27: Second Life: First Steps on the Immortal Path (Twenty-Six)

Luo Shou was, after all, a veteran of many battles, and at the critical moment of life and death, he erupted with astonishing reflexes.

Hearing Xu Yuan's warning and the sound of something tearing through the air, he forced his body to twist, pouring his inner magical power frantically into the magic weapon in his hand, and backhanded a slash toward that final ice spear spell!

"Puchi—!"

The ice spear failed to strike his vital heart, but it grazed his ribcage fiercely!

His protective spiritual light was instantly torn apart, sending a spray of crimson blood into the air.

Bone-chilling cold rushed in frantically, and the wound under Luo Shou's ribs was visibly covered in a layer of frost, which spread rapidly to the surrounding area. Half of his body instantly went stiff and numb, and the circulation of his spiritual power was brought to a standstill!

"Ugh!" Luo Shou groaned and stumbled as he fell from mid-air.

"Boss!"

Hou Ting's eyes were wide with rage and shock. He instantly raised his spirit crossbow, and several poison-tipped bolts, flashing with spiritual light, whistled as they shot toward the shadows where the attack had originated.

Liu Yiyi reacted extremely quickly, flashing to Luo Shou's side in an instant. Her hands moved rapidly, and a soft, exuberant water-blue radiance surged into Luo Shou's wound like a tide.

"Clear Spring Cleansing, Water Moistens Vitality!"

Her slender hands pointed rapidly, and the soft, exuberant water-blue radiance poured out like moonlight. The momentum of the spreading frost was barely contained, but that cold energy was extremely stubborn, digging deep into his flesh and even faintly eroding his Meridians; it was certainly not something that could be dispelled in a short time.

"Hehehe... Your reaction is surprisingly fast, but unfortunately, you were still half a step too slow."

An eerie voice, carrying a hint of surprise and mockery, rang out from behind the largest stone pillar at the cave entrance.

Accompanied by messy footsteps, five figures slowly stepped out from the shadows, completely blocking their retreat.

The leader was that pale-faced young Cultivator, lightly waving an ice-blue feathered fan in his hand; that lethal ice spear from just a moment ago had come from him.

Five against four!

Moreover, the other side came prepared, their strength formidable, and upon the very first encounter, they had heavily wounded Luo Shou, the strongest combatant on their side!

Xu Yuan's face was as dark as water. He stepped forward, shielding the injured Luo Shou and Liu Yiyi behind him. Scorching fire Spiritual Qi surged and flowed around his body, his icy gaze sweeping over the five opponents.

Hou Ting also quickly closed in, standing shoulder to shoulder with Xu Yuan, his short crossbow locked tightly onto the insidious archer.

The situation reversed in an instant. The joy of having just discovered the treasure vanished completely, and the air was filled with a thick smell of blood and an even colder killing intent.

The pale youth's gaze swept mockingly over the heavily wounded Luo Shou and the three of them—Xu Yuan and his companions—who stood facing a formidable enemy, before finally landing on the Earth Vein Fire Lotus in the center of the lake, his greed evident on his face.

"I originally wanted to wait for you to harvest the treasure before sending you on your way, to save some effort." The pale youth sighed hypocritically, tapping his feathered fan toward Xu Yuan. "I didn't expect there to be one with such sharp Divine Sense. Very well, since we can no longer hide, let's just rob you openly."

"This Earth Vein Fire Lotus, and your lives," his voice suddenly turned cold, "our Poison Fang Squad will take them all!"

"Do it! Leave none alive!"

The hypocritical smile on the pale youth's face vanished instantly, replaced by cold killing intent.

He waved his feathered fan violently, and several ice spears, thicker and more chilling than before, instantly condensed and whistled toward Xu Yuan!

Almost simultaneously, the thin archer beside the pale youth released his fingers, and a black-green poison arrow, like a viper emerging from its den, shot silently toward Hou Ting's throat!

The dwarf Cultivator behind them let out a strange laugh, his figure vanishing like a ghost from where he stood, and several transparent flying knives shot from extremely tricky angles toward Xu Yuan's lower body and Liu Yiyi!

There were also two strong men; one roared while wielding a giant axe and charged toward Xu Yuan, while the other swung a heavy hammer, smashing it fiercely toward Liu Yiyi and Luo Shou, who were in the middle of healing!

The offensive was like a tide, ruthless and lethal!

Xu Yuan shouted violently, running his Cultivation Technique to its limit. He formed hand seals, and several rotating flame shields instantly condensed in front of him. At the same time, instead of retreating, he advanced, actively meeting the Axe-Wielding Strong Man and the sky full of ice spears!

Boom, boom, boom!

The ice spears and flame shields collided violently, erupting with a large amount of white steam, while ice fragments and sparks flew everywhere.

At the same time, Xu Yuan suddenly turned sideways, narrowly avoiding the strong man's powerful, mountain-cleaving axe. A scorching palm wind struck the surface of the axe, emitting a muffled "clang," and he used the force to slide backward, avoiding the flying knives from the dwarf's sneak attack.

Hou Ting's side was also extremely perilous. With an iron-bridge maneuver, he barely dodged the poison arrow, which flew past the tip of his nose, the foul wind it brought making his scalp tingle.

Hou Ting fired his spirit crossbow repeatedly, forcing back the dwarf who was trying to close in, but they were clearly at a disadvantage.

Luo Shou endured his injuries, forcing himself to act and drive the magic weapon in his hand, a massive golden blade light slashing toward the attacking strong man.

"Clang—!" The golden blade light collided fiercely with the whistling heavy hammer, emitting a deafening sound of metal clashing against metal!

Air waves rolled, and spiritual power splashed everywhere!

Luo Shou was, after all, a 9th Layer of Qi Refining Cultivator; his desperate counterattack in anger was not to be underestimated.

The hammer-wielding strong man's figure paused from the sudden, fierce blade light, his momentum obstructed, and the heavy hammer was knocked aside, smashing into the empty ground nearby with a loud bang, causing the ground to crack.

However, Luo Shou had also aggravated his severe rib injury because of this.

"Pfft!" He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, and the magical power he had been forcing himself to maintain instantly dissipated. The icy energy at the wound lost its suppression and spread again like a backlash.

The battle situation had been one-sided from the very beginning! The four of them—Xu Yuan and his companions—were completely suppressed, facing danger at every turn!

If things continued this way, it would not take long before they were completely wiped out!

Xu Yuan was extremely anxious. While struggling to fend off the combined attacks of the pale youth and the Axe-Wielding Strong Man, his brain was racing, searching for a way to break the deadlock.

The opponents' coordination was extremely tacit, and their strength was superior. Even though Xu Yuan had now condensed his own Spiritual Qi nine times, he was barely holding his own at this moment.

Just as Xu Yuan parried an axe blow from the strong man and withstood an ice awl, his magical power depleting rapidly and his Meridians throbbing with pain.

Xu Yuan's Divine Sense sharply captured something—the rolling lava lake to his side and behind him, whose Spiritual Qi fluctuations seemed to show a trace of extremely subtle disharmony!

That was not the stable and majestic fire Spiritual Qi emitted by the Earth Vein Fire Lotus, but a kind of... introverted, suppressed, yet wild and violent pulsation, as if it were accumulating power and about to erupt!

It was just like... the dead silence before a volcanic eruption!

This feeling made Xu Yuan strangely familiar with it, as if he had felt it once a long time ago.

A thought, bold to the point of madness, flashed through Xu Yuan's mind like lightning!

With the Earth Vein Fire Lotus here, how could there not be a guarding Yao Beast?!

That guarding Yao Beast had not been scared away or killed by the beast tide; it was highly likely lurking deep within this lava lake!

Moreover, it was likely in some critical period—for example, using the dense fire Spiritual Qi here and the aura of the Earth Vein Fire Lotus to attempt a Breakthrough to the Second Rank!

Second Rank, Foundation Establishment Great Demon!