Flame Python Coiling Plate

"Hmph!" The young man snorted coldly and repeated his old trick, swinging his long whip in an attempt to stop Feng An from closing in.

But Feng An had already gone mad. He let the flaming whip lash his body, let his flesh split and tear, as if he could not feel pain at all. His sharp claws poured down upon the young man in a frenzied storm.

Relying on the strength of his body, Feng An dared to take the long whip's attacks head-on. But the young man did not dare let Feng An's claws strike his own body.

His flesh truly rivals that of a demon beast! Cursing inwardly, the young man had no choice but to retreat. He abandoned his assault on Feng An, turning his long whip from offense to defense as he fought while withdrawing.

But he had forgotten that there was still one more person.

The instant Feng An charged out, Kong Jiao had already drawn his longbow once more, his cold eyes fixed upon the young man's every move.

The ice arrow he condensed this time was even more crystalline than before. Terrifying cold radiated from its shaft, spreading a layer of white frost across the cellar floor beneath his feet.

The temperature in the cellar had fallen so low that dripping water could freeze into ice.

While the young man struggled against Feng An's desperate assault,

Kong Jiao's hand, which had drawn the bowstring taut, gently released it. Seizing a gap in the long whip's defense, the arrow shot from his hand in an instant.

Whoosh! This arrow was even faster than the last, so fast that Zhou Tingyu, watching from the side, saw only a blurry crystalline flash in the darkness.

In the blink of an eye, the arrow had already pierced through the long whip's defensive range, heading straight for the young man's throat.

Before the ice arrow arrived, its chill did.

The young man instantly felt every hair on his body stand on end. The sense of danger made him feel as though he had fallen into an ice cellar.

Instinctively, he tried to pull back his long whip to defend himself.

But how could Feng An possibly grant his wish?

His broad hand had moved first, gripping the long whip tightly. Though his palm was burned until its flesh split open, he refused to let go.

A flicker of panic crossed the young man's face, swiftly replaced by viciousness.

"You're courting death!"

As soon as the words fell,

Buzz! Dazzling golden light abruptly burst from within his body, forming a circular shield that completely enveloped him.

The ice arrow struck that shield at just that moment.

Clang! Accompanied by an earth-shaking blast,

A powerful shockwave spread from the collision between the arrow and the golden shield, forming a visible ring of frosty ripples.

The ice arrow ultimately failed to shatter the shield. It scattered into flecks of ice and vanished into the air.

Though the golden shield did not break, the tremendous force still blasted it—and the young man protected within it—out through the cellar entrance.

He crashed viciously into a broken wall above, collapsing the entire section as thick smoke billowed forth.

Roar! Feng An pressed his advantage. With a wild roar, he charged out of the cellar and headed straight for the smoke-filled ruins.

"Junior Sister Zhou!" Kong Jiao shot Zhou Tingyu, who had been watching from the side in the cellar, a meaningful glance before chasing after him with his longbow in hand.

His Burst Qi Pill could only raise his cultivation for a short time. If they failed to kill the young man before its effects ran out, death would be waiting for them.

Zhou Tingyu, who had been standing there in a daze, immediately understood Kong Jiao's meaning before he left. She hurried to the Twin-Stem Ice Lingzhi and carefully put it away.

Her gaze shifted toward the battlefield.

Boom! The building's wall was blasted through from the inside out.

Amid flying broken bricks and shattered tiles, two figures shot out from the ruins, fighting as they retreated.

Outside, wind and snow howled.

Feng An looked utterly crazed, completely ignoring his wounds as he swung his claws again and again at the protective barrier before him.

The barrier rippled continuously beneath the blows.

The young man's expression was grim, his flaming long whip lashing back without pause.

Wherever the two passed, whether bare tree trunks standing amid the wind and snow or massive boulders, everything was torn to pieces.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

At the same time, three sharp arrows tore through the air, hidden amid the snowflakes and almost impossible to detect.

Thus, every arrow struck the energy barrier squarely. Carrying terrifying force, they battered the barrier until it swayed unsteadily.

Even though the golden barrier possessed outstanding defenses, under Kong Jiao and Feng An's nearly suicidal assault, it was beginning to show signs of collapse.

It would not be long before it shattered completely.

Though wind and snow howled outside, such a fierce battle still drew the attention of countless people who had come to Frostmoon Altar to gather herbs.

Countless pairs of eyes either lurked in the shadows or emerged directly from their hiding places, watching the confrontation amid the snowstorm.

Among them were disciples of the Cangwu Sect.

Zheng Gang was among them as well.

He stood together with another unfamiliar, short and thin man at the sixth realm of Wheel Nurturing. The two seemed to have formed an alliance.

"Those two seem to be disciples of your Cangwu Sect! The one facing them is Jiang Xingyun of the Tempered Gold Gate." The short, thin man grinned as he watched the deadlocked battle, saying mockingly, "Jiang Xingyun is someone of some standing even in the Tempered Gold Gate, yet he is actually bullying two obscure disciples of the Cangwu Sect."

"Are you really not going to help?"

As he spoke, the man gave Zheng Gang a meaningful look.

The latter remained expressionless and said flatly, "What do you mean, bullying? They're clearly evenly matched."

Though he said so, Zheng Gang's brows were tightly furrowed as he looked at Kong Jiao and Feng An on the battlefield.

Back when they were with the group, these two had kept an extremely low profile.

Who would have thought that the strength they displayed after joining forces would already force even him to treat them seriously?

How could Jiang Xingyun fail to notice the gazes watching from the shadows? He had originally planned to drag things out with Kong Jiao and Feng An, waiting for their secret arts and medicinal effects to expire before slowly dealing with them.

But now that the battlefield had shifted outside, with so many eyes and ears around, he truly feared that the two would let something slip and reveal the matter of the Twin-Stem Ice Lingzhi.

By then, even if he obtained the Twin-Stem Ice Lingzhi, he would still have to face a joint assault from the surrounding cultivators.

Jiang Xingyun did not dare gamble, because among the many cultivators who had come to Frostmoon Altar this time, several were no weaker than him.

At that thought, killing intent filled Jiang Xingyun's eyes. Finally ceasing his delay, he growled, "Since you're courting death, I'll grant you your wish."

Boom!

In an instant, firelight shot into the sky.

The terrifying heat melted all the snow within several yards of him.

Even the falling snow in the patch of sky above his head melted into raindrops before it could touch the ground.

A massive burst of fiery aura erupted, directly sending the nearest Feng An flying backward.

Kong Jiao was farther away and was not caught in the blast. But as he watched Jiang Xingyun's transformation, his expression grew even uglier. "How does he still have another trump card?"

His gaze settled on Jiang Xingyun as he was now.

After raging wildly, the flame spiritual power began to gather, forming a giant flame python several yards long around him.

The giant python coiled itself around Jiang Xingyun, protecting him firmly within its coils. The flaming whip in his hand had astonishingly vanished.

"Flame Python Coiling Plate! This guy is getting serious." Outside the battlefield, the short, thin man beside Zheng Gang also turned grave.

Kong Jiao did not know what Flame Python Coiling Plate was. He only felt that the scorching aura emitted by the giant flame python made his cheeks burn even from some distance away.

The intense sense of danger made his entire body tense.

Jiang Xingtian did not give Kong Jiao and Feng An much time to adjust.

"I'll kill one first!" He sneered at Feng An, who had been sent flying by his flame python and had yet to rise to his feet, then formed a hand seal.

The flame python coiled at his side raised its head.

"Watch out!" Kong Jiao saw through Jiang Xingtian's intent and immediately cried out a warning.

But it was already too late. Almost the instant the flame python lifted its head, its enormous fiery body lunged toward the direction Feng An had been blasted.

The flame python swept through the air, carrying scorching waves of heat. In an instant, it struck before Feng An, who had not yet managed to steady himself.

Firelight illuminated his nearly crazed face.

As Feng An watched the flame python draw ever nearer in his field of vision, fear and despair rarely appeared on his face.

I can't dodge it!

At that critical moment,

Crash! A curtain of rain poured down from the sky.

Then, in the space between Feng An and the flame python, it transformed into a towering wall of ice, standing before Feng An.