34: Chapter 34 Ambush and Counterattack in the Rocky Ravine

"Something is wrong... The Formation fluctuations there... how could it be..."

Liu Yuan's voice was dry and hoarse, as if his throat had been filled with sand.

As a former Foundation Establishment Stage Formation Master, the look in his eyes was not the surprise of discovering a Treasure Trove, but the vigilance and disdain of seeing prey step into a clumsy trap.

Lin Chen's gaze followed the direction Liu Yuan pointed.

Ahead lay a wide ravine composed of countless gray-white boulders. The boulders varied in size, some several zhang high, others only reaching a person's knee, scattered and stacked to naturally form many narrow passages and dead ends that only allowed one or two people to pass through sideways.

Faint white water vapor permeated the gaps between the stones, adding a sense of confusion and eeriness to this Rocky Ravine.

Dead silence.

A silence that made one's heart race with unease.

Even the sound of the wind seemed to have been swallowed whole by these cold stones.

"This is Rocky Ravine." Old Man Shi's voice was extremely low, his murky old eyes filled with fear and anxiety. "Something is wrong, something is very wrong. Whenever I came here with the old hunters, there were Stone-Skinned Lizards sunning themselves on the rocks everywhere, and Iron-Claw Crows in the sky... Now, I can't even see a ghost."

Lin Chen did not speak.

His Divine Sense had already spread out silently like a tide, enveloping the area nearly a hundred zhang ahead.

The scene fed back by his Divine Sense confirmed Old Man Shi's intuition.

There were no signs of life.

But what caused his heart to sink even further was that, within his Divine Sense, he could perceive extremely faint, ethereal traces of spiritual energy circuits attached to the boulders near several key passage entrances.

These traces interconnected, forming an invisible net that covered nearly half of the ravine.

"It's the people from the Family of the Qi. They arrived early and set up a Formation!" Liu Yuan shouted in a low voice. He stood up straight while supporting A-Tu's arm, ignoring the sharp pain radiating from his wounds.

His fingers traced rapidly in the air, as if sketching an invisible Formation diagram. His eyes flashed with brilliance as he calculated at high speed.

"This Formation is based on the 'Confusing Stones Maze', used to disrupt orientation and block Divine Sense. The technique is very crude, but it succeeds because it fits the terrain." His speech was extremely fast, carrying a trace of professional pride. "It also has 'Gold Blade' and 'Earth Spike' attack runes embedded within it, intended to trap us to death inside. The range is not small, but it was set up too hastily; there are several key Formation Plate nodes where the spiritual energy flow is sluggish. Those are the weaknesses!"

The moment Liu Yuan finished speaking, as if in response to his judgment, a sudden change occurred!

Hum—

On dozens of boulders all around, the originally dim runes suddenly lit up, emitting a ghostly white light.

The thin water vapor in the ravine instantly turned into a thick fog so dense one could not see one's own fingers. In an instant, it swallowed the figures of the five, suppressing both their vision and Divine Sense to the limit.

"Rumble..."

The ground beneath their feet began to shake violently, as if a giant beast were turning over deep underground.

"Chi! Chi! Chi!"

Sharp sounds of breaking earth rang out one after another. Sharp stone spikes, as thick as an arm and flashing with metallic cold light at the tips, suddenly pierced out from the ground beneath their feet and from the sides without warning!

At the same time, in the thick fog, the air compressed rapidly, condensing into countless palm-sized, pale golden crescent-shaped Qi blades. Accompanied by sharp whistling sounds, they shot in indiscriminately from all directions!

The trap and the kill Formation were activated simultaneously!

"Scatter! Get your backs against the boulders!"

Lin Chen shouted, his voice like a booming bell, trying to pierce through the fog and the roaring noise.

He reacted the fastest, grabbing Su Qingyao who was closest to him, while pulling the terrified Old Man Shi behind him. He poured out his Foundation Establishment Stage spiritual energy without reservation, propping up a thick, pale golden protective barrier.

"Ding, ding, dang, dang!"

Countless earth spikes and Qi blades slammed densely against the barrier, stirring up ripples and making crisp sounds like rain hitting banana leaves.

On the other side, A-Tu shielded Liu Yuan tightly, using his own body as a shield. His back had already been slashed with several deep, bone-visible wounds, but he gritted his teeth and did not make a sound.

Liu Yuan forced himself to muster a breath of spiritual energy. While clumsily dodging the earth spikes constantly emerging from beneath his feet, he quickly transmitted his voice toward Lin Chen, his tone hurried due to the consumption of spiritual energy: "The third Eagle-Beak Stone to the front left! Three feet under the stone is the 'Gold Blade' Formation eye! The base of that withered rock pine to the rear right is the 'Earth Spike' core! This Formation was set up hastily; the Formation eyes must be shallow. Destroy them, and the Formation will fall into chaos!"

Eagle-Beak Stone! Withered rock pine!

Lin Chen locked onto these two targets in his mind instantly.

He pushed Su Qingyao and Old Man Shi toward a relatively safe depression in a boulder and said sternly: "Qingyao, protect them!"

Before the words had even faded, his figure had already moved like a startled rabbit, weaving through the gaps in the dense attacks, heading straight for the boulder shaped like an eagle's beak to the front left!

Just as Lin Chen's figure was about to touch the Eagle-Beak Stone, from behind a two-person-high boulder to his left, a ghostly blue blade-light struck like a venomous snake flicking its tongue—silent, yet as fast as lightning—stabbing directly at Lin Chen's left flank!

The blade-light was shrouded in water vapor, and wherever it passed, even the thick fog was cut into a clear trail.

It was none other than the Head of the Qi Family, Qi Yue!

He had actually set an ambush here in person and seized this one moment when Lin Chen's intent to break the Formation would inevitably expose him!

At the same time, to Lin Chen's right, from behind another boulder, a violent, crimson-red fist aura carrying scorching heat waves slammed fiercely toward his face!

The attacker was a burly old man in black robes—the Third Elder of the Qi Family.

The two of them, one on the left and one on the right, one stabbing and one punching, coordinated seamlessly. In an instant, they sealed off all of Lin Chen's space for evasion and movement, forcing him to either retreat and give up on breaking the Formation, or take this deadly pincer attack head-on!

Lin Chen's pupils suddenly contracted into dangerous pinpoints.

Once he retreated and remained trapped in the kill Formation, with their spiritual energy exhausted, they would be fish on a chopping block!

His eyes grew sharp. Instead of dodging, he made the most courageous choice in this desperate situation!

His left hand instantly turned from a palm into a fist. The pure spiritual energy in his body, tempered by the System, surged wildly. A layer of solid, pale golden radiance wrapped around his fist. He did not retreat but advanced, meeting the crimson fist aura head-on!

Meanwhile, his right hand had his index and middle fingers pressed together like a sword. At his fingertips, a point of extremely condensed spiritual energy light ignited, like a cold star in the dark night. At an incredibly tricky angle, he did not point at the tip of the Water-Parting Spike, but precisely at its weakest pressure point on the side!

"Bang!"

"Clang!"

Two dull, loud noises exploded almost at the same instant!

Lin Chen's left fist collided violently with the Third Elder's crimson fist aura. A wave of violent force surged through him, and he felt the bones of his entire arm wailing, his blood and Qi surging violently.

His body was knocked back three steps uncontrollably, each step leaving deep footprints on the hard ground.

The skin on his knuckles split directly, and blood instantly stained his joints red.

And when his right fingertip touched Qi Yue's High Grade Magical Artifact, the Water-Parting Spike, it actually erupted with a piercing sound of metal clashing!

Qi Yue only felt an extremely strange, high-frequency vibration force surging wildly along the spike, numbing his wrist. His unstoppable assassination momentum was involuntarily stalled!

This is the moment!

Taking advantage of this one-thousandth of a second gap, Lin Chen stabilized his body and stomped his right foot hard backward!

A massive wave of spiritual energy followed his foot, like an earth dragon, violently penetrating underground and striking directly beneath the base of the Eagle-Beak Stone!

"Crack!"

A crisp cracking sound rang out.

The ground beneath the Eagle-Beak Stone suddenly exploded into a pit, and a hastily buried Formation Plate flashing with metallic luster shattered upon impact!

With a hum, the endless golden Qi blades in the surrounding thick fog seemed to have lost their source. Their light dimmed rapidly, and then most of them dissipated. The power of the Formation was instantly reduced by thirty percent!

On the other side, the moment Lin Chen attracted the main firepower, Su Qingyao also took action.

She shielded Old Man Shi tightly behind her, her cold face showing no sign of panic.

Her wrists flicked repeatedly, and small porcelain bottles were precisely thrown out.

Some exploded upon landing, turning into plumes of pungent, acrid yellow smoke that instantly enveloped the few Qi Family Qi Refinement Stage disciples who were charging over, causing their eyes to water uncontrollably and their Divine Sense to fall into chaos.

Others turned into puddles of highly sticky green gel, firmly glueing their feet to the ground and greatly delaying the speed of their charge.

In the chaos, she even found time to flick out two silver needles coated with anesthetic, silently piercing the necks of the two closest Qi Family disciples, causing them to grunt and collapse to the ground.

A-Tu firmly remembered Lin Chen's previous instructions.

The moment the Gold Blade Formation failed and the thick fog thinned slightly, he moved like an agile leopard, using his small stature to weave rapidly through the rocks. While running, he deliberately made huge noises, roaring as he charged toward another fork in the ravine.

"Don't let the thief escape!"

Sure enough, seven or eight Qi Family disciples who were dizzy from the medicinal smoke were subconsciously attracted by his movements. They roared and chased after him, instantly being lured away.

Old Man Shi took advantage of this momentary chaos to crawl on his hands and feet into an extremely hidden crevice that Lin Chen had signaled with his eyes earlier, temporarily escaping the center of the battlefield.

But at this moment, Lin Chen was caught in an unprecedented crisis.

Fighting Qi Yue and the Third Elder alone!

Both were long-established Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivators, and their combat experience was far beyond that of the likes of the Poison Elder.

After the awkwardness of their first coordination, their attacks became increasingly seasoned and vicious.

Qi Yue's Water-Parting Spike was like a maggot on a tarsal bone, always stabbing from the most uncomfortable angles, forcing Lin Chen to divert his attention to deal with it.

The Third Elder's boxing technique was broad and open, wild and domineering. Every punch forced Lin Chen to take it head-on, constantly consuming his spiritual energy.

In just a dozen breaths, Lin Chen already had several wounds of varying depths on his body, and his spiritual energy consumption was like a floodgate being opened.

"Die!"

The Third Elder seized a gap while Lin Chen was blocking the Water-Parting Spike, let out a sinister laugh, and threw a heavy punch condensed with all his spiritual energy, slamming it solidly into Lin Chen's chest!

"Puff!"

Lin Chen's protective spiritual light shattered upon impact. He was hit like a heavy hammer, spraying a mouthful of blood, and flew backward. His internal spiritual energy was nearly exhausted at this moment.

Just as his consciousness was becoming somewhat blurred and the blood spilling from the corners of his mouth stained his clothes, a familiar, warm force originating from the depths of his Bloodline and the Family Luck suddenly surged from the depths of his dried-up Dantian!

[Family Luck Feedback]!

Under the immense pressure of life and death, the System's core life-saving mechanism was passively triggered!

At the same time, a more profound feeling flooded his heart.

He clearly "saw" that far away in the depths of the Luoxia Valley mine, Liu Ruxu was sitting cross-legged. Inside her flat lower abdomen, a weak, almost imperceptible new life aura was resonating and supporting his own Bloodline in an extremely vague way!

That was his child!

Lin Chen only felt a solid barrier within his body shatter with a boom under the impact of this internal and external combined force!

The exhausted spiritual energy was refilled in an instant, and it was even purer and more massive than before!

His Meridians were widened, his Dantian was expanding, and an unprecedented feeling of power filled his limbs and bones!

Foundation Establishment Level 1... Peak!

"Roar—!"

Lin Chen let out a long howl that had been suppressed for a long time. The howl sounded like a dragon, vibrating the entire Rocky Ravine until it hummed.

His figure flickered, and his speed was suddenly three parts faster than before. He narrowly avoided the tricky stab Qi Yue had added while he was flying backward vomiting blood.

The Third Elder was showing joy because his attack had landed. Before he could react to Lin Chen's suddenly surging aura, he felt a flash before his eyes.

Lin Chen's figure had already appeared before him like a ghost. With a backhand slap—plain and unremarkable, yet fast to the extreme—he printed it solidly onto the protective spiritual light on the Third Elder's chest, who had been momentarily stunned!

"Puff—!"

The Third Elder's protective spiritual light shattered like paper, and his chest bone instantly collapsed into a terrifying indentation.

He sprayed a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs, and his whole body flew backward like a kite with a broken string. He crashed through two boulders in a row and was buried under the rubble, his life or death unknown.

Seeing this, Qi Yue was horrified!

He watched helplessly as the Third Elder was heavily injured by a single slap, watched as Lin Chen broke through in the midst of battle at the moment of life and death, and that surging aura even made him feel a trace of palpitations.

If he dragged it out any longer, waiting for that guy who understood Formations to completely break the remaining Formations, and waiting for that poison-using woman and that kid acting as bait to return, he was afraid he would also end up here!

Without a shred of hesitation, Qi Yue feinted with a stab, forcing back Lin Chen—whose aura was not yet stable—by half a step. His figure retreated rapidly like a ghost, and at the same time, he let out a sharp, shrill whistle—the signal to retreat!

"Retreat!"

The remaining seven or eight Qi Family disciples had long been scared out of their wits by Lin Chen's ferocity. Hearing this, they acted as if they had received amnesty, immediately helping their injured companions and following Qi Yue in a panicked retreat into the depths of Rocky Ravine, soon disappearing behind the thick fog and boulders.

Lin Chen panted heavily and did not pursue.

He could feel that the newly broken-through spiritual energy in his body was not yet fully stabilized, like an untamed wild horse, and still needed time to be subdued.

More importantly, everyone on his side was injured and at the end of their rope.

"Lin Chen!"

Su Qingyao walked up quickly, took out the best healing Medicinal Pill from her bosom, and stuffed it into his mouth without a word. Then she began to check his wounds, her cold eyes filled with lingering fear and heartache.

On the other side, Liu Yuan's face was as pale as paper, clearly due to excessive exhaustion of spiritual energy.

But he still forced himself to walk to the withered rock pine, using his last bit of strength to destroy the core Formation eye of the Earth Spike Formation.

With a muffled sound, all the Formation fluctuations in Rocky Ravine completely subsided.

The thick fog slowly dissipated, and the ravine returned to its previous dead silence, with only the mess, rubble, and pools of undried blood silently telling the tragedy of the battle just now.

"Cough, cough... The Qi Family will never let this go." Liu Yuan leaned against a boulder, panting violently. "They suffered such a big loss this time, and even the Head of the Family came in person and returned empty-handed. The next step... the next step will likely be to hire those killers in Black Water City who kill for money, such as... people from the Blood Crow Tower."

Lin Chen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, feeling the surging, massive spiritual energy in his body. He looked toward the direction of Cuiping Mountain, his eyes as cold as iron.

"So, we must be faster."

His voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable determination.

"Before the next wave of enemies arrives, find the Spiritual Vein and establish a foothold. Let's go!"

The team stopped lingering. A-Tu returned from the fork in the road and, together with Lin Chen, supported the almost collapsed Liu Yuan.

Su Qingyao supported the still-shaken Old Man Shi.

The group supported each other, dragging their tired and scarred bodies as they silently passed through this valley of death.

The lush, rolling mountain shadows of Cuiping Mountain were already close at hand, as if they could be touched.

But everyone's heart felt heavy. They knew that the bloody battle they had just experienced might only be a beginning.

The seemingly vibrant green mountains ahead might not necessarily be easier than this rocky graveyard behind them that had buried the elite of the Qi Family.

Passing through the end of Rocky Ravine, a breath of fresh air mixed with the fragrance of grass and trees and moist water vapor rushed toward them, forming a sharp contrast with the dead silence and decay of the ravine behind them.

Cuiping Mountain, they had arrived.