The scene descended into a heavy silence, the thunderous footsteps of the Devouring Dragon King already audible in the distance. Both beasts vaguely understood that this time, their doom was sealed...
"Xiao Hei..." Xiao Taotao suddenly spoke again, but his voice was significantly weaker than before...
"En?" Ni Bo nodded...
"It would be great if you were a female!" Xiao Taotao’s voice grew fainter...
"Why?" Xiao Hei also felt incredibly exhausted, yet he forced himself to stay alert and asked, "Why?"
"Then I could marry you, hahahaha..."
"..." Xiao Hei was momentarily speechless, but then added, "Why can't you be the female, and I marry you?"
"Because I'm stronger than you; you’ve never beaten me, hahahaha..." Xiao Taotao burst into laughter, suddenly recalling the moment the two beasts first met...
"..." Faced with Xiao Taotao's reasoning, Xiao Hei once again chose silence...
"Xiao Hei..." After a while, Taotie spoke again... His voice was even quieter than before, barely a mosquito's buzz...
"En?" Xiao Hei had almost drifted off to sleep, but hearing Xiao Taotao’s faint sound, he mustered his energy again.
"Actually, I know your strength surpassed mine long ago. You’ve been letting me have my way all these years, haven't you..."
"Uh..." Xiao Hei remained silent, but it was tantamount to an admission...
"I remember you once swore you would defeat me, or else you would only listen to me. But why, when you clearly had the power to beat me, did you deliberately go easy on me?" Xiao Taotao understood Xiao Hei's meaning and pressed the question again...
"You like being the big brother, so I’ll just keep calling you big brother and listening to you. What does it matter who wins or loses!" Facing Taotie's query, Xiao Hei smiled faintly...
Xiao Taotao fell silent again, but crystalline tears began to seep from his eyes. He was lazy, while Ni Bo was diligently hardworking. Though his own talent was innate, even great talent amounted to little without effort.
Over the years, Ni Bo had been cultivating relentlessly; his diligence was many times greater than his own. And what about him? He only knew how to eat and sleep. Even though this method still allowed him to increase his strength, the speed was far too slow. To quickly boost his power, how many miraculous elixirs had he found over the years? Almost half of them had been given to Xiao Hei, which was why their cultivation levels were only barely balanced—barely. Xiao Hei's true combat power had long surpassed his own.
Yet, he had silently stayed by his side, letting him eat, letting him sleep, and procuring so many, many precious herbs for him...
This was brotherhood; one brother silently dedicating everything for the other...
"Xiao Hei, are we going to die?" After a long pause, Xiao Taotao spoke once more...
"Perhaps so..." Xiao Hei's lips moved, as if uttering those words cost him immense effort...
"Who do you think of most before you die? It’s not that female Qilin I saw last time, is it? Hahahaha..." Xiao Taotao’s face was covered in a smile, but the tears in his eyes continued to stream down uncontrollably...
"Get lost. I have no interest in her. Right now, I’m only thinking of Xiao Yezi, wondering where he is now..." Xiao Hei rolled his eyes disdainfully...
"Heh heh, I miss him too. I miss the meat he grilled; ah, it smells so good. Hey, Xiao Hei, I think I see his illusion; he’s right in front of us... Heh heh, I didn't expect to have such hallucinations right before death."
At that moment, Xiao Hei also spotted a figure—a person identical to Ye Jingyu in both stature and aura...
Unlike Liang Xiaoke and the others, spirit beasts like Ni Bo and Xiao Taotao recognized someone not by sight, but by feeling—the sensation of their aura. Right now, he clearly felt a man bearing the exact same aura as Ye Jingyu standing before them...
"Xiao Taotao, I think I see him too, but it doesn't feel like an illusion. I truly feel him!" Xiao Hei’s eyes brightened...
"Really?" Xiao Taotao was growing drowsy, his eyes nearly shut. But upon hearing Xiao Hei’s words, he forced himself to open them and looked behind them, immediately seeing Ye Jingyu’s figure rushing toward them at top speed...
"Wow, it really is Little Yezi! We're saved..." A flash of light crossed Taotie's eyes, but he could no longer fight the crushing lethargy, and he fainted completely...
Ye Jingyu had been led to the vicinity of this dense forest by that Devouring Dragon. Having just slain it, he heard the commotion coming from this area. Without hesitation, he charged over. But when he arrived, he found two familiar figures lying on the ground, and in the distance, a gigantic Devouring Dragon was advancing toward them step by step...
"Xiao Taotao, Xiao Hei..." Ye Jingyu arrived beside the two in an instant, placing both hands atop their heads. The Overlord Essence Energy within him surged wildly, and even that trace of Chaos Power born from the World-Destroying Demonic Light and the World-Creating Divine Light rushed into the bodies of the two beasts without restraint, fiercely protecting their vital hearts...
"We're fine, be careful of that big fellow..." Feeling a new surge of power within him, Ni Bo finally managed to muster a sliver of strength and spoke with great difficulty...
"Don't worry. Rest well and recover. I'll kill it and avenge you," Ye Jingyu declared fiercely. With a single beckon, the Chiyou Banner appeared in his hand, instantly sweeping both Ni Bo and Taotie inside. His body slowly straightened as he turned to face the Devouring Dragon King that had drawn near...
"Waa waaa waaa! It's been so long since I tasted fresh blood! I didn't expect to run into such a massive creature right after emerging. This is fantastic!" At this moment, the figure of Hanba floated out, followed by Zhurong, Tianwu, Hou Yi, and even Hu Yanqi, all with expressions of excitement on their faces...
Although this monster appeared powerful, Ye Jingyu was now even stronger. Slaying such a monster was no difficult task. Once this thing was dead, they could all benefit from a major replenishment. For millennia, Ye Jingyu’s physical body had been washed clean, but they hadn't increased their cultivation at all. If they didn't feast properly now, how could they justify it...
"None of you interfere. I must resolve this myself..." At this moment, a cold voice issued from Ye Jingyu’s mouth. The injuries to Xiao Taotao and Ni Bo had made him furious—exceptionally, profoundly furious...