32: Chapter 32 Spying on the Battle in the Rainy Night, Black-on-Black

The intense pain and numbness radiating from the wound on his left shoulder were like maggots on a bone, constantly reminding Lin Ye of the approach of death.

The erosion of the demon abyss sword Qi was too overbearing; even with the ancient ring yuan sha slowly absorbing it, it continued to spread. He had to treat the wound immediately, but definitely not now.

The sounds of fighting and beast roars in the distance were drawing closer, mixed into the pattering rain, filled with danger and uncertainty.

Hide in place? His injuries were too severe, movement was difficult, he might not find a suitable hiding spot, and he could be caught up in the search.

Flee in the opposite direction? With such heavy injuries, his speed would be too slow and the commotion too great, making it easier to be exposed.

Then, the only choice was to take a gamble—gamble that this severely injured body could still hold up, gamble that his Qi Concealment Technique and the two rings could mask his aura, gamble that both sides of the battle were too busy to notice anything else, or... that it would allow him to find a glimmer of hope.

Lin Ye gritted his teeth and used his still-movable right hand to take out the bottle containing the last "life creation pill" (he had consumed one previously in the ice cave) from the ancient ring space, swallowing it without hesitation.

The Medicinal Pill melted upon entering his mouth, and pure vital medicinal power surged toward his limbs and bones again, quickly repairing other injuries while barely suppressing the spread of the Evil Qi in his left shoulder, buying him precious time.

Then, using his last bit of strength, he rolled into a shallow pit nearby, washed out by dense bushes and rainwater. He grabbed a few handfuls of wet, rotting leaves to cover himself, while simultaneously driving his Qi Concealment Technique to the extreme. His left hand tightly grasped the "Ancient Ring" to absorb the Evil Qi, while his right hand used the "bone ring" to draw a wisp of water vapor to cover his body, simulating a cold rock.

After doing all this, he was nearly exhausted and could only barely maintain a sliver of clarity, staring fixedly through the gaps in the leaves at the direction from which the sounds came.

The rain fell harder and harder, and water vapor filled the mountain forest, making visibility very low.

Soon, two staggering figures rushed out of the dense forest and ran toward the mountain stream.

The person in front was a young man wearing the blue clothing of an Outer Sect Disciple, with an approximate cultivation of Qi Refining Stage 5. However, his face was pale, his aura was withered, and there was a claw mark on his chest deep enough to see the bone, with blood staining half his body. He held half a broken blue Flying Sword in his hand, his eyes filled with terror and unwillingness.

The one chasing behind was not a Cultivator, but a Yao Beast that was pitch black all over, shaped like a leopard, but with a single blood-colored horn on its forehead! Its aura was fierce, reaching the Early Stage of the Second Rank (equivalent to Qi Refining Stage 6 or 7)!

"Blood Shadow Leopard! And it's a mutated one!" Lin Ye's heart stirred. This kind of Yao Beast was extremely fast, its claws and teeth carried paralyzing poison, and it loved to eat the blood and essence of Cultivators, making it extremely difficult to deal with.

The Outer Sect Disciple was clearly at the end of his rope, and it looked like he was about to be caught by the Blood Shadow Leopard.

Just at the moment when the Blood Shadow Leopard leaped into the air and its sharp claws were about to tear through the Disciple's heart!

A sudden change occurred!

From the dense forest on the side, a streak of black light shot out without warning, as fast as lightning, aiming straight for the Blood Shadow Leopard's waist and abdomen! That black light was actually a thin needle Magical Artifact that was pitch black and shimmered with a deep blue luster!

The Blood Shadow Leopard roared, sensing danger, and forcibly twisted its body in mid-air, but was still grazed on its hind leg by the black light, bringing up a spray of blood. The deep blue luster on the thin needle spread instantly, and the Blood Shadow Leopard's movements clearly stalled; it had been poisoned!

"Hehe, Junior Brother Wang, I will gratefully accept the horn of this Blood Shadow Leopard, Senior Brother." A sinister voice rang out.

From the dense forest walked out a tall, thin man wearing gray tight-fitting clothes, with a sallow complexion and cunning eyes, at the cultivation level of Qi Refining Stage 6. He held a small black crossbow in his hand; the black light needle just now had been shot from this crossbow.

"Liu... Liu Xiong! It's you!" The Outer Sect Disciple known as Junior Brother Wang was both shocked and angry. "You have been following me?!"

"Otherwise what?" Liu Xiong leisurely loaded a new thin needle into the small black crossbow. "Junior Brother Wang, you are quite lucky to have found a stalk of 'Blood Ling Grass' that is about to mature, which just happened to attract this beast. Senior Brother will help you solve it, and this Blood Ling Grass and the leopard horn will serve as payment."

"You... shameless!" Junior Brother Wang was so angry he vomited blood. He had risked his life to pick the Blood Ling Grass and was hunted by the Blood Shadow Leopard; he hadn't expected the mantis to stalk the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

"Shameless? The Immortal Realm is just survival of the fittest." Liu Xiong sneered, raising the small black crossbow again, aiming at the Blood Shadow Leopard, which was moving slowly and growling angrily after being poisoned. "Junior Brother Wang, considering we are fellow Disciples, will you end it yourself, or shall I send you on your way?"

Despair flashed in Junior Brother Wang's eyes, but it immediately turned into madness: "If you want my life, don't think you'll have it easy!" He violently threw the half-broken sword in his hand toward Liu Xiong, and at the same time slapped his Storage Pouch, a fiery red Talisman appearing in his hand, about to be activated!

"Seeking death!" Liu Xiong's eyes turned cold, the small black crossbow shifted, and the black light needle arrived after being fired later but struck first, piercing straight at Junior Brother Wang's throat!

Just at this lightning-fast moment—a sudden change occurred again!

Lin Ye, who had been lurking in the shallow pit like a dead object, moved!

He was not attacking Liu Xiong, nor was he saving Junior Brother Wang. His target was the poisoned and injured Blood Shadow Leopard that had been temporarily ignored! More accurately, it was the valuable "blood horn" on the Blood Shadow Leopard's forehead!

Just at the moment when Liu Xiong's thin needle was about to hit Junior Brother Wang, and Junior Brother Wang's fiery red Talisman was about to explode.

Lin Ye poured all of the pitifully small trace of cold spiritual power he had just recovered into his right hand, grabbed a sharp-edged stone beside him, and with all his strength, threw it fiercely toward the wound on the Blood Shadow Leopard's flank!

The stone itself didn't have much power, but it was infused with the cold spiritual power of the "Ice Soul Sword Art" and precisely struck the wound on the Blood Shadow Leopard that had been grazed by the black light needle!

The cold spiritual power invaded the wound, mixed with the severe poison of the thin needle, and produced an unbearable stinging pain and numbness!

"Awoo—!" The Blood Shadow Leopard felt the pain, and its ferocity, already irritable from the poison, was completely ignited! It completely ignored Liu Xiong and Junior Brother Wang who were confronting each other, and its scarlet beast eyes instantly locked onto the direction from which the stone flew—Lin Ye in the shallow pit!

But after throwing the stone, Lin Ye had long since curled up again, with his Qi Concealment Technique fully activated, like a truly dead object.

The Blood Shadow Leopard couldn't find the attacker, and stimulated by the severe pain and numbness, it went berserk, actually turning its target and pouncing toward the closest and most obvious aura—Liu Xiong!

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

Liu Xiong's thin needle pierced through Junior Brother Wang's throat, and Junior Brother Wang's fiery red Talisman also exploded with a boom, blowing Liu Xiong into a disheveled state, his protective spiritual light shaking violently.

And just at this moment, the Blood Shadow Leopard's sharp claws had already reached Liu Xiong!

"How dare you, beast!" Liu Xiong was both shocked and angry, and in his haste, he could only wave the small black crossbow to block.

Snap! The small crossbow was shattered by the Blood Shadow Leopard's claw!

Liu Xiong took the opportunity to retreat violently, but his chest was still slashed by the leopard's claws, leaving three bloodstains deep enough to see the bone, and he was also poisoned by the paralytic toxin.

The situation was instantly chaotic! The Blood Shadow Leopard was attacking Liu Xiong crazily, Liu Xiong was seriously injured and poisoned, Junior Brother Wang was dead, and the aftermath of the Talisman explosion was still spreading.

And the instigator, Lin Ye, was still lying quietly in the shallow pit, like the most patient hunter, waiting for the final moment of harvest.

Liu Xiong was, after all, at Qi Refining Stage 6. Although he was poisoned and had added new injuries, his foundation remained, and he struggled to entangle with the berserk Blood Shadow Leopard, making it difficult to determine the winner for a moment.

Lin Ye was silently calculating the time. The medicinal power of the life creation pill was rapidly fading, and the Evil Qi erosion in his left shoulder was starting to intensify again. He had to resolve the battle as soon as possible, obtain the items for healing, and leave this place of trouble.

The Blood Shadow Leopard's horn was a precious Material, Liu Xiong's Storage Pouch must also have many good things, and there was that potentially existing "Blood Ling Grass"...

When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman gains.

And now, the snipe (Blood Shadow Leopard) and the clam (Liu Xiong) were both seriously injured; this was the best time for the fisherman (Lin Ye) to make a move.

But a starving camel is still bigger than a horse. Even if seriously injured, the Blood Shadow Leopard's desperate counterattack and Liu Xiong's struggle as a trapped beast were definitely not something he, a Qi Refining Stage 4 Cultivator with injuries upon injuries and nearly exhausted spiritual power, could easily handle.

He had to choose the best opportunity to end this battle in the most effortless and fatal way.

His gaze fell on the bulging Storage Pouch at Liu Xiong's waist, and also on the Blood Shadow Leopard's hind legs, which were becoming increasingly sluggish due to the severe poison and the erosion of cold spiritual power.

The rain was falling heavier and heavier.