This discovery instantly steadied Xie Zhaolin's heart!
The giant lizard looked fierce, but its hind claws that were fused with the ground couldn't move an inch. It could only rely on its foreclaws and long tail to attack.
"It's pinned down!" Xie Zhaolin quickly sent a message through her divine sense to the beast souls. "Focus on its blind spots!"
The five beast souls immediately shifted formation.
Shuang Ling stopped her frontal assault and circled behind to spit foxfire. Xue Xiao's feathers no longer aimed for vital points, instead piercing the giant lizard's exposed side where it couldn't turn to defend.
Dian Diao turned into a streak of lightning, darting back and forth through blind spots the lizard couldn't reach. Bing Jing's cold didn't spread over a wide area anymore, but froze the exact points where its legs fused with the ground.
Teng She slithered into its blind spot, venomous fangs aimed at its undefended spine.
Mo Yan also caught on right away. Instead of clashing head-on, his demonic qi unraveled into dozens of fine threads that coiled tightly around the lizard's motionless hind legs.
The beast roared in fury. It clearly knew that even though its strength had surged, it had become nothing more than a living target. The silver-lit wounds across its body had mostly closed, but the newly grown flesh hadn't fully adapted to that strange fusion.
Seeing the opening, Xie Zhaolin formed seals with both hands. Her spiritual power mixed with baleful qi, condensing three sharp spikes before her. This time, she didn't attack head-on. Instead, she guided the spikes along the ground from a blind angle, targeting the cracks where its hind claws fused with the earth.
Squelch!
The spikes pierced the joints at the same time, and the giant lizard let out an ear-splitting scream. The silver-lit wounds split open once more, spraying black blood!
It roared furiously, thrashing wildly to break free, but the legs fused with the dirt didn't budge at all.
"Keep going! Don't give it time to heal!" Xie Zhaolin shouted coldly.
The beast souls pressed their attack even harder.
Shuang Ling's foxfire scorched the exposed wounds, Xue Xiao's feathers pierced deep inside, Dian Diao's lightning surged through the cracks, Bing Jing froze the flowing blood to cause secondary damage, and Teng She's venom began corroding from within.
Mo Yan seized the chance as well. His demonic qi turned into a gray-black spear that stabbed savagely at its vulnerable underbelly.
"Roar—!"
The giant lizard howled, its massive body spasming violently. Panic flickered in its silver-white eyes, and then it suddenly slammed its foreclaws against the ground.
"Careful! It's trying to escape!" Xie Zhaolin warned sharply.
Sure enough, its body began sinking as if to burrow underground again. But this time, Xie Zhaolin was ready.
"Bing Jing!"
At her command, Bing Jing raised its head and let out a thunderous roar. A blast of bone-piercing cold spewed from its jaws, freezing the ground around the lizard into solid ice. The melting earth instantly hardened again, cutting off its descent.
The beast screamed in agony, struggling even more violently. The ground cracked apart, and fissures spread through the ice.
Mo Yan reacted quickly, weaving seals with both hands. Gray-black demonic qi seeped into the cracks, coiling tightly around its legs. "Master, it can't break free!" he shouted.
Xie Zhaolin seized the moment. She formed seals at lightning speed, then pulled out a longsword. Biting her tongue, she spat a mouthful of blood essence onto the blade, which flared with a sinister red glow.
"Go!"
The blood-colored sword shot through the air, aimed straight at the lizard's throat.
At the same time, the five beast souls unleashed their strongest attacks.
Shuang Ling's foxfire flared into a blazing pillar, Xue Xiao's feathers formed a storm of arrows, Dian Diao transformed into pure lightning, Bing Jing breathed out a frozen tempest, and Teng She sprayed venom.
Boom!
All the attacks struck at once. The lizard let out a deafening shriek. Its massive body spasmed harder, terror seeming to drive it as its fused legs began to tear apart. Just when everyone thought victory was certain, a sudden change erupted!
"Roar—!"
The giant lizard let out a screech unlike anything before. Its entire body twisted grotesquely, limbs shrinking, torso curling as its scales shed away. In the end, it transformed into a huge black sphere floating halfway in the air!
The orb was nearly two zhang wide, its surface etched with bizarre markings. From below extended dozens of thick roots that dug deep into the ground. Even more horrifying, the black orb cracked open, countless mouths full of razor teeth sprouting from writhing tentacles.
"What the hell… is that?" Mo Yan's face went pale. Whatever it was, it had clearly surpassed his understanding.
Xie Zhaolin's pupils shrank, but she quickly regained her composure.
"It's just a death struggle!" she barked. "Target the roots!"
The five beast souls obeyed instantly. Mo Yan gritted his teeth against the revulsion, his demonic qi turning into dozens of gray-black daggers that slashed at the roots. Meanwhile, Xie Zhaolin condensed baleful qi into seven black needles. She poured most of her spiritual power and qi into them until they gleamed with a ghostly glow.
"Go!"
The seven needles whistled through the air, each striking a tentacle. At the same time, her left hand formed seals, while her right pressed against her storage ring, ready to summon a lifesaving talisman.
Pfft pfft pfft—!
The needles hit true, making the orb convulse violently.
The tentacles whipped about in frenzy but couldn't withstand the barrage. Even the roots below began snapping apart.
"It's working! Don't stop!" Xie Zhaolin commanded loudly.
Her words ignited everyone's fighting spirit. The beast souls and Mo Yan doubled down.
Shuang Ling's foxfire burned through three main roots, Xue Xiao's feathers riddled the orb's surface, Dian Diao's lightning exploded inside it, Bing Jing froze clusters of tentacles solid, and Teng She's venom rotted the surface.
Mo Yan's flying daggers sliced more key roots apart, and the orb's hovering height noticeably dropped.
Just as their momentum peaked, the black orb erupted in a blinding dark light!
The entire cavern was suddenly swallowed in eerie gloom.
Alarm bells rang in Xie Zhaolin's heart. She sharply sensed the surrounding rock walls starting to twist.
"Fall back!" she ordered in a tone that brooked no refusal.
The five beast souls instantly abandoned their attacks and shot back to her side as streams of light.
Mo Yan retreated too, hands trembling beneath his gray robe. "Master, what is—"
"Shut up!" Xie Zhaolin cut him off, her gaze sweeping rapidly around.
At that exact moment, the cavern itself shuddered violently!