Poor Youqin Jingheng was about to lose his mind.
At this point, there was barely a single part of his body that remained uninjured.
His once-neat clothes had long since been torn into strips, hanging miserably from his body.
Cuts of varying depths covered his arms and shoulders, and several places were already stained dark with blood.
His breathing was ragged.
His face had gone pale.
Even the hand he used to form seals was beginning to tremble.
Boom!
Another violent impact sent a powerful tremor through his arms.
Youqin Jingheng gritted his teeth and staggered backward several steps before barely managing to steady himself.
His arms were numb.
His chest felt tight.
And worst of all— the poisonous miasma around them was becoming thicker and thicker.
Every time the Demon-Winged Toad sprayed venom, that disgusting blue-purple poisonous mist spread even farther through the swamp.
Even with the Miasma-Dispelling Pill Yuchi Mengxing had given him earlier, he was beginning to struggle.
His vision blurred from time to time.
His limbs felt weak.
Even his reactions were gradually slowing down.
If Yuchi Mengxing hadn’t occasionally seized an opportunity to shove another antidote pill into his mouth— Youqin Jingheng genuinely suspected he would have died eight hundred times over by now.
No.
A thousand times!
“CROAK—!” The Demon-Winged Toad let out another deafening roar.
Its massive body lunged forward.
Boom!
One enormous front claw slammed down.
Youqin Jingheng’s expression changed.
He immediately raised both arms and gathered spiritual energy in front of himself.
Bang—!
The enormous claw crashed against his defense.
The force was terrifying.
Youqin Jingheng’s knees bent instantly.
The ground beneath his feet cracked.
His arms trembled violently.
“Ugh—!” He nearly coughed up blood.
The Demon-Winged Toad pressed down harder.
Youqin Jingheng gritted his teeth until his jaw hurt.
His face turned red from exertion.
Finally— he couldn’t take it anymore.
“Your talismans—!” He forced the words out through clenched teeth.
“They’re useless!!” High above, Yuchi Mengxing’s eyelid twitched.
Youqin Jingheng continued shouting, his voice stretching into something dangerously close to a wail.
“Do you have anything else?!” “I—can’t—hold—on—much—longer——!” His voice echoed tragically across the swamp.
Yuchi Mengxing: “…” Several veins visibly throbbed on her forehead.
She still had one unused Explosion Talisman pinched between her fingers.
She looked at it.
Then she looked at the Demon-Winged Toad below, which had already endured ten explosions and somehow seemed even more energetic than before.
Her expression darkened.
“Damn it…” She muttered under her breath.
“Who said self-created talismans were reliable?” “I thought these things would blow the sky apart.” She glanced at the talisman in her hand with undisguised disdain.
“And they turned out to be glorified firecrackers!” If she had known they were this weak, she would’ve drawn the explosive runes several times thicker!
Now look at this.
Ten talismans.
Ten!
And all they had accomplished was bursting a bunch of poisonous lumps on that giant toad’s back.
Instead of weakening it, they had practically enraged it into a second life.
Meanwhile, poor Youqin Jingheng was being beaten half to death.
Yuchi Mengxing’s eyes narrowed.
No.
The ordinary Explosion Talismans weren’t enough.
If she wanted something stronger— then there was only one option left.
Her expression gradually became serious.
“It looks like…” “I’ll have to use this one.” She slipped the remaining Explosion Talisman back into her bag.
Then her hand reached inside her robes.
When it emerged again— a completely black talisman rested between her fingers.
Unlike the ordinary yellow talismans she had used before, this one was pitch-black from top to bottom.
Golden runes covered its surface.
The markings were intricate, layered over one another in complicated patterns.
And between those golden lines— Crackle!
A tiny arc of lightning suddenly jumped.
Crack—!
Another spark flickered across the surface.
The faint sound of electricity was unmistakable.
Even before it was activated, the talisman already gave off an oppressive aura.
Yuchi Mengxing stared at it.
This was another one of her own creations.
The Thunder Explosion Talisman.
A genuine fourth-rank talisman!
As for its actual power…
Well.
That was another problem.
Because— she hadn’t tested this one either.
Yuchi Mengxing: “…” Could it work?
She had absolutely no idea.
But judging from the aura coming off it…
Surely it had something, right?
At the very least, it looked much more impressive than those Explosion Talismans.
And right now— she didn’t exactly have the luxury of being picky.
Below, Youqin Jingheng was still desperately holding off the Demon-Winged Toad.
His feet had already sunk several inches into the muddy ground.
His arms trembled harder and harder.
Clearly— he really was reaching his limit.
Yuchi Mengxing’s gaze hardened.
Fine.
No more hesitation.
She drew in a deep breath.
Then— she moved.
Her foot pushed hard against the thick branch beneath her.
Whoosh!
Yuchi Mengxing leaped down from the towering tree.
Her body dropped rapidly through the poisonous mist.
The wind whipped through her clothes.
Midair, she twisted sharply, flipping herself around with remarkable agility.
At the same time, she raised the black Thunder Explosion Talisman between two fingers.
Her eyes locked onto the enormous Demon-Winged Toad.
Then— she shouted at the top of her lungs.
“HEY!” “BIG GUY!” The Demon-Winged Toad paused.
Its enormous eyes rolled slightly.
Yuchi Mengxing grinned.
“Look over here!” “I’ve got something super delicious for you!” Youqin Jingheng: “…” Delicious?
At a time like this?!
But strangely enough— the Demon-Winged Toad actually reacted.
Its two enormous eyeballs rolled with a loud, almost comical movement.
Then— its gaze locked onto Yuchi Mengxing in midair.
The creature had originally been completely focused on the poor cockroach-like Youqin Jingheng, who had somehow survived no matter how many times it attacked him.
But now— its attention shifted.
Almost instantly.
The pressure on Youqin Jingheng disappeared.
His eyes widened.
The Demon-Winged Toad abandoned him!
Its enormous body twisted sharply.
Boom!
Mud exploded beneath it as the beast changed direction.
Then— it launched itself straight toward Yuchi Mengxing!
“CROAK——!” Its mouth opened wide.
A horrifying stench immediately rushed toward her.
Yuchi Mengxing nearly stopped breathing.
Holy— That breath!
How many years has this thing gone without brushing its teeth?!
But she didn’t have time to complain.
Because the next instant— Whoosh!
A thick, enormous tongue suddenly shot out of the Demon-Winged Toad’s mouth!
It was long.
Heavy.
And covered in disgusting, foul-smelling mucus.
The tongue tore through the air like an iron whip, sweeping straight toward Yuchi Mengxing.
Fast!
Extremely fast!
If it wrapped around her— she would be dragged directly into that enormous mouth.
Yet Yuchi Mengxing didn’t panic.
Because she had been waiting for exactly this moment.
The instant the Demon-Winged Toad opened its mouth, her expression changed.
The teasing smile vanished.
Her eyes turned cold and focused.
The thick tongue came whistling toward her.
Closer.
Closer!
Now!
Yuchi Mengxing’s wrist flicked.
Without the slightest hesitation— she threw the black Thunder Explosion Talisman directly toward the Demon-Winged Toad’s wide-open mouth!
Whoosh!
The black talisman flashed through the air.
Straight past the enormous tongue.
Straight between its jaws.
And— right into its mouth!
Yuchi Mengxing’s eyes flashed.
Got it!
She didn’t wait even half a second to see what would happen next.
Her other hand had already moved.
A second talisman appeared between her fingers.
The moment the Thunder Explosion Talisman entered the Demon-Winged Toad’s mouth— Crack!
Yuchi Mengxing crushed the second talisman.
Instant Movement Talisman!
Buzz—!
Space around her body distorted.
Her figure blurred.
And then— vanished.
The Demon-Winged Toad’s enormous tongue swept through the exact place where she had been a fraction of a second earlier.
It hit nothing.
At almost the same moment— Whoosh!
Yuchi Mengxing appeared beside Youqin Jingheng.
“You—!” Youqin Jingheng stared at her in shock.
He hadn’t even recovered from what he had just witnessed.
She had jumped down.
Provoked the Demon-Winged Toad.
Lured it into opening its mouth.
Thrown a fourth-rank Thunder Explosion Talisman directly inside.
And then used an Instant Movement Talisman to escape.
All of it— in one continuous sequence.
There had been almost no pause between any of her movements.
But Yuchi Mengxing wasn’t finished.
The instant she appeared beside him, her hand was already reaching into her bag again.
She pulled out another talisman.
Youqin Jingheng recognized it immediately.
His eyes widened.
A teleportation talisman!
Yuchi Mengxing didn’t waste a single word.
She raised the talisman— and slapped it down!
Her movements were so smooth and decisive that Youqin Jingheng could only stare at her, completely dumbfounded.
From jumping off the tree— to baiting the Demon-Winged Toad— to feeding it the Thunder Explosion Talisman— to escaping with the Instant Movement Talisman— and finally activating another teleportation talisman…
Everything had happened in the blink of an eye.
Fast.
Precise.
Without the slightest hesitation.
Youqin Jingheng stood there covered in wounds, drenched in sweat, staring at Yuchi Mengxing as though he were seeing her for the first time.
For several seconds— his mind was completely blank.
In the end, only four words remained.
I concede defeat.