Chapter 522 - 522: Rescue: In the Nick of Time

Zhao Yuan immediately activated his Qi Observation Technique to survey the surroundings.

On a reef-strewn beach outside the village, he saw a dense, oppressive cloud of Demon Qi. He raised his hand and pointed. "It's definitely the Raccoon Power. It's over there!"

Everyone looked in the direction Zhao Yuan was pointing. Although they couldn't see Qi, their eyesight was excellent. They immediately noticed the ground over there was heaving continuously, as if an earth dragon were burrowing and churning beneath the surface.

This was precisely the scene being caused by the Raccoon Power!

Cheng Haoyu's eyes lit up at once. "It really is the Raccoon Power!"

Hao Li chuckled with excitement. "Our luck is way too good, isn't it? We ran into it as soon as we got on the island."

Ying Ji, however, frowned and said hesitantly, "Strange... I get the feeling the Raccoon Power is chasing something."

Hearing her say this, the others realized it too. The Raccoon Power's movements were indeed a bit odd.

Zhao Yuan guessed, "The Raccoon Power is an Ancient Exotic Beast. Forget ordinary animals; even ferocious beasts like lions and tigers would tremble and surrender before it! But the animal it's hunting now isn't afraid of its Exotic Beast aura. And from the looks of it, it's dead set on catching its prey. A normal animal wouldn't be this enticing... Could it be hunting another Exotic Beast?"

The others found it hard to believe. "No way, right? Exotic Beasts are extremely rare in this world. Encountering one is already insanely lucky. How could we possibly run into two at the same time?"

Zhao Yuan also felt the chances were slim, but how else could the Raccoon Power's abnormal behavior be explained?

Just then, the Raccoon Power suddenly changed direction and charged toward the village.

"This is bad!"

Zhao Yuan's expression changed drastically. He had just realized that the group of people who had gathered in the open area to avoid the 'earthquake' were directly in the Raccoon Power's path!

There were many elderly people and children in that crowd. If it wasn't stopped, many of them would lose their lives!

Ying Ji, Hao Li, and Cheng Haoyu also noticed the situation.

Just like Zhao Yuan, they charged toward the rampaging Raccoon Power without a moment's hesitation.

As Cultivators, how could they see people in peril and not save them?

Watching coldly from the sidelines would only damage their Dao and breed Heart Demons!

But it was all happening too suddenly. There was no time to move the crowd of evacuees. The only option was to meet the Raccoon Power head-on and block it!

'We didn't get to use explosives to weaken the Raccoon Power. Taking it on directly... I don't know if we can hold it off!'

Staring at the billowing cloud of dust and smoke, Zhao Yuan felt uncertain, but he did not retreat. Behind him were hundreds of lives!

Thankfully, Ying Ji, Hao Li, and Cheng Haoyu had followed him, along with the Bone Woman and the White Cat. By combining their strength, they should be able to withstand the ferocious charge of the Raccoon Power!

In the blink of an eye, the heaving earth dragon surged before them, now only twenty or thirty meters away!

It was at this moment that they saw an animal amidst the roiling dust.

The creature looked a bit like a wild boar, but it was much smaller—only slightly larger than a cat.

Seeing people up ahead waiting in formation, the boar-like animal was startled and immediately made a sharp turn, changing its course to run toward the front left. Behind it, the heaving earth dragon also changed direction instantly, continuing its relentless pursuit!

"The Raccoon Power really is hunting prey," Cheng Haoyu exclaimed.

"What's that thing it's chasing? A wild boar? Why is it so small?" Hao Li was also stunned.

"That's not a wild boar!" Zhao Yuan had already identified the creature using the Information Leaf. "That's a Dang Kang!"

Ying Ji quickly asked, "A Dang Kang? You mean the Auspicious Beast, the Dang Kang, whose appearance signals a great harvest?"

Zhao Yuan nodded. "Yes, that's the one."

Hao Li said in a moment of realization, "So it's a Dang Kang. No wonder the Raccoon Power is chasing it so relentlessly. To the Raccoon Power, a Dang Kang isn't just tastier than a normal animal; it's a potent tonic that can boost its strength!"

Cheng Haoyu, for his part, kept exclaiming in disbelief, "There really are two Exotic Beasts here! I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."

Zhao Yuan didn't want the Dang Kang to be eaten by the Raccoon Power. Unlike the Raccoon Power, the Dang Kang was an Auspicious Beast, not a Fierce Beast. Not only was it gentle and kind-natured, but it could also bring about a great harvest!

'If I could tame the Dang Kang and put it in the medicinal herb cultivation base, wouldn't the herbs there grow even more crazily? That's like modifying the game data after already having a cheat enabled. It'd be ridiculously overpowered!'

Zhao Yuan couldn't suppress his excitement and was about to rally the others to give chase. But just then, with a deafening RUMBLE, a small building about fifty meters away was violently smashed and collapsed by the passing Raccoon Power.

The sharp-eyed Zhao Yuan saw a young mother holding a child who had just run out of the building, only to fall from the violent tremors. At the same time, a huge collapsed concrete slab came crashing down toward her and the child.

A life was at stake. Zhao Yuan forgot all about the Raccoon Power and the Dang Kang. He immediately activated a Shrinking Earth Talisman and, with ghostly charm, rushed toward the mother and child.

He covered the fifty-meter distance in the blink of an eye!

But the concrete slab was also about to crash down on the mother and child!

There clearly wasn't enough time to pull them out of the way.

Zhao Yuan sank his Qi into his Dantian, infused his fist with Wish Power, and threw a sudden, powerful punch.

Mountain-Breaking Fist—Beng Skill!

"Shatter!"

Zhao Yuan's punch was incredibly fast, kicking up a swirling gale that pulled in the surrounding dust and dirt, forming a gauntlet of earth and stone over his hand!

BOOM!

The fist slammed heavily into the concrete slab. A powerful wave of energy instantly radiated outward, and the slab, weighing hundreds of pounds, immediately shattered into a pile of rubble. Although the debris still fell on the mother and child, it was no longer a threat.

"Get up, quick! Get out of here!" Zhao Yuan pulled the mother and child to their feet and led them to a safe area.

Droplets of fresh blood dripped from Zhao Yuan's hand; the powerful recoil had injured it.

"Thank you, thank you." Having escaped disaster, the still-shaken young mother clutched her child and thanked Zhao Yuan profusely. After seeing the blood dripping from his hand, she quickly pointed it out, "Your hand is injured."

"It's nothing, just a minor injury."

After speaking, Zhao Yuan reached into his pocket and, under the guise of the movement, took out a roll of gauze. He wrapped it around his hand a couple of times to stop the bleeding. Seeing the child's dazed and frightened expression, he raised a hand and gently tapped the space between the child's eyebrows, saying softly, "Hey little one, don't be scared. Everything's okay now."

The child's eyes immediately regained their brightness and spirit. In a muffled, childish voice, he said, "Thank you, uncle. I'm not scared anymore. I'll protect my mommy."

Several dark lines instantly appeared on Zhao Yuan's forehead. He corrected him, "Call me 'big brother,' not 'uncle.' Do I look that old?"

Meanwhile, having lost track of the Dang Kang, the Raccoon Power flew into a rage out of frustration and humiliation. It vented its anger on the village houses, burrowing underground and successively toppling several buildings.