Crossing Realms to Face the Enemy

When Zeng Fan heard Yuan Jin's voice, his heart sank to the bottom. He had already guessed what was happening when he saw the light surrounding the demonic beast, and Yuan Jin immediately confirmed it. A Spirit Gathering Realm demonic beast had actually slipped onto the section of city wall guarded by their Body Tempering Realm disciples.

"Bastards! What were those Spirit Gathering Realm disciples up ahead doing? How did they let this thing in?"

Wang Beichen cursed furiously, unable to restrain his anger. Spiritual Energy was already surging rapidly through his body. In front of a Spirit Gathering Realm opponent, his newly broken-through Body Tempering Blood cultivation was utterly inadequate. Only Murong Xue could put up some resistance. If the rest of them charged in, they would probably end up seriously injured.

"You brat, stop hiding it! You definitely have some way to kill this thing. Hurry up and use it to finish it off!"

Yuan Jin had also been badly frightened by the Spirit Gathering Realm demonic beast. He hurriedly shouted at Wang Beichen. He knew that for a cultivation prodigy like Wang Beichen, his Household would certainly have arranged some protective means. They would never let him leave without any defenses.

"My method can only activate automatically when I'm facing a life-or-death crisis. I can't activate it myself. I have to be beaten half to death by this demonic beast first!"

Wang Beichen knew how serious the situation was. He grew anxious when he heard Yuan Jin's voice. His Household had indeed arranged a protective talisman for him, but he could not simply use the thing whenever he wanted. The old men in his Household had made it clear that it was meant to temper him and prevent him from developing a dependence on it. Now that he had run into this situation, all he could do was stare blankly.

Wang Beichen wore a conflicted expression. Did he really have to offer himself up and get beaten half to death to activate the protective talisman? That would hurt so much. He had never suffered such a great hardship in his entire life.

"Release the signal first!" Zeng Fan had already calmed down. He took a signal flare from his robes, pulled it open, and hurled it into the air.

The signal flare exploded in midair, forming a mass of red smoke that condensed without dispersing. It was an emergency distress signal. Every disciple stationed on the upper city wall carried one. Whenever they encountered a situation they could not withstand, they could release a signal flare to request reinforcements. Once the people responsible for providing support saw it, they would rush over at the fastest speed possible.

The explosion of the signal flare also drew the attention of the snake-shaped demonic beast. While Zeng Fan and the others were speaking, the beast had not immediately attacked after entering the city. Instead, it had coiled beside the twitching corpse. Because of the instincts of snakes, although the demonic beast had been struck in the head by Murong Xue, the corpse continued twitching without end. Paired with the headless body, the sight was rather frightening. The huge Spirit Gathering Realm snake had remained beside it, flicking its tongue and hissing, seemingly trying to communicate with it.

When Zeng Fan released the signal flare, the corpse finally stopped twitching and became completely still. The huge snake let out a low growl. Spirit Gathering Realm demonic beasts still had very low intelligence. Only after the corpse stopped moving did it realize that its companion had probably been killed by the humans before it.

Two cold green vertical pupils turned toward Zeng Fan and the others. The huge snake raised its body beside the corpse. The light of Spiritual Energy on its body flickered faintly, and its thick tail had already appeared in front of Murong Xue.

"Be careful, everyone. Try to hold out until reinforcements arrive. If you really can't, let Wang Beichen take the hits!" Murong Xue's expression was calm, but her eyes were razor-sharp. The aura around her suddenly surged, drawing infinitely close to the Spirit Gathering Realm.

Another sharp sound of something tearing through the air rang out. The iron spear in Murong Xue's hands collided violently with the snake's tail. After a muffled boom, the tail trembled slightly, while Murong Xue slid backward and stomped down hard to stop herself.

Before Murong Xue could make her next move, a huge snake head had already closed in and lunged at her. Murong Xue's expression changed, and just as she was about to dodge, a figure appeared beside the snake's head and slammed a fist into its side, forcing it to change direction. It was Zeng Fan, who had already rushed over.

"Are you all right?" Zeng Fan's chest rose and fell rapidly. Black light flowed over his body as he fully activated Ironwood Body. A numb sensation continuously traveled up from his hand, making him increasingly wary.

"As expected, a Spirit Gathering Realm demonic beast isn't something I can deal with right now. I'll have to wait until my Body Tempering Blood reaches Major Accomplishment before I have any hope of contending with it for a while." The instant his fist struck the snake's head, he felt as though he had hit a rock. If Ironwood Body had not reached Major Accomplishment, the force rebounding from the scales might have shattered the bones in his hand.

The huge snake, by contrast, merely shook its head lightly before turning its eyes toward the four of them again. Wang Beichen and Yuan Jin had also arrived at their side.

There was not the slightest trace of fear in Murong Xue's eyes. Instead, battle intent kept surging within them. She casually flung the iron spear from her hand, sending it deep into the ground, and wore a hint of excitement on her face as she quickly spoke.

"You three, cover me. I'll fight it. I feel that the gap between us isn't that great! This is also my chance to break through!"

Wang Beichen and Yuan Jin's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. "Big sister, this is a Spirit Gathering Realm demonic beast! Are the five of us Body Tempering Realm cultivators really going to take it on just like that?" Yuan Jin spoke first.

Wang Beichen said nothing. He merely nodded at Murong Xue, fully playing his role as her follower. Whatever Big Sister Murong said was right.

Zeng Fan patted Yuan Jin on the shoulder and let out a soft breath.

"I believe Murong can do it too. We'll just do as she says."

Murong Xue smiled lightly at Zeng Fan when she heard his words. The girl's face was filled with confidence.

"Don't worry! If we really can't beat it, just throw Wang Beichen out. That'll definitely solve the problem!"

Wang Beichen's body trembled when he heard this. However, he could only nod with a pained expression. All he could hope for now was that Murong Xue could truly hold back this demonic beast. Otherwise, he would have to take the hits.

Seeing the three of them like this, Yuan Jin pulled a bitter face and twisted his mouth. The aura around him began to rise, and he prepared to strike at any moment. Wang An's cultivation was too low, so he could only hide far away.

Across from them, the huge snake did not hesitate when it saw the four of them gather. In its perception, the aura of all four humans before it was weaker than its own. Combined with its fury at losing its companion, it twisted its body and charged toward them again.

Murong Xue took a deep breath and swiftly assumed a fist stance, her body bent like a swimming dragon. It was the Soaring Dragon in the Sky Fist of the Profound Spirit Dynasty. The iron spear had only recently fallen into her hands, so Murong Xue was still more accustomed to using her own fist technique.

The huge snake had already reached them. Murong Xue let out a soft shout and leaped upward, dodging the snake head's bite. Her petite fist carried tremendous force as it smashed down viciously. Looking closely, one could even see a faint layer of Spiritual Energy covering her fist.

Releasing Spiritual Energy outward until it covered the entire body was the sign of entering the Spirit Gathering Realm. Once the light around Murong Xue's fist expanded to encompass her whole body, she would have entered the next realm.

Unlike Zeng Fan, when Murong Xue's fist struck the huge snake, it immediately let out a pained hiss. The scales where her fist made contact shattered apart. Although it was not a fatal injury, the fact that she could damage the huge snake was enough to greatly encourage the three people behind her.

Stung by pain, the huge snake's vicious nature erupted. Its tail lashed toward Murong Xue, who was still in midair. With nowhere to borrow force, Murong Xue would certainly suffer a serious injury if the tail struck her.

Zeng Fan knew that this was the moment for them to cover her. He drove Ironwood Body to its limit. His cultivation was the lowest among the three, but because he had cultivated Ironwood Body, his physical defense was somewhat stronger than Yuan Jin's and Wang Beichen's.

With a forceful swing, Zeng Fan threw the iron spear in his hand toward the snake's tail. Just as the tail was about to strike Murong Xue, a clang rang out as the iron spear collided with it, causing it to pause slightly. In that instant of stagnation, Murong Xue stepped onto the snake's tail and used the reversed force to flip back onto the ground.

After being obstructed twice by Zeng Fan, the huge snake grew furious. It stopped attacking Murong Xue and instead charged toward Zeng Fan.

But how could the others let it have its way? Murong Xue charged toward the huge snake again, while the other three waited at the side for opportunities to sneak in attacks. For a time, the battle reached a balance.

Although the huge snake used its Spirit Gathering Realm cultivation to suppress the four of them, Murong Xue's profound cultivation combined with the harassment of the other three meant that it could only suppress them and had no way to defeat them completely. If things continued like this, once reinforcements arrived, the huge snake would have nowhere to run.

Perhaps because it had grown agitated, at one moment during its exchange with Murong Xue, the huge snake suddenly charged into her with all its strength. Murong Xue nimbly flashed to the side and simultaneously slammed a fist into its body. The punch caused the huge snake to rear its head slightly, exposing the belly it had always carefully guarded.

"There's a chance!" At last, Murong Xue saw the huge snake's weakness exposed. Without the slightest hesitation, she launched her strongest attack.

"Soaring Dragon in the Sky!"

Murong Xue directly unleashed her killing move. Her small, snow-white fist, carrying the force she had accumulated, slammed straight into the huge snake's belly. With a pained hiss, her punch actually broke directly into the huge snake's abdomen.

Before she could cause further damage to its insides, Murong Xue's expression changed. She felt her fist being tightly clamped by the demonic beast's muscles. She could not pull free for a moment. Snakelike demonic beasts were most skilled at constricting their prey, and their muscular strength was also formidable among demonic beasts.

"Bastard! It was a trap!" Murong Xue looked up. Before Zeng Fan and the others could react, they saw the huge snake's throat swell. Then it sprayed a cloud of black venomous gas from its mouth. Murong Xue had no way to dodge and could only watch helplessly as the poisonous gas enveloped her entire body.

"Not good! Attack together!"

Zeng Fan roared at Wang Beichen and Yuan Jin. The two of them also knew how serious the situation was. Spiritual Energy surged madly through their bodies as they charged toward the huge snake at the same time.

"Five Kill Fist!"

"Bone Dislocation Hand!"

"Fish Dragon Dance!"

The three killing moves struck the huge snake one after another. Murong Xue also struggled with all her strength to break free. The huge snake could only let out an unwilling hiss before rolling backward.

Murong Xue's fist finally tore free from the huge snake's body. After landing, however, her figure staggered. Zeng Fan stepped forward and gently steadied her by the back. His expression anxious, he spoke.

"Are you all right? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?" The black poisonous gas sprayed from the huge snake's mouth definitely had something wrong with it! Although Murong Xue could still circulate Spiritual Energy, Zeng Fan saw a faint black aura on her face.

"I've been poisoned. I may have to suppress the poison. You'll have to let Wang Beichen hold it back." The black aura on Murong Xue's fair face grew heavier and heavier. She spoke to Zeng Fan with slightly hurried breaths.

The huge snake's scales had suffered some damage from the combined attack of the three men. However, the bloodied hole punched into it by Murong Xue had caused the greatest injury. Blood was still flowing out of it, but the huge snake did not seem to care. Its cold vertical pupils stared fixedly at everyone.

Zeng Fan's pupils constricted. He saw something writhing inside the bloodied hole in the huge snake's abdomen. It was actually a mass of muscles. The muscles writhed faster and faster, finally slowly plugging the wound. The flow of blood from the injury grew smaller and smaller until it vanished.

"Bastard!"

Zeng Fan had never expected that a Spirit Gathering Realm demonic beast had already learned to use deceit. It had deliberately exposed a weakness to lure Murong Xue into attacking, then sprayed poisonous gas to deprive her of her combat strength.

The black aura on Murong Xue's face grew increasingly dense. She took pills from her Storage Ring and swallowed them, silently refining their medicinal power. Although the poison made her look somewhat listless, there was no fear on Murong Xue's face, because she knew that they still had Wang Beichen.

"Wang Beichen, it's up to you! Murong has been poisoned!" Zeng Fan turned and shouted at Wang Beichen. They could only let him suffer a little.

A conflicted expression appeared on Wang Beichen's face. However, after looking at Murong Xue's condition, he knew that the three of them could not possibly hold back this Spirit Gathering Realm demonic beast. He could only grit his teeth and step forward, the fear in his eyes slowly turning into determination.

"I'll fight for Big Sister Murong! Ancestor, hurry up and activate the method you gave me! Don't let it hurt too much!" Wang Beichen's body trembled slightly. Because of his fear and the tension in all his muscles, the circulation of Spiritual Energy had instead become somewhat sluggish.

The huge snake, however, did not care about any of this. Wang Beichen was blocking its path, and with its intelligence, it would deal with whoever stood in front first! The huge snake bent its body slightly, then suddenly sprang forward. It opened its jaws wide and bit down at Wang Beichen. His body was already trembling violently, and tears even glimmered in his eyes, but he still did not retreat. He could even see the sharp fangs inside the huge snake's mouth.

Wang Beichen shut his eyes tightly, afraid to look any longer. A howl of wind came from ahead—the sound of the huge snake's rapid movement.

Zeng Fan, Yuan Jin, and Murong Xue stared fixedly at Wang Beichen. Although they knew that the boy had some protective talismans on him, they still felt uncomfortable letting a child stand in front.

The huge snake had already reached Wang Beichen. Just as its sharp fangs were about to touch his clothes, reinforcements finally arrived!

"Get lost!"

A gruff voice rang out from the distance. Along with it, a long white object shot rapidly through the air. The huge snake's body suddenly vanished from in front of Wang Beichen.

A thunderous boom rang out. Wang Beichen opened his eyes and saw the huge snake writhing madly on the ground not far away, unable to move because a silver spear had been driven through its body. Part of the spear had sunk into the huge snake's flesh. Complex inscriptions were carved into the exposed shaft, and under the sunlight, the silver-white spear emitted a faintly dazzling radiance.

Wang Beichen's body immediately went limp. After throwing the spear in his hand, a figure rushed rapidly toward them.

The four people, whose nerves had been stretched taut, saw that figure and immediately relaxed. The sect's reinforcements had finally arrived at the very last moment.