The jackal's tracks have been spotted, its sharp edge being first revealed.

Over the next two days, the atmosphere inside the cave grew noticeably tense.

Medicine Old Man shortened his time outside and returned with greater vigilance, carefully clearing away any traces he left behind each time.

The news he brought back confirmed their worries—the activity of the Black Tooth Jackals was indeed becoming more frequent, and they seemed to be searching in this direction.

Nightmare focused single-mindedly, pouring all his time into recovery.

By channeling the spiritual essence of the void lotus seed, the speed at which the wisp of Nirvana Internal Qi in his body grew noticeably increased, like a thin yet resilient stream, beginning to arduously carve a path through his riddled Meridians.

He prioritized repairing the main Meridians in his arms and part of his torso, which allowed him to at least perform some simple movements, no longer completely paralyzed as he was before.

The cracks in his spatial storage, nourished by both the void spiritual essence and the feedback from his Internal Qi, had healed slightly; although the ability to restore his deduction capabilities was still a long way off, at least the stability had increased, and the sluggishness in retrieving items from the spatial storage had lessened slightly.

He attempted to retrieve a low-grade healing Medicinal Pill.

As Medicine Old Man had said, the Medicinal Pill's effectiveness here was less than ten percent; most of its medicinal power seemed to be suppressed and dissipated by some invisible rule, with only a minuscule portion barely able to be refined and absorbed by his Nirvana Internal Qi.

But this was already much better than relying solely on herbs.

On the evening of the third day, as the sky had just begun to darken.

Nightmare, who was meditating with his eyes closed, and Medicine Old Man, who was sorting herbs nearby, opened their eyes almost simultaneously.

Outside the cave came a low and dense rustling sound, mixed with the heavy breathing of some beast and the sound of sharp claws scraping against rock.

A scent mixed with stench and wildness faintly wafted in through the gaps in the boulder.

"They're here!"

Medicine Old Man's expression darkened. He quickly stood up, picked up his seemingly ordinary wooden staff, and moved silently to the cave entrance to observe through the gaps.

Nightmare also struggled to move his body, sitting propped against the cave wall. In his spatial storage, the black longsword that had accompanied him for so long, its spiritual light currently dim, was stirred by his intent, ready to be retrieved at any moment.

Although he couldn't swing the sword right now, holding it in his hand at least provided a sliver of psychological security. If necessary, he could even attempt to detonate the small amount of energy remaining in the sword's body for a final struggle.

"The situation is bad," Medicine Old Man lowered his voice, his tone heavy. "There are at least seven or eight of them. The leader is exceptionally robust and has already half-surrounded the cave entrance."

"They are sniffing around; I'm afraid they have already pinpointed our location."

Nightmare's remaining perception barely extended outward, and sure enough, he "saw" several pairs of eyes flickering with green, malicious light in the dark forest. They were crouching low, fangs bared, saliva dripping from the corners of their mouths, staring vigilantly and greedily at the direction of the cave entrance.

"They fear fire," Medicine Old Man stoked the campfire to make it burn brighter. "But Black Tooth Jackals are cunning by nature. Once they determine that we are weak, they might ignore the flames and force an attack."

As if to confirm his words, a short, sharp howl came from outside the cave.

The next moment, a black shadow suddenly darted in through the gap in the boulder! It was as fast as lightning, pouncing directly at Medicine Old Man, who was closest to the entrance!

It was a Black Tooth Jackal the size of a calf, with jet-black fur and fangs like daggers, gleaming coldly in the reflection of the campfire.

Though Medicine Old Man was old, his movements were exceptionally agile.

He did not meet the attack head-on but tilted his body slightly. The wooden staff in his hand, like a viper striking from its hole, poked with absolute precision at the Black Tooth Jackal's waist.

"Awoo!" The Black Tooth Jackal cried out in pain, its pouncing momentum interrupted, and it rolled onto the ground in a sorry state.

But its ferocity was thoroughly ignited; baring its fangs, it pounced again.

At the same time, two other Black Tooth Jackals seized the opportunity to crawl in through different gaps. One pounced at Medicine Old Man's flank, while the other, smelling the stronger scent of "weakness" on Nightmare, eyes flaring with malicious light, charged directly toward Nightmare in the corner!

"Watch out!" Medicine Old Man shouted, but he was entangled by two Black Tooth Jackals, his wooden staff dancing in a defense so tight that he could not break free for the moment.

A foul stench rushed toward him!

Watching the Black Tooth Jackal pouncing with bared fangs and flying saliva, Nightmare's eyes instantly turned cold and bone-chilling.

Once upon a time, such mundane beasts, not even counting as Yao Beasts, would have been crushed by his invisible Aura if they even came within ten thousand zhang of him; yet now, they dared to regard him as prey?

A tiger fallen to the flatlands is still not something to be bullied by dogs!

He moved, and the black longsword instantly appeared in his barely functional right hand.

The blade was heavy, and he could barely hold it steady, but he gripped it tightly with his powerful willpower.

He couldn't swing or slash, so then... he would pierce!

Just as the Black Tooth Jackal leaped into the air and opened its bloody maw to bite at his neck, Nightmare mobilized that faint wisp of Nirvana Internal Qi within his body, pouring it entirely into the Meridians of his right arm!

Intense pain arrived; the Meridians that had just been slightly repaired felt as if they were being torn apart again!

But he ignored it, concentrating all his strength, willpower, and killing intent toward the beast before him into this single thrust!

"Ssh!"

The sword tip was not aimed at the jackal's hardest skull, but at an extremely tricky angle, following his understanding of biological structural weaknesses from primal cube theory, it pierced precisely into the depths of the Black Tooth Jackal's open mouth, reaching straight to the brain!

The movement was unadorned, even somewhat clumsy, but it was fast, accurate, and ruthless to the extreme!

This was the combat instinct accumulated from countless life-and-death battles!

"Pfft—"

Warm, foul-smelling blood sprayed all over Nightmare's face.

The Black Tooth Jackal's pouncing momentum came to an abrupt halt. The malicious light in its eyes instantly froze and dissipated. It couldn't even let out a whimper before falling heavily in front of Nightmare, its limbs twitching a few times before it stopped moving.

A fatal blow!

However, Nightmare also paid a price for this.

Forcibly mobilizing his Internal Qi caused the Meridians in his right arm to feel like they were burning. His chest churned with blood and Qi, a sweetness rose in his throat, and he nearly spat out blood; his face turned as pale as paper.

But the hand holding the sword remained steady.

His cold eyes swept over the other two Black Tooth Jackals inside the cave that were still entangled with Medicine Old Man.

Those two Black Tooth Jackals were clearly shocked by the instantaneous death of their companion, and their movements hesitated for a moment.

Medicine Old Man seized the opportunity; his wooden staff followed like a shadow, striking out like lightning and hitting one Black Tooth Jackal square in the throat!

"Crack!" A faint sound of a Bone Crack rang out, and that Black Tooth Jackal whimpered as it fell to the ground, struggling.

The other one saw that things were going poorly, let out a fearful howl, and turned to crawl out through the gap.

"Stay!" Medicine Old Man shouted lowly. With a flick of his wrist, the wooden staff flew from his hand like a sharp arrow, overtaking it and piercing precisely through the back of the Black Tooth Jackal's head!

The cave instantly returned to silence, leaving only the crackling sound of the campfire and the heavy scent of blood.

Medicine Old Man caught his breath and walked to Nightmare's side. Looking at his face, which was pale as paper but possessed sharp eyes, and then at the Black Tooth Jackal on the ground that had been killed by a precise piercing of its mouth, a flash of profound shock crossed his murky eyes.

He had originally thought that Nightmare needed his full protection, but he hadn't expected that this young man, who seemed to have only one breath left, could erupt with such a precise and ruthless strike at a critical moment!

That grasp of timing and knowledge of weaknesses were definitely not something an ordinary hunter or Martial Artist could possess.

"You..." Medicine Old Man opened his mouth, unsure of what to say for a moment.

Nightmare slowly loosened his grip on the sword, and the black longsword disappeared back into his spatial storage.

He leaned against the rock wall, panting heavily, every breath tugging at the injuries within his body.

"Temporarily... resolved," Nightmare said hoarsely, his gaze cast toward the cave entrance. "But the ones outside probably won't leave easily."

Sure enough, more agitated and angry howls came from outside the cave.

The death of their companions not only failed to scare them off but instead provoked the ferocity of this group of beasts.

They began to ram their bodies against the boulder blocking the door, making dull thumping sounds.

The boulder shook, and gravel from the gaps fell with a rustling sound.

Medicine Old Man's expression was ugly: "If this continues, the stone won't hold for long! We must find a way to break out, or... eliminate the leader!"

Nightmare arduously sensed the outside.

The leader jackal, which was exceptionally robust and possessed a fierce Aura, was hiding behind the other jackals, issuing commands.

"Old man," Nightmare suddenly spoke, his voice weak but carrying an unquestionable calmness. "Can you... lure that largest one into the cave?"

Medicine Old Man was stunned, instantly understanding Nightmare's plan.

The space inside the cave was narrow, unfavorable for a pack of wolves to surround them, but it was a good place to take care of the leader!

"The risk is too great!" Medicine Old Man frowned.

"Better than... being trapped to death here," Nightmare said intermittently, his eyes firm.

He needed an opportunity—an opportunity to erupt once more, to intimidate or even kill the leader!

Otherwise, once the boulder was knocked away and the pack of jackals swarmed in, he and Medicine Old Man would undoubtedly die.

Medicine Old Man looked at Nightmare's resolute gaze, then looked at the crumbling boulder at the cave entrance, and suddenly gritted his teeth: "Fine! I'll trust you this once!"

He walked quickly to the cave entrance, took a deep breath, and suddenly pushed the boulder blocking the door open, creating a gap just wide enough for one jackal to pass through, while shouting loudly to attract attention.

"Awoo!" The leader jackal, which had been holding back, saw the cave entrance open and smelled the rich scent of blood inside. Its ferocity completely overwhelmed its vigilance. It let out a violent howl, turned into a huge black shadow, and shot into the cave like a sharp arrow!

As soon as it entered the cave, its cold, vicious gaze instantly locked onto Nightmare—the one with the weakest Aura but who had brought death to its companions!

The final battle erupted instantly in this narrow cave!