Mad Doctor No. 9

Wang Tian remained silent; he could sense a hint of danger. Just then—

rustling...

There seems to be something enormous moving.

Wang Tian pulled Lin Wan onto an ancient pine tree and said in a deep voice, "Climb up!"

Just as they gained their footing, the dense forest suddenly parted, and a huge creature rushed out from within.

A giant eagle? But it wasn't entirely an eagle. When it stood upright, it was over two meters tall, with a wingspan of over five meters. Its feathers were iron-gray, and most terrifying of all were its three claws, each toe as sharp as a dagger.

The giant eagle lowered its head and sniffed the corpse, then suddenly raised its head, its blood-red eyes fixed on the two. It let out a sharp cry and took flight!

Wang Tian drew a long sword and said in a deep voice, "Damn it!"

The giant eagle moved with lightning speed, reaching the tree in the blink of an eye, its sharp talons aimed at Wang Tian's face. Wang Tian raised his sword to block, and a clang of metal on metal rang out, nearly knocking him off the tree.

What incredible strength! This thing must be mutated! Lin Wan pulled out his pistol and fired a burst of bullets at the giant eagle, but the bullets only sparked and didn't penetrate a single feather.

"Useless! It has energy protecting it!" Wang Tian gritted his teeth and took out a talisman, which was the last "Thunder Talisman" that Zhang Qingyun had left him.

"Borrowing the power of heaven and earth, thunder, come!"

The talisman burned, and a tiny bolt of lightning struck the giant eagle's head. The eagle cried out in pain, its body swaying, but it did not fall; instead, it grew even more enraged. It swooped down frantically, its sharp talons and beak attacking in turn.

Wang Tian protected Lin Wan as they fought and retreated, his injuries becoming increasingly severe.

"This can't go on!" Lin Wan said urgently, "What's our weakness?"

Wang Tian stared intently at the giant eagle and suddenly noticed that every time the giant eagle made a move, it would subconsciously protect a tuft of white feathers on its neck.

"There!" he pointed ahead.

Wang Tian poured the last bit of his inner strength into his sword, leaped into the air, ignoring the giant eagle's claws reaching for his chest, and slashed at Bai Yu!

puff!

The blade pierced flesh, and the giant eagle let out a miserable cry, struggling desperately. Wang Tian was sent flying backward, crashing through a tree branch and landing on the ground, coughing up blood.

The giant eagle spat out a stream of blue blood from its neck, staggered into the air, and fled into the depths of the dense forest.

Lin Wan jumped down from the tree and helped him up: "Wang Tian!"

Another mouthful of blood spurted out, and Wang Tian's face turned ashen. That attack had almost exhausted all his strength, making it difficult for him to even stand.

"No...it's alright. Let's get out of here quickly, the smell of blood will attract more things."

With Lin Wan's support, the two staggered forward. Half an hour later, the group finally arrived at their destination—the Temple of Heaven.

This is a huge circular plaza, paved with black stone slabs covered with ancient shamanic script. In the center of the plaza is a stone platform upon which rests a tattered animal-skin drum.

This is a shamanic drum!

However, what made Wang Tian's pupils shrink slightly was that next to the divine drum, there was a peculiar plant. It was about a foot tall, with nine leaves that were as clear as jade, and golden liquid flowing between the veins. A thumb-sized, bright red fruit emitted a rich medicinal fragrance that was refreshing and invigorating.

This is a thousand-year-old snow ginseng! And it has already borne fruit! The efficacy of snow ginseng fruit is more than ten times that of snow ginseng!

However, before Wang Tian could be happy, applause suddenly rang out from the other end of the square.

"Amazing, truly amazing."

Yamamoto Chiyuki emerged from the shadows, followed by seven or eight men in black. She clapped her hands and laughed, "Brother Wang Tian, ​​I didn't expect you to actually find this place. To thank you for eliminating the guardian beast for us, I've decided—"

"I'll give you a quick and painless death."

The eight people spread out and surrounded Wang Tian and Lin Wan. This group exuded a chilling aura, their eyes lifeless, like emotionless killing machines. Wang Tian could sense that these people were at least at the peak of Inner Strength, and three of them had even reached the Transformation Stage.

Lin Wan said softly, "The Shadow Guards of the Dark Palace have taken a special drug that has dulled their sense of pain and made them fearless of death. This is recorded in the files of the Seventh Division."

Wang Tian's hand gripping the hilt of his sword trembled slightly. He had just fought a fierce battle with the giant eagle, and was already at his limit. To fight eight against one would be virtually impossible. But he had no way out. Behind him lay the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng and the Shamanic Drum; he couldn't allow them to fall into the hands of the Dark Temple under any circumstances.

"Yamamoto Chiyuki, what exactly is your Dark Palace up to?" Wang Tian took a breath and asked calmly.

"It's alright to tell you," Yamamoto Chiyuki smiled. "Lord Oni-Mask wants to open the gate to the Netherworld, release its power, and create a new world. These three keys are the Shaman's Drum, the Japanese Yata no Kagami (Eight-Foot Mirror), and the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Once they are all gathered, a new order will emerge."

"The Gate to the Netherworld..." Wang Tian recalled the memories of that Golden Core senior, "That's where ancient demons are sealed! You guys are simply playing with fire and getting burned!"

"From destruction comes construction." A fervent glint shone in Yamamoto Chiyuki's eyes. "The old world is decaying; it must rise from the ashes. Lord Oni-Masked will become the new god of this world!"

These people are insane! They've all gone mad!

Without saying anything more, Wang Tian sprang into action, slashing at the nearest shadow guard. At the same time, three silver needles flew out from his left hand, heading straight for Yamamoto Chiyuki.

The shadow guard reacted quickly, dodging the blade and striking Wang Tian's chest with a palm. The other seven also joined the attack. Wang Tian parried the two daggers with a backhand strike, but was simultaneously struck in the back and left leg, blood splattering everywhere.

Lin Wan wanted to help, but was stopped by two shadow guards: "Wang Tian!"

Yamamoto Chiyuki gave the order: "Kill him first!"

The shadow guards' attacks intensified. Wang Tian was forced to retreat, his body riddled with wounds. His vision blurred; he had lost too much blood, his old wounds had flared up, and he had reached his limit.

Could it be... that I am really going to perish here?

No! He must protect his family and avenge the Lungmen Society! He must survive!

In that critical moment, the mental cultivation method of the fifth level of the "Dragon Transformation Technique" suddenly appeared in Wang Tian's mind: "The dragon lies dormant in the abyss, waiting for its opportunity to strike; the dragon battles in the wild, its blood is black and yellow..."

This is a survival strategy for desperate situations!

His eyes suddenly hardened. Wang Tian abandoned all defense and charged towards Yamamoto Chiyuki! The shadow guards were shocked and rushed towards Wang Tian. Swords, palm strikes, hidden weapons... at least five or six attacks landed on Wang Tian simultaneously. This time, he was truly hit.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood, three ribs were broken, and his left arm was severed. However, at that moment, he appeared in front of Yamamoto Chiyuki.