On the swamp's surface, only the warrior whom Yang Kai had punched until he vomited blood remained, staring blankly ahead. The sudden turn of events had been far too abrupt—he hadn't processed what had happened at all, hadn't even seen what had attacked from beneath the water.
By the time he finally reacted, his companion and the other man had already vanished without a trace. On the surface of the swamp water, only bubbles rose and burst, one after another.
Chilling to the bone!
Without a second thought, the man turned and fled. There was no way he was going back to try to save anyone. He had seen it clearly just now—his companion had been run clean through by that whip-like appendage, grievously wounded in an instant, and then dragged down into the swamp. Nine times out of ten, he was already dead. The two of them might have been fellow disciples, but even a married couple would split and flee when disaster struck. In the face of mortal danger, abandoning one junior brother was nothing—his own survival was what mattered.
But the moment he turned, a tremendous roar erupted from behind. He twisted his head in terror and saw a figure burst upward from the swamp like a bolt of lightning. Though the person was drenched from head to toe, with hair in wild disarray, he recognized him instantly—this was the very man his senior brother and he had ambushed moments ago.
BOOM! A colossal spray of water erupted where the figure broke the surface, and droplets rained down everywhere like a torrential storm.
Right behind that figure, an enormous shadow also surged from the depths of the swamp, crashing down onto the mire with a tremendous splash. It cast a dense, dark shadow over the water, blanketing both figures beneath it.
"A toad…" The fleeing man looked up, those two words flashing through his mind. Only now did he see the true face of the attacker—a bloated, hideous creature covered in warty bumps, its bulging eyes nearly popping from their sockets. A massive toad, reeking of demonic aura, clearly no foe to trifle with.
The thought that his senior brother and he had been lying in ambush here while such a toad watched them from the shadows sent a creeping numbness across his scalp.
At least now he understood what that soft whip had actually been—it was nothing less than the tongue the toad had fired from its maw.
Three zhang above the ground, Yang Kai wiped the mud and water from his face, silently cursing his luck. He hadn't expected a demon beast like this to be lurking beneath the swamp. He had detected a faint, concealed life force earlier and had assumed their ambush involved a third person. It wasn't until the attack came that he realized his mistake.
The young man who had struck first was already gone—most likely swallowed whole by the toad. Right now, the creature was staring at him with those bulging eyes, unblinking, the pouch beneath its throat swelling and contracting with a deep, rumbling gurgle.
Yang Kai was about to gauge the toad's rank when the beast opened its gaping maw and spat out a massive sphere of water. It burst with a muffled boom, and in the blink of an eye, dense fog surged outward with lightning speed, engulfing everything in every direction.
In an instant, Yang Kai's vision was reduced to pure white—he couldn't see a thing. Even his divine sense was obstructed by some invisible force, extending no more than five zhang from his body.
Ssssss…
A burning sensation spread across his skin, accompanied by a strange sizzling sound.
Yang Kai's expression turned grave. This fog was remarkable—not only did it block sight and restrict divine sense, it was also laced with deadly poison! The toxicity was ferocious, arguably the most potent he had ever encountered.
Any ordinary warrior caught in this environment would likely have no choice but to wait for death. Fortunately, he possessed the Dragon Clan bloodline and a half-dragon body, granting him a natural resistance to toxins.
The poison in this mist was formidable, but it couldn't truly harm him—at most it left superficial burns on his skin. With his regenerative abilities, once he moved beyond the fog's range, he would recover quickly.
Nearby, however, another person's scream rang out—miserable and shrill, as though the victim had suffered catastrophic harm. Judging by the way the sound kept shifting, the man was frantically searching for a way out.
"Don't move!" Yang Kai called out loudly.
But it was already too late. The whistling of something cutting through the air was heard, and the man's scream collapsed into a choked grunt.
"Help!" The plea rang out, the voice flickering as the figure darted rapidly. Before the word was even fully spoken, the man fell completely silent.
Yang Kai couldn't see, but he could well imagine what had happened. The toad had snatched the man with its tongue and dragged him into its maw, sending him to join his companion in the afterlife.
This was at the very least a fifth-order demon beast! Yang Kai made his judgment internally.
The warriors who had gained entry to the Blood Demon Cave Heaven were all reasonably strong—those too weak couldn't have claimed an entrance unless they had extraordinary luck. Yet this man had been dispatched by the toad in a single encounter. There was certainly the element of surprise involved, but a fourth-order demon beast could never have pulled this off.
He waited in place for a while, but the toad made no further moves.
After a moment's thought, Yang Kai decided that although the toad was high-ranked, it likely retained the instincts of a wild beast—it couldn't detect stationary targets and could only strike with precision at something in motion.
This was consistent with both of its previous attacks.
With that in mind, Yang Kai saw no reason to waste any more time here. He immediately shifted his body into motion.
The instant he moved, a faint whistle cut through the fog from its depths. Immediately after, he felt his entire body go taut, as though a soft whip had coiled around him. A tremendous pulling force wrenched at him, trying to drag him in that direction.
This was exactly what Yang Kai had been waiting for. A savage grin spread across his face as he reached out with both hands and seized the thing binding him. It was slick and slimy to the touch—disgustingly so. There was no need to guess; it was the toad's long tongue.