They were black bats with white faces, each the size of a fist. There were at least a thousand of them, a large black ma.s.s resembling a dark cloud! But what frightened them was not their sizes but their white faces. Each face had greenish eyes like green peas, gleaming with a demonic light under the illumination of the flashlight. They had not surged over, but were already opening their mouths impatiently. There were fangs in them, two upper and two lower ones. A row of dense, sharp teeth was between, giving one the impression they were mouths of vampires!

Qing Zhui gasped in terror. “Phantom bats! They are phantom bats! Run!”

Jiang Hao's face paled in fright, without the slightest tinge of ruddiness. She had just become a new demon and besides, women always have an inborn horror at such disgusting creatures. When she saw these phantom bats looming over them like dark clouds, she found herself unable to control her legs.

At this crucial moment, they must still rely on a man.

Ning Tao took off the Heavenly Gem Magic Garment on his body and spread it out over their heads. He growled, “Quick, hide inside!”

Whoos.h.!.+ The Heavenly Gem Magic Garment unfurled. Although it was only a garment, it was now noticeably larger—twice as large as when Ning Tao was wearing it. It covered the heads of Qing Zhui and Jiang Hao like a tarpaulin.

Only now did Qing Zhui and Jiang Hao come to themselves. They hastily drew near him. Ning Tao embraced their waists and his body huddled up to them, their faces almost touching. They almost seemed like a set of conjoined triplets.

The Heavenly Gem Magic Garment covered the trio. Clasping Qing Zhui and Jiang Hao, Ning Tao squatted down. The Heavenly Gem Magic Garment was just big enough to cover the three of them.

While the Heavenly Gem Magic Garment was covering them, the phantom bats started to crash into the garment.

Mult.i.tudes of spiritual light sputtered on the Heavenly Gem Magic Garment. The scene resembled a shower of spiritual light.

The Heavenly Gem Magic Garment was impervious to fire and water, as well as to knives and guns. It could also counteract poisons and weak magic spells. Right now, it was the best defense magic tool Ning Tao had. Even these bats could not break through it. As the phantom bats kept cras.h.i.+ng into the Heavenly Gem Magic Garment, they bit and clawed but were unable to tear through the fabric.

b.u.mp, b.u.mp, b.u.mp…

Overhead, there were the dense sounds of collision, causing their scalps to tingle.

“Will your garment tear?” Jiang Hao asked worriedly. Right now, she was still very nervous.

Ning Tao bit his finger and then lowered his hand to the center of Jiang Hao's kneecap.

But before his hand could go even lower, the iciness on Jiang Hao's body had suddenly increased.

Ning Tao said hurriedly, “Calm down and don't do anything. I only want to draw a blood lock. In case my magic garment can't hold them back, I can unlock the blood lock and take you girls back.”

Only then did Jiang Hao's mood stabilize. The coldness from her body waned somewhat.

Ning Tao drew a blood lock on a rock, and then carefully retracted his hand. But perhaps because he was tense, his hand touched a place he ought not to have.

Crack!

Ning Tao's arm was instantly sealed in ice. He was caught in the act.

Jiang Hao glared at Ning Tao and wanted to reprimand him, but felt it not the right time to do so.

Pow!

Ning Tao shattered the ice encasing his arm and then retreated a little. He tried not to have any physical contact with Qing Zhui and Jiang Hao.

“Qing Zhui, you said these are phantom bats. Tell me what else you know.” Ning Tao tried to distract Qing Zhui and Jiang Hao, as well as himself.

b.u.mp, b.u.mp, b.u.mp….

There were continuous collisions on the Heavenly Gem Magic Garment, but the frequency had reduced somewhat.

As the collisions resounded, Qing Zhui spoke. “Before I met you, I used to visit cold, damp and dark caves with spiritual energy. During the reign of Empress Dowager Cixi, my sister sent me to a cave on a small island in the Pacific Ocean. I first met phantom bats there. They are very hard to shake off, and will suck out human souls after biting them. Those they bit will become walking dead. They fly very fast and ordinary bullets are useless against them. They like to attack in hordes, and if there are enough of them, even presences like Bai Sheng will be bitten to death. My sister and I dared not battle them and we fled from that cave. Since they are afraid of sunlight, they did not come after us.”

The b.u.mping, colliding sounds disappeared.

While Ning Tao was still immersed in Qing Zhui's descriptions, he remembered a supernatural presence in film and television works—the vampire.

After getting bitten by a phantom bat, one would become a walking dead. So were there really vampires in this world?

Qing Zhui continued. “My sister says that phantom bats are a kind of spiritual material. They can be used to refine elixirs and magic weapons. But it is not clear what elixir or weapons they can be used to refine. Maybe my sister knows. I'll ask her when we get back.”

Ning Tao said, “Let's talk about this at home. It's now quiet outside. Let me take a look. You girls don't act recklessly.”

Qing Zhui and Jiang Hao nodded at the same time.

Ning Tao cautiously lifted up a corner of the Heavenly Gem Magic Garment. He poked out his head and looked. The phantom bats were all gone, probably around the time when Qing Zhui was recounting her experience. The upper part of the cave was black and he could not see the presence of any phantom bats.

Ning Tao summoned the state of looking in his eyes and pondered. As long as it was a living being, it would have an innate aura and he could see it. But right now, he could see nothing at all.

Ning Tao stood up, lifting the Heavenly Gem Magic Garment up as he rose.

Qing Zhui and Jiang Hao were nervously watching the top of the cave. Jiang Hao even shone the tactical flashlight overhead. But everywhere she shone, there were only ordinary, odd-shaped stalact.i.tes. There was not even a phantom bat left. They felt like what had befallen them was just a hallucination. The phantom bats seemed not to have existed at all.

Ning Tao put on the Heavenly Gem Magic Garment again. It had shrunk back to its original size, becoming a close-fitting windbreaker with a hood again.

“Strange, where did those phantom bats go?” Qing Zhui asked, puzzled.

Ning Tao could not answer this question either. He looked at the tranquil water surface and made a decision. “Hao, do your job.”

Jiang Hao nodded and walked to the reservoir. As she walked, her body released an intense cold. Before she came into contact with the water, the waters near her were already showing signs of freezing. There was a thin layer of ice which soon spread outwards.

Qing Zhui sighed with admiration. “She's awesome!”

Ning Tao smiled wryly. Jiang Hao's demonic abilities were indeed powerful, but he had suffered blood and tears because of them.

Jiang Hao walked to the edge of the reservoir and stepped a foot out. Before her foot touched the water surface, the rims of the reservoir had already started to freeze. By the time her foot stepped down, she was already standing on a large sheet of ice. She continued ahead, the solidified ice around her spreading swiftly to farther areas.

“Come, let's follow her,” Ning Tao said. He brought Qing Zhui to step on the frozen ice, keeping a certain distance from Jiang Hao.

Jiang Hao walked forward step by step. At first, her walk went very smoothly, but soon, as her demon power depleted, her steps became heavier, almost as if she were tottering. The more powerful she was, the more energy she expended. She was just a new demon who had shallow cultivation. It was obviously not realistic for her to freeze the entire reservoir.

Ning Tao asked with concern, “Can you do it, Hao? Don't force yourself.”

Qing Zhui also said, “Just stay where you are. You're already close to the center.”

Ning Tao and Qing Zhui's words provoked Jiang Hao's stubborn personality instead. She pulled out a porcelain vial from her pocket and unstoppered it, raising her neck to pour an elixir from the vial into her mouth.

It was the third version of the Ancestor-seeking Elixir Ning Tao gave her.

“Ah…” A few seconds later, Jiang Hao emitted an angry growl. The entire cave buzzed with her resounding voice. The formerly tranquil water started to surge as she growled, billowing towards the unfrozen water, wave after wave.

Crack, crack, crack…

As she madly released her demon power, the frozen area in the reservoir expanded.

Jiang Hao raced forward wildly, her body making crackling sounds like beans being fried. As the bizarre sounds resounded, her muscles began to swell rapidly. Her bones lengthened and grew thicker, as her clothes burst under these intense changes!

“She's awesome!” Qing Zhui could not help but commend her.

Jiang Hao had the ability to freeze, which was enough to astound and make her envious. Right now, Jiang Hao had been transformed into a female King Kong, causing her to feel even more envy.

Ning Tao slapped her gently on the back of her head. “Don't keep gasping. Come with me!”

Only then did Qing Zhui come to herself. She followed Ning Tao and sprinted to Jiang Hao.

The entire reservoir had been frozen by Jiang Hao, but her soaring demon powers from the Ancestor-seeking Elixir had not been completely released. She suddenly leaped up and punched a fist on the icy surface.

Pow!

A large crater appeared in the ice, with cracks spreading out in all directions.

It was this punch which made the only torn rag on her body fly away. One could not bear to watch this scene, and yet one could not blink when seeing it.

Jiang Hao jumped up again, her legs clipped close together. Her entire person penetrated the large crater on the ice like a spear. Her enlarged feet were the spearhead of that spear!

Bam!

Another loud thud. The ice on the surface cracked suddenly and her entire body fell into the ice. It was this attack which expended all her surging demon power from the Ancestor-seeking Elixir. Her body rapidly shrank. By the time Ning Tao and Qing Zhui raced to the edge of that large crater, Jiang Hao had already resumed her former size. The aggression in her heart had ebbed. She huddled in the ice crater, shouting, “Don't come over! Don't look!”

But Ning Tao had already jumped down, taking off his Heavenly Gem Magic Garment to cover her body. Then he carried her up the ice crater.

“What… did you see?” Jiang Hao asked in shame and anger the moment Ning Tao put her down.

Ning Tao replied, “I saw nothing.”

Jiang Hao snorted softly. “Talking nonsense with your eyes open. After we go back, you must weave me a set of unbreakable clothes using spiritual materials.”

“Sure I will, when we get back,” Ning Tao promised at once.

“Watch me!” Qing Zhui said. She leaped up, her legs suddenly disappearing in the air. A gigantic green snake tail suddenly appeared. As it unleashed its ma.s.sive force, it brutally plunged into the ice crater.

Boom!

The snake tail had submerged completely in the water!

But it was just the beginning. Qing Zhui spread out her arms, gyrating her hips. Her snake tail bore down like a drill.

This was the first time Jiang Hao saw Qing Zhui reveal her true snake form. She stared at her with wide eyes and mouth agape.

As she released her demon power, she started accelerating the drilling. Qing Zhui's body became smaller and smaller, and finally was invisible.

Ning Tao's eyes suddenly s.h.i.+fted to the cave entrance. “Oh no, we have forgotten one thing.”

Jiang Hao looked at him. “What?”

Ning Tao said, “Since you have frozen this reservoir, won't the waterfall stop flowing?”

Jiang Hao listened intently and then said, “What you said is true. I could hear the roaring waters just now, but now I can't.”

At this moment, Qing Zhui's voice suddenly rang out from below. “Come down, quick, and see what I found!”

“Forget that. Let's go down and take a look!” Ning Tao jumped into the hole drilled by Qing Zhui.

Jiang Hao hesitated for a brief moment before jumping down as well.

The loose Heavenly Gem Magic Garment billowed in the wind. One could not bear to look at her directly.

Outside the cave, the last drop of water fell from a protruding rock…