"Quick, speed up, even the most juvenile Taotie, once enraged, is not something an ordinary person can withstand..." Upon hearing that wolf-like, yet not quite wolf, cry, Chi Yi said anxiously...

But the worry etched on Hu Yan's face deepened...

The group immediately hastened towards Hu Yan's tribe. After another quarter of an hour, they finally arrived. Only then did Ye Jingyu get a clear view of the surroundings. The once neat and orderly village was now utterly ruined. Many wooden houses stood half-collapsed, shattered remnants clinging precariously. The ground was smeared everywhere with blood, shredded flesh, and entrails. Nearly all the men and women of the Hu Yan tribe were gathered at the village entrance, their expressions haggard, their faces emaciated, as if they had just witnessed an apocalypse over the past few days...

Moreover, over thirty men and women lay there, their faces turning bluish-purple, utterly lifeless, as if afflicted by some terrible illness, hovering on the brink of death...

"A'mu..." The young girl named Hu Yan Meng, who had been following closely behind Hu Yan, spotted one of the women among the fallen. She instantly darted out, her face a mask of raw anxiety...

"Chi Yi Feng, you stay behind to rescue these people. The rest of you, follow me inside to check on the Taotie," Chi Yi commanded directly, then took the lead, rushing into the dilapidated village with the others...

Ye Jingyu cast a distant glance at Hu Yan Meng before following in the rear, charging into the village with the group...

The deeper they ventured, the more astonished Ye Jingyu became. Everywhere they passed, everything bore signs of being gnawed—trees, flowers and grass, houses, the ground. It was as if a massive army of rats, numbering in the thousands, had swept through...

Could the Taotie truly be this terrifying? Did it consume everything?

Finally, the group discovered a circle of men and women clad in animal hides, gripping bows and arrows, yet they dared not loose a single shaft...

Looking up, they saw within the encirclement a creature, entirely ueBi in appearance, its fur bristling, eyes wide and fierce, resembling a wolf. Its body was not large, only the size of an average large dog, yet its mournful, howling cries were profoundly terrifying. The Hu Yan tribesmen standing around dared not shoot at it again...

"Huh? Why does it look like this? Wasn't it supposed to resemble a sheep?" Ye Jingyu asked, bewildered, seeing the Taotie manifested like a wolf...

"This is its battle form, also known as Shen Tan Shi (Extreme Gluttony). In this state, it is an entity of extreme terror. Be cautious," Chi Yi’s mental waves resonated directly in Ye Jingyu's mind...

When Ye Jingyu looked toward Chi Yi again, he saw his hands constantly shifting, seemingly forming various hand seals...

There was no need to inquire about the reason for the Taotie’s rage...

"Aowu... Hiss... Wuyou... Aowu..." The Taotie, cornered by the crowd, let out that wolf-like, yet not quite wolf, cry again. Its round eyes were now flashing a virulent crimson-green, much like Chi Yi's green ghostly fire...

Chi Yi Xiu and the other Chi Yi warriors immediately drew their weapons—most carried massive axes, a few wielded maces. They rushed to the front, shielding Chi Yi. As for the Hu Yan archers, they stood behind the Chi Yi warriors, with at least a hundred longbows aimed squarely at the Taotie at the center...

Chi Yi Lei, Chi Yi Huo, Chi Yi Dian, and Chi Yi Yu surrounded Chi Yi, their eyes burning with surging green flames. An invisible pressure emanated from them—a pressure born from the depths of the soul, the absolute dominance that came with reaching the Soul Condensation realm...

"Aowu aowu..." Seemingly feeling gravely threatened, the Taotie’s small body shot forward like lightning towards them. In the blink of an eye, it was before the foremost Chi Yi warrior, opening its massive jaws to bite down on one of them...

"Break..." Chi Yi Lei, Chi Yi Huo, Chi Yi Dian, and Chi Yi Yu shouted in unison. The air before them trembled, and then they saw the Taotie's body thrown backward as if struck by a massive fist, landing heavily on the ground... It carved a huge earthen crater where it fell, testament to the terrifying force unleashed...

This... is a Concentration Attack?

Ye Jingyu watched, his heart filled with shock. This was an attack impossible to guard against, yet possessed such immense power. No wonder he had managed to defeat Chi Yi Xiu so decisively back then. When would he finally master this divine ability completely?

At this moment, Ye Jingyu was solely focused on how to grasp this powerful offensive technique, paying no mind to the Taotie's fate. In his view, having suffered such a devastating blow, even a Taotie couldn't possibly be unscathed...

"Aowu... Wuyou..." To his astonishment, that same sound rang out again. The Taotie’s diminutive body shot out of the crater like lightning, charging towards the group once more. The green light in its eyes was dazzling and horrifying, resembling a starved wolf that hadn't eaten for weeks...

"Mind Wave Attack..." Seeing the Taotie leap again, Chi Yi Lei and the others unleashed the Concentration Attack once more, feeling an invisible force surge towards the creature...

"Rumble..." A deafening crash, sounding like space itself fracturing, sent the Taotie flying backward again. However, the bodies of Chi Yi Dian, Chi Yi Lei, Chi Yi Huo, and Chi Yi Yu were forced back a full step simultaneously, a trace of blood seeping from the corners of their mouths...

"Let the summoned beasts handle it," Chi Yi suddenly opened his eyes and spoke plainly. With a wave of his hand, a black spatial rift appeared beside him...

"Roar..." A colossal roar echoed from within the dark space. Then, a single horn emerged, followed by a large head shaped like a lion's. Subsequently, a blue body exceeding ten feet in length drilled out of the black void...

The Horned Dragon Lion—resembling a lion but covered in dragon scales—a Level Six exotic beast, one of the most terrifying creatures deep within the Southern Wilderness Forest. When Chi Yi first subdued this beast, he had nearly exhausted all his soul power...

Seeing their Clan Leader summon the Horned Dragon Lion, Chi Yi Lei and the others ceased holding the line. Each of them used their soul power to open the small personal spaces they had created. Out of these spaces poured a three-headed wolf, a coiled python, a Three-Eyed Ice Origin Leopard, and a Two-Winged Rhino King—all Level Five exotic beasts—emerging from four separate black portals...

Witnessing this scene, Ye Jingyu’s eyes filled with delight. Once a Soul Master reached the Soul Condensation realm, they could create an independent small space where their summoned beasts could temporarily hide, ready to be released whenever needed...