Bitter Battle and Retreat

Seeing the Thousand-Year Crystal Bear pounce toward Tang Wulin, Nan Fusheng used Steal on it.

The Thousand-Year Crystal Bear's body faltered, but it still charged at Tang Wulin with tremendous momentum. However, such a straightforward attack was easy to read. Tang Wulin leaped to the side and easily avoided it.

At the same time, Blue Silver Grass vines surged forth, binding around the Thousand-Year Crystal Bear's legs. Still dazed, the Thousand-Year Crystal Bear was tripped at once.

"Pfft!" At that moment, an invisible blade of light slashed fiercely across its neck. The Crystal Bear snapped out of its daze in pain, turned its head, and roared at Xie Xie nearby.

Xie Xie shouted, "Stupid bear, come at me if you can!" The Light Dragon Dagger in his hand slashed out again, sending another blade of light flying.

The Thousand-Year Crystal Bear instinctively exerted force, trying to snap the Blue Silver Grass around its feet. Under normal circumstances, the Blue Silver Grass should have broken immediately.

But at that moment, a golden glow flashed over Tang Wulin's Blue Silver Grass. Though it lasted only an instant, the Thousand-Year Crystal Bear failed to break it apart right away.

That pause lasted only a second. In the next instant, the Blue Silver Grass still snapped, but it managed to hold the bear back slightly.

The Crystal Bear slowed, and Xie Xie had already nimbly turned and fled. His speed exploded forth, making him even faster than Gu Yue with Wind Element acceleration.

At the same time, a massive fireball exploded on the other side of the Crystal Bear's head. Gu Yue had attacked from the other side as well.

The three of them, attacking from three different directions, left the Crystal Bear hopping mad and unsure whom it should chase first.

"Xie Xie, attack its belly. Gu Yue, target its eyes. Wulin, get ready. Finish it in one go."

Nan Fusheng shouted from afar. He was not afraid of the Crystal Bear hearing him. After all, the intelligence of most thousand-year Soul Beasts was still at the level of wild animals.

As Xie Xie shifted his body, the Light Dragon Dagger and Shadow Dragon Dagger swung out together. One visible and one invisible blade of light slashed toward the Thousand-Year Crystal Bear's abdomen.

"Pfft! Pfft!" The Crystal Bear flew into a rage. It had been wondering whom it should deal with first. Now, it had found its target.

It immediately strode toward Xie Xie in pursuit.

Just then, clusters of dazzling fireballs shot toward its eyes. They were smaller than the previous ones, but there were far more of them.

The Crystal Bear raised a paw in front of itself and lowered its head slightly. It had already dipped its head when its belly was attacked, and now it lowered it even further.

At the same time, Tang Wulin flung out a strand of Blue Silver Grass, hooked it around a branch, and pulled himself forward. As his body swung out, he had already circled behind the Crystal Bear.

At that moment, Tang Wulin held his hammer before his chest with his left hand, while golden light surged from his right, transforming into the Golden Dragon Claw as it grabbed for the Thousand-Year Crystal Bear's nape.

Nan Fusheng used Steal directly from afar as well.

Immediately, the Thousand-Year Crystal Bear's body pitched completely forward, fully exposing the back of its neck.

They had succeeded!

Tang Wulin was overjoyed. His right claw descended and, without hesitation, seized the Thousand-Year Crystal Bear's nape.

A series of cracking sounds rang out almost instantly. Half of the Golden Dragon Claw sank into its neck, and the shattering effect took hold, directly snapping the Thousand-Year Crystal Bear's cervical spine.

Was it over?

Xie Xie watched the Thousand-Year Crystal Bear's huge head suddenly plunge forward, accompanied by the sound of its broken neck. He immediately jumped up in excitement.

With the four of them being no stronger than two-ring Soul Masters, killing such a powerful Soul Beast was absolutely something to be proud of.

But just then, a powerful yellow aura suddenly erupted from the Thousand-Year Crystal Bear's body.

The aura did not extend very far, only about a meter from its body, but it happened to envelop Tang Wulin.

"No—" Gu Yue screamed. A layer of dark yellow crystal immediately formed over Tang Wulin's body, and he remained frozen in his previous posture as he fell straight toward the ground.

Silver light flashed, and Gu Yue appeared beneath where he was falling. She raised both arms to catch him.

After becoming crystallized, Tang Wulin's weight had increased enormously. Moreover, his left hand still held the Thousand-Refined Silver Hammer.

Gu Yue was smashed directly to the ground beneath him. She fainted with a muffled groan. Yet she had used her body to bear Tang Wulin's impact, preventing his body from shattering.

After Crystallization, as long as the body did not shatter within a short period of time, the Crystallization would gradually fade. Therefore, the Crystal Bear's most terrifying ability was the immediate destruction that followed Crystallization.

"Wulin! Gu Yue!" Xie Xie and Nan Fusheng rushed over from afar. Reaching the two of them, they worked together to move Tang Wulin aside and pulled Gu Yue out from beneath him.

Gu Yue's eyes were tightly shut, her face pale as gold paper, and her breathing weak. That impact had clearly injured her badly.

Nan Fusheng looked around. After a brief hesitation, he slapped the Rescue Signal Device on the back of Gu Yue's hand. Gu Yue's body turned into a beam of light and vanished into thin air.

Tang Wulin was still in a crystallized state, so they could not even help teleport him back.

At that moment, a series of rustling sounds came from the surrounding forest. It seemed that something was approaching, and there were a great many of them.

What should they do? Wulin was crystallized and could not be teleported back. What was he supposed to do?

Xie Xie gripped the Light Dragon Dagger and Shadow Dragon Dagger tightly, instinctively looking toward Nan Fusheng beside him.

"Xie Xie, your Soul Power is almost exhausted, isn't it? You should leave first. I'll watch over Wulin."

Nan Fusheng said.

"Ha, are you kidding? How could I let you play the hero alone in a situation like this? If we die, we die together. I'm a man standing tall and upright."

The confusion in Xie Xie's eyes gradually faded after hearing Nan Fusheng's words, replaced by growing determination.

"Alright. Then we'll hold on together. As soon as Wulin's Crystallization wears off, we'll retreat immediately."

Xie Xie knelt on one knee before Tang Wulin and did not reply. He needed to conserve as much strength as possible. Meanwhile, using the vision of the Cyan Bird circling overhead, Nan Fusheng saw clearly that a pack of wolves was approaching.

Soon, dark cyan figures slowly emerged from all directions. There were at least dozens of them—cyan wolves.

Their fur was bluish-black along their backs, and their yellow eyes gleamed with cold, cruel light as they slowly approached step by step.

They did not attack Nan Fusheng's group first. More than a dozen Cyan Wolves dragged half of the Hundred-Year One-Horned Dragon's corpse into the forest, while another dozen or so closed in around Xie Xie.

Cyan Wolves were ten-year Soul Beasts. Among ten-year Soul Beasts, they were considered relatively strong attackers. They were fierce by nature and lived in packs.

Powerful Cyan Wolves could cultivate to the level of hundred-year Soul Beasts. They mainly fed on carrion. Put simply, they were scavengers in the Soul Beast Forest, living off Pick-ups.

Xie Xie held the Light Dragon Dagger and Shadow Dragon Dagger before him, watching the Cyan Wolves draw closer. He shouted, "You can take the Crystal Bear's corpse, but if you dare attack us, don't blame me for being ruthless."

He could no longer care whether low-level Soul Beasts like Cyan Wolves could understand him. Delaying for even a little while would help. As long as the Crystallization on Tang Wulin's body faded, they could escape.

However, the Cyan Wolves were clearly more interested in the two of them than in the Thousand-Year Crystal Bear. Or perhaps they simply could not understand him. The encirclement closed in tighter and tighter. Looking at those cold eyes, Xie Xie could clearly feel his heartbeat quickening.

They could not wait any longer. As the saying went, strike first to gain the advantage.

The Light Dragon Dagger in his right hand flashed like lightning, sending a Light Dragon Blade toward a Cyan Wolf directly ahead. At the same time, Xie Xie lunged sideways at the nearest Cyan Wolf.

"Pfft!" The frontal Cyan Wolf's neck was slashed open by the Light Dragon Blade. It let out a mournful cry and collapsed amid spurting blood.

Xie Xie moved with extraordinary agility. Seeing him charge in, the cyan giant wolf he targeted immediately opened its mouth and spat out a cyan Wind Blade.

While charging forward, Xie Xie twisted his body aside to avoid the Wind Blade, then bent his upper body backward to evade the pounce of a Cyan Wolf at his side.

The Light Dragon Dagger and Shadow Dragon Dagger swept past. The Cyan Wolf that had leaped at him was disemboweled. At the same time, he circled to the side of the Cyan Wolf in front of him. With a flick of his wrist, the sharp Shadow Dragon Dagger swept across its neck and severed an artery. Blood immediately sprayed from the Cyan Wolf's neck. It was clearly finished.

In the blink of an eye, three Cyan Wolves fell from the moment he attacked to the moment he succeeded. But at the same time, the attacks of more than a dozen Cyan Wolves in the distance had also taken shape.

More than a dozen Cyan Wolves lunged at Xie Xie at once, while the Wind Blades in the mouths of another dozen distant Cyan Wolves had formed and were about to fire.

Mass Consciousness Steal!

At that crucial moment, a strange ripple suddenly seized control of the dozen or so Cyan Wolves preparing to spit Wind Blades, causing them to lose consciousness just as they launched their attacks.

Wind Blades flew wildly in every direction. Some even struck the Cyan Wolves that were preparing to surround Xie Xie, and the scene instantly descended into chaos.

Xie Xie did not remain idle either. Taking advantage of the pack's disorder, he immediately shot forward and killed the Cyan Wolves approaching the three of them one by one.

As the Light Dragon Dagger and Shadow Dragon Dagger in Xie Xie's hands continued to dance, the pack's numbers steadily dwindled. Xie Xie could not help sighing at the benefits of having Nan Fusheng as a teammate.

Whenever he wanted to kill a Cyan Wolf, that Cyan Wolf would suddenly stop moving just before it acted. When Xie Xie rushed before it, all he needed to do was swing his daggers to easily take its life.

Whenever the Cyan Wolves swarmed forward, they would suddenly freeze as a group. Even if it was only for a brief moment, it gave Xie Xie enough time to react, break out of the encirclement, and kill the wolves that approached the three of them.

As time passed, Xie Xie's strength began to fail. His entire body was increasingly stained red with blood. Most of it belonged to the wolves, with only a small part being his own.

Even Nan Fusheng was starting to look tired. Well, tired from acting. Although he was still full of energy, that clearly did not fit the performance of a one-ring Soul Master, so he acted as though he were gasping for breath.

Under the condition that he could only use this one ability, this was already the limit of what he could do.

Fortunately, he had noticed that the dark yellow crystals on Tang Wulin's body were beginning to fade away.

When Tang Wulin's senses began to return, the first thing he smelled was a strong stench of blood.

Then he saw a figure whose entire body had turned blood-red, struggling to hold on.

"Alright, retreat quickly."

Hearing Nan Fusheng's words, Xie Xie, who was panting heavily, pressed the SOS Signal Device without hesitation. In the next instant, everything went black, and he knew nothing more.

Before Tang Wulin could react, Nan Fusheng directly reached out and pressed his SOS Signal Device.

Then Nan Fusheng slapped his own Rescue Signal Device. His vision went black as well, and he vanished from the forest. Cyan Wind Blades swept through where he had just stood, but their target was gone.