The canyon echoed with relentless roars. Once the freezing effect wore off, the three Thousand Jun Ant Emperors curled up and plunged into the ground. Hard rock turned as soft as soil beneath their insect legs, leaving behind only three winding trails of dirt before they vanished from sight.
"Watch the ground!" Tang San had barely finished speaking when the earth began to shake violently, as though some gigantic beast were rolling beneath it. Then, massive boulders on the cliffs along the flanks came loose one after another. Several boulders dozens of feet across were thrust up from underground by immense force and came crashing toward them with howling winds. The instant the rocks fell, the ground split open, and even more boulders and rubble poured down like a torrential rain, completely sealing off their retreat.
"Fifth soul skill: Star Ring Barrier!" Lin Zhixia reacted swiftly. Silver-purple Soul Power erupted from her body, transforming into several rings of starlight that intertwined around the two of them to form a translucent barrier. As the starlight flowed, a faint glow spread across the barrier, blocking the flying debris outside. Gripping the Star River Shattering Bow, she kept her gaze fixed on the disturbances in the ground. Star patterns flickered beneath her feet as she led Tang San continuously away from the crashing boulders, each step precisely avoiding the splitting earth.
"Boom!" A millstone-sized boulder broke through the rain of rubble and smashed straight toward the top of the barrier. Lin Zhixia's eyes sharpened. She placed her left hand on the bowstring, gathering silver-purple star power into a slender arrow whose tip gleamed with sharp light. "First Spirit Skill: Starlight Arrow!"
The arrow shot through the air like a meteor, striking the center of the boulder with perfect accuracy. With a crisp crack,