Chapter 76: Gore-Scaled Abyssal Behemoth I

GROWL—!

The dark canopy of the forest shook as a pack of mutated beasts surged forward.

There were nearly thirty of them—monstrous wolves infused with corrupted Qi, their dark fur spiked with jagged bone shards, and their eyes burning with a rabid, emerald-green light.

Each creature possessed a physical fortitude that easily rivaled ordinary Level 4 mutated beasts.

For a normal cultivator, facing a pack of this magnitude would mean certain death. But for Lothe and Seana, they were nothing more than live-fire training targets.

SWISH!

The pack leader—a massive wolf king twice the size of the others—lunged straight toward Lothe with jaws wide open, dripping venomous saliva.

Lothe didn’t panic. He didn’t even drop into a heavy defensive stance. Instead, he stood completely relaxed, his dark eyes calmly tracking the beast’s trajectory.

Let’s test it.

Without a sound, without a spatial explosion, and without a single ripple of turbulent Qi—

CLICK.

Lothe simply vanished from where he stood.

FWOOSH!

The wolf king’s massive jaws clamped down on empty air, biting nothing but the dark night mist. The beast stumbled forward in raw confusion, its momentum carrying it past where Lothe had stood a millisecond prior.

Ten feet away, silent as a ghost, Lothe materialized out of thin air.

[Void Step — First Form: Spatial Anchor.]

He hadn’t wasted an ounce of Qi. His movement had been instantaneous, perfectly silent, and entirely frictionless.

Before the wolf king could comprehend what had happened, Lothe swept his black spear outward in a fluid arc.

[Rift Thrust!]

Because of his newly upgraded internal [Void Devour (Stage 2)], his internal meridian backlash was reduced by ninety percent, and his energy conversion efficiency sat at a staggering ninety-five percent.

Even his [Spatial Perception], which usually drained a significant portion of his Qi, was far less demanding now.

The Void Qi coursing through his shaft didn’t strain his muscles. It flowed with absolute harmony.

SHING!

A razor-sharp crescent of purple spatial energy erupted from the tip of the spear, slicing cleanly through the wolf king’s thick neck.

THUD.

The massive head hit the forest floor before the beast’s body even realized it was dead. Dark blood sprayed across the dirt, but before a single drop could touch Lothe’s purple robes, a subtle spatial barrier deflected the spray away.

PING!

[You have Slain a Level 4, Tier 3 Phantom Wolf King]

[You have Absorbed it’s Raw Qi]

[Rewards: +200 EXP Gained]

With a gentle wave of Lothe’s hand, three glowing green loot orbs dropped by the Wolf King vanished directly into his Soul Manor.

Lothe exhaled softly, a satisfied smirk crossing his face. The difference is night and day. My Qi consumption is practically non-existent, and the speed... it’s effortless.

Across the clearing, Seana was putting her own new technique to the test.

Three mutated wolves lunged at her simultaneously from her blind spots.

Seana didn’t bother drawing a complex combat stance or condensing heavy energy. She simply stood still, her eyes closed for a fraction of a second as she synchronized her breathing with the rhythm of her heartbeat.

Thump... thump... thump.

Her blood was her conduit.

Through the [Crimson Blood Cycle], the surrounding ambient Spiritual Qi flowed naturally into her body, merging seamlessly with her bloodstream, purifying itself, and instantly converting into high-purity Crimson Blood Qi.

Her slender frame glowed with a soft, radiant crimson aura.

She opened her eyes, her dark gaze sharp as a hawk.

"Come," she whispered.

With a flick of her wrist, she didn’t throw her blood outward with brute force—she guided it like an extension of her own nervous system.

SHING! SHING! SHING!

Three ethereal, glass-like crimson needles materialized instantly around her shoulders without any noticeable Qi fluctuation or strain.

She waved her fingers gracefully, as if conducting an invisible orchestra.

BOOM!

The crimson needles streaked through the dark air, moving twice as fast as her previous attacks. They didn’t just pierce the incoming wolves; they manipulated the creatures’ internal bloodstreams the moment they entered their flesh.

SQUELCH!

The wolves froze mid-air, their eyes rolling back as their own blood violently ruptured their internal organs from within.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

All three beasts crashed lifelessly to the ground.

Seana lowered her hand, a look of profound amazement crossing her face. My Qi consumption... it’s cut in half! And the control... it’s completely seamless!

She hadn’t just gotten stronger; her entire combat style had evolved from a brutal martial artist into an elegant, untouchable master of blood arts.

"Not bad, love," Lothe’s voice rang out as he teleported silently beside her, using his new Spatial Anchor without a sound.

Seana glanced at him, a proud, confident smirk matching his own. "Keep up, Little Fox. The rest of the pack is yours."

"Challenge accepted," Lothe chuckled, not commenting on the nickname she gave him. Instead, a fond smile touched his lips.

Side by side, the two cultivators unleashed their refined techniques. The dark forest erupted into a one-sided slaughter as the remaining mutated beasts were systematically dismantled by silent spatial steps and graceful crimson blades.

They were still growing, still climbing the ranks of the Foundation Establishment Realm, but the gap between their old selves and their current mastery was already worlds apart.

However, what neither of them realized was that their intense battle had drawn the attention of something far more dangerous—an entity approaching them through the dark woods at terrifying speed.

Suddenly, Lothe’s [Spatial Perception] flared with a violent warning.

Without a second thought, Lothe grabbed Seana’s waist and executed an instant spatial teleportation, vanishing from where they stood!

BOOM!!

The earth beneath their former standing point shuddered violently. Trees fifty feet tall snapped like dry twigs as a massive, towering shadow smashed through the forest canopy!

A suffocating, violent aura blasted across the clearing, crushing the surrounding vegetation under sheer pressure.

Lothe and Seana materialized twenty feet away, instantly snapping their attention toward the intruder.

Out of the rising dust emerged a true nightmare. Standing nearly fifteen feet tall, the creature resembled a gargantuan, armored gorilla coated in thick, pitch-black reptilian scales. Its eyes burned like twin furnace fires, and its massive arms ended in scythe-like obsidian claws dripping with corrosive black venom.

Lothe’s passive ability triggered instantly.

PING!

[INSPECT]

[Target: Gore-Scaled Abyssal Behemoth]

[Rank: LEVEL 5, TIER 3 MUTATED BEAST]

[ABILITIES]

• Abyssal Gore Armor: Scales are infused with concentrated corrupted Qi, forming natural defensive armor capable of resisting high-tier physical and energy attacks.

• Venomous Abyssal Claws: Claws contain highly corrosive abyssal venom. Wounds rapidly corrode flesh, disrupt Qi circulation, and weaken the target’s physical frame.

• Blood Frenzy: Physical strength and destructive power scale dramatically as the beast loses blood or sustains severe injuries.

• Abyssal Shockwave: Releases a violent burst of corrupted Qi from its body, generating a shockwave that crushes nearby foes and disrupts Qi flow.

• Regenerative Scales: Possesses rapid biological recovery by consuming ambient corrupted Qi to repair damaged scales.

Lothe’s eyes narrowed into sharp slits. Level 5, Tier 3...

Beside him, Seana tightened her grip on her [Blood Moon Sword], her crimson aura surging.

The massive behemoth lowered its heavy frame, its obsidian claws digging deep into the bedrock.

CRACK!

The ground beneath its feet fractured like a shattered glass pane.

Then—

"ROAAAAAAAR!!"

The Gore-Scaled Abyssal Behemoth charged forward like an armored mountain!

And this time... Lothe and Seana were no longer facing mere training targets.​