Escape

The World Lord eighth-level giant scorpion pursued close behind, its two massive pincers constantly opening and closing with sharp metallic clacks.

The two World Lord seventh-level giant scorpions guarded the center and left side of the valley respectively, earthen-yellow defensive secret patterns emerging across their shells.

The two World Lord sixth-level giant scorpions swung their pincers, attempting to block Mu Feng's Wind Spirit Blades.

Gao Tao was the first to engage, his Star Pattern Spear striking the venomous stinger thrust at him by the World Lord ninth-level giant scorpion.

Gao Tao was flung into the air, while the rocky ground beneath the giant scorpion's feet instantly cracked under the immense pressure, spiderweb-like fissures spreading thousands of meters away.

"Hah!" Ka En roared, bringing his earth-element longsword down on the World Lord eighth-level giant scorpion's pincer with tremendous force. Sparks flew everywhere. The giant scorpion's pincer was incomparably hard; Ka En's full-force blow only left a white mark on it, while the recoil numbed his arm.

On the other side, Yun Yan's flaming saber had already slashed at the stinger of the World Lord seventh-level giant scorpion before him. The red flame blade light collided with the earthen-yellow defensive secret patterns, producing a sizzling sound. The yellow venom on the stinger evaporated beneath the flames, releasing a pungent, fishy stench.

Just as the battle reached its most intense point, an abrupt change occurred! Boom! The ground beneath Yun Yan suddenly exploded, and an even larger giant scorpion burst out from underground.

This giant scorpion's shell was dark brown, and the stinger on its tail was visibly thicker than that of an ordinary World Lord eighth-level giant scorpion. It had clearly reached the World Lord eighth-level peak.

"Yun Yan, watch out!" Zhou Yuan's pupils abruptly contracted. With enough leeway to observe his surroundings, he sensed the danger and issued a warning almost the instant the giant scorpion appeared.

Before his words had even faded, Zhou Yuan had already unleashed the Myriad Transformations Secret Art at full strength, creating over a thousand identical illusory bodies out of thin air.

The World Lord sixth-level giant scorpion was instantly confused, unable to tell which illusory body to attack.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yuan's true body darted out like a ghost, the Zhenkong Blade in his hand carrying a glow woven from earthen-yellow light and the Space Law.

"Zhenkong Slash!" The blade light tore through the air. Wherever it passed, space itself seemed to solidify as it slashed viciously at the stinger of the World Lord eighth-level peak giant scorpion.

Zhou Yuan had intended to use that strike to force the giant scorpion back and buy Yun Yan time to escape, but he had not expected its speed to far exceed his estimates—the stinger had already pierced Yun Yan's body with howling force.

Smack! With a crisp sound, Yun Yan's fifth-tier force battle suit was instantly punctured by the stinger, and yellow venom immediately invaded his body.

Yun Yan's body burst apart like a watermelon struck by a heavy hammer, blood and organs scattering across the ground.

Fortunately, it had not struck the center completely. Otherwise, the enormous stinger would have blown Yun Yan's entire body apart.

"Abandon the body! Preserve the Life Core!" Gao Tao's voice sounded over the Virtual Universe channel. Having already reacted, he urgently transmitted his words while fending off the attacks of the World Lord peak giant scorpion.

Yun Yan still retained a trace of consciousness. Upon hearing Gao Tao's words, he endured the agonizing pain and immediately sank his consciousness into the Life Core within his head.

His body, still connected to his head, fell away, leaving only an intact head floating in the air—the Life Core was hidden deep within it. As long as the Life Core remained unharmed, he could use life-infused treasures from the universe to reconstruct his body.

But the crisis was not over! The World Lord peak giant scorpion suddenly swung its venomous tail, entangling Gao Tao, who had been trying to provide support.

The World Lord eighth-level peak giant scorpion and another World Lord seventh-level giant scorpion turned at the same time, their tails flashing with deadly cold light as they lashed toward Yun Yan's remaining head.

Having lost his body, Yun Yan had no ability to resist and could only let them attack.

"Zhenkong Slash!" Zhou Yuan swung his blade again. This time, he poured all his force energy into it. The blade light was even more condensed than before, directly forcing the tails of the two giant scorpions to halt.

At the same time, his figure flashed to Yun Yan's head like lightning. With a sweep of his left hand, he stored the head in his World Ring.

"Retreat! Don't get bogged down!" Seeing that Zhou Yuan had preserved Yun Yan's life, Gao Tao immediately gave the order to withdraw.

He knew that the sudden appearance of a World Lord eighth-level peak giant scorpion meant their opponent's strength had far exceeded their estimates. If they continued fighting, more people would only be injured or killed.

Upon receiving the retreat signal, everyone immediately began breaking out.

Mu Feng stepped onto the Cloud Array Disk, his spiritual force operating at full power. The Wind Origin Law pushed his speed to its limit, turning him into a streak of azure light that instantly shot out of the valley.

After storing Yun Yan's head, Zhou Yuan used the Myriad Transformations Secret Art to create a large number of illusory bodies, drawing away a World Lord seventh-level giant scorpion and a World Lord sixth-level giant scorpion while his true body rapidly fled toward the valley exit.

Suo Lin merged into the light and shadows once more, slipping around the giant scorpions' encirclement like a ghost and vanishing into the depths of the forest.

Only Ka En, slowed by his large frame, was held up by two World Lord eighth-level giant scorpions.

The giant scorpions' pincers struck without pause, earthen-yellow Origin Laws surging forward like a tide. Ka En could only desperately endure behind his shield, blood already appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"Ka En, go!" Seeing this, Gao Tao fiercely hurled out the Star Pattern Spear in his hand. The Gold Origin Law erupted from its tip, forming a massive wall of golden light that temporarily blocked the World Lord peak giant scorpion's attack.

At the same time, he pulled his E2-class spacecraft from his World Ring and threw it out. The instant the enormous spacecraft, hundreds of meters long, appeared, it immediately drew the attention of several giant scorpions.

Clang! Clang! Clang! While the giant scorpions' attention was drawn to the spacecraft, the secret patterns on Gao Tao's Star Pattern Spear instantly lit up. Countless golden rays burst from the spear tip, shooting like a torrential downpour at the two World Lord eighth-level giant scorpions holding Ka En back.

The golden rays pierced the giant scorpions' shells. Though they did not kill them outright, they caused enough pain to make them temporarily loosen their encirclement of Ka En.

"Go!" Gao Tao grabbed Ka En by the arm, and the Gold Origin Law enveloped both their bodies as they shot out of the valley like arrows released from a bow.

The E2-class spacecraft, meanwhile, was surrounded by five World Lord-level giant scorpions. Their pincers relentlessly battered its hull, creating earthshaking crashes—it was clear that the spacecraft had no chance of escape and could only become a toy for the vicious beasts.

The group fled the valley in a sorry state. Only after running more than a million kilometers and confirming that no vicious beasts were pursuing them did they stop in a dense forest.

Everyone still wore shaken expressions, especially Zhou Yuan. Yun Yan's head was hidden in his World Ring, and this was the first time someone among them had nearly died in battle.

Gao Tao's expression was even more frighteningly grim. Looking at everyone, he said in a low voice, "This time, I was careless. I didn't expect there to be a World Lord eighth-level peak giant scorpion hidden in the valley. How is Yun Yan?"

Zhou Yuan took out Yun Yan's head. The skin on it had already begun to blacken; it had still been contaminated by a trace of venom. "It's not good. The venom has entered the area where the Life Core is located. We have to use high-grade restorative medicine immediately, or the Life Core may be corroded."

"I have a Life Fruit. It can definitely save him." Mu Feng immediately took out a blue-green fruit and handed it over.

Blue-green radiance shone in all directions, making the entire forest seem brimming with vitality. Waves of rich fragrance spread through the air, intoxicating all who smelled it.