Go and capture those thirty-six fierce villains.

Adhering to the principle of not wasting anything, Qin Ning rubbed the peach wood sword in his hand against his face, which was stained crimson, and looked to his side.

It was a blue and white blade of grass, its surface shrouded in a faint purplish-black mist, its edges sharp and stained with traces of blood.

Qin Ning touched his throat, recalling the Dao Lord's instructions in front of the statue, and a surge of anger rose in his heart for no reason.

So close, so very close!

He then achieved the "fastest death" achievement.

He got up and looked in the opposite direction, and saw a wild grass monster of the same color and somewhat humanoid shape, which was rapidly crawling out of the ground accompanied by purplish-black mist.

It is the same size as an adult.

Upon smelling the strange odor that was rapidly spreading through the air, Qin Ning held her breath, and the corresponding information surfaced in her mind.

[Plague Grass: One of the Thirty-Six Minor Evils. When hidden, it lies underground, its body bluish-white, capable of absorbing and spreading plague energy. Its leaves are sharp as knives and can detach from the body. When it stores a large amount of plague energy, it will be enveloped in a purplish-black mist. It can be protected with Taoist plague-suppressing talismans, and can be killed by basic lightning magic when approached.]

These messages were left by the Daoist Master when he conferred the ordination upon him.

However, the other party only left information about the thirty-six minor evils; Qin Ning had no idea what kind of extremely ominous creatures were recorded on those black pages.

"What a pleasant surprise..."

Wielding his peach wood sword, Qin Ning blocked several blades of grass that were shot at him, gritting his teeth.

The plague herb... is considered relatively easy to deal with among the thirty-six minor evils, provided you have a plague-preventing talisman or similar items on you...

But this damn Taoist ninth-rank disciple doesn't even know how to draw talismans!

While cursing under his breath, Qin Ning parried the attacks, held his breath, and kept his distance to avoid being affected by the purplish-black plague energy.

The severity of this epidemic was not mentioned in the ordination information.

However, since it is named one of the thirty-six minor evils, it should not be underestimated.

"It's not a solution to keep getting beaten up. If I run out of energy, I'll be a sitting duck... cough cough." As he pondered this, Qin Ning coughed twice uncontrollably.

A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

I've already been affected by the plague!?

"Meow!"

The black cat with heterochromia snatched two leaves, landed nimbly, and meowed urgently at Qin Ning. Then it covered its mouth and nose with its little paws, as if to warn him to be careful.

Then, Qin Ning saw the black cat's tail fur bristle, and it streaked across the yellow-green grass like a black meteor, rushing towards the plague-infested grass.

"Watch out...cough cough..."

Qin Ning spoke anxiously, and before he could finish his sentence, the little black cat had already rushed into the purplish-black plague aura and was frantically scratching at the plague grass.

The sharp claws collided with the blades of grass, instantly scattering countless sparks.

"Is it not afraid of that plague?" Qin Ning coughed more frequently, a glimmer of expectation appearing in his eyes, but it was quickly dashed.

The raccoon has a special constitution and seems to be immune to the plague, but its only means of attack is scratching.

It is completely ineffective in causing any substantial damage to the dwarf weed with its scabbard-like leaves.

The "iron flower" continued for a while, and the little black cat, realizing its attack was ineffective, withdrew and returned to Qin Ning's side, whimpering a couple of times in a wronged tone.

Qin Ning looked down and noticed traces of blood next to the other's ten small claws.

Clearly, the injury was sustained while scratching.

In just a short while, in addition to coughing, he also developed symptoms such as unsteady gait, rapid heartbeat, and elevated body temperature.

"This is so difficult... and we're still several feet apart. If I want to get close enough to use my lightning magic, I'll probably be carried away before I even get halfway there."

How to break the game?

Qin Ning's thoughts raced as he attempted to activate his newly acquired [Divine Power: Devouring].

Instantly, a dark vortex appeared in his dantian, and a deep-seated hunger surged into his mind.

"I'm so hungry!"

With bloodshot eyes, staring at the plague-infested grass not far away, Qin Ning felt an urge to tear it apart.

Suppressing this evil thought, he further unleashed his supernatural powers, drawing out countless traces of plague energy, so faint as to be imperceptible, from his internal organs and limbs.

As the plague-inducing energy flowed into the black vortex, the terrifying hunger subsided slightly. Immediately afterwards, waves of strange power emanated from the black vortex, circulating throughout Qin Ning's body.

"Phew~~~"

He let out a long breath, and a look of joy appeared on his face.

[Supernatural Power: Devouring] It can restrain the damage of the plague to the body. Although using supernatural power also consumes physical strength and true energy, now there is finally a way to counter it.

No longer need to passively take hits.

"...You're not too bad," Qin Ning murmured, turning to the little black cat beside her. "Come on, let's go pull this strange weed out!"

Having said that, he spat a mouthful of blood from the tip of his tongue onto the peach wood sword in his hand, lightning gathered in his left hand, he stepped on the Seven Stars, and led the little black cat toward the plague grass in the distance.

However......

"Ahem!"

Qin Ning, who was only three zhang away from the plague-infected grass and shielding himself from its sharp leaves, began to cough again.

"This plague is so dense that even the Devouring Divine Power can't keep up with its refining speed!" Qin Ning was surprised. Recalling the Dao Lord's words about the deficiencies in his divine power, he couldn't help but twitch his lips.

He strongly suspected that what the other person said at the time was an indication of the situation he was about to face.

"Meow?"

Seeing its owner stop, the cat cried out in confusion, "Weren't we supposed to be pulling weeds? Why did you stop halfway?"

"...do everything you can to shield me from the blades of grass that are being shot at me."

Staring at the ferocious plague herb, Qin Ning suddenly whispered.

"Meow!"

The raccoon obeyed and leaped up, its petite black body twisting and turning in mid-air. Using the force of striking the leaf, it managed to stay airborne for a short time.

"Follow me forward."

Qin Ning quickened his pace, with the little black cat fiercely protecting him.

Now that he has retreated, Qin Ning can remain unharmed for the time being as his supernatural power, Greedy Devouring, continues to refine the plague energy. However, using supernatural power to refine the plague energy and strengthen himself consumes too much energy.

Once physical strength and inner energy are exhausted, one can only wait to die.

Given the choice between slowly boiling a frog in lukewarm water and taking a gamble, Qin Ning chose the latter.

Two zhang...one zhang...five chi!

The human and the cat rapidly approached. Qin Ning felt dizzy, coughed up blood, and suffered skin ulceration on his chest. His once calm eyes began to blur.

He gave up most of his body.

[Supernatural Power: Devouring] Selectively extracts the plague energy from his body, only maintaining his life and combat power.

The raccoon wasn't in much better shape either; drops of blood rolled down her paws. In order to prevent Qin Ning from getting hurt, she had several wounds on her body, and some of the fur on her tail was bald.

One foot!

"Move aside."

Qin Ning was barely breathing, but his body suddenly lunged forward, his crimson sword piercing through the purplish-black plague energy and penetrating half a foot into the blue and white grass leaves.

Seeing that he couldn't poke any further, he decisively abandoned his sword, simultaneously gathering palm lightning in both hands, and slammed it down fiercely, ignoring the sharpness of the grass blades!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Instinctively sensing something was wrong, the plague plant trembled all over its leaves and dug its roots into the soil. Its limited intelligence couldn't understand why the plague gas inside the person in front of it, which was almost as thick as water, could still cause harm.

However, no matter how incomprehensible it may seem, its unchanging "philosophy of life" has been to burrow underground whenever it senses danger.

"Cough...cough...Trying to run away? Then I've had all these dozens of diseases for nothing!"

Sensing that the plague herb was trying to escape, Qin Ning's eyes hardened. He leaped up and wrapped himself around the herb in an extremely suggestive position. He unleashed a series of palm lightning strikes, slamming them down on the plague herb's head and body.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Sizzle...

One roar after another, and flashing arcs of electricity smashed the body of the plague-infected grass to pieces.

This also completely shattered Qin Ning's unease and tension of the past half-day.

He had just turned 19 when he was inexplicably chosen and found himself teetering on the brink of life and death. Even though Qin Ning was much more mature and composed than his peers, the tension he was under was now at its limit.

"Ahhhhhh!"

With a frantic roar, after an unknown number of palm strikes, the plague grass shattered into fragments of light, all drifting towards Qin Ning's brow.

Driven by inertia, Qin Ning unleashed two more palm strikes before finally stopping, his chest heaving violently as he gasped for breath.

His thin pajamas had long been torn to shreds by sharp blades of grass.

Countless small but deep wounds are oozing blood.

Beside them, the little black cat looked at its new owner with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty, its expression remarkably human.

The two stared at each other, and Qin Ning rolled her eyes and fell straight backward.

"XX... overreacted."

Whoosh!

The cat suddenly rushed over and caught Qin Ning's falling head and neck with its body. After carefully placing him on the ground, it emerged from under the back of Qin Ning's head and began to lick the wounds on Qin Ning's body with its pink and tender little tongue.

I don't know what's so special about this black cat with heterochromatic eyes, but the wounds it licked healed visibly before my eyes.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Qin Ning's wounds had healed by about 70-80%, but he was still unconscious.

A deep weariness was evident in the little black cat's two eyes, one blue and one yellow.

She flicked her tail, hesitated for a moment, then drew a circle around Qin Ning with her still-bleeding little paws before darting into the lush, green grass.

......

I don't know how much time passed.

The grass rustled, and the sounds of horses' hooves and voices drifted from afar.

"Where is this black cat taking us? The sun will be setting in another hour."

"I don't know, but it must have run into some trouble. Look at all the injuries it's covered in."

The sound was coming from near where Qin Ning had fallen.

A slightly immature exclamation rang out.

"Aman, come quick! There's a Xia person here... how come he's so handsome!"

"Beautiful?" A look of doubt appeared on the face of the lagging boy. "Is she a female Xia person?"

"No, it's a Xia man." The one who exclaimed in surprise next to Qin Ning was a boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a single robe made of fur and short linen trousers, and barefoot.

How good-looking can a man be?

The young man, known as Ah Man, patted the old horse on the ground, his tone puzzled.

His attire was similar to the other person's, except that his robe was sewn with a few scraps of cloth and he wore a pair of simple puffin shoes.

When they got closer, they also exclaimed in surprise.

"Wow! How can he be so good-looking!"

The two, stunned by Qin Ning's appearance, froze for a moment. Aman, realizing what was happening, nudged her companion.

"He's still breathing, save him first... There's so much blood, I don't know what he encountered, that he wasn't eaten by the wolves."

After some effort, the two boys placed the unconscious Qin Ning on the old horse's back and prepared to return to the tribe.

At this moment, the barefoot boy came to his senses and looked around.

"Hey, where's the black cat that led us here?"