Ning Chengyi's expression abruptly sharpened. Leaving only a thin layer of butterfly dust to keep protecting Bibi Dong, he silently moved to the gap in the stone door and narrowed his eyes as he peered outside.
In the forest clearing outside the chamber, a dense mass of armed figures came swarming over. Their fluorescent-looking Fierce Wolf uniforms stood out conspicuously in the dim light.
To think they actually found us.
This place had more than one entrance after all. A cunning hare truly kept three burrows.
Leading them was a burly middle-aged man dressed in close-fitting black clothes. Four Soul Rings-yellow, yellow, purple, purple-slowly revolved around him. He was unmistakably a level forty-nine Soul Ancestor, the leader of the Fierce Wolf Group!
Li Huo!
He was approaching cautiously.
"I don't know where Third Brother took Qiuping, but there's definitely something inside the Gold-Growing Vines here. Search thoroughly!"
Dozens of Fierce Wolf Group members roared their assent and split up to search in different directions. More and more of them were closing in on the concealed stone door.
The atmosphere inside the chamber instantly tightened to breaking point.
Bibi Dong clenched her teeth, forcibly suppressing the surging poison inside her. A dark purple glow rose from her formerly pale fingertips, while the phantom of her Death Spider Emperor Martial Soul flickered behind her.
"Once I suppress the poison, my divine power can briefly erupt at the Soul King level. With my combat experience as a Titled Douluo, I can repel one wave, but I can't withstand them taking turns surrounding and attacking us. There are over fifty people out there, along with a Soul Ancestor leader on the verge of becoming a Soul King."
She spoke quickly in a low voice, her breathing still alternating between rapid and slow. The Netherflower Poison continued to eat away at her meridians. Every bit of Soul Power she mobilized intensified the backlash.
Ning Chengyi's brows knitted tightly. He gripped the shaft of the Desolation-Suppressing God-Breaking Spear, and a purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring quietly lit up beneath his feet.
"Beast-Luring Incense! They still have some left. I just smelled it."
Through the gap in the door, Ning Chengyi clearly saw several Fierce Wolf Group members holding sticks of unlit Beast-Luring Incense.
Once they lit it again, the frenzied Soul Beasts on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest would be drawn here once more.
Then both the chamber and the area outside would become death traps.
"These bastards deserve to die. Could they be using this as a cover? Did they already know about this Soul Bone?"
Ning Chengyi's gaze swept over the golden Soul Bone encased in rock behind the stone platform before returning to Bibi Dong, whose face still alternated between red and white.
"I'll get the Soul Bone first."
He glanced outside. Even if he could not necessarily absorb it, he had to make sure it was in his hands first.
Just then, a cry of surprise came from outside.
"Leader! There's a gap in a stone door here!"
A member of the Fierce Wolf Group had already discovered the concealed entrance.
The people outside repeatedly rammed the heavy stone. The door shuddered with rumbling crashes, and loose fragments showered through the gaps around its frame, as though it could no longer hold.
Bibi Dong drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the waves of poison churning inside her, and slowly stood. Phantoms of dark purple spider legs flashed behind her and vanished.
"I'll go out and repel their first assault to buy you time to break apart the rock and retrieve the Soul Bone. Remember, don't absorb it as soon as you get it. This place isn't safe. You must find somewhere completely hidden."
With that, Bibi Dong moved her feet, forcing her body onward as she walked step by step toward the constantly shaking stone door.
The chamber's faint light fell across her profile. One half was breathtakingly beautiful and cold; the other was sickly pale from the poison's backlash.
"Be careful!" Ning Chengyi cautioned softly, tightening his grip on the Desolation-Suppressing God-Breaking Spear. The Phantom Butterfly Spirit Tide released most of its butterfly dust for a final layer of concealment before he drew it back. All the powdery butterflies gathered around Bibi Dong, ready to support her at any moment.
A heavy impact struck the stone door from outside, and a larger opening split apart with a crash. The cold night wind poured into the chamber, carrying the furious shouts of the Fierce Wolf Group.
Outside, the cold gleam of the Fierce Wolf Group's weapons shone into the chamber beneath the moonlight.
Rumble!
Tremendous force battered the stone door again and again. The crack widened, and broken stones clattered across the floor.
The icy night wind howled into the chamber, carrying the Fierce Wolf Group's murderous intent. The light inside flickered in the wind, and shadows twisted and swayed across the stone walls.
Bibi Dong advanced slowly. With every step, her body trembled slightly against her will.
The Twin Spider Brightflower had only neutralized part of the deadly Netherflower Poison. The two poisons were still tearing at each other inside her meridians, and every trace of Soul Power she mobilized sent ripping pain sweeping through her entire body.
Yet the ruthless fighting will of a Titled Douluo had not diminished in the slightest with the fall in her cultivation.
He held the Desolation-Suppressing God-Breaking Spear tightly in one hand while quietly reaching toward the rock encasing the Soul Bone behind the stone platform with the other. From the corner of his eye, he kept a fixed watch on the opening in the broken stone door.
"Bang!!"
Another violent impact struck. The heavy stone door finally gave way, and half of it collapsed inward with a crash!
Three or four Fierce Wolf Group members charged in first, sharp blades in hand. Their Soul Rings lit up one after another, and savage killing intent rushed toward them.
"Found them! They're here!"
The members who had charged inside saw the two figures in the chamber, and wild delight instantly filled their eyes.
Bibi Dong said nothing. Eight shadowy spider-leg phantoms abruptly spread behind her. Though she had not fully activated Martial Soul Possession, the Spider Emperor's chilling pressure erupted with a thunderous force.
At present, her Soul Power could safely erupt only at the Soul Ancestor level. Although she could barely force it to the Soul King level, doing so would cause the poison still lingering in her body to flare up again. To be safe, this was her only choice.
The phantom of a sharp black Spider Spear flashed past.
Squelch!
The two men in front fell straight into pools of blood before they could even scream.
The remaining two men's pupils contracted sharply, horror filling their faces. They had never imagined that this sickly, frail-looking woman would strike so viciously.
"There's an expert inside! Tell the leader!"
One of the survivors roared and started retreating to deliver the warning.
Bibi Dong pushed off with her foot and swept forward like a ghost. A spider leg lashed sideways, sending him flying out to slam heavily onto the ground outside the chamber. The sound of shattering bones rang out clearly.
In that brief exchange, every member of the vanguard that had charged inside fell.
But those few attacks came at an unbearably heavy price.
The moment she repelled the enemies, Bibi Dong gave a muffled groan, and a thread of purplish-black blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.
The deadly poison inside her had been forcibly stirred up. Purplish-black patterns spread across her skin again, and she staggered, nearly collapsing.
"Zhu Qianxun?!!"
Li Huo's furious roar came from outside. The immense pressure of a level forty-nine Soul Ancestor rolled across the area like black clouds bearing down upon it.
Four Soul Rings-yellow, yellow, purple, purple-shone brilliantly beneath the night sky. Brimming with murderous intent, Li Huo of the Fierce Wolf Group strode closer. Dozens of members followed behind him in formation, their blades and spears rising like a forest.
"A sickly Soul Ancestor dares hurt my men? Hand over the person and the treasure in that chamber, and I'll let you keep your corpses intact!"
Li Huo's sinister gaze swept over the broken doorway. He had already spotted the faint golden radiance spilling through the crevices in the chamber's stone wall, and the flames of greed blazed in his eyes.
"Dream on."
Bibi Dong rebuked him coldly. Forcing her tottering body to remain upright, she held her ground before the opening in the stone door.
Although her severe loss of strength prevented her from fully spreading the Death Spider Emperor's domain, its faint chill of death still left many low-ranking Soul Masters outside shivering with fear.
"You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit! Everyone, attack!!"
Li Huo swept his hand forward. "Attack together! Let's see how long her Soul Power lasts!"
A large crowd of members roared and prepared to swarm into the chamber.
Just then, Ning Chengyi's voice rang out from deep inside.
"If you want to come in, ask my spear first."
Purple light surged from the Desolation-Suppressing God-Breaking Spear, and the Thousand-Year Soul Ring's radiance bloomed dazzlingly inside the dim chamber.
But Ning Chengyi did not recklessly charge forward to clash head-on with dozens of enemies and a Soul Ancestor. His target was the Wisdom Skull encased in rock.
Cold light flickered at the spear's tip as he quietly activated his first Soul Skill, Mystic Edge, Leveling Mountains. Fifteen hundred jin of force slammed into the rocky shell surrounding the Soul Bone.
Crack! Crack!
The hard shell fractured again and again. The golden spiritual light grew increasingly brilliant, and a cool, vast wave of spiritual energy spread outward, slightly soothing the agitation caused by the poison inside the chamber.
Outside, Li Huo saw that someone was about to claim the treasure, and his eyes turned completely bloodshot.
"Stop that brat! Kill this woman!"
He charged forward himself, gathering his formidable Soul Ancestor power into both fists. The wind howled around his punches as he struck straight at Bibi Dong.
The gulf between a severely wounded Soul Ancestor and one in perfect condition lay starkly before them.
Bibi Dong clenched her teeth and met his attack with the full strength of her Spider Spears.
Boom!!
The enormous shock wave swept in every direction. Bibi Dong flew backward like a kite with its string cut and slammed heavily into the chamber's rock wall, spitting out a mouthful of black blood.
That blow thoroughly stirred up the Twin Spider Nether Flower's poison inside her. The alternating heat and cold flared up again, and her vision repeatedly darkened.
After just one blow, she was already close to breaking.
Damn this trial! Bibi Dong cursed inwardly, enduring the agonizing pain as she glared fiercely at Li Huo.
"Qian Xun!"
Ning Chengyi's heart tightened. Most of the rocky shell had shattered, exposing much of the rounded Spirit Condensation Wisdom Skull, its golden light flowing across its surface.
But danger was upon them. Li Huo had already crossed the stone doorway and was advancing toward Bibi Dong step by step, with dozens of members pouring in behind him.
"Die!"
Li Huo grinned viciously. His fist, wrapped in all his Soul Power, smashed toward the head of Bibi Dong, who lacked the strength to rise.
Everything hung by a single thread!
Ning Chengyi swept his left hand out, driving the illusion ability he had awakened after absorbing the Moonlit Perching Butterfly Flower to its limit!
Phantom Butterflies abruptly scattered through the air. Countless motes of colorful butterfly dust rained down, enveloping the entire chamber in an instant.
In that instant, the scene before every Fierce Wolf Group member's eyes was completely overturned.
In Li Huo's eyes, Ning Chengyi and Bibi Dong were no longer before him. Instead, Pleasure Apes filled his vision-the very pack that had devoured Li Qiuping earlier. A dense sea of scarlet eyes bore down on him as they roared and lunged to bite.
Some of the other members saw a surging beast tide, while others saw corpses strewn everywhere. All of them fell into an immense mental illusion, and their formation immediately collapsed into chaos. Many even began wildly hacking with their blades, fighting one another.
"It's an illusion! Steady your minds!!"
Li Huo shook his head frantically, trying to escape the dream woven by the Phantom Butterfly Spirit Tide. His Soul Ancestor spiritual power desperately resisted the illusion's encroachment.
The illusion could only buy time. It could not truly injure a Soul Ancestor!
"Make it quick!"
Ning Chengyi roared and swung his spear again. The last of the rocky shell shattered with a crash.
Freed from its rocky prison, the hundred-and-fifty-thousand-year Spirit Condensation Wisdom Skull floated into the air, its brilliant golden light flooding the entire chamber.
But the instant the skull emerged...
An unbroken series of frenzied beast roars came from the depths of the distant forest!
The remaining Beast-Luring Incense had taken effect after all!!
The earth began to rumble and shake. The roars of countless Soul Beasts drew closer from afar.
The beast tide had... returned!
Before you continue