Divine Level Witch Doctor

The moonlight was still blocked, plunging the courtyard into darkness. Zhao Yuan could only rely on the faint light spilling from the main hall to size up the monster that had just smashed through the wall.

Luckily, his eyesight had improved drastically after eating the Snake Gallbladder personally cooked by Hao Li. As long as there was even a sliver of light, he could see his surroundings clearly. Otherwise, he'd be flying blind right now.

Observing it, Zhao Yuan saw that the tall, burly monster was covered in a thick coat of black fur, making it look like a chimpanzee at first glance. Its face, however, was quite human-like, except for its incredibly large and thick lips. In the movie *East Meets West*, Liang Chaowei's character had two sausages hanging from his lips; this thing was even more ridiculous, looking like it had two flatbreads slapped on its face.

Zhao Yuan couldn't help but wonder, 'If this thing flipped its lips up, wouldn't it cover its entire face?'

'Those lips are on a whole other level!'

Additionally, the monster's feet were bizarrely formed: its toes pointed backward, and its heels were at the front. These strange feet, which defied evolution, made it sway from side to side as it walked, yet it never fell over. It was quite peculiar.

In the monster's left hand, it gripped a bamboo tube with several white paper pennants stuck into it. At first glance, they looked very similar to the Soul-Summoning Banners often seen at gravesites.

Zhao Yuan also noticed two iron chains slung over the monster's shoulders, one on each side. There were words inscribed on them, but the light was too dim to make out what they said.

Just as Zhao Yuan was sizing up the monster, a description timely appeared on the Information Leaf: "Xiaoyang, a type of Mountain Spirit. Possesses immense strength and enjoys eating humans!"

"A Mountain Spirit? A Xiaoyang?" Zhao Yuan was astonished. "So this kind of Spirit Monster actually exists!"

Records of the Xiaoyang could be found in books like the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* and the *Chronicles of Strange Objects*. Some modern research suggests that the Xiaoyang was actually a type of baboon. But now, seeing the Xiaoyang that had crashed into his own courtyard, Zhao Yuan knew that anyone who claimed the Xiaoyang was a baboon was full of shit.

'How does this thing look like a baboon in any way?'

'Do your baboons have backward feet? Do they grow three to four meters tall? Can they speak human language?'

That's right. After smashing through the wall and entering Zhao Yuan's courtyard, the Xiaoyang had opened its mouth and spoken in a bizarre tone, "To offend the Ghost Soldiers and Generals is unforgivable! Allow me, the Night Wanderer, to personally execute you!"

As it spoke, it stuck out its long, blood-red tongue and licked its lips, looking like it had just seen a delicious meal. It was clearly treating Zhao Yuan as a midnight snack.

And after hearing its voice, Zhao Yuan knew that it was the one who had spoken those threatening words earlier.

'I never thought that Mage Zhang, who seems so weak and talentless, could actually command a Xiaoyang as his underling!' Zhao Yuan marveled. First, there was the Paper Mache Man, and now a Xiaoyang. Yet, when he had observed Mage Zhang during the day, the guy was just an ordinary person with no Qi in his body. He had no idea what was going on.

Perhaps he could only get to the bottom of it all after dealing with the Xiaoyang and meeting Mage Zhang in person.

The Xiaoyang didn't give Zhao Yuan much time to think. It suddenly let out a deafening, bestial roar and charged straight at him! It was not only fast but also carried immense momentum, like a small tank at full throttle, ready to crush anything in its path.

Zhao Yuan didn't dare to face it head-on. The creature was built sturdier than a brown bear and was also extremely fast. If he fought brute force with brute force, he would be the only one to lose out.

He immediately activated a Shrinking Earth Talisman and zipped to the side.

The next second, the Xiaoyang reached the spot where he had just been standing. Unable to stop, it continued its charge and—CRASH!—smashed a large hole in the wall of the main hall.

"Fuck!" Zhao Yuan couldn't help but curse. 'First the courtyard wall, now the hall wall. Are you a Mountain Spirit or a demolition crew?'

Missing its target, the Xiaoyang was furious. It spun around, let out a roar that seemed to shake the very ground, and pounced at Zhao Yuan again.

Zhao Yuan tried the same trick again, dodging to the side. This time, however, he failed to evade the attack. The Mountain Spirit had learned from its mistake. It changed direction mid-air, continuing its pounce toward Zhao Yuan, and its speed instantly surged, becoming fast enough to catch up to his Shrinking Earth Talisman!

Zhao Yuan's pupils contracted. He knew he couldn't dodge this time.

'If I can't dodge, then I'll meet it head-on and see what it's really made of! Let's see just how powerful this Xiaoyang is!'

Zhao Yuan roared, whipping his Wind and Thunder Whip with a sharp WHOOSH toward the Xiaoyang's waist! And the Xiaoyang, with a piercing shriek, raised its bamboo tube and smashed it down toward Zhao Yuan's head!

Man and monster were both incredibly fast.

In the blink of an eye, they collided!

BANG!

The Wind and Thunder Whip struck the Xiaoyang's waist. The violent shock and thunderous blast were too much even for its thick hide, and it let out a shrill howl of pain. A large patch of its fur was instantly scorched black.

But at the same time, the Xiaoyang's bamboo tube landed on Zhao Yuan.

At the critical moment, Zhao Yuan tilted his head to the side, managing to avoid a direct blow to the head. The tube struck his shoulder instead.

BOOM!

Zhao Yuan felt a colossal force smash into his shoulder.

This was no mere bamboo tube; it was harder than a steel bar. Combined with the Xiaoyang's immense strength, the blow actually knocked Zhao Yuan an inch shorter!

It wasn't that his back or legs had bent, but that the ground beneath his feet had caved in from the monstrous force!

Zhao Yuan, who bore the brunt of the impact, felt as if his entire body had been brutally savaged by the force. Capillaries all over his body ruptured, and blood oozed from his pores, leaving him drenched in his own gore—a terrifying and gruesome sight.

However, Zhao Yuan had no time to cry out in pain or check his injuries.

Because in the corner of his eye, he saw a change happening to the Xiaoyang's bamboo tube!

The white paper pennants were falling off one by one. From the holes where they had been inserted, blood-red centipedes began to squirm out, writhing as they tried to crawl onto his body!

The centipedes' legs were hook-shaped and extremely sharp. If they got a grip on him, they would surely tear off chunks of his flesh! And in all likelihood, their claws were also laced with a potent poison.

BOOM!

A new Exorcism Talisman shattered, bursting into a raging Flame that torched the crawling centipedes.

An acrid, burnt smell filled the air as the centipedes were roasted to a crisp. But the Xiaoyang's right hand shot out like a bolt of lightning and seized Zhao Yuan's left arm.

Although all the centipedes were dead, the Xiaoyang wasn't sad. On the contrary, it was delighted.

In its eyes, the captured Zhao Yuan had no chance of escape! It loosened its left hand, tossing aside the useless bamboo tube, and then lightning-fast, it grabbed Zhao Yuan's right arm. Using both hands, it began to pull, intending to rip Zhao Yuan in half with sheer brute force!

Perhaps excited by the imminent prospect of eating human flesh and drinking human blood, the Xiaoyang began to laugh triumphantly.

However, when it laughed, a bizarre scene unfolded!

Its two thick, massive lips flipped up as it laughed, completely covering its own face and revealing long, sharp fangs and a tongue covered in sharp barbs!

'A perfect chance!'

Though his body was wracked with excruciating pain, Zhao Yuan hadn't given up. Instead, in this dire situation, he had spotted an opportunity to turn the tables!

PS: It's Old Wu's birthday today! Seeing as I'm still hard at work writing on my birthday, how about tossing some votes my way, folks?

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