I changed the world.

On the contrary, it gave him a faint sense of being in his element. Generally speaking, rain reduces visibility and the sound of raindrops hitting leaves greatly increases background noise, making it harder to spot sudden dangers.

However, in Zhang Jing's perception at this moment, the rain seemed to be an extension of his senses, allowing him to perceive things further away. In this humid environment, he felt that his various functions had been improved to varying degrees.

His body moved with increasing lightness and agility in the rain, appearing and disappearing as if he had completely blended into the rain curtain...

A vague realization dawned on Zhang Jing, who guessed that it was probably due to the cultivation technique he primarily practiced…

In "The Transformation of Fish and Dragons," whether it's a fish or a dragon, who wouldn't like water?

"Hmm?" Suddenly, Zhang Jing stopped. He twitched his nostrils. A faint, indescribable stench wafted through the air, as if there were the corpses of some creature ahead.

Having learned from his previous encounter with that animal hide, Zhang Jing instinctively raised his vigilance to the highest level.

After walking for a while, Zhang Jing carefully leaped onto a tree branch more than five meters above the ground, avoiding the large patch of thorny vines and bushes below. He wiped the rainwater dripping from his forehead. The stench here was getting stronger. Zhang Jing looked around and then saw the situation ahead clearly.

Not far ahead, under a tree, lay a mangled corpse.

After carefully observing for a while, Zhang Jing gently floated down from the tree branch and landed silently on the ground. He walked to a spot not far from the remains, observed the surroundings again, and then went forward to examine them.

This was a severely skeletal skeleton, with many parts of the body beginning to rot and exposing large amounts of bone. Some unknown, strange insects burrowed in and out of the corpse, gnawing at the remaining muscle tissue.

At this point, most of its muscles and internal organs had disappeared, leaving only bones. Perhaps due to the large number of bones, some skin and muscle tissue remained in the head, limbs, and tail.

Judging from the shape of the skull and the remaining skin tissue attached to it, as well as the thick, hooked tail, Zhang Jing could clearly identify that the type of remains was the same kind of monster that he had killed before, one that could use Shadow Cloak.

Furthermore, Zhang Jing estimated that the size of the wreckage in front of him was no smaller than the one he had just encountered.

In his memory, the monster from before was actually quite powerful, and judging from its physical form, it should be a predator. He never expected that it would be killed here.

So, what creature killed it? Zhang Jing became even more vigilant. However, this was not a place to linger, so Zhang Jing left nimbly.

..........................................

The road ahead became increasingly difficult to traverse. Zhang Jing noticed that he seemed to have entered an area resembling a swamp or wetland, with dense, tall grasses that were more than a person's height constantly appearing around him, along with patches of water of varying depths.

This type of water is home to a large number of aquatic plants, many of which even cover the water area.

For explorers, this terrain is extremely treacherous, even dangerous. Many plants make the land appear as lush, flat plains, but beneath lies water, and in some areas, even swamps. A moment's inattention could lead to a slip and a fall into the swamp.

Finding a normal, passable path in a swamp can be quite troublesome. A better approach is to follow the tracks of wild animals. After all, many heavier animals inevitably leave tracks when they pass through, and following these tracks usually leads to a relatively safe path.

However, this also creates some new potential dangers. The possibility of encountering wild animals on this "road" is extremely high, and among the wild animals in this area, there are species that are likely to cause trouble.

Zhang Jing's chosen method was more direct. He used the technique of "Earthly Fiend Forbidden Technique: Floating," and like a wisp of green smoke, he walked straight through the plants as if on flat ground...

..........................................

After walking for about half an hour, the rain still showed no signs of stopping; on the contrary, it seemed to be getting heavier, and the sound of rain all around had become continuous.

After trekking through the forest for a long time, Zhang Jing decided to stop and replenish his food and water, and take a rest. Based on his experience in the filthy forest, he knew that maintaining physical strength was a crucial aspect when exploring unfamiliar territory.

He found a giant tree that would take several people to encircle. This place belonged to a small grove of trees, and the surrounding canopy stretched out like a canopy, covering an area of ​​over a hundred square meters.

After carefully leaping onto the giant tree, Zhang Jing found a spot between the trunk and a horizontal branch and sat down. The large canopy above his head shielded him from the rain, so only a few drops of water occasionally fell, making the area quite dry.

After settling down, Zhang Jing took out a piece of camouflage cloth from his backpack. He draped this tactical camouflage cloth, which had a heat-insulating layer, over his body, leaving only his face exposed. This wasn't for warmth, but to further disguise himself. Especially under the cover of this camouflage cloth, even if the enemy had infrared detection capabilities, it would be difficult for them to see Zhang Jing.

Zhang Jing then stopped in the tree, adjusting his breathing while quickly replenishing his food and water.

About fifteen minutes later, the rain showed no signs of stopping. Zhang Jing felt he had rested enough and considered whether to continue on his way. Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes and looked to the side.

A moment later, a large patch of tall grass not far from the tree where Zhang Jing was standing began to sway. Then, a large, deer-like beast with a long mane ran out from it. This beast was extremely fast, like a bolt of lightning. Zhang Jing noticed that when it ran through some swamps, it did not stop at all and could run directly across the water.

However, in the next moment, a shadow in front of it suddenly flickered, and then a huge figure pounced out from it, blocking the beast's path. It fiercely tackled the beast to the ground, and the two figures grappled and rolled a few times. Then, the beast was firmly pinned to the ground, its throat tightly gripped. After struggling violently for a while, it was unable to break free and eventually stopped moving, though it was still convulsing violently...

Zhang Jing had now clearly seen the figure that lunged out. It was a monster he was familiar with, the kind of monster that he had killed before, capable of using Shadow Cloak.

The one in front of him looked significantly larger than the one he had killed. It was robust and as tall as an ox. Not only were the several short horn-like bone spikes on the sides of its head longer than those of the one he had encountered before, but nearly ten short horns of varying heights also grew from its spine like fish fins.

Clearly, the monster was feeding, violently shaking its head, further hastening the death of the alien beast that had already become "food".

After some time, the strange beast whose throat had been tightly gripped had completely stopped moving. Then, the monster released its jaws, its eyes flashing with two eerie, flame-like lights. It scanned its surroundings for a while before lowering its head and beginning to tear at the corpse of the strange beast on the ground...

Just then, dozens of meters away in a tree, Zhang Jing suddenly felt that the atmosphere around him had become somewhat oppressive. It was a strange feeling, like the inexplicable tension of an old sea captain who had sailed the seas his whole life before a storm.

Zhang Jing immediately raised his vigilance to the highest level, but after looking around, he found nothing unusual.

Where there's smoke, there's fire. Even so, Zhang Jing didn't relax at all; on the contrary, he became even more vigilant. He carefully reduced his breathing, heartbeat, and all physiological activities to a minimum, like a hibernating reptile, blending himself into his environment...

This is also a technique he learned from the Fish-Dragon Transformation, which allows him to hide himself well in the environment. In this state, his perception is affected and becomes more sluggish. Correspondingly, his physiological activities are also reduced to an extremely low level.

Chapter 185 Tiger and Dragon

Just then, Zhang Jing suddenly noticed that a faint mist seemed to have risen around them.

The monster, which was eating, suddenly stopped its biting motion, abruptly raised its head, and cautiously surveyed its surroundings. At that very moment, the surface of the swamp, not far from it, covered with floating seaweed, suddenly exploded. Then, a colossal creature roared up from the water, sweeping over the feeding monster with lightning speed and swallowing it whole…

Zhang Jing held his breath, peering through the gaps in the leaves at the scene unfolding before him, beads of sweat forming on his back. If he were in that position, he felt he might not have been able to dodge that attack either…

At this moment, the enormous creature stopped in the clearing in the forest, spat the monster it was carrying in its mouth onto the ground, stretched out its claws to hold it down, and then began to tear it apart. Zhang Jing looked at it and it gave him the feeling of a cat eating a mouse.

The seemingly ferocious and powerful monster was now pinned to the ground, its bones limp and its muscles exhausted. It was merely twitching, and even its struggles were weak and powerless. The enormous creature easily pinned it down with one of its front paws, tearing it apart with a casual swipe. Its tough outer skin was like cloth under the giant's claws.

Zhang Jing carefully examined the enormous creature, which he estimated to be about 15 to 20 meters long and over 4 meters tall at the shoulder. It was surrounded by clouds and mist, and ice crystals condensed on the ground where it walked.

Its body shape is somewhat like a giant lizard, with a long, snake-like tail, but the tip of the tail has a fin-like tail unique to aquatic animals. Its spine also has a dorsal fin that extends from the neck to the tailbone, and every so often there is a sharp, spear-like bone spur.

Its head resembles a tiger's, but it has two long whiskers, sharp fangs, exposed canines, and a thick mane around its neck, making it look extremely majestic. It has four limbs, with two front paws that look extremely strong and powerful, while its two hind paws are relatively shorter than its front paws, so that when it walks, it appears to be slightly higher in the front and lower in the back. Zhang Jing noticed that each of its legs has four claws, instead of the five claws of ordinary animals.

Unlike lizards, its body is not as lean as that of ordinary reptiles, but has the powerful muscles of mammals such as tigers and leopards. Its upper body looks muscular and beautiful, giving people a feeling of explosive power.

Its body is covered with scales, and the scales, mane, dorsal fin and tail fin are all decorated with colorful patterns. In particular, the forehead has a black "king" pattern similar to that of a tiger, which makes it look magnificent and luxurious.

Clearly, this thing must be incredibly powerful, so much so that Zhang Jing felt a cold sweat break out upon seeing it. He even had the illusion that he desperately wanted to stand up and run away! This was definitely not normal for Zhang Jing at this moment, but fortunately, with his cultivation level and the timely surge of coolness from the purple jade pendant hanging on his chest, he was still able to stabilize his mind and not be affected.

Zhang Jing was almost certain that there was some kind of peculiar force field around this giant beast, enough to influence the emotions of others and instill fear in them. No wonder the monster it had pinned down seemed unable to even struggle.

This is... a tiger-dragon?

Zhang Jing's mind raced, and a flash of lightning seemed to strike his mind. He suddenly remembered a description of a certain monster he had seen in a Buddhist canon. If it was really that thing, then it was beyond his current ability to deal with.

The Tiger-Dragon is a type of Jiao (蛟) fish. Although Jiao creatures are not known for their size, they are formidable in terms of strength. Adult Jiao are almost equivalent to human cultivators at the third level or above. The Tiger-Dragon is an even more powerful subspecies of Jiao, feeding on ferocious beasts.

Zhang Jing's main cultivation technique was the "Fish-Dragon Transformation," so he was naturally familiar with the habits of dragons. After realizing that the thing in front of him might be a tiger-dragon, he immediately understood the problem. Then, he began to push his own technique to its limit, completely concealing his life form...

It must be said that the "Fish-Dragon Transformation" technique is unique in its ability to conceal one's aura and form. As the saying goes, "A dragon can be large or small, can rise or hide. When large, it stirs up clouds and mists; when small, it hides its form. When rising, it soars through the universe; when hiding, it lurks within the waves..."

This was not because Zhang Jing was overly cautious, but because he remembered that in the records he had read, it was mentioned that the tiger-dragon was surrounded by clouds and mist, and that these clouds and mist were not ordinary fog, but had many wonderful uses.

In Zhang Jing's understanding, the clouds surrounding the tiger-dragon could be considered a kind of domain. One of the many uses of those clouds was to enhance perception. Although the Dharma Treasury hadn't explained this in detail, it didn't stop Zhang Jing from guessing that the tiger-dragon's perception would be greatly enhanced within these clouds. After all, even he himself could feel the comfort of being in the rain, let alone a true dragon.

At this moment, Zhang Jing didn't even dare to use his True Fire Refining Eyes to spy, lest he be detected by the keen-sensed Tiger Flood Dragon.

Then the tiger-dragon lowered its head and tore at the monster, gnawing on the tender, fatty parts of its chest, abdomen, and internal organs. Soon, it had devoured all the muscle in those areas, leaving the rest to rot aside.

The other strange beast that had been killed by that monster was left lying to one side without even a glance from the tiger-dragon.

Clearly, this guy was a very picky eater. And Zhang Jingzhi now understood how the corpse he had found in the forest had been created.

Suddenly, the tiger-dragon's nostrils twitched, clearly indicating that it had discovered something. It turned its enormous head, looking around, and soon its gaze fell on the direction where Zhang Jing was!

Zhang Jing's heart skipped a beat, and his vigilance instinctively rose. He tried his best to calm himself down, extinguishing all traces of his presence, remaining motionless like a hibernating insect in winter.

The tiger-dragon slowly walked towards Zhang Jing, step by step, getting closer and closer. At the same time, Zhang Jing's heart clenched tighter and tighter, and several plans flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern, but he was not entirely confident about any of them...

Suddenly, the tiger-dragon accelerated, instantly leaping over the tree trunk where Zhang Jing was standing and rushing further back. After rushing nearly a hundred meters, it suddenly leaped into a bush nearby. The bush immediately seemed to have been hit by a cannonball, with various plant stems flying in all directions. At the same time, a black figure darted out from it, suddenly emitting a series of "sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle..." sounds!

But it was no use. The black figure was instantly pinned to the ground by the tiger-dragon. It was a monster with bone spurs all over its back. The tiger-dragon bared its two long, white canine teeth and bit into the monster's body. With a flick of its head, it tore the monster's body apart.

At this moment, Zhang Jing's gaze fell upon the spot where the tiger-dragon had passed earlier. There were about twenty dark black spikes stuck in the ground and trees around them, their fur having a metallic sheen. These were the spikes that the monster had sprayed out during its frenzied counterattack as it fled.

Standing where Zhang Jing was, he couldn't see what the monster looked like due to the angle, and of course, he didn't really have that much curiosity.

He simply held his breath and suppressed all his physical reactions as much as possible, patiently waiting for the tiger-dragon to leave after it had eaten its fill.

About ten minutes later, the tiger-dragon finally strolled leisurely to the water's edge, disappeared into the depths of the swamp, and then vanished without a trace.

Zhang Jing waited until the surrounding clouds and mist completely dissipated, but he still did not come out immediately. Instead, he waited for a while before carefully breaking out of his dormant state. He jumped down from the tree branch and carefully came to the remains of the first monster that had been attacked by the tiger-dragon. Two phantom figures emerged from the remains and the corpse of the first monster that had been preyed upon by this monster, respectively, and entered his chest.

Afterwards, Zhang Jing went to the spiky monster's remains, which was about a hundred meters away, and sure enough, he found another phantom... In addition, he squatted down next to the last monster's remains and examined it. He found that this monster was slightly smaller than the previous one, with short but strong limbs, which showed that it was good at stealth and climbing. Judging from its still well-preserved head, its fangs indicated that it was also a carnivorous species.

Considering the tiger-dragon lurking in the swamp, Zhang Jing decided to take a detour...

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It took Zhang Jing about two hours to finally bypass the swampy area. During this time, he stopped and used divination to adjust his position twice.

It must be said that in this special environment, without smooth roads and effective instruments for determining direction, it is easy to deviate from the correct path. Therefore, it is necessary to reposition oneself every so often, otherwise it is very likely to go in the opposite direction.

The rain gradually subsided, but the humidity in the jungle remained high.

After walking for a while, Zhang Jing suddenly stopped, carefully crouched down, and hid his body in the tall grass beside him.

The reason is simple: it's foggy around...

This immediately reminded Zhang Jing of the tiger-dragon he had just encountered. However, after lying in wait for a while, the surrounding mist showed no signs of abating.

After carefully observing his surroundings once more, Zhang Jing cautiously emerged from his hiding place and silently leaped onto a tall tree nearby.

After carefully observing his surroundings once more, he flew rapidly sideways, attempting to bypass the area.

However, to his surprise, the fog did not dissipate even after he had walked quite a distance.

Chapter 186 Human-Faced Fruit