163: Chapter 163: The Hundred-Mile Earth Escape Talisman

At this critical juncture, Mo Yuan's gaze hardened, and he spoke in a deep voice: "Fellow Daoist Qingfeng, the situation is not yet hopeless! Do you have any way to break this crisis!"

The other three were stunned upon hearing this, subconsciously turning their heads to look at Qingfeng.

Seeing the hesitant look in his eyes, Mo Yuan quickly continued, his tone filled with earnestness: "Fellow Daoist Qingfeng! If you have a method to break the stalemate, please act immediately! If you can help us escape and defeat these Yao Beasts, I will take the lead in deciding that you may choose two items from the ancient Cultivator's Immortal Cave first!"

Even though Fellow Daoist Zhou Xuan and Fellow Daoist Chu Cang were unwilling in their hearts, with the crisis looming and no other options, they could only tacitly agree.

Li Changqing's gaze swept calmly over the four of them, his thoughts stirred slightly, but he remained silent.

Qingfeng pondered for a moment, his expression remaining calm and unruffled, and spoke slowly: "I do indeed have the ability to attempt a method to break the stalemate."

"However, regarding the treasures of the Immortal Cave, I only need to select one item first. Besides that, the two Fellow Daoists from the Demonic Path must each pay me five hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones as compensation. If you do not have sufficient Spirit Stones, equivalent Heaven And Earth Treasure, Magical Artifact Materials, or Talisman Materials may also be used as collateral. As for the two Fellow Daoists of the Righteous Path, no Spirit Stones are needed; as members of the Righteous Path, we should help each other. What do the four of you think?"

He had his own calculations in mind. As a Second-Tier High Grade Talisman Maker and a Second-Tier High Grade Formation Master, he would never reveal any of his trump cards until the critical moment.

Having lived for nearly two hundred years, he naturally knew that if he monopolized two treasures, it would inevitably arouse deep wariness and dissatisfaction among the four, easily leading to trouble and turning them into enemies afterward.

Making moderate concessions and taking Spirit Stones as compensation was the safest approach—it guaranteed benefits while not offending the others, and it also would not expose his full strength.

The two Demonic Path Cultivators exchanged glances; to them, Spirit Stones and Talisman Materials were far less important than their lives and the treasures of the Immortal Cave.

In a moment, the group nodded in agreement.

"Good! We shall follow Fellow Daoist Qingfeng's words! Please act quickly, Fellow Daoist; if we delay any longer, our losses will only increase!"

Qingfeng smiled faintly, no longer delaying. With a wave of his hand, four ancient-looking Talismans flew through the air, landing precisely in the hands of the four.

The four took the Talismans, looked closely, and were instantly filled with wild joy, their eyes brimming with surprise.

It was the extremely rare Second-Tier High Grade Talisman, the Hundred-Mile Earth Escape Talisman.

The Earth Escape Talisman was a niche type of Talisman. In such a desperate situation where they were surrounded on all sides with no way to escape, the Earth Escape Talisman was the best treasure for getting away!

Holding their lifeline in their hands, the four's tightly strung nerves finally loosened slightly.

Looking at their joyful faces, Qingfeng reminded them in a calm tone: "Everyone, remember what you have promised. Once we have successfully escaped, please fulfill the compensation immediately. We shall meet at the open highland one hundred miles to the southwest, and then we will immediately disperse and flee!"

Mo Yuan held the Earth Escape Talisman, his expression relaxing, and replied in a loud voice: "Fellow Daoist Qingfeng, rest assured. We are men of our word and will never go back on it! I shall take my leave first!"

As the words fell, Mo Yuan immediately activated the Talisman, and his figure instantly vanished into the ground.

Just as his body sank into the soil layer, the Yao Beasts surrounding the sky instantly sensed the disturbance.

The extremely ear-piercing cries of the birds suddenly rose several notches, carrying strange sound waves that made their Divine Souls tremble as they exploded fiercely!

The dozens of Yao Beasts that were originally tangling with the Spiritual Artifacts and blocking the airspace in all directions instantly became restless and violent. Their pitch-black wings flapped frantically, and the rolling black mist suddenly contracted and then violently expanded, completely locking down the entire surrounded airspace. They possessed extremely high intelligence and instantly grasped the intention of this group of human Cultivators to split up and flee.

"Screech—!!"

Sharp cries pierced through the mountain forest. More than ten Second-Tier Yao Beasts simultaneously abandoned the damaged Spiritual Artifacts they were tangling with, their large, scarlet bird eyes locked tightly onto the ground beneath them. Pitch-black Yao power gathered at their beaks, and they opened their mouths to spew out condensed, heavy black Yao cores one after another, raining down upon the ground like a deluge!

Boom, boom, boom—!!

The dull, heavy explosions were continuous, shaking the entire airspace violently. The rock layer beneath their feet, several zhang thick, instantly cracked and shattered, with gravel spraying wildly. Dense, spiderweb-like cracks spread frantically across the earth, and the underground escape route was instantly disrupted and shaken by the tremors.

At this critical juncture, Fellow Daoist Chu Cang, Fellow Daoist Zhou Xuan, Qingfeng, and Li Changqing did not dare to hesitate in the slightest!

Almost at the same instant, the four of them used the spiritual power at their fingertips to ignite the Hundred-Mile Earth Escape Talismans in their palms. Four ancient Talisman patterns simultaneously lit up with a heavy, steady, earth-yellow spiritual light. The thick power of the earth instantly wrapped around their bodies, isolating them from external impacts and dissolving the stagnation of space.

The four figures flickered in unison, like four fish entering the sea. Their movements were uniform, and they sank into the depths of the crumbling, turbulent rock layer without the slightest hindrance.

The underground soil layer was surging with tremors, and the residual Yao power was rampaging everywhere. Using the Earth Escape Talismans to stabilize their forms and maintain their escape trajectories, the four controlled their respective directions, following the fissures in the underground soil and fleeing separately at high speed toward the highland one hundred miles to the southwest.

The Yao Beasts above were furious. They continued to bombard the ground with Yao cores, causing layers of rock to collapse and fall, but in the end, they could only futilely shatter the empty soil, unable to catch up to the fleeing shadows of the four who had already gone deep underground.

In an instant, the mid-air battlefield, which had just been tense and deadlocked, was left with only the black mist dancing wildly across the sky and the circling, roaring Yao Beasts.

Deep underground, the soil layer was dark and silent.

Five earth-yellow escape lights shuttled at high speed through the fissures in the rock layer, their speed not decreasing in the slightest. Avoiding shockwaves and bypassing gravel, they moved in unison toward the southwest, rushing rapidly toward the open highland one hundred miles away.

Li Changqing mixed among them, his expression composed. The spiritual light of his Earth Escape Talisman was stable, showing not a hint of the stagnation of a Foundation Establishment Stage Middle Stage Cultivator; he was as steady and swift as the four Foundation Establishment Stage Late Stage Cultivators, appearing completely normal.

He understood in his heart that this move by Qingfeng, which seemed to be rescuing him for free without requiring compensation, was actually a way to bind him and the other Righteous Path Cultivator, Fellow Daoist Zhou Xuan, firmly on the same boat. It avoided the trouble of protecting him alone and also silenced any potential suspicion afterward; the calculation was extremely precise.

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the five emerged from the ground one after another. Five earth-yellow spiritual lights burst out from the open highland in succession, then landed and dissipated.

One hundred miles to the southwest, the open highland.

The terrain here was flat and open, with no mountain forests to obstruct the view and no Yao Beasts occupying it. The view stretched for a thousand miles, making it a rare, safe place for rest and recuperation on the outskirts of the Strange Beast Forest.

The five stood on the highland, their breathing slightly labored and their expressions varied, yet all could not hide the lingering fear and shock in their eyes.

The Yao Beast siege just now—the black mist restricting the air, the Yao cores breaking spiritual power, and the sound waves shaking the Divine Soul—was a triple suppression that perfectly crushed all conventional Foundation Establishment Stage methods. If not for Qingfeng having a trump card prepared and taking out the Earth Escape Talisman in time, there was a high probability that someone would have fallen here today.

Fellow Daoist Zhou Xuan took a deep breath, suppressing the lingering fear in his heart, and spoke first, his voice carrying a hint of exhaustion and gravity: "That was too close... If not for Fellow Daoist Qingfeng possessing the Earth Escape Talisman, I fear that today, one of us would surely have fallen."

Mo Yuan clenched his palm, his fingertips still trembling, and said in a deep voice: "Dozens of Second-Tier Yao Beasts surrounding us—for a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator, such a desperate situation is absolutely a narrow escape from death. Fellow Daoist Qingfeng, great kindness needs no thanks; we will never go back on our previous agreement."

Fellow Daoist Chu Cang nodded in agreement, looking at Qingfeng with a solemn expression: "Regarding the treasures of the Immortal Cave, you may choose one item first, plus the five hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones, which will be fulfilled immediately."