Fierce Battle, Infighting, Xu Yang Takes Action

Through the previous battle, Xu Yang had already gained an understanding of the cultivation levels of Senior Brother Xu and his four companions. Among the five, Senior Brother Xu had the highest cultivation at the sixth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm. The yellow-clad woman who spoke earlier and a tall, thin man in black were at the fifth level, while the remaining man and woman had the lowest cultivation, only at the fourth level.

As for the giant turtle, Xu Yang could not discern its level, but it was likely a demonic beast of at least the seventh level of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Among the five, Senior Brother Xu and the yellow-clad woman controlled flying swords, the man in black controlled a small black seal, and the other two controlled a red silk ribbon and a flying knife.

The magical artifacts of the first three were mid-grade, while the latter two possessed only low-grade artifacts. The giant turtle had formidable defenses; the mid-grade artifacts could still inflict some damage, but the low-grade ones caused it no harm at all.

The five launched a wave of attacks with their artifacts, but the results were minimal; instead, they completely enraged the giant turtle. It let out a roar, and more than a dozen ice blades, each a meter long and as thick as a wrist, manifested before it and shot toward the five. Senior Brother Xu and his group hurriedly maneuvered their artifacts to block the blades while retreating.

Under the assault of the artifacts, the ice blades shattered one after another. Seeing this, the giant turtle roared again. Suddenly, sharp ice spikes erupted from the ground beneath Senior Brother Xu and the others. Two screams rang out as the man and woman at the fourth level were pierced from below by the ice spikes, dying in a gruesome fashion.

"Junior Brother Liu! Junior Sister Guo!" Seeing the two die miserably, the expressions of Senior Brother Xu and the other two turned incredibly ugly. They immediately recalled their artifacts. Senior Brother Xu said to the other two, "Stop holding back! Use whatever means you have, or none of us will leave this place alive."

As he spoke, he flipped his hand to produce two talismans and threw them into the air. The talismans transformed into two giant fire dragons that roared as they charged toward the giant turtle.

Hearing this, the other two also brought out their ultimate techniques. The yellow-clad woman gestured, and a crimson flying sword hovered before her. She formed hand seals with one hand, and the sword was instantly engulfed in flames, transforming into a fire phoenix that flew toward the giant turtle.

The man in black also took out a pitch-black bead and threw it at the giant turtle. After throwing the bead, he immediately retreated, moving far away from the vicinity. Seeing his actions, the other two changed expressions and quickly backed away as well.

Seeing the attacks approaching, the giant turtle let out a roar, and its entire body emitted a dazzling white light. Where the light passed, layers of solid ice encased the turtle. In just a moment, it was clad in a suit of ice armor.

With three loud "booms," the attacks from Senior Brother Xu and his companions landed on the ice armor. Steam billowed, and thick white mist enveloped the giant turtle, obscuring its condition.

The three watched the mist from afar, their artifacts raised, ready to launch another attack at any moment. When the mist dissipated, the giant turtle was revealed. It looked miserable; its massive shell was drenched in blood, one eye was destroyed, and its thick, giant legs were covered in deep, bone-reaching wounds.

It glared at the three with its only remaining eye and opened its mouth to spew out waves of freezing air. These white gases condensed in front of it, compressing inward until they finally turned into a white ray, the thickness of a small finger and two meters long.

Senior Brother Xu's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly said to the other two, "This seems to be the Ice Soul Cold Light Beam. Its power is immense, and its piercing ability is terrifying. One hit and you'll be frozen to death instantly. Look, this light beam hasn't finished forming yet; once it does, it will be as thin as a strand of hair."

Hearing this, the other two looked grim. They exchanged glances and asked, "What should we do now? How do we deal with this Ice Soul Cold Light Beam?"

Senior Brother Xu's expression flickered. After thinking it over, he gritted his teeth and said to the two, "I know you both must still have trump cards. Do not hold back now; the power of this Ice Soul Cold Light Beam is far beyond your imagination. How about this: I promise that after we eliminate this beast, the treasure bead will be shared among the three of us. How does that sound?"

The yellow-clad woman smiled and said, "In that case, this Junior Sister will naturally give it her all." The man in black also nodded, "I will follow Senior Brother's lead; I will do my utmost."

"Good. Let us join forces to break the Ice Soul Cold Light Beam, slay this beast, and auction the treasure bead. The Spirit Stones and medicinal pills will be enough for us to cultivate for several years," Senior Brother Xu said, looking invigorated.

He then pulled a crimson bead from his Qiankun Bag. Seeing the bead, the other two were shocked. The yellow-clad woman exclaimed, "I didn't expect Senior Brother to have the Earth Fire Yin Thunder. This should be enough to deal with the Ice Soul Cold Light Beam, right?"

Senior Brother Xu shook his head. "Still not enough. Although the Earth Fire Yin Thunder is powerful, the Ice Soul Cold Light Beam has extreme piercing power. We might end up dying together with the giant turtle. Please, Junior Sister Zhao and Junior Brother Yin, strike quickly; the beast is about to launch its attack."

Junior Sister Zhao nodded, took out her previous crimson flying sword, slapped a talisman onto it, and said, "This combined talisman-sword attack is my final trump card."

Junior Brother Yin didn't say much, simply taking two black beads from his Qiankun Bag. "I only have these two Flame Demon Beads left. I'll give them all to this beast this time!"

Seeing them bring out their trump cards, Senior Brother Xu said happily, "Good, let us attack the beast together." As he spoke, he turned to face the giant turtle, a strange smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Junior Sister Zhao and Junior Brother Yin exchanged a secret glance, walked to Senior Brother Xu's side, and launched their attacks with solemn expressions. A red bead, two black beads, and a giant fire phoenix flew toward the giant turtle.

Seeing the attacks approaching, the giant turtle immediately released the Ice Soul Cold Light Beam that had not yet fully condensed. With a thunderous boom, the entire cavern shook. Huge rocks fell from the ceiling, and both sides of the battle were engulfed in rolling dust and smoke.

Hiding to the side, Xu Yang stared intently at the scene. When the dust settled, he looked over and was immediately shocked. The giant turtle lay on the ground, blood gushing from its mouth; it was clearly severely injured.

But what truly shocked Xu Yang was the state of Senior Brother Xu and his two companions. Senior Brother Xu lay on the ground, his body covered in a thin layer of ice, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. A small black seal was embedded in his chest, and his eyes were wide open—he was completely lifeless.

Junior Brother Yin also lay on the ground, staring hatefully at Junior Sister Zhao with his eyes open, a flying sword belonging to her pierced through his chest; he had met his end.

Junior Sister Zhao's flying sword had been destroyed in the explosion, and she had suffered a backlash, with blood trickling from her mouth. Beneath her feet lay Senior Brother Xu's flying sword, and a ring floated above her head, casting a transparent light screen that protected her.

At this moment, Junior Sister Zhao looked excited. She giggled, "My dear Senior Brothers, who would have thought I had a defensive artifact? I thank you both for your help. When I advance to the Foundation Establishment Realm, I will certainly pay my respects to your generous gifts."

As she spoke, she walked over to Junior Brother Yin and said softly, "Especially you, Senior Brother Yin. I will not forget your affection for me."

With that, she turned to look at the treasure bead on the giant Ice Soul Root. A flash of greed crossed her eyes. She flew up to the top of the Ice Soul Root and carefully took the treasure bead into her hands.

The deep blue bead was restrained in its power, warm to the touch like jade, and a faint fragrance wafted into her nose. Junior Sister Zhao was momentarily intoxicated.

Suddenly, a gust of wind struck. Junior Sister Zhao felt a pain in her hand, and the bead flew out of her grasp. A large black hand snatched the bead out of the air. At the same time, a fiery red flying sword thrust toward her.

Junior Sister Zhao was shocked, and the Indeterminate Ring above her head immediately emitted a light screen to block the sword. She turned to look at the attacker and saw a strange, dark-green figure standing behind her, holding the blue treasure bead.

Junior Sister Zhao was furious. She formed hand seals and fired two fire arrows at the strange figure. This figure was naturally Xu Yang. Taking advantage of her moment of distraction, he had used his Iron Body to launch a sneak attack and snatched the bead in one go.

Seeing the fire arrows approaching, Xu Yang immediately leaped down from the top of the Ice Soul Root. In mid-air, he casually tucked the treasure bead into his Qiankun Bag. Seeing this, Junior Sister Zhao grew anxious. She pursued Xu Yang, continuously forming hand seals and firing fire arrows at him.

After landing, Xu Yang immediately maneuvered the red flying sword to meet the fire arrows, shattering them one by one, and then continued to thrust at Junior Sister Zhao, only to be blocked by her Indeterminate Ring again.

Xu Yang felt helpless. With the mid-grade artifact Indeterminate Ring protecting her, he couldn't kill her. The two fought for a while, neither able to overcome the other. After the intense battle, Junior Sister Zhao had exhausted all her treasures and was injured, her strength greatly diminished.

Xu Yang, however, only had one flying sword and knew no spells, so his offensive power was insufficient. At this point, Junior Sister Zhao had calmed down. While fighting, she smiled at Xu Yang and said, "Junior Brother, judging by your attire, you must be a disciple of the Bailian Pavilion, right? Why don't we stop for now and split the treasure?"

Xu Yang sneered coldly, "Forget it! I don't want to die with regrets. You should just die!" With that, Xu Yang pulled out a talisman and threw it at her.

Junior Sister Zhao's expression darkened. Just as she was about to speak, she saw the talisman flying toward her. Her expression changed drastically, and she exclaimed, "A high-level Ice Fire Rain talisman!" She immediately retreated rapidly while putting all her effort into the Indeterminate Ring's defense.

The talisman emitted a red and white light. Within a ten-meter radius, the area was instantly covered in ice arrows and fire arrows. The projectiles flew everywhere, and whenever a fire arrow collided with an ice arrow, an explosion occurred. Junior Sister Zhao was engulfed in the barrage, and her light screen trembled violently.

With a final, massive explosion, the barrier in front of Junior Sister Zhao shattered. She screamed as she was blown away by the shockwave. Seeing this, Xu Yang immediately maneuvered his flying sword to strike her.

Junior Sister Zhao let out a final cry as the sword pierced through her, and she fell in front of Xu Yang. Xu Yang walked up cautiously to see her glaring at him viciously. Xu Yang sighed and raised his sword to strike at her head.

The woman shrieked, "You are ruthless! I'll take you with me!" With a loud boom, she detonated herself.

Hearing her words, Xu Yang felt a sense of dread and hurriedly leaped backward, but it was too late. A massive force surged toward him. Xu Yang immediately activated the Earth-Queen Talisman while putting his full strength into his Iron Body for defense.

A yellow light had just enveloped Xu Yang when the immense force hit him. With a boom, the light trembled violently and then shattered. Xu Yang's body was hit by the intense impact and flew straight into the cavern wall behind him.

Specks of blood danced in the air, rocks flew everywhere, and the ceiling of the cavern began to collapse.