The energy was so harmful that, upon contact with the body, any other cultivator would have been left crippled by attempting to absorb it; however, the youth's body simply assimilated it and grew stronger.
The beasts further up, fighting against Grand Director Leng Lubai, took notice of this. Realizing that their ally no longer had a chance of disposing of that cultivator, they understood that everything now rested in their hands.
"We expected nothing from her, and yet, she still managed to disappoint us," one of the beasts said.
"Regardless, the priority is that we finish this one," the other replied. "After we're done, we'll handle that strange youth; he seems to possess something that might be useful to us."
Director Leng Lubai also looked down. He was grateful that this cultivator had arrived to help; otherwise, they would have lost too many men. Although it seemed very strange to him, as he did not recognize the boy from anywhere, they were allies at this moment, and the best thing they could do was cooperate.
In that instant, Li Yi was absorbing the energy of the powerful sphere with all his might. While the beast struggled to free itself from the whip, Li Yi—relentless—grabbed her by the neck with his other hand and began to suck energy directly from her palm as well.
The beast was terrified; it felt as though this cultivator was absorbing her very soul. Her body was rapidly emptied of essence and began to visibly wither. She tried to slash the human's arms with her claws, but upon contact, she felt her energy draining even faster.
After a few seconds, all her vitality had been drained, leaving only a hollow shell in Li Yi's palm. After searching the corpse, he found several items and books hidden among the folds of the creature's skin, which he quickly stowed in his own storage bag. Finding nothing more, he simply discarded the body.
He looked up at the sky and saw the three beings fighting. He did not dare to intervene; those types were on a far superior level.
"My current strength is at least at the low stage of the Master Realm, skipping nearly three realms, but those fighting up there are at least in the Superior Master Realm. Going up would only result in me getting a beating and being in the way," Li Yi thought.
At that moment, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted flashes of energy approaching in the distance. Focusing, he noticed they were coming at an incredible speed: at least thirty Warrior Realm cultivators and two in the Master Realm. He remembered his brother, Zang Li, telling him there were three masters in the town; he had already found it strange that they hadn't appeared sooner.
The beasts fighting Director Leng Lubai noticed the arrival of reinforcements.
"Damn it! They were supposed to be at least three hours away. How did they get here so fast?"
The beasts began to flee, but the two newly arrived cultivators had already reached them and began the pursuit alongside the Director. Li Yi did not stay behind; he knew that with a bit of luck, if he could land the finishing blow, he would gain much. He quickly began to follow them, using massive explosions of energy as thrusters to increase his speed.
The two cultivators who had arrived activated a formation that shot toward the beasts like a cage. The stronger beast noticed and narrowly dodged the attack, but the other became trapped in a formation sphere that restricted its movement. The two masters focused on it to lay siege, taking advantage of their similar levels.
Director Leng Lubai pursued the other beast while it tried to escape desperately, until, suddenly, a terrible explosion was heard and the creature felt it could not move its body.
Moments before, Li Yi knew he had no chance in a direct battle, so his only option was to restrict the prey. Seeing that one of the beasts was occupied, an idea occurred to him. He still possessed the silver-light whip, so he pulled it out and pushed his cultivation base to the maximum. When he was ready, he propelled himself with all his energy and reached the strongest beast, wrapping its body in an instant with the whip.
The beast was dazed by the speed of the attack. It turned to look, and noticing Li Yi's face and the whip entangling it, it mocked:
"Do you think you can stop me with this? I am nothing like that useless one you killed."
But in that instant, a murderous aura completely enveloped it, and it felt an impact that sent it crashing into the ground. Director Leng Lubai had taken advantage of the immobilization to deliver a devastating blow.
Quickly, the Director pounced on the dazed creature. With his sword, he landed attacks that shattered the surroundings; every flash of his weapon split mountains in half and created craters that, over time, would become lakes.
After several minutes, the attacks ceased. Director Leng Lubai emerged from the dust cloud carrying the body of the beast. Li Yi stared at the corpse, thinking of the treasures it must possess, but since he wasn't the one who defeated it, he couldn't claim them.
Director Leng Lubai looked directly at Li Yi in the sky, and both stared intensely at each other.
"I believe those two must have finished with the other beast by now," Li Yi said.
Leng Lubai nodded his head and asked:
"Who are you?"