252: Chapter 252 Sixty-Eight Paths!

Facing the lightning-fast whip of the vine, Qin Yan advanced instead of retreating!

"Huummm—!"

A four-foot-long golden Spear Light bloomed in response, instantly adorned with forty-eight layers of Spear Aura spinning at high speed, with Blood Gang coiling around the spear tip.

The long spear shot forth like a dragon, carrying an unstoppable momentum as it pierced with pinpoint accuracy towards the tip of the oncoming vine!

"Clang!"

The spear tip and the vine tip collided fiercely, erupting with a deafening metallic crash!

Shockwaves surged!

Qin Yan felt an incredibly condensed, heavy force transmit through the spear shaft.

It numbed his tiger's mouth slightly and churned the qi and blood in his arm.

The black vine merely paused for a moment, its surface rippling with black mist, yet it remained completely undamaged.

It then twisted and coiled like a living creature, attempting to wind its way up along the spear shaft to crush it.

"Such a hard vine!"

Qin Yan's heart grew cold. His wrist flicked rapidly, causing the spear shaft to tremble.

Spear Light and aura erupted, shaking off the coiling vines.

Simultaneously, his Spear Technique flowed continuously—stabbing, sweeping, or breaking—as he engaged in a fierce exchange with the agile and tricky vine.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!..."

The dense sound of collisions rang out like blacksmithing, as crimson-gold Spear Light and pitch-black vine shadows intertwined and clashed.

Shockwaves shot out in all directions, carving countless fine marks into the surrounding ground.

However, the more they fought, the more solemn Qin Yan's expression became.

Each casual spear thrust he unleashed now, fully empowered by the four-foot Spear Light, forty-eight layers of Spear Aura, and one layer of Blood Gang,

Its instantaneous explosive power of qi and blood had reached a staggering 3,144 Cal!

Yet, even with such a formidable attack, striking those black vines only left a shallow white mark.

Or at best forced them back slightly, utterly incapable of causing any substantial damage!

"The defense and toughness of these vines... are utterly absurd!"

Qin Yan was inwardly shocked.

One must remember, this Evil Spirit was currently fighting one against seven, controlling seven vines simultaneously!

The strength of each vine was this terrifying.

How utterly horrifying would it be when its true form erupted with full power?

He quickly glanced at his other teammates' situations out of the corner of his eye, his heart sinking.

He saw that the five teammates from different races were now in dire straits!

Yousha of the Shadow Panther Clan, relying on his ghostly movement techniques, could still maneuver, but was already hard-pressed and struggling under the vines' assault;

Yanzhuo, the Lava Lizardman, swung his battle-axe against the vines, sparks flying everywhere, yet he could hardly break their defense. Instead, the vines' tremendous force sent him staggering back repeatedly;

Jiashan of the Black Tortoise offshoot relied on his giant shield, barely holding on, its surface already covered in cracks;

The elf Flowing Maple's arrows were accurate, yet they couldn't pierce the vines' defense, serving only as minor distractions;

Shuang Yu of the Frost Wolf Clan couldn't break through the defense at all...

These five, under the fierce assault of their respective vines,

Were already being forced back step by step, each bearing wounds of varying severity, their auras in disarray.

If this continued, defeat—or even being pierced and killed by the vines—was likely only a matter of time!

From the very beginning, the battle situation had been extremely unfavorable for their elite 'Spearhead Team'.

However, when Qin Yan's gaze fell upon Su Liuli, an uncontrollable flicker of surprise passed through his eyes.

Su Liuli remained dressed in her white robes, her figure drifting ethereally like an immortal.

The dark-red long whip in her hand now radiated a four-foot-long, condensed whip light, crimson and crystalline like a red diamond!

The whip light moved as nimbly as a serpent, tracing exquisitely intricate trajectories with the subtle flicks of her wrist.

The vine whip attacking her was fierce, but Su Liuli's whip technique was clearly more advanced.

At times, she would unexpectedly wrap her whip around the middle section of the vine whip, using clever force to dissipate its momentum;

At other times, the whip tip would dart out like a scorpion's tail, precisely striking the nodes where the vine whip's power shifted, causing its attacks to falter;

And yet other times, it would transform into a crimson curtain of light, completely blocking the vine whip's strikes.

Not only was she not the least bit flustered, she even seemed to have a slight advantage, suppressing that vine whip!

She even had the spare attention to observe the other battles, her eyes still clear and free of tension.

"So strong!"

Qin Yan inwardly praised, while also feeling a deeper sense of vigilance.

"Judging by the strength and composure she's currently displaying... if my 'Nine Revolutions Golden Body Spear' hadn't coincidentally broken through to Perfection, unlocking greater power, I might not be her match in a direct confrontation."

This Su Liuli was hiding even deeper than imagined!

In the brief moment Qin Yan was distracted observing, the battle situation abruptly worsened!

"Thud—!"

A muffled sound echoed, accompanied by a sharp, short scream.

Shuang Yu, the prodigy of the Frost Wolf Clan, had been caught off guard. A black vine had seized an opening and pierced through his shoulder!

Blood instantly stained his snow-white fur crimson. His body convulsed violently, his aura plummeting.

And the vine that had pierced his shoulder didn't pause at all. It yanked back violently, pulling out a spray of blood.

Dark-purple evil energy spread madly from his wound.

The vitality in Shuang Yu's eyes rapidly dimmed, and then his body crashed heavily to the ground, devoid of life.

The vine swiftly changed direction, attacking the elf Flowing Maple who was struggling nearby!

Under the assault of two vines, Flowing Maple's face changed dramatically.

He barely managed to parry one with his longbow, but the other was already whistling towards his throat!

The situation instantly fell into a severe disadvantage!

"We can't delay any longer!" Qin Yan's eyes turned sharp.

The battle situation was changing rapidly. With one member lost, the pressure suddenly increased.

If another person fell, a chain reaction would likely lead to everyone being picked off one by one by this Evil Spirit!

He had to unleash greater power and turn the tide quickly!

After another forceful clash with the vine before him, Qin Yan used the recoil to retreat several steps.

The qi and blood within him surged like a mighty river. He let out a low shout:

"Layered Aura, expand!"

Beside the original forty-eight pale golden Spear Auras surrounding the spear shaft and Spear Light, a full twenty additional Spear Auras materialized out of thin air, swiftly merging into the existing aura array!

After achieving Perfection in 'Nine Revolutions Golden Body Spear', the base number of Spear Auras increased to nine.

And the ultimate effect brought by achieving Perfection in 'Layered Aura' was to multiply the total number of Spear Auras by eight, on top of the base nine!

Adding the base nine Spear Auras, it reached the terrifying total of eighty-one Spear Auras—nine times nine!

Furthermore, Qin Yan could, to a certain extent, freely control the number of Spear Auras unleashed instantaneously to adapt to different combat needs.

Now, for the first time in actual combat, he freely layered the auras, instantly increasing the total number of Spear Auras to sixty-eight!

Sixty-eight layers of Spear Aura clustered densely around the four-foot Spear Light and the Blood Gang, like stars surrounding the moon.

The golden-red light blazed brilliantly, its sharp aura soaring skyward, forcing back the surrounding evil energy by several feet!

The spear shaft trembled, emitting an excited hum!

The instantaneous explosive power concentrated at the spear tip had now broken through the strength of 3,344 Cal of qi and blood!

"Break!"

Qin Yan shot forward again like a cannonball.

The long spear in his hand transformed into a dazzling golden-red meteor tearing through space, thrusting fiercely towards the black vine that had been tangling with him!

This time, it was no longer a probe or a skirmish, but a full-force, decisive killing strike!