"Senior Sister Gong!" Just as the black shadow was fifteen paces away from them, a slightly tense and dry voice broke the deathly silence. This caused the other seven cultivators to let out a sigh of relief, only then realizing that the talismans in their hands were raised high, sweat streaming down their cheeks like rivulets.
Following Li Yan's clear shout, it was as if a clap of thunder resounded in this space. All the cultivating individuals opened their eyes simultaneously. Amidst their somewhat bewildered glances around, many cries of alarm were let out as they scrambled to their feet. In an instant, spirit light flared brightly as they all released their protective spirit shields. Though they knew from legends that neither protective shields nor defensive talismans were of any use against the giant black shadow in the sky, it was still their first instinct.
Gong Chenying also stood up. She looked at the immense black shadow, now so close. In reality, she had felt a sense of unease more than ten breaths ago. It wasn't a perception of her divine sense, but rather a battlefield instinct honed over many years. A quick scan with her divine sense showed Li Yan and the others staring nervously in one direction, but in her divine sense, that direction was just a void. She guessed the black shadow must be close, but out of her trust in Li Yan, she did not immediately open her eyes. Instead, she forced herself to calm down and continue recovering. She knew her own importance; the better her recovery now, the greater her contribution to the battle ahead would be. It was only when Li Yan shouted that she opened her beautiful eyes without hesitation. The scene before her sent a chill down her spine. The sky-covering black shadow was merely a dozen paces away. If the shadow were to suddenly change, with a single burst of speed, their group of several dozen people wouldn't even have time to stand up. Without a second thought, she let out a sharp cry.
"Let's go!" Spirit light flickered around her, protecting her entire body. With a flash of green light from her hand, she was the first to charge headfirst toward the yellow sphere in the middle of the ancient path.
At the same time, she marveled at Li Yan's audacity. In the twenty or so breaths between when she first sensed something and when Li Yan shouted his warning, she had recovered a significant amount of additional spirit power, and she believed the other cultivators had as well. She hadn't expected Li Yan and his small group to be so daring.
As ripples of light shimmered before her, the first thing that met Gong Chenying's eyes was a ferocious, savage face. It was half-demon, half-beast, its body covered in dense, sharp spines. A long, forked tongue flickered in and out. It stood several dozen feet away, a pair of narrow eyes staring malevolently in her direction. Behind it, dozens of various demonic beasts let out a heaven-shaking roar. In an instant, a storm of attacks whistled towards them...
...
Gazing at the scene of carnage and strewn corpses within the sphere, Gong Chenying delivered a cold backward elbow strike. It connected with the head of a late-stage, second-tier Earth-Thorn Lizard that was right behind her, its face a mask of astonishment and disbelief. The blow instantly caved in one side of its seemingly iron-cast head. At the same time, a golden light flashed from Gong Chenying's other hand. A small golden axe spun out from the Earth-Thorn Lizard's abdomen, and a dark-colored Demonic Core floated in mid-air. Gong Chenying snatched it and put it away in her Storage Pouch.
Amidst a cloud of dust, the lizard's massive, mountain-like body crashed to the ground. It still let out a few ragged breaths, but the light had already faded from its eyes. It was clearly dead, soon falling silent.
The sound of the surrounding cultivators' ragged, panting breaths was incessant. Gong Chenying glanced at the ceiling. Only three breaths had passed since she had made her move. At this moment, the corrosion from the black shadow covering the top had begun to accelerate now that it was no longer supported by the blue rhomboid crystal.
"Clean up the battlefield. We leave in five breaths." With that, she leaped into the center of the area. With a wave of her jade-like hand, the corpses of the Malevolent Spirit Sect cultivators flew one by one into a separate Storage Pouch, her face devoid of sorrow or joy.
The moment they had entered, Gong Chenying had discovered a team of demonic beasts already lying in wait. Their leader was a late-stage, second-tier Earth-Thorn Lizard. This team of demonic beasts gave Gong Chenying's group no time to rest. Before Gong Chenying could even steady herself upon entry, the lizard had already attacked her, showing no intention of using its blue rhomboid crystal.
Gong Chenying had activated her protective shield the instant she entered. Although she knew a fierce battle likely awaited them, this was still somewhat unexpected. The enemy, ignoring the imminent arrival of the black shadow outside, had launched a deadly attack immediately upon seeing them, apparently intending to kill them all before the shadow arrived. Gong Chenying saw her opponent wave its hands, and two plank-like broadswords chopped down toward her head. She gave a cold snort, remaining calm in the face of danger. Her divine sense told her that her opponent's cultivation realm was higher than hers; a direct confrontation would not end well. But the cultivators behind her were still pouring in through the entrance. If she dodged, the passage would be blocked, and those who came in after would surely die. Fortunately, one side inside the sphere could not know the exact location of the other's entry point in advance. So, when she entered, the second-tier demonic beast was nearly a hundred feet away from her. Although it attacked the moment it saw her, it was clearly a hasty attack, not at full power.
A blinding spiritual light erupted from Gong Chenying's head, and her hands were not idle. A streak of green light slashed upwards from below, but not to meet the two broadswords directly. Instead, it carved out an area in front of and behind her. As her green halberd slashed out, the protective light shield around her body rapidly expanded, forming a massive dual-layer protective barrier of halberd light and shield, forty feet in diameter. At the same time, a loud crash was heard overhead. Where the blades of the two plank-like broadswords met the giant shield, a series of dazzling green lights erupted like splashing water, followed by a hissing sound.
Seeing that the cultivator who had just entered the sphere had actually blocked his attack, a fierce glint flashed in the eyes of the late-stage, second-tier Earth-Thorn Lizard, immediately followed by a lewd glint. He had now gotten a clear look at Gong Chenying's appearance. Gazing at her fiery, slender, and athletic figure, he couldn't help but feel a surge of heat. With a beckoning gesture, the two broadswords leaped up from above Gong Chenying's head. He pointed a finger at them from afar, and the two broadswords transformed into two black, monstrous lizards, smashing down towards the shield Gong Chenying held up. Gong Chenying's beautiful eyes narrowed, because she saw that behind these two monstrous lizards, more demonic beasts had appeared. They either spat sharp winds or swiped their claws to create fire, attacking her protective spirit shield like a sky-covering deluge. With so many attacks, mixed with the assault of a second-tier demonic beast, it was not something Gong Chenying could withstand. But a cold glint merely flashed in her phoenix-like eyes; she didn't retreat a single step. The spirit power in her entire body surged, and the dual-layer defensive light flared brilliantly.
The late-stage, second-tier Earth-Thorn Lizard, standing in the distance, couldn't help but look at the lesser demonic beasts behind it with annoyance, cursing them inwardly. Under such an onslaught, not even the female cultivator's bones would be left, so how could he enjoy her later? But the demonic beasts behind had already attacked, and it was too late for him to stop them now. He cursed them in his mind, 'A bunch of brainless things,' completely forgetting his own earlier words: "The moment the human cultivators enter, attack immediately, no matter what. Violators will be killed!" Who would have thought that the first-tier demonic beasts would join the attack the instant he launched his own.
The moment the numerous attacks reached Gong Chenying's dual-layered shield, more than a dozen streaks of light shot out from within the shield to meet the enemy's assault. In that short time, over a dozen figures had appeared within Gong Chenying's shield. The moment they appeared, their eyes met the sky-cleaving murderous intent of their opponents. A great alarm rose in their hearts. Without needing Gong Chenying to say a word, they immediately activated their spirit artifacts and spirit treasures to meet the attack. Amidst a continuous series of booms, the attacks were actually held back for a moment. Only the two transformed black, monstrous lizards crashed into the shield. The entire shield shook violently, making the people inside unsteady. With a series of flashes and a crisp sound, the dual-layered shield shattered. The light from the two monstrous lizards also dimmed somewhat, but they continued to pounce directly at Gong Chenying.
Gong Chenying's face was calm, showing neither alarm nor joy. As the attack hit the shield, her left hand had already formed a strange hand seal in front of her chest. With a wave of her other hand, several spirit stones rose up from different corners within a twenty-foot radius. A circular earthen wall, rotating rapidly, rose swiftly from under her feet and expanded. In the blink of an eye, it had grown to about ten feet in size, and the spirit stones embedded themselves directly into the rotating wall. The moment they merged, vein-like patterns, similar to human meridians, appeared on the wall. One by one, they lit up, then gathered like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, instantly shielding her and the cultivators behind her.
The two black monstrous lizards slammed head-first into the wall, which shimmered with an earthy yellow glow, sending dust flying. More attacks from the first-tier demonic beasts followed like a swarm, striking the earthen wall with a continuous barrage of thuds and booms. The wall's thickness steadily decreased, but after a cloud of dust cleared, it had barely managed to hold. Behind the earthen wall, a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of Gong Chenying's mouth; she was already heavily injured.
"A formation?" The late-stage, second-tier Earth-Thorn Lizard narrowed its eyes. At this moment, dozens more figures had appeared behind Gong Chenying. The moment they arrived, they unleashed their attacks, and multicolored spirit lights intertwined and exploded in the air.
The late-stage, second-tier Earth-Thorn Lizard knew that its ambush had failed. A loud hissing sound erupted from above, followed by a rumbling, as two earthen platforms rose. It pointed a finger, and the two black monstrous lizards reverted to two large broadswords, shooting back from the circular earthen wall.
It took a deep look in Gong Chenying's direction, a grin spreading across its savage face. Its long, slender tongue curled around its nose. Without another word, it leaped onto the earthen platform behind it. It opened its mouth and spat out a blue rhomboid crystal, which floated in the air. Grasping it, it poured spirit power into it frantically. A pillar of blue light shot up into the sky, striking the top of the sphere.
"Let's end this quickly," Gong Chenying said in a low voice, not bothering to wipe the blood from her lips. She too leaped onto the earthen platform behind her. With a slap to her waist pouch, she grasped a blue rhomboid crystal in her hand. She was already internally injured. To face a late-stage Foundation Establishment master and dozens of Qi Condensation experts head-on as a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was an astonishing feat that would surely amaze anyone who heard of it. The further one progressed in cultivation, the greater the disparity between realms. The gap between even minor realms could be described as heaven and earth, yet she was so formidable.
Even before entering, Gong Chenying had already devised a countermeasure: formations. This was also why the sect had chosen her to enter. Just now, even a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, if they didn't understand formations, would have had no choice but to dodge far away when faced with the combined attack of a peer and numerous other cultivators, abandoning those behind them. They would have been completely unable to protect the cultivators behind them. Who would have thought she would use the power of a formation to carve out a sliver of hope for survival.
The ensuing battle was surprisingly swift, exceeding everyone's expectations. Qi Busheng and Mi Yuanzhi from Never-Parting Peak, who had previously been at odds with Li Yan, fought as if possessed, being the first to launch an attack. Their Gu-insects were of a type that didn't require their own vital blood to cultivate—swarm-type Gu that won through sheer numbers. When Qi Busheng and Mi Yuanzhi attacked, they released thousands of Gu-insects, which swept toward the demonic beasts opposite them like a sky-covering plague. The enemy had twenty demonic beasts, likely having lost many in the previous trial or during the passage.
Under Qi Busheng and Mi Yuanzhi's assault, the other Malevolent Spirit Sect cultivators also summoned their own spirit beasts, spirit insects, and poisonous mists, instantly throwing the enemy into chaos.
Demonic beasts generally relied on their innate talents to fight, especially first-tier ones, whose innate divine abilities were mostly undeveloped. As a result, many of these beasts, despite their tough physical defenses, found their direct, charging attacks were like hitting cotton—powerful but ineffective. In just a few breaths, many demonic beasts were screaming miserably in agony as swarms of tiny insects burrowed into their mouths, noses, and eyes. They writhed on the ground, and in a few moments, were reduced to piles of white bones. Others, after inhaling the poisonous mist, went berserk, madly attacking their own companions. For a time, this place became a domain of poisonous insects. They flew about with abandon, only daring not to approach the late-stage, second-tier Earth-Thorn Lizard.
For a moment, the Malevolent Spirit Sect cultivators actually gained the upper hand. Qi Busheng and Mi Yuanzhi would occasionally glance at Li Yan from the corners of their eyes. Li Yan's performance, at this moment, was rather ordinary, only occasionally waving his hand to attack. This caused the two of them to curl their lips in a disdainful sneer.