"Bang!"
In the abandoned zoo, an explosion resounded. A shadowy figure seemed to suffer a terrible attack within the darkness, flung backward violently, crashing through weeds and bushes before slamming into a moss-covered concrete wall.
The powerful impact caused the wall to crack.
"Ugh!"
Qin Qing spat out a mouthful of blood, her whole body suddenly weakened, her green vertical pupils filled with blood veins.
"Waaah!"
The eerie cry of a baby rose again, echoing through the darkness, ethereal and uncertain, sometimes distant, other times right up close, and occasionally just behind you, sending chills down your spine.
Qin Qing's vertical pupils spun rapidly, trying to lock onto the position of the malevolent entity in the dark, but failing each time. Only occasionally could she catch a glimpse of a peculiar humanoid figure flashing in the corner of her eye.
"Ahead? To the right? No, no, it's to the left."
Suddenly.
The sinister humanoid figure darted out from the darkness, attacking again with unbelievable speed. Although Qin Qing had it locked on, she could only see a few afterimages in her eyes.
This was due to the movement being too fast for the eyes to accurately capture.
A figure that even evolved vertical pupils couldn't catch was clearly stronger than Qin Qing at the moment. A moment's inattention, and she could have been killed on the spot.
"Looking for death."
All of a sudden, Yang Yilong's angry shout reverberated, a white rainbow burst forth, scattering the darkness instantly. He emerged from another direction, attempting to intercept the malevolent creature before it could strike Qin Qing.
The strange humanoid figure seemingly sensed danger, abandoning the chance to finish Qin Qing. It stopped bizarrely halfway, then sharply changed course and quickly disappeared, blending once more into the surrounding dark.
"Waaah~!"
The baby-like wailing arose once again, still echoing around them.
Yang Yilong was now standing in front of Qin Qing, his expression tinged with anger as he watched the creature conceal itself. His current appearance was extraordinary, with his hair and clothes floating as though affected by static electricity. His eyes emitted a white light, and around his right arm swirled a terrifying aura.
The leaves and weeds nearby were whipped into dust upon contact.
Beneath the drifting dust, the outline of an invisible long sword faintly manifested on his arm.
"Compared to last time, this thing has grown stronger, its evolution outpacing our cultivation speed, and it's become craftier. It knows it's no match for you, so it keeps targeting me, trying to take me out first then wear you down," Qin Qing said weakly as she coughed twice, managing to stand up again.
Though she could still move, her fighting ability was gone, and she could barely defend herself.
"Yang Yilong, let's retreat. The energy inside your body is being drained rapidly, the 'treasure sword' won't last much longer. Once it weakens, we'll both die here," Qin Qing said, looking at Yang Yilong's right hand.
```
In her vision,
some kind of energy in Yang Yilong's right hand converged along a special trajectory, gathering into a brilliance unseen by the naked eye. Yet in her sight, it dazzled intensely, the gathered energy resembling a sharp treasure sword, seemingly capable of tearing through anything in reality.
"If I were weaker than that thing, I could accept defeat, but now I have the strength to kill it. If I still run away, it means that I, Yang Yilong, am just a waste of resources. I'm sorry, Qin Qing, for dragging you into this. I originally intended to share half of the spoils with you after hunting it, as thanks for saving my life last time. I didn't expect things to turn out like this."
Qin Qing said, "You can't blame yourself; that thing has changed a lot after taking a hit last time, and its growth has completely made up for its previous weaknesses. Before, I could contest with it using my agility, excellent dynamic vision, and response, but this time, it has completely overwhelmed me in every aspect."
"I've noticed. This creature is highly intelligent and has an extraordinary ability to learn. If we don't kill it this time, there will be no chance next time," Yang Yilong said with determination in his eyes. "So, Qin Qing, no matter what, let's give it another go."
"If we really lose, I'll die here with you."
Feeling Yang Yilong's resolve, Qin Qing didn't try to persuade him further. "Since you're prepared to fight to the death, there's nothing more to say. Let's hunt it down and return together."
"Alright," Yang Yilong nodded slightly.
"Let's go."
Qin Qing moved again, sweeping across with incredible speed, almost as if she were flying close to the ground. Her emerald vertical pupils were constantly shifting, now fixated on the eerie wailing like that of a baby in the darkness far away.
Yang Yilong also abruptly sprang into action, with Qin Qing, they circled and attacked from left and right.
The infant-like wail echoed once more.
The humanoid monster, sensing their intent to kill and smelling danger, chose not to confront them head-on and swiftly fled instead, not giving Yang Yilong and Qin Qing any chance. It also controlled the distance during the escape—close enough to not be caught but also quick to turn and counter-attack if needed.
Clearly, this monster had no intention of letting Yang Yilong and Qin Qing go either, desiring to eliminate these two evil Earth Prisoners here and now.
Perhaps in the monster's eyes, Yang Yilong's rate of growth was too rapid; it had the chance to kill him once, but after some time, it was the one nearly killed instead. If it did not finish off Yang Yilong today and allowed him to continue growing, it would be in danger itself.
Both sides harbored the absolute intent to kill their opponent, and the fight continued without end.
"It's not an illusion, my eyes can start to lock onto that thing. Is it deliberately slowing down to lure me in for a counter-attack? Or has its speed actually decreased?"
After Qin Qing and Yang Yilong teamed up for a while without any results, she noticed the creature's movements were slowing down.
"No, it's not slackening its speed on purpose. Like us, its strength is beginning to wane, so my eyes can capture it. This is an opportunity. If my vertical pupils can lock onto it, it means I have a chance to hunt it down."
Then Qin Qing glanced at Yang Yilong.
Yang Yilong was panting, the bright light in his right hand dimming considerably, and it was about to die out. But he still strove to maintain it because once this 'sword' extinguished, they wouldn't be able to conjure it again that day, and it was likely they might be counter-killed by the monster.
"Is there still a chance to make a move?" Yang Yilong seemed to have noticed Qin Qing's gaze and looked over.
Their eyes met, and it seemed they understood each other's thoughts.
Qin Qing nodded slightly as a sign.
```
Yang Yilong's gaze hesitated slightly, but quickly firmed up again.
The next moment.
Qin Qing's speed suddenly increased, the little remaining physical energy in her body frantically draining.
She was squeezing out her last bit of strength to create an opportunity for Yang Yilong to make a move.
In the darkness, Qin Qing's figure was like a white rainbow suddenly flashing past, catching up to the creature's figure in the blink of an eye, even overtaking it.
"Wow~!"
A cry of surprise and screaming sob rose.
This humanoid creature seemed not to have anticipated such a turn of events; it had been controlling the distance, creating an opportunity when its physical energy weakened.
But when it saw Qin Qing was the one attacking, the humanoid creature instead let out a fierce roar, immediately stretching out a furry human-like arm, which bizarrely ended not in a human palm but in a beast's hoof.
The hoof glowed, forming a circular mark, visible to the naked eye even without the Spirit Medium's activation.
"Qin Qing, back off," Yang Yilong sensed something was wrong and roared loudly.
But it was too late.
The combat at such speeds was finished in the blink of an eye.
Qin Qing's figure and that of the humanoid creature had a brief overlap, but abruptly the figures separated again, and then Qin Qing's figure flew back like a kite with its string cut, blood spraying in mid-air, instantly filling the air with a thick scent of blood.
However, the humanoid creature's figure only paused momentarily, retreating just a few steps, and was not severely wounded.
But Qin Qing's desperate move was not to hunt but to halt it, creating a chance for Yang Yilong to act.
"Die!"
Yang Yilong's eyes shone, striking like a deity, with the outline of a sword shape suddenly appearing on his right arm, and he slashed at the humanoid creature at an extremely fast speed.
Sensing the danger of death.
The creature let out a baby-like sharp cry and turned its head.
But it was too late.
Light blazed around them, and an invisible treasure sword already sliced through its body.
And in the brief glow of the light, the creature's true appearance was revealed.
It was a monster with a human body but a head resembling a goat's, closely akin to a typical Western demon but with differences—a mouth full of fierce fangs, bloodthirsty and cruel.
Clearly, this was an unknown type of Extraordinary Creature.
However, at that moment.
This Extraordinary Creature was cut in half at the waist, blood spurting from the split, scattering all over the ground.
Even though it was bisected, the creature wasn't dead. It, still alive, used its human-like hoof-arms to support its upper body in an attempt to pounce at Yang Yilong.
However, such a counterattack was futile.
Yang Yilong's anger hadn't subsided, and he immediately lifted his right arm and swung it down.
The creature's head was instantly split in two.
Only after such a lethal attack did the Extraordinary Creature's life force begin to rapidly fade. Yet, even in its death throes, the split halves of its head still wriggled on the ground, making plaintive cries.
"Qin Qing, how are you doing?"
Yang Yilong no longer paid attention to the creature's death struggle and rushed over to his teammate's side.
"I won't die, but I can't feel my lower body," Qin Qing lay limply on the ground in an odd posture.
Yang Yilong quickly checked Qin Qing's wounds, but couldn't help his complexion changing slightly.
Qin Qing's back was a bloody mess, having had nearly half her torso taken by the creature's hoof, her spine shattered. If it weren't for the Cultivator's strong life force, such injuries would have been surely fatal.
"Several segments of the spine are shattered; the injuries are quite severe, but thankfully, the internal organs are unharmed. No worries, as long as we get back safely, you'll be cured, even if it costs a lot. Don't worry, I'll make sure you're healed," Yang Yilong then quickly pondered various medical options in his mind, and sighed a slight breath of relief.
Cultivators were evolving, and the world's medical system was also rapidly changing.
"That's good. We can't stay here now; the smell of blood will attract other creatures. We must leave quickly," Qin Qing's face was somewhat pale but she maintained her rationality.
"Okay."
Yang Yilong nodded. He no longer had the strength to hunt other creatures and had to withdraw from the area promptly; otherwise, encountering any other dangers, neither of them would be able to leave the danger zone alive.
He rapidly picked up Qin Qing, preparing to collect the corpse and leave the place.
But at that moment.
In the abandoned zoo shrouded in darkness, various roars and bellows of fierce beasts echoed.
"No, that monster's voice is transmitting some kind of message to the surrounding beasts," Qin Qing realized, seeing the goat-headed humanoid still making strange cries and feeling a sense of foreboding.
"I've noticed it, too."
Yang Yilong understood immediately. He followed up with a slash to silence the creature's cries, packed up the body, and then quickly made their retreat.