Chapter 48: Little mosquitoes, just you wait!

Faced with this thunderous strike, Yun Yi and the Ground Rat Demon were struck with terror. They knew well that they were no match for this person, but in the face of life and death, how could they easily yield?

Yun Yi summoned four bloody swords and a small bronze tripod. These were his trump cards, and now he deployed them all at once, solely to withstand this single sword strike.

The Ground Rat Demon, lacking magical artifacts, could only rely on its native demonic power to condense a sphere of light. Together with Yun Yi's treasures, they met the human cultivator's sword qi head-on.

Boom!

The spiritual light of the four blood swords and the bronze tripod, along with the Ground Rat Demon's light sphere, collided with the human cultivator's sword qi, erupting in a deafening roar before locking into a stalemate.

Yet, anyone with a discerning eye could see that the power on Yun Yi and the Ground Rat Demon's side was visibly weaker. The sword qi was slowly advancing, as though it would shatter their defense at any moment.

"Little mosquito, little rat, you are dead." Watching the sword qi as it prepared to pierce through Yun Yi and the Ground Rat Demon's resistance, the human cultivator curved his lips into a cruel smile, as if he had already witnessed their doom.

"What now? If we cannot turn the tide, we shall die beneath this human cultivator's sword." Anxiety gripped Yun Yi's heart. He fought desperately to hold the line, sweat streaming down his cheeks.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind, and a gleam of hope lit up his eyes. "Right, that blood bead! It can devour vitality; perhaps I could try it, only..."

Yun Yi hesitated, because activating the blood bead required a certain amount of time. Right now, they were at the crossroads of life and death, and he had no spare time to convert his demonic power into text to communicate with the Ground Rat Demon.

Just as Yun Yi hesitated, the Ground Rat Demon seemed to sense his intent, a flicker of resolve shining in its eyes.

It uttered no words, merely driving its demonic power with even greater fervor, joining Yun Yi in withstanding that fatal sword strike.

Seeing this, Yun Yi hardened his heart and decided to take the risk. He swiftly mobilized the meager demonic power within his body, preparing to rouse the blood bead that emitted an eerie red glow deep within his dantian.

Ever since he had transmigrated into this world, this blood bead had resided within him, serving as the key to his rising strength, yet remaining fraught with unknown dangers.

He freed one slender forelimb—the uniquely flexible appendage of his mosquito clan—and gently pointed it toward the human cultivator opposite him.

"Absorb."

Initially, the human cultivator facing Yun Yi sensed nothing amiss, maintaining his vigilant expression.

Gradually, however, he felt an inexplicable chill sweep over him. Following that, he discovered that his vital essence seemed to be seeping out of his body beyond his control, drifting away like morning mist. This caused his expression to alter drastically, and a foreboding sense of disaster gripped his heart.

"What is happening?" The human cultivator grew suspicious and alarmed, his gaze scanning around for the source of the potential threat.

Yet, at the very moment his focus peaked, he noticed Yun Yi's seemingly ordinary forelimb, which faintly radiated an eerie light, and the vital essence continuously leaking from his own body, slowly being drawn toward Yun Yi.

"What? It is your doing!" The human cultivator finally realized the crux of the problem. He wanted to immediately halt this drain of vital essence and channel his spiritual power for defense, but it was already too late.

He found that the suction force had grown overwhelmingly irresistible, as though an invisible giant hand were tightly gripping the throat of his life.

Yun Yi secretly rejoiced; the capability of this blood bead far exceeded his expectations, proving difficult even for a human cultivator to resist.

He remained utterly focused, manipulating the mysterious blood bead within him as if orchestrating an invisible feast.

Driven by his consciousness, the blood bead acted like a greedy vortex, drawing the pure vital essence of the opposing human cultivator into himself strand by strand. Transformed by the blood bead, this vitality became nourishment for Yun Yi's own demonic power, silently swelling his strength.

At first, the human cultivator could barely maintain his composure, but as his vital essence drained away in massive quantities, his complexion gradually turned as pale as paper, and his body began to sway from excessive blood loss.

He felt an unprecedented weakness, as though the flame of his life were being ruthlessly devoured.

Ultimately, he had to confront a brutal reality: despite being a high-tier cultivator whose cultivation far surpassed this unremarkable mosquito and the ground rat by its side, before this bizarre power, he could only helplessly choose to abandon the thought of killing them and seizing the treasures.

"Little mosquito, little rat, I will not spare you. Just you wait." He clenched his teeth, every word sounding as though it were squeezed from between his jaws. His voice grew hoarse with anger and resentment, as if he desired to vent every ounce of his inner despair and fury.

This was not merely a threat against Yun Yi and the Ground Rat Demon, but an outlet for the deep-seated humiliation and unwillingness within his heart.

His eyes were bloodshot, flashing with a frantic light, as if he wished to carve the images of these two "ants" into the depths of his soul forever.

The next moment, he made his decision, deploying his ultimate trump card—a long-cherished talisman.

This talisman was golden-yellow, its edges tinged with a faint red glow, inscribed with ancient runes that circulated with a pulse of spine-chilling energy.

It was given to him by his master, treasured as a supreme heirloom and never casually used.

With a low, hurried whisper, his finger lightly brushed against the talisman.

In an instant, the talisman seemed awakened by an ancient power, its light suddenly bursting forth like the rising sun, dazzling and brilliant.

A powerful surge of spiritual power rippled outward from him like a tidal wave, sweeping through the surroundings. Wherever it passed, the air seemed torn apart by the force, and space itself trembled.

This sudden burst of power not only shattered the eerie connection of vital essence between Yun Yi and the blood bead—leaving Yun Yi feeling a wave of weakness—but also bought a precious lifeline for the human cultivator.

He knew well that, high-tier cultivator though he was, continuing to tangle with this seemingly ordinary little mosquito and the cunning ground rat would not necessarily yield him any advantage.

Particularly Yun Yi; the strength and intelligence displayed by this little mosquito had already brought him too many surprises and troubles.

Thus, the moment the talisman's power erupted, the human cultivator made his resolute choice.

With a flash of his figure, he whirled around and fled on his flying sword without a moment's hesitation.

Lacking the reinforcement of the human cultivator's magic power, that stream of sword qi—which had previously stalemated with Yun Yi and the Ground Rat Demon—was effortlessly shattered in a single instant by their joint effort, like a shell stripped of its soul.

As the sword qi dissipated, Yun Yi and the Ground Rat Demon, exhausted or injured from the fierce battle, collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.

They raised their heads to look at the distant retreating figure of the human cultivator, their eyes holding a mixture of relief and lingering resentment.

Yun Yi murmured softly, "He's gone." He knew that with the flight of the human cultivator, their immediate crisis was resolved.

Shortly after, Yun Yi first returned the secret technique of the Dragon Blood Transformation Art to the Ground Rat Demon.