Chapter Fifty-Six: The Battlefield of Demonic Beasts

Wild boars charged at Li Yunfei in waves, one after another, but few ever made it within twenty feet of him. The arc of his blade energy could reach nearly fifty feet; unless Li Yunfei chose to close in himself, no boar could get near him. He cycled through just a handful of simple moves—left slash, right slash, left sweep, right sweep, vertical chop, horizontal cleave. Yet despite their simplicity, these moves made for a terrifyingly efficient slaughter.

Where once he had to skirmish and harry the boar herd for hours to clear a single dungeon, now, even if the entire herd charged him together, Li Yunfei would not so much as flinch. With a single move, “Sweeping a Thousand Troops,” his blade energy radiated out like a shockwave; however many came, that many fell.

The only drawback was the increased rate of spiritual energy consumption. Though the blade emitted its own energy, it still required a thread of his spiritual power to ignite it. If he wished to strengthen the blade’s force, he had to pour in more spiritual power, which naturally escalated his expenditure.

But with the Boar King’s Elixir in hand, this hardly mattered. With his spiritual power recovering ten times faster than normal, he could afford to be extravagant.

The little fox had already reached level 23, her condition at its peak. Yet she merely sat a dozen yards away, watching Li Yunfei’s massacre with a bored air, making no move to join in. In truth, there was no room for her to intervene, nor was there any need. On the contrary, if she recklessly approached within fifty feet, she risked being caught by the wild arc of his blade energy.

Only after seeing the Boar King decapitated by Li Yunfei’s mighty “Splitting the Mountain” strike did she rise leisurely and saunter onto the field.

Less than ten minutes had passed since the start of the battle—the effects of the Boar King’s Elixir hadn’t even faded.

“Hahaha… how exhilarating, this is incredible!”

Li Yunfei planted his spotless, bloodless crescent-moon blade amid a ring of pig corpses and laughed up at the sky. With his face obscured by his mask, his voice sounded muffled and strange.

This was, without question, the most satisfying dungeon raid he’d experienced since obtaining the system. The boost a divine weapon gave to his combat power was truly unparalleled.

The little fox padded over, letting out a halfhearted cry, clearly feeling left out.

She had returned to being nothing more than a steed—her presence, it seemed, unnecessary.

“Don’t be disheartened! You’re still incredibly important, Honghong. I believe that once you reach level 30, you’ll become even stronger.”

Sensing her dejection, Li Yunfei hastened to comfort her.

The little fox drew a deep breath and let out a long sigh—so human-like that Li Yunfei couldn’t help but smile.

He put away his blade and helmet, wrapped his arms around her neck, and pressed his face to her furry cheek, speaking softly, “Alright now! You’re the most important companion I have. Without you by my side, I could never endure the loneliness of fighting alone.”

“In truth, I don’t expect you to do anything for me, Honghong. Simply having you here is the greatest support I could ask for.”

The little fox cocked her head at Li Yunfei, her eyes and cry clearly asking, “Really?”

Grinning broadly, Li Yunfei nodded emphatically. “Absolutely. As long as you’re here, I’ll always have the will to fight.”

Only then did the little fox perk up again, her soft pink tongue giving his face a gentle lick.

Somehow, her saliva had gained a faintly fragrant scent—like orchids, like musk, impossible to define.

Anyone who smelled it felt instantly at peace, their body relaxing, a curious sense of happiness flooding their heart. It was as if being close to her was the greatest joy in the world, and to die in her embrace would be a sweet fate.

As her master, Li Yunfei didn’t feel this effect as strongly, nor did he notice the subtle fragrance in her saliva. He simply felt that her presence at his side—particularly when she licked him—soothed his nerves and brought a deep sense of calm, something he found invaluable.

But if another man were licked by the little fox, he’d likely turn into her slavish devotee on the spot.

Of course, no one else would have such an opportunity.

Li Yunfei, accustomed to her company, took her presence entirely for granted. As he said, she was his most important companion.

His path of cultivation was a solitary one—no one to share it with, no one to bear the burden. Without a single companion by his side, he feared he might lose himself in endless slaughter, becoming not a man, but a machine—or perhaps even a god of carnage.

…

After clearing the battlefield and dealing with the loot, Li Yunfei found he’d earned a total of 520,000 yuan.

Having cleared the level 22 dungeon, he did not immediately continue. Instead, he set up a table within the instance and enjoyed a hearty meal.

Once satisfied, he summoned an air mattress and, together with the little fox, took a well-deserved rest.

He had no fear of attack within the dungeon—so long as he remained inside, nothing but dungeon monsters could appear.

After about two hours’ rest, he left the dungeon, mounted the little fox, and set out again.

By daylight, Li Yunfei finally witnessed with his own eyes the rare and wondrous creatures he’d only ever seen online.

The animals of Shennongjia Forest were truly unique—most were white: white bears, white snakes, white monkeys, white deer, white crows, white mice, and more.

He wandered the forest for quite some time, but never encountered a second wave of wild boars.

With his phone utterly without signal, he knew he had truly entered the forest’s heart.

He continued to explore until after three in the afternoon, when his expression suddenly shifted.

He caught the distant thunder of countless hooves—a sound like a thousand horses galloping, mixed with braying noises reminiscent of donkeys.

But what truly changed his face was the system notification that echoed in his mind:

“Attention, host: Dungeon Beast Battleground detected. Level range: 66 to 70. Please select your dungeon level.”

Without a doubt, this was the highest-level dungeon he had ever encountered.

The haunted village of Qingyuan, crawling with vengeful spirits, was only level 51 to 55.

A beast battleground—did that mean the turmoil ahead was caused by monsters in combat?

Li Yunfei’s curiosity was instantly piqued. After a moment’s thought, he began to stealthily approach the source of the commotion.

So long as he did not enter the dungeon and trigger the system’s power-ups for his targets—or rather, his own debuffs—their actual strength would fall far short of the dungeon’s supposed level, and he might well be able to handle them.

Besides, he had no intention of involving himself in the beasts’ battle. Why not lurk nearby and see if he could pick up some easy spoils?

Monstrous beasts were walking treasure troves; just eating their flesh could boost his cultivation—and more cultivation meant more experience, which meant leveling up.

But in truth, Li Yunfei mostly wanted to broaden his horizons. Until now, aside from the little fox at his side, he had never encountered another true beast.

The animals in the dungeons were mere “monsters,” not even worthy of being called “elites,” let alone genuine beasts—a gulf as vast as heaven and earth.