Where Did Xuan Zi Go?

Smack—

A crimson afterimage slashed through the air like lightning, bringing with it a piercing sonic boom as it viciously struck the man standing nearby.

It was so fast that the man had no time to react. The confusion had not even faded from his face before he was sent flying like a cannonball.

After crashing through several thick trees that would have taken two people to wrap their arms around, the man violently spat out a mouthful of blood. With every bone in his body shattered, he collapsed onto the ground like a pile of mud, barely breathing and twitching from time to time. He clearly was not going to survive.

"Wu Luan!"

Seeing this, the remaining ten people's eyes instantly reddened as they stared fixedly at the Soul Beast that had suddenly charged into their group.

It was a Soul Beast that resembled a gecko. It moved on all fours, but its body was far larger than a gecko's, measuring over ten meters long by sight. Its entire body was covered in dark-red scales. What had launched the attack just now was not its terrifying claws, but its enormous tail, which accounted for nearly half its body length.

Most strikingly, there was a clear claw scar over its left eye. It appeared that another Soul Beast had clawed that eye blind. There were also several long, narrow wounds across its abdomen. Judging by the blood still continuously flowing from them, this Soul Beast had clearly just lost a battle against another Soul Beast and fled here.

After killing two people in succession, the crimson in the lizard's remaining right eye deepened further. Seeing the weak humans cautiously facing it, its eyes actually revealed contempt and amusement. It bared its teeth in a remarkably human manner and let out a harsh, hissing laugh, as though mocking them for overestimating themselves.

Foul-smelling saliva dripped from its mouth. Feeling the bloody aura rushing toward them, Zhang Lexuan's expression was incomparably grim. In just one exchange, they had already lost two people. One Inner Courtyard Disciple who had recognized the Soul Beast's identity looked on the verge of collapse.

"Blood Erosion Dragon Lizard! And a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beast at that! Why would a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beast appear in the Mixed Region?!"

"Where did Xuan Zi go? Why hasn't he shown himself yet?!"

Besides Zhang Lexuan, there were two Soul Saints in the team, while the rest consisted of Soul Kings and Soul Emperors.

With their lineup, let alone after losing two combatants, even if all twelve of them were present, they probably would not be a match for the Blood Erosion Dragon Lizard before them.

When facing a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beast, even a Titled Douluo would not dare claim certain victory, much less against a Blood Erosion Dragon Lizard known for its savagery.

Even among Soul Beasts, the Blood Erosion Dragon Lizard was infamous. Unlike the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, which devoured other Soul Beasts to grow stronger, it simply enjoyed killing.

Blood Erosion Dragon Lizards actually had a high egg-laying rate, yet extremely few survived. This was because from the moment they were born, young Blood Erosion Dragon Lizards would, under their mother's instruction, slaughter the siblings born alongside them until only the final victor remained.

Under such intense pressure, even the individual that survived to the end had a high chance of suffering grave injuries during the battle and dying soon afterward. It could be said that an entire clutch of Blood Erosion Dragon Lizard hatchlings would often fail to produce even one survivor. Only the individual that truly lived through it all would earn its mother's approval and be cared for until it could hunt on its own.

Those brutal conditions gave them terrifying combat instincts and forged their crazed, bloodthirsty nature. Forget prey—even when they encountered their own kind, once they went mad, they would fight to the death.

Facing such a Soul Beast, even Shrek's battle-hardened Inner Courtyard Disciples could not help but begin to despair. Just then, a sharp shout exploded beside their ears like thunder.

"Enough!"

A phantom silver moon emerged behind Zhang Lexuan, while seven Soul Rings—two yellow, two purple, and three black—rose beneath her feet. The powerful aura made everyone's bodies tremble, and the atmosphere of despair was eased considerably.

"Xuan Zi's whereabouts are currently unknown. We can only rely on ourselves. This Blood Erosion Dragon Lizard is clearly badly wounded. With so many of us giving it everything we have, we may not have no chance."

The moment she finished speaking, Zhang Lexuan felt a sudden premonition of death arise in her heart. The crimson afterimage descended once more. Whether her shout had enraged the Blood Erosion Dragon Lizard or it had sensed that Zhang Lexuan posed the greatest threat, the tail strike was aimed directly at her this time.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhang Lexuan rapidly retreated as her Seventh Soul Ring and Sixth Soul Ring abruptly lit up. In an instant, her body burst forth with brilliant silver light. The phantom silver moon behind her slowly moved forward, swallowing both her and the Sixth Soul Ring that had lit up alongside it.

As that black Soul Ring vanished into it, the silver moon's color changed into a deep, eerie black, like an abyss poised to devour its prey. A ring of silver light tightly bound that patch of darkness, making it resemble an eclipse at first glance.

At the instant the Blood Erosion Dragon Lizard's tail was about to strike her, a deafening roar erupted from that pitch-black moon. Along with it came a dazzling pillar of light so brilliant that no one could keep their eyes open.

Empowered by her Martial Soul Avatar and Zhang Lexuan's nearly frenzied infusion of Soul Power, the might unleashed by her Sixth Soul Skill startled even the Blood Erosion Dragon Lizard. It had no time to react before that terrifying strike landed upon its tail.

Following an explosion like thunder, blood rained down from the sky as the Blood Erosion Dragon Lizard let out a pained howl. Enduring the waves of agony, it instinctively turned its head toward its tail. Its scales had peeled back, its flesh was mangled, and at the very center was a massive wound half a meter wide. A large amount of flesh had been vaporized by the enormous energy blast. It had clearly suffered severe injuries.

As a Soul Beast famed for slaughter, the Blood Erosion Dragon Lizard had been injured so badly by weak humans due to its carelessness. Its mind was instantly consumed by surging killing intent. After erupting in a vicious roar, it charged straight toward the silver moon Zhang Lexuan had transformed into.

In contrast to the Blood Erosion Dragon Lizard's Wrath, the remaining Inner Courtyard Disciples were overjoyed at the sight. Zhang Lexuan's attack had inflicted such serious damage upon it, which at least allowed them to see hope of victory.

"Everyone, cover Zhang Lexuan!"

One of the Soul Saints immediately shouted and lit up his Seventh Soul Ring as well. The others likewise unleashed their respective Soul Skills and rushed forward.

Soul Skills had cooldowns. Among them, only Zhang Lexuan was currently capable of breaking through the Blood Erosion Dragon Lizard's scales and injuring it, so they naturally had to fight around her.

What they needed to do now was attack those wounds as much as possible, dealing damage while drawing the Blood Erosion Dragon Lizard's attention and creating enough of an opening for Zhang Lexuan's next strike.

Now that its tail was severely injured, it posed far less of a threat than before. As long as they stalled for time, perhaps Xuan Zi would find them before Zhang Lexuan even needed to attack again!

They could win!

P.S.: We will win.jpg