77: The venomous snake bares its teeth, unaware of the oriole behind.

That three-person team clearly had not noticed the deadly poisonous snake tailing them.

They vigilantly observed the front and sides, yet remained completely unaware of the killing intent merging with the spatial ripples from behind.

The woman trailing at the back was pale, with a wound on her left shoulder deep to the bone, wreathed in black corrosive energy; she was clearly heavily poisoned, and although she was barely suppressing it, her speed was significantly slower than her companions, and her aura was the most withered of the three.

"Junior Sister Zhou, hold on a bit longer; once we cross this meteorite belt, we will find a safe place to purge the poison for you," the leading male in green robes said, his tone filled with concern, though deep in his eyes lay a trace of unnoticeable impatience.

Every moment they lingered in this Secret Realm added another layer of danger.

"I... I am fine, thank you, Senior Brother Liu," the woman surnamed Zhou replied, forcing herself to endure as fine cold sweat seeped from her temples.

Liu Qingtian, hiding in the shadows, observed calmly.

That "Old Six" was extremely patient, like a bone-eating maggot, always maintaining the optimal distance with his aura perfectly restrained; he was waiting for an absolute opportunity—either the woman falling completely behind, or the moment the team's attention was drawn away by other dangers.

Liu Qingtian was waiting as well.

He was not only waiting for Old Six to strike, but also for a moment where he could avoid the attention of the other two Late-stage Kai Shan Realm Cultivators.

This required precise judgment and immense luck.

The opportunity arrived faster than expected.

Just as the team was about to cross the edge of the meteorite belt, three Void Realm creatures resembling jackals but entirely composed of shadows suddenly burst out from behind a massive meteorite!

Their scarlet eyes locked onto the three, and they let out a silent roar, pouncing to kill!

"Careful! It's Shadow Jackals!" Senior Brother Liu shouted sharply, and he and the other male Cultivator immediately summoned their Magic Treasure to engage.

These three Shadow Jackals all possessed the strength of the Kāishān Realm Mid-stage and were fearless, instantly diverting the full attention of the two men.

Junior Sister Zhou, who was already trailing at the back and in poor condition, reacted half a beat too slowly and was instantly isolated!

This was it!

"Old Six," who had been following like a shadow, moved!

He seemed to seep directly out of space, without making a sound, his pair of twisted short blades like the fangs of a poisonous snake, stabbing straight at Junior Sister Zhou's back and neck!

The speed was extreme, the blade tips flashing with the cold light of spatial cutting, striving for an instant kill!

Junior Sister Zhou felt the fatal crisis behind her, her face drained of color; she wanted to dodge but was hindered by her injuries and the poison, her movements sluggish, and despair already appeared in her eyes!

However, just as Old Six's short blades were about to touch her body—

A sudden change occurred!

Liu Qingtian, who had long been prepared, moved!

He did not attack Old Six directly, as that might have alerted the two in front.

His chosen target was the seemingly empty space between Old Six and Junior Sister Zhou!

"Wither and Flourish Domain · Stagnation!"

Hum!

An invisible force field expanded suddenly with Liu Qingtian at its center, shrouding the area where Old Six and Junior Sister Zhou were located!

Within the Domain, the Qi of Life and Death rotated, and space felt like a water surface into which a stone had been thrown, creating a viscous sense of stagnation!

This was not pure spatial imprisonment, but an interference with energy flow and spatial stability using the Dao of Life and Death!

Old Six's surefire strike, within this sudden stagnant Domain, slowed down visibly by a fraction!

The blade tip was only inches from the target, yet it felt as if it were separated by an invisible swamp!

"What?!" Old Six's pupils shrank, his heart filled with horror!

He instantly judged that this was definitely not Junior Sister Zhou's doing; a third party had intervened!

And it was this fraction of a delay that gave Junior Sister Zhou and the two men in front time to react!

"Junior Sister, watch out!" Although Senior Brother Liu was entangled with the Shadow Jackals, his Divine Sense had been monitoring the rear, and seeing this, his eyes threatened to crack, and he backhanded a blazing sword energy, shooting it directly at Old Six's back!

Junior Sister Zhou also used all her strength to summon a small jade shield to block behind her!

Old Six cursed in his heart, knowing it was no longer possible.

His assassination had failed, he had exposed himself, and he was now caught in a pincer attack from front and back!

He made a decisive choice, gave up the attack, his figure blurred, and he was about to merge into space again to escape!

"Want to run? Leave something behind!" Liu Qingtian's cold Divine Thought entered Old Six's mind like a spike.

At the same time, his long-brewed killing move finally erupted!

It was not a large-scale "Return to Void," but the power of Return to Void highly compressed and condensed on the tip of a seemingly ordinary willow branches, like a black ink drop, silently pointing at Old Six's right leg, which had experienced a slight stagnation due to his forced twisting of spatial escape arts!

This point was silent, yet it contained extreme Annihilation Qi!

Old Six felt the familiar, soul-shuddering destructive aura descend again, and he was so terrified that his Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering!

He desperately urged his spatial power and twisted his body violently!

"Sshh!"

The Return to Void power grazed the edge of his right leg!

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a patch of absolute "nothingness" appearing quietly.

Old Six's right lower leg, along with a portion of space, instantly vanished!

The wound was as smooth as a mirror, with no blood, only the constantly spreading Annihilation Dao rhyme!

"Ah—!" Old Six let out a shrill scream, his escape art interrupted, his figure falling out of the Void Realm, and his aura instantly withered by more than half!

He glared with extreme resentment toward the direction where Liu Qingtian was hiding, not daring to stay for even a second; he burned his essence blood, turned into a streak of blood light, and fled toward the distance faster than he had come, not even daring to look back!

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

From the attack of the Shadow Jackals to the assassination by Old Six, and then to Liu Qingtian's intervention and Old Six's heavy injury and escape, it had only been two or three breaths.

Senior Brother Liu's sword energy cut into empty air, and Junior Sister Zhou's jade shield had blocked nothing.

Both of them looked at the assassin who had appeared and vanished with a severed leg, and the lingering, heart-palpitating Annihilation Qi, both filled with shock and lingering fear.

"Thank you, Senior, for your help!" Senior Brother Liu reacted the fastest; although he had not seen Liu Qingtian, he knew that someone capable of such an attack must be an expert, so he immediately cupped his hands toward the Void Realm.

Junior Sister Zhou, still shaken, also hurriedly expressed her thanks.

Liu Qingtian, hidden in the shadows, did not appear.

His goal had been achieved; Old Six was heavily injured, and this poisonous snake should be unable to cause trouble for a short time.

As for these three, he had no intention of befriending them, nor did he want to expose himself.

He did not respond, but quietly restrained his aura, merged into the shadows like a ghost, and quickly moved away from this area.

Senior Brother Liu and the three of them waited for a moment, and seeing no response, they knew the expert had left; not daring to linger, they hurriedly finished off the remaining Shadow Jackals and left quickly, filled with confusion and relief.

Inside the Broken Sword Remnants, Liu Qingtian hid himself again, his tree soul calm and unruffled.

This strike had been perfectly timed, injuring the hidden threat without exposing himself, which could be called perfect.

He felt that his application of power and his grasp of the battle situation were becoming increasingly proficient through repeated real-world combat.

"Next, it is time to attempt a Breakthrough."

He took out a star fire glaze crystal, his gaze firm.

After repeated battles and accumulation, the opportunity for a Breakthrough to Late-stage Kai Shan Realm had arrived.