Chapter 46: The Struggle for the Thunder Beast (Part One)

The tides of Blue Moon Lake would last for seven days, so Ji Mo and her companions couldn’t simply sit and wait. Once her injuries had fully healed, the four of them began roaming throughout Maple Red Valley, hoping to come across a Lightning Beast. With Mu Baiyun and Ji Mo in their group, they had nothing to fear from any beast or team. Yet after four days, aside from slaying a few ordinary beasts, they hadn’t seen even a shadow of the elusive Lightning Beast.

As evening fell, they chose a cave to camp in for the night. Dawn came swiftly, and as the first rays of sunlight crept over the horizon, Ji Mo opened her eyes and stepped outside.

She had just reached the cave entrance when a small creature, about the size of a squirrel and covered in golden fur, flashed past her. Apart from the color of its fur, which didn’t match Wei Qiu’s description of the Lightning Beast, its appearance was otherwise identical.

A Lightning Beast? The thought sprang instantly to Ji Mo’s mind. Without hesitation, she dashed in the direction the little beast had disappeared.

The golden-furred creature, seeing itself pursued, seemed not in the least alarmed. Instead, it glanced back at Ji Mo with a hint of mockery in its pale golden eyes, chirping a few birdlike notes before leaping with an almost deliberate elegance into a dense thicket, leaving her with a distinctly disdainful look.

Despite its composed and graceful movements, its speed was astonishing—like lightning itself. The distance between Ji Mo and the creature was scarcely ten meters, yet by the time she reached the thicket, she could only watch helplessly as it vanished amid the dense branches.

The scrub was too dense and low for her to follow, but she could certainly force the beast out. Ji Mo raised her palm, summoning a fireball the size of a bowl, and with a crisp command, sent it flying into the bushes.

She knew she was only a third-tier Qi Refiner. While she could perform all five elemental spells, their power was limited, so she rarely used them in combat. But against a patch of shrubbery, surely there would be no problem? Apparently, she had overestimated herself. The fireball landed in the thicket, igniting thick, acrid smoke, and then promptly snuffed itself out.

“Is a third-tier fireball really this weak? It can’t even set a bush alight?” Ji Mo stared in disbelief at the spot where the fireball had vanished. But she had no time for self-mockery, for the golden little beast burst out of the bushes once more.

Was it afraid of smoke? Ji Mo’s thoughts raced. Whether it was or not, since it had come out on its own, now was her chance. With a flicker of intent, the White Jade Flood Dragon Whip appeared in her hand, flashing a silvery arc through the air as she lashed it toward the golden beast.

The creature seemed enraged, glaring at Ji Mo with its pale golden eyes. As the whip came toward it, it didn’t dodge at all. Instead, it opened its small mouth, leaped, and bit down on the whip with lightning speed. Ji Mo was overjoyed, but her smile froze. Not only had the whip failed to ensnare the creature, but it was now clamped tightly in its jaws.

For a moment, Ji Mo was stunned. She jerked her wrist, and with a whoosh, the little beast was swung back toward her along with the whip. She should have been pleased, yet an intense sense of danger surged within her. Without time to think, Ji Mo instinctively released the whip and leaped to the left.

Crash! A tree more than three feet in circumference was snapped clean in two, barely a meter from where Ji Mo had just been standing. If she hadn’t moved in time, she would have been in that tree’s place. With her physique, perhaps she wouldn’t have been snapped in half, but the outcome would have been far from pleasant.

The beast crashed into the tree, shattering it, yet its golden fur remained perfectly intact. The force carried it forward another dozen meters, where it landed on another tree, clinging to the trunk. It turned its head to glare at Ji Mo, chirping furiously.

It opened its mouth and the White Jade Flood Dragon Whip fell from its jaws. Ji Mo summoned the whip back to her hand, her gaze now wary as she regarded the golden creature.

Though it looked beautiful and harmless, it was anything but. Given her current strength, one mistake and she would suffer dearly at its claws. The little beast, perhaps still irritated by the smoke or annoyed that it hadn’t managed to hit Ji Mo, seemed thoroughly vexed. As soon as Ji Mo reclaimed her whip, it let out two sharp cries and, with a flash, leaped at her again.

Ji Mo, having already witnessed its ferocity, was hardly foolish enough to stand her ground. She darted aside, the White Jade Flood Dragon Whip lashing in all four directions. This time, she struck in earnest. Before, she had held back for fear of harming the little creature, but after seeing the fate of that broken tree, she knew her worries had been absurd.

The whip whistled through the air, yet the golden beast was no fool. Just as Ji Mo thought she’d blocked every escape, its body twisted at an uncanny angle, slipping through the dense web of whip shadows. Using a nearby plant as a springboard, it landed behind Ji Mo in the blink of an eye.

Startled, Ji Mo realized it was too late to turn. Her only option was to lunge forward, but the beast was faster by far. As she began to move, it crashed into her back with a resounding thud. She was sent flying, and the force behind the blow was so strange that she lost all control of her body, plunging straight toward the ground like a tiger pouncing on its prey.

At the last moment, Ji Mo strained to lift her head, avoiding a broken nose, but the rest of her body slammed into the earth with a resounding thump. The ground around her trembled—any onlooker might have thought a behemoth had landed, never suspecting it was a slender young woman.

"Junior Sister Ji? Why are you lying on the ground?" Ji Mo was still reeling, blood surging, vision blackening, her ears ringing. After some time, when she finally caught her breath, a voice full of surprise rang beside her.

Looking up, Ji Mo saw Mu Baiyun, Wei Qiu, and Zhao Hu all standing neatly beside her head, each wearing a look of astonishment. Glancing down at herself, she couldn’t tell if her nose was broken, but it hurt terribly. Her mouth held a few leaves, and a wave of dismay swept over her. She wished she could disappear into the earth.