"Whoosh!"
Jiang Yun gasped for breath, every muscle in his body aching, and several new, gruesome wounds bleeding profusely.
Around him, the ground was covered with the Corpses of Vicious Beasts. The nearly thirty Vicious Beasts that had attacked him earlier were all dead, without exception.
If any Disciple of Wen Dao Sect had witnessed this scene, they would undoubtedly have regarded Jiang Yun as a divine being.
To kill nearly thirty Vicious Beasts above the seventh rank by himself was equivalent to killing nearly thirty Cultivators above the seventh level of the Tongmai Realm, including even a few at the eighth and ninth levels.
This was simply impossible, and even an Inner Sect Disciple might not be able to do it, because it required not only powerful cultivation as a reliance but also rich combat experience as support.
And Jiang Yun possessed all of this.
However, to kill these nearly thirty Vicious Beasts, he had used every means at his disposal, whether it was the strength of his Physical Body or Spiritual Qi spells, which once again left his body in a state of exhaustion.
Jiang Yun's gaze did not fall on the Corpses of the Vicious Beasts on the ground but instead continuously scanned his surroundings, because the unknown entity that had just given orders to these Vicious Beasts had not yet appeared.
And that unknown entity was likely his greatest enemy, and it was even highly probable that Lu Xiaoyu's death was related to it.
After waiting silently for a moment, there was no unusual activity in the surroundings. Jiang Yun simply sat down cross-legged, his eyes slightly closed, the incantation of the "Tongmai Art" appearing in his mind. While continuously absorbing Spiritual Qi from all directions, he still kept all his senses heightened to the extreme, guarding against that unknown entity.
Only, Jiang Yun didn't know that, just as he sat down, a human-height black mist silently appeared not far behind him.
A sinister voice came from within the mist: "What a powerful Physical Body, it must be very satisfying to chew! Hehe, Wen Dao Sect has indeed produced two good Disciples this time, but unfortunately, they're mine!"
As the voice fell, the mist suddenly vanished from its original spot, and when it reappeared, it was already in front of Jiang Yun. But strangely, Jiang Yun's keen and exceptional senses had no effect at this moment; he didn't even see this black mist.
The mist exploded, suddenly expanding and instantly enveloping Jiang Yun's body completely.
Immediately after, within the mist, fine black threads, as thin as hair, silently rolled and condensed, trying to squeeze into Jiang Yun's nine orifices and pores.
From a distance, it looked as if the mist had suddenly transformed into countless worms, desperately trying to force their way into Jiang Yun's body.
However, just as these black threads touched Jiang Yun's body, they were all suddenly repelled, as if there was some powerful force within him preventing the black threads from entering.
This sudden change caused the mist to stop rolling, and all the black threads became still. After a moment, the sinister voice spoke again: "I was wondering why this beast-skin boy looked a bit familiar; it turns out it's him! No wonder he could block me! This is troublesome. It's a pity not to eat him, but if I do, that guy might come looking for me someday."
The mist began to fluctuate continuously, seemingly showing the inner hesitation and struggle of the voice's owner. After a long while, the voice spoke again, sighing faintly: "Forget it, eating one more or one less doesn't make much difference to me. I might as well do him a favor! But I must let this kid know, otherwise, this favor will be for nothing."
As the voice faded, the mist suddenly began to contract, not only releasing Jiang Yun's body but also condensing into a gaunt old man in black clothes right before Jiang Yun's eyes.
Jiang Yun also suddenly opened his eyes, and seeing the old man in front of him, he immediately leaped up and retreated rapidly, a surprised look on his face as he asked, "Who are you?"
Since the other party could appear before him silently, their strength was definitely far superior to his, and it was highly likely that he was the unknown entity who had previously driven the beasts.
The gaunt old man stroked his dry, tree-bark-like cheek and said, "Hehe, I am a friend of your friend!"
"A friend of my friend?"
Jiang Yun's mind raced. His friends were pitifully few. Besides the people of Jiang Village, the only ones who could be called friends were Dongfang Bo, Second Senior Sister, and Lu Xiaoyu.
After a slight hesitation, Jiang Yun frowned and asked, "Do you know Senior Brother?"
In Jiang Yun's opinion, the people of Jiang Village were absolutely impossible, and Lu Xiaoyu probably wouldn't have such a powerful friend. Since this Trapped Beast Forest was close to Wen Dao Sect, the other party could only be Dongfang Bo's friend.
"He is your Senior Brother?" The old man was clearly startled but then nodded and said, "Indeed, your Senior Brother and I have been acquainted for a long time."
Hearing this, Jiang Yun believed a few points about the old man's identity but still did not relax his guard. He cupped his fists from a distance and bowed, saying, "My name is Jiang Yun. Although I'm not yet considered Senior Brother's Junior Brother, Senior Brother's kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain. Since you are Senior Brother's friend, you are naturally my friend. May I ask your name?"
The old man chuckled twice and said, "You can just call me Old Hei!"
Jiang Yun didn't care about the other party's name, nor did he ask if he was the one who had just driven the Vicious Beasts. He flipped his wrist, and a sachet appeared in his palm. He hastily said, "Brother Old Hei, have you seen the owner of this sachet? She's a little girl, about twelve or thirteen years old, and like me, she's a Utility Disciple of Wen Dao Sect."
"Brother Old Hei?" Old Hei's mouth twitched, clearly finding Jiang Yun's address extremely strange. However, after glancing at the sachet, he still nodded and said, "I've seen her!"
Jiang Yun felt his breathing quicken: "Is she still alive?"
"This..."
Old Hei thought to himself, she's alive alright, but she's already in my stomach. Am I supposed to spit her out?
After a moment of hesitation, Old Hei continued to ask, "First, tell me, what is the relationship between that little girl and you?"
"She's my younger sister!"
"Younger sister?"
The muscles on Old Hei's face couldn't help but twitch again, and he even had the urge to cry in his heart: "Although he only told me to take care of this kid, he didn't tell me this kid had a younger sister! This is a huge loss, letting one go and having to give another!"
"But since I've already let one go, then it's no big deal to let one more go!"
Thinking this, Old Hei suddenly pointed behind Jiang Yun and said, "She's still alive, just a bit weak. She's in a tree hole over there."
Jiang Yun was truly both surprised and delighted, forgetting even to say thanks. He immediately turned and rushed like a flying arrow in the direction Old Hei indicated.
Overwhelmed with excitement, Jiang Yun did not see that the moment he turned around, Old Hei's figure silently exploded, turning back into a mass of black mist. It suddenly plunged underground and instantly reappeared beside a tree hole. As the mist churned, a figure rolled out from within.