I run a Taoist temple in a bizarre world.

"Croak!"

The toad, who had been stunned by Yu Xun's punch, finally came to its senses, and the eardrums on both sides of its cheeks bulged high.

The instant the eardrum deflated, a bright red fleshy tongue shot out, pointing straight at Yu Xun's chest.

"Damn it!"

Yu Xun moved his left foot, took a step to the side, and turned his body at the same time.

The fleshy tongue grazed past him, blasting a deep crater in the muddy ground behind Yu Xun, deep enough to bury him.

"Damn, that's incredible!"

Looking at the deep pit beside him, Yu Xun's forehead broke out in a fine layer of sweat.

If he hadn't dodged it and the toad's tongue had poked him, he probably would have ended up cosplaying as some mysterious masked man.

When the toad realized its attack had failed, it twitched its head backward and flicked its tongue.

He slashed horizontally towards Yu Xun's waist and abdomen.

Because Yu Xun was too close to the toad's tongue.

He couldn't dodge it this time.

boom!

Boom!

Yu Xun seemed to have been struck by a stroke of luck, flying to one side for about ten meters before finally coming to a stop after making several large craters in the soft, muddy swamp.

"Cough cough, luckily I have the [Copper Bone Body], and luckily I was close enough that the toad tongue's destructive power wasn't at its maximum, otherwise I would have been cleaved in two, and I could have done a cosplay."

Yu Xun coughed dryly, feeling as if his limbs had been disassembled and then haphazardly put back on, with pain and a sense of disharmony everywhere.

Especially the spot where the toad's tongue struck.

He can no longer feel the existence of this part of his flesh and blood, even if he presses it hard with his finger, he can't feel it.

After he exhaled a few breaths.

The burning, knife-like pain finally crept onto his nerves.

"hiss!"

Yu Xun gasped twice more.

"This is the power of a monster that hasn't even reached the next level?!"

Looking at the toad with only five thick toad legs, Yu Xun, who was stunned by the slap, finally came to his senses.

This is not what we initially thought at all.

It's just a six-legged toad, and the missing leg is missing for some reason.

It's not a six-legged toad at all, it's a five-legged toad!

The missing leg is not an accident; it is clearly a symbol of its strength!

A toad with six legs signifies that it has strength that has not yet reached a higher level.

A toad with only five legs indicates that it has already reached the first level of strength!

"To fight someone a level higher than yourself before you've even entered the next level is practically suicide!"

Despair welled up in Yu Xun's heart.

He had dealt with his colleagues from the Special Operations Bureau.

The other party was a first-tier day-returner who had completed the first advancement ritual.

The other party treated him, a pure-blooded novice who had entered the bizarre world a handful of times.

Without even using any supernatural abilities, they utterly humiliated him based solely on his physical attributes.

Even when he used his extraordinary ability, the Copper Bone Body, he only managed to withstand one more punch from him.

Yu Xun was well aware of the gap between himself and the first-tier.

[No, we need to get Chi Le to take those two girls and leave this place immediately, back to the outskirts of this strange fusion zone!]

Thinking of this, Yu Xun immediately turned around and shouted in the direction where Chi Le had taken the two girls away.

"Ah Le, don't come any closer. Take them back to Huang Yong. I'll kill this entity and then come back to you. I can manage on my own here!"

Chi Le, you must survive.

Sorry, Ah Le, I can't go for barbecue with you next time.

As he spoke, Yu Xun thought to himself, and secretly tightened his grip on the broad-bladed fish-killing knife with his right hand.

"Paying the price for my recklessness? I don't care."

Since joining the Special Operations Bureau, he has often been criticized and complained about by his colleagues for his impulsive nature.

Finally, I managed to utter these words that had been bottled up in my heart for so long.

The despair that had appeared on Yu Xun's face upon learning that the five-legged toad's true strength was only at the first level disappeared.

He faced the five-legged toad with equanimity, preparing to die peacefully.

"What are you talking about, you reckless guy?"

Yu Xun suddenly turned his head and found Chi Le standing next to him.

His expression seemed calm, but Yu Xun could see a faint, ambiguous smile playing on his lips.

"Damn it, why aren't you leaving?"

Yu Xun questioned him sternly.

"barbecue."

"..."

Yu Xun remained silent for a moment, then handed the dagger in his hand to Chi Le.

"Take the knife. I'll try to distract it, and when it's not paying attention, stab it a few more times."

"I don't aim for a fatal blow; I just want to inflict as many wounds as possible, bleeding it to death!"

After listening, Chi Le looked at the broad-bladed dagger in his hand and asked.

"And you? I saw what happened. How many hits are you sure you can withstand?"

"Probably..." Yu Xun reached out and gently touched his waist and abdomen, grimacing as he said, "A few strokes shouldn't be a problem."

"Stop hesitating, it's coming soon. You'd better hurry up and not let me get beaten up for nothing!"

Yu Xun stared at the approaching five-legged toad, about to move to attract its attention, but was stopped by Chi Le.

"Keep the knife. Can you last two and a half minutes?"

"Two and a half minutes? What do you want to do?"

Yu Xun looked at Chi Le and asked with a puzzled expression.

"Two and a half minutes, is that okay?"

Chi Le did not answer Yu Xun's question, but instead asked the same question again, word by word.

Looking at Chi Le's indifferent eyes, which showed no emotion as always, Yu Xun gritted his teeth.

"Okay, two and a half minutes it is!"

Based on his years of trust in Chi Le, Yu Xun took back the dagger and readily agreed.

He turned to meet the five-legged toad that was approaching them.

"Come on, you beast!"

Yu Xun shouted.

Before Chi Le's eyes, a panel appeared, obscuring Yu Xun's back.

A countdown timer appeared above.

[Architecture: Mountain Gate]

[Remaining usage time restored: 00:02:23]

Taking advantage of Yu Xun's attention being entirely focused on the five-legged toad,

Chi Le summoned a half-hidden door on the muddy ground.

Take a step forward.

The chilling, eerie feeling vanished from his senses in an instant.

He returned to Qingshan Temple.

Without much delay, Chi Le took out the [Strange Creation] from his inventory.

[Two toad legs from a six-legged toad]

[Six-legged toad molt x3]

The items were hanging on the offering table, filling it to the brim.

These are the [Strange Creations] that Chi Le obtained along the way with the help of Yu Xun.

This is precisely why Chi Le raised this point from the very beginning:

The instruction was to not kill any toads Yu Xun would encounter afterward, but leave them barely alive so that he could deliver the final, fatal blow.

This was a request that even Yu Xun found strange.

He wants to obtain the [Mysterious Creature].

Then it was offered as a sacrifice to the statues of immortals and gods in Qingshan Temple.

Obtain [Incense].

Once the [mountain gate] is functioning normally.

He could then try to open the [Mountain Gate] in this area that is a fusion of the bizarre world and the real world!

In this way, one can consume incense to summon the local earth god of Changxi Village for one's own use.

At that time, he will be free to go anywhere in this strange and complex fusion area, except for the high ground in the core area where he needs to be careful. Whether it is the outer perimeter or the depths, he can go anywhere he wants.

They might even be able to reach that high ground in the core area to check the situation.

"Come on, let's hope our luck isn't too bad."

Should the legs of a bizarre, six-legged toad be offered as a sacrifice to a deity?

"yes!"