"Bang!"
With a loud bang, a layer of extremely scorching heat diffused, and the lotus of fire exploded, releasing a terrifying temperature that swept the surroundings, turning the weeds within a radius of three to four meters into ashes.
Smoke and dust filled the air, grass clippings flew everywhere, obscuring the vision.
"Hiss!"
Zhou Yan was startled and quickly retreated.
He looked up and immediately gasped.
In the smoke and dust, the body of the sixth-rank demon tiger trembled violently. One of its claws was covered in charred marks, its skin and flesh peeled back, revealing bloody white bone beneath, dripping with gore.
"What terrifying heat," Zhou Yan couldn't help but swallow.
This was only his first attempt at controlling fire, and he hadn't expected such an effect.
This fire was definitely a rare treasure!
Otherwise, how could it wound a sixth-rank demon tiger?
"As expected of the Vermilion Fruit, it's simply a miracle elixir!" Zhou Yan was overjoyed.
The Vermilion Fruit was a rare treasure with astonishing effects.
It not only could enhance one's potential but also prolong life and delay aging.
"Roar!"
Suddenly, the sixth-rank demon tiger let out another enraged roar, the sound making Zhou Yan's head pound.
Immediately after, the demon tiger's body suddenly swelled, growing five inches taller, its fur standing on end.
"Awooo—"
It roared at the sky, its sonic waves rolling like tides, stirring up a torrent of chaotic airflow that shredded the surrounding vegetation.
"This is bad!"
Zhou Yan's expression changed, and his mood plummeted.
"Escape!"
Without hesitation, he turned and ran.
This was a sixth-rank demon tiger; even if severely injured and near death, it was enough to easily crush him.
"Whoosh!"
Zhou Yan was as fast as lightning, quickly covering over ten miles.
He stood on the treetop of a towering ancient tree, gazing into the distance.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, his brows furrowed, "Is that a pack of wolves?"
Following his gaze, he saw over a dozen wolf cubs gnawing on rotten carcasses on the ground.
These cubs were probably newly born, their bodies jet black, with fangs and sharp teeth, looking particularly ferocious.
"These are Ironhide Wolves, first-rank savage beasts, bloodthirsty and brutal!"
Zhou Yan's expression was solemn, and his eyes showed worry.
These were pack beasts, extremely fierce in nature, with each wolf being like an army.
Once a wolf pack attacked, even a sixth-rank demon tiger would probably have to meet its demise.
Moreover, he was currently heavily injured and incapable of resisting a pack of wolves.
This was no child's play!
Although Zhou Yan was afraid, he did not choose to flee. Instead, a hint of ruthlessness appeared in his eyes.
"I don't care anymore!"
His eyes showed determination.
"Roar~ Roar~ Roar..."
In the distance, wolf howls suddenly echoed, and in pairs of emerald green eyes, a bloodthirsty light flickered, saliva dripping from their mouths as they slowly approached.
"Kill!"
Zhou Yan sneered, stomped his foot, and his figure instantly disappeared from its original spot.
The next moment, he had already charged into the wolf pack.
"Pfft, pfft, pfft!"
Zhou Yan swung his fists, unleashing radiant fist imprints, each imbued with surging power, tearing apart the wolf pack. Large wolf heads flew through the air, spraying large amounts of blood mist.
"Roar!"
Seeing their companions killed, the wolf pack went completely berserk. One wolf after another pounced madly, the sound of them breaking through the air.
"Rumble!"
These hungry wolves were all weak, only around the seventh or eighth stage of Qi Refining.
But they were numerous and powerful. A pack of hungry wolves pouncing together was astonishing.
"Annihilate!"
Zhou Yan's eyes blazed with ferocity, his muscles bulging as if he had transformed into an ancient demon god.
He spread his arms, bent his legs, and his entire body moved like a leopard, agile and swift, charging into the pack of hungry wolves in the blink of an eye. With a clap of his hands, he smashed one hungry wolf after another to death.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
A series of muffled thuds echoed. Wherever Zhou Yan passed, blood spurted, and flesh flew. In just a few breaths, he had slaughtered the entire pack of hungry wolves.
"Ding, congratulations to the host for killing a first-rank savage beast, 'Ironhide Wolf', and gaining 100 experience points."
The system's cold voice sounded again, and a vast surge of energy flowed into Zhou Yan's body.
"Such powerful energy, this is... the energy from the Body Tempering Liquid!"
Zhou Yan's spirit soared. He had taken Body Tempering Liquid before and naturally knew the source of this energy.
"Hahaha!"
"Excellent!"
Zhou Yan couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Huh?"
Just then, his eyes lit up.
Because he sensed that at the location of the Ironhide Wolf's head, there was an egg-sized, crystalline milky pearl.
"This is a Wolf King Crystal!"
Zhou Yan was thrilled. He immediately took off the Wolf King Crystal, put it into his storage ring, intending to use it to break through realms when his cultivation was strong enough in the future.
After completing these tasks, Zhou Yan continued on his way, soon leaving the mountain range far behind.
"Huh? Why are there so many people gathered ahead? Did something major happen?" Zhou Yan wondered.
"Boom!"
At that moment, a vast wave of air swept over from the distance, causing Zhou Yan's clothes to flutter.
"Swish!"
Zhou Yan circulated the movement technique of "Nine Dragon Swordsmanship" to evade this vast wave of air and hid in an ancient tree to observe the situation.
It was a troop of cavalry.
They sat on horseback, were burly, wore armor, carried steel swords at their waists, and exuded a fierce, suffocating aura.
"Hiss—"
Immediately, various savage beasts encountered along the way were terrified and fled in panic.
Especially upon smelling the iron-blooded killing intent, they trembled, lay on the ground, and dared not even make a sound.
"So terrifying!" Zhou Yan's heart pounded violently, his throat felt dry, and his scalp tingled.
The aura of those iron-clad knights was too terrifying; it made his heart palpitate incessantly.
"No, I must leave quickly!"
Zhou Yan gritted his teeth and quietly detoured to another side, not daring to linger for even a moment.
However, at this moment, a mournful cry echoed from the distance, and a dazzling, crimson light appeared.
"What is this?"
Zhou Yan's eyes widened, dumbfounded, staring at the crimson light.
He saw the crimson light grow larger and larger, eventually transforming into an enormous mountain that spanned across the sky, emitting a monstrous aura.
"What is this thing?"
Zhou Yan was stunned.
He couldn't discern what this entity was, but he vaguely sensed a suffocating destructive aura that made his heart pound.
"Boom!"
The next instant, a colossal red rainbow pierced through the void, erupting from that enormous mountain.
"Ah—"
Screams echoed through the desolate land.
Wolf packs were blasted into fragments, blood splashing everywhere, dyeing the ground red with mud and grass, a shocking sight.
"Boom!"
Then, a giant figure soared into the sky, enveloped in blazing golden flames, like a miniature sun, radiating immense light that illuminated the firmament.
"This... this is a Fire Mammoth!"
Zhou Yan was utterly horrified.
He recognized this savage beast as one of the top-tier savage beasts of the three overlord-level beings in the Southern Ridge, ranking fifth-grade!