Chapter 64: "Found You"
Han Ruoruo continued, "The Thorn Demon's True Form is humanoid and extremely fragile. With ninety thousand years of cultivation, its True Form can likely only exert the strength of about ten thousand years on its own."
"Moreover, as long as it enters a combat state, it will instinctively and continuously sprout new thorns. However, because these new thorns have just formed, their strength is far inferior to the main thorns currently attacking us..."
Hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up.
So many weaknesses? I can't beat a ninety-thousand-year-old one, but can I really not handle a ten-thousand-year-old one?
However, Han Ruoruo's next words were like a bucket of bone-chilling ice water poured over their heads.
"But, a Thorn Demon with ten thousand years of cultivation has a thorn coverage area of up to five hundred meters. The one before us is nearly ninety thousand years old... its thorn Domain's diameter probably exceeds five thousand meters."
"In other words, to attack its True Form, one must endure an endless, increasingly powerful tide of thorns and cross at least two and a half kilometers of a death zone to reach the incredibly fragile True Form hidden in the deepest depths."
"..."
A chill of despair rose in their hearts.
"Then... doesn't that mean..." Chu Qingtian's voice trembled slightly, "today, we've... already..."
"Shut up!" Wu Ming suddenly turned her head to glare at him. "It's not the end yet! If you say such discouraging things again, I'll burn you first!"
"If you're scared, you can get lost right now," Ma Xiaotao said coldly, Phoenix Flame rising around her. "No one is stopping you."
"Who said I'm scared?!" Chu Qingtian gritted his teeth, veins throbbing at his temples, his voice suddenly rising.
"I said it before: I'll never retreat when hunting Soul Beasts! A real man's word is his bond! Even if I die, I'll die in front of you all!"
Listening to their words, a complex expression flickered across Han Ruoruo's face, one of relief and even more determination.
She took a deep breath, her gaze becoming incredibly calm as she said softly,
"Ming'er, Xiaotao, listen to me. In a moment, I will go all out to manifest my Spirit Avatar and tear through the thorns behind us as much as possible to create a path."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over Lin Xuan and Chu Qingtian.
"When that happens, you two take Lin Xuan and Chu Qingtian and run out at top speed without looking back! Don't worry about me, and don't look back!"
"Ruoruo!" Wu Ming's eyes instantly reddened. How could she not understand that Han Ruoruo clearly intended to use herself as bait and a sacrifice to fight for a slim chance of survival for them!
"I'm the strongest here! Everyone, listen to me!"
Han Ruoruo's tone suddenly became serious.
"I am your senior sister! It is my responsibility to protect you! I absolutely cannot let any one of you die in front of me!"
Her voice trembled slightly. "What happened to Senior Sister Lexuan back then... I will never allow myself to experience it again! Remember, stay alive! You surviving is the greatest help you can give me!"
"Senior Sister..." Ma Xiaotao's voice choked up, tears welling in her reddened eyes.
But they all understood that what Han Ruoruo said was currently the only way anyone might survive.
If they didn't do this, everyone would be worn down to death by the endless thorns.
But... could they really abandon her and flee for their lives alone?
They couldn't do it.
"Everyone, make your final preparations."
Han Ruoruo stopped looking at them and turned resolutely toward the boundless, frantically writhing wall of thorns. The golden Shaking Gold Rope in her hand burst with unprecedented brilliance.
"I'm about to release my Seventh Spirit Ability!"
Wu Ming, Ma Xiaotao, and Chu Qingtian gritted their teeth as tears fell silently. They had to suppress their heart-wrenching sorrow and indignation and begin to gather the last of their Soul Power.
However, just then, a calm voice broke this tragic atmosphere of farewell.
"Today, no one will die."
Lin Xuan stepped forward from behind the group, the shadows of the wildly dancing thorns reflected in his eyes.
"The only one who will truly die is that Thorn Demon."
Under Han Ruoruo's stunned gaze, he walked straight to her and stood side-by-side with her. He didn't look back, only staring at the hellish scene ahead as he continued,
"You stay here and continue to pin down these thorns, creating enough noise and pressure."
"I'm going to kill its True Form."
"Nonsense!"
Han Ruoruo instantly snapped back from her shock and scolded him sharply, her face flushed with urgency,
"Lin Xuan! Now is not the time to be a hero! This isn't a battle you can participate in! Xiaotao, hold him back!"
Ma Xiaotao instinctively reached out.
But Lin Xuan's voice rang out again,
"I will only say this once."
"If you don't follow my arrangements and continue with your sacrifice plan..."
He turned his head slightly, his peripheral vision sweeping over everyone.
"It might actually end up getting me killed."
Before his words had even finished, Lin Xuan, who was standing there, suddenly blurred and dissipated like a reflection in water.
In his place was a furry Tu Tu.
!!!
Han Ruoruo's pupils suddenly contracted to the extreme, the color draining from her face until it was as pale as paper.
She opened her mouth but couldn't make a sound. It felt as if her heart were being gripped tightly by a cold hand, bringing a suffocating, sharp pain.
Boundless fear and regret instantly overwhelmed her.
She had originally intended to sacrifice herself to protect everyone, but she never expected that this boy, who seemingly needed protection the most, would actually take the first step into that thorn hell where death was certain!
"You bastard! You bastard!!!" Wu Ming let out a suppressed cry of grief as her Golden Crow flames surged uncontrollably into the sky.
Ma Xiaotao stared blankly at the Tu Tu on the ground, tears finally bursting from her eyes. But in the next moment, those tears were evaporated by a towering rage!
Even more violent and intense Phoenix Flame erupted from her body.
"Everyone, listen to him!!!"
Han Ruoruo suddenly hissed out a shout, golden light flaring in her eyes as the Shaking Gold Rope erupted with blinding brilliance.
"Ming'er! Xiaotao! Qingtian! Go all out! At any cost! Attack! Draw the attention of all the thorns! Create an opportunity for Lin Xuan!"
"Boom—!!!"
At this moment, all attacks were unleashed without reservation toward the tide of thorns surging from all directions!
They no longer considered defense or Soul Power consumption; there was only one frantic thought in their minds.
Pin it down! Gain even one more second for that boy!
...Just as Lin Xuan stepped outside the wall of fire, the endless green thorns, which seemed to possess a life of their own, were like a school of piranhas smelling blood.
From every angle—up, down, left, and right—they lunged, whipped, and coiled toward him with sharp whistling sounds!
As far as the eye could see, the world seemed to be completely filled with these writhing, dense thorns, leaving not a single gap.
And at the end of his vision to the north, the density of the thorns reached a horrifying level, layering upon each other until they almost wove into a writhing, deep-green wall.
It was as if some indescribable, eerie existence was entrenched there.
It seems the Thorn Demon's True Form is right there... Lin Xuan narrowed his eyes, understanding the situation.
The first wave of thorn attacks was already upon him!
At the very moment the sharp tips of the thorns were about to touch his skin, his figure suddenly vanished.
When he reappeared in the next instant, he was already a hundred meters away.
Without stopping for a moment, more thorns from all around surged frantically toward him the instant he appeared.
Lin Xuan's expression remained unchanged as he activated his Second Soul Skill again.
His figure vanished.
When he reappeared, he was under the shadow of a rock another hundred and fifty meters to the north.
The attacks came again.
He shifted again.
Lin Xuan was like a ghost. Every time the airtight thorns were about to close in, he would always use his Shadow Substitute Soul skills to leap out of the encirclement at the last possible second.
He leaped again and again toward the core area to the north, where the thorns were densest.
Five hundred meters... one thousand meters... As he went deeper, the environmental pressure increased sharply.
However, Lin Xuan also keenly noticed that among these main thorns, which were like giant pythons, a large number of relatively thin and tender new thorns began to appear.
Their color was lighter, their spikes shorter, and the force and toughness with which they whipped out were far inferior to the old vines on the periphery.
Just as Han Ruoruo had said, the Thorn Demon would instinctively sprout new thorns in a combat state, and these newcomers were much more fragile.
One thousand five hundred meters... two thousand meters... The surrounding thorns had become dense beyond imagination. The proportion of new thorns grew higher and higher as they writhed frantically, trying to fill every inch of space between the main thorns to build an absolute defensive fortress.
Two and a half kilometers!
The final Shadow Substitute was complete.
Lin Xuan's figure appeared in a gap at the edge of a nearly solid mass of thorns woven from countless new growths.
Through the last few dozen meters of relatively sparse thorn barriers ahead, he could finally see it.
At the very center, where countless thorns were erupting, a jade-green humanoid figure stood quietly.
It was composed entirely of more translucent thorns that looked as if they were carved from emerald, coiled together to outline a slender and graceful human silhouette.
On these thorns, countless colorful and delicate exotic flowers were in full bloom, emitting a fragrance so rich it was intoxicating.
It stood there quietly, as beautiful as an elf born of the forest—exquisite and fragile—yet forming an eerie and terrifying contrast with the boundless deathly thorns surrounding it.
Thorn Demon · True Form.
Seemingly sensing that a human had intruded into the core area, the jade-green humanoid slowly turned its head.
It had no facial features, but Lin Xuan could clearly feel a venomous and furious gaze locking onto him.
"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—!!!"
In an instant, with the True Form as the center, all the new thorns within a hundred-meter radius shot toward Lin Xuan with unprecedented frenzy, like an enraged swarm of bees!
Facing this terrifying tide of thorns, Lin Xuan did not retreat. Instead, he slowly curled his lips into a cold smile.
"Found you."
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