Chapter 161 Mental Attack

Suspended in mid-air with my feet off the ground, the Kuiba had me tightly by the throat. Although I could go without breathing, the pain was entirely real. Its grip grew tighter and tighter, and worse still, its three-inch-long black nails had already pierced deep into my flesh. If it kept this up much longer, my head would likely be severed from my body!

The moment the Kuiba opened its eyes just now, it felt as though I had been struck head-on by a speeding train. My insides churned violently, and I had clearly sustained internal injuries. Yet I had a protective energy barrier up; why would I still be struck by such an unknown attack? Furthermore, the Kuiba had been three meters away from me at the time. How could it cross the empty space to attack me? Could it be... a mental attack?

Leng Wushuang was capable of mental attacks, using her gaze or consciousness to inflict severe blows upon enemies. I had only ever witnessed her employ this method once. A mental attack was also known as willpower or intent. I possessed willpower too, but it was so faint as to be virtually negligible. By that logic, I should be capable of mental attacks as well. The only question was the underlying principle behind them!

Time did not permit me to ponder further. In that split second of life and death, I immediately made my decision and rapidly activated my laser eyes. Two golden beams instantly struck the Kuiba's eyes.

My laser eyes would fire wherever I looked. With our eyes locked, I was determined to see whether its mental attack was more powerful or my laser eyes were! I had originally thought that my laser eyes would be enough to blind the Kuiba. Even if it possessed an undying body, surely it still relied on its eyes to perceive the world!

Yet I was wrong. I had severely underestimated the Kuiba's true strength! When facing desperate straits, a person often has multiple choices. I could have forgone the laser eyes and instead channeled demonic energy through the Frost Sword to unleash Ningshuang's power. But I did not use the Frost Sword, and now it was far too late. The laser beams struck the Kuiba's eyes, only to be abruptly blocked by the creature.

A layer of invisible defense seemed to cover the Kuiba's corneas. The two golden pillars of light shone against its eyes without eliciting the slightest reaction; the beams appeared entirely incapable of inflicting even the minorest injury upon it. Suddenly, the Kuiba's eyes shifted from red to purple, and another tyrannical wave of energy radiated outward. Once again, I was sent flying backward, slamming heavily against the cavern wall.

The Kuiba's three-inch nails grazed my neck, slicing my carotid artery in an instant. Blood spurted out like an opened faucet. I could no longer afford to mind the pain; preserving my life was paramount. I scrambled up from the ground, tore off a strip of my sleeve, and hastily bound it tightly around my throat. Before the Kuiba could stride over to me, I quickly gathered my inner breath, leaped up, and soared away.

Pomegranate and Qin Tian were right at the edge of the cavern entrance. The moment I emerged, Qin Tian wasted no time. He grabbed me and Pomegranate, and we fled at top speed. It was not that they refused to come down to help me, but rather that coming down would have been useless and would merely have sacrificed their lives in vain. Pomegranate needed to be looked after, and Qin Tian was a man who considered the bigger picture. For this, I held not a single ounce of blame against him.

Scarcely had we covered a hundred meters when that tyrannical shockwave rolled over us from behind. The three of us dropped to the ground in unison. I knew it must be the Kuiba's mental attack once again. I quickly scrambled back up and turned to face backward, only to be struck by the grim realization that my body refused to move!

I discovered that it was not just me; Pomegranate and Qin Tian were likewise paralyzed. Pomegranate had not even finished turning around, his body frozen in place like a statue. Qin Tian was in the most awkward predicament of all; just as he had been trying to stand up, he was locked in place by the Kuiba's sheer willpower, remaining frozen in an extremely ungainly posture.

I had managed half a turn, and out of the corner of my eye, I could vaguely make out the Kuiba sprinting toward us at high speed. Pomegranate and Qin Tian could see nothing at all. Qin Tian cast a sideways glance at me, while I stared alternately at the approaching Kuiba and at Qin Tian and Pomegranate. I never imagined that a single careless moment would lead us to such a plight. Had I known the Kuiba's willpower possessed such binding power, I would have told them to flee ahead of time. Now we would likely die together in this place!

A gentle breeze drifted past, and the setting sun hung low on the horizon, casting long, drawn-out shadows of the three of us. The Kuiba's shadow gradually lengthened across the ground, and I knew that within moments, all three of us would perish here. I smiled bitterly in despair, even though my face could no longer form any expression. Why on earth had all of this happened? After traveling through countless hardships to reach the World Alliance, intending to proceed with the original plan to rescue the demon fox and then save Leng Wushuang before returning to the Carefree Valley to train my Feathered Clan army, I suppose I would no longer have the chance!

The Kuiba had reached my back, its lethal claws casting an eerie shadow on the ground like a demon crawled straight out of hell. I imagined the next instant would bring those sharp claws piercing through my chest! I closed my eyes. Death let it be!

The moment I shut my eyes, a fierce, stabbing pain wracked my brain, and an image flashed into my mind. It was a long-haired man dressed in tight black clothing, standing quietly between heaven and earth while holding a black iron rod. His flowing hair drifted without the aid of any wind. The man's eyes were tightly shut, and his chest heaved continuously. As the man in the vision breathed, my own chest began to heave in unison. I opened my eyes, and the long-haired man in the vision opened his eyes as well.

After he opened his eyes, the vision did not vanish; the man moved. The Kuiba's claws had already plunged into my back, sending a heart-wrenching pain shooting through every single nerve, causing tears to well up and stream down my face involuntarily.

In the vision, the man had suddenly vanished from his spot the moment he opened his eyes, reappearing in another location the very next instant. At that exact moment, I discovered that I could move my body once more. I blinked rapidly, my eyes stinging and aching as they bathed in tears! I hurriedly looked back and saw that the Kuiba had somehow been thrown far away from us and was now thrashing about on the ground. Its chest was completely caved in, as though it had been struck by a massive, sudden impact. The Kuiba struggled on the ground for a long while, utterly unable to flip itself back upright. I stretched my limbs and asked Qin Tian and Pomegranate, "What just happened?"

The two of them looked at each other, evidently having witnessed nothing. Qin Tian drew his Desert Eagle and declared, "Never mind what happened, this monster is far too powerful. Let's join forces to finish it off while Pomegranate goes on ahead."

I shook my head and pushed Qin Tian's hand holding the Desert Eagle back down. "Don't be hasty. Wait here for me."

With those words, I took a heavy, difficult stride toward the Kuiba. The vision that had just flashed through my mind had made me sense an intangible energy residing within my body. This energy was exceedingly difficult to control, and I had no idea how such a strange power had even formed. Ever since the sudden headache began, I had a faint intuition that it was the man from the vision who had orchestrated it—most likely through a mental attack.