Liu Xing tried to sense where the treasure was hidden. The stable qi encased the entire body of the frog-like creature. Whether it's the blue tentacles sprouting from its shoulders, its feet made of dozens of more blue tentacles, its humanoid torso, and its frog head. Liu Xing cannot pinpoint where the treasure is, but he had a guess, though.

This spirit beast had likely hidden the treasure inside its body, which posed a problem. Liu Xing didn't know how fragile the treasure was, so a careless attack could destroy it—especially with his main attack, explosive bullets.

The frog's cheeks bulged, as if it were holding something in its mouth, and then it croaked. The sound was deafening, scattering the wind as if in fear. Nearby crocodiles submerged themselves into the lake, while some trees closed their leaves and roots began emerging around their bases, creating holes that caused the trees to sink into the earth.

Watching this, Liu Xing realized that the spirit beast was instructing the surrounding creatures to hide, indicating that it was intelligent. Could this spirit beast be reasoned with?

He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, one of its tentacles suddenly lashed out at him. It moved so fast it made the air crackle, arcing like a wicked whip intent on splitting him in two.

In a fraction of a second, Liu Xing summoned his gun and activated his Lightning Cloak and leaping into the air. The blue tentacle smashed into the ground where he had just stood, sending grass and earth flying everywhere.

"Seems like you're eager to fight."

More tentacles shot toward him. Liu Xing summoned his shield and jumped higher into the sky, bringing himself face-to-face with the frog. Its red eyes, with a stylized sun pattern, narrowed as it glared at him.

"I intend to take the treasure you're using," Liu Xing declared.

Unexpectedly, the frog snorted, then croaked as if it were speaking. A ripple of wind struck Liu Xing's face, and he understood its words. "A worm like you has no right to talk to me. Die and become nourishment for my army."

The frog's mouth suddenly opened, and its pink tongue lashed at him. Liu Xing summoned his shield and dodged to the side, only to be met by another blue tentacle attempting to strike him from the side. Seeing this, Liu Xing inhaled deeply.

It seemed this spirit beast couldn't be reasoned with. The chance of it willingly giving up the Red Wings of Stability was slim, and since Liu Xing now knew its intentions, he couldn't hesitate.

He needed to kill this spirit beast.

Liu Xing activated his lightning blade and twisted his body. As the blue tentacle approached, he swung his blade, intending to cut it. Although the creature was using the Red Wings of Stability, it was still only at the seventh stage of the Lock Opening realm, and Liu Xing's blade should have been able to slice through it. But when the lightning blade connected with the tentacle, it shattered like glass. The tentacle struck him in the stomach, nearly folding him in half.

Liu Xing's eyes widened as he spat out a mouthful of blood. He shot through the air like a meteor, crashing into the ground with such force that the ground erupted around him. Dizzy and disoriented, he saw three tentacles descending on him and quickly jumped back into the sky. The tentacles slammed into the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

In the sky, more tentacles came at him. Liu Xing summoned his shield and bounced around like a rubber ball. The frog, frustrated by its missed attacks, increased the number of tentacles to six, then nine, and then twelve. Liu Xing dodged left and right, leaping higher into the air.

He rotated his body until he was upside down, then kicked off his shield, launching himself downward. Another tentacle approached from his right, and Liu Xing aimed his gun, firing bullets infused with Exploding Fist.

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The tentacle exploded into smithereens. More tentacles followed, and Liu Xing fired rapidly, destroying each one.

The frog croaked angrily as Liu Xing hit the surface of the lake and dove into the water. Inside the water, his speed slowed down and he could see the silhouette of tentacles all around him.

As he swam, Liu Xing thought that this frog was stronger than he had anticipated, and he needed to fight with everything he had. Initially, he had avoided using bullets infused with Exploding Fist, fearing they might destroy the Red Wings of Stability. But it seemed his lightning blade was too fragile to be effective, leaving his gun as his only reliable weapon.

Underwater, Liu Xing saw dozens of blue tentacles swimming around, ready to strike. He assessed that the frog had hundreds of tentacles, and the reason it had attacked with so few was that it had underestimated him.

As he pondered his next move, three tentacles lashed at him from different directions. Liu Xing aimed his gun and fired. The tentacles in front of him and to his left exploded, but surprisingly, the one on his right, which glowed with an orangish hue, remained intact. Using his shield, Liu Xing launched himself upward, breaking the water's surface. He summoned his shield and kicked off it, propelling himself backward, and soon he landed on the ground on the side of the lake.

"Weak," the frog croaked.

As it spoke, Liu Xing noticed hundreds of blue tentacles, each as thick as a tree trunk, wriggling out from its shoulders. Each tentacle glowed with an orange hue, and Liu Xing realized that these tentacles were much stronger than before, possibly able to withstand his bullets.

Licking his lips, Liu Xing acknowledged that this frog was stronger than any opponent he had faced, including the pyramid. But he still believed he had a chance.

Liu Xing aimed his gun at the frog. The gun, already invisible, began spreading its invisibility to his body.

Seeing him start to disappear, the frog croaked and lashed out with dozens of tentacles. They came from all angles, forming a net that guaranteed a hit.

Liu Xing leaped toward the net, spotting a small gap shaped like a square about a meter wide. He made his body as straight as possible, arms and legs pressed tightly to his sides. As he passed through the gap, Liu Xing summoned his shield and jumped off it. Unexpectedly, a tentacle lashed in his direction even when he was invisible.

His eyes widened. Could this frog see through his invisibility? Liu Xing twisted his body, summoned his shield, and kicked off it, flying horizontally. The tentacle sliced through the air, creating a wind current, but Liu Xing noticed it missed by several meters.

"So that's it."

The frog didn't see him—it saw his shield. Liu Xing had never considered this scenario before, where he was invisible, but his shield was not. A smart opponent could pinpoint his location based on the shield's position. Still, Liu Xing could use this to his advantage.

He summoned his shield again, positioning it face-up toward the sky. But instead of jumping from the front of the shield, where the green gem was, Liu Xing kicked its side, propelling himself horizontally. As expected, the frog lashed out with seven tentacles vertically, like seven blue swords trying to cleave the world. But Liu Xing wasn't in their path, so the tentacles struck nothing.

Smiling, Liu Xing realized he could outsmart his opponent with this trick. The frog would assume he was jumping using the front of the shield, but he could use its edge or even its back as a pedestal, making his movements unpredictable.

Liu Xing summoned his shield again and kicked its side, flying straight toward the frog's shoulder. The creature whipped the air where it assumed Liu Xing was, but there was nothing there.

As his momentum slowed, Liu Xing observed the back of the frog. From this vantage point, he could see the fire wings extending several meters to the sides. Liu Xing aimed his invisible gun at the spot between the fiery wings, infusing bullets with Exploding Fist, and pulled the trigger six times.

The bullets hit their target, and six explosions erupted from the frog's back, causing it to sway. It snapped its head toward him and unleashed hundreds of blue tendrils, each as thick as a tree and intent on decimating Liu Xing.

Liu Xing summons his shield and zigzags between the blue tentacles. He used the front of the shield, the back, and the side to jump, trying to create confusion. Getting an idea, Liu Xing jumps toward the frog's face, but he lets the tentacles hit his shield.

When a blue tentacle hit his shield, there was a resounding crack, and his shield shot like a rocket toward the surface of the lake. Immediately, all of the tentacles focused on attacking his shield. This frog probably thought that he had been hit, but instead, Liu Xing was right in front of him.