59: Mist

The mist grew thicker and thicker, eventually blanketing the entire battlefield where Su Ze and the Armored Rock Rhino had fought.

Strangely, however, the mist was confined to that specific area and did not spill out elsewhere.

"Something's wrong..." Guo Linshan looked at the mist and said in a heavy voice, "Su Ze might be in danger. Let's go in together to see what's happening!"

With that, he took the lead, heading in with the remaining Great Xia Spirit Guards who were still able to move.

The mist was so thick that the moment they entered, they could no longer see the people right next to them.

Every breath was filled with moisture, giving one the suffocating sensation of being submerged at the bottom of a body of water.

Enduring this sensation, the group fumbled through the mist, searching for Su Ze's position based on their memory.

But a moment later, when they felt their breathing suddenly clear and their vision open up, they had unexpectedly returned to their original starting point.

"This isn't ordinary mist; it's a confusing haze spat out by a Mirage Beast!" Guo Linshan said through gritted teeth, glaring at the increasingly expanding mist.

Although he had lost his Spirit Beast, his Level 68 Spiritual Power remained. For a Mirage Beast to make him lose his way in the mist, it had to be at least Level 65 or higher.

"Those Jiang Family bastards... is their target still Su Ze's Diamond-rank Spirit Beast?!"

Guo Linshan chose not to blindly walk into the mist again; instead, he flew up along its edge.

The flight ability possessed by Beast Tamers above Level 60 relies on their own powerful Spiritual Power, so he could still fly even without a Spirit Beast.

When his flight altitude reached nearly a thousand meters, the mist finally began to thin out.

Guo Linshan continued upward until he was completely above the mist, then changed direction and flew toward the center.

Judging Su Ze's location based on his memory and confirming it repeatedly, he dove straight down into the mist.

Guo Linshan blocked out all his senses to avoid being disoriented by the mist again, maintaining a high-speed descent until he hit the ground... Meanwhile, at the center of the mist, Su Ze was enveloped in a ball of scorching flames that cleared a radius of dozens of meters.

He had reacted immediately the moment the mist appeared, but he was still a step too late, struck by a beam of light hidden within the fog.

Strangely, this beam did not cause Su Ze any injury; however, he discovered that he could no longer deactivate Feng Qingyi's Beast Spirit Weaponization.

At the same time, Su Ze heard the sound of footsteps approaching from within the mist.

Before long, the newcomer stepped into the area where Su Ze's flames had pushed back the mist.

It was indeed Jiang Tianlong!

Jiang Chen was also by his side, with a massive shell floating above his head. The shell was currently wide open, spewing out mist, and a pearl the size of a fist lay upon the soft flesh inside.

"Don't bother struggling; no one is coming to help you. No one can possibly find you within the mist exhaled by my Mirage Beast. Since you've joined the Great Xia Spirit Guards now, we wouldn't want others to see us making a move on you," Jiang Chen said with great smugness.

His Spirit Beast, a Mirage Beast, was only a Gold-rank bloodline monster beast, and the mist it produced had no offensive power, so he was often looked down upon. He hadn't expected it would finally be his turn to shine.

Just as he finished speaking, the sound of something cutting through the air came from above.

With a loud "boom" of a heavy object hitting the ground, Guo Linshan felt his whole body ache as he slammed hard into the earth, finally releasing his sealed senses.

Upon opening his eyes, he saw a livid Jiang Chen and a frowning Jiang Tianlong nearby.

Su Ze also mocked them mercilessly: "Who was it that just said absolutely no one could find me? Didn't you just get slapped in the face immediately?"

Guo Linshan instantly understood everything that was happening here and retreated to Su Ze's side to face the enemies together.

"Jiang Tianlong, Jiang Chen, it really was you two behind this! Using a tampered monster beast crystal core to plot against me was just to lure young brother Su Ze into a trap. I will never let you have your way!"

Jiang Tianlong gave a cold laugh and said, "Old man, your life-bound Spirit Beast was just killed. What do you have left to fight us with?"

"We originally used this Mirage Beast's mist so we wouldn't be seen, saving us the trouble of silencing witnesses. But since you've come here to seek death, you can't blame me!"

The Aurora Unicorn transformed in his hand into a magnificent silver spear. The spearhead sparkled with colorful, dazzling light under the glow of the fire in Su Ze's hand.

Meanwhile, Jiang Chen, who had little combat ability, hid to the side with his Mirage Beast, continuing to churn out mist.

Seeing this, Guo Linshan stepped back and whispered in Su Ze's ear, "Can you still fight?"

Su Ze gave a bitter smile and said, "The Spiritual Power consumption of the phoenix feather departing fire fan is too high. I drained all my Spiritual Power when I used it just now."

"Then why not deactivate the weaponization and let the Golden Feather Phoenix Bird return to her true form? That would at least protect you. Besides, her flames seem to counter the mist; flying you out of here shouldn't be an issue."

Before Su Ze could answer, Jiang Tianlong's voice cut in from ahead: "Heh, don't bother struggling. Having been hit by my Aurora Unicorn's Light Spirit Lock, his Spirit Beast has been locked in this state!"

Although the Golden Feather Phoenix Bird's bloodline rank surpassed his Aurora Unicorn and their levels seemed comparable—meaning the Light Spirit Lock couldn't hold for very long—it was already enough.

With a low-level master like Su Ze dragging her down, the weaponized phoenix feather departing fire fan couldn't exert much power. Once Su Ze's Spiritual Power was completely exhausted, he would be at their mercy.

However, the sudden appearance of Guo Linshan was an unexpected variable.

He suddenly grabbed Su Ze's hand that was holding the phoenix feather departing fire fan and said, "It just so happens my Spirit Beast is gone. I'll lend my Spiritual Power to you; let's fight our way out together!"

Seeing this, Jiang Tianlong stopped in his tracks dozens of meters away.

Generally speaking, a weapon formed through Beast Spirit Weaponization can only be used by the master, though others can indeed use their own Spiritual Power to activate it.

However, because there is no protection from a contract, they would suffer indiscriminate attacks from the weapon.

Just like now, if Guo Linshan poured his Spiritual Power into the phoenix feather departing fire fan, he would be consumed by the flames the moment he attacked, burned into an empty shell on the spot.

Jiang Tianlong didn't want to risk his life against them; his life was far more precious.

But he couldn't just do nothing. So, standing far away, he held his spear and began to charge power, a point of light beginning to condense at the tip.

He wanted to force Su Ze and Guo Linshan to use up their life-saving trump cards first.

Just as Guo Linshan was prepared to risk everything in a desperate struggle, Su Ze pulled his hand away.

Under Guo Linshan's surprised gaze, Su Ze pulled out a glittering golden demon beast egg from somewhere and said, "You're right, my Spiritual Power is indeed exhausted, but can't I just replenish it?"

He then cracked the eggshell and tilted his head back, pouring the contents into his mouth.