A shadow flickered in Tingyun's deep eyes, and a faint cyan flame ignited at her fingertips.
She aimed directly at Jerry.
However, in the next instant—
Bang!
Tom, springing up from behind, landed directly atop Tingyun's head, stomping it inward with a crunch.
Standing on Tingyun's head, Tom shaded his eyes dramatically with one paw, scanning for Jerry's position.
Spotting Jerry mocking him from afar, Tom frantically stomped his feet, driving Tingyun deeper into the ground with each rapid step, planting her lower half like a carrot. He then launched himself toward Jerry in a fierce dash.
Moments later, Tingyun's head slowly emerged from her buried body, twisted at an unnatural angle from the neck injury before snapping back into place.
Watching the cat and mouse chase unfolding before her, a bitter resentment surfaced in her eyes.
This body was supposed to be expendable. Now I'm forced to waste energy repairing it because of these damned pests.
But suddenly, a troubling thought flashed through her mind—
Tingyun swiftly spun around, wary of another sneak attack from behind. Seeing no one there, she turned back, raising her folding fan defensively. The fan burst alight with surging cyan flames.
She inhaled slightly, preparing to blow the flames toward Tom and Jerry.
At that exact moment—
Whoosh!
A piercing whistle sliced past her ear. Sensing danger, Tingyun spun around again, only to find a small gray-white mouse riding a "Rocket Brand" firecracker, abruptly halting right before her eyes, pressing ominously against her forehead.
For some inexplicable reason, Tingyun keenly felt the threat posed by this firecracker.
If this body were destroyed now, her future plans on the Luofu would suffer significantly. Finding a suitable identity again would be no simple matter.
She froze, carefully holding still to prevent the firecracker from exploding prematurely.
Yevenko jumped down lightly from the firecracker onto Tingyun's head, pulling a rope from his diaper and effortlessly tying it around her fox-ear.
Descending step-by-step down her face, he pried open one eyelid, examined her teeth, then climbed into her mouth, only to pop back out, tugging on her tongue.
Confirming beyond doubt that this was indeed Lord Ravager Phantylia disguised as Tingyun, he was ready to deplete her [Exploration Value].
Finally reaching the ground, he brushed the dust from his hands, brought his thumb and forefinger together, and blew a sharp whistle.
At Yevenko's signal, the Rocket firecracker floating in front of Tingyun first retreated slightly, then slammed forcefully into her.
BOOM!
A powerful explosion followed, thick smoke completely enveloping Tingyun's head.
When the smoke cleared, Tingyun's head was entirely charred black, fur completely gone, her folding fan resembling sunflower petals awkwardly sprouting from her head.
She blinked in confusion.
The attack, which had felt so threatening, seemed absurdly weak. Her body had barely sustained any damage.
However, in the very next moment—
Her expression twisted in shock, a disbelieving scream escaping her lips.
"How can this be?!"
"This crude explosion...how could it damage my true essence?!"
It wasn't Tingyun's physical body that had been harmed—but rather her fundamental being, her true self as a Lord Ravager, an Emanator of Destruction, and a servant of Yaoshi. A fragment of her soul had unexpectedly been erased!
After all, what stood here was merely a splinter of her soul.
This made no sense at all.
When the small brown mouse first appeared, she'd immediately recognized him as the troublesome rodent causing endless headaches for the Cloud Knights.
But now, there were even more nuisances—another mouse and even a cat.
Originally, she'd wanted to see if these creatures were truly as extraordinary as rumored.
It now seemed their absurdity far exceeded even her wildest imagination.
Tingyun's expression darkened as she watched Yevenko scurry toward the battling cat and mouse.
For Yevenko, though gaining [Exploration Value] was important, stopping Tom and Jerry from their chaotic battle took precedence—especially since Phantylia, currently masquerading as Tingyun, wasn't at her peak power.
Even if she'd merged the Paths of Abundance and Destruction, it wouldn't compare to the urgency of preventing Tom and Jerry's rampage.
At this moment, Tom and Jerry were fiercely dueling.
Tom chased Jerry relentlessly with a fencing sword.
Jerry dove into a flower vase, but Tom swiftly arrived, flicked his blade twice, and shattered the vase instantly.
Jerry scurried into a trash can. Tom approached, slashed twice again, and the trash can burst open like flower petals.
Jerry squeezed hurriedly into a crack within a giant rock.
Tom reached the rock and swiftly carved it into a statue of The Thinker, leaving Jerry standing atop the statue's head.
Jerry fled frantically into one of his mouse holes. Having spent so long aboard the Xianzhou, Jerry had countless tunnels ready.
Seeing Jerry enter the hole, Tom discarded his sword, pulling out a double-barreled shotgun from behind him, shoving it into the mouse hole.
Inside, Jerry found himself pinned against the wall by the shotgun barrels.
He gulped nervously, stretching out his neck. Quickly, he took a feather from the wall, tickled the barrels, and they went limp immediately.
Jerry grabbed the softened shotgun, dashed to the second floor of his hole, and opened a window—only to find Tom's head outside, staring blankly.
Jerry promptly pointed the shotgun at Tom's head.
At that moment, Tom impulsively pulled the trigger.
BANG!
An enormous blast sent Tom flying backward uncontrollably. He collided with a tree, temporarily replacing its trunk, before being compressed into a pancake squeezed from its center.
Instantly, Tom recovered to his original shape, lying flat on the ground, rhythmically tapping the floor with one paw, contemplating his next move.
Jerry casually strolled to the hole's entrance, shrugging his shoulders smugly.
Suddenly, Yevenko briskly scurried along Tom's tail, climbed up his back, and hopped down from atop Tom's head, landing neatly in front of Tom.
Tom stared intently at Yevenko, blinking slowly.
Everything about this creature—the scent, the form—said he was Tuffy, yet Tom's instincts screamed otherwise. This was definitely Yevenko.
Tom would never dare harm Yevenko.
Meanwhile, Jerry noticed Tuffy standing directly in front of Tom. His eyes sprang comically out of their sockets like springs.
He instantly raced out, scooped Yevenko into his arms, and darted back into the mouse hole.
Placing Yevenko carefully down, Jerry wiped sweat from his brow with relief.
But immediately, Yevenko toddled back out toward Tom again.
Jerry leaped up in panic, whisking Yevenko back inside, scolding him silently.
Yet the moment Jerry blinked, Yevenko was already outside again.
Frustrated, Jerry grabbed Yevenko once more, hanging him securely on the wall like laundry.
Satisfied, Jerry sauntered out leisurely, planning to check Tom's whereabouts.
However, to his shock, Yevenko had somehow appeared right before Tom again.
Jerry whipped around—the Yevenko he'd hung on the wall had vanished. Jerry dragged his face downward in exasperation, dashing once more after Yevenko.
Instantly reaching Yevenko, Jerry grabbed his right arm, trying to pull him away.
But this time, Tom reacted swiftly, grabbing Yevenko's left arm as he tried to take him back.
The cat and mouse pulled furiously, retreating further apart, stretching Yevenko's arms longer and longer, impossibly elongated.
Pop!
With a pop reminiscent of a soap bubble bursting—
Yevenko split into two, each half flying apart.
Fuming, the two Yevenkos angrily pried Tom and Jerry's paws apart and hurriedly charged toward one another, colliding midair to merge back into one Yevenko.
Yet the moment Yevenko returned to normal, Tom and Jerry resumed their uncontrollable tug-of-war over him.
Cat and mouse tangled fiercely in a dust-cloud scuffle. Caught in the crossfire, Yevenko was launched from their brawl, sailing through the air in a graceful parabola. He skidded along the ground before coming to a sudden stop right in front of Tingyun.
Quickly, Yevenko scrambled up—only to find himself overshadowed by Tingyun's ominous figure.
Tingyun swiftly seized Yevenko, lifting him roughly off the ground.
Having sensed a fragment of her true essence erased, her playful façade had shattered entirely. Now, dark eyes brimmed with a crazed, destructive impulse. Her cold, menacing voice slowly filled the silence.
"Defying logic, are you?"
"I'd love to see just how far you can push this absurdity in the face of absolute destruction."
Panicked, Yevenko pressed both paws against Tingyun's grip, struggling fruitlessly.
Damn it! As the third, fourth, fifth, sixth character of Tom and Jerry, did I not get enough comedic strength?
There's no choice but to unleash Tuffy's ultimate move!
"Yaaaaow—!"
A sharp cry echoed, calling the cat and mouse.
At the sound of this familiar shout, Tom and Jerry—currently mid-fight with wooden planks—instantly perked their right ears up, elongating them dramatically. The ears snaked rapidly toward Yevenko's voice, stopping right in front of his mouth.
Grinning mischievously, Yevenko grabbed Tom's ear in his right paw and Jerry's in his left, pulling both closer.
Then shouted again—
"Yaaaaow—!!"
The ears instantly snapped back to their owners.
Tom and Jerry simultaneously whipped their heads toward Yevenko. Taking in his perilous situation, they clutched their heads, eyes springing forward like springs from their sockets. Immediately, they rocketed toward Tingyun.
Tom, standing before Tingyun, whipped out a baseball bat from behind, glaring fiercely upward.
Seeing Tom couldn't quite reach Tingyun's height, Jerry swiftly moved behind Tom, grabbing and straightening his tail like a propeller, giving it a vigorous spin.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh—
Tom's tail spun furiously like helicopter blades, lifting him off the ground. Rising face-to-face with Tingyun, he swung his bat viciously downward.
BANG—!!
Tingyun's body froze stiff mid-air, a tall red bump comically sprouting atop her head.
Jerry quickly climbed up Tom's body, reached the top, snatched the bat away, briefly tested its weight, and tossed it dismissively aside.
Then, pulling from behind him a hammer labeled "10,000KG," he mustered every ounce of strength, slamming it straight onto Tingyun's head.
KABOOM—!!
Instantly, Tingyun's entire body punched through the ground, leaving only her head poking out.
Now freed from Tingyun's grasp, Yevenko glanced gleefully at her planted form. Flashing his two small mouse-teeth, he proudly jabbed his thumb toward Tingyun, grinning smugly.
Then, pulling from his diaper a toothpick-sized rapier, he jabbed at Tingyun's face.
Left jab, right jab—
Tingyun: "…"
I hadn't even attacked this little grey mouse yet—how did I end up buried in the ground?
With my power, even this Tingyun body should easily escape, but now it feels like I'm locked in place.
So, this is the power of these three ridiculous creatures.
Damn them!
She keenly felt another small fraction of her true strength fade away from that absurd bat-and-hammer attack. Once her plan succeeded, attaining the combined power of two Paths, she'd make these three pay dearly!
Meanwhile, Yevenko delightedly poked away, sensing his [Exploration Value] steadily rising.
Unfortunately, the increase was negligible—partially because his attacks were weak, partially because Phantylia herself was a Yaoshi-aligned being, inherently resistant to mere physical damage.
Of course, Yevenko didn't know Phantylia's true form was already taking forced damage anyway.
Crash! Bang! Boom!
After a few more jabs, Yevenko noticed chaos erupting behind him again. Glancing back, he saw Tom and Jerry once more locked in combat.
At this point, separating them was top priority.
Thinking quickly, Yevenko scurried to Jerry's side, hoisted him up high, and sped away on his tiny legs—far quicker than either Jerry or Tom.
Within moments, they reached Jerry's mouse hole.
But their combined height exceeded the entrance, and Jerry slammed painfully into the wall above the hole, tumbling to the ground with a dull thud.
Tom immediately pounced after them. Yevenko hurriedly shoved Jerry inside, but Tom couldn't stop in time, his head wedging into the hole, leaving his body dangling outside.
Seeing this amusing sight, Jerry chuckled, plucking Tom's whiskers like guitar strings to produce melodious sounds.
But Yevenko tugged urgently at Jerry, pointing toward his open mouth.
Jerry understood immediately—Yevenko was hungry.
He stopped tormenting Tom, scratching his head thoughtfully until an imaginary lightbulb flashed above him. Grabbing Yevenko's paw, he swiftly led him deeper into the mouse hole.
They twisted and turned through endless tunnels, spiraling downward so far that Yevenko wondered just how vast Jerry's tunnel network was.
After passing through a narrow passage, then traveling several dozen more winding steps downward, a faint, eerie glow gradually emerged ahead.
Where exactly were they...?