Chapter 652 - 651: Fierce Battle
Jiang Yufan nodded, and the two quickened their pace. Soon, they arrived at the main cave. It was a very spacious cave, about two hundred square meters wide. They never expected that it would look so narrow from the outside, but inside it was a whole different world, very spacious and bright.
"Roar..."
Just as the two were admiring the grandeur of the cave, a sudden roar pulled them back to reality. The sound clearly came from somewhere within the cave, so close by.
Chen Tianlong was highly alert to the surroundings. At this moment, he was surprised to find that the big cave had many small caves around it, varying in size. But one of them was particularly different, and he clearly felt the temperature was significantly higher in that direction.
Thinking of this, Chen Tianlong gave a cold smile. This was undoubtedly the main cave of the Qilin.
"Yufan, you stay here. The Qilin should be up ahead. If it really comes out, find a safe place to hide." Chen Tianlong surveyed the area and found there were many large rocks in the stone cave, which would provide Jiang Yufan a place to hide.
"Oh, okay." Jiang Yufan obediently agreed. After all, they had reached the final cave, and she knew she was just a regular person. Following Chen Tianlong recklessly would not help but only hinder him.
Chen Tianlong nodded and began to walk towards the suspicious cave, but he had already grasped three silver needles in his hand. Chen Tianlong planned that if the Qilin Beast’s level was higher than his, he would finish it with one move and then escape with Jiang Yufan.
If the Qilin Beast’s level was lower, then there would be no need for the Soul-Stealing Three Needles; he could slowly wear it down.
In any case, it wasn’t necessary to kill it. As long as he could obtain some Qilin Blood and a scale, he could complete the task.
Chen Tianlong quickly flashed to the entrance of the cave and began observing the situation inside. However, the sound suddenly stopped, as if it knew someone was outside. Chen Tianlong smiled wryly, realizing he had been discovered.
"Hey, Qilin Beast, I’m not here to hurt you. I just want to borrow something. As long as you cooperate, I promise you’ll be fine." Chen Tianlong didn’t know the level of this Qilin Beast. If it was a high-level Spirit Beast, it should be able to understand him.
"Roar..."
Another roar shook the cave slightly. Chen Tianlong was a bit surprised. It seemed this Qilin Beast was even more formidable than he had imagined. However, Old Chen had always said that the larger something was, the easier it was to deal with, because its large size made it slower. In the world, all things follow the law of change without deviating from their nature.
So, Chen Tianlong thought the roar was the Qilin Beast responding to his words, and thus, he didn’t hide but instead walked directly to the center of the cave’s entrance.
However, at this moment, a red object appeared in the cave. Initially, Chen Tianlong thought the Fire Qilin was coming out, but the next moment, he sensed something wrong. The thing was extremely hot and seemed to move incredibly fast, reaching him in an instant.
"Damn!" Chen Tianlong finally saw clearly; it was a fireball. He hastily retreated with a Ghost Shadow Step, hiding to the right side of the entrance.
The fireball filled the entire passage of the cave, charging directly and crashing into the opposite cave wall with a loud explosion, scaring Jiang Yufan not far away. She quickly covered her ears and hid behind a large rock, peeping out with only her eyes to observe Chen Tianlong’s side.
Chen Tianlong patted his chest, still feeling scared.
The power of this fireball was even stronger than those grenades of his. At this moment, Chen Tianlong was drenched in sweat. The cave was already hot, and now the fireball’s explosion released massive energy, making it even hotter.
After waiting for a while and confirming there was no movement inside the cave, Chen Tianlong cautiously peeked in. He knew the fireball just now was undoubtedly the Fire Qilin’s Ultimate Skill.
From watching television, those giant dragons and qilins seemed to like shooting fireballs too, but they didn’t do it continuously. They needed to gather power.
They needed to accumulate power to a certain extent to unleash their ultimate power. Apparently, now that the cave had quieted down, it was continuing to gather power.
Chen Tianlong thought for a bit, and a slight smile lifted on his lips. If the principle was the same, then letting it gather power again would mean that the next shot couldn’t happen immediately, and the Fire Qilin’s stamina and Powerful Qi would also be significantly consumed.
Thinking about this, Chen Tianlong directly stood at the cave entrance. Jiang Yufan was shocked to see him, thinking he was too frightened to move. That massive fireball just now was so fierce, and yet he dared to stand at the entrance, as if he had a death wish.
"Damn Qilin, I tried to negotiate with you, and you gave me such a big welcome. Fine, you disrespected me first, so don’t blame me." Chen Tianlong said this for a reason. Being attacked right after he spoke showed that the Qilin could probably understand him.
So, provoking it further might make it fire another shot. As expected, right after Chen Tianlong finished speaking, another fireball rushed out, and Chen Tianlong quickly dodged back inside.
The fireball, like before, smashed into the opposite cave wall with an explosion.
Chen Tianlong rejoiced. Taking advantage of the Fire Qilin needing to gather power again, he quickly rushed into the cave. But just as he started, a gigantic creature charged out at him.
At this moment, there was no time to dodge, so in his urgency, he used Powerful Qi to protect his body, crossing his arms in front of him for defense.
"Boom!" A muffled sound resonated as Chen Tianlong was knocked several meters away by the Fire Qilin and then landed heavily on the ground.
"Chen Tianlong!" Jiang Yufan saw Chen Tianlong get knocked away and hurried to help, but Chen Tianlong quickly got up and shouted, "Yufan, don’t come over."
Jiang Yufan stopped immediately upon hearing Chen Tianlong’s shout, realizing it was not wise to proceed. She quickly retreated to her hiding place, watching Chen Tianlong’s side with intense concern.
The Fire Qilin heard the shout and glanced toward Jiang Yufan’s direction before turning back to stare at Chen Tianlong in front. Observing the Fire Qilin’s power, Chen Tianlong was shocked—Yellow Dao Seven Stars.
How on earth was he going to fight this? Even the Soul-Stealing Three Needles might not work. Chen Tianlong initially planned to take it down with a move, but now he reconsidered. Better save it for escape.
This Fire Qilin was thick-skinned and tough. Even if he magnified the impact of the Soul-Stealing Three Needles to twenty-seven, it wouldn’t help.
With this realization, Chen Tianlong began to implement his escape plan—get out of the cave first. Otherwise, it was too dangerous, and if this continued, neither of them might make it out alive.
Despite being under the effect of the Heart-Eroding Gu, death was certain eventually, but he couldn’t allow Jiang Yufan to be dragged into it.
So, after casting one more glance at the Fire Qilin, Chen Tianlong turned to flee, but the Fire Qilin clearly had no intention of letting him go. It flashed in front of him in an instant.