67: Chapter 67 Leaving the Secret Realm

Two more days passed. As the morning sun tore a rift in the damp mountain mist, Lightning Radiance surged within the temporarily constructed bluestone camp.

Su Qingyue condensed three water droplets at her fingertips; her Thousand Waters Without Trace talent caused them to hover in mid-air, trembling slightly and reflecting the coiled black shadow deep within the valley three miles away.

"How is it? Are you confident?" She turned her head to look at Zhao Yu, who was wiping his longsword, the images within the water droplets swaying gently with her breathing.

Zhao Yu knocked his scabbard against a stone with a crisp sound, the sword blade flashing with a cold, hard arc in the morning light: "99.99%, I'd say!"

The calluses on the web of his hand shone with a jade-like luster. "I've scouted it clearly this time; there's only one Scarlet Prison Profound Scale Beast, and it's a loner."

"You said the Black Wind Leopard was a loner last time, too."

Zhang Wen slammed his divine resonance piercing thunder spear onto the ground, the tip burying three inches into the rock, the shaft humming as it coiled with purple lightning. "And when its girlfriend jumped out of the mountain stream, you were patting your chest like this, too."

"That was an accident!"

Zhao Yu pointed his sword toward the valley entrance, the stone beads on the hilt tassel clinking with a dull sound. "No matter how hard the Scarlet Prison Profound Scale Beast's scales are, there are seven gaps. I've already marked them on the map Qingyue drew."

"This time, I'll break the armor from the front, Qingyue will use water shadows to distract it, and Zhang Wen, you—"

"I know, I know." Zhang Wen suddenly stepped forward half a pace. The moment he activated Tremor Step Treading Thunder Marks, the rock beneath his feet cracked with spiderweb-like lightning. "Once you split the first gap, I'll use Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder to drill inside and give it a heavy blow."

He weighed his long spear, the lightning threads hidden within the tassel rustling. "And while I'm at it, I'll let it taste the power of Thousand Mechanisms of Purple Lightning Transformation."

Su Qingyue suddenly raised her hand, and the three water droplets burst, turning into three streams of water that vanished into the forest. "It's awake."

The three fell silent instantly.

The morning mist at the valley entrance was blown away by a scorching air current. The massive body of the Scarlet Prison Profound Scale Beast emerged from the shadows, hot liquid droplets condensing on its dark red scales, leaving sizzling black marks on the bluestone as it landed.

It raised its head and spat out three streams of crimson fire, the trees in their path instantly curling into charred coal.

"Go!" Zhao Yu charged out first, a translucent rock-patterned shield appearing around his body; his Unbreakable Bedrock talent allowed him to dash straight into the fire flow.

With a horizontal sweep of his longsword, he forcefully split a gap in the fire flow, taking the opportunity to close in on the beast's body. His wrists flipped, and sword strikes fell like raindrops onto the joints of the scales, each blow causing the Profound Scale Beast to roar muffledly in succession.

"Left flank!" Su Qingyue's figure flickered within the water screen; Thousand Waters Without Trace made her movements completely silent.

Suddenly, she condensed dozens of water arrows near the Profound Scale Beast's left forelimb. The moment the arrows pierced through the water mist, they froze into ice shards in mid-air, accurately piercing into the first scale gap Zhao Yu had just split open.

The Profound Scale Beast swished its tail in pain, but Su Qingyue nimbly dodged by stepping on the water ripples, simultaneously raising her hand to form a seal: "Water Screen: Lost Track!" A large expanse of water mist suddenly surged from the ground, enveloping the beast's body.

"Now!" Zhang Wen's voice exploded, wrapped in thunder.

He soared into the air, stepping on Lightning Radiance, as his divine resonance piercing thunder spear suddenly split into seven afterimages; Thousand Mechanisms of Purple Lightning Transformation caused the spear shadows to weave into an electric net within the water mist.

His real body had already circled to the back of the beast's head, the spear tip transforming into a giant thunder Dragon: "Myriad Thunders Coiling Dragon Break!"

The giant Dragon roared as it drilled into the water mist, accurately piercing into the gap at the Profound Scale Beast's neck.

The Profound Scale Beast emitted a deafening roar, its massive body slamming violently against the mountain wall. Zhao Yu immediately blocked in front of Su Qingyue with his sword, his rock-patterned shield forcefully withstanding the flying debris: "Steady! It's going berserk!"

Before he could finish, a crimson halo suddenly rose around the Profound Scale Beast, and the liquid droplets seeping from the gaps in its scales instantly turned into molten lava.

Zhang Wen, however, did not retreat but advanced instead, his fists filled with Lightning Radiance as he landed: "Rushing Thunder Delusion Breaking Fist, First Form—Startling Thunder Arises!"

His fists, carrying the roar of an explosion, smashed into the Profound Scale Beast's foreclaws, the Lightning Radiance drilling into the gaps between the scales, forcing the giant beast to retreat repeatedly.

"Second Form! Thunder Net Locking Truth!" Zhang Wen's fists suddenly traced an arc in mid-air, the exploding Lightning Radiance condensing into an electric net around the beast, weaving into a cage with Su Qingyue's water screen.

Zhao Yu seized this momentary stagnation, his longsword suddenly glowing with a thick, earthy yellow color: "Open—for me!"

Pouring all the power of Unbreakable Bedrock into the sword, he actually climbed up along the Profound Scale Beast's forelimb and stabbed his sword fiercely into the soft armor beneath its throat.

The Profound Scale Beast shook its neck frantically, but Zhao Yu was like a boulder nailed to it, rotating the sword in his hand to widen the wound.

Su Qingyue suddenly reminded them loudly: "It's going to spit lava!"

Zhang Wen's expression changed abruptly, and he retreated half a step, his hands forming complex seals: "Rushing Thunder Delusion Breaking Fist - Startling Thunder Arises!"

His figure flickered continuously within the Lightning Radiance; each appearance was accompanied by a dual attack of fists and spear, and the charred marks on the Profound Scale Beast spread at a speed visible to the naked eye.

When the final bolt of Lightning Radiance exploded, he was already standing directly in front of the beast's head, his left hand pointing straight at its golden vertical pupils: "Myriad Thunders Heavenly Prison Lure!"

Countless bolts of thunder rose from the ground, weaving into a sealed thunder prison around the Profound Scale Beast. Su Qingyue immediately activated her talent, and a thick layer of ice instantly wrapped around the outside of the thunder prison; the confinement of water and thunder caused the giant beast's movements to lag for half a second.

"Finish it!" Zhao Yu suddenly leaped down from the beast's body, his longsword supporting him as he landed, and the rock-patterned shield protected the two of them within.

Zhang Wen took a deep breath, and the divine resonance piercing thunder spear began to vibrate violently, the Lightning Radiance at the spear tip so dense it almost turned into substance. He slammed the long spear into the ground and pressed both hands onto the shaft: "Myriad Thunders Coiling Dragon Break!"

In an instant, the entire valley was submerged in blinding Lightning Radiance. The Profound Scale Beast inside the thunder prison let out a final cry of sorrow, its massive body gradually stiffening amidst the strangulation of myriad thunders, its dark red scales peeling off piece by piece to reveal the charred, black body underneath.

When the Lightning Radiance dispersed, Zhang Wen was panting heavily while leaning on his spear, and Zhao Yu's rock-patterned shield had dimmed significantly; Su Qingyue was using Thousand Waters Without Trace to condense water droplets, letting them drip onto their parched lips.

"This time... there were no accidents, right?" Su Qingyue asked softly.

Zhao Yu wiped the dust off his face and grinned: "See, I told you there was a 99.99% chance of success."

Zhang Wen suddenly kicked him and pointed at the corpse of the Profound Scale Beast not far away: "Was that 0.01% the mouthful of lava it spat right before it died? It nearly singed my hair off!"

The three of them looked at each other and smiled. As the morning mist rolled back in, carrying a faint burnt smell, it could not conceal the brightness in the eyes of the youths.

"Whew—finally, a close call!" Zhang Wen let out a long sigh of relief, his eyes instantly bursting with excitement as he scrambled to dig out the glowing beast core. "This is good stuff; it's worth quite a lot of money!"

Su Qingyue looked up toward the gradually blurring light curtain in the distance and said softly, "The time limit for the Secret Realm is almost up. Pack up your things; it's time for us to go."

"Junior Brother performed well this time!" Zhao Yu laughed, putting his arm around Zhang Wen's shoulder and patting his back. "Next time in the Secret Realm, it'll only be interesting if I team up with you again!"

The three of them looked at each other and smiled, and with their bags full of spoils, they walked chatting and laughing into the halo of the Secret Realm exit.