Inside the main hall, an energy storm raged, and six figures, like tireless meteors, continuously launched fierce attacks around a jade-white skeleton.
The clanging of metal against metal as Dou Qi Energy clashed with the bones was deafening, and the violent gusts of wind tore the hard ground apart with jagged lines.
However, the seemingly fragile Dou Sheng Skeleton remained unmoved under this storm of attacks, its bones far exceeding everyone's expectations in terms of hardness. Only the scarlet light swirling around the surface of the bones seemed to have faded slightly with each attack.
Lin Ming was at the center of the battle, his palms swirling with the dark purple New Purple Extreme Annihilation Flame. Each strike he made carried the intense heat of Burn Mountains Boil Seas, landing precisely on the waist and abdomen of the skeleton.
Lin Ming's attack appeared no different from the others, exerting all his strength. However, if someone could see into the depths of his eyes, they would find that there was not much anxiety about the toughness of the bones, but rather a kind of suppressed, almost scorching light.
His gaze, like a falcon spotting its prey, was fixed on those jade-white ribs.
Taking advantage of the brief moment when the crimson color briefly dissipated as the Heavenly Flames burned, his gaze swept across it swiftly, as if scanning.
"These are the three..." Lin Ming thought to himself. In that instant, his Soul Power surged to its peak, firmly imprinting the location of the three ribs with faintly visible ancient and strange characters under his blows deep into his mind.
"That's right, these are them!" An indescribable sense of excitement almost burst from his chest.
Inscribed on these three seemingly ordinary ribs is the true Heaven Tier Dou Technique that could drive the entire Dou Qi Continent mad – the Great Heaven Creation Palm!
However, this excitement lasted only a moment before Lin Ming forcefully suppressed it with cold rationality.
Having the Original Work Memory, he knew perfectly well that this skeleton was by no means an inanimate object. It was not only a barrier protecting the Dou Technique, but also capable of unleashing the true power of this Heaven Tier Dou Technique at crucial moments, mercilessly annihilating all intruders!
Those who charged at the very front were bound to be the first to bear the brunt!
"Now that it's confirmed, it's time to find an opportunity to prepare for retreat!"
The thought flashed through his mind like lightning. Lin Ming had already confirmed that he had achieved his ultimate goal of dealing with this skeleton, so there was no need to stay here and fight to the death with a skeleton, let alone do the work for others, especially that sinister-looking Old Ghost Xing.
Just then, seeing that the crimson color on the skeleton had faded a little more, Old Ghost Xing couldn't help but let a greedy look flash across his face. He shouted encouragingly, "Everyone, give it your all! This skeleton is about to give up!"
Tang Zhen, Venerable Feng, and the others all wore solemn expressions and ignored his words.
These skeletons were far more troublesome than expected. Their Dou Qi was greatly depleted, and if it weren't for the gradually fading crimson color barely sustaining their will, some of them would probably have already given up.
Upon hearing this, Lin Ming's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile. The opportunity had arrived!
At this moment, a cold smile rose in Lin Ming's heart, but his face remained calm. He continued to urge the New Purple Extreme Annihilation Flame, and in rhythm with the others, he struck the skeleton's waist and abdomen with another palm.
This time, however, he deliberately reduced the energy of the Heavenly Flames by a third, creating the illusion that he was running out of power. At the same time, he moved slightly forward, as if to pursue a greater attack effect.
"Bang!"
A vast burst of fiery Dou Qi exploded on the skeleton, Energy Ripple spreading outwards.
However, right after this attack, the red light in the eye sockets of the Dou Sheng Skeleton, which had been on the defensive, suddenly twitched!
"Laugh!"
The sound of air being torn apart was sharp and piercing!
The skeleton seemed to be completely enraged. One of its bony hands shot out with lightning speed, its five fingers joined together, the edges of Bone Finger gleamed with a chilling light, like five peerless sharp blades. It sliced through space, carrying an indescribable aura of death, and went straight for Lin Ming had just launched his attack and seemed to have exhausted his old strength and had not yet generated new strength!
This attack came too suddenly and too swiftly! The target was clear, and the Killing Intent was chilling!
"Be careful!" Upon seeing this, Venerable Feng's expression changed, and he shouted urgently.
Tang Zhen's heart tightened; he wanted to help, but it was too late.
A look of "shock" "just in time" appeared on Lin Ming's face, as if he had not expected the skeleton to suddenly launch such a precise and fierce counterattack.
So much so that in his haste, he only had time to cross his arms in front of him to protect himself, and his Dou Qi circulated wildly within his body. Dark purple flames formed a seemingly thick fire shield in front of him, but in reality, its internal structure had been secretly adjusted by him, making it strong on the outside but weak on the inside.
"Clang!"
The Bone Finger collided violently with the fire shield, producing a deafening roar.
Immediately afterwards, everyone saw that the fire shield, which was condensed with the Power of Exotic Flame, shattered inch by inch under the sharp Bone Finger, just like fragile glass!
"Pfft!"
The lingering force of the Bone Finger swept fiercely across Lin Ming's crossed arms, tearing his sleeves and leaving several bloody marks on his arms, from which blood gushed out instantly.
"Snort!"
Lin Ming let out a muffled groan, his face instantly turning pale. Like a kite with a broken string, he was sent flying backward by the immense force, tracing an arc in the air. Blood spurted from the corner of his mouth, making him look incredibly miserable.
"Lin Ming!"
Upon seeing Zi Yan, Zi Yan's purple eyes were instantly filled with anxiety and anger. Her petite body trembled violently, and she rushed forward without regard for anything else.
"Brother Lin Ming!"
Qing Lin's emerald green Three-Flower Pupils instantly welled up with tears, and her voice trembled with sobs as she immediately rushed towards Lin Ming, who was flying backward.
"Sect Master!"
The rest of the Five Elements Sect members were also horrified, cried out in alarm, and rushed out to catch Lin Ming.
In stark contrast to the anxiety of the Five Elements Sect, Old Ghost Xing caught a glimpse of Lin Ming being severely injured and sent flying out of the corner of his eye, and a hint of undisguised schadenfreude and secret pleasure flashed deep in his eyes.
Lin Ming's body flew uncontrollably backwards for hundreds of feet in the air before being caught by Qing Lin, who rushed over at the last moment.
At this moment, Zi Yan, Xiong Zhan, and the rest of the Five Elements Sect arrived and saw that Lin Ming had several bloody wounds on his arms and his breathing seemed somewhat disordered.
"Lin Ming, how are you?" Zi Yan rushed to Lin Ming's side immediately, her small hands nervously grabbing Lin Ming arm, her voice trembling slightly.
Qing Lin caught Lin Ming and looked at Lin Ming with teary eyes, her blue pupils filled with heartache.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Lin Ming immediately grabbed Zi Yan and Qing Lin's wrists, his voice showing no weakness as he whispered, "I'm fine, it's just a superficial injury! Let's get out of here! The farther the better! Something's wrong with that skeleton, it's about to launch a real attack!"
Lin Ming's words were like a thunderclap, exploding in the ears of everyone in the Five Elements Sect.
The group was immediately taken aback, realizing that Lin Ming had probably faked his injury to escape. So without the slightest hesitation, Qing Lin immediately led Lin Ming and retreated rapidly.
Zi Yan and Xiong Zhan followed closely on either side, while the rest of the Five Elements Sect quickly brought up the rear. The group pushed their speed to the limit, transforming into streaks of light as they sped off without looking back toward the entrance far from the main hall!
The speed and decisiveness of their actions surprised some of those who were paying attention to the situation.
As Qing Lin led Lin Ming and the Five Elements Sect group to retreat without hesitation, the scarlet color on the Dou Sheng Skeleton had faded to an almost transparent level under the combined bombardment of Tang Zhen, Old Ghost Xing, the leader of the Nether Python, Venerable Feng, and Venerable Void, as if it would completely dissipate at any moment.
Victory seemed to be just around the corner.
The Old Ghost Xing's face grew even more ecstatic, and his attacks became even more ruthless.
However, just as the crimson color was about to completely dissipate, the Dou Sheng Skeleton, which had been enduring the attacks of several people, suddenly froze, seemingly unaware of the muffled thuds as the attacks, powerful enough to split mountains and shatter rocks, landed on its bones.
"Um?"
Upon seeing the skeleton suddenly stop moving, Tang Zhen frowned, a sense of unease crossing his heart.
Venerable Feng also slowed his attack, his eyes wary.
"A great opportunity! It's out of energy!"
The Old Ghost Xing was overjoyed, thinking this was a sign that the skeleton was exhausted. He immediately urged all his strength and unleashed a black Dou Qi Energy containing terrifying corrosive power, which slammed into the skeleton's head.
Seeing this, the others did not follow. If the skeleton truly had no energy left, then the attack from Old Ghost Xing alone would be enough to completely shatter it.
At that moment, Lin Ming, who had already escaped to a great distance and was almost at the edge of the passage, seemed to sense something and looked back.
His gaze pierced through the chaotic energy flow and the vast distance, clearly seeing the motionless skeleton and the eerie red light pulsating almost overflowing from its empty eye sockets.
"It's coming..."
Lin Ming silently recited in his heart. At this moment, he no longer let Qing Lin lead them. Instead, he immediately used his power to lead Zi Yan, Qing Lin, and the people of the Five Elements Sect into the passage, quickly moving away from what was about to become a place of death.
"Roar!"
The moment Lin Ming and the others disappeared into the passage, a deep roar, seemingly accumulated over ten thousand years, suddenly erupted from the still Dou Sheng Skeleton!
The roar was hoarse and ancient, carrying a terrifying, savage pressure that instantly swept through the entire hall!
The roar caused everyone who was still attacking, or even just watching, to freeze in place!
Immediately afterward, the Dou Sheng Skeleton abruptly raised its pale head, its empty eye sockets staring directly at the dome of the hall. A fragmented, yet seemingly ancient and primordial voice, carrying endless vicissitudes and a destructive will, echoed silently through the space like the tolling of a final judgment bell...
"Great... Heaven... Creation... Palm!"
Hoarse! Ancient!
Each syllable seemed to trigger the Heaven and Earth Rules, and the space inside the hall began to distort violently like ripples on water. An indescribable, terrifying suction force surged wildly from the skeleton's body!
"It's unleashing Dou Technique! Retreat!!"
At this moment, Tang Zhen, Venerable Feng, Venerable Void, and the powerful Nether Python all changed their expressions drastically at the same time, as a death fear originating from the depths of their souls was poured over their entire bodies like ice water!
Without a second thought, they instantly and frantically burned their inner Dou Qi, transforming into four streams of light of different colors. They sped away from the skeleton at a speed several times faster than when they arrived!
That sense of danger left them with no doubt that if they hesitated even for a moment, they would be truly annihilated!
"Asshole!"
The Old Ghost Xing's face turned ashen instantly. He too felt that terrifying aura that filled him with despair. He cursed, whether he was cursing the strange skeleton or his "companions" who were running faster than him was unclear.
But he was incredibly fast at escaping; in the blink of an eye, he covered a hundred meters, using every ounce of his strength.
Suddenly, the five strongest attackers fled in a panic as if they had seen a ghost, a scene that instantly drew the attention of everyone in the hall.
Although most people had no idea what had happened, the terrifying sight of the skeletons roaring to the sky, and the destructive pressure that filled the heavens and earth and made even the flow of one's fighting Dou Qi stagnate, clearly told them that the sky had collapsed!
Run!
Suddenly, someone let out a piercing scream, and the entire hall instantly descended into utter chaos!
Everyone was terrified, no longer caring about treasures or opportunities. They scrambled and stumbled like headless flies, rushing towards the various passageways, wishing they had more legs.
Screams, screams, and the sounds of collisions rose and fell; the once fiercely contested hall had now become a desperate place of escape.
At the heart of that chaos, a black dot of light quietly appeared in the palm of the Dou Sheng Skeleton.
The next moment, the light spot rapidly expanded, eventually transforming into a pitch-black Black Hole with a diameter of over ten feet!
The Black Hole slowly rotated, releasing a terrifying suction force that devoured everything, and suddenly expanded at a speed that seemed slow but was actually impossible to avoid!
Destruction has arrived.