Chapter 125: Monster!

"So, this is a ghost?"

Xiao Yang, encountering a ghost for the first time, examined it with curiosity.

The half-bodied ghost, however, stared back at the man and the cat with intense fury. Although it had lost most of its memories, it could still sense the emotions of the pair, who were looking at it as if it were some amusing trinket.

"Roar!"

With a hiss, the half-bodied ghost lunged forward. Xiao Yang raised his hand, channeled his internal energy, and struck with a palm. The sheer force of the blow shattered the creature into pieces.

This scene left even the Profound Ice White Tiger stunned.

"Such pure internal energy."

One had to understand that to hit a special, incorporeal entity like a ghost, one had to use internal energy or direct soul-based secret techniques. The purer the internal energy, the greater the power unleashed when trying to inflict heavy damage on a ghost. For normal spirit beasts or humans, an attack on a ghost typically retained only half its usual potency—and that was considered a decent result. Yet, Xiao Yang had pulverized it with a single strike.

Such pure internal energy was difficult to refine even for those in the Martial Marquis realm.

The Profound Ice White Tiger couldn't help but steal another glance at Xiao Yang. It felt like it could no longer see through him; he was steeped in mystery. But then again, that was fine. The greater Xiao Yang's talent, the more it proved his limitless potential. If this lad could become a god, then as a god's battle pet, it would certainly have something to brag about.

The Profound Ice White Tiger froze for a moment. *Damn it, what has gotten into me? Why am I having such shameful thoughts?* It felt somewhat dejected and quickly suppressed the unsettling idea.

"Keep moving forward. We should arrive in about half an hour," the Profound Ice White Tiger said coolly, looking into the pitch-black tunnel.

Xiao Yang didn't hesitate and continued forward, though this time he was on high alert, ready to deal with any ghosts that might suddenly pop out.

"By the way, Big Cat, do you know anything about the origin of that corpse?" Since there was only the sound of breathing in the surroundings, the atmosphere felt eerie, and he wanted to shift his focus.

"I don't know, but I can be certain that the corpse was undoubtedly a great master while it was alive," the Profound Ice White Tiger replied, shaking its head. This triggered its own memories; it had been pinned to the ground and pummeled after just one encounter. If it hadn't run fast enough, it would have died there. Despite its lingering fear, it had already come this far, and there was no turning back. Perhaps, it mused, the corpse had simply been there so long that it had rotted away—though that was just a lie to comfort itself.

The Profound Ice White Tiger didn't believe that even if it were to die and its own body were to rot, that mysterious corpse would have any such issues. It had seen the power of laws on that body—the very power that had prevented it from decaying for thousands of years.

"Don't... No!"

Suddenly, a mournful wail echoed from the depths. Xiao Yang and the Profound Ice White Tiger grew tense.

"It sounds like it's just ahead," Xiao Yang said, looking down at the tiger in his arms. He remembered that this creature was difficult for others to detect, but how would he explain the people ahead?

The Profound Ice White Tiger understood his look instantly and hurriedly whispered, "I sense that there is definitely something wrong with this group of people."

Xiao Yang nodded. He had felt that way for a long time; the group’s reactions and emergency response abilities were vastly different from those of ordinary people.

*Crunch! Crunch!*

Before long, a teeth-gritting sound echoed from ahead—clearly the sound of bones being crushed. Xiao Yang’s expression shifted slightly. Combining the various sounds, it wasn't hard to imagine that the one being eaten was, in all likelihood, a human.

Stepping forward with caution, Xiao Yang soon spotted a dark, indistinct mass gorging itself. It bit through a leg bone in one snap and chewed noisily. The victim was still alive, lying on the ground in despair. Seeing Xiao Yang appear, the man’s eyes flickered with a glimmer of hope, and he reached out a hand, pleading for rescue.

However, the monster simply grabbed the Great Martial Master with one claw and bit his head off in a single bite. Blood sprayed everywhere.

At that moment, the black-furred monster sensed the arrival of others. It twitched its nose and suddenly spun around.

"Roar!"

Seeing Xiao Yang, it abandoned the half-eaten corpse and lunged toward him.

"Is this a Black Zombie?" Xiao Yang thought of a legendary creature when he saw the fur-covered monster. The creature, however, could not understand him; it only wanted to devour him. Fortunately, this zombie was only comparable to an average Great Martial Master and was far inferior to Xiao Yang.

"Nine-Fold Force!"

Perhaps because its limbs were stiff, the Black Zombie’s speed was not great, and Xiao Yang dodged it with ease. He struck back with a palm, sending violent, vibrating force into the zombie. The creature froze in place, black blood oozing from its mouth. A moment later, it vomited a mouthful of dark blood, and lines of black blood appeared all over its body.

Xiao Yang was about to deliver a finishing blow, but at that moment, the Black Zombie's body suddenly exploded, splattering foul-smelling blood all over the surroundings.

"Damn it!"

Xiao Yang hadn't expected this and was too late to dodge. He had no choice but to form a protective shield with his internal energy to block the filthy black blood.

The Profound Ice White Tiger watched the scene with wide eyes. *It shattered that thing with just one punch?* Its heart was surging with turbulent waves. This corpse, while not incredibly powerful, had terrifyingly high defense. An average Great Martial Master, let alone injuring it, would struggle to even scratch it without using weapons. The tiger had experimented on it before; the hardness of the corpse's skin was comparable to spiritual artifacts. Even a Martial Marquis would have to use some effort to break it. Yet, this tough skin had been blasted apart by a single punch.

*A monster. He truly is a little monster.*

The tiger muttered to itself, though it felt a growing anticipation for how far Xiao Yang would eventually progress.

"Disgusting!" Xiao Yang couldn't help but cover his nose and mouth, looking at the pitch-black ground and smelling the foul odor in the air. "Big Cat, is this the place you cleared out?" he asked, somewhat displeased. They hadn't walked for long, and he had already encountered two rare things like a ghost and a zombie.

"I did clear it out back then, but I didn't expect so many to still be alive..." the tiger said, feeling a bit aggrieved. It had been acting on impulse back then, pushing its way all the way to the bottom.

Xiao Yang just let out a dry laugh and didn't say much more. He continued on his way. Perhaps because his own information was flawed, the Profound Ice White Tiger climbed out of Xiao Yang's arms to take the lead. Whenever they encountered zombies or vengeful spirits, they took them down together. They killed three more evil ghosts and five Black Zombies along the way, all dispatched by the Profound Ice White Tiger.

As time passed, Xiao Yang could faintly see light ahead; the exit was clearly not far off. However, the Profound Ice White Tiger’s brow furrowed slightly. It remembered that when it came here years ago, it hadn't been this quick; it should have taken another dozen minutes to arrive. The fact that they had reached it so soon made it instantly vigilant.

Xiao Yang noticed the change in the tiger and hurriedly asked, "Big Cat, is something wrong?"

"Yes! There is danger lurking everywhere here." The Profound Ice White Tiger slowed its pace, speaking in a low voice.