Chapter 24: The Missing Art

As Li Yi and his companions arrived at the designated location...

In the danger zone, there was an abandoned zoo that hadn't been visited for a full decade. The zoo was overrun with weeds and wild trees, and the roads were lined with faded signs. Various amusement facilities were aged and broken.

However, what was puzzling was that various animals were still confined in the zoo's cages. These animals, though, were somewhat different from the ones people used to know.

In the enclosure that once held tigers, a strange tiger paced slowly. This tiger had a hunched back and was extremely emaciated, with its once bright and beautiful fur now faded to white. What was unsettling was that in the dark, this vicious tiger's eyes glowed with a sinister green light, and its two large fangs protruded from its mouth grotesquely.

"Roar!"

The vicious tiger growled, its glowing green eyes staring intently through the yellowed tempered glass window into the darkness. At the same time, its gaunt body gradually retreated, as if something was approaching.

A faint light emerged from the depths of the darkness.

It was two pairs of eyes.

One pair of eyes was bright and mystical, while the other glowed a ghostly green in the dark.

Just by approaching, the once top predator of the food chain seemed to become prey, forced to retreat.

Yang Yilong and Qin Qing stepped into this dangerous, abandoned zoo together.

Although they appeared to be alone and weak, as cultivators who had evolved and transformed multiple times, they were now the most dangerous beings here.

"A mutated vicious tiger?" Yang Yilong saw the beast confined in the enclosure and paused slightly, frowning. "No, that's not right. Although it looks similar, this thing is..."

"That should be the legendary... Biao."

Qin Qing's blue vertical pupils rotated slightly. "It is said that out of ten tigers, one becomes a Biao. Where there is a Biao, tigers are surely dead. But it's strange, why is this Biao still here? This zoo has been abandoned for ten years. If the animals couldn't escape, they should have starved to death by now."

"And raising a Biao requires a sufficient number of tigers... unless something took over this place after it was abandoned and continued feeding the animals."

"Yang Yilong, do you think it was that thing?"

Yang Yilong replied, "That thing's intelligence is already no less than that of humans. It's possible that it's been keeping the animals, but it seems like it's not raising them just to eat. Otherwise, it wouldn't go to the trouble of raising a Biao."

"Let's keep looking."

The two continued forward in the darkness, ignoring the Biao in the tiger enclosure. Their mission was their priority, and some mutated beasts were not worth their attention.

They kept moving forward.

The gorilla with a human face stared motionlessly at Yang Yilong and Qin Qing as they passed by, its expression somewhat eerie.

"That's the mountain demon... a shanxiao?" Qin Qing noticed the strange gaze from the darkness and turned her head, her blue vertical pupils cold and dangerous.

Their eyes met.

Round pupils locked with vertical pupils.

At this moment, the position in the food chain was established. The shanxiao on the fake mountain suddenly showed a terrified expression, and with a faint swish, it disappeared completely out of sight.

With just one look, Qin Qing scared it away.

"This place is indeed full of dangers. If we don't handle it soon, in a few years, whether it's that Biao or the shanxiao from just now, they'll become a serious threat. It's said that, given enough time, they can become demons. They're already passively absorbing cosmic energy. As their intelligence grows, these mutated beasts becoming demons is just a matter of time."

Qin Qing retracted her gaze and then made a suggestion.

"Now I understand what that thing is trying to do," Yang Yilong said, a smile appearing on his lips. "Quite ambitious. It's cultivating subordinates, wanting to become a king. But unfortunately for it, its dream ends here."

"I'll deal with that thing first, then come back to handle these creatures. We can't act prematurely and alert it. Even though I've set up many sentries, if it really wants to escape, it would be troublesome to chase it down later."

"Alright," Qin Qing nodded.

The two continued searching through the zoo.

It was unclear how much time passed, maybe ten minutes, maybe twenty, until an eerie cry, like that of a baby, shattered the night's silence.

Then, there was a massive commotion in one corner of the zoo.

Dust swirled, figures darted, and thick trees toppled. The tumultuous energy frightened all the animals in the zoo, causing them to let out strange cries.

In the dark corner of the zoo, a battle between extraordinary beings and cultivators unfolded.

But none of this concerned Li Yi.

He and Zhang Gao, led by Brother Tao, were crouching on the top floor of an abandoned building, surveying the surroundings.

"Everything looks normal. At least on our end, there's nothing unusual. That's good, keep it this way. Once dawn breaks, we can leave," Brother Tao withdrew his gaze. He didn't dare stare into the distance for too long, fearing that something might catch his eye and come looking for him.

Li Yi asked, "Brother Tao, that knife you were holding earlier seemed special. Do you practice knife techniques?"

"This knife isn't anything special, just made of special steel, so it's a bit pricey. I bought it for self-defense," Brother Tao sat down again, chatting leisurely. "I don't practice any knife techniques, just rely on speed and accuracy when I swing it."

"No knife techniques? Then how do cultivators usually deal with enemies?" Li Yi asked in surprise.

Brother Tao laughed, "You really are new to this. Let me ask you, what is the purpose of our world's so-called knife techniques and martial arts?"

"Fighting, killing," Li Yi thought for a moment and replied immediately.

Brother Tao nodded, "Exactly. Martial arts evolved for humans to fight and kill each other. Do you think these skills are suitable for cultivators? Cultivators have abilities beyond normal humans, even their vitality far exceeds that of ordinary people. In ancient times, we cultivators were basically practicing immortal arts."

"If someone trained soldiers with swords and archers for modern warfare and sent them to the battlefield, wouldn't that just make the enemy laugh? Similarly, it's impossible for cultivators to spend a lot of time on martial arts. If you can evolve martial arts to the level of techniques, then forget what I said. But for now, I haven't heard of anyone who can do that," Brother Tao said with a laugh.

"But there is one exception: if they practice not the martial arts of our world but the high martial arts passed down from another world," Brother Tao's smile faded as he continued, "Li Yi, I know what you want to say. It's nothing more than that our world doesn't have techniques matching the level of cultivators. The truth is, everyone has thought of this because it's only been ten years since the Heavenly Tilt event."

"In ten years, our world hasn't evolved mature techniques. As I said, I bought this knife just for self-defense. Most cultivators' bodies are already as tough as steel, and this knife is easy to buy. If I had connections, I'd rather use firearms."

"What kind of cultivator doesn't use a gun?"

"If I had a Gatling gun earlier, I could have turned that spider monster into a sieve. No way would it have escaped."

"But whether it's a knife or a gun, they're just transitional tools. They can't fully adapt to our world because even the best knives here can't cut through the scales of extraordinary creatures or harm powerful ghosts. Some extraordinary creatures even have their own energy fields that can destroy cities just by passing through."

"Doesn't that make cultivators seem powerless?" Zhang Gao asked curiously.

"No, our cultivators have limitless potential," Brother Tao continued smoking, "I've heard Yang Yilong say that our world's cultivators can adapt to any kind of 'technique' and can bring its power to the extreme. But as it stands, we're all like experts with deep internal strength but no martial arts skills."

"So we can only explore and create on our own?" Li Yi asked curiously.

"Exactly. For example, the technique of psychic vision was created by cultivators in the psychic realm and quickly spread. Since psychic realm cultivators are the most numerous, some of them manage to create techniques. But the further one advances, the fewer the number of evolvers, and thus fewer techniques are developed."

Brother Tao frowned as he smoked, passing the time by giving Li Yi and Zhang Gao a lecture.

"Speaking of Yang Yilong, I've heard from other cultivators that he has obtained some of the latest research results from other cultivators and created his own techniques inspired by ancient myths and legends," Brother Tao suddenly remembered.

"What kind of techniques?" Li Yi asked.

Brother Tao laughed, "How would I know? I only heard about it. A psychic realm cultivator named He Jun accidentally saw Yang Yilong practicing in the underground training hall of the previous building. He told me, and now many people know. But Yang Yilong didn't mind, since this kind of thing can't be kept secret."