In This Terrified World, There Is Only You and Me (5)

After their master died, the three ghostly blue soul shadows seemed to have gone berserk, madly seeping into Fan You's corpse. Soon, the soft crack-crack of bones dislocating and flesh swelling quietly spread across the mountain path.

Beastly traits began rapidly manifesting on Fan You's corpse. Fur gradually sprouted across his limbs, and his five fingers twisted, becoming long and sharp...

In only a few breaths,

the corpse completed its transformation.

Humanoid in shape, with beastlike limbs, its entire body was covered in fur. Bluish-gray tortoiseshell-like plates had forcibly pushed out from the backs of its hands and every joint.

Backlash from the Soul Mound cultivation path?

The thought flashed through his mind, but Qin Yi had no interest in figuring out the reason behind the transformation, much less confronting this monster head-on. Cold wind swept through the hem of his fur-lined robe as he directly controlled Spirit Resonance Threads to coil around himself, retreating swiftly into the forest!

But unfortunately,

the monster formed from Fan You's corpse had no intention of sparing the only living thing nearby.

The instant its transformation was complete, the beastified corpse immediately crouched like a leopard and kicked off the ground with its hind legs. Soil and dead leaves sprayed outward as its body became an afterimage, charging toward Qin Yi's retreating form!

In the blink of an eye, Qin Yi judged that the other side was far faster than he was. Without hesitation, he spun in midair to shed momentum. His brocade robes and fur mantle rippled through the air as he abruptly changed direction and shot toward the interwoven branches of the canopy above.

Rustle—

As he shot upward at high speed, dense branches scraped his cheeks, leaving several bloody marks. The moment he broke through layer upon layer of thick canopy, the view before him suddenly opened up. The rising sun hung high in the azure sky, while an endless sea of forest surged and rolled beneath his feet.

Before he could admire the magnificent mountains and woods, he spun in midair and looked behind him. An afterimage had already torn through the canopy and leapt after him, accompanied by a shriek of air as it rapidly filled his vision.

He did not choose to keep climbing to evade it.

Qin Yi knew perfectly well that the Spirit Resonance within him could not support a flight back to Yellow Bamboo Town. Even if he could hover in the air for a while, the other side could keep chasing him through the forest below until his Spirit Resonance ran dry.

He had to fight while he was at his strongest,

and the rigid moment when it charged forward while suspended in midair was his best chance to attack!

Spirit Meridian Pulse activated instantly. The fluctuations of the Violent Soul Secret Art spread like ripples. In an instant, the scene before Qin Yi's eyes became slow and clear, while the two Resonance Threads circling his body abruptly solidified.

His thoughts moved with his will.

The Resonance Threads immediately transformed into two streaks of blade-light, hurtling toward the beastified corpse, which hung in the air with nowhere to dodge!

One slashed at its neck.

The other slashed at its waist.

This thing clearly could no longer be called a living creature. He could only try to behead it outright, or physically cut it apart and cripple its means of movement.

The collision erupted in an instant.

The beastified corpse's instincts were incredibly quick. It suddenly raised a hand and swung, its claws flashing coldly as they smashed into the blade-light aimed at its neck, directly knocking the Resonance Thread apart into scattered motes of light.

The backlash dizziness from the Resonance Thread's dispersal struck his mind instantly, but fortunately, the blade-light aimed at its waist and abdomen hit directly. Yet the anticipated result of splitting it in two with a single strike did not occur.

Qin Yi saw it clearly.

The Resonance Thread's blade-light cut through Fan You's clothes, revealing the fully beastified fur beneath. It carved a wound across his abdomen deep enough to expose his organs, only to be burned away by a flicker of blue flame.

The sensation and dizziness fed back into his mind, and Qin Yi's brows furrowed slightly.

Very tough.

And it could burn things.

Was that the ability of the tortoise-shaped phantom and the human shadow?

In that flash of lightning and spark of flint, the shadow of death that had leapt from the canopy had already arrived before him. Yet Qin Yi merely turned slightly in midair and easily evaded the lethal pounce.

That was just how it was when someone who could fly fought someone who could not.

If the other side had been a normal person, it might have been able to try knocking him down by throwing stones or the like. But this corpse suffering Soul Mound backlash probably did not have that kind of intelligence.

Rustle—

The beastified corpse landed directly atop a canopy a hundred meters away. Dead energy filled its empty eyes as it stared blankly at the sky. Blood gushed from the wound in its abdomen. The momentum of its charge and the tension of its muscles squeezed part of its intestines straight out of the wound, where they hung from its waist, dripping viscous blood. Under the sunlight, it looked disgusting and bizarre.

Standing in the air, Qin Yi let out a soft breath.

After that brief exchange, he had realized that the other side was not completely mindless. At the very least, it instinctively avoided and blocked attacks. Its torso was also extraordinarily tough, while its limbs were covered in even harder tortoiseshell.

Ordinary Pulse Soulburst would have difficulty harming it. Unless he could ensure every blade-thread precisely struck the wound in its abdomen, widening it until he cut it in half at the waist, he would most likely be the first to exhaust himself if this dragged on.

There was only one road left.

All in.

Wisdom Seal Soulburst.

Having made up his mind, Qin Yi did not hesitate. His hand seals shifted, and the Wisdom Seal instantly formed a Spirit Meridian circuit.

Below, the beastified corpse's body, its intestines still hanging out, had already curled up once more atop the tree trunk, completing its next buildup of force.

Bang!

The trunk snapped, and an afterimage shot skyward!

Qin Yi abruptly spun and shifted sideways in midair, once again evading the savage wind of its pounce. At the same time, he raised his right hand, formed into the Wisdom Seal, beside his temple and looked back, mapping in his mind the highest point the beastified corpse would reach while suspended in the air.

There was only one chance.

And he still had to save enough strength to control his descent.

His thoughts raced, but an unexpected tiny black dot suddenly entered the corner of his vision.

With a fleeting glance, he saw that it was an axe flying from the forest a li away!

In that flash of lightning and spark of flint, it went from distant to near, bringing with it the sharp shriek of air being torn apart.

Judging from its trajectory, the flying axe that had suddenly entered the battlefield should strike exactly at the highest point the beastified corpse could reach in midair.

Within a breath,

the two collided as expected.

Pfft!

A dull sound of flesh being torn rang out. The beastified corpse instinctively raised its arm to block, and the axe blade instantly chopped more than halfway in, embedding itself between the bones and tortoiseshell of its forearm. But the force carried by the flying axe threw it off balance in midair, sending it flying sideways in an instant!

Only then

did the girl's hoarse, desperate cry belatedly reach Qin Yi's ears through the air.

It was,

"Xiao Yi!!!!!!!!"

"..."

As the sound entered his ears, his body unconsciously let out a breath, and the tension in him loosened slightly.

Qin Yi immediately noticed that change. Lowering his gaze, he glanced at the Wisdom Seal his right hand had already unconsciously released.

This was clearly not the time to relax.

Why?

He tried to dissect that change, but found no answer.

The forest temporarily fell silent.

The beastified corpse had been knocked flying by the axe and fallen into the woods. Qin Yi seized the opportunity to fly toward the direction from which the voice had come.

Ten breaths later,

Qin Yi descended into the forest and saw Ruan Su on the ground, her fair little face covered in scratches from branches.

The girl's eyes were red-rimmed, as though she had just cried hard.

After their brief separation, the siblings did not exchange any needless words.

Amid a rustling from the branches overhead, the beastified corpse had already followed Qin Yi. It suddenly landed on a high branch of an ancient tree more than ten zhang away from them.

Its intestines still hung from its abdomen, but the axe that had nearly severed its forearm had vanished. Some melted iron clung to the bone-deep wound, forcibly fusing it shut.

It was the kind of flame the old proprietor had mentioned.

Realizing this, Qin Yi spoke quickly and concisely.

"This monster has no vital point, and anything it touches can be burned away instantly."

The usual foolish, dazed innocence had completely faded from Ruan Su. Her waterfall of long hair stirred in the wind as her slender, beautiful eyes fixed on the humanoid monster. She nodded lightly and slowly drew the short blade at her waist, her voice cool as moonlight.

"No physical contact, then cut off its limbs?"

Qin Yi was slightly puzzled by this change in his elder sister, but he immediately answered,

"Right."

"Good."

Bang!