Since I'd already been discovered, there was no point hiding anymore. I walked out.
When I got a clear look at him, we both cried out at the same time, "It's you."
No wonder his back had seemed so familiar. I'd seen this person before.
It was Little Puppy. Last time, he had come to my house with that arrogant old Daoist who looked down his nose at everyone.
Little Puppy's face darkened as he asked, "You're not dead?"
"Did you want me dead that badly? And were Qianqian and these girls killed by you?" I shot back.
A cruel smile appeared on Little Puppy's face. "Yes, I did it all.
"It's a pity you didn't die. That was a bit unexpected, but it doesn't matter.
"You delivered yourself right to my doorstep, so you've saved me a great deal of trouble."
I demanded angrily, "Why did you kill Qianqian? And why did you bring her corpse here?"
Little Puppy seemed to have run out of patience. Irritation covered his face as he said,
"I originally wanted her soul, then I planned to refine it into a Ghost Cultivator.
"What I didn't expect was for her to mutate and break free from the seal.
"I thought all my efforts had gone down the drain, but then I discovered that her corpse was a Pure Yin Body.
"That could be considered another kind of compensation from Heaven.
"Of course, what surprised me even more was that you'd actually come knocking on my door yourself.
"Alright, I've told you everything you wanted to know. Now, please go die.
"Oh, right. I'll put your corpse and soul to good use too."
After saying that, Little Puppy burst into wild laughter. Then his laughter abruptly stopped, and he suddenly raised his head and punched at me.
Fast—far too fast. A moment ago, he had still been more than ten meters away.
Then, all of a sudden, I saw a fist enlarging in my pupils. I only had time to raise my arms to block it.
With a bang, a sharp agony first shot through my arms.
Then my whole body flew backward and slammed viciously into the cave wall. When I hit the ground, I spat out a mouthful of blood with a "wah."
Enduring the intense pain, I said, "You have the Wind Attribute, which is why you're so fast, right?"
Little Puppy said smugly, "That's right. You do have some discernment.
"I reached the Righteous Path Realm after studying under my master for one year, and I also awakened the Wind Attribute.
"Among all attributes, as long as the Lightning Attribute doesn't appear, Wind ranks first."
I stood up and wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth. "Oh... then take a look at what attribute I have."
As I spoke, I spread both arms out at my sides, my palms curled into claws.
I drew upon the Spiritual Energy within my body and released my Lightning Attribute.
Electric light immediately curled around my palms, accompanied by a crackling "snap, crackle, pop."
Before he could recover from his shock, I clawed at his face. He only had time to raise a hand to block.
My claw raked down hard. A scorched smell instantly filled the air, accompanied by a scream.
He leaped back and stood where he was. Four deep claw marks ran along his arm, so deep that bone was visible.
White smoke rose from them in wisps, and fine beads of sweat covered his forehead from the pain.
He stared at me in shock. "Impossible. How could you possibly have the Lightning Attribute? It hasn't appeared for hundreds of years."
Then he shouted madly, "Impossible, impossible.
"I absolutely won't allow anyone to be better than me. You must die today."
As he spoke, his clothes began to flutter despite the absence of wind, and his aura rose higher and higher.
With a lift of his hand, an ancient-looking longsword flew from the stone platform into his grasp.
He pointed its tip at me, his eyes bloodshot as he said, "You must die today."
His aura frightened me, and I was empty-handed now.
I hurriedly picked up the shovel that had fallen to the ground earlier and watched him as though facing a formidable enemy.
At that moment, Qianqian came out. Little Puppy froze, then said delightedly, "You came back too? Wonderful."
Then he smiled at me and said, "I have to say, kid, I really should thank you.
"If not for you, all of this would really have been wasted. Fortunately, you brought her to me.
"And you have the Lightning Attribute too. Since you haven't grown strong yet, this is the perfect time for me to erase this unknown threat."
Anxiously, I asked Qianqian, "Why did you come out? He's very strong—get back inside, now."
"Brother A Tong, I wanted to help you..."
I was both anxious and furious. Fighting him had already been difficult enough.
Now that Qianqian had suddenly come out, I could barely take care of myself, yet I had to split my attention in two.
"You still want to go back? Too late."
With that, a black talisman paper flew from Little Puppy's hand.
The talisman papers formed a circle around Qianqian, trapping her inside in an instant.
In my panic, I gathered Spiritual Energy and punched at the talisman papers.
Ripples spread across them in rings, yet there was not the slightest sign of them breaking.
Just then, a sharp pain tore through my waist. I turned around and looked.
Little Puppy's sword had already pierced my lower abdomen.
Qianqian cried out loudly from inside, "Brother A Tong... Brother A Tong..."
Pain wracked my entire body with spasms. Then, gritting my teeth, I reached for Little Puppy's neck.
He was too fast. In an instant, he was already four or five meters away from me.
I was in pain and furious—furious that Qianqian had rashly come out without saying a word.
She had caught me completely off guard, leaving me flustered and scrambling, and then I had taken a sword to the abdomen.
I covered my wound, and the shovel slipped from my hand to the ground, but blood still kept flowing through the gaps between my fingers.
I pulled out a Blood Stopping Talisman from my pocket and slapped it onto the wound. Only then did the bleeding stop.
But it hurt badly. I shakily straightened up, thinking that this time I had to fight for my life, or there would be absolutely no way out.
Little Puppy said coldly, "Don't struggle. You can't break that talisman formation.
"Unless you can kill me. But you're severely wounded now, so killing me is even more absurd than a fantasy."
I pressed my lips together and didn't answer. I knew he was trying to provoke me.
But looking at that amused expression on his face, I still couldn't stop myself from wanting to curse him out.
I looked at Little Puppy's smug face and asked, "What's your name?"
"Since you're about to die, I'll tell you who I am.
"So you can die with your eyes closed—listen carefully. The one killing you is called Huang Baibin."
With that, he rushed at me with his sword. I could no longer care about the pain in my body. I gathered Spiritual Energy and charged toward him.
With a clang, my hand gripped his sword tightly. With lightning arts empowering my hand,
I wasn't afraid of the blade hurting it at all. He tugged several times and found that he couldn't pull the sword free from my grasp.
Then he lifted his leg and kicked at my face. The kick came whistling through the air with a "whoosh."
If that lands, I'm finished. I raised my other hand and grabbed at the leg he had kicked toward me.
His eyes narrowed, then his gaze turned ruthless. His raised foot lashed fiercely toward my head, while my hand caught his leg.
For a moment, the hand holding his sword loosened, and I staggered seven or eight steps backward.
His kick struck my right cheek, and my right eye immediately went blurry, leaving me unable to see clearly.