Sudden Change Underwater

The moment Xiao Yan saw the Green-Eyed Nightmare Toad clearly, a fierce desire to survive surged within him. He had no time to think. He activated Three Thousand Lightning Movement to its fullest, and amid the rumble of thunder, he had already shifted a hundred zhang away.

The others each displayed their own methods as well. Yang Lingyan was the fastest, even pulling far ahead of Xiao Yan. Shi Han and Chu Qun were not slow either. The group of Dou Kings and Dou Spirits lagged behind. Although someone was covering the rear, Xiao Yan did not dare harbor the slightest hope of luck. That was an eighth-rank magical beast at the Dou Zun level. The slightest lapse in caution could mean dying here.

Xiao Yan could only pray inwardly that the Dou Zun magical beast had been weakened further after death, giving him a chance to escape.

The Green-Eyed Nightmare Toad crouching at the bottom of the pool swallowed the person gathering herbs in a single bite, chewing with loud crunches. Though it had come here after death due to the Dou Emperor's design and had inherited neither its memories nor intelligence from life, some instincts remained. Its instinct told it that the creatures disturbing it before its eyes would be greatly beneficial to it.

After the person in its mouth had been chewed to pieces, a soul was forcibly stripped out and swallowed in one gulp. Its craving for souls was rooted deeply in the Green-Eyed Nightmare Toad's instincts.

Then, the Green-Eyed Nightmare Toad slowly opened its huge mouth.

Xiao Yan, who had already fled a considerable distance with his Dou Qi fully unleashed, suddenly felt alarm bells ringing in his heart. A lethal sense of danger shot straight into his core. Disregarding the decrease in his retreat speed, Xiao Yan rapidly gathered the Dou Qi within his body into his hands.

Inside the Green-Eyed Nightmare Toad's massive mouth, transparent rings of light condensed one after another from terrifying Dou Zun-level Dou Qi. Within every ring was a water arrow formed from condensed water. At that moment, everyone still fleeing felt as though they had been locked onto. In the next instant, the water arrows slowly shifted, each one targeting a person. Xiao Yan gritted his teeth and formed two enormous energy hands with his own.

"Emperor Seal Art—Mountain Opening Seal!"

"Emperor Seal Art—Sea Overturning Seal!"

The water arrows appeared slow, but they actually tore through space. In the blink of an eye, they had arrived before everyone. Xiao Yan reacted in time, and the water arrow collided with the two enormous energy hands. Terrifying Dou Qi ripples spread in every direction. "Bang!" "Bang!" Two explosions rang out in succession as the water arrow pierced through both energy hand seals.

But it was, after all, a wide-range attack, and the magical beasts in the Ten Thousand Beasts Space were somewhat weaker than at their peak. After piercing through the two hand seals, the water arrow had dimmed considerably. Pale white flames gathered in Xiao Yan's hands. The pool water before him instantly froze, and the water arrow trapped within the ice struck toward Xiao Yan's chest with its remaining force. Xiao Yan felt as though a massive hammer had slammed into him. After being driven several zhang backward through the water, a trace of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

Before entering the Ten Thousand Beasts Space, Xiao Yan had already finished cultivating the Emperor Seal Art that Xun Er had given him. After all, improving his strength was always the most important thing. Yet Xiao Yan had not expected that the first time he used two seals at once would be in such a wretched situation.

Before Xiao Yan could steady himself, a Dou Huang suddenly appeared before him. Xiao Yan sensed no sign of life from the Dou Huang's body. It was a Dou Huang corpse! Then, without warning, it exploded. The dense bloody aura from it sealed off every path ahead of Xiao Yan, and the blast's aftershock instead sent him back toward the pool. Xiao Yan was already at a moment when his old strength had been spent and new strength had yet to arise. Now he had taken the bloody-aura explosion from the Dou Huang corpse head-on. He could no longer suppress the metallic taste in his throat and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Xiao Yan looked around and saw that only six people had survived the Green-Eyed Nightmare Toad's previous attack: himself, Shi Han, Chu Qun, Yang Lingyan, and two other Dou Huangs. Apart from Shi Han, the other four had also been struck by explosions after the Green-Eyed Nightmare Toad's attack. It was just that Xiao Yan's explosion had come from a Dou Huang, making it especially powerful.

They had all been blasted backward, and that familiar bloody aura could only have come from Shi Han. Who knew what method Shi Han had used to detonate the dead? His cultivation was the strongest, so taking the water arrow had been the easiest for him. Then he had secretly plotted an attack against the others. Now, taking advantage of the moment, he had nearly reached the top of the pool alone. Xiao Yan and the others had become his stepping stones. The viciousness of his scheming was plain to see.

"That bastard!" Xiao Yan cursed inwardly, committing Shi Han's actions to memory. But there was no point thinking about anything else now.

Xiao Yan took out two medicinal pills from his storage ring and swallowed them in one gulp. As his Dou Qi recovered, Xiao Yan discovered that the Green-Eyed Nightmare Toad at the bottom of the pool had vanished. He pushed his soul perception to its limit, yet he still could not sense the Green-Eyed Nightmare Toad's aura.

After scheming against Xiao Yan and the others, Shi Han relied on his movement technique to weave continuously through the water. When he saw the light at the top of the pool, he could not help feeling pleased with himself. Although he had returned empty-handed from this trip, he had escaped from an eighth-rank magical beast and had even killed off opponents from two factions, Heavenly Snake Mansion and Splendid Flower Tower. It was still a small gain.

But the next second, most of the light at the top of the pool vanished. A massive object had blocked the light coming from above!

Shi Han looked up, and even underwater, cold sweat streamed down his body. What else could that massive object be but the Green-Eyed Nightmare Toad?

After all, it was an eighth-rank magical beast. Many of its battle instincts remained—for example, slaughtering all its prey.

A black shadow shot out from the Green-Eyed Nightmare Toad's enormous mouth and struck Shi Han's head almost instantly. Naturally, Shi Han's head did not burst apart as expected. A necklace of blood-colored beads hanging around his neck activated a Dou Qi barrier that covered his entire body. The black shadow extended, and its terrifying force smashed Shi Han straight into the pool wall. It was none other than the Green-Eyed Nightmare Toad's tongue, which had extended from its mouth, pitch-black in color.

The barrier around Shi Han was quite powerful. Even after being struck directly by the Green-Eyed Nightmare Toad, he had not lost his ability to fight. But judging by the fading light of his barrier, he would not be able to hold on for much longer.

Seeing the Green-Eyed Nightmare Toad tormenting Shi Han, Xiao Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Yang Lingyan and Chu Qun also moved closer to him. Though Chu Qun's expression was somewhat unnatural, he had not suffered any injuries. Yang Lingyan's chest had caved in, but Xiao Yan was not overly worried by the look of him—sometimes, tenacious vitality was also a display of strength.

The three gathered together and exchanged a few gestures, only to discover they faced a difficult choice: should they leave or not?

If they left, they might very well draw the Green-Eyed Nightmare Toad's attention. They did not dare claim they could withstand its attacks as Shi Han had.

If they did not leave, they would simply be waiting to die. Whether they fled downward or pretended to be dead where they were, both were practically certain death.

Watching the Green-Eyed Nightmare Toad's overwhelming attacks, Xiao Yan made up his mind. He was about to gesture for the two of them to charge out together.

A voice suddenly echoed in his heart. "Go downward!"

It was a voice Xiao Yan found somewhat familiar, yet could not identify. His eyes filled with confusion.

"Go downward!" The voice sounded again, and Xiao Yan had the feeling that it wanted to help him.

As the battle above was gradually coming to an end, the other two Dou Huangs were already planning to flee while Shi Han restrained the Green-Eyed Nightmare Toad.

Xiao Yan gestured to Chu Qun and Yang Lingyan to go down, then immediately unleashed his Dou Qi and shot toward the bottom of the pool. Time was life now. He could not say what lay below, and each of them would have to make their own choice.

Yang Lingyan looked at Chu Qun beside him, then at Xiao Yan, who had not looked back even once, and followed after him. He was even a few degrees faster than Xiao Yan.

Seeing that both had gone, Chu Qun gritted his teeth and followed after them.