Within the poisonous mist, Mo Tiange and Murong Zi sat quietly in meditation. The surroundings were utterly silent.
This was a rare moment of peace in this mountain forest. Elsewhere, battles raged in different locations. Though the forest was vast, cultivators inevitably encountered one another, and if one party belonged to the Zixia Sect, a chaotic fight would erupt. Some killed, others were killed. As night fell, for safety and to vent their anger, disciples from both sides gathered in groups, searching for lone opponents to kill while also guarding against being killed themselves.
Murong Zi seized the time to heal his wounds and recover his Spiritual Qi, while Mo Tiange remained secretly vigilant. Unlike her fellow disciples from cultivation families who harbored hatred for the Zixia Sect, she had no desire to be drawn into any conflict. She only wished to wait quietly until the exit formation opened, to exchange for a single Foundation Establishment Pill.
Suddenly, a ripple of Spiritual Qi disturbance traveled through the air. Mo Tiange opened her eyes. Just as she was about to look toward the Poison Spring behind them, she felt a gust of sharp wind. She hastily pushed Murong Zi aside and rolled away herself.
Her caution saved both their lives. The next moment, both of them widened their eyes, staring in shock at the creature before them.
This demon beast had a flat head, sharp teeth, and a ridged back like a small hill. Its lower half was still in the Poison Spring, but the portion revealed was enough for them to recognize what it was.
Murong Zi murmured, "A second-rank demon beast, the Iron-Toothed Crocodile. So there really is a second-rank demon beast here."
Mo Tiange pulled him back, waving her hand as she summoned her Formation Flags. Their original meditation spot was precisely where she had laid her Five Elements Life-Death Array. The Iron-Toothed Crocodile's attack had drawn it right into the formation.
"Senior Brother Murong, what is this?"
Murong Zi snapped back to reality, frowning. "It's a second-rank demon beast, equivalent to an early Foundation Establishment cultivator. We are no match for it."
There was no time for further words. The Iron-Toothed Crocodile lunged forward, its gaping maw snapping toward them.
The two hastily retreated. Mo Tiange waved her Formation Flags, and the hidden formation disks and flags beneath the ground instantly rose up. The Five Elements Life-Death Array began to operate.
With a snap, the objects around its body sprang up. The Iron-Toothed Crocodile seemed to pause for a moment, blinking its small eyes. But its cognitive abilities were insufficient to comprehend what was happening. After a brief hesitation, it lunged again, wanting to swallow the two little mosquitoes before it in one bite.
But it failed. At its feet, twisting, coiling vines instantly appeared, entangling its entire body and rendering it unable to move an inch. It thrashed its tail in annoyance, and the vines snapped one after another.
Cold sweat broke out on Mo Tiange's forehead. "This demon beast's brute strength is too great. My formation won't hold it for long."
"This..." Murong Zi's face also paled. "This little time isn't enough for us to escape."
Mo Tiange waved her Formation Flags again. Instantly, water and quicksand appeared within the formation, rapidly turning into a swamp that trapped the Iron-Toothed Crocodile once more. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Senior Brother Murong, I'll hold it off. You attack it. If we can't outrun it, we have no choice but to fight!"
Murong Zi hesitated. "We..."
"If we don't fight now, it'll be too late!" Mo Tiange shouted. "Hurry! I'll try to keep it from attacking you. Do your best to strike."
Infected by her attitude, Murong Zi clenched his teeth. "Fine! At worst, we'll fight with everything we've got!"
Two Qi Refining cultivators were certainly no match for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but a second-rank demon beast without cognitive abilities or magic treasures was something they could attempt to fight.
Murong Zi immediately summoned his flying sword and activated his Light Body Technique, launching his attack.
But the next moment, his expression turned grim. His flying sword, a gift from a senior in his sect, had even been infused with rare Iron Essence, making it exceptionally sharp. It had given him many advantages in past battles. Yet, against the Iron-Toothed Crocodile's thick hide, it had absolutely no effect.
After the swamp also failed to hold the crocodile, Mo Tiange waved her flags once more. Blazing flames erupted within the formation, while she herself pulled out a handful of Bewildering Flower seeds and flung them over. The great fire made the crocodile pause, but the Bewildering Flowers merely caused it to swish its tail. With her current Spiritual Qi, the seeds she could use were those that grew quickly, but such things were beneath the notice of a second-rank demon beast.
Helpless, she pulled out a handful of Spirit-Replenishing Pills. Using a formation to trap a second-rank demon beast consumed Spiritual Qi far too quickly. She had no choice but to rely on pill-munching to drag this out.
On the other side, Murong Zi was not a man of empty reputation. Seeing his flying sword was useless, he immediately switched to something else—a golden, glittering whip. With a crack, the whip lashed out, transforming into a streak of golden light that emitted a loud snap. But after the strike, Murong Zi's expression changed again. This whip also failed to break through the Iron-Toothed Crocodile's thick hide!
After several such attempts, Murong Zi's face turned ashen. Not only could he not break the Iron-Toothed Crocodile's defense, but he also had a spirit tool bitten and ruined by it. Truly worthy of the name 'Iron-Toothed,' its teeth were exceedingly sharp.
Mo Tiange wasn't faring much better. Though she relied on the convenience of her formation, manipulating it to withstand the attacks of a second-rank demon beast caused her Spiritual Qi to drain far too rapidly. She could already feel her Spiritual Qi nearing exhaustion and had no choice but to grab a handful of Spirit-Replenishing Pills and stuff them into her mouth—with such a rapid loss rate, she no longer feared wasting pills. If she didn't survive, having more pills would be useless.
"Use talismans! Attack it with talismans!" Mo Tiange shouted at the dazed Murong Zi. This Iron-Toothed Crocodile had thick skin and flesh; that layer of hard hide was comparable to armor, impossible to pierce. Only spells could penetrate that hide and injure it.
Hearing her shout, Murong Zi snapped back to attention. He pulled out a handful of talismans and, without a second thought, slapped them all onto the beast.
These talismans contained spells of various elements—sea of fire, blocks of ice, stones, quicksand, vines—all crashing down on the Iron-Toothed Crocodile's head. This time, the crocodile finally reacted. It lifted its head, its small eyes fixing on Murong Zi hovering in mid-air. Its mouth opened, and a jet of water shot toward him.
Murong Zi was greatly alarmed. He twisted his body, barely avoiding it, but accidentally got splashed with some. His body immediately stiffened, and he plummeted to the ground.
Seizing this opportunity, Mo Tiange quickly pulled out the formation disks and flags for her Maze Formation and Spirit-Trapping Formation, hastily setting them up. Then she waved her Formation Flags. Within the array, coiling vines appeared once more, binding the Iron-Toothed Crocodile tightly. The crocodile's attention returned to this side, but it found the flow of Spiritual Qi within its body slowing. Enraged, it forgot about the other little flying insect and focused on tearing the one before it to shreds. But as it crawled forward, the scene before it changed. It could no longer find the little insect's presence and became bewildered.
Seeing Murong Zi still hadn't gotten up, Mo Tiange grew anxious. "Senior Brother Murong!"
As if hearing her voice, Murong Zi struggled, stuffing a few pills into his mouth, and laboriously got to his feet. He was already seriously injured; using spirit tools and the Light Body Technique had been a strain. To make matters worse, he had been hit by the Iron-Toothed Crocodile's water jet. This was the Poison Spring; everything around it was toxic, let alone a demon beast that had advanced to second rank here? The Iron-Toothed Crocodile's poison was far stronger than the poisonous mist, immediately worsening his injuries.
Ignoring everything else, he swallowed a few healing and antidote pills, struggled to fly up again, and with a wave of his hand, sent a dense cloud of fine flying needles toward the Iron-Toothed Crocodile's eyes. The crocodile blinked and shook its head, deflecting some of the needles. The rest struck the thick hide on its head, having no effect whatsoever, and fell off one by one. Murong Zi didn't give up, still flinging handfuls of needles. Within the Spirit-Trapping Formation, the Iron-Toothed Crocodile's Spiritual Qi flow had slowed. It finally failed to dodge. With a *pfft* sound, its eye was pierced. Enraged, it threw its head back and emitted a guttural, rumbling roar.
Mo Tiange felt a surge of joy and immediately stuffed another handful of Spirit-Replenishing Pills into her mouth. She waved her Formation Flags, and a sea of fire crashed down within the formation. The ground shook. After being hit by spells multiple times, the Iron-Toothed Crocodile's thick hide finally showed signs of scorching. Murong Zi didn't let this opportunity slip. He retrieved his flying sword again and, aiming at the burned spot, thrust it in.
This strike landed solidly, piercing the Iron-Toothed Crocodile's skin and sinking deep into its flesh. The crocodile roared in pain, thrashing its tail and snapping a large tree by the spring's edge. But it still couldn't find where those annoying little insects were. What its eyes saw remained the scene of the Poison Spring it had inhabited for centuries. No matter how it crawled, it always ended up back in the same place. Blood flowed from its eye, its body ached from the spell impacts, and something was stuck in its flesh. It let out pained, rumbling cries but still couldn't find the two little insects, only the spells that kept crashing down. Finally, it could endure no more. Another spell crashed down, and it could no longer open its eyes.
Mo Tiange took a deep, ragged breath. Her legs gave way, and she could no longer stand, falling to her knees. There wasn't a trace of Spiritual Qi left in her body. A second-rank demon beast was truly far more powerful than a first-rank one. She had been able to kill dozens of demon monkeys with her Five Elements Life-Death Array without any danger. But against this second-rank demon beast, despite expending so much effort and consuming so many pills, she had only managed to trap it. If not for Murong Zi's help, she would have been dead today.
Murong Zi lay collapsed not far away, unmoving. The moment the Iron-Toothed Crocodile died, he had fallen to the ground, unable to rise.
Mo Tiange felt a pang of worry. She swallowed another Spirit-Replenishing Pill, barely recovering a sliver of Spiritual Qi, and struggled to her feet. Dragging her heavy legs, she walked toward Murong Zi.
"Senior Brother Murong! Senior Brother Murong!" Murong Zi lay on the ground, motionless. There was a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, clearly vomited due to his severe injuries. Mo Tiange gritted her teeth, took out a Minor Restoration Pill, and placed it in his mouth. Though she herself wasn't injured, her Spiritual Qi was completely exhausted. If any danger came in the short term, it would be troublesome. It was better to ensure his survival first. Having two people together was always safer.
After feeding him the Minor Restoration Pill, Murong Zi slowly regained consciousness. Seeing her, a look of uncertainty appeared in his eyes. "Junior Brother Ye, the medicine you gave me..."
Mo Tiange gave a bitter smile. "I prepared it specifically for this trial. For now, I suppose it's Senior Brother's gain." She didn't dare say she still had a whole bottle. Although Senior Brother Murong didn't seem like that kind of person and was Murong Yan's cousin, she didn't have much of a relationship with him.
Murong Zi didn't doubt her. His face showed a touched expression as he said earnestly, "Thank you, Junior Brother Ye. If not for the pill you gave me, my injuries certainly wouldn't have lasted until tomorrow."
Mo Tiange merely waved her hand. "If Senior Brother Murong doesn't want to take advantage of me, you can repay me with pills after we get out. For now, heal your wounds first. Otherwise, if we encounter anyone else..." At this point, she frowned. Someone was coming!