Ancient Bat Cave

"Everyone, be careful. The miasma here is poisonous. Don't breathe it in."

Li Xiaoyu warned them gravely as he circulated the Taiji Profound Clarity Path, laying a protective layer of spiritual energy around himself to keep the miasma at bay.

Lu Xueqi, Faxiang, Li Xun, and the others followed suit, each using their own protective techniques.

Only Zhang Xiaofan seemed flustered. The Buddhist and Daoist techniques within him clashed, making it difficult to circulate his spiritual energy, and the shield he raised was somewhat dim.

Seeing this, Li Xiaoyu moved closer and diverted some of his protective spiritual energy, extending it to cover Zhang Xiaofan as well.

Zhang Xiaofan felt the pressure around him ease. The miasma was kept at bay, and warmth filled his heart. He looked gratefully at Li Xiaoyu.

Lu Xueqi noticed the gesture from nearby, and a softness flickered in her eyes.

Qi Hao snorted and turned his head away.

The group landed in a hollow on Kongsang Mountain.

According to their intelligence, the Demon Sect's Blood Refining Hall had vanished somewhere nearby.

"Let's split up and look for clues. We'll meet back here in an hour."

Li Xun proposed it because he wanted to get out from under Li Xiaoyu's leadership as soon as possible and go off on his own, giving himself a chance to earn merit.

Li Xiaoyu glanced at him and said, "No."

"We don't know what awaits us here, and danger lurks everywhere. If we split up and encounter a powerful enemy, we could easily be picked off one by one."

"We should stay together. That way, we can watch each other's backs."

His reasoning was sound.

Li Xun had been publicly rebuffed, and his face darkened. But he couldn't find a reason to argue, so he could only swallow his frustration.

Faxiang pressed his palms together and smiled. "Senior Brother Li is absolutely right. We'll follow his arrangements."

Led by Li Xiaoyu, the group cautiously ventured deeper into the forest.

Kongsang Mountain was indeed a perilous place.

Along the way, they encountered many demonic beasts driven berserk by the erosion of resentment.

There were massive black-furred apes and venomous serpents that moved with terrifying speed.

But these beasts posed no threat to the elite disciples of the three righteous sects.

The Incense Burning Valley techniques wielded by Li Xun and Yan Hong were supremely yang and powerful. With a single burst of flame, they could burn a demonic beast to ash.

The golden radiance of Faxiang's Buddhist arts from the Heavenly Sound Temple shone everywhere, naturally countering evil beings.

Among the Green Cloud Sect disciples, Li Xiaoyu and Lu Xueqi made a flawless pair.

Li Xiaoyu's swordsmanship was bold and sweeping, steady and weighty. He took charge of holding the enemy at the front.

Lu Xueqi's Tianya Divine Sword was like a streak of blue lightning, striking from the flank to support him. Her sword qi was keen and deadly, killing with a single blow.

One attacked while the other defended; they advanced and retreated with perfect coordination.

Every move they made was filled with understanding.

Qi Hao tried several times to join in and show off his strength at the eighth layer of the Jade Purity Realm, but he couldn't find an opening.

He felt like an unnecessary extra, shut out from their world.

Jealousy and frustration churned within him, and his face grew darker by the moment.

Zhang Xiaofan followed at the rear of the group, gripping the Fire Poker tightly as he nervously kept watch in every direction.

He couldn't do much to help, but he certainly wouldn't hold them back.

After clearing their way forward, the group soon found a huge cave beneath a cliff.

The cave was pitch-black, its depths impossible to see, like the gaping maw of a giant beast ready to devour anyone who came near.

A thick stench of blood and decay billowed out from within.

"This is it!" Excitement flashed in Li Xun's eyes. "Those fiends from the Blood Refining Hall must be hiding inside!"

"Everyone, be careful. We don't know what lies in the cave."

Li Xiaoyu's expression turned grave.

He could sense a vast, violent presence lurking inside the cave.

It was a hundred times more powerful than the tide of rats he had encountered earlier in Nameless Cave.

The group lit their fire-starters and cautiously entered the cave.

This was the legendary Ancient Bat Cave.

The cave was enormous. Stalactites hung overhead, and strange, jagged rocks filled the place, making it seem like an underground maze.

The air reeked, and the ground beneath their feet was sticky. They couldn't tell what they were stepping in.

"Eek! Eek! Eek!"

After the group had ventured several hundred zhang into the cave, a dense chorus of shrieks suddenly rang out from the darkness all around them.

Then blood-red points of light appeared across the darkness.

Eyes!

Thousands upon thousands of densely packed, blood-red eyes!

"Vampire bats!" Yan Hong cried out.

In the next moment, a black tide poured down from the cave walls and ceiling, surging toward them from every direction.

It was a swarm of huge black bats, their fangs bared.

There were too many to count, as though they meant to fill the entire cave.

"Form a formation!" Li Xiaoyu immediately shouted.

The others reacted swiftly, forming a circle back-to-back.

Faxiang gave a low shout. The Samsara Bead in his hand blazed with golden light, and Buddhist swastika seals flew out, forming a golden shield around him that sheltered the group.

"Incense Burning Valley disciples, attack!"

Li Xun shouted, striking at the same time as Yan Hong.

Two fire dragons roared from their hands, carrying waves of scorching heat as they plunged into the swarm of bats.

"Boom!"

The flames burst, instantly burning hundreds upon hundreds of bats to charred husks.

But the bats showed no fear of death. Those behind them trampled over their companions' corpses and kept surging forward, attacking Faxiang's golden shield with their sharp claws and fangs.

"Crack, crack."

Cracks began to spread across the shield.

"This won't do. There are too many of them!"

Faxiang's face had grown pale. Maintaining a defense on this scale was clearly draining him heavily.

"I'll do it!"

Li Xiaoyu's gaze sharpened. He knew they couldn't wait any longer.

He nodded to Lu Xueqi beside him.

Understanding at once, Lu Xueqi's Tianya Divine Sword blazed with blue light.

"Divine Sword Thunder Control Technique!"

She cried out. Though she couldn't summon the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder, calling ordinary Thunder Power within the cave was well within her ability.

Blue arcs of lightning danced along the tip of the Tianya Sword.

At the same time, Li Xiaoyu moved.

The Autumn Water Sword in his hand shone with no dazzling light, yet carried an unstoppable momentum.

"Slash!"

He said in a low voice, unleashing a killing sword art of the Green Cloud Sect.

A plain, unadorned sword light shot skyward, yet seemed capable of cutting through anything.

"Together!"

Li Xiaoyu and Lu Xueqi spoke almost at the same time.

The Tianya Sword's light, imbued with Thunder Power, fused with Li Xiaoyu's sword intent in midair!

Thunder bolstered the sword momentum, and the sword magnified the might of the thunder!

A blue-and-green sword aura, bearing heavenly might and razor-sharp force, formed with a thunderous boom!

"Go!"

Li Xiaoyu pointed forward.

The sword aura, fused from their combined power, swept out in every direction like a crescent moon!

Ssshhh!

The sound of slicing filled the cave.

Every vampire bat caught in the sword aura—body and soul alike—was shredded and annihilated in an instant!

In a single breath,

every vampire bat within a hundred-zhang radius of the group was swept away!

A vacuum emerged in the crowded cavern.

The bats that remained seemed to sense their fear. They let out a series of shrill screams and fled deeper into the cave, no longer daring to come near.

The entire Ancient Bat Cave fell into a brief, deathly silence.

Faxiang, Li Xun, Yan Hong, Qi Hao—everyone stared at the sight before them, dumbfounded.

They looked at Li Xiaoyu and Lu Xueqi standing shoulder to shoulder, their coordination flawless, and felt nothing but shock.

The power of the two of them fighting together was terrifying beyond belief!