Fierce Battle in the Cave

"My name is Chu Liang, disciple of Silver Sword Peak..."
Chu Liang thought for a moment and decided to introduce himself first.
"My name is Jiang... Jiang Xiaobai." The woman replied, glancing angrily at the young Bai Ze, her cheeks puffed with indignation. "I sometimes come here to stay temporarily. It was supposed to help guard the place for me, but today it brought you in somehow... and I was in the middle of eating..."
And so he witnessed her powerful noodle-slurping.
Chu Liang looked at the fairy Jiang Xiaobai, who clearly didn't want to reveal her real name, and couldn't help but find it amusing.
At least make up a name that's not so obviously similar.
The Bai Ze cub seemed to realize it had made a mistake. Glancing nervously around, it suddenly lifted its hooves and turned to bolt out the way it came.
Gone in a flash.
"Hey?" Chu Liang raised his hand and called out.
You ran off so quickly—why not take me with you?
"Since the divine beast Bai Ze has acknowledged you, I believe you must be a kind-hearted person as well. I hope what you saw here today, you won't speak of it outside, will you?" Jiang Xiaobai asked again.
"Of course." Chu Liang hastily agreed.
If word got out that one could encounter Fairy Jiang here, her admirers would surely flock to fill the Water Curtain Cave.
Jiang Xiaobai found him pleasant-looking and polite. Her impression of him improved, so she smiled gently. "Then thank you."
Chu Liang was just about to exchange pleasantries and take his leave when a loud explosion sounded outside.
Boom—
"Hmm?" Jiang Xiaobai's gaze suddenly sharpened, "Hide yourself and protect yourself."
The words were still hanging in the air when she soared up gracefully, her robes billowing, her whole figure like a sword unsheathed, a forceful presence impossible to resist.
The eruption of spiritual energy in that moment was nearly at the peak of the Golden Core stage. Her true cultivation was impossible to gauge, but Chu Liang guessed that the Soul Binder who had given him trouble earlier would likely be slain within three moves by her!
Watching her retreating figure, Chu Liang suddenly felt that this woman... exuded an unexpected sense of security.
Rumble—
The roaring grew louder as it reached the cave's entrance. An explosion sent stones flying; through the clouds of dust, the silver Bai Ze cub was flung out, landing heavily on the ground.
Bang!
"Rawr!" It sprang up, its anger palpable, divine beast energy radiating in brilliant hues, its growl now deep and threatening, utterly different from its earlier playful cries.
Chu Liang's expression grew serious.
The Bai Ze cub possessed strength equivalent to the fifth realm; though it couldn't compete with cultivators in technique or magical tools, it was certainly superior in speed and raw power, not to mention its powerful bloodline and innate abilities.
Generally, an ordinary beast of equal realm was weaker than a cultivator, but a divine beast was often stronger than a cultivator of the same level.
That was only a rough guideline; actual outcomes could be far more complex, sometimes even swayed by luck.
But in any case, compared to Chu Liang, a third realm cultivator, the Bai Ze cub's power was indisputably overwhelming.
Yet now, this fifth realm divine beast was being battered and rolled across the ground.
Boom, crack—
The cave shook again.
Finally, a massive black head emerged from the entrance—a giant lizard with grotesque fleshy horns!
The creature was so huge that, upon forcing its way into Water Curtain Cave, it widened the entrance by sheer brute force, only barely squeezing through.
Now, with the cavern opening up before it, the beast began to rampage freely.
Spotting Jiang Xiaobai floating ahead, the giant lizard's eyes instantly blazed with golden fire, its enormous pupils wild with greed and madness!
"Roar—" The giant lizard issued a deafening roar, and along with the sound, black flames erupted from its maw.
The surging black fire flooded the cave, crashing toward Jiang Xiaobai like a tidal wave.
The Bai Ze cub rallied, its form a streak of white light as it rammed the giant lizard, but its thick scales absorbed the blow with nothing but a dull thud!
Jiang Xiaobai let out a crisp command, forming hand seals. Light burst forth around her, countless sword shadows rising to create a lotus-like wall, blocking the black flames. The clang of swords rang out continuously.

Chu Liang observed from a corner. The giant lizard seemed never to notice him, nor consider him a target.
Judging from the situation, the lizard was at least a near-sixth realm mature beast, while the fifth realm Bai Ze cub appeared somewhat juvenile by comparison.
Although Jiang Xiaobai's cultivation was late fourth realm and she hadn't shown her full strength, it seemed she was still a bit outmatched by the giant lizard.
And adding himself, a mid-third realm handsome fellow... well, it wouldn't make much difference.
The situation was extremely perilous.
Chu Liang scanned around, searching for a chance to escape.
Such attacks by beasts on Mount Shu were rare; if any senior at the mountain gate discovered it, this giant lizard would be easily dealt with. But the cave had only one entrance, now blocked by the lizard, making it hard even to send for help.
"Roar!"
The black flames raised the temperature in the cave to extreme levels, stones cracking with sharp pops. The giant lizard followed with another furious roar, its entire body lunging forward—shockingly agile!
Its lumbering form was nothing but a ruse to deceive its enemies.
Whoosh—
The giant lizard leapt overhead, jaws agape, intent on swallowing Jiang Xiaobai whole!
But the floating woman showed no fear. Her hand seals changed, the sword shadows converging into a single radiant beam, which she flicked into the lizard's mouth.
Shhh—
As the lizard swallowed the sword light, it seemed about to consume Jiang Xiaobai as well, but she suddenly shifted, vanishing to appear ten yards behind in midair.
A swift retreat.
Chu Liang recognized it instantly.
Immortal Technique: Shrinking the Earth!
Among magical arts, the most advanced are the legendary immortal techniques passed down from the celestial realm. They're notoriously difficult to master, but their power is immense.
For an immortal sect, the more immortal arts it possesses, the stronger its reputation.
Shrinking the Earth is just such a technique held by Mount Shu.
Many sects have immortal arts, but very few cultivators at the Golden Core stage manage to master them. This only proved that the woman before him was not only exquisitely beautiful, but also a truly gifted prodigy in cultivation!
Her low cultivation limited the range she could use the technique, but even a short leap was enough to save her life—such is the allure of immortal arts.
Bang—
The giant lizard crashed down, missing entirely, clearly enraged. Its pupils blazed red with fury.
The Bai Ze cub, still unyielding, transformed into a streak of white light, ramming with its horn.
Thud!
The lizard's scales were exceptionally tough, countering the Bai Ze cub's attack style.
Still young, the cub hadn't mastered many innate abilities, so there was nothing it could do. It rammed the lizard, which merely shuddered, then lashed out with its massive tail, sending the cub flying again.
The vertical pupils now focused on Jiang Xiaobai.
Backed against the stone wall, her gaze was icy. She raised her fingers and whispered, "Heavenly Sword Art."
Whoosh—
A burst of white light erupted from the lizard's mouth, its expression twisting in pain. As its jaws opened wider, the white light became beams of rosy radiance...
It was the sword it had swallowed earlier, now transformed into a colossal blade of light, slashing outward once more!
Magnificent!
Heavenly Sword Art!
This was one of the most powerful sword techniques within the Mount Shu Sect, second only to immortal arts. Jiang Xiaobai wielded it effortlessly.
Without such prowess, she could never have contended with a peak fifth realm beast as a fourth realm cultivator.
Chu Liang watched her unleash one super technique after another, astonished by her strength, but also—strangely—feeling a twinge of envy.
She knows so many magical arts—why am I feeling sad again?

Wait—
Why did I say "again"?

Rumble, hiss—
The Heavenly Sword Art was unstoppable. The sword burst from the lizard's abdomen, spraying a geyser of pitch-black blood, molten as lava, sizzling wherever it splattered.
"Argh!" The giant lizard writhed in agony, but the attack from within wasn't enough to kill it. Instead, it became even more ferocious!
Blood and flame mingling, it ignored its injuries and charged at Jiang Xiaobai once more...
Boom!
The giant lizard slammed into the stone wall.
Jiang Xiaobai's figure again flickered a dozen yards away, but this time her landing was visibly unsteady.
Immortal arts consumed enormous spiritual energy. She had managed two uses already, but that wasn't a sustainable strategy.
Yet with the beast's size and speed, how else could she dodge without immortal techniques?
However...
Chu Liang, who had been observing, noticed the lizard's rampage had finally cleared the entrance.
He called out decisively, "Senior Sister Jiang, head for the entrance!"
With that, he leapt toward the opening himself.
Jiang Xiaobai had noticed the cleared path, but trapped by the giant lizard, she couldn't break away.
Soaring upward, she replied, "You go first!"
In the time it took to speak, the giant lizard had already turned and was charging at her again. The force from such a beast could shake the earth itself; those of weaker spirit might not even have the courage to flee, their hearts torn by terror.
The Heavenly Sword Art had dealt it a near-fatal wound, but somehow it was even more crazed, as if consuming Jiang Xiaobai could restore its life.
Yet Jiang Xiaobai remained calm, unable to use Shrinking the Earth a third time. She raised her right hand, her sword instantly blossoming into hundreds of blade shadows, forming a floral shield to block the lizard's charge.
Smack! The shield shattered instantly, the lizard's momentum unstoppable!
"Demon!" In the nick of time, Chu Liang's clear shout rang out.
He hadn't abandoned Jiang Xiaobai to escape alone—instead, he flung three bronze spheres from his hand.
They were the Xuan Sha Yin Thunder he had seized earlier from the Soul Binder.
He figured these were the only things capable of harming a peak fifth realm beast. The Soul Binder, a fourth realm cultivator, had kept them for self-preservation—they should work against a fifth realm foe. The lizard's defense was formidable, so Chu Liang didn't know how effective they'd be, but he threw all three anyway.
After these days, he'd learned a lesson—if you want to play the "item" game, don't be stingy.
Unsure how many to use? Use them all. It's never wrong.
Boom, boom, boom!
The giant lizard's attention was entirely on Jiang Xiaobai. The Xuan Sha Yin Thunder struck its head, and three jets of black light exploded simultaneously.
The blasts echoed with ghostly howls from the depths of hell. The giant lizard jerked upward, frozen in midair, motionless for a long time.
When the black light faded, the creature still held the same pose, its massive pupils' flames extinguished, leaving only endless anger and terror.
Chu Liang stared in surprise, for he saw a golden phantom drift from the lizard and merge into his own body.
Good heavens, is this thing really that powerful?
Did I just kill the giant lizard outright?
He'd only hoped to buy a bit of time for Jiang Xiaobai to escape.
He hadn't expected...
An unexpected reward?