Yang Bin stood up and looked around. The scent was very faint, so faint he wasn't sure if he was imagining it. Standing still, he took a couple deep breaths.
No, it's definitely there. It seems to be coming from deeper within the forest. Yang Bin thought, looking at the direction the wind was blowing from. He was curious and wanted to check it out, but he was also concerned about his safety.
I will just go take a peek. This area isn't too far from home. If anything bad happens I could always just run back. Thinking of this, he decided to enter the forest.
Activating Mystic Pupils and Phantom Tracks, Yang Bin swiftly and silently ran into the forest. He could feel his heart pounding louder and louder, as he went deeper. Weaving through the trees and branches, the scent became stronger. After running for about two minutes, he paused.
The scent of blood is very evident here. Whatever it is, it's probably close by. Tense and nervous, Yang Bin gently pushed aside a branch, careful to be as quiet as possible. He deactivated Phantom Tracks and began to creep up slowly.
By now he has reached a place that he wasn't familiar with. The trees were huge: about 15 meters tall and about a meter thick. Their giant leaves blocked out most of the sunlight, making the place rather dark and chilling. There were no sounds of birds chirping, only faint buzzes of insects.
Unfamiliar, I've probably only been here once or twice. If I don't find anything soon, I'll be going into unknown territory. Yang Bin thought, as he crept up a few more steps. Noticing something in the corner of his eye, he stopped.
There's blood on the ground! Crouching down, Yang Bin carefully studied the mossy soil around him. It was speckled with blood, tree bark, and paw prints. The paw prints weren't very deep, and judging by the shape, Yang Bin determined that they were caused by a wolf.
Seeing this, Yang Bin became scared and decided that it was better for him to stop and not venture further. Right as he stood up and turned around, he heard something: a very quiet sound of chewing. Yang Bin's heart leaped in his chest, and he froze.
The sound of chewing continued unabated. Realizing that his presence hadn't been discovered, Yang Bin slowly turned his head towards the direction of that sound.
Ahead of him were some scattered branches. Through the gaps of the leaves, he could see a wolf bowing its head and eating something. Its gray fur was heavily stained with blood, and there were a couple shallow wounds on its body.
With shallow breaths, Yang Bin carefully observed the animal. Because of Mystic Pupils, he was able to study the wolf without the wolf noticing him. In his mind, he tried to recall everything he knew about this demon beast.
It looks like a common wolf beast at the advanced stage of first rank. An advanced first rank demon beast is equivalent to a 9th rank body tempering cultivator. Not only that, their bodies are usually very tough and strong, giving them an edge over regular cultivators of the same rank. Even though this wolf beast is injured, it's still not something I can take on. Yang Bin thought.
As if feeling a presence, the wolf stopped what it was doing. He looked up and sniffed the air.
Yang Bin's heart leaped, and he immediately stopped Mystic Pupil and held his breath. Fortunately, the wind was blowing at him, thus the wolf didn't catch his scent.
After a few more sniffs, the wolf slowly lowered his head back to what it was doing, but it still remained vigilant, as shown by its straightened ears.
Shaken, Yang Bin slowly and silently let out his breath. He started to step back very very slowly, his eyes glued on the wolf. Sadly, his luck ran out and retreating wasn't so easy. After taking two slow steps back, he stepped on a tree bark.
"Crack!" A very soft crack resounded. Even though it was nearly inaudible, the silence of the forest seemed to amplify the sound.
Immediately, the wolf snapped its head up and looked in Yang Bin's direction. This time it spotted him. Baring its teeth, the wolf ran at him.
"Not good!" Seeing that he had been discovered, Yang Bin scrambled to his feet. He turned and spirited away at his fastest speeds.
Faster, faster! Yang Bin yelled in his mind; his heart was beating wildly. Weaving through the trees, Yang Bin tried to escape the way he came in, but the wolf was relentless and was slowly gaining on him.
The distance of 30 meters was slowly shortened to 20, then 10. After running for less than a half minute, the wolf was only 5 meters away, but the exit was still too far away. Terror began to grip Yang Bin.
Realizing that he couldn't run from it, Yang Bin forced himself to calm down. After thinking for a second, he decided to try and fight it. Preemptively activating Iron Palms, Yang Bin came to a halt and turned around.
The wolf, seeing its prey no longer attempting to escape, howled gleefully. It brandished its claws and launched itself at Yang Bin.
Watching the wolf rapidly enlarge his eyes, Yang Bin felt fear again. In a panic, he hurriedly raised his palm to meet its paw. The moment it connected, Yang Bin realized he made a horrible mistake.
"Ahh!" Yang Bin cried. His arm bucked from the clash. Just by feeling the piercing pain, he knew that his hand was bleeding. All thoughts of fighting were washed away.
Too strong! I can't fight it! Yang Bin thought. Enduring the pain, Yang Bin used the impact to keep escaping.
The wolf, being pushed back a step, quickly recovered. Barking, it continued to pursue Yang Bin.
Feeling the wolf about to pounce on him, Yang Bin turned left and threw off the wolf, but the wolf was very persistent and didn't give up, thus a zig zag race began. With each passing second, Yang Bin's qi continued to deplete, and death seemed to be drawing closer. Just as he was about to fall into despair, a cool feeling suddenly emerged in his head. Suddenly, he regained his clarity. His eyes, enhanced by the Mystic Pupils, became bright yellow.
Even though he was surprised by this phenomenon, Yang Bin didn't ponder upon it, immediately thinking of ways to escape this predicament. My stamina is running low. If I continue running, I might die without even having a chance to fight back. With this thought in mind, Yang Bin dodged another attack and faced the wolf, determined to face it.
He silently urged his meridians to work faster, recovering his depleted stamina. In this instant, Yang Bin utilized almost every technique he had: Mystic Pupils, Iron Palms, and Extreme Piercing Finger.
Not realizing the change in Yang Bin, the wolf continued to attack him.
Remembering his past mistake, Yang Bin didn't directly clash with it. Instead he hurriedly jumped aside. Before the wolf could turn around, he launched his own attack.
With Extreme Piercing Finger and Iron Palms active, Yang Bin stabbed the side of the wolf with his finger.
There was an effect. The wolf howled loudly and swiped its claws at him.
Yang Bin hurriedly jumped back and studied the damage. Aside from some missing fur from the spot, nothing else was different.
Seeing this, Yang Bin grimaced. It isn't very agile, but I can't hurt it through its thick fur!
This was to be expected, as the wolf beast was 4 ranks stronger than him. Though it was injured, the fur remained strong.
Enraged by the pain, the wolf launched itself at Yang Bin at a speed much faster than before.
Surprised, Yang Bin turned his body and fell back, causing it to fly right past him. As the wolf passed him, Yang Bin's eyes widened.
The neck and belly! These parts don't have any fur. Yang Bin thought. But how will I force the wolf to expose these weaknesses?
As Yang Bin scrambled to his feet, he quickly started devising a plan. He glanced at the wolf that was approaching him much more cautiously than before. After the previous exchange, the wolf was no longer so eager to attack.
With a determined gaze, Yang Bin activated Phantom Tracks and charged at the wolf. In response, the wolf dashed forwards as well.
A fight broke out with the two constantly attacking and dodging. The wolf was fast, but Yang Bin was elusive. As the battle continued, Yang Bin was slowly getting an advantage, landing more attacks than the wolf, but at this rate, Yang Bin's qi reserve would be depleted before the wolf was defeated. Still, he fought on.
After being struck a fourth time, this time near the eye, the wolf let out an enraged bark and began to transform. Its fur stood up, and its eyes became red.
Watching its transformation, Yang Bin gave a small grin.
"Took you long enough."