Listen—the rumbling echoed in his ears.
Along with the shrill cries, the leaves rustled.
The third-tier magical beasts that had gathered around Jiang Chen heard the cries.
"Whoosh!" They all vanished.
Seeing this, Zhang Banxian silently cursed his bad luck.
Clearly, a high-tier magical beast was nearby. The low-tier beasts had sensed it and fled in fear.
He immediately appeared beside Jiang Chen. "Uncle-Master Jiang, should we leave first?"
"Why are you here?"
Jiang Chen asked, looking at Zhang Banxian, who had suddenly appeared.
"I saw Uncle-Master Jiang leave in the middle of the night and was worried, so I've been following you."
Zhang Banxian answered honestly.
"Since that's the case, there's no need for us to leave. As long as it's not Super S-Class, the two of us can take it down."
"But, Uncle-Master, we don't know how powerful this demonic beast is. We should leave first."
Jiang Chen shook his head, making it clear he had no intention of leaving.
He had been killing magical beasts while extracting their magic cores.
He had collected ninety-nine in all.
He was one short of completing the system mission.
Then he could claim the special reward: three draws.
He would get the final core from this high-tier magical beast.
With that thought, Jiang Chen drew the blade in his hand, leaped high into the air, and swung it down toward the high-tier magical beast.
"Crack!"
The Zanpakuto struck the demonic beast's body with a shrill clang.
Yet it left only a faint mark.
What kind of demonic beast was this? Its hide was incredibly hard.
Jiang Chen quickly retreated several steps.
He examined the magical beast in front of him.
Just then, a panel appeared from the system.
Target: Rhino Beast. True form: Rhinoceros Strength: Eighth-tier demonic beast Abilities: Water and fire; its hard hide can withstand blunt-force attacks.
An eighth-tier demonic beast...
Just one tier short of taking human form.
This thing really wouldn't be easy to deal with!
Jiang Chen gripped his blade in both hands and warily watched the Rhino Beast.
He didn't make a move for a long while.
Zhang Banxian hurried over as well.
Seeing Jiang Chen facing off against the magical beast,
he turned his gaze toward it.
The moment he saw it, he sucked in a sharp breath.
It was an eighth-tier Rhino Beast—and one of the most difficult kinds of magical beasts to deal with.
It wasn't just that its hide was exceptionally hard. This kind of beast held a grudge.
If anyone dared to hurt it, it would enter a berserk state. Its strength would then increase by far more than a single tier.
He hoped Uncle-Master Jiang hadn't attacked it. Otherwise...
He prayed silently, but when he saw the faint blade mark on the Rhino Beast's body,
his heart leaped into his throat. He knew they were done for.
At that moment, Jiang Chen also realized something was wrong with the Rhino Beast.
Its whole body had turned scarlet, and demonic energy surged from it.
Most striking of all, the horn on its nose had turned red-hot, like a piece of burning charcoal.
It glowed brightly in the dark night.
"Uncle-Master Jiang, the Rhino Beast has gone berserk. It's as strong as an S-Class Demonic Beast!"
"We should leave!"
As he spoke, Zhang Banxian took out two Teleportation Talismans, ready to leave at once.
"I'm afraid I can't leave."
Jiang Chen didn't want to fight an S-Class Demonic Beast either.
Every battle consumed too much of his soul power.
He wanted to save that power to deal with Black Mountain Old Demon's true form,
not waste it on something unrelated.
But it was obvious that he had been targeted.
Jiang Chen couldn't use long-distance movement skills while the demonic beast had him in its sights.
Target lock was one of the few attack skills possessed by demonic beasts.
Unless he defeated the beast in front of him, there was no way to leave.
Zhang Banxian realized this at once, too.
He silently cursed his bad luck.
He hadn't expected to run into such a troublesome demonic beast.
They were facing a Rhino Beast that had already gone berserk.
Its attack power was now ten times greater than usual, or even more.
Its hide was hard, it was immune to water and fire, and even Uncle-Master Jiang's abilities were countered by it.
What were they supposed to do...
"Uncle-Master Jiang, I'll help you!"
As he spoke, a Coin Sword appeared in Zhang Banxian's hand.
A faint golden light shimmered over it.
It seemed to hold some kind of powerful energy.
When the Coin Sword appeared, the Rhino Beast shifted its hooves restlessly and let out a low, uneasy rumble.
"This is the life-saving treasure my master gave me."
I'll use you to test this sword's power today.
As he spoke, talismans filled the air around Zhang Banxian.
At last, he chanted, "Metal, wood, water, fire, earth—by the urgency of the law, obey my command!"
"Five Elements Formation!"
Golden light blazed around Zhang Banxian. Five elemental talismans, representing the Five Elements Power of heaven and earth, shot toward the Rhino Beast.
They completely sealed off its movements.
"Roar!"
The Rhino Beast let out an unwilling bellow. The horn on its nose suddenly grew larger and shot out a dazzling Scarlet Snake beam, striking straight at Zhang Banxian's face.
Zhang Banxian had no time to react. The Rhino Beast's attack was too fast, and his skills were still lacking.
All he could do was take the hit with his own body.
Jiang Chen had been watching the situation closely.
Seeing the Rhino Beast unleash its skill, he snatched up his Zanpakuto and rushed to block the attack for Zhang Banxian.
Before he could move,
a phantom figure appeared in front of Zhang Banxian.
Holding a horsetail whisk, he waved it lightly, and the attack vanished.
He had effortlessly blocked a strike from an eighth-tier Rhino Beast that had already gone berserk.
Who was this man?
Jiang Chen looked at the newcomer curiously.
Before he could ask,
Zhang Banxian shouted excitedly, "Master, you're here!"
Zhang Banxian's master?
Gripping his Zanpakuto, Jiang Chen continued to study the newcomer.
"Good thing I got here in time, or you'd have lost your life!"
Zhang Banxian's master, Daoist Zhang, scolded him. "What have I always taught you? If you can't win, run! As long as the green hills remain, you won't have to worry about firewood!"
"Look at you. You know your cultivation is poor, yet you still had to show off!"
Were everyone from Dragon Tiger Mountain this straightforward?
Jiang Chen had questions, but he didn't ask them aloud.
Right now, the most important thing was dealing with the Rhino Beast.
He still had a trump card he hadn't used.
Daoist Zhang's gaze passed over Zhang Banxian and landed on Jiang Chen.
He greeted him. "You must be the descendant of Uncle-Master Jiang. I'm Zhang Banxian's master, Daoist Zhang."
"Let me deal with this beast first. Then we can catch up!"
As he spoke, Daoist Zhang pointed into the air. "Golden Light Palm!"
An incorporeal palm came crashing down on the Rhino Beast like Mount Tai.
Its hard hide shattered beneath the blow.
The Rhino Beast was about to be crushed to pieces.
But at that moment, Daoist Zhang spat blood, his face turning deathly pale.
It was as if he'd suffered a devastating blow.
Zhang Banxian was startled.
"Master, what's wrong?" Zhang Banxian cried out in alarm.
"It's nothing. An old injury has flared up."
Daoist Zhang claimed he was fine, but immediately spat out two more mouthfuls of blood. He didn't look fine at all.
How was that nothing?
"Master, stop! If you keep going, you'll die!"
"The backlash from the Golden Light Palm is too much for your body to bear!"
Daoist Zhang ignored him. He continued pouring his magic power into the Golden Light Palm and spoke weakly. "As disciples of Dragon Tiger Mountain, it's our duty to slay demons and exorcise evil. What's one life, if that's the price?"
"Master!"
Zhang Banxian was about to say something, but Daoist Zhang cut him off. "This is the crucial moment. Don't speak!"
Neither of them noticed, as they spoke,
that a huge eye had quietly opened above their heads.
That eye...
Jiang Chen saw it!!!
Before you continue