As Chen Lingang and the other two's shocked voices fell, Lin Chu's mind stirred, his gaze locked onto the charging beast.
A beast, over six meters long, also fixed its gaze on the four of them. Its peripheral vision, however, drifted slightly towards the two-headed lion that Su Jinlong and the others had slain. It was clear that this fourth-tier rhinoceros beast was heading for the two-headed lion.
Lin Chu glanced at it. The rhinoceros beast was the size of a wild ox, but its front half was exceptionally broad. Its massive head bore a pair of slightly protruding, curved horns.
"So this is a fourth-tier rhinoceros beast," Lin Chu mused silently, his spiritual energy instantly circulating throughout his body. If it wanted to steal the spoils, it would have to prove its worth!
"Senior Brother Lin Chu, be careful!"
Seeing Lin Chu move and immediately launch an attack, Chen Lingang shouted loudly.
At this moment, the rhinoceros beast, seeing Lin Chu dare to initiate the attack first, roared and stomped the ground, a powerful tremor rippling outwards. Then, the rhinoceros beast lowered its massive head and charged ferociously towards Lin Chu.
"Po Kong Quan!"
Lin Chu channeled all his strength into his left arm and punched hard at the rhinoceros beast.
*Bang!*
As Lin Chu punched, he felt a tremendous rebound shock through his fingers, accompanied by a slight, numbing pain.
"Such solid defense!" Lin Chu retreated dozens of meters, using the rebound force. His eyes clearly held a trace of shock. Even a second-tier beast would struggle to withstand a single punch from him. To think that this fourth-tier rhinoceros beast reacted not at all.
"Again!"
Despite the rhinoceros beast's astonishing defense, Lin Chu felt no fear. The fighting spirit in his eyes blazed even brighter. With a thought, the Meteor Saint Slash cultivation technique began to circulate instantly.
"Meteor Saint Slash!"
Driving his internal spiritual energy, Lin Chu's aura surged considerably. The rhinoceros beast, after Lin Chu's punch, had only paused for a few breaths before charging fiercely again.
*Boom!*
This attack was clearly more powerful than Po Kong Quan. The rhinoceros beast was forcefully stopped in its tracks. The gaze it turned towards Lin Chu grew even more ferocious.
*Roar!*
The rhinoceros beast roared to the sky, its front paws continuing to strike the ground, clearly preparing for an even more violent charge.
"It's not even injured?" Seeing that his Meteor Saint Slash had only managed to halt the rhinoceros beast's advance and caused no other effect, a flicker of surprise crossed Lin Chu's eyes. His expression turned serious, and he floated upwards, the surrounding spiritual energy gathering towards him incessantly.
"Sheng Tian Lei Zhan!"
Channelling his internal spiritual energy and combining it with the gathered surrounding spiritual energy, a sphere rapidly condensed in Lin Chu's hand. With a powerful push, the sphere shot towards the rhinoceros beast with a whoosh.
*Rumble!*
The sphere struck the rhinoceros beast's body. Dust and sand flew everywhere. The rhinoceros beast's silhouette vanished within the swirling dust.
"Senior Brother Jinlong, this rhinoceros beast's defense is too strong! Senior Brother Lin Chu's attacks are doing no damage at all!" Chen Lingang exclaimed in shock, watching the scene.
"The rhinoceros beast is renowned for its formidable defense among fourth-tier beasts. If Senior Brother Lin Chu cannot break through its defense, I fear we might have to retreat," Su Jinlong replied with some helplessness. His spiritual energy remained circulating, clearly ready to intervene at any moment.
"I wonder if Senior Brother Lin Chu's strike hit the rhinoceros beast," Chen Desheng also chimed in.
*Roar!*
As Chen Desheng finished speaking, the rhinoceros beast's roar echoed again. The three of them immediately looked over. As the dust and debris gradually settled, the rhinoceros beast's body slowly reappeared in their sight.
On the rhinoceros beast's head, a bright red wound was clearly visible. It was evident that Lin Chu's strike had hit, causing some injury.
"It hit!" Chen Desheng became excited.
"Not good! The rhinoceros beast is going berserk!" Su Jinlong's eyes widened in alarm as he saw the ferocious light erupting in the rhinoceros beast's eyes and the immense beastly aura emanating from its body. His spiritual energy began to circulate rapidly.
"Is it going berserk?" Lin Chu, too, recognized the rhinoceros beast's state. With a thought, his internal spiritual energy began to circulate again. xxs壹贰
In moments, the rhinoceros beast locked onto Lin Chu. It was clearly enraged by the injury Lin Chu had inflicted. With rumbling sounds, the rhinoceros beast dashed towards Lin Chu with incredible speed.
"Piao Ling Sheng Bao!"
Seeing this, Lin Chu didn't hesitate. He activated the Tian Zun Heart Sutra, quickly forming hand seals. His internal spiritual energy surged out of his body.
*Bang!*
As spiritual light danced in the air, the rhinoceros beast was less than ten meters away from Lin Chu. Just as Lin Chu was about to retreat, the rhinoceros beast suddenly accelerated, giving Lin Chu no chance and crashing directly into his body.
"Senior Brother Lin Chu!"
"..."
Su Jinlong and the other two's faces changed drastically. The force of the rhinoceros beast's charge was enough to kill a third-tier two-headed lion. While a third-tier beast's defense was not comparable to the rhinoceros beast's, it still far surpassed the physical resilience of a human. Now, Lin Chu, having been hit by the rhinoceros beast, was likely in mortal danger.
"Fall!"
Just as Su Jinlong and the others were about to rush forward, Lin Chu's voice, incredibly clear, reached their ears.
"Is that Senior Brother Lin Chu's voice?" Chen Lingang halted his steps and turned to ask Su Jinlong.
"Look!" Su Jinlong, also frowning slightly, was surprised that Lin Chu seemed unharmed after taking the rhinoceros beast's charge. Before he could speak, Chen Desheng's voice rang out.
Su Jinlong and Chen Lingang looked in the direction Chen Desheng was pointing.
They saw streams of spiritual light descending upon the rhinoceros beast. As the light accumulated, the rhinoceros beast was enveloped by streaks of spiritual energy.
*Rumble!*
With a deafening roar, the rhinoceros beast's body exploded violently. Its massive form slowly fell.
At this moment, Lin Chu's figure emerged from the swirling dust.
Under the watchful eyes of Su Jinlong and the other two, Lin Chu sat down on the spot, and the surrounding spiritual energy surged madly towards his body.
"Guard Senior Brother Lin Chu!" Su Jinlong moved instantly and shot towards Lin Chu. Chen Lingang and Chen Desheng followed closely behind.
"Senior Brother Jinlong, the rhinoceros beast is dead!"
Chen Desheng checked the rhinoceros beast and then looked at Su Jinlong in astonishment.
"Let's extract the beast core first. We'll discuss it when Senior Brother Lin Chu wakes up," Su Jinlong said, glancing at the rhinoceros beast. He then surveyed their surroundings again, his eyes filled with vigilance.
A moment later, with a sigh, Lin Chu slowly opened his eyes.
"Cough, cough..." As Lin Chu opened his eyes, he began to cough violently.
"Senior Brother Lin Chu!"
Seeing this, Chen Lingang's eyes flashed with worry, and he called out. Su Jinlong and Chen Desheng moved closer to Lin Chu.
"I'm fine," Lin Chu waved his hand. A cracking sound suddenly came from within his body, and his aura instantly changed.
Hearing this, Su Jinlong and the other two's worry turned to surprise. Clearly, they sensed that through the battle with the rhinoceros beast, Lin Chu had finally broken through to the intermediate stage of the Initial Spirit Mirror.
Lin Chu's own eyes also flickered with excitement. He had finally broken through to the intermediate stage of the Initial Spirit Mirror.
With Lin Chu's breakthrough, Su Jinlong and the other two breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Although they were curious why Lin Chu wasn't significantly injured after taking the rhinoceros beast's charge, it was now the optimal time for Lin Chu to stabilize his internal spiritual energy after his breakthrough, so they remained silent and waited.
Lin Chu closed his eyes again, and the Chaos Dragon Breath technique began to circulate within him. The surrounding spiritual energy immediately poured towards him.
As this spiritual energy was absorbed, streams of pure spiritual power condensed. Then, under Lin Chu's guidance, they began to repair his internal injuries.
In reality, Lin Chu had sustained injuries after the rhinoceros beast's charge. However, it was precisely this impact that had agitated his own vital energy and blood.
On the brink of crisis, Lin Chu's survival instinct was exceptionally strong. Under this intense stimulation, he naturally unleashed a more potent life force.
Nevertheless, a considerable number of Lin Chu's meridians had been ruptured by the rhinoceros beast's charge. Now, with the breakthrough, a large amount of spiritual energy surged towards these ruptured meridians, mending them.
A moment later, the aura emanating from Lin Chu gradually climbed. With the influx of spiritual energy, Lin Chu's internal injuries were largely healed. The excess spiritual energy then nourished Lin Chu's physical body, consolidating his foundation.
*Puff!*
Spitting out a mouthful of dark blood, Lin Chu slowly opened his eyes. His entire being, his spirit, energy, and mind, became full of vitality.
"Senior Brother Lin Chu, how are you?" Su Jinlong asked immediately.
"Much better," Lin Chu said with a smile, taking a deep breath.
The impact force of this rhinoceros beast was truly immense. If his physical body were not the first stage of the Immortal Spirit Body, he might not only have failed to break through but might not have survived.
It seemed he would need to find time to significantly improve his physical resilience as well. According to Fire Spirit Heart, his physical body was at the first stage of the Immortal Spirit Body.
With his current strength, he would likely need to advance to the second or even third stage to establish an unassailable foundation in combat. Lin Chu mused silently, then stood up.
"Senior Brother Lin Chu, what do we do next?" Chen Lingang asked as Lin Chu stood up.
"Continue," Lin Chu smiled, his gaze sharpening as he looked into the distance again.