The Spirit Beast was too formidable; even if the cultivators flew into the sky, they still couldn't escape their fate. Its suckers could actually pull the cultivators down from the sky.

Just as it used its powerful suckers to draw in the cultivators from the sky, an unexpected Taiji Diagram rushed towards it. Once the Taiji Diagram entered the suction, its speed accelerated, like a particle by the mouth of a vacuum cleaner, and with a whoosh, the Taiji Diagram was sucked into the gaping maw.

The next moment...

Boom!!

A loud explosion ensued, and the Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram, accompanied by lightning, exploded inside the Spirit Beast's mouth.

Even though it didn't blow open its massive jaw, everything in its mouth, including the suckers, was shattered to pieces, and blood gushed out from the cavernous mouth.

Seeing this, Wang Xiaoqiang took out the Penglai Immortal Sword, pointed it at the Spirit Beast on the ground, and called out to the people in the sky, "Everyone, follow me, and slay this beast!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" The cultivators saw that the Spirit Beast's power lay in its huge jaw. Now that the jaw was destroyed, it was no longer to be feared. They released their Magic Treasure Immortal Swords and bombarded the Spirit Beast.

Wang Xiaoqiang's Pisces Sword Technique had released a Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram, which couldn't blow open the Spirit Beast's gigantic jaw, a testament to the resilience of its body. Therefore, dozens of Immortal Sword Treasures striking it naturally couldn't penetrate its flesh either.

"The lotus blooms, kill!" Zhao Feiyan's brows lifted at the sight, she shouted loudly, and the rotating Water-Fire Lotus charged towards the Spirit Beast.

The rapidly spinning Water-Fire Lotus, with its petals fully extended, struck the body of the Spirit Beast like a giant wheel of light, and with a bang, it burst open a hole in the Spirit Beast's back, splashing blood everywhere.

Seizing the opportunity, Wang Xiaoqiang's will shifted, the Penglai Immortal Sword was drawn, its Sword Light stimulated, and it flew from his hand into the bloody hole in the body of the Spirit Beast.

"Ao!" The earth Spirit Beast let out a terrible scream, sounding both plaintive and furious.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Seeing that the Spirit Beast had been breached by the Water-Fire Lotus, everyone's morale surged, and they once again spurred their Magic Treasure Immortal Swords towards the bloody hole on the back of the Spirit Beast.

Dozens of Magic Treasures gleamed as they repeatedly struck the blood hole, enlarging it further with each hit as blood spurted wildly, each time more violently than the last,

Soon, the Spirit Beast's body was blasted into a battered mess, barely clinging to life, with blood spreading beneath it like a river of gore.

The stench of blood was overwhelming, making one feel like vomiting.

At Wang Xiaoqiang's thought, the Patterned Beast flew off his back, rushed to the dying Spirit Beast, opened its mouth wide, and began devouring its remains.

Watching the Spirit Beast that had taken the lives of eight people being slain, everyone quietly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a wave of solace in their hearts.

Wang Xiaoqiang commanded, "Everyone, quickly get to the ground."

Upon hearing Wang Xiaoqiang's order, everyone immediately descended to the ground to avoid the attacks of flying beasts.

Before long, the Patterned Beast had devoured the remains of the Spirit Beast, leaving only a blood-stained Spirit Marrow.

Wang Xiaoqiang beckoned, and the Spirit Marrow flew towards him.

As it reached him, Wang Xiaoqiang waved his hand again, and a stream of Water Element Spiritual Qi washed the blood off the Spirit Marrow,

Then, Wang Xiaoqiang grabbed the Spirit Marrow, handing it to Zhao Feiyan, "Keep this safe for now. This Spirit Marrow still belongs to everyone."

Zhao Feiyan took the Spirit Marrow and placed it into her Storage Ring, then stared at Wang Xiaoqiang with a look of incredulity, asking, "Little Qiang, you, you don't have a Spirit Root, right? How can you emit such pure Water Element Spiritual Qi?"

Cultivators, based on their own Spirit Roots, determine the course of their Cultivation. For instance, Zhao Feiyan, who possessed both Water and Fire Element Spirit Roots, naturally had Spiritual Power within her body leaning towards these two attributes, and the Spells she Cultivated were also of these two properties. For example, the Water-Fire Lotus Curse was invoked using the Water Element Spiritual Qi and Fire Element Spiritual Energy within her body.

However, Zhao Feiyan knew very well that the Water Element and Fire Element Spiritual Energies in her body were not pure, as no cultivator could achieve one hundred percent purity in any type of Spiritual Energy.

Yet now, Wang Xiaoqiang, a cultivator with no Spirit Roots, could actually release such pure Spiritual Qi, which was inevitably astonishing!

Wang Xiaoqiang smiled slightly, dismissively saying, "Feiyan, this is just one of my Spell Techniques."

"What Spell Technique is so powerful?!" Zhao Feiyan became even more curious.

"It's a long story, I can't explain it all right now, I'll tell you later!" Wang Xiaoqiang fobbed her off and then pulled her to descend to the ground together.

However, what was worse was that just as the two of them had landed, they saw the western sky suddenly darken as if a cloud of darkness had obscured the sun,

But clouds are silent, and right now, sounds were being emitted, resembling the roar of birds and beasts, a dense and alarming chorus.

Hearing this sound, everyone grew tenser, then all looked up at the western sky, where they saw not a cloud, but a vast swarm of flying beasts, squealing as they rushed towards them, numbering perhaps dozens.

"This is bad, everyone run!"

Wang Xiaoqiang warned with a shout, then grabbed Zhao Feiyan's hand and fled.

Seeing this, the others panicked and immediately fled for their lives.

The flying beasts from the heart of the mountain range must be more powerful than those at the edges, and dozens of flying beasts were far beyond what these cultivators could contend with.

If not now, when?

But...

Could they really escape?

The last two Female Cultivators, lagging at the rear of the group, were overtaken by two flying beasts. Their massive claws struck down like swords, tearing their delicate bodies, causing them to spew blood and scream in panic. Yet, they were cruelly snatched up into the sky by the flying beasts, leaving a trail of blood behind.

Wang Xiaoqiang and Zhao Feiyan fled at a high speed, the Patterned Beast following Wang Xiaoqiang's willpower, covering their retreat and closely guarding them from behind.

Behind them, agonized screams continued to resonate…

Ah… Ahh…

One scream was more piercing than the last, the volume of cries growing increasingly numerous…

Zhao Feiyan suddenly turned her head to see that out of the original group of more than sixty people, forty were nowhere in sight, now only twenty or so were still desperately running for their lives, while those Flying Beasts were still relentlessly pursuing them.

Zhao Feiyan turned her head forward again, and while still running, said, "Little Qiang, it seems that this time, our luck is running out. Have the Patterned Beast hold them off for a while, I'll release the Water-Fire Lotus to save our lives!"

"Okay!" Wang Xiaoqiang decisively stopped in his tracks, then the Patterned Beast also halted, turning its head to face the Flying Beasts rushing in from mid-air, and let out a thick stream of flames.

Whoosh!

The substantial flames caused the Flying Beasts to scatter.

Wang Xiaoqiang also took out his Sun-Shooting Bow, staying alert.

One of the Flying Beasts, with a fierce momentum, dived towards Zhao Feiyan.

Wang Xiaoqiang drew his bow and released the string, a Gang Qi Arrow shot out with great speed.

An arrow struck the eye of that Flying Beast.

"Awooo!" The Flying Beast howled in anguish, like a fighter jet abruptly turning around, it circled slightly and then flew away.

During the brief interval, Zhao Feiyan had unfurled the Water-Fire Lotus, pulling Wang Xiaoqiang onto it. The Patterned Beast turned into a shadow and attached itself to Wang Xiaoqiang's back,

Then, before several more Flying Beasts could pounce upon them, the Water-Fire Lotus closed up swiftly with Zhao Feiyan's incantation, turning into a flower bud.

As the petals closed, the black leaves were still stretching out, and as the bud spun rapidly, those petals emitted a dark glow, like a sharp wheel of light or a tempestuous Tai Chi, sending the few pouncing Flying Beasts reeling back.

Seeing that the Flying Beasts not only failed to break through the Water-Fire Lotus but were also repelled by it, Wang Xiaoqiang was also secretly shocked, having not realized the Water Lotus was so formidable!

The Flying Beasts, seeing the overwhelming power of the Water-Fire Lotus, gave up on attacking it and turned to slaughter the tangible Cultivators instead,

At this moment, only a handful of Cultivators remained, each feeling desolate in their hearts, yet they still instinctively ran for their lives, not giving up on that sliver of hope.

But reality was cruel.

The ferocious Flying Beasts pounced on them, their sharp claws and teeth piercing their bodies, carrying away their bloody remains…

Wang Xiaoqiang and Zhao Feiyan within the Water-Fire Lotus, through the petals of the lotus bud, watched as their comrades were slaughtered one after another, feeling a deep sadness in their hearts.

"Feiyan, don't look anymore. Let's keep moving forward to find the Number 4 Armor. I think it's not far from us now," Wang Xiaoqiang reminded her.

Zhao Feiyan's eyes brimmed with tears as she said sorrowfully, "We came in a group of a hundred, now only the two of us are left!"

"Enough, now is not the time to cry," Wang Xiaoqiang reached out to wipe the tears from her eyes,

With tears held back, Zhao Feiyan gestured with her hands, and the Water-Fire Lotus, like a spinning flying disc, flew towards the heart of the mountain range.

As the two soared forward, two Immortal Sage Level individuals riding in an Immortal Palanquin had watched the entire scene of the Flying Beasts slaughtering the Cultivators, but their faces were expressionless. The Immortal Palanquin took off, chasing after the direction of the Water-Fire Lotus.

The shape of the Immortal Palanquin resembled an octagonal pavilion and was also reminiscent of a magnificent carriage, just different in that it was adorned with colorful Jade Talismans all over. The talismans flickered ceaselessly, continuously emitting runes, small in size, yet immensely powerful. The Flying Beasts in the sky, sensing these runes, kept a far distance.

Even though the Immortal Palanquin was much larger in size than the Water-Fire Lotus, it didn't seem cumbersome and was more than twice as fast as the Water-Fire Lotus.

"Heh, success is built upon ten thousand bones indeed. Out of this hundred-man squad, only two are left…" one of the Immortal Sages inside the Immortal Palanquin lamented.

"Hmm, the two of them may not have high Cultivation Bases, but their Spell Techniques are astonishing. Especially that young man named Wang Xiaoqiang, despite his youth and lack of a Spirit Root, is a strong Qi Refinement and Body Cultivation Dual Cultivator. Moreover, the Spell Techniques on him are very powerful; I am quite impressed with him..."

"Just be careful they don't fight each other for the Armor when they see it!" another Immortal Sage Level individual said.

"Old Mo, are you blind? These two have already developed a quiet affection for each other. They won't kill each other over an Armor!"

"Not necessarily. Human hearts are unfathomable. Until the final moment, who knows whether they are harboring genuine feelings or not?"

"Tsk, Old Mo, it seems that your practice of the Path of Ruthlessness has really confused you. You've lived a life devoid of emotion and don't believe in affection in this world. But I tell you, affection does exist... How about we make a bet on it?"

"Alright, let's bet on tonight's wine then, loser pays..."

"Hehe, I'm going to win today!"

Joking with each other, the Immortal Palanquin quickly got a thousand meters away from the Water-Fire Lotus. That one called Old Mo made a Hand Gesture to stop the Immortal Palanquin.

The other Immortal Sage took out Armor that had been prepared, cast a Rune on it, and then threw it toward a small mountain,

The Armor fell, sinking into the mountain and out of sight.

The Immortal Palanquin started once more, flying back. It quickly disappeared from the sky where it had originally been. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)

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