Blood splattered into the air.
But before the blood could fall, the extreme cold of the weather had frozen it into blood-colored ice shards, which landed on the ground with a crackling sound.
The monster, having lost an arm, let out a series of pained cries, its roars echoing throughout the snow-covered mountain range.
Fortunately, this area was uninhabited, otherwise, many might have been scared to death in the dead of night.
Ning Beichen was also a little breathless. He hadn't expected that "Sword Swallowing Mountains and Rivers" would only manage to sever one of the monster's arms.
It was known that "Sword Swallowing Mountains and Rivers" was the most powerful sword technique Ning Beichen currently possessed.
However, Ning Beichen was merely surprised, not overly dejected. As long as he could injure the monster, it was sufficient.
Moreover, Ning Beichen discovered that what blocked "Sword Swallowing Mountains and Rivers" wasn't the monster's strength, but rather the protective scales on its body. Otherwise, with that strike, Ning Beichen would have torn it limb from limb.
With one arm gone, the monster lost its balance and attacked Ning Beichen with its remaining limbs. But they had both forgotten: this was a precipice.
The monster's furious attack shattered the ground at the edge of the cliff, triggering a chain reaction that sent both it and Ning Beichen plummeting into the abyss.
Ning Beichen would not have fallen, but to resist the monster's final onslaught, he was sent hurtling down the abyss like a basketball being slammed into a hoop by a palm strike.
However, the monster hadn't anticipated that its frenzied attacks would also cause the ground beneath its feet to crumble. It tumbled head over heels, falling into the abyss like a small mountain.
With Ning Beichen below and the monster above, Ning Beichen, seeing himself about to be crushed into a meat patty, and not knowing how deep the abyss was, swung his arm, driving the bronze ancient sword into the adjacent rock face.
The bronze ancient sword made a scraping sound as it dug into the rock, causing Ning Beichen immense pain. He prayed that the bronze ancient sword wouldn't break.
Fortunately, this piece of bad luck did not occur. Ning Beichen used the bronze ancient sword to slow his descent into the abyss. But before he could rejoice for long, a dark mass plummeted from above.
Ning Beichen's expression changed drastically. He quickly pressed himself against the wall, like a gecko, desperately dodging on the rock face.
As the monster fell, it spotted Ning Beichen on the rock face, its rage flaring. It was this guy who had caused its predicament.
Now, with a severed arm and covered in wounds, it couldn't even stop its own fall. Thus, it decided on mutual destruction, reaching out with its remaining arm towards Ning Beichen on the rock face.
Seeing this, Ning Beichen swiftly pushed off the rock face, yanked the bronze ancient sword from its lodging, and with both hands gripping the sword, brought it down on the monster's arm.
*Swish.*
The monster let out a scream as its outstretched arm was severed, blood splashing into the abyss.
Without an arm, the monster could only fall straight into the abyss. But before it plummeted completely, it frantically slammed against the rock face, shattering it. This caused Ning Beichen to lose his footing as well, and he too fell downwards.
The wind and snow howled in Ning Beichen's ears. After an unknown amount of time, he crashed onto a large, hard object with a thud that pierced his very bones, rendering his "Prajna Golden Body" useless.
Ning Beichen looked down to see that he had landed on a patch of scales. These hard scales had nearly killed him.
It turned out he had landed on the monster's body.
Ning Beichen, enduring the pain, quickly got up. With a wave of his hand, the bronze ancient sword, several meters away, returned to his grasp.
As Ning Beichen prepared to attack the monster with the bronze ancient sword, he noticed it was completely motionless. Only then did Ning Beichen realize that the monster had been killed by the fall.
Ning Beichen blinked, and with a touch of regret, sheathed the bronze ancient sword back into its scabbard on his back.
The monster was indeed rather unlucky. If Ning Beichen hadn't severed its two arms, it might not have died from the fall.
If it hadn't made its body so large, it might not have died from the fall either.
If its body had been covered in soft fur instead of scales, it might not have died from the fall.
If the abyss hadn't been so deep, perhaps the monster would have lived.
Or, if the snow at the bottom of the abyss had been deeper and softer, the monster might have had a chance to survive.
But alas, there were no "ifs" in this world. Even if the monster had survived due to the aforementioned factors, it would ultimately have been unable to escape Ning Beichen's attack.
Ning Beichen dismounted the monster's body and carefully sensed its aura, confirming that it was indeed dead. Apart from regret, Ning Beichen also felt a sense of relief.
This monster was undoubtedly the strongest he had ever encountered. If not for his bronze ancient sword, the "Pine Mountain Sword Skill," and his "Transcendence" level strength, he would have been the one to die today.
Only then did Ning Beichen have time to examine the monster thoroughly.
However, after much study, he found no information about this creature. It did not seem to be a creature of this world, and Ning Beichen had never seen such a powerful being here.
It could be called a beast, yet it possessed a face resembling a human's, could walk upright, and its behavior was similar to humans. In any case, Ning Beichen had never seen or heard of such a monster in this world.
Ning Beichen looked at the enormous corpse before him and then gazed up at the abyss's exit, which seemed to stretch endlessly towards the sky. A headache struck him.
Although he knew martial arts for agility, it had its limits. It wasn't as if he could fly freely. He was far from being able to fly at will, otherwise, why would he travel by plane? He could just fly like Superman.
Furthermore, Ning Beichen had been injured during the fight with the monster and needed time to heal and recover. More importantly, he was worried about James. If he didn't return for too long, James would surely be anxious.
But Ning Beichen had no choice now. Even at the fastest pace, he could only figure a way out by dawn. Tonight, he could only make James worry.
Putting his concerns aside, Ning Beichen looked at the monster's massive carcass and suddenly recalled some legends. He wondered if there might be an inner core or something similar within the monster's body.
However, looking at the corpse, which resembled a mountain, and then at the bronze ancient sword in his hand, Ning Beichen finally gave up the idea of digging for an inner core.