64: Surviving the disaster

"What?!" Meng Lang, hiding in the shadows, was scared to the point of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, his scalp tingling! A single sword strike!

A single sword strike had instantly killed a dead soldier who was burning his Origin and whose strength approached the Middle Golden Core Stage?

Is he even human?! Is this still an ambush? Why does it feel like they were the ones surrounded by Yao Delong!

His legs began to tremble uncontrollably, and a chill surged from the soles of his feet straight to his crown!

The remaining two black-clad dead soldiers witnessed their companion vaporized by a single strike; instead of fear, a more insane and desperate determination erupted in their eyes!

"Fight to the death! Detonate!"

The two actually abandoned their attacks simultaneously, their figures advancing instead of retreating, carrying a tragic, indomitable spirit.

Like two burning meteors, they threw themselves recklessly at Yao Delong!

The violent, chaotic, and near-collapsing aura on their bodies instantly climbed to its peak!

"You want to self-destruct?!" Yao Delong's heart raced, and an intense sense of crisis surged into his mind!

The Golden Core is the root of condensed Yuan power; once self-destructed, its power far exceeds attacks of the same level!

"Great Five Elements Sword Formation! Defend!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Yao Delong shifted his sword art, with the golden crow setting sun at the center.

Four Flying Swords of different radiances shot out from his storage ring instantly, spinning crazily around his body!

His majestic Pure Yang Spiritual Qi was injected without reservation!

Hum—!

A five-colored light shield covering several zhang around his body formed instantly!

The light shield flowed ceaselessly; the sharpness of Metal, the vitality of Wood, the flexibility of Water, the violence of Fire, and the heaviness of Earth—the power of these five attributes blended perfectly under the governance of his Pure Yang Spiritual Qi, endless and flowing, turning into an indestructible defensive sword formation!

And just at the moment the sword formation was formed—

Rumble—!!!

Two destructive energy clusters, a hundred or a thousand times more terrifying than the previous thunder arrow explosions, detonated violently just inches away from the sword formation!

The blinding white light swallowed everything!

The terrifying energy storm, like an apocalypse, instantly swept through the entire Black Dragon Hollow!

The earth wailed, and the hundred-zhang-high cliffs on both sides were torn apart and collapsed by the violent energy as if they were made of paper!

Countless huge boulders fell like a rainstorm!

The originally narrow valley floor passage was instantly blasted into a huge, bottomless scorched pit with a diameter of several hundred zhang!

The scorching heat wave turned all vegetation into flying ash, and the rocks were melted into a glass-like state!

It was like the end of the world!

"Did it work?! You must kill him!"

Behind the Eagle Beak Rock, Meng Lang lay flat on the ground, his body buffeted by the violent heat waves.

He was protected entirely by the faint light shield emitted by the bracelet on his wrist.

He was covered in dirt, but his eyes stared fixedly at the center of the destructive explosion below, his heart screaming and praying frantically!

As long as Yao Delong died, those Earth-Grade Weapons and the mysterious Medicinal Pill that could improve cultivation would all be his!

He seemed to see immense wealth beckoning to him!

The destructive energy raged for a full dozen breaths before slowly subsiding.

Dust filled the air, and rubble fell like rain.

A huge, scorched black pit, emitting wisps of smoke and terrifying energy, occupied the center of the valley.

In the core area, the dust slowly settled.

The shield with its dim five-colored radiance was like a candle in the wind, flickering uncertainly a few times before finally dissipating completely with a soft "pop" sound.

Pfft!

The moment the shield dissipated, Yao Delong's body swayed violently, and he could no longer suppress the scorching blood, which sprayed out wildly!

Even with the powerful defense of the Great Five Elements Sword Formation, the destructive impact caused by two Golden Core dead soldiers burning their Origin and self-destructing at such close range—

still passed through the sword formation! The violent energy was like a giant hammer, slamming heavily into his internal organs and Meridians!

"Cough, cough..." Yao Delong coughed violently, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and his face paled a little.

As his Pure Yang Spiritual Qi circulated within his body, waves of stagnation and tearing pain came, clearly indicating that his internal injuries were not light.

His gaze quickly swept over the tragic scene before him.

The shocking huge scorched pit, the molten glass-like rocks, and the pungent burnt smell permeating the air.

Those two dead soldiers had long since been reduced to nothing in the explosion, along with their Storage Rings and those weapons of considerable power.

They had also turned into flying ash and powder in such terrifying energy, leaving not even a trace of residue.

"Bad luck!" Yao Delong cursed inwardly, a flash of heartache in his eyes.

The belongings of three Golden Core Cultivators! Just like that, gone!

And I even ended up injured! This fight was a huge loss!

Forcing himself to endure the discomfort of his churning internal organs, he did not dare to be careless.

His Pure Yang Spiritual Qi circulated, and a scorching aura permeated out of his body, instantly burning the pool of golden blood on the ground clean, leaving no trace behind.

At the same time, his powerful Divine Sense, like an invisible giant net, carefully and vigilantly swept over every inch of the surrounding space again.

Especially those dark corners and behind the rock formations that had not yet completely collapsed.

Just as his Divine Sense swept over the Eagle Beak Rock area above the valley entrance—

"Whoosh!"

A panicked black figure with chaotic Spiritual Qi fluctuations was crawling out from behind a rock using both hands and feet.

Scrambling and tumbling, he jumped onto a crooked Flying Sword, not daring to look back, like a stray dog.

At the fastest speed, he fled frantically in the direction of the Yin Yang Sect mountain gate as if his life depended on it!

Yao Delong's gaze narrowed!

Although the night was deep and the distance was far, that panicked figure's silhouette and that wretched, flustered aura...

"Meng Lang?" Yao Delong's brows locked tight, and a cold light flashed in his eyes.

However, his inner confusion deepened:

"Meng Lang is merely at the Foundation Establishment Mid-stage, and might even be the type who piled up his cultivation with Medicinal Pill; how could he command three Early Golden Core Stage dead soldiers to risk their lives for him?

And be so fearless of death, even willing to self-destruct their Golden Core?"

Yao Delong had been too much of a slacker before and did not know that this Meng Lang was a direct descendant of a Marquis family from the Ba Xia Dynasty.

The injuries in his body throbbed faintly; this place was definitely not a place to stay for long.

Yao Delong took a deep breath, suppressed his churning blood and killing intent, turned into an imperceptible dark golden stream of light, and skimmed low across the ground.

He disappeared silently into the increasingly dark night, heading straight towards Luoxia Peak.

At the top of Luoxia Peak, in that simple thatched cottage.

Yao Delong sat cross-legged, his body surrounded by a faint golden halo.

In front of him were several opened jade bottles; the healing "Blood Jade Bone-Mending Pill", the "Yuan-Nurturing Pill" for consolidating his foundation, and the "Spirit-Restoring Purple Pill" for rapidly recovering Spiritual Qi were consumed one after another as if they were free.

Feeling the warm current inside his body continuously repairing his damaged Meridians and internal organs, smoothing out the hidden injuries brought by the violent energy impact.

Yao Delong decided to investigate Meng Lang's background thoroughly after his injuries healed.

On Tuyao Peak, in the core area, within a luxurious and elegant courtyard.

Meng Lang, like a stray dog, sat paralyzed on the cold ground, his body trembling uncontrollably like chaff.

His face was bloodless, his eyes unfocused, filled with the terror and lingering fear of having survived a disaster.

The black clothes on his body were covered in dust and scratch marks, looking extremely disheveled.

"Bi... Brother Bi!" Meng Lang's voice was hoarse and dry, with a crying tone;

"Dead! They're all dead! They're all gone!"

On the main seat, Meng Bi, dressed in luxurious brocade casual clothes, was unhurriedly wiping a jade-boned folding fan in his hand with a snow-white silk handkerchief.

His movements were elegant, and his expression seemed calm, but the slightly furrowed brows and the fleeting gloom deep in his eyes exposed his inner displeasure.

"What are you panicking about! What kind of behavior is this!" Meng Bi's voice carried his habitual indifference and a hint of imperceptible irritation,

"Tell me from the beginning! Don't leave out a single detail!"

Meng Lang swallowed hard, forcibly suppressing the fear in his heart, and began to recount intermittently;

His voice still trembling, he told the story of how last night Yao Delong killed a Golden Core with one sword strike and withstood the self-destruction of two dead soldiers.

The study fell into a dead silence.

Only Meng Lang's heavy, fearful panting remained.