292: Chapter 292: Immortality

Inside the cave, Shangguan Mingyue and Li Shishi were back-to-back, supporting each other within a Spiritual Energy Shield. A young man lay unconscious on the ground in front of them.

The Spiritual Energy Shield belonged to Shangguan Mingyue. As he watched the Star Souls drifting back and forth outside the shield, his brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

"Brother Shangguan, are we just going to keep this stalemate with them? Your body..."

Li Shishi slashed in a certain direction once more, turning her head to the side while suppressing the pain in her heart.

"We cannot abandon our teammate..." Shangguan Mingyue said in a deep voice, his tone laced with invisible irritation.

"I know..."

As she spoke, Li Shishi numbly slashed out in the same direction again.

Under the dim light of the campfire, the yellow-clad man's body was torn apart once more, and bright red blood had already spread throughout the entire cave.

"What I actually meant was... you were already poisoned; why not leave the task of maintaining the Spiritual Energy Shield to me? I should be able to hold on." Li Shishi said again.

"Li Shishi, focus on your task..." Shangguan Mingyue's voice carried the unique authority of a team leader.

"Am I going to collapse just because of this little difficulty? If so, how could I face Zhao Yan, who is buying time for us! Besides... this task is something only you can complete..."

By the end, Shangguan Mingyue sighed. He knew that what Li Shishi had just said was actually an excuse, meant to cover up something else...

He immediately cast his gaze toward the direction where Li Shishi slashed every so often. He saw that the unrecognizable pile of "minced meat" was slowly wriggling and coalescing, and the familiar figure of Zhao Yan gradually restored itself.

At that very moment, all the Star Souls, like wolves spotting a sheep, scrambled to squeeze into the center of his brow...

After his body was fully restored by the effect of his Superpower, Li Shishi's slash arrived right on cue, hacking him into a pile of minced meat once again. The Star Souls within his body were squeezed out, beginning to drift around, searching for other bodies to possess.

And once Zhao Yan recovered, they would greedily repeat the same action, over and over again...

A look of pain flashed simultaneously in the eyes of Shangguan Mingyue and Li Shishi.

This was a plan proposed by Zhao Yan himself.

Forcing their way through the Star Souls' encirclement would definitely lead to possession. Although those with strong willpower could break free, there were simply too many of them. If one didn't work, another would come. No matter how firm one's will was, it was impossible to maintain one's own heart amidst endless Soul invasions.

Although they had a device to conceal their Qi, the cave space was limited, and as the Star Souls drifted, they would inevitably be exposed.

Therefore, after rescuing Yun Liu, Zhao Yan proposed that he should voluntarily become the target of possession. His Superpower was "Undying," and beyond that, he didn't possess the powerful offensive capabilities that the other three had. Thus, even if he were possessed, he wouldn't pose a major threat to the team.

More importantly, he was "Undying," so his teammates didn't need to hold back. Before his Spiritual Energy was exhausted, he would be killed repeatedly and revive repeatedly, which was perfect for constantly attracting the attention of the Star Souls, thereby masking the Qi of the others.

Before Zhao Yan walked out of the range where their Qi was shielded, he secretly used Voice Transmission to Shangguan Mingyue: "Captain... if there's a chance, you can take the opportunity to leave, and just come back to save me later..."

This was also the reason why Shangguan Mingyue had lost his temper at Li Shishi for the first time.

Although Li Shishi hadn't heard Zhao Yan's final Voice Transmission, she was familiar with him and had long since guessed what this guy was thinking...

Recalling the time when the Starry Sky Exploration Team was just established, this guy Zhao Yan had stuck to her like a plaster, always saying that she should stay close to his side during combat so he could protect her.

As it turned out, during their first team sparring session, she had easily defeated this guy. It's worth mentioning that she had gotten carried away at the time, and because an expert like Captain Shangguan Mingyue was watching, she accidentally failed to pull her strike and directly pierced his heart with her blade.

The moment Zhao Yan fell into a pool of blood, she was truly terrified. But just as she leaned over to check on him, he suddenly opened his eyes and made a funny face, giving her a huge fright. Then, she saw him grimace as he pulled the blade out of his chest, smiling and returning it to her as if nothing had happened.

Only then did Shangguan Mingyue explain with a smile that Zhao Yan's Superpower was 'Undying.'

Upon hearing this news, Li Shishi was both surprised and happy, but soon, a wave of anger at being tricked surged into her heart.

You're "Undying," right? Come on, let me hack you a few more times to vent my frustration!

That was what she thought at the time.

But just as she was about to strike, Zhao Yan hurriedly made a gesture of surrender, and Shangguan Mingyue also stood in front of her...

Later on, she learned from Shangguan Mingyue: although this guy Zhao Yan's Superpower was 'Undying,' he was actually very afraid of pain. As his childhood friend, Shangguan Mingyue knew that when Zhao Yan was twelve, he had cried for a while just because his hand was cut by glass.

There were many more embarrassing stories about Zhao Yan, and she truly came to understand another side of this usually slovenly teammate.

After she and Shangguan Mingyue confirmed their relationship, Zhao Yan was no longer as casual as before, and sometimes even deliberately avoided her.

But after seeing that relieved smile he gave when he suddenly turned back to look at her before leaving, Li Shishi suddenly realized that she seemed to have always held a unique place in his heart...

"Don't hold back, I am 'Undying' after all..." These were the last words Zhao Yan said to her.

Watching him be killed by her repeatedly and then repeatedly revive, her heart was already in extreme pain. But she couldn't bear to see him turn into a walking corpse even more.

Therefore, although there had been countless opportunities for them to escape, neither of them chose to suggest leaving directly.

However, after slashing her blade repeatedly, the pain in her heart grew more intense. She began to have thoughts of escaping; she truly could not bear to watch him be slaughtered by her over and over again...

"Given the current situation, without interference from other factors, we should be able to hold on for at most one more day. It will be fine once Martial General Hu Dachui returns..."

Noticing the fluctuating emotions of the woman behind him, Shangguan Mingyue suddenly spoke up, his tone much softer this time.

At that moment, a glimmer of hope flashed in Li Shishi's eyes.

That's right, with Martial General Hu Dachui's Superpower, they could definitely escape this encirclement.

But before her hope could rise for long, she suddenly discovered with astonishment that the strike she had just aimed at Zhao Yan had actually... missed!