Hold the Line to the Death

After a moment, the Kuiwu's gaze swept between Su Yao and Ao Xiao before finally settling back on Su Yao.

His kind-hearted face turned completely cold, and the star patterns on the silver mace in his hand lit up one by one, like a star map being ignited in the night sky.

"Brother Ao, this boy is merely a Divine Ability, and he's already severely injured. What is there to fear?" The Kuiwu voice was deep and ruthless. "If he dies here, will Qixia Temple stand up for a dead man?"

Before he finished speaking, he had already moved.

The silver mace, carrying Heavenly Chaos Qi, streaked across the Great Void like a comet, heading straight for Su Yao's face! Before the mace even arrived, the violent Heavenly Chaos energy had already shattered the spiritual energy within a hundred feet of Su Yao.

Su Yao slightly turned his body and lifted Vermilion Radiance to block.

"Clang!"

Sword and mace clashed, sparks flying. Su Yao felt an immense force travel along the blade, his right arm struck as if by lightning, and his body was thrown several feet backward on the back of the Qingyang.

The nine heat-related patterns on Vermilion Brightness Sword flickered violently, and the Balmy Wind heat was shattered inch by inch by the Heavenly Chaos Qi.

A glint of joy flashed in the Kuiwu's eyes; he had made the right bet. Su Yao was indeed at his limit, and that Sword Intent he had unleashed earlier was nothing but a bluff. As long as they could finish the battle quickly and capture the heavily injured abbot, the remaining three would be no threat.

He pressed his advantage relentlessly, and with a flick of his long mace, the phantom of a calamity star suddenly lit up behind him. Countless starlight gathered in the Great Void, like a meteor shower about to erupt—the "Falling Star Rain"!

"Viewer!"

Li Chaoxue flashed and blocked Su Yao's path.

She switched to holding the sword in her left hand, and pulled out an object with her right hand—a crystal-clear jade flute, its body gleaming with a faint frost-like sheen, as if carved from millennia-old ice.

It was the Dusk Snow Flute.

He held the flute to his lips and blew a soft note.

A clear and cold flute note, like the first snowflake falling from the summit of a snow-capped mountain, drifted into the Great Void.

Just as the Falling Star Rain were about to fall, the flute music froze them in mid-air. Countless starlight were quickly covered with a layer of frost, as if they were frozen, and fell one after another, only to shatter into countless ice shards halfway down.

The Kuiwu's expression changed slightly:

"Dusk Snow Flute!"

"Good flute!" he sneered, "But we'll see how long you can keep playing!"

Li Chaoxue did not answer, and the flute music began again.

This time, the flute music accompanied the passing north wind, chilling to the bone. Waves of sound formed from condensed Cold Qi spread like ripples, forcing the Heavenly Chaos Qi in front of and behind the Kuiwu to pause.

Meanwhile, behind Su Yao, Ni Polu and Yang Nan had already engaged in combat with Ao Xiao.

Ao Xiao was already hesitant, but seeing that Kuiwu had already made his move, he sighed inwardly and stopped holding back. Clear water surged in the black ancient bowl, and "Dawn Cold Grows" urged again, causing a torrential downpour of cold rain.

At the same time, "Nurture the Flood Dragon's Breath" transformed into several dragon-shaped auras, which coiled around Yang Nan.

Ni Polu shouted, and the Morning Mist Drum on his chest thudded. Thick, milky-white morning mist gushed out from the drumhead, colliding with the cold rain falling from the sky.

The morning mist, though seemingly light, was extremely thick. When the cold rain fell into it, it was like a mud ox sinking into the sea, unable to fall any further.

"Morning Mist Drum..." Ao Xiao murmured, a hint of greed flashing in his eyes.

Yang Nan transformed into a body Subterranean Water, moving silently through the thick fog and cold rain, like a hidden river, stealthily approaching Ao Xiao from behind.

The conch-shaped Spirit Artifact activated the power of Subterranean Water, and a dark current, like an undercurrent, silently attacked Ao Xiao from below.

Ao Xiao flicked his sleeve, and the great swamp beneath him surged. He used "Nurture the Marsh Embryo" to protect his entire body, easily dispersing the undercurrent.

"Overestimating yourself." He uttered these four words calmly, Fu Water surged, knocking Yang Nan and the water back together.

A chaotic battle ensued among the six, with spiritual energy exploding. Cold Qi clashed with Heavenly Chaos, and the He Wood and Fu Water intertwined, while Subterranean Water lurked within, turning the battlefield into a turbulent sea of spiritual energy.

Protected by Li Chaoxue, Su Yao took the opportunity to recuperate. He could clearly see that Li Chaoxue and the other two were fighting desperately, but Ao Xiao and Kuiwu were ultimately just three Divine Ability, and the gap between them was too great.

The three men's defensive posture was like a lone boat in a stormy sea, ready to capsize at any moment.

Now it seems that we will eventually have to use that thing.

Then Su Yao's gaze darkened slightly, and he secretly transmitted his voice to Li Chaoxue and the other two:

"Fellow Daoist Li, I need half an incense stick's time to return to Golden Ao to retrieve something. Can you hold me up?"

Li Chaoxue didn't turn around, but only thought one word in her heart:

"Able."

Su Yao said no more. He Hand Seals with his left hand, and a circle of blue ripples suddenly spread out from beneath the four hooves of the Qingyang. Qingxuan's aura spread outwards like water waves, enveloping his figure and aura.

"The three of you, hold out to the death." Su Yao glanced at the three one last time, his voice extremely low, "Wait for me to return."

Without further hesitation, he leaped into the Golden Light Across the Land, and he and the Qingyang vanished from the spot.

"Trying to leave?!"

With Kuiwu, the burly man swung his long mace, and the Heavenly Chaos Qi transformed into a chain of stars, lashing out in the direction where Su Yao had disappeared. Wherever the chain passed, a deep scorch mark appeared in the Great Void.

But Li Chaoxue had already blocked the path of the star chain.

She raised her Dusk Snow Flute again, its sound as cold as ice, and layers of Cold Qi transformed into an ice wall, blocking the star chain.

"Your opponent is me."

Li Chaoxue's voice was cold.

Behind them, Ni Polu and Yang Nan exchanged a glance, shouted in unison, and rushed to flank Ao Xiao from the left and right.

Thump!

The Morning Mist Drum pounded again. This time, the sound was more muffled than ever before, like rumbling thunder rolling across the sky. Thick fog surged from the drums, blotting out the sky and enveloping the entire battlefield.

In the fog, the Forest of All Beings grew wildly, and the human-faced trees appeared like ghostly shadows, trapping Ao Xiao in a vast forest.

"Come on! I'll fight you to the death today!" Ni Polu into the fog like a mad tiger, swinging his spiked club and smashing it down on Ao Xiao with the force of the He Wood.

Yang Nan remained silent, transforming into Subterranean Water and moving among the mist and forest. Each move precisely struck Ni Polu's weak points, not seeking to injure the enemy, but only to prevent Ao Xiao from pursuing Su Yao.

Ao Xiao frowned, finally becoming serious. He activated the full power of his Fu Water, and the great swamp beneath him suddenly expanded, engulfing the surrounding Forest of All Beings and the morning mist.

"You lot can't stop me." He said coldly, the ancient vessel hanging above his head, the clear water hanging upside down, transforming into a hundred-foot-long water dragon, crashing head-on into Ni Polu.

Ni Polu's eyes widened, his spiked club held horizontally, ready to take the blow head-on.

"Boom!"

The water dragon crashed into the spiked club, Ni Polu sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, spitting out a mouthful of blood that drew a shocking arc in the Great Void.

"Old Ni!"

Yang Nan flashed forward and caught Ni Polu, but was also pulled back several miles by the residual force.

"N-nothing... it's nothing." Ni Polu wiped the blood from his mouth, grinned, revealing blood all over his teeth, "I won't die, keep going!"

As he spoke, he struggled to stand up from Yang Nan, the Morning Mist Drum hanging in front of his chest, its surface already cracked in two places, yet still vibrating.

On the other side, Li Chaoxue's duel with Kuiwu had reached its most dangerous moment.

The Kuiwu "Falling Star Rain" and "Draw the Comet's Light" rained down like a storm. Li Chaoxue's Dusk Snow Flute could block and defend, but it was ultimately no match for the opponent's profound Law Power. White frost had seeped from the corners of her mouth, and her hand holding the flute trembled slightly, but the flute music never stopped.

Behind her, the Three Yins flickered erratically. The "Aid the Three Yins" forced her into a state of near exhaustion, and the Cold Qi burned wildly, turning her black hair white with frost.

"Your Law Power is almost exhausted," Kuiwu burly man said coldly. The star patterns on his silver mace spun wildly as if they had come alive, and the Heavenly Chaos Qi condensed into a huge phantom of a calamity star behind him. His aura had reached its peak. "One last strike, and I'll send you on your way."

Li Chaoxue did not answer, but simply held the Dusk Snow Flute to her lips and closed her eyes.

She played the flute very slowly and for a very long time.

Like the last north wind at the end of a cold night, before dawn, it blows across the entire land with all its might and in a mournful manner.

As the flute music faded, everything within several miles in front of Li Chaoxue froze, even the light itself solidified.

The Kuiwu phantom of the calamity star was frozen in mid-air.

But only two breaths later, cracks appeared on the ice surface.

The veins on his Kuiwu forehead bulged, and Heavenly Chaos Qi surged out wildly, shattering the layers of ice inch by inch.

You're still far from good enough!

Li Chaoxue coughed up a mouthful of blood and fell backward.

However, at that very moment, a golden light shone from the direction of Golden Ao Mountain.