Yan Jiaojiao couldn't help but ask, "Who hurt you so badly?"
Judging by her assessment of Dongfang Cangwu, he possessed profound spiritual power. No ordinary person could have inflicted such severe injuries upon him.
Dongfang Cangwu lowered his gaze, his long eyelashes obscuring the emotions in his eyes. He simply stated, "A petty scoundrel, only capable of poisoning me."
So, it was an ambush. Yan Jiaojiao suddenly understood.
"Can you move now? Do you want me to send you to your cultivation place to recover?"
Last time, Dongfang Cangwu had mentioned wanting to cultivate here, and his words were not untrue. He had indeed stayed for a period after discovering the abundant spiritual energy and resources.
Had it not been for accidentally tracking that person's movements, Dongfang Cangwu would not have been poisoned by the same substance again, only to be injured to this extent.
Suddenly, Dongfang Cangwu raised his head, looking towards the distant mountain range, from which a familiar demonic aura clearly emanated.
He had arrived.
Dongfang Cangwu's expression turned solemn. He adjusted the garment draped around his waist, covering his well-built physique, and then said to Yan Jiaojiao, "Leave quickly. Don't meddle further."
"Huh?"
"Go." Dongfang Cangwu stood up. Yan Jiaojiao only reached his shoulder. He looked down at her. "If you are truly in trouble, summon your... spirit beast."
"Ah?" Yan Jiaojiao was even more bewildered. Just as she was about to ask what nonsensical words Dongfang Cangwu was speaking, she saw him vanish in an instant with a hand seal.
He left so quickly? Not even a word of thanks. This person was truly ill-mannered!
Yan Jiaojiao huffed in dissatisfaction and could only turn to leave.
However, the moment Yan Jiaojiao leaped onto the cliff, a fierce demonic wind suddenly gusted, causing her to squint her eyes.
When Yan Jiaojiao recovered and looked up, she saw a mass of black clouds surging from the direction of the river, obscuring the sun and moon, and blocking out all light. In the blink of an eye, the black clouds had spread from the riverbank to above Yan Jiaojiao's head, pressing down oppressively and making it suffocating.
"Whiffle! Whiffle!"
From within the clouds came the sound of sniffing, amplified to the size of light thunder.
Yan Jiaojiao had already defensively gripped the Ziyan at her waist, her eyes fixed on the massive black cloud, unsure what kind of monster was hidden within.
"Ha! Found you. It's his demonic aura." A sinister voice echoed from the black cloud, seemingly enjoying the scent it detected.
Goosebumps rose on Yan Jiaojiao's arms. Demonic aura? It was the one that possessed demonic aura, if anything!
The next second, the black cloud, carrying a dense demonic aura, swept towards Yan Jiaojiao.
Yan Jiaojiao reacted with lightning speed. She raised her hand, immediately drawing Ziyan, channeling her spiritual energy, and slashing her sword in a circle around herself. The purple light from the sword tip, propelled by spiritual energy, formed a purple barrier. The incoming black cloud struck the barrier and bounced back, emitting a wisp of black smoke, then slowly began to circle and gather around the barrier.
"Heh heh, a purple-grade treasured sword. Could it be that Ziyan has reappeared?" A contemptuous sneer came from the black cloud. It continued to constrict around the barrier, and with a light crack, the barrier shattered like broken glass and collapsed.
Yan Jiaojiao did not sit idly by. Seizing the moment, she tapped her toes and leaped upwards, flying into the dense forest like an arrow shot from a bow. Relying on her familiarity with the terrain, she moved rapidly, deliberately heading towards the areas with traps within the examination forest.
The black cloud did not hurry. It chuckled strangely, "Heh heh," and pursued Yan Jiaojiao, staying close to the ground.
The traps set for the students were like jokes to it. It would be remarkable if one or two could delay it for a moment. Most traps were utterly destroyed by its brute force collisions!
The power disparity was too great. At this moment, Yan Jiaojiao was no match for it. She dared not stop for a second, her forehead beaded with fine sweat. Now she finally understood why Dongfang Cangwu had urged her to leave quickly.
"Where are you running to? He allowed you to carry his scent. If I kill you, he will surely appear, won't he?" The black cloud said with a laugh, its voice growing closer and closer to Yan Jiaojiao, making her feel as if it were right beside her ear.
Dongfang Cangwu's words flashed through her mind. Yan Jiaojiao could bear it no longer. She raised her hand, formed a seal, and recited an ancient incantation. A faint light flickered ahead, and a small black dog materialized in mid-air. The moment its four paws touched the ground, it assumed a ready-to-fight stance.
Clearly, the little black dog had sensed the danger.
Yan Jiaojiao looked at the tiny body, but a sense of security immediately welled up in her heart. She darted behind it.
After several months apart, it seemed even Xiao Hei had grown a bit, its limbs a寸 longer.
Despite the urgent situation, Yan Jiaojiao gazed at Xiao Hei's body with emotion, momentarily lost in thought.
The black cloud also stopped, forming a standoff with the person and the dog. For a long while, it remained motionless, as if frozen in place.
"Why is the smell even stronger?" The black cloud finally said in confusion. "It's so strong, it's as if he's right here."
The little black dog's ears twitched imperceptibly.
Yan Jiaojiao suddenly felt emboldened, now having the energy and space to retort to the strange cloud.
"What are you going crazy about? Why are you chasing me?"
The black cloud sighed deeply. "I really don't understand. Why not just kill you both? He's vindictive and will surely come looking for me for revenge."
As soon as the words fell, countless tentacles spewing black smoke shot out from the black cloud, striking directly at Yan Jiaojiao and the little black dog with fierce force!
Yan Jiaojiao wielded her sword, blocking in front of her chest. Xiao Hei leaped up, opened its mouth, and inhaled, drawing in the tentacles like noodles and biting them off with a crunch.
The black cloud twitched. "Presumptuous!"
Instantly, the black cloud descended like an open net, intending to devour them directly!
How could the little black dog let it succeed? It let out a roar, and the black cloud tentacles it had just swallowed emerged, stabbing back at the black cloud under the power of a mighty sonic wave, scattering it in an instant.
"You've got some skills. Why don't I capture this little thing?"
The black cloud merely dispersed for a moment before reforming with a strange chuckle. It was impossible to defeat.
The little black dog suddenly came to its senses and ran towards Yan Jiaojiao.
Yan Jiaojiao's heart sank halfway. Xiao Hei had always appeared nonchalant about everything, but after only two rounds with this black cloud, it was so frightened that it wanted to hide in her arms. Did this mean they were both doomed?
However, Xiao Hei did not pounce into her embrace as she expected. Instead, it thrust its chest towards the tip of Ziyan's sword!
"Xiao Hei, what are you doing?"
Yan Jiaojiao cried out in alarm, but it was too late to evade!