The three of them stared fearlessly at the monster before them, their eyes filled with determination—they were ready to fight to the death.
Black Mist, seeing that none of them chose to run, found the situation increasingly amusing. To him, this only made things more interesting, and more entertaining. The fact that these people weren't running away. For him, it was nothing but pure advantage. These people could never defeat him. In the end, they would only become his nourishment.
"You really are becoming more and more amusing. Since none of you are planning to run, then all of you can stay... and become my food."
As soon as Black Mist finished speaking, he launched what he intended to be his final attack on Zhang Nu and the others.
Zhang Nu and the others understood very well that they could no longer afford to drag this out. Zhang Nu, in particular, had a bold idea in his heart—he had to break through his cultivation level. Only by advancing further could he hope to defeat Black Mist.
"You three, cover me for a moment. I have a crucial thing to do. If this works, I’ll be able to save all of you."
Hearing Zhang Nu's words, Liu Hai and the others immediately nodded. No matter what Zhang Nu wanted to do, all they had to do was trust him and do their part. Zhang Nu would definitely protect them.
"Zhang Nu, whatever it is you’re planning, we’ll support you. But you absolutely must not die."
Zhang Nu nodded firmly at their words. He wouldn’t die, not yet. He still had a long road ahead of him, and he was determined to be the winner of this game.
He moved to the side, starting to gather all the energy within his body, focusing it together. His top priority now was to break through his cultivation level, only then would he have a real chance at defeating Black Mist.
Ling Xi, watching Zhang Nu’s actions, quickly realized what he was trying to do. But she also knew it was far too dangerous. As a nine-tailed fox, she possessed certain abilities that could help others improve their powers.
Without hesitation, Ling Xi stepped behind Zhang Nu, sliced open a wound on her palm with a knife, and began pouring all her energy directly into Zhang Nu’s body.
Zhang Nu immediately felt the surge of energy coming from Ling Xi and his body began to absorb it instinctively. Realizing this wasn’t normal, Zhang Nu tried to resist, but at this point, he had no way to stop it.
Black Mist also noticed the situation, and his expression darkened. He couldn’t let this continue, if Zhang Nu and Ling Xi kept going like this, he would definitely be defeated.
Black Mist immediately charged toward them, but Liu Hai and Lin Xiao quickly intercepted him, doing everything they could to hold him back.
"Lin Xiao, we must stop Black Mist's attack! Otherwise, Zhang Nu and Ling Xi will be in danger!"
Lin Xiao nodded without hesitation, his hands never slowing for even a second. If he slipped up even a little, Zhang Nu and Ling Xi's lives would be at risk. That was something he couldn't afford.
At the same time, Lin Xiao silently began drawing out the power within himself. Right now, the only way to deal with this situation was to break through his own limits.
Everyone present was fighting with everything they had to defeat Black Mist. Even Lin Xiao—who had always kept his power sealed and restrained—was finally loosening his own bindings.
Lin Xiao was naturally extremely gifted, but he had always chosen to suppress his cultivation. Life before this had been peaceful and there simply hadn’t been a need to use his full strength. But now, with real danger before him, with his companions’ lives on the line, Lin Xiao couldn’t hold back any longer.
Seeing all this, Black Mist finally realized just how terrifying this group of people really was. Had he known things would turn out like this, he would have eliminated them much earlier. He wouldn’t have ended up in such a passive and dangerous situation.
But it was too late for regrets now. Zhang Nu and the others were already in the process of overturning everything. Black Mist could only watch as the situation spiraled beyond his control, bitterly aware that regret alone could do nothing to save him now. If he wanted to kill these people, he had only one option left, to use his most powerful and deadly move.
This was a technique Black Mist had cultivated for countless years, his ultimate trump card. If he succeeded, all he needed was time to recover, and he would be fine. But if he failed… then he would be completely at their mercy.
Even so, Black Mist couldn’t waste time hesitating. Right now, the only thing he could do was kill every last one of them.
Gradually, Black Mist began to manifest into a true physical form, rising slowly into the air while continuously absorbing dark energy around him.
Even the villagers who had long fallen into madness were beginning to gather and move toward the forest.
Outside, the group of monsters who had come with Ling Xi immediately noticed something was wrong. They fought desperately to guard the bamboo forest, not wanting to let these villagers enter.
But the problem was… they couldn’t hurt the villagers. And yet the villagers, completely consumed by madness, were attacking them with lethal force.