Li Sheng's expression tightened as he watched the approaching monsters. The ones that had just attacked were only a fraction of the many closing in. Each of them possessed destructive power of at least fifth-grade perfection.
"If they are all dangerous-level leaders, we're in trouble..."
"Tuan Tuan, be careful," Li Sheng said solemnly.
"Chirp!"
A milky-white shield suddenly rose, enveloping the entire Qingling Sect. The rich spiritual energy seemed to provoke the monsters, and an eerie cacophony of roars erupted, chilling to the bone.
The giant monster, covered in tentacles, shifted its massive body toward the array, exuding a foul stench. A bat-like creature flew above the array, opening its jagged maw and emitting a sharp, piercing scream.
A visible shockwave rushed downwards, accompanied by a torrent of dark, viscous energy that flowed like liquid, converging on the array.
In an instant, the nearby monsters launched their attacks simultaneously, an overwhelming wave of demonic energy engulfing the area, as if dragging it into an endless abyss.
Li Sheng focused, his longsword glowing with a red light, radiating fierce energy.
"Boom!"
A violent roar echoed as the milky-white shield caved in, only stopping when it neared the ground two zhang (approximately six meters) below.
"Phew…"
"It held!"Li Sheng sighed in relief. The greatest threat to the array was the giant creature.
The massive body crashed against the shield, its tentacles probing inward. Despite the continuous explosions caused by the impact, the monster only grew more frenzied.
"We can't let this thing keep destroying!"With a burst of energy, Li Sheng launched himself into the air, leaving the protective array behind.
His aura surged, dispersing the encroaching demonic energy around him.
Noticing Li Sheng's movement, a multitude of tentacles formed a tight cage and descended upon him.
Li Sheng chose to take the hit, slashing upward with his longsword.
Two beams of golden sword energy, each about a zhang long, crossed and sliced at the tentacles.
"Roar~"
A piercing scream rang in his ears, but Li Sheng was undeterred.
Seizing the opportunity, he unleashed five beams of golden sword light toward the creature's head.
With a full-force attack, the sword light accelerated and pierced through the giant monster's skull in an instant.
Its foul-smelling remnants, accompanied by a dark liquid, began to fall.
"Is it dead?"
After landing, he looked up to see that the giant monster's head had indeed been shattered.
Countless tentacles covered the gaping wound, and within moments, a black tumor formed, blocking the gap, and the massive body began to move once more.
"This troublesome thing…"
Li Sheng frowned; his earlier attacks, powerful enough to slay a group of similarly ranked martial artists, had not inflicted fatal damage on this creature.
"Wait a minute!"A thought struck him.
"This monster seems huge and fearsome, but its movements appear to be controlled by those writhing tentacles. Could it be... those disgusting tentacles are the true body, while this massive form is just a puppet?"
With this realization, Li Sheng soared into the air again, this time not using his longsword.
An area attack or the Dragon Elephant Form would be more suitable.
A powerful dragon-like roar filled the air, the sound growing stronger as it rushed toward the giant monster.
"Chirp chirp!"
The countless tentacles on the giant monster writhed chaotically, but under the impact of the ferocious sound wave, they exploded like fireworks.
Black droplets fell from the sky.
Meanwhile, a giant bat, attempting to sneak attack, was affected and stiffened, plummeting downwards.
Just as it was about to regain its composure, two beams of golden sword light sliced down, shredding its body.
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Before the remains hit the ground, a massive claw swept through, pulling back towards the depths of the forest, accompanied by an incessant crunching sound.
After landing, Li Sheng took out a black stone and approached the remnants of the two monsters, collecting their essence.
A faint light flickered across the stone, and as he projected a strand of his consciousness, words appeared on the wall.
**[Dangerous-level Leader: 1]**
Retrieving his consciousness, Li Sheng thought to himself, "So, this giant monster truly is a dangerous-level leader... still nine to go!"
"Chirp!"
"Chirp chirp..."
Tuan Tuan emerged, pointing toward the direction of a hair monster, loudly complaining.
Li Sheng followed the sound and, after observing, discovered that this monster had weak destructive power but was like a parasite, extremely resilient against spiritual energy. Its hair was incredibly tough, and the liquid it secreted was nearly as damaging to the shield as the giant monster.
Tuan Tuan couldn't do anything about it and turned to Li Sheng for help.
"Leave it to me."Li Sheng approached the edge of the battle, channeling his sharp golden spirit into his sword, striking at the hair monster's liquid.
"Clang!"
Sparks flew as he managed to cut through one strand of hair.
"It's that tough?"
Li Sheng's heart sank; if he had to use all his strength just to sever one strand, how long would it take to cut through the house-sized mass of hair?
As he pondered, the black strands retreated, accompanied by a crimson tide.
The severed strand was ensnared, and Li Sheng instinctively swept his longsword, pulling back a piece of hair the length of chopsticks into the array.
A strange wailing rose from the mass of hair, which hesitated for a moment before vanishing into the forest.
This monster was probably not far from being a disaster-level creature; thankfully, it had fled.
Watching it leave, Li Sheng sighed in relief.
Examining the hair strands below, he noticed they glimmered with a hint of silver.
"Silver glimmer?"
He recalled seeing a flash of silver in the center of the hair monster's wail, as if six silver strands had appeared.
"Looks like those seven silver strands are its true body; no wonder it cried out so dramatically when just one was cut."
As the hair monster departed, another creature approached.
This one was a brown meatball, embedded with various heads—human, beast, and demonic—creating a chilling sight.
As it drew near, the faces displayed strange smiles, their lips moving in a disturbing manner.
In a daze, a familiar figure appeared before him.
Upon seeing it, Li Sheng's sword fell from his hand, his eyes reddening as ancient memories surged forth.
"Grandmother!"
That was the only family he had in his past life; he had never seen her again and now, in this strange world, he encountered her.
Though it was an illusion, he felt an overwhelming joy.
"Sheng Sheng, why don't you come home and visit your grandmother... It's been years since you went out... It's so hard to see you for even a moment; when I call, you hardly say a few words before you're busy"When will you stop being busy, when will it all end?"
"…"
Li Sheng opened his mouth but felt as if his heart was blocked.
"Why aren't you speaking? Why won't you talk…"
"Speak! Speak! Speak!!!"
"......"
Watching his grandmother's expression turn increasingly bizarre, a surge of anger rose in Li Sheng's heart.
His grandmother had always been kind and gentle; when had she ever shown such a monstrous side?
This damn monster couldn't even manage an illusion properly—it was truly a fool.
With a surge of energy, the longsword flew back into his hand as Li Sheng dashed toward the monster, his killing intent erupting fiercely.