Void Burrowing Beast!

Jiang Ming's expression remained unchanged as he silently activated Space Shift.

At the exact moment he moved aside, the ground beneath his feet exploded.

A giant maw lined with sharp teeth burst from the earth where he had just been standing.

Its upper and lower jaws snapped shut with a crisp crack.

The bite force was terrifying. If Jiang Ming had been even half a step slower, he would have been bitten in half at the waist.

Jiang Ming finally got a clear look at the enormous creature that had emerged from underground.

It was over two zhang long and nearly one zhang tall at the shoulder.

Its entire body was covered in grayish-brown scales, and its four thick claws resembled iron shovels.

Most horrifying of all was its head.

Flat and broad, its mouth split all the way to the roots of its ears.

When opened, it was more than half a zhang wide.

Three rows of hooked teeth were packed tightly inside, each one as long as an adult's finger.

A Void Burrowing Beast.

And a ten-thousand-year one at that!

Jiang Ming's pupils contracted slightly.

He had seen records of this Soul Beast in ancient texts—it was a dual-attribute Soul Beast that possessed both earth-type and space-type traits.

Its earth-type abilities allowed it to move freely dozens of zhang beneath the ground,

while its space-type abilities allowed it to kill in an instant.

It softened the earth with its earth-type abilities, then used its Spatial Ability to appear beneath its prey and swallow it whole.

The entire process took less than a breath.

No wonder the missing villagers had left behind not even a footprint.

They had not been dragged away. They had been "swallowed" by the ground beneath their feet.

After missing its attack, the Void Burrowing Beast let out a low hiss.

Its eyes were not large, only the size of fists.

Its pupils were black slits, fixed directly on Jiang Ming. The gleam in them was almost cunning.

A ten-thousand-year space-type Soul Beast!

Sweat seeped into Jiang Ming's palms.

His Soul Power was currently at level thirty, and his Soul Ring configuration was yellow and purple.

It was already an exceptional configuration among those of the same rank, but against a genuine ten-thousand-year Soul Beast, it was nowhere near enough.

A human Soul Master's fifth ring was black, representing the ten-thousand-year level,

but a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast was absolutely stronger than a Soul King, placing it between the Soul King and Soul Emperor ranks.

A dual-attribute mutant like the Void Burrowing Beast was considered a troublesome opponent even among ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts.

Facing it head-on was suicide.

The only option was to kite it, find an opening, and kill it with one strike.

Jiang Ming made his judgment in an instant.

Space Shift!

But the Void Burrowing Beast reacted even faster than Jiang Ming had expected.

Jiang Ming had only just reappeared.

Before even a second had passed, the ground beneath his feet split open again!

The Void Burrowing Beast's huge maw had already burst from the soil!

Jiang Ming activated Space Shift again without hesitation.

Then...

Space Tear!

Jiang Ming's Space Tear could instantly kill a Soul Ancestor!

But when it struck the Void Burrowing Beast, it only tore through its scales!

The defenses of a ten-thousand-year space-type Soul Beast were no joke—tough as hell!

"Awoo!"

The Void Burrowing Beast let out a shrill howl.

Its enormous body flashed forward and charged at Jiang Ming with the force of ten thousand tons.

The difference in size was fully displayed at that moment...

It felt like a small mountain was crashing toward him. Even the wind pressure rushing at him was enough to make breathing difficult.

Jiang Ming's expression did not change as he activated Space Shift once more.

A skill with no cooldown that could be used endlessly as long as he had enough Soul Power was simply this unreasonable.

Jiang Ming was not a stat monster. He was a master of precise control!

It did not matter whether anyone else believed it. He believed it himself!

The Void Burrowing Beast's body slammed forward heavily.

But it did not hit Jiang Ming. It crashed into a large tree instead!

The towering tree collapsed instantly, sending splinters flying through the air.

The Void Burrowing Beast shook its head, and a trace of savagery flashed through its black vertical pupils.

It clawed at the ground as earth-type Soul Power surged around its body.

The ground began to soften into mud, and it prepared to burrow underground again to renew its attack.

He could not let it burrow.

Jiang Ming's gaze sharpened, and the purple Soul Ring around him lit up once more.

Second Soul Skill: Spatial Stripping!

An eerie fluctuation spread outward from Jiang Ming.

The textures of the dirt and gravel blurred and twisted.

The Void Burrowing Beast's body suddenly froze just as it was about to burrow underground. The space around it had been forcibly stripped away.

Its claws raked through the dirt, yet found nothing solid, as though an invisible barrier stood between them.

Its attempt to burrow had failed.

Jiang Ming did not waste this fleeting opportunity.

Space Tear!

A silver-gray spatial rift sliced into the same spot again.

Blood splattered once more!

That neither-deep-nor-shallow wound instantly became gruesome and terrifying.

Pale bones and dark-red muscle were exposed beneath it.

"Arooar!"

The Void Burrowing Beast unleashed a deafening roar.

Driven by the agonizing pain, it charged at Jiang Ming once again.

But Jiang Ming had already vanished, appearing on its other side.

He continued attacking the wound.

Space Tear!

Space Tear!

Space Tear!

Every rift landed precisely on the same spot.

Jiang Ming's figure flickered continuously like a Ghost, and every inch of space around the Void Burrowing Beast became a foothold for him.

He gave this ten-thousand-year Soul Beast no chance to catch its breath.

Every Space Shift was accompanied by a Space Tear.

Every tear drove the wound a little deeper.

Scales shattered, muscles split, and bones cracked.

The Void Burrowing Beast's roars gradually changed from rage to pain, then from pain to terror.

It finally realized that something was wrong.

This human had never intended to confront it head-on. He was using a method akin to slow dismemberment, carving through its defenses one cut at a time.

Its Spatial Ability had lost its element of surprise before this human.

And its earth-type abilities were completely countered by that strange Spatial Stripping.

Its greatest strength—burrowing...

Had failed.

Run.

The Void Burrowing Beast made its decision.

Its four claws kicked off the ground violently. No longer attempting to burrow, it charged straight into the depths of the forest, hoping to escape this terrifying opponent through sheer physical speed.

Its body was enormous, but its speed was astonishing.

Every step left a deep footprint in the ground, and trees were snapped in half wherever it passed.

But it could not escape.

Jiang Ming slowly raised his right hand as the power of Spatial Stripping gathered at his fingertips.

The light grew stronger and brighter.

His level-thirty Soul Power was pushed to its limit.

Unlike when he had stopped the Void Burrowing Beast from burrowing earlier, when he had only needed to strip away a small patch of space to restrict its movement.

This time, Jiang Ming intended to enter through the wound and pull out all of the Void Burrowing Beast's internal organs!

The purple Soul Ring around him spun madly.

Faster and faster, brighter and brighter.

Until it was almost black with purple!

"Spatial—Stripping!!"

Jiang Ming roared those words.