I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

[Linjiang City, Old Town, Dachun Lane Architectural Complex]

[Time: 16:05 PM]

The roar of gunfire echoed through the deathly silent alleyways, but it could not drown out the despairing clanging of metal.

"Damn it! We can't penetrate it at all!"

Assault soldier Hu Zi roared, the barrel of his Type 95 assault rifle already glowing red.

Ten meters ahead of him, the "Void Hound," resembling a lion or tiger and entirely black, was leisurely approaching. A barrage of armor-piercing bullets struck its black "liquid skin," like pebbles thrown into a deep pool, only creating ripples before being completely swallowed up.

Not only is it ineffective, it's also mocking them.

The monster occasionally swung its claws, moving so fast that only afterimages could be seen. Each swing left a crack half a meter deep in the hard cement wall, as if it were tofu rather than reinforced concrete.

"Don't waste bullets! Physical attacks have negligible effect on him, try using electricity!"

Upon hearing this, the other team members immediately pulled out Taser guns and net launchers, intending to kill it as they would a mud ant.

Unfortunately, these estimates only produced a little black smoke on its body and served no other purpose, and were quickly torn apart and destroyed.

The vice-captain was screaming, his bulletproof vest ripped open, blood staining his tactical vest. "Where's Instructor Chu Tian? Only he can handle this!"

"Chu Tian can't come!"

Zhao Feng leaned against the wall, changing his magazine while shouting, "He's at the military base! He's giving thousands of new recruits 'initiative training'! They're the seeds of the future, more important than this mission!"

Zhao Feng knew very well that Chu Tian was now shouldering the heavy responsibility of "mass-producing cultivators," a strategic mission personally assigned by his superiors. Therefore, this mess could only be handled by him, a "half-baked" individual.

"Captain, there's no way out!"

Tiger looked back and saw a high wall behind him.

Zhao Feng was panting heavily. As the person with the highest "cultivation" present, his perception was much sharper than the others.

In his vision, the monster was not a physical "creature," but a chaotic, twisted mass of black energy radiating extreme malice.

Ordinary weapons cannot harm its essence.

only...

"Everyone, stand back!"

Zhao Feng's eyes sharpened, as if he had made up his mind. He suddenly reached into the tactical backpack on his back and pulled out a long, narrow object wrapped in black cloth.

The black cloth was torn off, revealing a broken sword covered in rust.

The sword was only half intact, its blade covered in dark red rust, making it look like a piece of junk salvaged from a junkyard. But on the hilt, two ancient seal characters were faintly engraved—【虎贲】.

It was the weapon he obtained from the Sword Tomb. It was also his only trump card at the moment.

"Old buddy..."

Zhao Feng's hands were trembling.

He knew the price of this sword.

This sword harbors a wisp of the "ghost bride's" remnant soul, which is usually dormant. To awaken it, more than just spiritual energy is needed; it also requires the user's "vital essence and spirit."

Every swing of the sword is a burning of one's own life force.

"Captain! What are you doing?" the team members exclaimed.

"Let's take a gamble..."

Zhao Feng bit his tongue and forced himself to circulate the meager amount of "qi" in his body.

In that instant, his face turned deathly pale, as if all the blood in his body had been drained. A deep-seated weakness almost made him collapse to his knees.

But at the same time, the rusty broken sword began to tremble!

Om-!

Rust fell down with a soft rustling sound.

A crimson, blood-red sword light shone from the broken sword's surface.

Faintly, a woman's soft sigh seemed to drift through the air, along with... the roar of a tiger.

"Die!!"

Zhao Feng roared, gripped his sword with both hands, and with the last bit of strength in his body, slashed fiercely at the monster that was rushing towards him from a distance.

brush!

There was no earth-shattering explosion.

There was only a faint sound, like cloth being torn.

A translucent, blood-red ripple swept through the air.

The Void Hound, which had been arrogant and invincible, ignoring the hail of bullets, suddenly froze in mid-air.

It lowered its head, and for the first time, fear was revealed in its purple eyes.

A clean cut appeared between its chest and abdomen. No blood flowed from the wound; instead, like a shattered mirror, large amounts of black smoke began to escape.

"Aww..."

The monster let out a shrill scream, its massive body crashing heavily to the ground. It convulsed a few times in pain, then its purple eyes quickly dimmed, and its body went limp into a puddle of mud, no longer moving.

"Huff... huff..."

The light from the broken sword in Zhao Feng's hand dissipated, and it returned to its original state as scrap metal. He was drenched in sweat, as if he had been pulled out of the water, and his legs gave way, causing him to slide down to the ground against the wall.

That sword strike drained him of all his energy. Now, he doesn't even have the strength to lift a finger, and his vision is already blurring.

"Captain! You did it!"

"It's dead! That thing is dead!"

The team members erupted in cheers of relief.

"Don't...don't be careless..." Zhao Feng weakly tried to raise his hand to stop him, but his voice was barely audible.

At this moment, two young team members—Liu Wei and Wang Li—carefully walked over, carrying their guns.

Under Chu Tian's guidance, these two had just cultivated their first extremely faint "qi sense," and were bursting with confidence.

"I'll go confirm the target's death and take a sample while I'm at it." Liu Wei pulled out his tactical dagger and walked towards the motionless black body.

Wang Li stood guard nearby and whispered, "Be careful, this thing looks like it's liquefied."

The two walked up to the monster.

The monster on the ground remained motionless, and the nauseating sense of oppression seemed to have disappeared.

Liu Wei crouched down and reached out to touch the black surface.

Just when his fingertips were less than ten centimeters away from the monster.

The "corpse" that was originally limp on the ground suddenly had its skin crack open like ripples in water.

There was no sign of resurrection, nor any sign of gathering power.

It was a pure, instinctive hunt that went beyond reflexes.

puff!puff!

Two jet-black tentacles, like venomous snakes emerging from their holes, instantly pierced through Liu Wei and Wang Li's chests!

"Well……"

Liu Wei's eyes widened as he looked down at the black spikes that had pierced his bulletproof vest, blood gushing from his mouth. He couldn't understand why the monster, which clearly showed no signs of life, had suddenly sprung into action.

"No!!!" Tiger shouted from behind, trying to fire his gun.

But it was too late.

The monster didn't give them a chance to rescue themselves.

"Hiss...delicious...unique...taste..."

The monster on the ground suddenly raised its head, and its previously dim eyes instantly ignited again, the purple light even more intense than before!

Instead of tearing flesh like a wild beast, it frantically sucked something out through its two tentacles.

Liu Wei and Wang Li's bodies shrank at a visible rate.

What's most terrifying is that the two wisps of "spiritual energy" they had just cultivated, extremely weak, flowed into the monster's body without reservation through the tentacles.

To void creatures, the flesh and blood of ordinary people are simply food.

But flesh and blood containing "spiritual power," even a tiny bit, is an unparalleled tonic! It is a catalyst for evolution!

[High-energy nutrient intake detected.]

[Injury healing in progress...]

[Genetic lock unlocked... Secondary evolution begins.]

"Click...click..."

The monster's body emitted a series of popping sounds, like popping beans.

The huge wound that Zhao Feng had just slashed open with his sword had healed completely in the blink of an eye after swallowing two promising cultivators!

Not only that.

Its size increased dramatically again, and layers of obsidian-like horny armor began to grow on its originally smooth black skin. Its limbs became even thicker, and wisps of visible black smoke curled around its claws.

It flicked its tentacles, slamming the two mummified corpses against the wall like trash.

At this moment, Zhao Feng felt true despair.

His strongest attack not only failed to kill it, but instead made it even stronger because it devoured the team members with spiritual energy.

"roar--!!!"

The monster roared to the sky, and the sound shattered all the glass around it.

It lowered its head, looking at Zhao Feng who was slumped on the ground, its eyes filled with greed.

It tasted the sweetness of success.

It knew there was another prey with an even stronger "flavor" here.

That's Zhao Feng.

And the broken sword in his hand... even though it had lost its luster, it still made it feel both fear and longing.