Chapter 139: Head-on Collision, Shattering the Spatial Veil!

Yi Shen was in no particular rush, so he continued to unleash a barrage of attacks as long as he could inflict damage on the Xuan Gui. He simply refused to believe that the creature could regenerate indefinitely.

Beyond its water-wave attacks, the Xuan Gui had attempted a peculiar tail-swinging strike, but due to the spatial isolation between them, it proved ineffective against Yi Shen. The two remained locked in a stalemate.

Time ticked away, and finally, the Xuan Gui’s health was whittled down to around 40 percent. Although it continued to recover health, the efficiency was noticeably lower than before. As for Yi Shen, he occupied himself by monitoring information on the forums and practicing his combat techniques; he treated this as a real-world training exercise, something he would have done regardless.

From the small hours of the morning until six o'clock, Yi Shen had effectively claimed the area as his own. He reckoned that people had already noticed his battle with the beast, as those from the direction of the town had spotted the flashes in the night sky and had come to investigate once the sky began to brighten. He had synchronized his information with the Bureau of Unified Coordination, though they had yet to offer a response beyond a simple registration of the event. Based on the information Yi Shen had gathered, all the exotic beasts discovered so far possessed abilities that defied human comprehension. The Xuan Gui was actually one of the milder ones; some exotic beasts could directly manipulate a person’s mind to induce suicide, which was far more dangerous.

"This thing is such a hassle."

The Xuan Gui’s health had been ground down to 20 percent, but this had taken over six hours. That 20 percent was far from a simple figure, as the beast could still regenerate, and it possessed both major and minor skills. Yi Shen was genuinely worried that if the creature had a lapse in judgment and unleashed a skill that restored its health to full, he might as well consider giving up.

Yi Shen wasn't particularly tired, however. Casting skills was merely a flick of the fingers, and he had used the time to practice techniques he hadn't fully mastered, discovering several tricks he could execute simultaneously. For instance, he found that if he cast a Blizzard while simultaneously deploying a Ring of Flame, the Blizzard would trigger an explosive effect upon hitting the flames. Similarly, by casting a Flame Explosion and following it up with a faster Wind Blade, he could split the fireball in two, causing both halves to deal damage independently.

Previously, Yi Shen had only possessed the skills but had never tested them without restraint. Now, with a light barrier that was completely indifferent to his attacks, he didn't have to worry about collateral damage to the environment and threw everything he had at it.

He fired off skills intermittently, striking the main body of the Xuan Gui whenever its tail emerged. He estimated that it would take about three more hours to grind the beast to death, and he was perfectly willing to wait.

However, just as Yi Shen prepared to chip away at the remaining health, a crack finally appeared in the light barrier—the very barrier that had been distorting space—along the path of his attacks, after six or seven hours of relentless assault.

"Hmm?"

The crack appeared suddenly, leaving Yi Shen uncertain whether it was the scouring effect of his Gate of Flame or if his persistent attacks had rendered the beast unable to maintain the spatial displacement. Regardless, the crack was there, revealing flickers of red energy. It wasn't a straight line but rather extended inward, following the folds of space. Yi Shen continued to burn it with the Gate of Flame and was surprised to see that the flames could now snake through the fissure and scorch the Xuan Gui’s actual body, significantly reducing the time required for the kill.

Although the flames leaking through were sparse and caused minimal damage, it was a massive improvement. Every bit of time saved was valuable; if it was going to take three hours to finish the beast, shaving off half an hour would make things much easier for him.

As Yi Shen continued his assault, the crowd gathering in the distance grew.

"I told you! Someone from above must have taken action. That giant turtle is the one that attacked us last night. It has to be at least a Lord-level monster."

"I think I recognize him. I saw him online—is that the Black Mage? I can't believe the Black Mage actually came here."

"I'm not sure, but he was invited by the town mayor. I saw the mayor talking to him yesterday. The Black Mage has been fighting all night; his stamina is incredible," remarked a female explorer, drawing curious glances from those around her.

Because of the glow from the fire, over a dozen people from Xu-Ping Town had gathered. Among them, however, were a few strangers, one of whom was Qian Ye, who stood in a state of utter shock.

He had arrived about half an hour ago. The mountain roads were rugged, and the drive had taken two hours. He had felt a sense of foreboding when he saw the flames from afar, but upon drawing closer, his shock only deepened.

"That's a... Xuan Gui? He’s attacking a Xuan Gui?" Qian Ye couldn't see Yi Shen’s movements clearly, and he dared not approach too closely; he harbored a deep fear of the Black Mage, as much of his current predicament was, in large part, due to him.

He had never expected that so soon after the Xuan Gui was registered, someone would already be engaging it in combat. Moreover, judging by the frequency and the intensity of the aura, the situation was far more terrifying than he had imagined.

*Crack.*

In the distance, Qian Ye saw a fissure open in the air. While others might have dismissed it as an optical illusion or a special skill, Qian Ye knew better. This was the Xuan Gui’s innate ability—the spatial curtain that isolated attacks! It required at least six types of inner cores, the corpses of many smaller Xuan Gui, and a series of complex procedures to assimilate into the creature’s aura.

But now?

The way the Black Mage was handling the Xuan Gui seemed completely different from the records. Was he going toe-to-toe with it? Qian Ye was bewildered. According to the records of the Mountain and Sea exotic beasts, each had its own unique characteristics. Creatures like the Xuan Gui and the Xuan Wu were defined by their defense; they were considered virtually invincible. He had originally planned to spend weeks assimilating the aura to enter the curtain and handle the Xuan Gui by feeding it blood pills or similar methods.

But here, the Black Mage was attacking the creature directly and had even shattered its spatial curtain! Such a thing had never been seen in the historical records of the Blood Clan. He hurriedly pulled out his communicator to report the situation back to Xi Xudong at the Hanzhong Safe Zone.