Joining Forces

Without the slightest hesitation, she hurried after Su Shi'er, calling from behind, "Kid, stop running! The Fire Cloud Python is seriously wounded. If you and I join forces, we can surely kill it."

Yeah, right. As if I'd believe that nonsense!

Su Shi'er ran at full speed, turning a deaf ear to Shen Miaoyin's words. A starving camel was still bigger than a horse. No matter how badly wounded the Fire Cloud Python was, it was still a demonic beast comparable to the Foundation Establishment stage. He had no intention of taking it on.

He clutched the Passage Token in his hand. At that moment, he wished he could grow another pair of wings.

Sensing the movement chasing after him, he felt utterly speechless.

What the hell is wrong with this woman? She's a Foundation Establishment expert, so why is she following me?!

Shen Miaoyin's delicate brows knitted together, and she looked equally depressed. She had genuinely invited him out of goodwill, but she had never expected that this disciple would not only ignore her, but run even faster.

"This kid... just how cowardly is he?! That speed—he actually combined mundane lightness skills with the Wind Calling Technique?!"

Just then, the giant python suddenly stopped and opened its mouth, spewing a torrent of poisonous fire that blotted out the sky.

"Not good! Watch out!" Shen Miaoyin cried sharply. The Ice Sword released a stream of cold air to protect her, and she also called out a warning to Su Shi'er.

Before Shen Miaoyin could warn him, Su Shi'er had already noticed the attack coming from behind.

"Damn it, this woman is going to get me killed!"

Cursing inwardly, he hurriedly activated the Turtle Pattern Shield in his robes while also circulating the Blood Light Shield.

A blood-red barrier enveloped him, while the Turtle Pattern Shield expanded against the wind into a massive shield as tall as a person, blocking the attack before him.

To guard against any mishap, Su Shi'er swiftly pulled out a handful of Defense Talismans.

Earth Wall, Water Wall... more than ten defensive techniques reinforced the space before the Turtle Pattern Shield.

The sight made Shen Miaoyin's eye twitch.

"A top-grade defensive magical artifact? And so many Defense Talismans! Even Lu Mingshi's own granddaughter probably doesn't get this treatment!"

"Could it be... this is Lu Mingshi's true trump card?"

"Whoosh, whoosh!"

The flames howled, and the poisonous fire immediately swallowed Su Shi'er whole.

The defenses propped up by the Defense Talismans were all shattered into pieces before the poisonous fire.

Then, the flames crashed viciously into the Turtle Pattern Shield.

Su Shi'er only felt more than half the true essence in his body drain away in an instant. The Turtle Pattern Shield shook violently, and he was sent flying.

He had intended to borrow that force to swiftly leave the Spiritual Plant Garden. But the attack was terrifyingly powerful. His body jolted, and he felt as though his internal organs were about to be smashed to bits.

While he was airborne, the Passage Token slipped from his grasp.

The poisonous fire swept past, and the Passage Token vanished into nothing within the flames.

"What the hell!"

Watching the Passage Token disappear, Su Shi'er was dumbfounded.

Without the Passage Token, his strength was nowhere near enough to leave the Spiritual Plant Garden's array.

When he looked at the Turtle Pattern Shield again, his heart bled with pain.

Dense, fine cracks covered the Turtle Pattern Shield. If it took one more attack like that, the shield would be completely ruined.

"I miscalculated! This is bad! Am I, Su Shi'er, really going to die here today?"

Su Shi'er groaned inwardly, his eyes swiftly sweeping the surroundings in search of another chance to escape.

"Kid, no matter how you got in here, I'll remind you one last time. The Fire Cloud Python is severely wounded. If you and I join hands, we still have the strength to fight."

"Otherwise, once it completely digests the medicinal power of the Cinnabar Fruit, both of us will undoubtedly die."

Shen Miaoyin's figure flashed. Just as Su Shi'er had done earlier, she combined lightness skills with the Wind Calling Technique and drifted through the air.

Her lotus steps moved lightly, and within a breath, she arrived beside Su Shi'er. The moment she landed, she said with an incomparably grave expression, ""

Su Shi'er did not answer immediately. Instead, he cautiously glanced at the distant Fire Cloud Python. After launching two attacks in succession, the Fire Cloud Python had clearly weakened considerably. It lay on the ground, drawing in and exhaling breaths.

Only then did he say with a gloomy expression, "What do you want me to do?!"

If this woman had not chased after him, he would certainly have escaped already. But now that the Passage Token had been destroyed, he could only rely on her if he wanted to leave.

For now, he did not dare reveal the dissatisfaction in his heart.

"Buy me a quarter of an hour. I need to restart the sword array! During that time, we absolutely cannot let it refine the medicinal power of the Cinnabar Fruit," Shen Miaoyin said firmly.

"A quarter of an hour? Are you kidding me? My defensive artifact can withstand at most one more attack before it breaks. You're not asking me to buy time for you—you're asking me to throw away my life!" Su Shi'er's expression changed drastically as he immediately shouted.

In truth, he still had quite a few talismans on him. If he truly went all out, holding on for a quarter of an hour was not impossible.

But if he did that, he would have to reveal all his methods. By then, would he not become a fish on the chopping block, at the mercy of others?

Moreover, since he knew this woman was at least a Foundation Establishment expert, she definitely would not be short on good things. As for whether she might settle accounts with him afterward, he did not think that far ahead. After all, this was a perfectly reasonable demand.

"Don't worry. Of course I won't make you throw away your life!"

"I can see that you possess mundane movement techniques. These high-grade magical artifacts, the Cloud-Treading Boots, can double your movement speed."

"Together with this high-grade magical artifact, the Ice Shield, and your own strength, holding on for a quarter of an hour should not be a problem."

Shen Miaoyin spoke swiftly. With a flick of her hand, a pair of white boots and an ice-blue shield the size of a palm appeared in her hands.

"This... fine. I'll do my best!"

Su Shi'er accepted the items and finally nodded. He had already made up his mind to try once more. The moment things became impossible, he would immediately run.

Even if he had to die, he had to be the last one to die.

Seeing Su Shi'er agree, Shen Miaoyin finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Move quickly! I'll go set up the sword array."

With that, she hurried toward where the other four flying swords had fallen.

However, if she had known Su Shi'er's true thoughts, she probably would have wanted to cut him down with a sword first.

The moment Shen Miaoyin moved, the giant python sensed the danger and opened its bloody maw once more.

Su Shi'er had already put on the Cloud-Treading Boots. As true essence flowed into them, a force wrapped around his legs and feet, making his entire body feel as light as the wind.

Seeing the Fire Cloud Python's movement, his figure blurred. With one step, he had already arrived several yards away.

The speed was so fast that he struggled to adapt to it for a moment. Yet his hands did not slow in the slightest. Locking his gaze onto the Fire Cloud Python's wounds, he flicked out a handful of attack talismans.

The talismans turned into streaks of light and vanished, becoming a dazzling variety of attacks in the blink of an eye as they shot toward the Fire Cloud Python.

With the Wind Calling Technique enhancing them, their speed doubled again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Before the Fire Cloud Python could attack Shen Miaoyin, a large number of talisman attacks exploded against its wounds.

"His—"

The Fire Cloud Python roared in pain. Its bell-sized eyes flashed with vicious, savage light as it opened its bloody maw, swung its head around, and charged straight at Su Shi'er.

Glared at by those bell-sized eyes, Su Shi'er's mind tightened, and he immediately felt as though he had been immobilized.

Seeing firelight emerge from its mouth, he did not hesitate. He decisively drew in a breath and soared upward with the aid of the Wind Calling Technique.

The next instant, an astonishing pillar of fire stretched for hundreds of meters.

Suspended in the air, he did not forget to fling out another set of attack talismans.

The attack talismans transformed into two ice spikes that shot straight toward the Fire Cloud Python.

"Summon Rain! Come!"

Before the ice spikes could fall, Su Shi'er cast another water-element technique.

A rainstorm fell from the sky, its range perfectly covering the entire Fire Cloud Python.

Before the rainwater could even reach the ground, it evaporated into vapor beneath the intense heat.

As a result, the Fire Cloud Python, whose fierce flames had previously soared to the heavens, suddenly seemed as though its fire had been extinguished. The temperature around its body plummeted, and the flames it spewed became several degrees weaker.

It had originally been an ordinary technique used by disciples to water spiritual plants, but against the Fire Cloud Python, whose entire body was blazing with flames, it produced a miraculous effect.

Then, the two ice spikes plunged viciously into the Fire Cloud Python's wounds.