Who Would Have Thought?

Qin Yang's brows drew together slightly, but his steps did not slow.

Yet after only a breath or two, once he saw clearly the figure entering the swamp, Qin Yang froze for a moment...

It was a little brat of four or five, with baby fat still on his face. His face was grimy, his black hair a tangled mess, and his black short shirt was covered in mud.

At that moment, he was carefully picking his way through the swamp, searching for somewhere to set his feet. But before long, as though something had drawn him in, he slowly approached a small puddle, craned his neck, and peered into it.

Qin Yang's heart skipped a beat. He hurried over, and the first thing he saw was the aquatic grass in the puddle slowly parting. Beneath it floated the swollen, partially rotted corpse of a woman, seeming to smile yet not smile beneath the surface. Her arm swayed gently, luring the little brat above.

A flicker of delighted surprise appeared on the little brat's face as he reached toward the water.

This was bad...

Qin Yang was startled. At that point, he had no time to wonder why there was a little brat here...

He hastily pulled out three Wind Travel Talismans. After activating their talisman cores, he slapped them onto himself. He no longer bothered concealing his True Essence. In an instant, his speed surged severalfold as he charged straight toward the little brat.

At the same time, gritting his teeth, he took out that scroll of Ink Talismans and tore off a corner. With True Essence poured into it, spiritual light shot into the heavens, and waves of spiritual power stirred up gust after gust of violent wind. In the blink of an eye, the scroll of Ink Talismans became a streak of light and instantly enveloped the little brat.

Layer upon layer of scarlet gold halos descended continuously from above the little brat's head. Countless golden runes appeared and vanished across those halos.

At the same time, a monster burst from beneath the puddle. Its gaping, blood-filled maw, packed with interlocking sharp teeth, clamped down on the little brat's head with a wet crunch.

Crack...

The monster bit into the scarlet gold halo, and several of its sharp teeth shattered. At the same instant, a full third of the runes continuously appearing on the halo vanished.

"Waaah..." Only after the monster plunged back into the puddle and vanished did the little brat collapse onto the ground in fright and burst into tears.

Qin Yang's face was as dark as still water. Wind gathered beneath his feet, and his speed increased by another notch.

The monster had disappeared into the water, but Qin Yang could sense invisible killing intent stirring. The monster had begun to target him.

Rushing to the little brat's side, Qin Yang reached through the halo, grabbed the little brat, slung him over his shoulder, and ran wildly toward the edge of the swamp. At such speed, even if he stepped into the muck, he could race free before sinking down.

There were still several hundred zhang to go before he could leave the swamp. Yet after running barely over a hundred zhang, every hair on Qin Yang's body stood on end. A chill rose within him, and the sense of a terrifying crisis descending upon him instantly flooded his entire body. Even the blood flowing through his veins seemed on the verge of freezing.

It was instinct. When creatures faced certain death, they either froze stiff and stretched out their necks for slaughter, or erupted with the greatest madness.

The gap was too great! That monster could bite through even a Foundation Establishment cultivator's protective True Essence in one bite, and could cripple most of a defensive Magical Artifact's power with another.

For a Qi Nourishing minion like him, without a Magical Artifact to protect him and without protective True Essence, death was absolutely inevitable.

That sole golden scroll of Ink Talismans possessed terrifying defensive power, even three parts stronger than a Foundation Establishment cultivator activating a defensive Magical Artifact. Unfortunately, it could withstand at most three strikes—and he had already given it to the little brat...

Splash...

The sound of water splashing rose from behind him. Qin Yang's hair stood on end, and his heart pounded wildly. The immense terror between life and death nearly drove his heart to burst. All he could hear was the thump-thump of his racing heartbeat.

In that instant between life and death, Qin Yang seemed to break through the oppression of that fear. In a flash, he went from stretching out his neck for slaughter to the most hysterical madness, and the speed of his thoughts increased dozens of times over.

Just as the monster came charging at him with its gaping maw open wide.

Qin Yang suddenly seized the little brat with one hand, spun around, and held the little brat's head before him, actively stuffing it into the monster's gaping maw.

Crack...

More than a dozen of the monster's two rows of interlocking sharp teeth shattered once again...

A furious, mournful cry echoed throughout the swamp. With a sweep of its tail, the monster plunged back into the puddle and vanished.

Without stopping, Qin Yang slung the little brat over his shoulder again and ran wildly onward.

The little brat, who had been bawling just moments ago, now simply stood there with his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide. He reached out and touched the layer of scarlet gold halo wrapped around him, its runes flashing...

Whether he had been stunned by the scarlet gold halo or by Qin Yang's utterly unexpected maneuver, he kept that dazed expression for a long while.

But Qin Yang did not feel the slightest relief...

The golden scroll of Ink Talismans was indeed powerful, but the remaining power could withstand at most one more strike.

There were still nearly three hundred zhang left before they could leave the swamp. Based on the monster's attack frequency, he would have to block at least two more attacks to escape.

Sure enough, after another two or three breaths, having raced more than a hundred zhang, that terrifying sense of danger surged again.

Qin Yang repeated the same trick, stuffing the little brat's head into the monster's mouth once more and shattering more than a dozen of its front teeth. The scarlet gold halo, however, seemed like a bubble being pricked. With a soft pop, it vanished...

With less than two hundred zhang remaining, how could he block the final strike? Qin Yang's face was as dark as still water, his mind spinning at top speed. White vapor was already rising from his head as he pushed his brain to its limit.

None of the talismans in his hand could withstand even one bite from the monster. Apart from the now-vanished golden scroll of Ink Talismans, the other offensive talismans were completely useless against it. The Blood Lama could only keep him from being poisoned to death by the miasma here...

What was he supposed to do next? He had no time to think further. The sound of splashing water rang out, and grim killing intent swept over him, blotting out the sky and covering the earth.

With an enraged roar, Qin Yang took a Vajra Talisman from his Storage Bag, activated it, and turned around...

Then threw it onto the monster.

A faint layer of golden light covered the monster's body, but its pouncing motion did not stop.

Only this time, it missed...

After missing, the monster did not fall back into the water. Instead, as though it had gone mad, it began biting wildly in every direction and slashing with its claws.

Water splashed, aquatic grass withered, and corrosive gas continuously rose with sizzling sounds. In only a breath or two, everything within a radius of more than ten zhang had become a pool of dead water, all things corroded clean away.

Meanwhile, Qin Yang seized the opportunity to run wildly and escape the swamp's boundaries.

Only after fleeing several hundred zhang beyond the swamp in one breath did Qin Yang stop. He panted heavily, and his wildly beating heart finally settled for the moment...

He had been forced into it just now, gambling with his life. Since the monster had no eyes, ears, or nose, and possessed neither spiritual power fluctuations nor much of an aura itself, it relied entirely on spiritual power fluctuations to locate prey.

By using the Vajra Talisman on it and strengthening its defenses, covering it in a layer of golden light, the first thing it sensed would naturally be the spiritual power fluctuations emitted by the Vajra Talisman's force across its own body.

Fortunately, it worked. He had confused the monster, making it feel that enemies surrounded it from all directions at the closest possible distance...