The beast they were facing was strange. First its partnership with the bird, and now using its spiritual energy to attack through sound. For Jian, the distinction in level between the higher order of demonic beasts was largely academic, as the only difference it made was some small variation in precisely how long it would take for him to be killed. Nonetheless, it was still a subject that he had studied a little bit. He knew enough to conclude that this monster was not one whit less dangerous than the monstrous demonic bear that had so troubled Tingfeng, and it could well be more powerful.

Meirong didn't seem particularly alarmed. The deafening bellow had done nothing but ruffle the hem of her robe, so far as Jian could tell.

He took a moment to load a fresh bolt into his spiritual crossbow. He didn't harbor any delusion that he would be able to harm such a powerful demonic beast, but he might be able to distract it.

When it finished its roar, the monster launched itself at Meirong once more. She again drifted out of the path of its charge, and again drew a line of blood down its side. The beast now had matching wounds on either flank, though it didn't seem particularly troubled by the blood loss.

It did seem frustrated by its inability to come to grips with Meirong. This time, it turned and approached her slowly. Instead of a massive roar, it instead let out a low snarl as it stalked forward. Just the sound was enough to make Jian shudder, while the spiritual energy laced into it froze him where he stood.

Again, Meirong's superior cultivation let her shrug off the attack. She moved with calm, purposeful steps, keeping a constant distance between herself and the demonic beast. Until she stopped.

Jian was startled when the beast drew within range and lashed out at her with a paw the size of her head. Meirong ducked underneat the blow, her sword carving another wound into the monster's chest as she did. While the beast might be too powerful for her to strike it down with a single blow, she was obviously able to hurt it.

Also, Jian couldn't help but notice that the cut on the beast's side that was facing him was still bleeding freely. Ordinarily, the unnatural constitution of a demonic beast would see that kind of cut sealed up within a handful of breaths. For its healing to have been neutralized suggested that Meirong's attacks weren't so simple and straightforward as they appeared.

The monster responded to this latest affront by lashing out again. It swiped with its paws. It snapped with its teeth. It bounded forward, attempting to pounce. Through it all, Meirong always remained just out of its reach. Each attack came frighteningly close to connecting. The demonic beast had to have thought that it was on the verge of victory. Considering the disparity in size and strength, a single full powered attack striking home would have been catastrophic.

And yet, that solid hit never materialized. It was almost as though Meirong were an illusion rather than a being of flesh and blood, as the monster's attacks continued to swipe through nothing but air.

It was beginning to slow. Even Jian could see it. Each attack still continued to miss by only a hair's breadth, but where the early strikes had been nothing more than blurs in Jian's vision, he was now able to follow each one, from the flexing of the beast's muscles to the movement of its paws to the inevitable miss.

The ground of the jungle had been churned up by the beast's frenzied efforts into a muddy slush, then dyed red by its continual bleeding. Taking a glance down at the bloody slurry, Jian was impressed once more by the sheer vitality of demonic beasts. That much lost blood would have killed an ordinary animal several times over, but the beast was still doing its best to kill Meirong.

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Of course, it wasn't having much success. Giving up on physical attacks, the beast took a step back and opened its mouth, preparing another of those disturbing roars.

Meirong didn't give it the chance. As soon as it opened its mouth, she darted forward. Showing speed that she had been keeping in reserve for this moment, she seemed to disappear from where she had been standing and reappear in front of the beast. Her sword had thrust forward in the same motion and disappeared inside the beast's mouth. Considering that it had been an upward thrust, she had just scrambled its brain.

She stood there for a moment, locked in a frozen tableau. Then, with a great moan, the beast's body finally gave into the inevitable and slumped to the ground. Meirong withdrew her sword in a single smooth motion and took a step back, not allowing the beast to touch her even in death.

Jian stepped out from the dubious shelter of the tree and approached her. Up close, the demonic beast looked even bigger. Meirong turned and looked at him expectantly.

Jian wasn't quite sure what to say. In the end he decided to put aside strategic considerations and just speak the truth. "Good job. That was a formidable opponent."

"As a disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect, I ought to be able to do at least this much," Meirong said. The smile tugging at the corner of her lips suggested that she wasn't dismissing the praise quite as thoroughly as her words made it sound.

"Would this beast have been able to see through your technique?" Jian asked. He crouched down to study the beast's mouth. Its body would be a treasure trove of materials, but it wouldn't be possible to take the whole thing with them if they still wanted to complete the rest of their mission. He thought they could afford to carry the fangs, at least. If nothing else, they would make for potent ammunition for his spiritual crossbow.

"No, its cultivation was too weak for that," Meirong said. "It must have followed the bird's call."

Jian began prying loose one of the fangs. "We'll have to be on the lookout for anything else like that as we keep going."

Meirong nodded. "This is the first time I've tried to take a long journey under my stealth technique."

Jian looked up from the fang he was prying loose. He couldn't help but look at Meirong with a bit of exasperation. She could have mentioned that she hadn't field tested the technique before he'd agreed to put his life on the line. After a moment's thought, he just sighed and turned back to the beast's mouth. Quarreling with the girl who was the only line of defense between himself and the deadly jungle would be foolish.

"What was that look?" Meirong asked. "I'll have you know that I'm more than capable of getting the both of us to the Graveyard of Dreams and back, perfectly safely."

Jian nodded. He then grunted in satisfaction as the first of the beast's massive fangs popped out. There were three more that were worth the effort of lugging through the jungle. He went to work on the next.

"Half the Heavenly Sword Sect would compete for the right to go on a mission with such a beautiful, stalwart, protector, you know," Meirong continued.

Jian pulled his attention away from his work. Meirong didn't seem truly angry with him, but there did seem to be some feeling behind her complaint. Maybe not enough that she would strand him in the jungle, but certainly enough that she would make some kind of trouble for him in the near future if he handled it poorly.

"I'm sure they would," he said, "though they don't have to worry about dying if you make a single mistake."

He paused. He didn't like to dwell on his own weakness, but it was silly to try and dance around the subject when they both knew the truth.

"I'm not in the habit of putting my life in somebody else's hands," he said. "You should take my presence here in the jungle as a sign of the faith I'm putting in you."

She just tossed her hair and looked away. At least she didn't seem as irritated with him any more.