Youqin Jingheng was on the verge of a complete mental breakdown.
He slowly lowered his head and looked at the Miasma-Dispelling Pill in his palm.
Then he looked at Yuchi Mengxing, who had already retreated several meters away.
“…” Was she serious?
He was only at the mid Yellow Rank!
And she actually expected him to take on a fifth-rank Demon-Winged Toad by himself?!
That was a fifth-rank magical beast!
An existence comparable to a Qi Refining cultivator!
Youqin Jingheng suddenly felt that the tiny pill in his hand had become unbearably heavy.
Could he actually defeat something like that?
More importantly— what exactly was going through that girl’s head?!
Did she secretly hold some kind of grudge against him and intend to use the Demon-Winged Toad to get rid of him?
Or— did she simply have some kind of blind, inexplicable confidence in his abilities?
Neither possibility made him feel any better.
Youqin Jingheng’s expression changed again and again.
Before he could figure out which possibility was worse, Yuchi Mengxing’s urgent voice suddenly came from nearby.
“Hey!” “Stop standing there!” Youqin Jingheng snapped out of his thoughts.
He turned toward her— and immediately fell silent again.
Because Yuchi Mengxing was already scrambling up one of the towering trees nearby.
She grabbed a thick branch with both hands, kicked against the trunk, and hauled herself upward.
Her movements weren’t exactly elegant.
In fact— she was practically climbing for her life.
“Move!” Yuchi Mengxing shouted while climbing.
“The Demon-Winged Toad has already caught your scent!” Youqin Jingheng: “…” My scent?
He suddenly had an even worse feeling.
Meanwhile, Yuchi Mengxing had finally managed to climb onto a thick branch high above the ground.
She steadied herself against the trunk and quickly glanced toward the swamp.
There was no time to waste.
Her hand immediately reached into the bag hanging at her side.
Rustle!
She pulled out— an entire stack of talismans.
Not one.
Not two.
A whole stack.
Without hesitation, Yuchi Mengxing raised her hand and tossed them into the air.
Whoosh— The talismans scattered above her.
But instead of falling to the ground, they suddenly stopped in midair.
One after another, the pieces of paper straightened on their own, as though held upright by an invisible force.
Then— they began to move.
Rustle, rustle, rustle— Dozens of talismans slowly rotated around Yuchi Mengxing.
Her expression became serious.
Her lips moved rapidly as she muttered an incantation under her breath.
The words were so fast and obscure that anyone listening probably wouldn’t have understood a single syllable.
At the same time, her ten fingers began forming hand seals.
One.
Another.
Then another.
Her fingers moved faster and faster, almost leaving afterimages in the air.
The talismans spinning around her gradually began to glow.
Faint golden light appeared along the markings on their surfaces.
Yuchi Mengxing’s eyes sharpened.
Her hand seals suddenly stopped.
Then— she pointed outward.
“Go!” Whoosh!
All the talismans shot away at once.
One after another, they flew toward the surrounding trees with astonishing precision.
Smack!
Smack!
Smack!
Each talisman attached itself firmly to a tree trunk.
The instant the final talisman fell into place— Buzz!
The runes lit up simultaneously.
Golden light flickered between the trees.
For one brief moment, faint lines of spiritual energy seemed to connect every talisman together before disappearing from sight.
The air around Yuchi Mengxing rippled gently.
Like the surface of still water disturbed by a falling leaf.
One ripple.
Then another.
And finally— everything became calm again.
At first glance, nothing seemed to have changed.
But Yuchi Mengxing knew better.
The temporary barrier was complete.
She had successfully sealed off the area around herself.
Meanwhile, below the tree— Youqin Jingheng was no longer in the mood to wonder what Yuchi Mengxing was doing.
Because not long after she shouted her warning— something inside the swamp noticed him.
The previously still surface suddenly trembled.
Bubble.
Bubble.
Thick bubbles rose from the murky water.
The grayish miasma hovering above the swamp began to stir.
Youqin Jingheng’s expression changed.
His entire body tensed.
Then— the swamp erupted.
Splash!
Mud and filthy water exploded in every direction.
A massive figure suddenly leaped out from within the poisonous swamp.
The instant it appeared, its enormous eyes locked directly onto Youqin Jingheng.
There was no hesitation.
No warning.
The magical beast opened its hideous mouth and launched itself toward him.
From high above the ground, Yuchi Mengxing had just finished arranging the last part of her barrier.
She lowered her hands and immediately looked down.
And then— she finally got a clear look at the Demon-Winged Toad.
“…” Yuchi Mengxing’s face stiffened.
The creature was enormous.
Its body was almost the size of an elephant.
Two short, twisted wings protruded from its back.
They looked somewhat like the damaged wings of a bat, except thicker, uglier, and far more disturbing.
Its entire back was covered in densely packed poisonous lumps.
Large ones.
Small ones.
Some were dark green.
Others had an ugly purplish tint.
They bulged beneath its skin as though they might burst open at any moment.
Yuchi Mengxing stared at it.
Her scalp went numb.
Holy crap.
So this was a fifth-rank magical beast?
She had known the Demon-Winged Toad would be ugly.
But knowing something and seeing it with her own eyes were two completely different experiences.
This thing was beyond ugly.
It was horrifyingly disgusting!
Every time the creature jumped, its massive body crashed against the ground.
Boom!
The earth trembled.
Mud splashed everywhere.
Boom!
Another leap.
Even the nearby trees seemed to shake slightly from the impact.
Yuchi Mengxing shuddered.
Holy crap!
This thing is disgusting!
A poisonous toad was already bad enough.
But this one was the size of an elephant— and it could fly!
Whoever had designed this creature clearly had something against humanity.
Below— Youqin Jingheng had no time to complain.
The Demon-Winged Toad lunged at him again.
Its massive mouth opened, revealing a dark, disgusting interior.
Youqin Jingheng’s expression instantly turned serious.
He stepped backward and quickly formed a hand seal.
Spiritual energy surged around him.
“Wind Blades!” He shouted.
Whoosh—!
The air around him suddenly changed.
A violent wind swept across the swamp.
Leaves shook wildly.
Dead branches trembled.
Even the grayish miasma was briefly torn apart by the sudden gust.
Rustle, rustle, rustle—!
The wind gathered rapidly in front of Youqin Jingheng.
Within moments, several crescent-shaped blades formed in midair.
They were almost transparent.
But the sharp aura coming from them was unmistakable.
Youqin Jingheng’s hands moved.
The wind blades shot forward.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
They tore through the air and flew directly toward the Demon-Winged Toad.
“Croak—!” The magical beast let out a harsh, thunderous cry.
Its enormous cheeks suddenly swelled.
Once.
Twice.
Then— its mouth opened.
Pfft!
A mass of blue-purple venom shot out.
The moment the poisonous liquid entered the air, it split apart, forming several sharp blades of venom.
The toxic blades flew straight toward Youqin Jingheng’s wind blades.
The two attacks collided in midair.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Several explosions rang out in rapid succession.
Wind and venom burst apart simultaneously.
A foul-smelling wave of air swept outward.
The stench was so strong that even Yuchi Mengxing, sitting high above inside her temporary barrier, instinctively wrinkled her nose.
Below, the effect was even worse.
Drops of venom scattered across the ground.
Sizzle— The moment they touched the grass, white smoke rose from the surface.
Green leaves blackened almost instantly.
The plants shriveled.
Even patches of mud began bubbling under the corrosive poison.
Yuchi Mengxing’s eyelid twitched.
That poison— was definitely not something she wanted touching her.
Meanwhile, Youqin Jingheng had already launched another attack.
The Demon-Winged Toad retaliated almost immediately.
Wind howled.
Venom flew.
Boom!
Another collision shook the swamp.
Neither side backed down.
One was a mid Yellow Rank cultivator.
The other— a fifth-rank magical beast.
One attack followed another.
Wind blades cut through the air.
Poison blades tore across the swamp.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The sounds of their attacks colliding echoed continuously through the dead forest.
Mud flew everywhere.
Dead branches snapped.
Toxic liquid corroded everything it touched.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Ten exchanges.
Twenty.
Thirty…
Before long, man and beast had already traded dozens of blows.
Yet— neither side had managed to gain the upper hand.
Youqin Jingheng couldn’t bring down the Demon-Winged Toad.
And the Demon-Winged Toad— couldn’t defeat him either.
For dozens of exchanges, the two remained locked in battle— completely evenly matched.