Putting Up a Front
At the foot of the mountain.
A mass grave.
The stone pillar continued to rise, piercing into the mountainside as if it were about to pierce through the entire mountain.
The cracks in the cave ceiling grew wider and wider, and countless huge rocks continued to fall.
The only exit from the burial pit—the stone staircase—has been blocked by fallen rocks.
Xing Yixuan and Niu Ying were trapped in the mass grave.
A flicker of fear crossed Niu Ying's eyes as he watched the massive rocks continuously falling from the cave ceiling.
"Miss, how can we escape?"
Xing Yixuan looked at the huge crack in the dome caused by the stone pillars and said.
"Follow me!"
A flying sword appeared in front of Xing Yixuan.
The flying sword emitted Sword-Ray.
The sword light pierced the air, shattering the boulders blocking the way.
Xing Yixuan leaped into the air, following the trajectory of the sword light, and rushed swiftly towards the crack in the dome.
Niu Ying followed closely behind her.
The mass grave was only a few miles below the ground, and the two quickly crossed the crevice and arrived at the foot of the mountain.
At that moment, countless boulders were rolling down the mountain. Just as the two were preparing to get away from the mountain, they heard a deafening roar from the crevice behind them.
The roar of the beast was like thunder, and even the deafening sound of the collapsing mountain could not drown it out.
Xing Yixuan and Niu Ying felt as if their eardrums were about to burst, their heartbeats suddenly accelerated, and a strong sense of palpitations and unease arose.
The two hurriedly activated their movement Movement Method, trying to get away from the crack.
Sudden.
A Demon Beast, over three zhang tall, appeared in the crevice.
The Demon Beast, with its skin of copper and bones of iron, rampaged through the cracks, turning any falling rocks it touched into dust.
The Wind-Thunder Golden-Eyed Beast leaped out of the crack, brushed past the two, and headed straight for the mountaintop.
As luck would have it, the Wind-Thunder Golden-Eyed Beast's front hoof scraped against the Niu Ying's left shoulder.
Niu Ying suddenly felt as if he had been violently struck by a mountain peak.
His protective Law Power was as fragile as an eggshell, crumbling at the slightest touch.
A burst of vivid, bloody mist instantly erupted from his left shoulder.
His entire left arm was torn to pieces.
The Niu Ying was like a leaf swept up by a gale, tumbling backwards endlessly.
A huge boulder rolled down and hit Niu Ying's body.
"Bang!"
The boulder has fallen!
"Miss, help..."
Niu Ying, with only half his body remaining, still had a breath left and struggled to call for help.
Countless boulders fell in succession, quickly crushing him into a pile of minced meat and burying him.
Xing Yixuan was so intimidated by the aura emanating from the Wind-Thunder Golden-Eyed Beast that she forgot to dodge and was hit by a falling rock.
However, her Law Power shield remained intact, and thanks to her timely reaction, she was not injured, only slightly disheveled.
Xing Yixuan glanced at the spot where Niu Ying had been buried, then activated her movement Movement Method, preparing to leave this dangerous place.
But then another figure burst out from the crack.
Without pausing, the man chased after the Wind-Thunder Golden-Eyed Beast, heading straight for the mountaintop.
Then comes the second, third, and fourth rounds.
Xing Yixuan recognized all four of them; they were the four Nascent Soul Cultivators who had entered the secret realm.
Xing Yixuan quickened her pace as she left.
Not long after she left, two more figures rushed out of the crack; it was Yuan Hao Wind Eagle.
"What is the Wind-Thunder Golden-Eyed Beast doing at the mountaintop? Is it trying to enter the maze and use the complex terrain and dense ghost fog to shake us off?"
While fully activating his movement Movement Method, Xing Wenyao transmitted his voice to Xing Gaohan and asked.
He only had the Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivation level, making him the weakest among the four. He had already given it his all to avoid falling behind.
Yinshuo, who was chasing in the lead, seemed unwilling to face the Wind-Thunder Golden-Eyed Beast alone, and intentionally slowed down.
Xing Gaohan shook his head. "I don't know either, but we should be cautious later. Although the Yinshuo Wind-Thunder Golden-Eyed Beast seems to be bluffing, it's probably not so easy to deal with. Also, we need to be extra careful with Yin Shuo and Jing Wuming."
The four of them soon reached the mountaintop.
The Wind-Thunder Golden-Eyed Beast did not enter the maze inside the palace as Xing Wenyao had predicted, but instead stopped in the square outside the palace.
Nine stone pillars stand in the center of the square.
Nine stone pillars form a circle.
The Wind-Thunder Golden-Eyed Beast stood in the center of the circle.
Its powerful soul force surged forth, transforming into nine streams that flowed into the nine stone pillars.
The nine stone pillars glowed with a scarlet, blood-red light.
These crimson rays intersected, illuminating the entire circle in a scarlet glow.
A powerful energy surge suddenly erupted at the center of the circle.
A massive crimson pillar of light suddenly rose, shooting straight into the sky and turning the dark, ghostly mist high above a deep crimson.
The moment the crimson pillar of light appeared, the Wind-Thunder Golden-Eyed Beast stopped injecting its soul power and leaped out of the circle.
The four Nascent Soul Cultivators were unaware of what the Wind-Thunder Golden-Eyed Beast was doing. Only Xing Gaohan and Xing Wenyao exchanged a glance, seemingly having some guesses in their minds.
"The fortuitous opportunity is right before you three. Whether you can seize it or not depends on your own abilities," Yinshuo said loudly.
Just as the four were about to join forces, the Wind-Thunder Golden-Eyed Beast placed the Pill Furnace in its mouth on the ground and then began to speak human language.
"Human Race, I am the Lord of the Sea, the King of All Demons, and a descendant of the divine beast Bai Ze. How dare you disrespect me!"
A sinister smile appeared on Yinshuo's gaunt face.
"Fellow Daoist, stop putting on airs. You are nothing but a remnant soul, occupying the corpse of the Wind-Thunder Golden-Eyed Beast. Do you think you can scare us away with such paltry tricks?"
The Wind-Thunder Golden-Eyed Beast said, "Since you have seen through me, I will no longer conceal myself. I am the Lord of the Nether God Temple and the Vice Lord of the Divine Blood Sect. How dare you, a few junior Human Race, attempt to challenge my authority?"
Upon hearing this, Yinshuo showed no fear whatsoever; instead, his eyes gleamed with a lustful light, like a lecherous demon seeing a naked beauty.
"Don't waste your breath on him! He's stalling for time."
Xing Gaohan suddenly roared, interrupting the conversation between the man and the beast.
Before he finished speaking, his fiery red feather fan soared into the air and transformed in the blink of an eye into a fire phoenix several meters in size.
"Chirp!"
Phoenixes fly together, their harmonious cries ringing out!
The fire phoenix opened its mouth and spat out a fireball the size of a millstone.
Faced with the oncoming fireball, the Wind-Thunder Golden-Eyed Beast completely lost its previous arrogance.
It grabbed the Pill Furnace in front of it and hurriedly dodged to the left.
"Boom!"
The fireball landed.
The ground cracked open, revealing a huge crater tens of meters high.
At the edge of the pit, the rocks were instantly melted by the high temperature, forming a layer of glass-like substance.
Sparks flew everywhere, landing on the Wind-Thunder Golden-Eyed Beast.
It had no time to look at anything else, only focused on fleeing.
"It was just a bluff after all."
The four Nascent Soul Cultivators all lit up.
The four of them could immediately see the true strength of the Wind-Thunder Golden-Eyed Beast, and their spirits lifted. They each used their own methods to attack the Wind-Thunder Golden-Eyed Beast.