12: The Tang family retreats, and Lu Ze takes action

The Purple Flame Scale Lion finally realized that its habitat had been intruded upon. It stomped its front hooves, and its previously swollen abdomen suddenly contracted, instantly unleashing a powerful pressure!

The blade that had already pierced the Purple Flame Scale Lion's body was actually shattered by this pressure!

"Boom! Poof! Poof!—"

The Purple Flame Scale Lion flicked its body, its tail sweeping through the air at an incredibly fast speed, creating a sonic boom in the not-so-large space!

"Poof!"

One person didn't manage to dodge in time and was directly smashed into a bloody pulp by the tail, blood mist exploding outwards, and a fresh scent of blood immediately filled the air.

The others, seeing this, were all terrified. If they hadn't dodged quickly, they would have been the ones torn to pieces!

"Roar!"

The Purple Flame Scale Lion used the force of its tail whip to right its body, its two massive lion heads staring at the several people in front of him. With a slight opening of its mouth, purple flames rapidly formed within its gaping maw!

Tang Chenyi seized the opportunity, pushed off the ground, and shot towards the Purple Flame Scale Lion. In an instant, he had appeared on top of one of the Purple Flame Scale Lion's heads.

He gripped his long halberd with both hands, the Spiritual Qi within his body rapidly swirling and flowing towards the halberd in his hands.

"Whoosh!"

A blue stream of Spiritual Qi extended from his hands, then enveloped the entire halberd.

"Die, now!"

Tang Chenyi roared, aiming for the gap between the scales on the Purple Flame Scale Lion's head, gripping his long halberd tightly and thrusting it down fiercely!

"Poof!"

The long halberd plunged deep into flesh and blood, its tip piercing downwards, but it was stopped by the Purple Flame Scale Lion's skull, blocking its attack!

"Roar!"

The Purple Flame Scale Lion roared in pain, its massive body thrashing violently, and the flames in its mouth instantly spewed out, engulfing most of the tree hollow.

Tang Chenyi immediately gripped the long halberd tightly, forcefully stabilizing his body!

The Tang Family members steadied themselves, dodging the flame attacks while approaching the Purple Flame Scale Lion.

In just ten short seconds, several people had already reached the four feet of the Purple Flame Scale Lion.

They injected all their Spiritual Qi into their weapons, then fiercely thrust them into the Purple Flame Scale Lion's four feet. The weapons pierced downwards, deep into the earth, actually pinning the Purple Flame Scale Lion's four feet in place.

But before they could pull back, an extremely sharp sound suddenly erupted above them, mixed with a frantic pressure!

They had just injected all their Spiritual Qi into their weapons, and the Spiritual Qi in their bodies had no time to circulate and block this pressure. One by one, they were shaken, their Qi and blood churning, and one person even collapsed, bleeding from all seven orifices, fainting on the spot.

Tang Chenyi endured the dizziness and throbbing headache under the pressure, taking advantage of this brief moment of stability to stand firmly on the Purple Flame Scale Lion's head, and poured another bottle of Spirit Medicine into his mouth.

Then he gripped the long halberd with both hands, lifting it slightly. The Spiritual Qi in his body surged rapidly under the enhancement of the Spirit Medicine, and the muscles in his arms quickly bulged, tearing his clothes!

"Die, now!"

Tang Chenyi pressed down fiercely with the long halberd in both hands!

"Bang!"

With a dull sound, the long halberd pierced through one of the Purple Flame Scale Lion's heads!

The Purple Flame Scale Lion's frantic body gradually calmed down, and its uninjured head also slowly drooped, just like the pierced one. The sharp pressure also disappeared with it.

Both of the Purple Flame Scale Lion's heads could roar, exert pressure, and spray flames, but both heads were also its weaknesses. Piercing either one would put the Purple Flame Scale Lion's life in critical danger.

Tang Chenyi slightly loosened his tightly clenched hands. The Purple Flame Scale Lion beneath him was already on its last breath, posing no threat.

With this relaxation, the consequences of forcibly resisting the pressure immediately became apparent.

Tang Chenyi's eyes were bloodshot, and a constant ringing filled his ears, but he still forced himself to pull out the long halberd.

He wanted to dig out the Purple Flame Scale Lion's Demonic Core!

Tang Chenyi gripped the long halberd, about to make his move, when he heard a "buzz." The Purple Flame Scale Lion, already barely alive, trembled all over. Tang Chenyi immediately plunged the long halberd into the Purple Flame Scale Lion's flesh to steady himself.

The Purple Flame Scale Lion's abdomen suddenly swelled enormously, the embryo inside clearly visible, seemingly about to burst forth, but then it abruptly contracted the next moment.

Tang Chenyi didn't understand why, but he was also afraid of any unforeseen changes, so he hurriedly raised his long halberd. However, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Purple Flame Scale Lion's other head twist around in an extremely awkward posture, its eyes glowing red, and then it suddenly opened its gaping maw and bit towards the injured head!

"What?!"

Tang Chenyi was very surprised. He pushed off the ground, holding the long halberd, and jumped down.

The moment Tang Chenyi jumped down, the Purple Flame Scale Lion actually bit off its injured head!

It seemed to feel no pain, desperately opening its mouth and slowly chewing and swallowing the injured head piece by piece.

The Purple Flame Scale Lion's vitality also re-flourished to its peak the moment it swallowed its head!

Tang Chenyi's eyes widened, unable to believe what he was seeing. The Purple Flame Scale Lion was a demon officially recorded by the Demon Subduing Division, its weaknesses and habits clearly noted. How could such an unexpected event occur?!

The Purple Flame Scale Lion raised its head, its blood-red eyes looking at Tang Chenyi.

"Boom!"

With a loud bang from inside the tree hollow, dust immediately billowed up, and several figures rapidly flew out, then slammed heavily onto the ground!

"It's Tang Chenyi and them!"

Those who had been trying to take advantage of the situation had been hiding not far outside the tree hollow, observing the situation. Now, seeing figures fly out, they immediately recognized them.

"They must have both suffered heavy losses! Damn it, I really hit the jackpot! It wasn't in vain that I pawned all my weapons!"

Someone among the crowd suddenly blurted this out, and the others, enlightened, immediately circulated their Spiritual Qi and rushed into the tree hollow, scrambling over each other.

At this moment!

At the peak of the mountain, Fu Liang stood, gripping a long saber, looking down at the people approaching the tree hollow, his brows furrowed, seemingly deep in thought.

"Whoosh!"

A muffled whooshing sound suddenly erupted to his right. He instinctively turned his head to look, only to see a blur shoot past him.

He was stunned for a moment, then realized something. Looking down, the long saber he had been holding in his hand was gone.

"Damn, what the hell just flew past? A female ghost?!"

It was Lu Ze who had shot out from beside Fu Liang!

Lu Ze held the long saber he had taken from Fu Liang's hand in his left hand, leaped down from the cliff, and only when he was close to halfway down the mountain did he fiercely plunge the long saber into the mountain wall.

The long saber scraped against the mountain wall, quickly coming to a stop, leaving a deep saber mark several meters long on the cliff face.

Lu Ze looked at the figures rapidly surging towards the tree hollow, injected Spiritual Qi into the long saber, used the mountain behind him to push off, and pressed the long saber in his hand against the cliff.

Half of the long saber was embedded in the mountain, while the other half was pressed tightly against the cliff, forming an extremely large arc, as if it could bend at any moment.

Lu Ze retreated slightly, then exerted his Spiritual Qi and pushed with all his might.

With a "bang," a large chunk of rock from the cliff was actually gouged out by Lu Ze!

Lu Ze used the momentum to swing the long saber back, and the large chunk of rock flew rapidly towards the front of the tree hollow!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several small rocks fell first, landing on the path of the approaching crowd towards the tree hollow!

Many people paused their steps. Lu Ze touched the mountain with his toe, following the rocks and rushing towards the tree hollow.

The person at the front below, undeterred by the gravel, continued to rush towards the tree hollow with determination, so fast that he seemed to want to enter before the rocks could block his path.

Lu Ze had also approached the tree hollow at this point. He aimed the long saber in his hand and threw it. With a 'clang', it suddenly plunged into the ground at that person's feet, forcefully stopping him!

Just this one moment of hesitation, and the best opportunity was already lost. The rocks followed closely, crashing down. Everyone hurriedly dodged, and Lu Ze entered the tree hollow at this moment!

As soon as he entered the tree hollow, Lu Ze felt that something was wrong.

The Demonic Qi inside... had changed...