The Pastoral Life of a Cultivation Master

Chapter 3222 The Black Shadow Explodes
After Qian Ying and Zhou Zixing joined forces to send Qian Yuren flying, they hadn't even had time to catch their breath when they suddenly felt a chilling aura approaching.

The two turned their heads at the same time and saw a dark figure standing silently beside them. A pair of scarlet eyes gleamed eerily in the dim emergency fluorescent light and stared intently at them.

"Hmph! You beast, how dare you mock us like this." Qian Ying muttered under his breath, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, his right hand already on the hilt of the innate short sword at his waist.

However, just as Qian Ying drew his sword, the dark figure seemed to have anticipated this. With a swift movement, it turned around like a ghost and sped away into the shadows.

Its speed was astonishing; it had already covered several meters in the blink of an eye, leaving only a blur that slowly dissipated in the spot.

Qian Ying thrust his sword forward, the blade slicing through the air, but only striking nothingness. He frowned, inwardly alarmed: "Such speed! This beast can predict my movements?"

"Oh!"

A muffled thud suddenly rang out, shaking the entire hall. It turned out that Zhou Zixing had made his move.

Zhou Zixing did not draw his sword immediately. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and concentrated all his inner energy into his right fist. The moment the dark figure turned around, his punch, which had been ready for the moment, was unleashed like an arrow.

The fist whistled through the air, carrying the immense power of a master of innate strength, and struck the shadowy figure squarely on the back.

The dark figure fled for several meters, only to be suddenly struck hard from behind. The entire body—if it could still be called "human"—was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the stone wall behind it. With a deafening roar, a dent was smashed into the hard granite wall, and gravel rained down.

The black image hung on the wall for several seconds before slowly sliding down, leaving a strange black mark on the wall.

"Excellent boxing skills!" Qian Ying exclaimed, but his figure had already darted out like lightning.

He knew the principle of striking while the iron was hot, and with a flash of cold light, he aimed his innate short sword at the back of the dark figure.

The moment the sword pierced through, Qian Ying felt a strange sensation—neither the softness of flesh and blood nor the hardness of metal, but rather like piercing through a thick layer of leather, with considerable resistance.

"Break!" Qian Ying shouted, exerting force with his wrist and channeling his innate power into the sword. With a "whoosh," the short sword finally pierced through the dark figure, pinning it firmly to the wall. The sword was embedded three inches into the wall, and the dark figure hung in mid-air, its limbs limp and seemingly on the verge of death.

Qian Ying felt a little calmer and was about to draw her sword to deliver another blow when she saw the black shadow's head suddenly turn around in a way that completely defied human anatomy—not turn around, but rotate its head 180 degrees on its own!

On that featureless, pitch-black face, only those scarlet eyes stood out, staring intently at Qian Ying with a hint of mockery and venom.

"What the hell is that!" Qian Ying's heart skipped a beat, but his hands didn't slow down at all. Instead of drawing his innate short sword, he clenched his left fist, gathered his innate power, and threw a heavy punch at the black shadow's head. This punch contained eighty percent of his power; it could dent even fine steel.

"Oh!"

The fist slammed solidly into the shadowy figure's head, producing a dull thud that sent shivers down your spine. The figure's head exploded, but not in a normal carnage—the upper half of its skull was punctured like a sac filled with viscous fluid; not a drop of blood flowed, only countless splatters of grayish-black, sticky liquid emanated, emitting a nauseating stench. Half of the shadowy figure's head was gone! Yet, miraculously, the figure remained alive.

"Ugh—" Qian Ying nearly vomited on the spot, quickly holding his breath and suppressing the churning in his stomach. He had been a master of the Innate Realm for many years, participated in numerous battles, and witnessed countless horrific scenes, but the bizarre situation before him sent chills down his spine. Within the exploded head, some wriggling black threads could be vaguely seen, as if they were alive.

He gritted his teeth, preparing to deliver another punch to the monster and finish it off, when a piercing screech suddenly erupted from the headless black shadow's body—

"Gah—!"

The sound was shrill and piercing, as if it could pierce through one's eardrums and go straight to one's brain. Qian Ying felt a sharp pain in both ears, his mind was buzzing, and he almost lost his balance. He was horrified to find that where the black shadow's head had exploded, a huge mouth had split open, with a scarlet tongue curling inside and sharp fangs standing out menacingly, emitting a piercing shriek at him.

Even more terrifying, after the shadowy figure screamed, it began to swell rapidly, like a balloon being inflated wildly, growing several times its original size in the blink of an eye. Its skin was stretched to be as thin as a cicada's wing, and the churning black substance inside could be vaguely seen.

"Not good! He's about to self-destruct!" Qian Ying's pupils shrank sharply. His instincts, honed by rich combat experience, allowed him to react instantly. He swiftly drew the innate short sword embedded in the shadowy figure and retreated like an arrow released from a bow.

He circulated his innate true energy at full power, forming a protective aura around his body.

"boom--!"

A deafening explosion rang out, and the dark figure's body was completely shattered.

Countless grayish-black slime particles transformed into a sky full of starlight, shooting out in all directions at astonishing speed. Each drop of slime contained terrifying corrosiveness, and wherever it passed, even the air seemed to be scorched and distorted.

Although Qian Ying retreated quickly, a few drops of sticky liquid still followed him. His gaze sharpened, and with a swift movement of his left hand, he snatched a heavy mahogany cabinet from the side and held it in front of him. With a hissing sound, several holes were instantly corroded into the hard surface of the cabinet, and wisps of blue smoke rose from it.

On the other side, Zhou Zixing reacted just as swiftly. In a flash, he hid behind a stone pillar as thick as a person's embrace. The pillar was struck by the slime, sending stone chips flying, but it managed to block the deadly attack.

However, the martial artists who were dismantling the door and windows at the entrance were not so lucky.

Chen Mo stood at the edge of the crowd, his eyes constantly watching the battle unfold inside the hall.

He caught a glimpse of the strange, sticky liquid splattering everywhere, and a sense of unease rose within him. Without thinking twice, he grabbed Ouyang Nan's arm and hissed, "Back off!"

The two retreated simultaneously. Chen Mo used his lightness skill to its fullest extent, his toes barely touching the ground as he skimmed backward like a dragonfly skimming the water. In the blink of an eye, they had retreated more than ten zhang, just barely avoiding the area covered by the slime.

However, the other martial artists at the tenth level of the Acquired Realm were not so lucky. They were focused on the demolition work, and by the time they realized the danger, the countless sparks of light were already upon them.

He quickly deployed his own qi and blood protective shield!