Ji Dongyang roared again and charged. Each step he took made the ground tremble. Liu Xing still had six bullets infused with beast cores. Despite the terrifying appearance of the spirit beast, he believed he had a chance to defeat it. He raised his gun and pulled the trigger. The bullet, infused with Exploding Fist, struck the beast's chest and blasted it into the air. Its chest only smoked and charred slightly, far from Liu Xing's expectation of a one-shot kill. The spirit beast landed on its feet, its gazelle-like legs kicking the ground as it lunged at him.

With Lightning Cloak still active, Liu Xing moved. The world blurred momentarily. When he stopped, he was behind the spirit beast. He pulled the trigger three times, shooting the beast in the back. The three bullets exploded simultaneously, slamming the creature into a tree and flattening it. Its back was charred, bleeding green blood from a few spots, but otherwise, it remained intact.

"Two bullets left," Liu Xing muttered.

This spirit beast was unlike any he had fought before. Its defense was incredibly tough, as if its skin were made of iron.

"You can't defeat me!" Ji Dongyang shouted as he rose to his feet and lunged at Liu Xing again. Tentacles sprouted from its back, resembling wings, and its speed suddenly doubled. Just as its clawed hand almost reached his throat, he stepped aside. Up close, his nose assaulted by its foul odor, but he ignored it, conjuring a long lightning blade and swinging it at the creature's neck. When the blade touched its neck, he felt it pierce the skin. But after a few centimeters, the blade stopped, as if it had struck a hard steel beam inside.

Ji Dongyang attempted to swat him, but Liu Xing jumped and used its large arm as a springboard to leap away. He flew through the air and landed in the center of the clearing. The spirit beast chased him, and as he landed, the creature's clawed hand was only centimeters from his face. Liu Xing infused the beast core bullet with Exploding Fist, channeling more qi than usual, and pulled the trigger. The creature's clawed hand was mere moments from ripping his face off when the bullet hit its chest. The explosion sent it sailing through the air, and it was so powerful it pushed Liu Xing backwards, his feet leaving trails in the blood-soaked grass.

When the smoke cleared, he saw the spirit beast was still alive, though its left torso, arm, and part of its side were missing, as if someone had taken a bite out of a biscuit. Liu Xing realized he should have aimed for the head. He had thought targeting the charred chest would be more effective given the existing injury, but his judgment had been wrong.

A roar echoed in the distance, followed by screams, galloping hooves, howls, and strange, menacing sounds. A giant black wolf with yellow eyes emerged first. Its ferocious face and pitch-black fur glowed under the moonlight. Soon, many spirit beasts once again surrounded him. It was a repeat of an earlier fight, but with different details. First, there were many seventh-stage spirit beasts here, and second, the arrival of spirit beasts showed no signs of stopping. In the sky, dozens of flying spirit beasts circled him, from lion-eagle-monkey hybrids to skeletal winged horses.

Liu Xing's heart raced. The howling, screeching, galloping, and strange noises continued unabated, as if every spirit beast in Dragon Skull Forest was converging on this spot. He guessed that if he were to fly high into the sky, he would see hundreds of spirit beasts climbing, running, and flying toward the hill, like ants swarming an anthill.

Ji Dongyang's laughter echoed through the clearing. His sinister laughter mingled with the growls, howls, and shrieks of the surrounding spirit beasts, sending shivers down Liu Xing's spine.

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"Attack!"

A massive wolf-like spirit beast opened its jaws, unleashing a red pillar of light that streaked toward Liu Xing like a laser beam. Rolling to the side, Liu Xing narrowly avoided the blast as a giant flying sword with a serpent's eye on its hilt attempted to skewer him. Swiftly evading again, he used a giant grasshopper spirit beast as a springboard to dodge a swooping eagle.

From there, Liu Xing moved frantically. The world blurred around him, every corner filled with danger. Dodging left and right, he desperately evaded thorn missiles shot by a horde of giant cacti, deflected strikes from a seemingly ordinary tiger, and sliced through a group of worm-like creatures, each with grotesque monkey heads at their tips.

Cold sweat ran down his back, adrenaline pumping through his veins. His heart raced, demanding solutions in the face of imminent danger. Amidst lightning-fast movements, he racked his brain, searching for a way to turn the tide. The simplest and most effective approach would be to eliminate a seventh stage spirit beast, but with the clearing teeming with deadly enemies, stopping was not an option, and with only one bullet left, his next move had to count.

Gritting his teeth, he wielded his lightning blade and slashing at any spirit beast within reach, searching for the weakest seventh stage spirit beast. A colossal wooden golem attempted to stomp him, but Liu Xing rolled under its foot, slashing its leg with his lightning blade, which sliced effortlessly through the wood, leaving a deep mark. Seeing this, Liu Xing realized the golem was the softest of the bunch. This was his opening. As the golem slammed its foot down, he rolled behind it, swiftly taking aim at its exposed back and squeezed the trigger.

The bullet flew, striking the golem's back until it exploded into fragments. Shrapnel scattered, hitting nearby spirit beasts. He leaped and soared upwards, a ferocious grin on his lips. His gun was now charged with the beast core qi of a seventh stage spirit beast.

"Eat this!"

Liu Xing unleashed rapid shots, his bullets finding their targets amidst the chaos. Six spirit beasts exploded in a bloody spectacle, limbs and entrails flying. His gun, once again filled with bullets infused with the beast cores of seventh stage spirit beasts, continued to fire. He took aim at every spirit beast in sight. Previously overwhelming in numbers, they now struggled to maneuver away from his bullets. Taking advantage of their confusion, Liu Xing fired with unerring accuracy. His gun seemed endless, his movements fluid as he darted from one target to the next. Though his lightning blade couldn't sever the heads of seventh stage spirit beasts, he aimed for their eyes or limbs to slow their movement.

Liu Xing danced through the battlefield, relentless in his onslaught. Spirit beasts fell with each passing second, painting the ground in shades of red, yellow, and green. His relentless assault continued unabated. The world blurred around him, yet every action remained clear and purposeful. He fell into a rhythm: move, shoot, another spirit beast exploded. Slash, slash, shoot—roll away. He kicked aside a diving eagle and pulled the trigger to detonate a giant worm.

The battle was relentless. As the moon set and the sun rose, Liu Xing continued to fight. The once serene clearing below the portal was now a wasteland of blood and countless craters. Limbs, heads, and body parts were strewn about, trampled by the relentless stampede of spirit beasts.

Skull Hill slowly lost its shape under the onslaught. If the battle persisted, it might be flattened altogether.

Occasionally, Ji Dongyang appeared, orchestrating sneak attacks by controlling certain spirit beasts with lure-like antennae growing from their bodies, while other times he hid in the shadows. Liu Xing knew he couldn't flee. He had opened a portal to a pocket dimension, preparing to possess another cultivator, and seeing his anglerfish-gazelle-humanoid hybrid face melting like a candle, Liu Xing knew Ji Dongyang needed to find a new vessel soon.

He jumped towards a sixth stage walking flower spirit beast and sliced it in two, while simultaneously shooting a vase-shaped spirit beast that spat out several snake-like creatures, causing it to explode spectacularly.

Liu Xing kicked off the ground and soared toward a giant dragonfly. The creature tried to intercept him in mid-air, but a single bullet from his gun shattered it into a thousand pieces.

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