Ding!
With a soft chime, the Iron Nail was caught fast in that hand.
Sparks danced between the Iron Nail and the fingers. As they fell, the ripples they sent out made Zhang Jingbei and the others' hearts lurch.
They had no time to think about Xu, and urged Zhang Jingbei to dodge.
As they did, several of them caught a glimpse of the hand's owner.
But layer upon layer of Golden Light shrouded the figure. In that fleeting glimpse, they could not make out the person's face!
In the next instant, the shield of light surrounding them plunged downward!
A spark suddenly fell, landing squarely atop the shield.
At once, the Golden Light shield melted like snow beneath a blazing sun. Before it reached the ground, it broke apart in midair, sending everyone tumbling.
They cried out and barely steadied themselves with Daoist arts, each of them looking thoroughly disheveled.
Langhao could not help demanding, "What are you doing?"
Zhang Jingbei had no breath to answer. Only after summoning an escape light and steadying himself did he gasp, "This Teleportation Talisman was a treasure my uncle kept tucked away at the bottom of a chest. He only had two, and this was the last. It's been stored for years, so its power was nearly spent. I could barely control it to begin with. After all that turmoil, of course it failed!"
Even as they argued, they knew the danger. Forming Hand Seals to steady themselves, they landed one by one without further mishap, staggered a few steps, and found their footing.
Then—
Hum!
A fierce radiance burst across the sky, and the wind howled!
The overwhelming sense of danger left those who had landed with no desire to look up. Instead, they scanned their surroundings, first trying to work