Chapter 22 Fighting Firemane Wolves (Please Follow)

Xu Yan was certain he had encountered a bottleneck, and if he didn't break through this barrier, he would be unable to refine himself into Bone of Jade!

So close to the last step, yet progress was halted.

It seemed as though a barrier blocked his path, and without breaking it, the Bone of Jade would remain out of reach.

However, Xu Yan had no clue how to shatter this barrier.

No matter how he circulated his blood and qi, no matter how tirelessly he refined his bones, it was all in vain.

"Is it that I cannot perceive it? Do I need to relax my mind and perceive the Spirit Spark to break the barrier?"

"But I have a feeling that I need pressure, an internal and external convergence, to break through, but I don't know what kind of pressure I need…"

Xu Yan sank into deep thought.

He decided to seek advice from his master.

At that moment, Li Xuan walked out of the house.

"Disciple, come here!"

Xu Yan's spirits lifted; had his master seen that he reached a bottleneck, was this guidance?

"Master!"

He bowed respectfully.

Li Xuan looked rather stern and said, "Disciple, after you hunted the tiger in the Forest of Malevolence, did you search the entire forest?"

Xu Yan was taken aback and shook his head.

"In the Forest of Malevolence, besides the tiger, there is another ferocious beast. Be cautious, and make sure to deal with it!"

Li Xuan warned gravely.

From what Da Ni's journal described, that beast was no ordinary creature, and it would be dire if it wandered into the village.

It posed a tremendous threat.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yan's eyes brightened, and he thought to himself, "There's another ferocious beast in the Forest of Malevolence? Stronger than the Red-eyed Tiger? I understand now, the master is telling me, the breakthrough lies in the Forest of Malevolence!"

"Fighting the beast, stimulating potential, breaking the barrier, the Bone of Jade must be achieved!"

In that moment, Xu Yan's mind was illuminated, and he suddenly understood what kind of pressure he needed to break the barrier and achieve the Bone of Jade.

The ferocious beast in the Forest of Malevolence was his opportunity!

He nodded excitedly and said, "Master, I understand, I'll handle it now!"

Xu Yan excitedly mounted his horse and headed directly for the Forest of Malevolence.

"Why the rush? I haven't finished speaking."

Li Xuan was somewhat speechless.

How could his naive disciple be so thrilled upon hearing about a ferocious beast in the Forest of Malevolence?

Addicted to hunting?

"With many by my side, the beast shouldn't escape."

Li Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Although, from what Xu Yan had shared, the martial artists from the outside world were not very strong, belonging to a lower martial stratum, it was still feasible to deal with a ferocious beast with numbers on their side.

Since they were low-level martial artists, how strong could the beast possibly be?

…

Xu Yan rode to the Forest of Malevolence and began his search.

As he delved deeper, the trees grew larger and thicker, and as they walked, his horse began to tremble, slowing down and even attempting to retreat.

Xu Yan's spirits were aroused as he circulated the blood and qi around his body, remaining vigilant.

Suddenly!

A deep roar echoed, and from behind a large tree, a fiery form with protruding fangs and a chilling glint charged directly at Xu Yan on the horse's back.

Xu Yan's eyes gleamed. Relying on his robust body, he struck out with a punch.

A claw swiped at him.

Boom!

Xu Yan felt a tremendous force strike him, knocking him from the horse.

The horse, terrified, collapsed and trembled on the ground.

"How is this possible!"

Xu Yan was taken aback.

He was a martial artist who had almost refined his bones to jade, and his strength was beyond imagination.

If he encountered a Red-eyed Tiger at this moment, he could kill it with a casual punch.

Boom!

Xu Yan rolled over and got up from the ground, a fiery red figure once again pounced on him.

"Ah!"

Xu Yan roared, his qi and blood boiling over as he met it head-on.

Bang!

A claw fiercely struck his chest, while Xu Yan also punched, hitting the beast.

Xu Yan staggered back a few steps, feeling pain in his chest.

The beast, too, was forced back two steps by the punch.

At that moment, Xu Yan focused his gaze and saw the beast covered in fiery red, especially the ring of mane around its neck, red as fire, resembling a blazing flame.

A wolf's head, blue eyes, two fangs that were a foot long shining coldly, and its hindquarters were surprisingly smaller than its forequarters, but its hind legs were extremely robust.

Its forelimbs were like tiger paws, its sharp claws revealed, resembling small daggers.

The creature was half again as big as a Red-eyed Tiger, standing there with a fierce air, and those green eyes gave off a chilling and aggressive feeling.

Being stared at by these eyes made one involuntarily shiver.

At that moment, those green eyes were staring intently at Xu Yan.

It sensed a powerful blood energy from this human, triggering its bloodlust.

"Fire Mane Wolf?!"

Xu Yan's heart tightened,—the appearance of the beast was exactly like the Fire Mane Wolf he had read about in an ancient tale.

It was said that the Fire Mane Wolf was incredibly powerful, had once rampaged through a city causing countless deaths and injuries, and had retreated safely even when pursued by elite forces!

He had never imagined that there would be a Fire Mane Wolf in the Evil Spirit Forest!

"Who says tales are all lies? Even the Fire Mane Wolf has appeared!"

Xu Yan was thrilled, his qi and blood circulating, his entire being stirred up.

The Fire Mane Wolf, a beast from the legends.

Many had read the tales about the Fire Mane Wolf, but no one took them seriously. How could a single beast rampage through a city and then safely retreat under the siege of an army?

That's ridiculous!

Xu Yan believed it; from their earlier exchange, the strength of the Fire Mane Wolf was enough for it to retreat from an army's siege.

Its powerful body, agile speed, immense strength.

Even he felt some pressure, which showed the power of the Fire Mane Wolf.

"This is my chance for a breakthrough!"

Xu Yan believed the Fire Mane Wolf was his opportunity to refine his bones into jade, to fight the Fire Mane Wolf, and to break through under pressure.

"Come, today, I, Xu Yan, will refine my bones into jade with the life of you, Fire Mane Wolf!"

Xu Yan roared, his qi and blood boiling, a delicate jadelike sheen even appeared on his body as he charged forward.

Roar!

The Fire Mane Wolf roared fiercely and lunged forward; its paws struck, its giant mouth opened, its fangs dripping with saliva as it viciously tried to bite Xu Yan.

Xu Yan swiftly grabbed the Fire Mane Wolf's paws, and before it could bite him, he fiercely kicked the beast, sending it flying and crashing to the ground.

He immediately rushed forward and began to punch.

The Fire Mane Wolf roared, its eyes turning blood red, a tyrannical aura spreading; the fiery red mane now fluttering as if ablaze with flames.

It lunged at Xu Yan again.

Boom!

Xu Yan was sent flying, shocked at how hot the Fire Mane Wolf's body had become.

The Fire Mane Wolf pounced down.

Man and beast clashed fiercely.

Xu Yan roared and repelled the Fire Mane Wolf, lunging again, gripping its paws, and pinning it to the ground.

But the Fire Mane Wolf's hind legs kicked wildly, each blow immensely powerful, kicking Xu Yan so hard that his qi and blood vibrated, and pain stimulated his nerves.

"Die!"

Boom!

Xu Yan exerted all his strength to hurl the Fire Mane Wolf away, his qi and blood boiling over. At that moment, Xu Yan was enveloped in steaming vapor, his skin turning red.