In the depths of the dark swamp, mud churned continuously.
Zhu Yinxi, dressed in blue robes, stood atop the only black boulder that had not yet sunk, staring forward with a heavy expression.
From within the mire, three house-sized corrosive poison swamp toads surrounded him in a triangular formation.
The skin of these demon toads was a nauseating dark green, covered in puss-leaking poison sacs. They emitted low, gurgling croaks that made one's blood surge and divine sense falter.
Their vertical pupils were locked onto Zhu Yinxi, and their barbed tongues flicked out occasionally.
Three of them—all genuine late-stage Golden Core stage demonic beasts!
What was even more terrifying was that they held the geographic advantage; their demonic power seemed linked to the entire mire, flowing without end!
Zhu Yinxi dared not be careless and immediately took out the jade flute that never left his side. Without a moment's hesitation, he pressed the flute to his lips.
"Bi— Puchi— Gezhi—!"
A burst of extremely ear-piercing noise suddenly exploded!
The sound was unreasonably unpleasant, yet it carried a bizarre power that stabbed directly at the divine soul, forcibly shattering most of the mind-disturbing low-frequency waves emitted by the three swamp toads!
However, how could late-stage Golden Core stage demonic beasts be easy to deal with?
The largest toad in the center inhaled sharply, its belly swelling like a ball, before it opened its massive maw—
"Roar!"
It wasn't a croak, but a condensed shockwave of dark green venom that blasted toward Zhu Yinxi!
Everywhere it passed, even the air sizzled from corrosion.
Zhu Yinxi's pupils constricted. The flute's sound suddenly pitched higher, becoming sharp enough to split the air. Sonic waves rapidly coalesced in front of him, transforming into a translucent sonic shield!
Boom—!
The poison shockwave slammed into the sonic shield, creating a deafening explosion!
The sonic shield trembled violently and cracks appeared on its surface, but it did not shatter!
Scattered venom splashed onto the surrounding mire and rocks, instantly corroding deep pits into them as black smoke billowed upward!
Simultaneously, the swamp toads on the left and right launched their attacks.
The one on the left whipped its long tongue toward Zhu Yinxi's lower body, attempting to drag him into the mud.
The one on the right spat out a wide-range corrosive poison mist, sealing off all his paths for evasion.
Zhu Yinxi was attacked from both front and back!
His footwork shifted in a strange pattern, narrowly avoiding the entanglement of the long tongue. At the same time, his flute music changed again, shifting from sharp to a low, muffled thud.
This horribly discordant sonic wave expanded in a ring. Not only did it push back the encroaching poison mist slightly, but it also slammed heavily into the heads of the two swamp toads on his flanks!
"Gu-gua!" The two toads emitted painful screeches, their movements visibly stalling. Clearly, this demonic music had dealt no small blow to their divine souls!
But Zhu Yinxi was also shaken by the recoil; his blood surged, and he felt a sweet taste in the back of his throat!
Confronting three demonic beasts of the same level simultaneously was extremely taxing even for him, and his spiritual energy was depleting rapidly!
Just as he was exerting all his effort to find a breakthrough, the Soul-Sound Bell at his waist transmitted an urgent distress signal from Feng Weilan!
"Sixth Junior Brother!"
Zhu Yinxi made an instantaneous decision. He would abandon this flag!
A fierce glint flashed in his eyes as the flute music suddenly became short and chaotic.
This demonic sound crazily tore at the souls of the three swamp toads. Their attack rhythm was disrupted, and their bodies rolled violently in the mire.
He slapped his storage bag, throwing a handful of red powder with a pungent smell into the air!
"Red scorpion powder! Explode!"
Bang!
The red powder instantly erupted into a dense red mist. Its intense, irritating odor temporarily blocked the sight and senses of the three swamp toads.
Zhu Yinxi seized the chance to retreat rapidly, intending to break away from the battlefield and rush toward the canyon!
However—
"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"
Several whistling sounds suddenly rang out from the mist to his side and rear, as sharp gusts of wind targeted the back of Zhu Yinxi's heart!
An ambush!
Zhu Yinxi's reaction was lightning-fast. The flute music paused abruptly before he blew an extremely discordant high note.
A sonic boom exploded with him at the center, and the incoming blowdarts were knocked off course, plunging into the swamp.
The mist cleared, revealing five figures.
The leader was a tall, thin man wearing the disciple robes of the Beast Taming Sect, his body radiating the spiritual energy fluctuations of the Golden Core stage.
Behind him followed three Foundation Establishment Beast Taming Sect disciples, accompanied by two snarling wolf-like demonic beasts.
One of the disciples covered his ears, his face looking pale. "I've long heard that the music of Five Elements Dao Sect's Zhu Yinxi could kill eardrums. Seeing it today, it truly lives up to its reputation! However, it won't be so easy for you to leave!"
These four had clearly been lying in wait for a long time, intending to intercept him while he was pinned down by the swamp toads.
With three late-stage Golden Core stage demonic beasts looming in front and a four-man team from the Beast Taming Sect blocking his path, Zhu Yinxi was instantly surrounded!
Before the words had even finished echoing, the two wolf-like beasts growled and turned into black shadows, pouncing at Zhu Yinxi from both sides.
At the same time, the three Foundation Establishment disciples summoned their own demonic beasts to strike from different angles!
Zhu Yinxi's eyes flared with cold light, and his jade flute emitted another ear-piercing shriek!
This time, the sonic waves did not spread out; instead, they condensed into several invisible sonic blades, precisely slashing at the two pouncing wolves!
Slash!
The sonic blades were peerlessly sharp. The two wolves howled as blood sprayed from their bodies, and they were sent flying. However, their pounce had bought time for the other attacks.
The other demonic beasts lunged forward, and the three swamp toads also recovered from the irritation of the red scorpion powder, letting out furious roars as venom and tongues attacked once more!
Zhu Yinxi was beset on all sides with nowhere to hide!
He swept the jade flute in front of him, and a sonic barrier instantly formed with him at the center.
The attacks slammed into the sonic barrier; most were deflected or redirected, but a few still managed to penetrate, leaving several bloody gashes on his body!
The attacks from the swamp toads behind him also hammered the barrier, causing it to shake violently as cracks spread everywhere!
Zhu Yinxi's face paled further. Simultaneously resisting attacks from multiple directions took a massive toll on him and caused significant backlash!
Seeing this, a flash of triumph crossed the eyes of the Golden Core disciple from the Beast Taming Sect. "He can't hold on! Everyone together, take him down!"
Immediately, various magical lights surged toward the tottering Zhu Yinxi. The three swamp toads also broke free from the brief confusion of the demonic music, launching even more frenzied attacks!
Zhu Yinxi watched the incoming attacks from all directions, a flicker of impatience crossing the depths of his cold eyes.
He hadn't wanted to get too involved, intending only to escape quickly to save his sixth junior brother. But these people... were looking for death!
"Since you refuse to make way..." he muttered to himself, his voice bone-chillingly cold, "then don't blame me."
Before his voice had even faded, the jade flute in his hand suddenly let out a clear, resonant hum!
With a flick of his wrist, the jade flute rapidly transformed into a porcelain-white longsword. In the next instant, his figure vanished from the spot!
"So fast!" The Beast Taming Sect's Golden Core disciple's pupils shrank as his vision blurred!
In the next breath, Zhu Yinxi appeared between the two pouncing wolf-like demonic beasts, his sword tracing two nearly invisible streaks of cold light!
"Slash! Slash!"
Two soft sounds rang out. The two fierce wolves froze mid-motion before being blasted away, smashing through several trees until they disappeared from sight.
If not for his concern that killing them outright would create a blood feud with the Beast Taming Sect, those two wolves would have been killed in a single strike.
Every time Zhu Yinxi's sword flashed, it pointed precisely at a Beast Taming Sect disciple's wrist or the jade pendant at their waist.
"Ah!" A Foundation Establishment disciple screamed as his wrist was struck by the sword tip, his magic tool falling from his hand in the agonizing pain!
Crack!
Another disciple's secret realm jade pendant was lightly tapped by the sword blade and instantly shattered!
With a flash of light, the disciple was teleported out of the secret realm, his face filled with shock and terror!
His goal was clear—not to kill, but to rapidly neutralize the opponent's combat capability or eliminate them directly!
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