direction that the leading bear with the split teeth was pointing at, was exactly the deep part of the back mountain, which was completely in the opposite direction of the Zhengxuan Sect.

  Although I don't know what these split-toothed bears want to do, just by looking at their ferocious eyes, I can tell it won't be anything good. Following these demonic beasts is no better than making a desperate move now.

  Xia Chen turned around, pretending to follow the lead bear for a few steps, secretly accumulating strength. Suddenly, he burst out to the right and then turned back, dashing towards the Zhengyuan Sect with all his might.

  Suddenly, a loud roar of rage echoed from behind, like the sound of cracking teeth and a bear's furious bellow.

  A gust of nauseating stench suddenly came from behind Xia Chen, and with a fierce howl, it swept past. In the corner of his eye, Xia Chen only saw a flash of cold light, a giant claw of a split-toothed bear, was swiftly and mercilessly swiping towards him.

  Xia Chen let out a loud whoop, his hands instantly completing a series of complex movements, his true energy surging out and condensing into a shimmering seal behind him.

  Lightning Seal!

  Bang! The Thunder Seal and the Giant Claw of the Split-Toothed Bear collided fiercely, producing a muffled thunder-like sound.

  The lightning seal shattered in an instant, but that terrifying giant claw was also repelled by the power of the lightning seal.

  Xia Chen only felt a surge of overwhelming force, his vision went black, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. His body flew forward uncontrollably.

  The power of this cracked-toothed bear is in no way inferior to the sevenfold heavenly thunder! If it weren't for Xia Chen's half-month of bitter cultivation of the Thunderbolt Seal, his technique would be unknown how many times stronger than before, and with this one blow he would have been severely injured and fallen to the ground.

  Xia Chen directly stuffed a Yuanqi Dan into his mouth in mid-air, stumbling to the ground. Under full balance, he surprisingly didn't fall over, and his footsteps didn't even stop for a moment, instead speeding up towards the Zhengyuan Sect.

  As long as you rush to the edge of the door faction's territory, there is hope for survival.

  But Xia Chen's heart sank immediately.

  Two enormous, upright figures, like black lightning, passed by Xia Chen's sides at an unbelievable speed, blocking his path. The two bears' eyes gleamed with ferocity as they swung their massive paws and slashed down at Xia Chen with a fierce blow.