Liu Xing aimed the gun at the moss-fox, infused the bullets with Exploding Fist, and shot. The bullets flew true, striking the moss-fox directly in the center of its forehead. When the bullets exploded, a high-pitched wail echoed as the moss-fox plummeted to the ground like a meteor. Liu Xing summoned his shield and stood upon it, looking down at the moss-fox, which hit the ground with a loud thud. The moss-fox roared again, opening its maw. A green ball of moss materialized before its mouth, and it launched the projectile at Liu Xing.
Witnessing this, Liu Xing jumped from the shield while firing repeatedly at the green ball. The first bullet detonated the moss projectile, and the five remaining bullets sped straight toward the moss-fox. Reacting to the attack, the moss-fox roared, and as if obeying a command, the moss around it surged, forming a green wall before it. When the bullets struck the moss wall, five large holes appeared, and Liu Xing saw the moss-fox leap through them and fly directly toward him.
He attempted to insert the glass box into his spatial bag, but quickly realized the box was too large to fit through the opening. He would have to extract the pills before he could safely store them.
The moss-fox roared again, and Liu Xing turned and fired rapidly at the creature. As the bullets approached, the moss-fox roared again and two green wings sprouted from its back. It flapped its newly formed green wings and then veered sharply to the side. The six bullets flew past the moss-fox and struck the ground and detonated on impact.
Liu Xing started to fall and let gravity pull him down. He saw that he had moved quite far away from the original location. Instead of trees, there was a forest of stone-grey spires below. The top of each spire was sharp, as if it was carved out of towering stone. Liu Xing landed on the brown ground amidst the forest of gray spires. Each tower cast a long shadow, making Liu Xing feel like he was in a city of skyscrapers. He saw no trees, flowers, grass, or moss, as if this place was dead and poisonous to plant life.
He looked up and saw the moss-fox flying. The moss-fox's eyes were still rolled upward, its green veins twitching wildly like worms, and its dark green wings resembled those of a bat.
Liu Xing hurriedly smashed the glass box in his right hand with his gun. The glass shattered, and Liu Xing saw five red pills, glowing white white hue falling with the shards of glass. He snatched all the pills from the air and clutched them in his right hand.
Just as he secured the last pill, a wind ripple formed behind the moss-fox, and it suddenly accelerated. In a split second, the moss-fox, previously tens of meters in the air, appeared directly above Liu Xing and swooped down like an angry eagle with a green hand made entirely of moss reaching for Liu Xing's right hand, where he was holding the pills. To the moss-fox, the five pills might have appeared to be floating, but it knew Liu Xing possessed them.
Eyes wide and his body still cloaked with lightning, Liu Xing pulled back his right hand. He lowered his stance, preparing to roll aside, when he saw the moss-fox's green feet suddenly lash out toward his face. Liu Xing wasn't sure if the moss-fox could see him or if it was simply luck, but he couldn't dodge the attack. As the green feet hurtled closer, Liu Xing gritted his teeth and sent the yellow line towards his face. Just as the yellow line settled, the feet struck him, and Liu Xing felt his brain rattle and his nose cave in.
For a moment, everything went black, but when the darkness receded, Liu Xing realized he was flying backward through the air so fast that the gray spires around him blurred. Moments later, Liu Xing's back slammed into one of the spires, halting his momentum and causing the spire to topple like a felled tree. As the spire crashed to the ground, the world trembled, and a huge cloud of dust billowed into the air. Amidst the dust cloud, Liu Xing stood. His eyes darted to his right hand, hoping he still possessed the pills, but when he saw only one pill in his palm, he grimaced and scanned his surroundings.
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There, soaring into the sky above the moss-fox, which had crashed to the ground and created the dust cloud, were three red pills. The pills shot upwards like reverse meteors, each flying in a different direction: north, east, and west. Liu Xing searched for the last pill and realized he could see a green hand clutching a red pill.
Looking down, he saw that his gun, the one he always had on him, was gone, probably lost when the fox kicked him. He dismissed his gun and resummoned it back on his left hand.
The moss-fox roared, the sound wave pushing back the dust cloud that still lingered around it. The fox remained unconscious, but on its forehead, a green eye with a pitch-black pupil had formed . Liu Xing felt that eye fix on him with rage and contempt, as if he were a thief daring to steal an emperor's crown.
They stared at each other, and as Liu Xing's eyes locked onto the red pill in the green hand, that green eye also focused on the pill in Liu Xing's right hand. Liu Xing knew they shared the same thought. Neither would allow the other to gather all the pills, and each needed to seize the pill from their opponent's hand or risk the other consuming the precious items.
"Alright, moss-fox, I think we both know what will happen next!" Liu Xing shouted. The moss-fox roared, as if agreeing with Liu Xing. "After this fight is over, only one of us will be left standing!"
As he shouted, Liu Xing's brain raced to formulate a strategy. After all, this moss-fox was strong, tough, and fast. Fighting it would be flirting with death, but Liu Xing still believed he had a chance. He needed a strategy to seize victory.
"Let's dance!" Liu Xing shouted as he threw the pill in his right hand toward his mouth, attempting to swallow it immediately.
Reacting instantly, the moss fox kicked the ground and the ground beneath it shattered with spider web cracks spreading outward, and it suddenly stood directly in front of Liu Xing, seemingly teleporting. Its left hand lunged out to grab the pill thrown towards Liu Xing's mouth.
Liu Xing activated his lightning blade, and as the green fingers came within centimeters of his pill, he slashed the blade directly at its wrist. While the blade didn't sever the wrist, it still possessed enough force to knock the hand aside. Unfortunately, the tip of its index finger brushed the pill, causing it to shoot towards Liu Xing's shoulder and bounce into the air instead of his mouth.
The moss-fox roared, its hand flying towards the bounced pill. Liu Xing ducked beneath the moss-fox, and with a shout, he kicked its waist and pushed with all his might, dragging the moss-fox sideways, its feet carving a trail in the ground.
The moss-fox roared angrily when its hand failed to catch the pill, and Liu Xing whipped his lightning blade at its right hand, where it still held one of the Diamond Pills. His lightning blade struck the hand squarely on the wrist, causing the hand to swing to the side and the pill to fall from its grasp.
Instantly, the moss-fox kicked the ground and tried to seize it, its fingers only inches from the newly released pill, but then Liu Xing aimed his gun at the moss-fox's wrist and fired. The bolt whistled in the air, and as his bullet exploded against the wrist, the blast pushed the pill and the moss-fox's hand in opposite directions.
Now, two pills were airborne. Should he snatch the pill he had lost or the one the moss-fox had dropped? In the end, instinct took over, and Liu Xing leaped as hard as he could toward the pill near the moss-fox.
Immediately, the moss-fox stretched its green hand toward the pill, but when its hand fell short, its five fingers suddenly elongated, attempting to reach the still airborne pill now being pulled down by gravity.
Liu Xing slashed his lightning blade toward the fingers, enhancing it with power from his necklace, giving his blue lightning blade a slightly yellow hue. When the blade connected with the fingers, it severed them completely.
The moss-fox snapped its head toward Liu Xing, the green eye in the middle of its forehead looking truly furious, and it decided to open its mouth and spit a ball of green moss at him.
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