The battle situation gradually became unfavorable for the Inner Courtyard Disciples, causing Zhang Lexuan, Han Ruoruo, and others to feel extremely anxious.
"Roar!" The Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor suddenly erupted again, its massive body shaking violently, pushing away everyone who was close to it. Subsequently, the twin horns on its head glowed with a dark silver light, which converged into a light sphere between the horns. The light sphere vibrated intensely, as if it would explode at any moment.
"Sister Xiaotao, Senior Sister Luo Wei, run quickly!" Zhu Ziyang had been constantly observing the changes on the battlefield, so he noticed the Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor's abnormal movements immediately. After sensing the energy accumulating on its horns, he shouted without hesitation.
The Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor's actions seemed to confirm Zhu Ziyang's shout. Its head moved slightly, and the light sphere between its horns, like a high-speed cannonball, shot towards Ma Xiaotao and Luo Wei with incredible speed.
Upon hearing Zhu Ziyang's warning, Ma Xiaotao and Luo Wei were already on guard. When they realized the Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor's target was them, they immediately counterattacked. Ma Xiaotao exhaled a linear flame, while Luo Wei shot a pink crystal arrow. Both of their attacks accurately struck the light sphere heading towards them. However, a scene that stunned them occurred: their attacks were absorbed by the light sphere! The light sphere, having absorbed their Spirit Abilities, instantly grew a size larger!
"Run!" Ma Xiaotao and Luo Wei exchanged a glance, then unhesitatingly dashed in opposite directions.
"Boom!" Just a few steps after they started running, the light sphere exploded with a deafening roar. The immense power unleashed waves of scorching heat, and a dark mushroom cloud rose from the center of the explosion.
Nethermoon Compressed Light! This was the Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor's most powerful skill, the ultimate development of its own abilities. By integrating the adsorptive properties of moonlight, it could absorb any Spirit Ability with less energy than itself, thereby strengthening itself. Ultimately, the more energy it absorbed, the greater its power!
Such terrifying power could instantly annihilate a Spirit Emperor-level powerhouse. However, Ma Xiaotao and Luo Wei were extremely fortunate; they only suffered slightly more severe internal injuries. The reason for this outcome was entirely due to the efforts of Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo. These two strongest and leading students truly did their best to protect their junior schoolmates. Han Ruoruo had already exited her Martial Soul True Body state. A split second before the light sphere exploded, the Shaking Gold Rope in her hand instantly wrapped around Luo Wei, pulling her out of the explosion's range in time. Zhang Lexuan, on the other hand, fully displayed the demeanor of a Senior Sister. She directly shielded Ma Xiaotao, taking the vast majority of the damage for her!
"Senior Sister!" Ma Xiaotao, holding Zhang Lexuan, who was no longer able to maintain her Martial Soul True Body, retreated to Zhu Ziyang and Su Meng's side, her voice choked with sobs.
"Cough, cough! Xiaotao, I'm fine." Zhang Lexuan coughed a few times, her face as pale as paper, a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth. She pushed away Ma Xiaotao's support and said, "Go quickly and support everyone, don't worry about me."
Zhang Lexuan, Han Ruoruo, Ma Xiaotao, and Luo Wei successively withdrew from the battle, causing the pressure on the other four to instantly surge. The Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor unleashed a frantic barrage of attacks on them. Zhang Weiwei, Shen Xu, Wu Ming, and Long Yu were utterly unable to withstand such fierce attacks, teetering on the brink of being swallowed by the Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor.
"Alright!" Ma Xiaotao didn't act coy, nor did she have time to. She immediately turned and charged towards the Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor. Even though her spirit power was almost depleted, she still rushed forward without hesitation.
"Cough, cough!" Zhang Lexuan coughed a few more times, but she had no time to recover. Wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth, she also prepared to return to the battlefield.
"Senior Sister, wait a moment!" Zhu Ziyang called out to Zhang Lexuan.
"Ziyang, don't worry." Zhang Lexuan turned her head when she heard Zhu Ziyang call her. Seeing the young junior schoolmate's face filled with worry and seriousness, she forced a smile and said, "We will definitely win!"
"Senior Sister, if I can control the Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor for three seconds, do you still have the strength to make a final push?" Zhu Ziyang asked with a solemn expression.
His words stunned both Zhang Lexuan and Su Meng, their eyes showing doubt and a faint glimmer of hope. Zhang Lexuan gave a bitter smile. They were already at their wit's end. Facing a sliver of hope now, she could only believe, saying, "Ziyang, is that true?"
"Mm-hmm!" Zhu Ziyang nodded solemnly and said, "That's a Spirit Ability from my second Spirit! However, there's only one chance, so we must be absolutely certain!"
"Second Spirit!" Zhang Lexuan's face showed a strange expression, but there was no time to dwell on it. Her lips pursed slightly, and a resolute look appeared in her eyes as she said, "Leave it to me!"
"Okay!" Zhu Ziyang said, then took out a soul tool shield. Looking at Zhang Lexuan, he added, "Senior Sister, take me close to the Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor!"
Without a word, Zhang Lexuan linked arms with Zhu Ziyang and soared into the air, flying towards the battlefield.
"Go for it!" Su Meng shouted hoarsely. Her spirit power was long exhausted, and she could only hold Zhu Lie, whose condition had stabilized, and pray silently.
At this moment, the situation on the battlefield was already extremely dire. Han Ruoruo and Zhang Weiwei's faces were pale, blood oozing from the corners of their mouths. Shen Xu had a hole through his abdomen, Long Yu's two lower legs were crushed, and Wu Ming, Ma Xiaotao, and Luo Wei all bore wounds of varying sizes. Everyone had reached their limit.
In contrast to the Shrek disciples, the Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor's condition was not much better. Its massive body no longer had any intact scales; some were merely shallow marks, others were directly broken open, exposing flesh, and some had completely fallen off, leaving bloody, mangled areas. The most serious injury was at its lower jaw, where Wan Wan's Emerald Scale Snake Poison had spread to its neck, and the seventh snake scale had already begun to fester.
If the battle continued like this, the Inner Courtyard Disciples would surely be decimated, but the Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor would also be dragged to its Death!
"Senior Sister, prepare!" Arriving at the center of the battlefield, Zhu Ziyang leaped directly from Zhang Lexuan's side, simultaneously shouting loudly. Zhu Ziyang's appearance on the battlefield made the other Inner Courtyard Disciples look over, and then they saw Zhu Ziyang release his second Spirit. His right arm instantly transformed into a giant ice-white Dragon Claw, and a blood-red spirit ring with golden patterns rose behind him!
"!" Everyone forgot they were still in combat. They were all awestruck by the blood-red spirit ring behind Zhu Ziyang. Even the Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor was no exception, staring furiously at Zhu Ziyang.
However, Zhang Lexuan was still in motion. Although she was equally shocked, she felt more excitement and hope. Because she suddenly realized that Zhu Ziyang's words seemed very likely to come true!
She didn't hesitate, mobilizing all the remaining spirit power in her body, and unhesitatingly ignited her Spirit's origin. Her condition instantly returned to its peak. Her first, second, sixth, and seventh spirit rings rose simultaneously, and with her Martial Soul True Body and all amplification Spirit Abilities activated, her combat power far exceeded that of a quasi-Spirit Douluo.
Zhu Ziyang also didn't hesitate. Heavenly Frost Sacred White Dragon's first Spirit Ability, activate!
A blue mist of ice appeared out of thin air, instantly filling a hundred-meter radius around Zhu Ziyang with extreme cold, enveloping the Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor within it. This space seemed to be frozen. The Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor instantly realized something was wrong and immediately tried to counterattack, but it was already too late.
Zhu Ziyang's right arm also glowed faintly. silver dragon wolf right arm bone's second Spirit Bone Ability activated simultaneously!
Heavenfrost Chill, plus, Frozen Time!
Heavenfrost Chill uses the most extreme cold to freeze time and space, restricting the actions of all living beings in that area. The freezing duration is 3 seconds. The Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor's cultivation far exceeds Zhu Ziyang's, so the duration is shortened to 1 second.
Frozen Time belongs to a Spirit Bone Ability, and the weakening effect due to cultivation difference is smaller, so the control duration is 2 seconds.
Combined, it's 3 seconds!
The Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor was immobilized. Apart from the fear that could still be seen in its eyes, no part of its body could move. Zhang Lexuan immediately seized this opportunity, unleashing what was practically the strongest attack of her life. The full moon, in its Martial Soul True Body state, was like a soul tool cannon. A beam of light, even thicker than the Nethermoon Shockwave, shot out, striking the Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor's head directly, instantly melting its eyes and piercing into its brain!
"Roar!" The threat of Death caused the Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor to erupt desperately, breaking free from Zhu Ziyang's control. Its body, no longer controlled by its brain, thrashed up and down, and its snake tail swept everywhere like a pendulum, striking the ground, large trees, rocks, and a dark black shield with a coiled black Dragon!
The Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor's dying outburst sent a chill through the hearts of the Inner Courtyard Disciples. Zhang Lexuan and Zhu Ziyang, being the closest, bore the brunt. The 100,000-year Domain Spirit Ability drained nine-tenths of Zhu Ziyang's spirit power. He used his remaining spirit power to activate the soul tool ability of the Black Dragon Soul Tool Shield, Qian Duoduo's sixth Spirit Ability, Black Dragon Shield Array!
His foresight saved his life. The Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor's wide-ranging tail whip truly swept towards him. Zhu Ziyang curled his body within the shield, trying his best to avoid direct contact with the Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor's tail. With a "bang!", Zhu Ziyang felt an enormous force, like a mountain collapsing, on the shield in front of him. He used all his strength to resist this power, but it was to no avail.
Zhu Ziyang, shield and all, was sent flying.
"Ziyang!" Ma Xiaotao's eyes widened in fury at this sight. She immediately ran in the direction Zhu Ziyang had flown, but after taking just one step, she collapsed to the ground. Her physical strength and spirit power both completely depleted, she could only watch helplessly as Zhu Ziyang disappeared from her sight.
As for Zhang Lexuan, the side effects of igniting her Spirit's origin caused her to slump to the ground, watching the snake tail that had sent Zhu Ziyang flying now swinging towards her, as if awaiting Death. The other Inner Courtyard Disciples could only watch all of this in pain, as some of them had already fainted, and those who hadn't were utterly exhausted, completely powerless to turn the tide.
Perhaps it was divine intervention. The massive snake tail was only a fist's distance from Zhang Lexuan, and the wind it stirred up had already lifted her clothes. Just as she was about to perish, about to be flattened into a pulp, the snake tail suddenly stopped, then slammed straight down, heavily, in front of Zhang Lexuan.
The Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor, deceased!
"Beast, how dare you!" Just as the Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor fell, a furious roar echoed, and then an old man descended from the sky, landing on the ravaged battlefield.
It was none other than Gluttony Douluo, Xuan Zi!
"This..." Xuan Zi looked at the Nethermoon Forest Boa Emperor, from which a spirit ring had already floated out, and then at the miserable state of each Inner Courtyard student. He suddenly realized that he truly was a complete and utter scoundrel!