The venomous poison-armor fire immediately burned fiercely on the manticore ash beast's face and inside its mouth, corroding its flesh. The agony and horror were indescribable. In an instant, the beast's face and head were riddled with dense, bloody holes, one next to another, all spewing green flames. Its massive skull was burned into a honeycomb in the blink of an eye.
Gong Xiao retreated at once after succeeding, regrouping with Su Li, then condensed three water shields to block in front of them both. Su Li gasped for breath, having released nearly all the electricity stored in his body at once. The manticore ash beast absorbed it all, smoke pouring from its seven orifices, utterly powerless to resist. The most terrifying were the alien spines and poison-armor fire Gong Xiao had fired, which had nearly burned the beast's head into a hollow cavity, even its brain matter corroded and consumed. Though it possessed undying flames, it couldn't stop the deeply penetrating poison-armor fire.
As they watched the massive manticore ash beast crash heavily into the water, Su Li and Gong Xiao exchanged glances and let out long sighs, knowing the creature was finished. Only then did they feel their bodies go limp with exhaustion. Gong Xiao, in particular, had used "Storm Shield" repeatedly, draining her stamina greatly. Unlike Su Li, whose heart had been enhanced, she had fought to the point of utter fatigue, but she gritted her teeth and persisted until the beast fell.
Just as they relaxed, Su Li was about to speak when he suddenly sensed an undercurrent stirring beneath the water. Reacting with lightning speed, he shouted and yanked Gong Xiao, trying to pull her away. The change below was too fast, indescribably fast. The moment Su Li noticed something wrong, he instinctively tried to drag Gong Xiao aside, but she unexpectedly threw her arms around him, using her own back to shield him from the black shadow shooting up from below.
"Gong—" Su Li's eyes widened in horror. He never imagined Gong Xiao would use her body to block the attack. It came so swiftly that she couldn't even summon "Storm Shield" in time, so she used herself as a barrier. With a muffled grunt, the powerful impact launched Gong Xiao into the air, still clutching Su Li, before they both crashed back into the water. Gong Xiao opened her cherry lips, blood gushing from her mouth. Her back was instantly a mess of torn flesh, and countless bones had shattered in that moment. The terrifying blow had nearly severed her upper body entirely.
Under the immense force, Su Li and the clinging Gong Xiao plunged into the water. He flipped her into his arms, kicked off the bottom with "Spider Walk," sending up a spray of water, and with a boom, carried her several meters away. Barely half a second later, a dark mass slammed into the spot where they had fallen, erupting with a thunderous roar. If Su Li had reacted even half a second slower, they would have been hit again.
Holding Gong Xiao, Su Li activated "Spider Walk" at full power, entering the peak state of "Demon Muscle," pushing his speed to the limit. Water splashed everywhere as he frantically treaded across the surface, gaining astonishing propulsion. He zigzagged wildly, dodging the dark mass's relentless attacks, then suddenly let out a long howl and hurled the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword from his right hand. He put all his strength into the throw, and under his terrifying power, the sword shot out like a bolt of lightning, piercing through the dark mass with a sharp *shiiing* sound.
The dark mass clearly hadn't expected Su Li to suddenly throw his weapon while fleeing for his life. Its chest was instantly pierced, the sword carrying immense force flying out through its back, traveling another twenty meters before losing momentum and splashing into the water. Struck by this blow, the dark mass finally halted, emitting a terrifying hissing sound, now deeply wary of Su Li and refraining from further attack.
Sweat poured down Su Li's face, his eyes tinged with red. He held Gong Xiao tightly and stopped. He could feel her condition was critical—her breath faint, a sign of impending death.
"Gong Xiao—" Su Li's eyes turned bloodshot. He couldn't believe she had been so foolish as to take that devastating blow for him.
"I... I'm fine..." Gong Xiao could barely keep her eyes open, but the strong-willed woman forced her mouth open to whisper weakly.
"It doesn't make sense. What about the manticore ash beast's spirit source?" Su Li grew frantic. Gong Xiao had killed the beast and should have harvested a massive amount of spirit source at once. With that, no matter how severe her injuries, they should heal. Why hadn't she received any yet? Could the beast not be dead?
Seeing Gong Xiao's breath growing fainter, on the verge of death, Su Li's forehead veins bulged with desperation, a pressure building in his chest as if about to explode. Suddenly, a massive orb of light shot from afar, striking Gong Xiao's forehead just as she was about to die, vanishing into her in an instant. She shuddered, as if waking from a deep sleep, and the wound on her back began to contract, healing at an astonishing rate. Life returned to her face. The manticore ash beast's spirit source, delayed, had finally arrived.
The beast's vitality had been tenacious. Its brain had been nearly burned hollow by the poison-armor fire, and though it floated motionless on the water, it hadn't fully died until now. Only then did it truly expire, releasing its spirit source. Killing a level-nine rare beast, Gong Xiao had harvested at least ten spirit sources, maybe twenty. No matter how severe the injury, she would heal without mortal danger.
Su Li let out a long sigh of relief. Overcome with emotion, he couldn't help but touch her face, wiping the blood from her lips, then gently set her down and looked elsewhere. The dark mass he had pierced with the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword was humanoid in shape, with human-like features and limbs, though its arms and legs were unusually long, giving it a bizarre appearance. Its body was pitch black, covered in purple stripes, with a fish-like head but human-like facial features. The wound from the sword in its chest still oozed dark purple blood.
It had leaped onto the floating corpse of the manticore ash beast, tearing at its flesh and devouring it. As it fed, the wounds on its chest and back healed at a remarkable rate. A vertical slit-like pattern appeared on Su Li's forehead as "Peep Rune" activated.
"Name: Purple-Striped Aberrant Beast, Level: Eight, Rare Spirit Source Beast. The powerful spirit source within it forms purple stripes on its body surface, generating energy that grants it immense endurance and stamina, allowing it to fight almost tirelessly. Once it locks onto an enemy, it will relentlessly pursue, wearing them down until it kills them."
Su Li released Gong Xiao. Energy began to extend from his chest, forming a hilt, and the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword returned. Such spirit source weapons, once released, couldn't maintain their solid state for long, gradually reverting to energy and returning to their owner's body. So Su Li could throw it like a spear without fear of losing it. Of course, return took some time and wasn't instantaneous, so in real combat, no one would casually toss it unless forced.
Su Li grasped the sword's hilt, initially planning to draw it, but after learning the beast's details, he changed his mind. Not only did he not draw the sword, but he also retracted the Ice Python Sword into his chest, turned, and scooped up Gong Xiao. She was recovering and about to speak, but Su Li lifted her in a princess carry.
This embrace was intimate, and Gong Xiao's face flushed slightly, but she said nothing and didn't resist. She knew Su Li well enough to understand he wasn't taking advantage of the moment to be forward; he had a deeper reason. Sure enough, as soon as he lifted her out of the water, he activated "Spider Walk," water splashing beneath him as he sped toward the distance at incredible speed.
The longer they stayed, the more dangerous it became. First, they killed an elite beast, which summoned a leader beast, then killing the leader brought a rare beast. Who knew what other horrors might appear? Staying was too risky. Carrying Gong Xiao, Su Li used "Spider Walk" to tread across the water. With his speed and strength, the water only reached his knees. He could walk on the surface while holding her—a feat that would astonish anyone who saw it. This was achieved by combining "Demon Muscle" and "Spider Walk" to create this incredible spectacle.
The Purple-Striped Aberrant Beast, gnawing on the manticore ash beast, noticed Su Li trying to flee and immediately leaped after him. "Just as the data said—this creature locks onto its enemy and won't let go. Since that's the case, I'll lure it to a place better suited for fighting. The water is no human's home ground." Su Li had his eyes on a distant thirty-one-story building and was racing toward it.
Just then, a fiery red orb suddenly emerged from the slowly sinking manticore ash beast's body, moving like lightning, crossing space in an instant to plunge into Gong Xiao's heaving chest. Su Li saw it and understood: the manticore ash beast was a rare monster, and killing it not only yielded a sea of spirit source but also a spirit source treasure. That treasure might be a weapon or some piece of armor.
Gong Xiao's phoenix eyes lit up at the same moment, clearly sensing the data from the fiery orb that had entered her.
"Gong Xiao, don't be so foolish again. Do you realize that taking that blow for me could have cost you your life?" Su Li muttered to her as he sprinted toward the distant building.