Chapter Eighteen: Brave Battle Against the Bear Spirit

  The sunlight in the sky, gently sprinkled down, gave a layer of golden light to the dark wings.

  "Ga……" The dark winged creature didn't know whether it was the scorching sun or its own impatience that made it unbearable to continue staring down Mu Shan. It flapped its wings, and a countless number of black mists surged up around it once again, enveloping it completely before flying off in the direction of Tian Yin Village.

  "Hmmph..." Mu Shan let out a sigh, helplessly looking at his own body which only had one pant leg left, and bitterly smiled: "Alright, going back to the village, I'm afraid I'll become someone else's laughing stock again. This stinky duck that came from who-knows-where, next time I meet you, I'll definitely skin and dismember you!"

  "Where's that damned bear gone now?!" Mu Shan looked around and then locked onto a direction, sprinting off quickly.

  The young man hiding in the treetop saw the hook return to Tianyin Village and hesitated for a moment before getting up and tracking in the direction where Mu Shan disappeared.

  "Whoosh...whoosh..." Mu Shan listened to the sound of rushing water coming from ahead, feeling great, and a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "The source of the water is nearby, heh heh, Bear Blindman, where can you run to now?"

  Mu Shan let his hands and feet move lightly, quickly approaching the water source, hiding in a clump of shrubs, gently brushing aside the weeds that blocked his view, sizing up the scene in front of him.

  Ancient trees are dense and shrubs are lush, covering the entire ground. A clear river flows horizontally through the forest, but it's unknown where it leads to.

  A snow-white fox with its whole body white was drinking water by the river, its ears erect and vigilantly guarding against its surroundings.

  "What a lovely little thing, it's perfect for Xiūniáng!" Mu Shan's eyes were completely captivated by the snow-white fur of the little fox, and as soon as he thought of Xiūniáng's reaction when she saw this little fox, his eyes became even more ardent.

  "Boom......" Just as the little fox lowered its head to drink water, a huge boulder fell from the sky and smashed down on top of it.

  The little fox suddenly encountered a change, and with its instincts, it jumped to the side. Who would have thought that the huge boulder crashed onto the ground, splitting into four pieces? Among them was a fist-sized rock that hit the little fox's front leg.

  "Rustle... rustle..." The little fox let out a mournful howl, its remaining three legs struggling at the same time, trying hard to move its body, wanting to find a safe place to hide.

  "What's going on here?" Mu Shan looked around suspiciously, trying to find the culprit who had thrown the stone.

  "Ahh……" A roar of anger, mixed with a hint of human-like mockery and joy, echoed from afar to near.

  "Hush...hush..." From the other side of the river, the clear sound of shrubs and grass being trampled came through.

  A moment later, a huge figure suddenly flew over from the other side of the river.

  "Ursa...!" Muk San's face changed color as he stared at the enormous bear, about 20 feet in length, stretching out its four limbs in mid-air, exuding an intense aura of pressure, and pouncing towards him with a ground-shaking impact.

  That four-zhang-wide small river was like nothing in the eyes of that bear spirit.

  "Boom..." The bear spirit crashed to the ground, and the entire surface seemed to be trembling slightly. In the river, even more water splashed out. As the hunting target of the bear spirit, the little fox was even more unbearable. Its small body was shaken into mid-air, flying backwards and crashing down.

  "Ah......" The bear spirit let out a low growl, and the wide open bloody mouth seemed to be filled with a few hints of human-like mockery.

  The little fox looked at the approaching bear in horror and despair, its three legs jumping back and forth as it made a weak struggle.

  This bear spirit, who knows how long it has survived, is probably not easy to deal with, but...

  Mushan had originally intended to retreat first and find another brown bear that was easier to deal with. However, when he saw the lonely fox, for some reason, a certain string in his heart seemed to be lightly plucked, and in a daze, he seemed to see Xiuniang facing the bear alone.

  "Hmph, just a bear spirit? What's so great about that?"

  Mu Shan's feet stomped the ground, his whole body like a cheetah launching an attack, agile and swift as he ran through the forest, his feet occasionally stomping on thick tree trunks, using the explosive force of his bent knees to accelerate his charge.

  The young man emerged from behind the tree trunk, first glancing at Mu Shan who was reckless with his life, and then gazing at the small fox in the distance that was on the verge of collapse. He said coldly, "That little fox is not simple, it can actually charm people's hearts. It seems that transforming into a human is just one step away. Unfortunately, its Tao is still too shallow, it's useless to me, purely a waste."

  "Hah!" Mu Shan roared, his body shooting forward like an arrow off the string, his momentum like a fierce tiger descending a mountain, as he threw a punch at Xiong Jing's head.

  Xiong Jing was taken aback at first, but then saw Mu Shan suddenly appear and launch an attack. Instinctively, he raised his front paws to block in front of his forehead.

  "Hsss!" The remaining three claws of the bear spirit scraped out three irregular scratches on the ground, and its entire body was pushed back a long distance.

  The little fox in front of him looked at Mu Shan, who had suddenly appeared, with an unbelievable gaze. A glimmer of hope flashed quickly in his eyes, but then rapidly dimmed.

  The bear put down its front paws, and when it touched the ground, it seemed to be in great pain. The corners of its mouth were pulled back, revealing a full set of sharp teeth. Then it glared at Mu Shan with wide eyes, sizing him up cautiously.

  If it were an ordinary brown bear, it would have been done for by now. The big guy in front of us is still vigorous and lively, indeed not to be underestimated.

  Mushan didn't attack head-on, but instead quickly ran around in circles around the bear spirit.

  The bear seemed to have gained a certain degree of wisdom, and did not blindly follow Mu Shan's movements. Instead, it remained extremely calm, standing still in its original position, waiting for Mu Shan to launch an attack and reveal his weakness.

  "Bang bang......" Mu Shan's fists, one after another, hit the thick skin of the bear spirit, although it made the bear spirit bare its teeth and grin, but completely unable to harm his foundation.

  "Roar......" The bear seemed to have had enough of Mu Shan's endless harassment, suddenly raised its head and let out a long roar, then ran towards the river without looking back, apparently wanting to abandon the small fox's prey.

  "You beast, since I've encountered you, don't think about leaving alive." Mu Shan initially treated the bear spirit as a wooden stake to be beaten, planning to slowly wear it out until it was exhausted, and then deliver the fatal blow. Now that he saw the bear spirit trying to flee in defeat, of course, he couldn't just watch as his prey escaped, so he hastily gave chase.

  "Ah..." Just as Mu Shan was about to approach, the bear spirit suddenly stood up straight, turned around smoothly, and swung its massive paw, which was even bigger than a winnowing fan, bringing with it a fierce gust of cold wind, slapping Mu Shan squarely on the head.

  "Sly......" Mu Shan's experience was insufficient, unable to dodge in time, he could only raise his arms, holding them in front of himself, and forcibly took the blow from Xiong Jing, a strike that could split mountains and shatter rocks.

  "Bang……" Mu Shan only felt that his body was as if struck by an iron hammer, and all the bones in his body couldn't help but tremble. His left arm was even more severely scratched by the bear spirit, with deep wounds and blood dripping down.

  Mushan's body shot out like a meteor towards the back, colliding with a sturdy big tree, and then rebounding back, landing on the ground in a miserable and pitiful state.

  "Ah......" The bear spirit looked at Mu Shan, who was lying on the ground unconscious after its full-strength attack, and let out an excited howl. It got down on all fours and quickly ran over, planning to enjoy its spoils of war.