Chapter 32 Show me your true skills, will you die?

There was a certain fixed flow of spiritual energy here, just like she had sensed during her trial.

It is indeed the same illusion array.

"A trial illusion array?" Guan Wangzhen, who had moved closer, seemed to see a glimmer of hope. "This is an illusion array! That snake is one too! These ghostly things are too! That's wonderful, wonderful!"

Ji Mingran interrupted: "Oh no, the snake is real, and so is the poop."

Shen Qingluo said, "Are you saying that the weather and the lightning strike are both illusions? But I was indeed struck by lightning."

“Advanced illusion arrays can transform the illusory into the real. Although my senior brother didn’t elaborate, the way spiritual energy flows here is the same as what I sensed during my trial, so I deduce that it’s the same one.”

Shen Qingluo looked puzzled: "The Luanfeng Peak Trial?"

"I heard it's a unique disciple trial for Luanfeng, and only those who pass it can gain recognition. It turns out there's an illusion array here." Zhu Shibai explained, then pondered, "There's an illusion array here? I've never heard of it before."

Shen Qingluo lowered her eyelashes and glanced at Zhu Shibai: "You seem to be quite familiar with the sect?"

Ji Mingran was a firsthand witness and knew that the main peak trial was normal. However, both of them were newly recruited disciples, and their conversation suggested that they were already familiar with the affairs of each peak.

Zhu Shibai stated frankly: "Wang Zhen and I are both nominal disciples, and we grew up in the sect since childhood."

"A disciple under the name of the sect, I see." Although Shen Qingluo had only been in the sect for a month, she already had a basic understanding of the sect's situation.

Her gaze swept across the distant woods, and she asked, "Do you know how to break the formation?"

With the combined efforts of several people, it is not impossible to break free, provided there is no lightning or electrical interference.

Zhu Shibai and Guan Wangzhen both looked at Ji Mingran.

"I don't know." Ji Mingran spread her hands. The inherited books must have recorded it, but her cultivation level was too low; her brain automatically coded it, and she couldn't understand it.

"How come you know nothing!" Guan Wangzhen was already furious, and now he was even more frantic, scratching his head and shouting irritably, "There are people in this world who are even more unreliable than an old man!"

"No matter how big the storm is inside."

They have no way to call for help, and even if they die here, no one will know.

Shen Qingluo, who was observing the situation, sharpened her gaze and warned, "It's surrounding us."

The vast green forest rippled like ocean waves, and the ground shook even more violently after the mudslide collapsed.

The rippling forest was actually being pushed forward with them at its center.

The python coiled around silently, encircling and tightening its grip on the area, intending to strangle everything in this world.

The four of them looked at each other in pairs and fell silent for a moment.

There's no time left.

They appeared to be lucid and spoke lightly, but in reality, their faces were all deathly pale.

Having just fought the giant python, their spiritual consciousness and energy were severely depleted, and then they were struck by lightning. The fact that they were able to stand and communicate was purely due to sheer willpower.

Shen Qingluo's brows furrowed tightly as she broke the silence: "We must take it down first." She raised her hand and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. "Before it kills us."

Guan Wangzhen, his eyes red and teeth bared, his spiritual energy fluctuating violently: "What are you still standing here discussing? Just kill it!" He said to the others: "Go! I'll charge to the left, you charge to the right, Zhu Zhi will cover the rear, and Grandma, you don't know anything, just hide in the back! If you have a chance, sneak up on it and give it a good thrashing!"

Zhu Shibai held him down: "Don't be impulsive." He turned to look at the silent Ji Mingran, his tone tinged with anxiety: "Uncle-Master, do you really not remember anything about this formation?"

“I have no way to break this, I can only rely on brute force to get through it.” Ji Mingran’s eyes were calm. “So, let’s just fight it out.”

She's only at the Qi Refining stage, a novice, and can't even solve this ridiculous formation.

“You’re right.” Shen Qinglu dismounted, untied Ying Xue’s reins, and said softly, “Find your own way.”

She turned to Guan Wangzhen and said, "Let's go, just like you said!"

With that, a cold glint flashed from the blade, and the man shot into the sky like an arrow.

Instantly, Ji Mingran felt a scorching heat wave wash over him, and the surrounding air became unbearably hot. The girl, who had instantly appeared in the distance, tumbled down from the sky. Under the gloomy sky covered with dark clouds, a fiery red dress fluttered in the wind. She wielded two swords and slashed swiftly, waves of flame surging and carrying the sword energy as they rushed towards the giant python. Even the raging wind and rain had no effect on her.

"She's not a military cultivator? Good, she's secretly cultivating magic!" Guan Wangzhen followed closely, leaping forward. He instantly appeared to the side where the giant python coiled, and at the same time, the obsidian ring on his wrist flew off his hand and gradually grew into a larger ring. Guan Wangzhen reached in and pulled out a thick rope, from which talismans fluttered in the wind.

"Let's go." Guan Wangzhen smirked and pulled hard. The rope, covered with countless talismans, seemed to grow endlessly from the stone ring. Guan Wangzhen weaved through the branches of the trees, the rope shifting with his position, wrapping tightly around a section of the giant python's body.

The heavy talismans on the rope trembled slightly, emitting a low buzzing sound.

The thick, coiled snake body gradually came to a stop, and even the snake's head, which had been violently rolling to avoid the flames, froze, as it was met head-on by Shen Qingluo's flaming sword technique.

Immobilization Talisman Realm.

Ji Mingran immediately recognized the barrier that Boss Jiang had mentioned to her, which shared the same origin as the formation.

"That's the only way." Zhu Shibai's calm voice sounded in her ear.

Ji Mingran glanced to the side and saw that a crossbow, about half the size of a person, had appeared in his hand at some point.

Ji Mingran was stunned. What was this thing?

The sky grew dark, and the wind and rain continued, but the lightning stopped.

The giant python, standing between heaven and earth, was attacked repeatedly by the three men. The flames from each slash tore through its scales, leaving its flesh torn and bleeding. As the flames licked its wounds, it was also pierced and burst open by a dense barrage of arrows. The barrage of attacks—swords, arrows, crimson flames, and electric shocks—forced the python's upper body to struggle free from the immobilization spell, and it desperately lunged to bite at its attackers, its body sweeping and crushing large swaths of trees.

The three did not stop; instead, they pressed their advantage. Shen Qingluo rode her sword, weaving between the snake's bodies, dodging its attacks while continuing to slash at it. Zhu Shibai, who had been beside Ji Mingran, had already moved elsewhere, continuously firing arrows from different directions. Guan Wangzhen, also gripping the rope, went to another location to set up a barrier, reinforcing the immobilization talisman and reducing the snake's ability to break free.

The movements were swift, clean, and executed in one smooth motion.

The three Foundation Establishment Peak experts unleashed their true power, making it completely unnecessary for her to use her abilities.

Ji Mingran stared blankly at the battle situation before him.

The apocalyptic atmosphere and the enormous, overwhelming monsters that left one feeling utterly powerless.

It seems like the past, yet it's not the same as before.

Standing before the colossal creature was not that frail figure, but three people working together to defend against it.

Dark clouds loomed overhead, and the giant python stood tall, towering into the sky. In comparison, the three figures appeared incredibly small, yet their offensive was overwhelmingly powerful.

She hid herself in the back. That was her first priority.

She doesn't need to be at the forefront.

But she was always at the forefront.

This strategy was so unfamiliar to her that she didn't know how to react for a moment.

While in a daze, the pain, which had been deliberately suppressed, recurred.

With a splitting headache, Ji Mingran suppressed the sudden, unfamiliar sour feeling in his heart, blinked to come back to his senses, sat down on the spot, and closed his eyes to rest.

Nearby, the giant python hissed, shaking the forest. Its jaws were wide open, and its stiff body, enduring wave after wave of attacks, struggled and thrashed.

The enemy was weakened. Shen Qingluo seized the opportunity, swiftly moving with her sword to the front of the giant python's gaping maw. She held her long sword horizontally, its blade burning red and emitting plumes of smoke.

She was about to unleash a horizontal slash, cleaving the snake's head open from its mouth.

The giant python sensed the impending danger. Its eyes widened in horror as it stared intently at Shen Qingluo, its entire body trembling. Its survival instincts compelled it to break free of the immobilization barrier in an instant, lock onto the red figure, and lunge forward with its two fangs.

A resolute look flashed in Shen Qingluo's crystal-clear eyes. She stood still and slashed down with her left hand, the flames trailing a long tail as they followed the blade, rushing towards the snake's head.

The giant python's eyes were bloodshot, and its jaws were wide open. It swallowed the raging fire whole, determined to tear Shen Qingluo, who had launched the attack, to death.

Shen Qingluo only had time to barely dodge before her left arm was instantly pierced by the long teeth.

"First place!" Guan Wangzhen shouted, resisting the reverse flow of spiritual power within his body, and quickly drew intricate runes in the air with both hands, fixing them on the barrier.

At the same time, a loud "whoosh" echoed through the air, and a dazzling streak of light, like a shooting star, streaked across the sky. It was an arrow, three meters long, with streaks of purple-white lightning crackling around it. In a flash, the arrow struck the giant python's upper jaw, piercing through it completely.

Without hesitation, Shen Qingluo drew her sword, grabbed another, and with a powerful twist, pulled herself completely out of the fangs. Blood splattered everywhere, indistinguishable between the python's and hers. Shen Qingluo's face was deathly pale, her back and abdomen soaked with cold sweat.

Dizziness, weakness, reversed spiritual energy, and the giant python's fangs were covered in potent poison!

Shen Qingluo, who was located in front of Shekou, was the first to be hit. Before she could react, a figure in a blue robe appeared in front of her and tackled her to the ground.

The deafening sound waves vibrated through my lungs and internal organs, causing my meridians, blood vessels, and internal organs to boil, and my bones felt as if they were about to be shattered.

Moreover, she already had reversed spiritual energy and was poisoned.

If it weren't for the person in front of her blocking a large amount of the sonic attack, she would have died on the spot.

The two fell from a great height and tumbled to the ground, their tattered straw hats rolling to the side, revealing their owners' faces.

Zhu Shibai.

Where did he get so many random magical artifacts?

He tried his best to control the barrier and successfully intercepted half of the giant python's sonic attack, but he couldn't defend himself. He was also shocked by the sonic wave and bled from all seven orifices, and his meridians were damaged.

Zhu Shibai wanted to save the two, but he was facing the snake's mouth head-on. Even with the magic weapon of the bamboo hat, he could not withstand such a heavy blow. He lost control halfway to Guan Wangzhen's location and fell straight down to Guan Wangzhen's side with Shen Qingluo.

Everything changed in the blink of an eye. They reacted extremely quickly, but they were never as fast as the Golden Core stage Purple-Scaled Red Python.

The giant python, having swallowed the Crimson Flame Slash, could no longer speak, but the intense pain drove it mad. Driven by instinct, it relentlessly pursued its enemies, its tail sweeping towards the three of them with the force of a tidal wave.

The snake's tail lashed out with a deafening roar, sending mud and rocks crashing down and creating a huge crack in the ground.

Just before the snake's tail hit the ground, a golden light flashed and enveloped the three of them. Then, with a speed that was impossible to track with the naked eye, it flashed rapidly and disappeared into the dense forest.

Ji Mingran gripped the ground with his ten fingers, his fingertips turning white from the force. "Will you die?"

Inside the cave, the three barely alive lay on the ground in the same position.

After a while.

“Ha…you wish.” Guan Wangzhen managed to squeeze out a weak sentence.

Ji Mingran slightly raised his lowered head.

“The spiritual energy is flowing backward; you need to rest quietly,” Zhu Shibai’s weak voice rang out.

"Mmm," Shen Qingluo replied quietly.

All three were seriously injured, with Shen Qingluo being the most severely wounded. She was deeply poisoned, and if she did not receive timely antidote, her life would be in imminent danger.

However, none of them were medical practitioners, so they could only try to regulate the reversed spiritual energy within their bodies.

"Okay." The speaker visibly breathed a sigh of relief and said nothing more.

The cave was quiet, with only a few faint rustling sounds.

Sensing the change in spatial pressure, Zhu Shibai, who was adjusting his spiritual energy, opened his eyes and looked at the figure kneeling on the ground. He said in a low voice, "Junior Uncle, your formation already has sufficient defensive power. There is no need to expend extra spiritual energy to set it up."

Ji Mingran, who was drawing the fourth Vajra Array pattern, said without looking up, "It's alright. Compared to summoning the array with thought, the array diagram consumes much less spiritual power and can be fixed here."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Shibai fell silent. His expression was blank as his gaze slowly swept over the two people lying beside him, who were almost unconscious. His heart was as dark and gloomy as the cave he was in.

Only a newly initiated junior master was left to protect them.

Even if they were lucky enough to recover their spiritual power, they would be severely weakened and would be no match for the crazed Purple-Scaled Red Python.

They are waiting to die.

Zhu Shibai closed his eyes, trying his best to control his thoughts and concentrate on regulating his spiritual power, but a desolate and desperate mood continued to spread.

A soft clang rang out. It was the sound of iron striking rock.

Zhu Shibai opened his eyes again. In the dim light, the girl was rummaging through the ground for something.

He then noticed that all sorts of tools were scattered all over the ground.

These were all the magical treasures he had just poured out of his mustard seed bag. Ji Mingran had also teleported these things over.

"Uncle-Master," Zhu Shibai said, clutching the surging pain in his chest, "Don't act rashly, cough cough cough..."

“I wasn’t acting impulsively. That snake was barely clinging to life; it’s time I gave it a taste of its own medicine.” Ji Mingran selected a sword blade and weighed it in his hand.

Zhu Shibai suddenly felt a sinking feeling in his chest. He took a deep breath, stopped coughing, and asked in a deep voice, "Is Martial Uncle about to advance to the next level?"

"Perhaps," Ji Mingran replied vaguely.

"My master told me that if you advance in your cultivation, you will lose control and... explode and die." Zhu Shibai tried to raise his hand to stop him, but he couldn't move. His speech quickened, "If we hide well, there might be a glimmer of hope. Don't be impulsive!"

“If we hide here, we’re all going to die.” Ji Mingran rolled up the sleeves of both hands in turn, turned to look at him, his eyes calm and undisturbed. “I don’t want to die.”

After saying that, a golden light shone brightly beneath her feet, and her figure vanished without a trace.

"Ji Mingran!" Zhu Shibai shouted anxiously, but only Youjing responded.

The light spot moved so fast that it was impossible to see clearly, and then it stopped on the dark purple scales.

The mirror finally caught up with the light spot, reflecting the person enveloped in the dim light.

Ji Mingran's chest heaved as he breathed heavily, cold sweat trickling down his forehead from repeatedly using the teleportation array.

The smile that usually graced her face was gone; her expression was solemn as she held her sword in both hands, the dark blade flashing with a cold, silvery light.

His gaze suddenly sharpened, and he immediately charged forward.

She charged forward with all her might, leaving only a blur. Accompanying the blur were countless sword shadows and sprays of blood from beneath the blades.

The new pain quickly led the python to the ant-like culprit. It thrashed and swung its tail, seemingly trying to shake off the small gray spots on its body.

But Ji Mingran moved nimbly to the left and right, tumbling and leaping with agility, his sprinting speed undiminished. The black sword in his hand moved with his body, slashing out one sword strike after another.

Each strike landed precisely on the python's old, cracked wound.

The pain drove the python mad. It opened its massive jaws and bit down hard on the gray spot on its body without regard for anything else. Its sharp teeth pierced through the hard scales on which the gray spot stood, but its target nimbly sidestepped and jumped aside, just past the sharp teeth. Then it continued its relentless attack on the old wound, rushing forward at full speed.

When her first attack failed, the giant python, its eyes bloodshot, pulled out its sharp fangs and continued to bite frantically. But each time the fangs fell, Ji Mingran dodged them with incredible agility. If one attempt to find an opening didn't work, she would use sword techniques she had never seen before to block the fangs, using their force against them to bounce herself back to a slightly farther place.

Each bite missed its mark, piercing its own body with holes, from which blood flowed continuously. Even in its frenzy, the python realized that continuing this way would only result in more injury for itself. So it ceased its attack, only continuing to violently coil and thrash its body, attempting to shake off the gray speck.

People who normally find walking on flat ground uneven are now running at high speed on the snake's back as if walking on flat ground. Only when they encounter violent shaking do they use their sword blades to insert into the snake's body to stabilize their falling body, or use sharp and neat sword strokes to block the flying snake scales.

At this moment, the giant python's violently thrashing body gradually slowed down, its vertical pupils half-open, as if it had lost too much blood and was exhausted.

Seeing the person running tirelessly and even accelerating, Zhu Shibai's tense heart finally relaxed a bit. He looked away from the mirror and checked the condition of the two people beside him.

Junior Uncle's physical strength far surpasses that of ordinary people, and he has considerable talent in physical cultivation.

She must have been very confident in this regard, which is why she used this method of luring the enemy with her own body to invite them to their own destruction.

Thinking of this, Zhu Shibai's forehead suddenly twitched, and his relaxed heart tightened again.

No, she's clearly skilled in teleportation arrays, yet she hasn't used them.

She didn't use any formations because she couldn't use spiritual power.

Zhu Shibai immediately turned his gaze to the mirror.

The gray figure in the mirror had already rushed from the snake's neck to its head.

The previously closed vertical pupils suddenly opened, the snake's neck twisted 180 degrees, revealing sharp, blood-stained fangs, and it roared as it charged towards the figure. With a snap of its mouth, it swallowed the person falling from the air whole.

"!" Zhu Shibai's heart clenched suddenly. He mustered his strength from nowhere and shoved the two people beside him, shouting sharply, "Wake up! Wake up, both of you!"

"Ji Mingran is going to die!"

Those were Ji Mingran's gray-painted clothes.

“…cut it open.” Shen Qingluo’s voice was hoarse. She swayed and struggled to her feet, leaning against the stone wall, and murmured, “Yes, just cut it open.”

"I don't believe it... I don't believe it!" Guan Wangzhen's eyes were red, and his shouts seemed to support his will. With each shout, his body straightened up a little, and a dark blue light flickered between his palms.

"She might still be saved." The two's awakening brought Zhu Shibai back to his senses. He noticed the faint golden light occasionally flashing across the void of the cave. "The formation hasn't completely disappeared; she might still be breathing. We..."

The rest of the conversation abruptly stopped.

Bang!

The giant python in the mirror convulsed and rolled on the ground. In an instant, golden and blood-red light burst forth from the head to the tail at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye. The explosive airflow overturned flesh and bones, and blood gushed out, staining the rain and mist, turning everything crimson.

A long, silver arc of light flashed by, and the giant python's dark red flesh and internal organs poured out from bottom to top, following the fleeting silver light.

Like in slow motion, the python slowly and silently stopped twitching and became completely still.

Beneath the snake's belly, dark red flesh and internal organs were piled up in heaps.

It was unclear whether it was intestines or a large mass of dark red internal organs, but a hand reached out, and then a dark red humanoid figure struggled to crawl out.

The girl, her entire body covered in thick blood and filth from internal organs, could barely open her eyes. She wiped her face with her hand, but the blood only increased. Unconcerned, she forced a smile, revealing blood-stained teeth: "I'm not dead."

Under the torrential rain, the dark, blood-red forest was a shocking sight.