Forced Breakthrough

Across the bridge, it was likely a temporary nest for evil creatures, and several late-stage True Qi Realm evil creatures were patrolling back and forth on the bridge.

"Take a detour?" Su Muxue asked in a low voice.

"We can't. This is the only way through; both sides are filled with void rifts."

Lin Ye's gaze was grave. "Fortunately, they haven't discovered the secret passage exit yet. We will launch a surprise attack, quickly eliminate the patrolling creatures on the bridge, immediately rush across the stone bridge, use the ruins on the other side to maneuver and escape, and head straight for the refuge point."

"How many evil creatures are on the bridge?"

"Three late-stage, two mid-stage."

Chen Feng looked at Lin Ye. "Should we use the crystal energy?"

"No, the energy from the crystal creates too much of a disturbance and will only attract even more terrifying existences. We must be swift and decisive with a surprise attack."

"Alright!"

Lin Ye took a deep breath, suppressing his aura to the lowest possible point.

Glancing at Su Muxue and Chen Feng, who were already prepared, he suddenly lunged forward, pouncing directly toward the mid-stage shadow creature that had its back to the secret passage exit!

His sword light was fast to the extreme, piercing straight into the core of the shadow!

Su Muxue followed closely behind, her long sword waving lightly as several icy sword auras arrived before the others, instantly enveloping the three strongest evil creatures.

Chen Feng let out a roar, his broken sword wrapped in his full blood energy as he slashed toward the other mid-stage creature.

"Roar--!"

The ambush was so sudden that the five patrolling creatures were instantly thrown into chaos.

The one targeted by Lin Ye only had time to let out a single hiss before its core was pierced by the sword light; the shadow dissipated, turning into a wisp of black smoke that he absorbed directly.

Although Chen Feng's strike didn't kill his opponent instantly, it sent the creature flying backward.

The three late-stage creatures, furious and alarmed, forcibly broke free from Su Muxue's sword aura restraints. While counterattacking wildly, they let out a shrill, piercing alarm toward the depths of the stone bridge.

"Go!"

No sooner had Lin Ye finished speaking than a terrifying pressure of the Hua Yuan Realm erupted from the ruins on the opposite side!

A hideous giant shadow holding a massive shadow battle-axe burst from the ground, its violent aura sweeping toward them--

The shadow battle-axe tore through the air, carrying the unique suppression power of the Hua Yuan Realm, and slashed down toward Lin Ye's head!

Too fast, too strong!

The moment the axe blade reached him, Lin Ye kicked off the ground, his body shooting out like an arrow from a bow, narrowly dodging past the side of the blade.

"Lin Ye!" Su Muxue cried out in alarm.

At the critical moment, a strand of dark gold sword aura, as thin as a hair, suddenly shot out and precisely nailed itself into the creature's core!

"Pfft--"

A soft sound, like a bubble bursting.

The dark gold sword aura drove straight in, wreaking havoc inside.

The creature's raised battle-axe froze in mid-air, and its massive battle-soul body trembled violently.

"No--!!"

A roar of extreme resentment came to an abrupt end.

The next moment, it exploded with a bang!

The shadow battle-soul completely disintegrated, the violent shockwave sending rubble flying and cracking the ground.

Lin Ye bore the brunt of the impact and was sent flying, his blood and energy surging.

This strike had drained almost all of his remaining True Qi, and his mind was reeling from the intense focus.

"The explosion will definitely attract all the evil creatures in the area!"

Lin Ye forced himself to stand up and growled.

The three of them dared not linger and plunged into the ruins of the buildings ahead.

But as soon as they stepped into the ruins, low roars erupted from all directions, and countless shadow creatures poured out from the broken walls and ruins, surrounding them layer by layer.

"Don't get bogged down in a fight, charge through!"

Lin Ye took the lead, his Star-Shattering Sword whipping up a screen of dark gold light that shredded the creatures blocking their path. Su Muxue and Chen Feng followed closely on his left and right; the three of them acted like a sharp blade, forcibly tearing a bloody path through the encirclement.

"There's a large group of creatures closing in on the left!"

"Turn right, into the alley!"

The narrow alleyway limited the number of creatures, but the pursuers were like shadows, and more creatures constantly lunged down from the walls.

Under the constant skirmishing, the trio's speed grew slower and slower.

"If we keep dragging this out, we're all going to die here!" Chen Feng panted as he smashed a gecko-like creature that lunged at him.

Just then, Lin Ye's eyes lit up. "There's light ahead, that must be the exit!"

"Charge!"

The three of them spent their last reserves of strength sprinting to the end of the alley, but the scene before them caused their hearts to sink completely.

At the end of the alley lay a bottomless void cliff.

The safe land marked on the map was on the other side, but the stone bridge that once connected the two sides had long since snapped in the middle.

"The bridge is broken!" Chen Feng's face turned ashen.

Su Muxue's voice tightened: "Can we fly across?"

"Use that!"

Lin Ye suddenly recalled the emergency short-range teleportation technique recorded on the scroll, which required an Earth Vein Crystal to power it.

"Quick, gather around, hold hands and don't let go!"

He took out the crystal, his fingertips rapidly tracing the teleportation runes.

The formation required time to take shape, and it absolutely could not be interrupted.

"They're here!"

Su Muxue and Chen Feng immediately stood back-to-back, blocking the path in front of Lin Ye.

A pitch-black tide of evil creatures surged toward them, letting out excited roars as they watched the three people with nowhere left to run.

"Kill--!"

The two roared and charged forward, sword qi and shadows colliding with a thunderous boom.

But there were simply too many evil creatures, and within moments, they were forced into a steady retreat, their footsteps inching closer and closer to the edge of the cliff.

"Lin Ye! Hurry! We can't hold them off!"

Chen Feng bellowed.

"Hold on!"

Lin Ye's low growl rang out.

The dark gold crystal in his hand suddenly erupted with blinding light! A thick pillar of dark gold light shot out from the crystal, instantly enveloping the three of them as they huddled together.

A tearing force that distorted space washed over them.

"Hum--!!!"

The dark gold pillar carried their figures, and they vanished from the edge of the cliff at the end of the alley in an instant.

"Roar--!!!"

The tide of evil creatures, having lunged at nothing, let out furious roars as they rushed to the edge of the cliff, only to watch helplessly...

Hundreds of feet away, on the edge of another fragmented piece of land.

Dark gold light suddenly flared, and the three figures stumbled into existence on a desolate patch of ground.

"Thud!" "Thud!"

Su Muxue and Chen Feng could no longer hold on, collapsing to the ground with faces as pale as paper. The teleportation process had not been easy, and the spatial tearing force had only made their injuries worse.

Lin Ye also dropped to one knee, using his Star-Shattering Sword to prop himself up so he wouldn't collapse.

"Where is this?" Chen Feng lifted his head with great difficulty.

It was a desolate clearing, with rolling hills faintly visible in the distance. The atmosphere here seemed even more barren than the ruinous area they had just left.

Lin Ye forced himself to stand, took out the map scroll, and quickly compared it to the surrounding terrain.

A moment later, he pointed toward the dark red hills in the distance.

"That should be the Molten Wasteland marked on the map. If we cross those hills and keep going, there's a temporary shelter—the Wind-Erosion Canyon."

"We must reach it as soon as possible. Although the aura of evil creatures is faint here, the commotion from our teleportation was significant; it may have already alerted something."

He looked at the two people collapsed on the ground, then glanced at the dim crystal in his hand and his own heavy injuries.