"Boom!" Another axe strike came down. Fang Ming once again rolled away in a desperate dodge, already panting heavily.
This guardian was absolutely the most troublesome fiend he had encountered so far, without exception! Even when he first faced Qing Mian, Fang Ming hadn't felt this cornered, because no matter how elusive Qing Mian was, he at least knew there were ways to deal with him. But this guy in front of him was completely like an iron barrel.
"This guy has no weaknesses all over his body, what should I do?" Fang Ming gasped for air, daring not to stop his movements. The guardian behind him seemed to be unaware of fatigue, its attacks showing no signs of slowing down.
"Qing Mian, hold him off for a moment while I find a solution!"
With no other choice, Fang Ming had to let Qing Mian take over the guardian's aggro, using the opportunity to open his diary and see if there were any clues on how to defeat this thing.
As soon as Fang Ming spoke, Qing Mian appeared from the void and slashed at the guardian's eye, temporarily hindering its movements and forcing it to repair itself. However, it could only hold it back for a second or two.
But Qing Mian successfully drew the guardian's attention away, giving Fang Ming a brief respite.
The moment Qing Mian revealed itself and dealt substantial damage to the guardian multiple times, it began to be relentlessly pursued by the guardian, darting around the twelfth floor.
However, its strength was far superior to Fang Ming's. Against this cumbersome guardian, although it couldn't inflict effective damage, dodging was more than enough.
Once Qing Mian had lured the guardian away, Fang Ming quickly took out his diary from his backpack.
"It must have a clue!" Fang Ming prayed in his heart, as his life depended on it.
He opened it.
"On the twelfth floor, I encountered the guardian spoken of by Qing Mian. It is a tough, half-fiend. After numerous tests, I discovered that to defeat it, its defenses must be violently breached. Moreover, the speed of damage must exceed its recovery rate, otherwise, it is an immortal and terrifying monster."
"Despite repeated attempts, I still couldn't find a way to break the guardian's defenses. However, while pursuing Qing Mian, it shattered a purple cultivation tank. The nutrient fluid inside actually corroded its scales! My heart filled with surprise, and I immediately began using this nutrient fluid to attack the guardian."
Purple cultivation tank?
Fang Ming's gaze immediately swept across the surroundings. Soon, a row of unusual cultivation tanks in the southeast corner caught his attention. This row not only contained purple cultivation tanks but also red and black ones, none of which held any fiends.
"Qing Mian! Lure it towards the cultivation tanks in the southeast corner. The purple nutrient fluid can damage its scales!" Fang Ming shouted to Qing Mian.
Qing Mian, who was not far away, understood Fang Ming's shout immediately and led the guardian towards the southeast.
Fang Ming put away his diary and rushed to the southeast corner without delay. To inflict effective damage on the guardian, he still had to rely on Qing Mian's attacks. His current task was to draw the guardian's aggro away, allowing Qing Mian to continue attacking within the mirror image.
Under deliberate guidance, the one person and two fiends quickly arrived at the southeast corner of the twelfth floor. Vials of different colors bubbled, especially the black one, which always gave Fang Ming a strange feeling.
"Qing Mian, I'll distract it. You break the purple cultivation tank and use the nutrient fluid within the mirror image to break its defenses."
"No problem." After Qing Mian finished speaking, his figure instantly disappeared, leaving only an afterimage.
Unable to find a target, the guardian saw Fang Ming nearby and immediately shifted its aggro back to him. The great axe swung again.
"Bang!"
The cultivation tank exploded—Qing Mian had already made his move, splashing a large amount of nutrient fluid.
"Boom!" The guardian launched another attack against Fang Ming.
Qing Mian dipped his long saber into the nutrient fluid and, while the guardian was attacking Fang Ming, stealthily slashed its back.
"Screech!" A different sound!
The guardian cried out in pain and instinctively reached for its back. A wound about half a meter long appeared, and the scales around the wound had been completely shattered. Qing blood flowed from the wound.
There's hope!
"We have a reason to be here." Fang Ming said in a deep voice.
"You trespassed into the territory of a fierce fiend from another realm. Do you not know we have the right to kill you?" the guardian said coldly.
"Right? Who made the rules?" Fang Ming frowned, seeming to be on the verge of uncovering deeper secrets.
"Of course, it is..." The guardian paused. "You don't need to know."
"Die!"
As soon as the guardian finished speaking, it attacked unexpectedly and unethically. Fang Ming's reaction was a beat too slow. Facing this sudden assault, he could only hastily dodge.
"Clang!" Qing Mian in the mirror image blocked the guardian's attack for Fang Ming.
"Boom!" Qing Mian's attack was instantly shattered. The guardian's attack was only slightly delayed and continued to descend with undiminished speed. Fortunately, Fang Ming had already used the brief interval to evade to another spot.
"Good coordination." The guardian retracted its axe, grunting an evaluation.
"Hmph." Fang Ming was not in the mood to chat with this guy. This fellow was completely unethical, and who knew when he might launch a sneak attack while they were talking.
The guardian's mouth split into a terrifying grin. "Your hidden companion, is it her? I can sense her scent." The guardian had already guessed Qing Mian's origin.
"With my current strength, defeating it is still a bit of a stretch." The guardian's massive mouth behind its head split into a terrifying grin. "But soon, it will die!"
Saying that, it raised its giant axe and smashed it fiercely into its own eye. The entire eyeball instantly burst into a pulp! Yet, the eyeball began to repair itself rapidly the moment it exploded. The guardian's strength increased exponentially at the same time.
"Stop it quickly!" Fang Ming was shocked. This was too unfair! If it couldn't win, it would self-mutilate to level up. Could they even play properly?
Qing Mian also realized the seriousness of the situation and quickly moved to block the guardian from continuing its self-mutilation, but it was completely ineffective. This guy had completely abandoned defense, and while mutilating itself, it almost wished Qing Mian could inflict more damage.
"What to do?" Fang Ming was anxious. Suddenly, he remembered a detail mentioned in his diary: only by damaging it faster than it could recover could it be effectively harmed.
Unless it could be killed in one go!
But how was that possible? Even if Nan Nan came out now, she might not be able to suppress the current guardian. Its strength, after several rounds of reinforcement, had reached the peak of a half-fiend. If it wasn't constantly swinging its great axe, Fang Ming suspected it would already possess the strength of a fierce fiend.
The guardian's self-mutilation continued, and Fang Ming and Qing Mian could only watch this scene helplessly.
Fang Ming took out his diary. The content had not changed; it was still describing his battle with the guardian.
Wait? It only mentioned the battle?
Fang Ming suddenly remembered something, and his heart sank. When was the last time this happened? Was it the time he died and was resurrected as a fiend?
"Am I going to die here?" Fang Ming's pupils contracted to the size of a needle point. It was impossible to say he wasn't afraid of death. No one could truly face death and say those words.
"Whoosh—" Fang Ming let out a long breath.
The guardian's current state was no longer something he and Qing Mian could handle. Staying here meant certain death.
"Qing Mian, come out." Fang Ming's tone was somewhat heavy.
"What is it?" Qing Mian calmly appeared beside Fang Ming. He had also seen the seriousness of the situation, but he too was helpless.
"Lend me your saber."
"Saber?" Qing Mian was surprised, unable to figure out why Fang Ming needed his saber now.
However, he didn't think much of it and decisively handed his ever-present long saber to Fang Ming.
Fang Ming took the saber and touched it. "A good saber!"
With that said, he resolutely extended his right arm and brought the saber down.
Half a tentacle was instantly severed, falling to the ground and twitching like a gecko's tail.
"Oww—" Fang Ming's forehead beaded with cold sweat from the pain, his entire body trembling, his face instantly paling.
"What are you doing?" Qing Mian was greatly alarmed, unable to understand Fang Ming's actions. Was he trying to self-mutilate to increase his strength like the guardian? But he didn't have that talent!
Fang Ming gave a wry smile, trembling as he returned the saber to Qing Mian, then picked up the severed tentacle. A fiend's pattern was inscribed on it.
"Take this tentacle and leave. This is the only thing I ask of you. I haven't taught you much on this journey, and I'm truly sorry."
Fang Ming's voice trembled. He already knew his impending end and absolutely could not let Nan Nan remain here. This little girl was innocent, and Fang Ming couldn't let her die with him in this damned place.
"You..." Qing Mian was somewhat moved. He knew whose fiend's pattern was on the tentacle. He just hadn't expected that at this critical juncture, Fang Ming wasn't trying to summon that fierce female child to fight, but rather asking him to take her away.
This human...
"Please!" Fang Ming's tone was filled with resolve, clearly prepared to face the upcoming battle.
Qing Mian glanced at the guardian's strength, which had now far exceeded his ability to deal with.
"Take this saber. This is my life-bound saber; wielding it only grants one-third of my strength. I will ensure the tentacle is taken out safely." Qing Mian handed the saber back to Fang Ming, then took the severed tentacle from Fang Ming's hand.
"..." Fang Ming's heart was filled with mixed emotions. "Thank you."
"You must survive!"
With that, Qing Mian disappeared from reality with the tentacle, while Fang Ming leaned on his saber with one hand, his gaze resolutely fixed on the continuously strengthening guardian.
The book disappeared from the new book list, which is strange. I don't know why.