Chapter 60: Mind and Spirit as One, Condensing the Tiger's Malice

"Trial Project (Two-Star): Survival."

The panel's prompt was concise and clear; this mission was to escape from the clutches of a Void Specter.

The woman was already one hundred percent confirmed to be a Void Specter.

Zhou You felt a lingering fear in his heart; fortunately, he had given his parents Evil-Warding Pills in advance.

The breathing of the two elders next door was normal while they slept, clearly indicating that the woman had sought him out the moment she broke in.

The opponent was a Void Specter, and its Jinli Level was impossible to match; only a Qi-Blood martial artist stepping forward would have a chance to fight it.

Therefore, the panel's requirements were not high; if Zhou You could survive and escape, it would count as a success.

However, his parents were both at home; even if Zhou You just walked away, what would happen to them?

Although the Evil-Warding Pills could deceive a Void Specter, they could not guarantee total safety; once...

Zhou You had not expected this Void Specter to arrive so quickly and so urgently.

He had thought that Mou Laoyao's family of three would be enough for the opponent to eat for three or five days, giving him time to prepare.

He had not expected it to come looking for him that very night, catching him off guard with no time to react.

Zhou You's left hand had completely lost all sensation, which dealt a blow to his combat effectiveness.

The woman tilted her head to an angle impossible for a normal person, her bones rubbing and colliding with a teeth-aching sound.

She revealed a smile, "Don't struggle, come into my mouth."

Zhou You retreated two steps and assumed the stance of the Crouching Tiger Fist.

When facing a powerful enemy, turning and running away is the most foolish method.

Without reliable comrades to cover and delay, abandoning defense to run away alone is no different from actively seeking death.

"Jinli, Jinli."

What Zhou You feared most was the evil energy that the Void Specter erupted with; it was more ferocious than a deadly poison if it invaded his body.

The only way to respond was to wrap his hands in Jinli to act as a shield.

He took a deep breath, his body temperature rose, and Jinli coursed beneath his skin.

"…….."

The woman walked over gracefully, her figure swaying like a flower; she appeared to carry not a shred of killing intent, but was actually extremely dangerous.

The stench of viscera in her breath grew increasingly thick, drifting over with the wind and making one feel like retching upon smelling it.

Zhou You could even see fragments of viscera between her teeth!

Terror, disgust, and excitement—complex emotions surged into his heart like a mixed sauce.

Zhou You heard the sound of blood flowing in his ears; his own state had been adjusted to an unprecedented peak.

"Kill!"

Zhou You let out a loud shout, the sound of a tiger's roar like a thunderclap, bringing a gust of wind as he lunged forward.

His hands aimed for the woman's shoulders; they felt soft to the touch, and because of the Jinli wrapping, no cold energy seeped into his skin.

At first, it was a soft sensation, but it instantly became as rigid as steel.

The woman's petite and exquisite body became, in an instant, heavier and harder than if it were cast from copper and iron.

Zhou You's arms bulged, muscles and veins popping out, yet he could not shake the woman's body.

A black shadow flashed in his vision, and a pitch-black claw swiped at his face; the opponent's human skin had been torn open.

With a sharp pain in his abdomen, Zhou You immediately retreated rapidly using his Basic Lightness Skill, avoiding the fatal blow where the woman would have gouged out his internal organs.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo!"

Zhou You took out the Purple Gold Ointment and frantically smeared it onto the wound; the bleeding from the wound stopped.

There was absolutely no chance to fight back!

The Void Specter was not only fast and possessed a hard shell, but its strength also far exceeded his Jinli Level.

Facing such a powerful enemy, no matter how many calculations you have, they will not be effective.

Zhou You panted heavily, breathing in large gulps to soothe his tense emotions; the more he was at a disadvantage, the less he could panic, otherwise he would die even faster.

His chaotic mind gradually calmed down, and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck: the Hungry Tiger painting.

In his sleep, the Hungry Tiger had appeared out of thin air and startled him awake.

Since that was the case, why not use the Hungry Tiger painting to turn defeat into victory?

Zhou You knew this painting by heart; he had observed every detail of the Hungry Tiger carefully, and had even integrated the artistic conception of the painting into his fist techniques.

As the saying goes, what you think about by day, you dream of by night; the Hungry Tiger entering his dream just now was by no means a coincidence.

"Don't resist, just obediently let me eat you."

The woman licked the back of her hand, her tongue as bright red as dripping blood, her gaze revealing greed and craving.

It was not a living person, nor was it a wild beast, but a man-eating evil ghost.

Zhou You's understanding of the Void Specter deepened; this species was the natural enemy of humanity, a born rival where one must die for the other to live.

In order to protect his parents, he had to find a way to exterminate this Void Specter.

He moved his feet, his back facing the wall; that Hungry Tiger painting hung quietly on the wall, swaying slightly with the wind.

"Just like a hungry tiger crouching on a desolate hill."

"Lurking... claws and fangs... enduring."

Zhou You spat these words out from his throat.

His mind sank into the image in the painting; the jagged rocks were like a forest of blades, pricking his body with sharp pain, and the wild grass was barren, with not a shred of food to be found to fill his stomach.

The hungry tiger's belly burned like fire, yet it calmly lurked, its eyes observing its prey with a ghostly glint.

The hungrier it was, the more rational it became; cruelty and instinct were like undercurrents beneath a calm sea.

"Hungry Tiger, I am the Hungry Tiger."

Zhou You elevated his entire body and mind to the state of the Hungry Tiger, his cells eager and ready for action.

Driven by desire, one can unleash twelve times the potential for the sake of a goal.

Therefore, once the Hungry Tiger appears, it is even more ferocious and unscrupulous than a tiger that has eaten its fill.

The woman had already arrived before him, her tongue stretching out from her mouth, instantly extending to the height of a person, undulating as it slithered forward.

The saliva dripping from her bright red tongue, mixed with a fishy stench and foul odor, was extremely nauseating.

Zhou You's body rose and fell with his breathing, the amplitude of the vibration becoming smaller and smaller, until...

At a certain moment, Zhou You's back suddenly fell into stillness, the scene freezing in place.

In the woman's eyes, no matter how hard Zhou You struggled, he was nothing more than a dish of fresh food.

Yet the food suddenly underwent a strange transformation, unexpectedly resonating with the painting on the wall.

A roar erupted from the flat ground, shaking the very tip of one's heart, and a large expanse of golden light and red radiance exploded from the wall not far away.

Wrapped in golden-red light, Zhou You's body lowered inch by inch, looking exactly like a Hungry Tiger pressing down its four paws, about to pounce on its prey.

The killing intent felt like thousands of steel needles pricking his face.

The woman's soft, charming expression changed; her eyes stretched into thin slits, and her cherry mouth tore open to her ears.

In the span of a single breath, no trace of a human could be seen on her.

Steel-needle-like black hair sprouted all over her body, poking the human skin full of holes with a series of soft tearing sounds; she was clearly unleashing her full power, abandoning this physical body.

When Fang Guiqi had been fleeing in a panic back then, a similar transformation had occurred.

"Fang Guiqi" had unleashed the power of a Void Phantom, causing death and injury to over a dozen people at the martial arts hall, a scene of extreme tragedy.

Zhou You could not retreat; behind him was his entire home, and his parents fast asleep.

"Today, I will have you smashed to pieces."

Zhou You's power was unleashed without reservation, spreading from his hands and elbows all the way to his shoulders, enveloping both arms.

At the same time, the Hungry Tiger painting hanging on the wall flickered with light, and that Hungry Tiger seemed to come alive, about to leap down from the paper.

Under the influence of his power, the texture of his skin underwent changes in depth, looking exactly like the patterns of a tiger's fur.

"Tiger Bane, how is it Tiger Bane?"

Seeing Zhou You's transformation, the woman's gaze revealed fear, as if she were seeing something inconceivable.

What she found hard to believe was precisely the faint tiger-stripe patterns on Zhou You's arms, which were known as... Tiger Bane.

Tiger Bane is precisely one of the banes that restrains Void Phantoms.

However, generally, one must cultivate to the level of Qi and Blood before one can condense Tiger Bane.