The World Lord eighth-level giant scorpion pursued closely behind, its two enormous pincers opening and closing continuously with crisp metallic clashes.
The two World Lord seventh-level giant scorpions guarded the middle and left side of the valley respectively, earthen-yellow defensive secret patterns emerging across their shells.
Meanwhile, the two World Lord sixth-level giant scorpions waved 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 by the World Lord ninth-level giant scorpion.
Gao Tao was hurled 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.
"Ha!" Ka En roared, his earth-element saber carrying tremendous force as it chopped down on the World Lord eighth-level giant scorpion's pincer, sending sparks flying. The scorpion's pincer was incomparably hard. Ka En's full-force blow left only a white mark on it, while the recoil numbed his arm.
Elsewhere, Yun Yan's flaming saber had already slashed toward the venomous stinger of the World Lord seventh-level giant scorpion before him. The red flaming blade light collided with the earthen-yellow defensive secret patterns, producing a sizzling sound. The yellow venom on the stinger was vaporized by the flames, releasing a pungent, fishy stench.
Just as the battle reached its fiercest point, a sudden change occurred! Boom! The ground beneath Yun Yan abruptly exploded, and an even larger giant scorpion burst out from underground.
This giant scorpion's shell was dark brown, and the venomous stinger on its tail was visibly a size thicker than those of ordinary World Lord eighth-level giant scorpions. It had clearly reached the World Lord eighth-level peak.
"Yun Yan, watch out!" Zhou Yuan's pupils suddenly contracted. Having enough strength left to watch their surroundings, he sensed the danger and issued a warning almost the instant the giant scorpion appeared.
Before his words faded, Zhou Yuan had already fully unleashed the Myriad Transformations Secret Art, creating over a thousand identical phantom bodies out of thin air.
The World Lord sixth-level giant scorpion was instantly confused, unable to tell which phantom body to attack.
Zhou Yuan's true body shot out like a ghost, the Zhenkong Blade in his hand shining with earthen-yellow light intertwined with the Space Law.
"Zhenkong Slash!" The blade light tore through the air. Wherever it passed, space itself seemed frozen as it viciously slashed toward the venomous stinger of the World Lord eighth-level peak giant scorpion.
Zhou Yuan had intended to use that strike to force back the giant scorpion and buy Yun Yan time to escape, but he had not expected its speed to far exceed his expectations—the venomous stinger, carrying a howling gale, had already stabbed viciously into Yun Yan's body.
Crack! Yun Yan's Fifth-Order Force Battle Armor was instantly pierced by the venomous 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 everywhere.
Fortunately, it had not struck dead center. Otherwise, the enormous venomous stinger would have blown Yun Yan's entire body apart.
"Abandon your body and preserve the Life Core!" Gao Tao's voice rang through the Virtual Universe channel. He had already reacted, resisting the attacks of the World Lord peak giant scorpion while urgently transmitting his voice.
Yun Yan still retained a sliver of consciousness. Hearing Gao Tao's words, he endured the excruciating pain and immediately sank his consciousness into the Life Core within his head.
His body, still connected to his head, fell away. In the end, only an intact head remained floating in the air—the Life Core was hidden deep within it. As long as the Life Core was not destroyed, 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, wrapping it around Gao Tao, who had wanted 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 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 darted to Yun Yan's head like lightning. With a sweep of his left hand, he stored it in his World Ring.
"Retreat! Don't get drawn into the fight!" Seeing that Zhou Yuan had preserved Yun Yan's life, Gao Tao immediately gave the signal to withdraw.
He knew that the sudden appearance of a World Lord eighth-level peak giant scorpion had made their enemy far stronger than they had anticipated. If they continued fighting, more people would only be injured or killed.
Upon receiving the retreat signal, everyone immediately began breaking out of the encirclement.
Mu Feng stepped onto the Cloud Array Disk, his spiritual power operating at full force. The Wind Origin Law pushed his speed to the limit, and he transformed into a streak of azure light that shot out of the valley in an instant.
After storing Yun Yan's head, Zhou Yuan used the Myriad Transformations Secret Art to create a large number of phantom bodies, drawing away a World Lord seventh-level and a World Lord sixth-level giant scorpion while his true body rapidly fled toward the valley entrance.
Suo Lin merged into the light and shadows once more, slipping around the giant scorpions' encirclement like a ghost and vanishing deep into the forest.
Only Ka En, slowed by his massive build, was entangled by two World Lord eighth-level giant scorpions.
The giant scorpions' pincers struck continuously, and earthen-yellow origin laws surged forward like a tide. Ka En could only raise his shield and struggle to hold on, blood already appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"Ka En, go!" Seeing this, Gao Tao suddenly threw out his Star Pattern Spear. The Gold Origin Law at its tip erupted, forming a massive golden wall of light that temporarily blocked the World Lord peak giant scorpion's attack.
At the same time, he hurled his E2-class spaceship out of his World Ring. The enormous spaceship, hundreds of meters long, immediately drew the attention of several giant scorpions the moment it appeared.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!" While the giant scorpions' attention was drawn to the spaceship, the secret patterns on Gao Tao's Star Pattern Spear lit up instantly. Countless golden rays shot from its tip, raining down like a storm upon the two World Lord eighth-level giant scorpions trapping Ka En.
The golden rays pierced through the giant scorpions' shells. Though they did not kill them outright, they caused enough pain for them to temporarily loosen their encirclement around Ka En.
"Quick, go!" Gao Tao grabbed Ka En's arm, and the Gold Origin Law enveloped both of them as they shot out of the valley like arrows released from a bowstring.
Meanwhile, the E2-class spaceship was surrounded by five World Lord-level giant scorpions. Their pincers continuously battered the ship's outer hull, producing earthshaking booms—it was clear that the spaceship had no chance of escaping and could only become the vicious beasts' toy.
The group fled the valley in a miserable 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 looked deeply shaken, especially Zhou Yuan. Yun Yan's head was still stored inside his World Ring. This was the first time someone among them had nearly died in battle.
Gao Tao's expression was even darker and more frightening. Looking at everyone, he said in a low voice, "I was careless this time. I didn't expect a World Lord eighth-level peak giant scorpion to be hiding in the valley. How is Yun Yan?"
Zhou Yuan took out Yun Yan's head. The skin on it had already begun turning black; it had still been touched by a trace of venom. "The situation isn't good. The venom has already invaded the area where the Life Core is located. We must use a high-grade restorative medicine immediately, or the Life Core may be corroded."
"I have a Life Fruit here. 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 full of vitality. Waves of rich fragrance spread through the air, intoxicating everyone.