The peak first-tier Razor-Toothed Leopard suddenly leaped up, its massive body crashing heavily onto the mud outside the crack's narrow entrance.
A row of sharp white bone spines covered its back, and when it landed, its paws stomped two deep pits into the ground.
It raised its head, opened its blood-soaked maw lined with several rows of backward-curving saw teeth, and unleashed a wild roar into the passage, one that ruptured eardrums.
A thick stench of blood mixed with the foul reek of churning stomach acid instantly poured down the tunnel.
The mine slaves behind them, who had only just summoned a trace of courage, were sent reeling by the fetid wind. Seven or eight of them dropped to their knees in the muddy water and vomited violently, even throwing up bile.
Under normal circumstances, a peak first-tier great demon could deal with mortals by opening its mouth and spitting out more than a dozen innate wind blades.
But in this region of Immortal-Breaking Mountain, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth had fallen into utter chaos.
The Razor-Toothed Leopard let out several muffled, thunderous rumbles from its throat. The moment a wisp of green demonic qi emerged, it was violently snuffed out by the lingering repulsive force of spiritual extinction around it.
Unable to use demonic arts, the beast simply threw itself into the fight.
Its four claws dug fiercely into the ground, flinging up sheets of rotten mud. Relying solely on hide as tough as darksteel and razor-sharp claws, it charged headlong into the narrow entrance.
The beast had no brains, but its brute strength was terrifying.
The instant it rushed to the edge of the crack, its right forepaw slammed heavily against the granite beside it.
Boom!
A boulder the size of a washbasin was smashed into