In that instant, the four spiritual apertures trembled violently, and the little fellow exerted every ounce of strength he possessed. The surging spiritual energy within him converged instantly upon Nie Kong's right palm.

A moment later, the palm made intimate contact with the head of the "Shadow Flow Beast," and spiritual energy erupted like a tidal wave.

"Boom!"

Amidst the tremendous explosion, the very void seemed to be ripped open by Nie Kong's palm strike.

"Aooo!"

The Shadow Flow Beast let out a mournful cry!

As Nie Kong flung his palm, the dark mist swirling around the spirit beast's body suddenly dissipated. That massive head shriveled at a speed visible to the naked eye. Immediately after, the colossal body, like a cannonball fired from a barrel, tumbled and crashed down twenty to thirty meters away with a "whoosh."

Spiritual energy rushed to approach him almost instantly, and Nie Kong felt slightly breathless.

Without hesitation, Nie Kong fished out a jade vial from his embrace, poured out one "Jade Fragrance Pill," and tossed it into his mouth. He chewed it vigorously, and a rich vitality, accompanied by the medicinal power, flooded into his body. His spiritual apertures, which had been almost dry, began to refill at a furious pace!

In the blink of an eye, nearly twenty percent of his spiritual energy had been restored, far exceeding Nie Kong's expectations. Back when Nie Kong had given the formula for the "Jade Fragrance Pill" to Sha Yan, Sha Yan had remarked that if a Spirit Fusion Master consumed this elixir, it could instantly restore over thirty percent of depleted spiritual energy.

The thirty percent Sha Yan spoke of was based on the premise of a Spirit Fusion Master having already expended about half of their spiritual power. Nie Kong, having exhausted almost all of his internal energy, still managed to recover nearly twenty percent! If Sha Yan were to know this, he would likely be even more astonished and awestruck.

"Aooo!"

Suddenly, the "Shadow Flow Beast" roared again and struggled back to its feet. After being sent flying by Nie Kong’s palm, its distended body had shrunk back to its original size.

"Hmm?"

Nie Kong was startled. If this were in the Tianlang Mountain Range outside, a "Shadow Flow Beast" like this, struck away by his "Mountain-Shattering Strike," should have suffered a severe injury, if not having its head instantly burst. Yet, this creature had managed to rise so quickly!

His decision to deploy the "Mountain-Shattering Strike" just now had been reckless, but necessary. Otherwise, he would have been hopelessly entangled by this Shadow Flow Beast, and perhaps before his "Yin Void Bloodline" could erupt, he would have been finished off by the spirit beast.

Yet, the aftereffects of using such a technique were particularly severe. If another spirit beast had appeared at this moment, or if a disciple from Lingyu City had arrived, Nie Kong would likely have had to activate the "Emerald Pattern Jade Butterfly" and prematurely end his assessment journey. What Nie Kong hadn't anticipated was that the two situations he feared most hadn't materialized; instead, the continuing threat was that accursed "Shadow Flow Beast"!

"Aooo!"

The Shadow Flow Beast's howl carried a slight tremor as it staggered towards Nie Kong. Crimson blood dripped from its mouth, staining its bone-white fangs bright red. After being injured by Nie Kong's palm, the spirit beast showed no sign of retreating. Instead, its savage temperament intensified. Its blood-red eyes held a chilling murderous intent, as if it wished nothing more than to immediately tear Nie Kong’s body in half.

"Damn its mother's eggs!"

Nie Kong cursed under his breath, tossed a pale-red elixir into his mouth, and simultaneously mobilized the last remnants of his spiritual energy, charging swiftly toward the "Shadow Flow Beast." It was rumored that after the Illusionary Space was unlocked, not only did the spirit beasts’ abilities increase significantly, but the speed at which their injuries healed also became astonishingly fast.

If he didn't seize the chance to finish it off while it was severely wounded, waiting until it recovered before Nie Kong did would be too late to regret.

"Aooo!"

Fierce light blazed in the Shadow Flow Beast’s blood-red eyes. Although its steps were still unsteady, its running speed grew faster and faster! In just a moment, the distance of over twenty meters between Nie Kong and the Shadow Flow Beast rapidly shrank to within ten meters! Nie Kong could clearly hear its ragged breathing.

"Hoo!"

Nie Kong moved like a falling star, instantly closing the gap between them to two meters. His clenched fist, enveloped in a ball of shimmering green light, drove toward the beast's gaping maw. The Shadow Flow Beast let out a screech, but instead of dodging, it suddenly accelerated, crashing headlong into Nie Kong.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

The Cloud Flower Four Layers exploded forth, and four layers of spiritual power wreaked havoc inside the Shadow Flow Beast’s mouth. Fangs mixed with blood splattered outward.

"Boom!"

Almost at the same instant, Nie Kong’s body trembled violently. It was the Shadow Flow Beast’s tail sweeping over, striking Nie Kong’s spine with lightning speed.

"Damn it, you beast, you want to take me down with you?"

Nie Kong sneered and grit his teeth, enduring the pain in his back. He grabbed the Shadow Flow Beast's tail with one hand, flinging its massive body, weighing several hundred jin, up into the air before slamming it down forcefully. With a loud "thud," the ground instantly concave into a pit nearly a foot deep.

"Still daring to glare at me?"

The Shadow Flow Beast only managed half a cry before Nie Kong seized its thick tail again and heaved its heavy bulk upward! And slammed it down!

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"........."

With successive resounding crashes echoing out, after slamming the detestable creature down dozens of times, Nie Kong had expended more spiritual energy and was slightly winded. However, the Shadow Flow Beast looked far more miserable; its body was drenched in blood, lying limp on the ground like a pile of sludge, weakly groaning while vomiting blood.

Outside, this Shadow Flow Beast would have been finished even if it had nine lives. But remembering the terrifying regenerative ability of spirit beasts within the Illusionary Space, Nie Kong remained uneasy. Glancing around quickly, he spotted a rock not far away and dragged the spirit beast over.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Its massive head struck the hard stone for the second time, exploding with a sound like a watermelon, scattering red and white matter everywhere.

Nie Kong dropped the Shadow Flow Beast's tail, spat forcefully onto its corpse, and only then felt a measure of satisfaction. Damn it, if things turned out this way, and the beast could still revive, he wouldn't need it to move its mouth—he would just bash his own head against this stone until he died!

"Xiangxiang, Spring Breeze into Rain!"

After slightly regulating his breathing, Nie Kong instructed the little fellow and then darted toward the forest ahead in a flash. Having been entangled with the Shadow Flow Beast for so long, Nie Kong had taken in the entirety of the surrounding environment.

He was in a mountain valley, surrounded by an endless forest where numerous spirit beasts surely roamed. The bloody scent emanating from the Shadow Flow Beast's corpse would possess an unparalleled stimulus for those beasts already driven to madness.

Nie Kong had to leave this dangerous place quickly while he still had some spiritual energy left! It was a pity that spiritual medicines like the "Jade Fragrance Pill" could not be consumed consecutively; there needed to be at least a half-hour interval before a second dose would take effect, otherwise, he wouldn't be in such a rush.

Fortunately, Nie Kong had a pet like the Purple Luo Illusionary Scent. Coupled with Xiangxiang's "Spring Breeze into Rain" technique and the "Spring and Autumn Life Cultivation Art," as long as he could find a safe spot, his apertures and meridians would surely be replenished in an extremely short time...

Lingxiao Altar.

Discussions rose and fell like waves, and everyone’s gaze followed the constantly flickering specks of green light within the Illusionary Space, their expressions ranging from novelty to excitement.

The competition of the Six Halls had only lasted a few short minutes, and amidst the undulating ridges of the Illusionary Space, red dots could occasionally be seen vanishing, and green dots turning black before likewise disappearing.

The disappearance of every red dot represented the death of a spirit beast, while the turning of every green dot to black signified a disciple from Lingyu City being prematurely eliminated from the Six Halls competition.

If two green dots touched, it meant two Lingyu City disciples had encountered each other. If those two green dots suddenly flashed intensely, it indicated the two were engaged in a fierce battle. If they moved together calmly, it could be inferred that the two might have formed an alliance.

Furthermore, there were several red dots surrounding a single green dot—this meant several spirit beasts were ganging up on one Lingyu City disciple.

Or perhaps several green dots encircling a red dot—this was multiple Lingyu City disciples attacking one spirit beast.

Or even a single red dot and a single green dot—the meaning here was even simpler: one Lingyu City disciple was locked in struggle with one spirit beast...

Although the observers couldn't see the disciples themselves, the constant shifting of the red and green dots across the vast landscape of mountains and rivers vividly displayed the situation of the three thousand Lingyu City disciples within the Illusionary Space. Any incident involving one of them could hardly escape the eyes of the crowd.

Whenever they saw the flickering of a green dot become unstable, the crowd couldn't help but secretly sweat for that disciple. And when they witnessed a red dot being eliminated by a green dot, their spirits would involuntarily lift in delight.

As time passed, the attention of the crowd became almost completely absorbed by those volatile red and green dots, and they watched with keen interest. Sometimes, the contest presented in this abstract form was more captivating and more interesting than outright, naked fighting.

But for the disciples who had already been eliminated, this spectacle was far less amusing. At the entrance to the Illusionary Space, dozens of young men and women had already gathered—all of them who had used the "Emerald Pattern Jade Butterfly" in the final moments and were consequently ejected from the space.

At this moment, the entrance was thick with resentment:

"Damn it, the spirit beasts inside are truly maniacal. They forced me to a point where I had no strength left to fight back, so I had no choice but to use the 'Emerald Pattern Jade Butterfly' to escape."

"Stop complaining. At least you managed to exchange a few blows with a spirit beast. Look at me—I fell right into a beast den the moment I entered. If I hadn't moved fast, you wouldn't even be seeing me now!"

"You guys are luckier than me. I fell into a river for some reason. I have no idea what kind of spirit beast was hiding there, but it latched onto my foot and dragged me down. I scrambled out before I even saw its shadow. Ugh, what terrible luck. If I knew how to swim, I definitely would have killed that thing!"

"........."

: Third update done. There are two more tonight. The fourth update should be finished before midnight; the fifth will be past midnight, so you can read that one tomorrow, alright.

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