Battle in the rain

One of the tips of Huang Ying's spear stabbed slightly into the soggy ground, serving as support that he could lean on while grinning ferociously at the three incoming Demonic beasts. His muddy and enlarged shadow rose up slightly as several more tentacles shot out, latching onto the surrounding trees and creating a web of tentacles covered in eyes and maws, black goo occasionally dripping down from the web and sinking back into Huang Ying's shadow.

Huang Ying switched his two-headed spear over to his left arm, his right hand reaching up and tracing his right eye, which had turned completely black and was swimming with several small red pupils. He couldn't see how his eye had changed, but he knew that something was going on with it.

Half of his vision had gone strange, it was as if something had drained all the color from the world that his right eye saw. Everything that his right eye saw was either black and white and was flickering heavily, it was as if everything in front of him was made from flames rather than actual materials. The change was strange, but Huang Ying had an instinctual knowledge of what it was, of what he saw. The bloodline within his body had activated slightly and made the world nice and clear for him, black things were things that he couldn't feed on yet, and white things were what he could feast on freely.

The trees, earth, rain, the clothing of Chen Hong and Song Yi, these things were black. The jaguars, Song Yi's body, Chen Hong's body, Hei Ya's body, and Hong Yi's body, which had fallen out of Huang Ying's robe, were all completely white. Song Yi was curled up sideways on the ground, her eyes wide open and trembling as she looked at the dark sky above them out of the corner of her eye.

The fall had caused her robes to become somewhat disheveled, revealing a small portion of her lower back. The small portion that was revealed was filled with winding scars that looked like they had been left behind by a whip, there was barely any skin left untouched. Chen Hong's state was a bit better, the torrential rain caused his legs to tremble and his chest to heave fiercely, but he was still able to remain standing in spite of his fear, clenching his hands so strongly that his nails pierced into his palm.

But his fear left him with not enough presence of mind to keep an eye on his own appearance so he didn't notice that his sleeves had been pulled up quite a bit. As such, Huang Ying saw what Chen Hong had been hiding for quite some time, several handfuls of scars running down his wrists. Huang Ying knew the reason behind Song Yi's scars and fears, but he had yet to hear the tale that Chen Hong carried within him, he was still waiting for when Chen Hong himself would feel comfortable enough to say anything.

After he saw Chen Hong's scars, Huang Ying's gaze drifted towards Hei Ya and Hong Yi, who were both standing and glaring at the jaguars. The binding on Hong Yi's right-wing had come undone so the entire thing was hanging limply at her side, but it didn't stop her from jumping around and squawking at the jaguars. Hei Ya's head was lowered slightly as he growled, his entire body tense as he seemed ready to strike, the bulging of his weak muscles causing his scars to wriggle like worms. After letting his gaze drift over the two of them, Huang Ying spat out a thick glob of blood, his grin turning bloody as he took an unstable step closer to the jaguars.

"Ah~ come then, let me feed you to my broken comrades."

Huang Ying's step forward seemed to serve as the straw that broke the camel's back, the red light shimmering within the eyes of the three brown and green feathered jaguars finally fully overtaking their pupils. The three of them let out loud roars, a warning to the surrounding Demonic beasts that the should stay away, and then charged forward, drool dripping out from their open maws.

At first, they just wanted to kill Huang Ying and those he was carrying due to their madness, but after Huang Ying's right eye changed, their madness turned into ferocious greed and hunger. His bloodline was the blood of Baku, the Ancestral God of Devouring, it was one of the highest level bloodlines within this universe. The beasts didn't know exactly what sort of bloodline Huang Ying had, but their instincts told them that eating him would bring them endless benefits, he was like the most delicate slice of meat to them.

Huang Ying's body was already covered in wounds and he was on the verge of fainting thanks to the loss of blood, he didn't stand the slightest chance of evading the attacks of these jaguars. They were only at the 5th Mortal Step so they wouldn't be a problem normally even if he faced them head-on like this but in his current state, the result would be a bit more uncertain.

But Huang Ying didn't step or even raise his weapon to block, he simply stepped forward once more, his eyes blazing with a fierce desire to battle. The three jaguars reached him in less than five seconds, a slightly slimmer and lither one, that was still almost four-meters long, reaching him first and sinking its fangs into his waist. Huang Ying's body bent forward the moment the jaguar crashed into him and bit into his waist, his body nearly wrapping around the head of the jaguar as it continued to move and pulled him with it for a few steps before it got to halt its momentum.

But as it stopped moving and wanted to tear out a large chunk of Huang Ying's waist before the two others could catch up, it noticed that the situation changed. Huang Ying was still wrapped around its head, but not because of the momentum at which it barreled through him but rather because he had latched onto its head, having dropped his spear the moment the jaguar bit him.

It just barely saw Huang Ying open his mouth out of the corner of his eye, mud-like darkness extending from his mouth and gathering together into a form that just barely resembled a jagged maw. Its pupils contracted from the instinctual fear it suddenly felt, but it was already too late for action. Huang Ying lowered his head and bit into the flesh of the jaguar, the jagged maw that had dripped out of his own mouth causing the bite to cover a nearly water-melon sized area.

He quickly pulled back his head, his own mouth tearing out a small chunk of meat and feathers while the jagged maw tore out a much larger chunk that covered the lower half of the jaguar's head as well as the upper part of its neck. The jaguar roared in agony as Huang Ying chewed the tough meat, the part torn out by the jagged maw vanishing into the darkness and entering Huang Ying's body.

His wounds started to heal at a visible pace, his grin only growing more ferocious as he let go of the feathers on the jaguar's head and grabbed onto its open maw. One hand grabbed onto the upper jaw and one onto the lower, the fangs of the jaguar stabbing into his hands as he tightly gripped the jaguar's maw. He sucked in a deep breath, the web of dark tentacles all around them twisting as several of the tentacles branched out and latched onto the jaguar like worms. The maws on the tentacles started to eat away at the jaguar, Huang Ying's strength rapidly restoring as a result.

The jaguar tried to roar in pain and defiance, but with Huang Ying grabbing onto its jaws the jaguar was unable to properly produce sound. The two other jaguars were only a short distance behind and quickly roared when they saw their companion caught like this, but Huang Ying paid them no mind, his eyes glinting madly as the veins on the back of his hands started to bulge and wriggle.

He exerted as much force as he could, the teeth of the jaguar shattering beneath his fingers, which were even starting to dig into the flesh of the jaguar. But before the jaguar had the chance to even think about roaring due to the pain, Huang Ying pulled its lower and upper jaws so far apart that its lower jaw nearly broke off, it's neck snapping from how far back he pulled its upper jaw.

The jaguar twitched painfully for a bit before it stopped moving, Huang Ying letting go of it and allowing it to collapse to the ground. The tentacles that had latched onto it pulled the jaguar into the air, suspending it a few meters above Huang Ying as they continued to eat away with it, each tentacle pulsating as they completely drained the jaguar.

Huang Ying lowered his hands slightly, blood dripping down from his palms from the small wounds that remained from where the jaguar's teeth had pierced into them. Power started to well up in his body again as the jaguar got devoured above him, the ferocious grin on his face causing the two remaining jaguars to feel a sliver of fear. The red light in their eyes faded slightly as they regained a semblance of clarity, growling lowly to each other.

The jaguars suddenly changed course and dashed to the side, one heading for Song Yi and Chen Hong and one for Hei Ya and Hong Yi. Having regained a bit of their clarity, they realized that Huang Ying was far too dangerous to face head-on, it was better to take the easy meal presented to them. But their actions caused Huang Ying's expression to drop, the muscles in his legs tensing as he kicked off of the ground and shot towards the closest jaguar.

He arrived in front of the jaguar and faced it with his own body, the two colliding and resulting in Huang Ying sliding back a few feet due to the mud. The jaguar snapped at him, Huang Ying quickly lowering his head and grabbing onto the lower jaw of the beast, tugging at it with all his might.

The teeth of the beast shattered and its lower jaw was forcefully torn off, a mournful and distorted howl echoing out from the jaguar. Huang Ying paid no mind to the howl, placing the lower jaw into his left hand and flinging it with all his might. The jaw smashed into the side of the other jaguar's head, stopping it just as Hei Ya was about to lunge forward as a last act of defiance. The shattered teeth dug into the side of the jaguar's head and caused it to lose its balance, falling to the ground and sliding past Hei Ya and Hong Yi.

Huang Ying raised his arm after throwing out the torn-off jaw, jabbing his hand as deep as he could into the now open mouth of the jaguar in front of him. His arm slid down the throat of the beast, Huang Ying flicking his fingers and causing tiny blades of wind to shoot out from his fingers, lacerating the throat and windpipe of the jaguar. He then pulled out his arm again and quickly ran around the side of the jaguar, that was now struggling on its last breath, and ran over to his spear.

He grabbed onto his spear and tilted it skyward, throwing it with all his might and piercing through the chest of a man-sized owl that was silently diving down from the sky. The owl let out a shrill scream and fell to the ground, the spear piercing deeper into its body and reaping its life. Both the jaguar and the owl were picked up by the tentacles that were Huang Ying's law of devouring, both of them suspended in the air as they swiftly got eaten.

Huang Ying dashed over to his spear and disassembled it rather than spend time on pulling it out of the owl. He spun his body around and threw the part of the spear that he was holding, the sharp blade cutting through the air for a bit before piercing into the forehead of the last of the three jaguars. The jaguar had only just started standing up when the spearhead pierced into its forehead and ruined its brain, causing it to collapse to the ground again.

The last one of the three jaguars was also quickly snatched up by the tentacles and eaten away at, Huang Ying's wounds fully healing and his energy completely restoring. But his vigilance didn't relax, he could hear and sense Demonic beasts all around him, his right eye picking up white flashes amidst all the trees around them.

His eyes suddenly shot open and he jumped back on instinct, the earth beneath him bursting open as an ant-like Demonic beast charged forth and just barely missed him. He stretched out his arm and grabbed onto the other part of his spear still stabbed into the owl above him, pulling it out and stabbing the blade downwards into the maw of the ant. He jerked the blade sideways after stabbing it into the ant, splitting its head open sideways.

He then quickly dashed over to Hei Ya and Hong Yi, quickly pushing both of them away as another ant burst out from the ground. Hei Ya was a bit larger so Huang Ying wasn't able to fully push him away, a deep cut going up along his entire right front leg. Huang Ying stabbed down with his weapon again and killed the ant, quickly jumping over to the dead panther and pulling out the second part of his spear, assembling it again.

He then dashed over to Song Yi and threw himself to the ground, sliding along the muddy earth and using his feet to push her away. A dragonfly-like beast flew over his head just as he threw himself to the ground, an ant erupting from the ground where Song Yi's head had just been. He dodged most of the dragonfly's attack, but beast nimbly lowered its tail just as it passed over him, a sharp stinger at the end tearing a deep gash in the upper part of his left arm.

Huang Ying grit his teeth to endure the pain and slid right past the ant, stabbing his spear through the part of its abdomen that was revealed and then giving it a jerk as if he wanted to spin it. The insides of the ant were crushed by the violent movement, becoming another feast for Huang Ying's law of devouring and restoring any lost energy as well as healing the wound on his arm.

Huang Ying quickly pushed himself up from the ground and into the air, another ant bursting out from the ground right beneath him. He stabbed downwards with his spear and killed the ant, allowing his hand to slide down the spear and augmenting his own descent using a bit of wind, resulting in the dragonfly once again just barely passing by over him. But this time he quickly reacted by disassembling his spear and grabbing onto the upper part, using it like a sword as he stabbed upwards, slicing open the abdomen of the dragonfly, which had failed to change direction in time and thus flew right along Huang Ying's weapon.

Huang Ying spun his body and landed on the ground, the dragonfly falling a few meters away from him and getting snatched up by the tentacles. He suddenly spun around and threw out the part of his spear that he was holding, the blade flying above Chen Hong and piercing into the head of another owl that was trying to descend quietly. Huang Ying then threw himself down to dodge a dog-like beast that had run up from behind him and lunged at him.

He quickly corrected his position again and grabbed onto the other part of his spear, the part that was still stabbed into the skull of an ant. But just as his hand touched the spear, the dim star that had been descending in his dantian fell down so far that it managed to join up with the others. This wasn't the star that Huang Ying had seen descend multiple times previously, it was the star that had taken the place of the other one just recently after Huang Ying made his challenging statement against the three jaguars.

The star unleashed an incandescent golden light that almost resembled the sun, the blazing light drowning out everything else within his dantian. And accompanying that brilliant light was something Huang Ying would never have expected, a rough and burly voice.

"I am Wutong Cang, the second Baku and the Ever-sharing Black Hole, the grand and proud, and the only, human to have ever created a technique capable of sharing what I devour with others! I have deemed you and your convictions worthy of receiving my memories! Take my memories and technique, devour all creation and share it with all creation!"