Chapter 3666 — A Formidable Foe

By the look of it, it was a mountain leopard—though its bulk was several times that of an ordinary one. Its height alone approached a full zhang, and now, thrusting its savage, snarling head into the opening, it plugged the entrance completely.

The tree hollow had only this one opening, so with the passage sealed, Wei Zhao had no way to flee at all. He had been caught like a turtle in a jar by this giant mountain leopard.

Of course, Wei Zhao did not dare turn his back to unleash a martial technique and break through some other spot, for fear the beast would strike him from behind.

Clearly his earlier conjecture had been entirely correct: the whole tree hollow was a living trap, and in one unguarded moment he had become the prey—prey already halfway into the other's jaws.

Once he had clearly sensed the creature's aura, Wei Zhao's heart gave a lurch. As expected, this mountain leopard was indeed a powerful spirit beast with the strength of the Foundation Establishment stage!

In fact, had it not been a killer of that tier, it could never have bottled those people up in here and killed them. After all, anyone who could reach the back mountain had to be a capable hand of at least Foundation Establishment. True, the likelihood that they were peak Heaven-rank masters was slim, but it could not be ruled out entirely.

What he could take some comfort in was that although this giant mountain leopard was a Foundation Establishment spirit beast, its strength likely still hovered at the early Foundation Establishment level. He was not entirely without the means to fight it.

Still, even if both were at early Foundation Establishment, when it came to a real fight the gap between a human and a beast born for battle was vast—especially here, on the other's home ground.

At this very moment, face to face with such a monster, even a man like Wei Zhao who had fought his way up from the mortal world could not claim much confidence in walking away unharmed.

While the giant mountain leopard was still sizing him up, Wei Zhao quietly slipped the Thunder Pig at his back into his jade pendant's space. The creature had never been made for combat, and its strength was too feeble; in a situation like this, one stray swipe would turn it into cannon fodder. Wei Zhao was still counting on it to find him the Heart-devouring Exquisite Herb—he could not afford such a loss.

Fortunately, the giant mountain leopard seemed focused solely on Wei Zhao and paid no mind at all to a little thing like the Thunder Pig; it did not so much as blink at it from first to last. Wei Zhao could not help sighing inwardly: had this thing possibly developed a taste for human flesh?

Rrraaagh—!

The giant mountain leopard's growls grew ever fiercer. Beginning with its huge, hideous head, its whole body slowly pressed inward. At the same time, from its thick pads, razor-sharp black claws slid out with a ringing rasp; a single careless swipe gouged several bottomless claw marks into the floor.

The sight was truly chilling.

One had to understand that the wood beneath its feet was no ordinary wood. When Wei Zhao had entered, he had tested it briefly: the grain was extremely hard, comparable to solid stone. Yet the creature's claws could leave marks that deep with a casual swipe—if he were caught by them, he would be torn limb from limb on the spot!

Such was the advantage of a combat-type spirit beast. As a race born for battle, they were lethal weapons from head to tail; compared with them, humans were pitifully frail. This was precisely why human masters of the same cultivation tier found it so hard to contend with combat spirit beasts.

Wei Zhao glanced around. Under the giant mountain leopard's menacing pressure, the thought of beating a retreat flashed through his mind. True, the opening was blocked, but for a master at early Foundation Establishment, blasting a breach in this tree hollow and escaping was no great difficulty.

Yet a moment later, this seemingly safer and wiser notion was snuffed out by his own reason.

This was different from the giant python he had encountered earlier. That python's strength had likely been no less than this leopard's, but its prey had been the black ape, and it had harbored no designs on Wei Zhao—so he had been able to withdraw unscathed at his leisure.

In truth, even if that python had turned on him right then, Wei Zhao would still have been confident of escape. With the Gale and Lightning Boots and the Butterfly Microstep, he had ample assurance in the matter of speed—enough not to lose to that python.

But this giant mountain leopard before him was another matter. Even a fool could see that its speed would be far greater than the python's. In dense jungle like this especially, one would not be far wrong to call it the sovereign of speed.

So even with the Gale and Lightning Boots and the Butterfly Microstep boosting him, Wei Zhao still dared not race it.

For one thing, he might not be faster than the giant mountain leopard; for another, the downpour outside suppressed his visibility and perception to the barest minimum. He might blunder into another powerful spirit beast's territory—and if a second troublesome monster showed up, his prospects today would be truly grim.

Compared with fleeing, turning to fight right now looked foolish beyond measure, yet it was in fact the more reliable choice.

True, this was the other's home ground. True, this was a trap set by the other, with no way around it.

Most of the time, a huge and powerful beast body conferred an enormous edge, but at certain times and in certain places, it was a decided disadvantage.

Perhaps this giant mountain leopard was swift outside, even nimble—but inside this tree hollow, Wei Zhao would wager it was nothing like as nimble as it imagined itself to be.

Between masters, a single tiny flaw often decides victory. This advantage might not be enough to put the giant mountain leopard to death outright, but one thing was beyond doubt: it gave Wei Zhao considerable room to work.

It had been a long time since he had felt this sensation of death at any moment. In those cold, blood-red eyes he could see boundless danger—and yet Wei Zhao was ready to gamble.

Rrraaagh—!

The giant mountain leopard lunged. The game of slaughter had begun.

Inside this cramped hollow, especially on a stormy day like this, the slightest movement from the giant mountain leopard sent its overpowering reek of blood rushing at one's face, thick enough to choke the breath from a man.

This creature—even its stench could kill!

Wei Zhao's heart tightened. Before he could make any move, the other's lethal claws, trailing a hideous cold gleam, had already slid silently to his chest.