Chapter 45: Battle Against the Tier 5 Monster!

A pain that pierced straight to the bone, straight to the heart!

Her words truly shook Muxuan’s long-unsettled state of mind, striking his heart like a warning bell. A wave of inexplicable trembling surged within him: "Alright, I will prepare. It might take a little time, though."

"Sigh~" Watching Muxuan walk some distance away to sit and regulate his breathing, Bai Mei could only mutter silently to herself.

At that moment, the gaze Bai Mei cast upon Muxuan was remarkably clear and deeply stirred. She seemed to wish that Muxuan could have been a bit more proactive, or at least not have walked away quite so directly.

Yet Muxuan was truly a dense block of wood; the moment he finished speaking, he distanced himself, leaving one utterly helpless.

About half an hour passed.

The tangled vines covering the entrance of this place!

Suddenly!

With a few rustling sounds, the leaves and branches of the hiding spot swayed slightly.

Muxuan frowned deeply. Thanks to his powerful spiritual sense, he instantly sensed that something was amiss and immediately pulled Bai Mei toward a corner.

"You're hurting me! What's happening?" Bai Mei asked, thoroughly confused.

"Etherealization, illusion realm!"

Muxuan had no time to explain. He hurriedly executed the Three-Heart Illusion Realm to completely etherealize their forms, pulled Bai Mei into his embrace with one arm, and hastily hid in the corner.

At the same time!

A massive head suddenly thrust its way into the dense leafy grove leading in here, followed by ferocious teeth, sharp claw marks, and a gigantic body.

It was the huge brown bear from earlier; it actually hadn't left yet. Its massive body slowly squeezed into the space.

It sniffed around, discovered some medicinal residue, and immediately flew into a rage, continually stamping its feet on the ground with deafening tremors. Rocks from the overhead ceiling loosened and fell, yet the area remained dead silent with not a single sound.

In truth, Muxuan and Bai Mei were crouching in a corner merely ten meters to the right of the giant bear's right foot. Because Muxuan had etherealized both of their auras, the beast could not perceive them.

However, Bai Mei was unaware of this. She struggled violently, desperately wanting Muxuan to take her away quickly.

Terror truly gripped her; her legs were trembling, her hands unsteady, and she kept pointing at the giant brown bear while gesturing frantically to Muxuan.

With no other choice, Muxuan traced two words on her injury: *Safe.*

He possessed immense confidence; even Blue Ice, a cultivator at the ninth level of the Terrestrial Profound Realm, could not pierce through this etherealization technique, let alone this clumsy bear.

Only then did Bai Mei quiet down.

Actually, Bai Mei had not originally feared this giant brown bear, but having experienced its terrifying strength firsthand, seeing it again after having narrowly escaped felt deeply unsettling.

The giant bear possessed remarkable cunning as well. Despite its seemingly lumbering nature, it seemed to sense something amiss, stubbornly lingering here for nearly an hour.

It simply refused to leave. This was the first time Muxuan had suffered such a heavy loss; maintaining the etherealizing illusion consumed a vast amount of his spiritual energy, and cold sweat was now beading on his forehead.

After all, he had sustained this state for a full hour.

This bear was truly no ordinary beast—it was far from clumsy. Yet, its patience finally wore thin, and it eventually turned away, wandering off to search elsewhere.

"Phew..."

Muxuan could finally heave a sigh of relief.

"Your stealth technique is simply too incredible!" Bai Mei could not help but exclaim in admiration. "How did you do that? It must have consumed a tremendous amount of energy just now!"

As Muxuan displayed increasingly bizarre arts—his speed earlier, combined with this stealth technique now—her curiosity grew, and she found him harder and harder to read.

"It's just a minor trick for preserving one's life, nothing special!"

After a short while.

With the giant brown bear gone for good, Muxuan formed a new plan. Having suffered such a bitter loss, he naturally intended to collect his debts.

"This place is only twenty miles away from Luochuan City; I imagine someone will find this location before long." Muxuan instructed Bai Mei to wait here while he planned to make a trip outside.

"You're going... outside? No, it's too dangerous, you shouldn't go." Bai Mei’s clear eyes reflected her concern as she tried to dissuade him, sensing impending danger.

Muxuan's domain could only be sustained for a limited time; once its effectiveness faded, the beast might sense the anomaly and return. But he kept these thoughts to himself. Waiting passively for rescue was no longer an option, so it was better to take a bold gamble. His Three-Heart Illusion Realm was not necessarily inferior to that bear. With a smile, he said, "I'll go and return shortly, don't worry."

However, Muxuan moved too fast for her to keep up, and she gradually fell far behind. Coupled with her prior injuries, her pace was even slower, though she managed to keep to the general direction, moving while taking cover along the way.

Naturally, Muxuan trailed closely behind the giant brown bear, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Based on his observations, this giant brown bear possessed strength at the fifth level of the Terrestrial Profound Realm—one of the reasons Muxuan dared not engage it in a direct head-on collision.

Ferocious beasts inherently possessed greater offensive power than humans, and with such a colossal frame, its attack radius was vast. The range of his Zero Domain was limited and insufficient to completely restrict it.

If only Blue Ice were here; her cultivation would surely be enough to give this bear a thorough beating.

Yet, for now, the bear continued to prowl the vicinity, appearing to sense the lingering auras of Muxuan and Bai Mei without knowing their exact location.

If they dragged this out, his domain wouldn't hold much longer, which was why he intended to force a direct confrontation.

As long as he could gather a sufficiently powerful force of heaven and earth, he could unleash the majestic power of nature to defeat it.

Ahead lay a small stream, where a few small animals had originally been drinking water.

*Clank, clank, clank!*

As the giant brown bear approached the water's edge, the smaller beasts lingering nearby dared not stay and scattered in all directions.

Taking advantage of the moment the giant brown bear lowered its head to drink, Muxuan slowly enveloped it with his illusion art. Gradually, the bear lost consciousness and stood there blankly.

*Just like this.* Muxuan felt a surge of joy, sensing that victory was within reach.

Now, with his strength at the second level of the Spirit Gathering Realm, he had managed to easily draw this fifth-level Terrestrial Profound Realm beast into an illusion.

Thus, he began to slowly wrap the Three-Heart Illusion Realm around the surroundings. Instantly, the landscape took on the appearance of a desolate desert—though this was merely an outward projection; within the bear's own field of vision, the terrain had not changed drastically.

At that moment, the brown bear remained immersed in the joyous hallucination of having already found Muxuan and Bai Mei.

Naturally, it remained completely oblivious to the shifting scenery around it.

About half an hour later, just as the materialized attack of the Three-Heart Illusion Realm was forming, the primordial energy around the giant brown bear suddenly surged violently, its massive frame violently cracking the ground beneath its feet.

*How could this be?!*

*Puff!*

A mouthful of blood spewed from Muxuan's lips.

He had suffered backlash from the brown bear.

The beast had actually broken free from the illusion realm.

He had underestimated it!

Muxuan summoned the Yaoxin Blade into his grip, and countless sword rays darted forward at blinding speed!

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*

Every single blade hurtled toward the giant brown bear.

Yet the hide of this brown bear was simply too thick. Its rock-like physique rendered Muxuan's barrage of attacks entirely ineffective—completely contrary to his expectations.

It didn't even need to counterattack; simply standing motionless was enough to shatter all incoming assaults against its defense.

*It seems beasts and humans truly differ!*

His blade attacks remained more than adequate for dealing with human opponents of higher rank, but against ferocious beasts—especially those of massive proportions shielded by rocky iron armor—they fell terribly short.

Nearly all attacks below its tier struggled to inflict any meaningful damage.

Fortunately, most of these sword blades were currently illusory, with only a handful being genuine; otherwise, all his efforts would have been wasted while draining a massive amount of spiritual energy for nothing.

Muxuan dared not slacken. He channeled the fully condensed power of the Seven-Heart Scripture directly into the sword blade, searching for the opportune moment to unleash a full-strength strike.

Suddenly, the brown bear pinpointed Muxuan's location. With a nimble twist of its massive body, it leaped dozens of meters through the air and brought down a paw, splitting the large boulder standing before Muxuan in two.

"That's way too fast!" Muxuan was startled by the bear's reaction speed. *Why was it able to find this place again?*

He had already etherealized his form!

Yet the bear ignored the etherealized figure and lunged straight for the physical entity.

*Why?!*

Muxuan suddenly recalled something. Not long ago, after Blue Ice had suffered a bitter defeat in front of him, she had casually offered him a piece of advice during dinner.

At the time, Blue Ice had spoken offhandedly, conveying the general idea: *Your illusion realm possesses immense power, but if you ever encounter a ferocious beast comparable to my strength, it's best to flee if possible. Beasts possess an innate sensitivity to blood and body temperature; fighting them will put you at a severe disadvantage.*

At the time, Muxuan hadn't paid it much mind.

Thinking back now, those words held profound truth.

*"Blood and heat!"* No wonder the brown bear had been able to track their hiding place earlier—it must have been because of the blood Bai Mei shed, especially since that area was relatively chilly.

And what about now? It must be because his own body retained warmth, generating a body temperature entirely distinct from the surrounding trees and rocks.

That was how the giant bear had detected him.

*I have it!*

Maintaining his ethereal state, Muxuan quietly slipped into the water.

This way, the chill of the stream would serve to mask his aura and body heat.

Sure enough, the tactic proved effective. Although the giant brown bear lumbered all the way to the edge of the stream, it began casting its gaze about in confusion, no longer able to sense Muxuan's presence.

Originally, everything would have been fine.

Except...

It seemed to sense another presence and whipped its head around.

Muxuan sensed it too—it was Bai Mei; she had also entered the domain.

*"No way! Big Sister, can't you just stay put?!"*

Muxuan felt utterly speechless and plunged into deep despair. A foolproof plan had been nearly ruined by her arrival.

Fortunately, one thing had not been ruined: the materialized attack of the Three-Heart Illusion Realm was already nearing completion.

It was just a hair's breadth away.

Muxuan let out a long sigh. If he ignored her, Bai Mei would die, a fate he refused to watch unfold, forcing him to emerge from the water.

The brown bear snapped its ferocious eyes open, let out a thunderous roar, and charged straight toward Bai Mei.

"Ah?!" Panic seized Bai Mei, robbing her of any notion of what to do. Her already weakened body stumbled frantically, tripping over a stone and crashing to the ground as the situation turned critical.

With a deafening crash, a massive shockwave of explosive force burst outward with abnormal fury, the beast apparently mistaking Bai Mei for the one who had trapped it in the illusion.

Unleashing a fierce, enraged assault right from the start, it tore through the layers of boulders protecting Bai Mei, shredding the thorny vines she had used as cover into pieces.