However, before everyone could catch their breath, Zhao Feng's shout made them alert again.
"Holy crap, look around! We're surrounded!"
Hearing Zhao Feng's shout, everyone was startled and quickly looked around. They saw that countless small worm monsters had appeared all around them. Although they were not as large as the one they had just defeated, there were many of them, and each of them had an eerie blue light in its eyes and was hissing as they slowly approached them.
Zhang Shi gripped Lao Duan's hand tightly and said in a deep voice, "Don't panic, everyone. Gather together, back to back, to form a defensive circle." The group quickly followed his instructions. Huo Xiuxiu stood in the center of the circle, shaking the bell in her hand again, attempting to cast a spell to block the attacks of the small monsters. Ge Dalong continuously condensed ice spikes and shot them at the approaching monsters. The ice spikes pierced the monsters' bodies, splashing up a cloud of black slime, but the small monsters seemed unfazed by the pain and continued to surge forward relentlessly.
Zhao Feng got up from the ground. Despite his injuries, he forced himself to lift the giant axe and stood on one side of the defensive circle, shouting, "I'm not afraid of any number of them! Today, I'll fight them to the death!"
While keeping an eye on the monsters around him, Zhang Shi pondered how to deal with them. He noticed that although these small monsters were quite agile, they seemed to be attacking in an organized manner under the drive of some force. There seemed to be a faint connection between them, as if they shared some kind of consciousness.
"Miss Huo, do you have any way to disrupt their connection?" Zhang Shi asked loudly. Huo Xiuxiu frowned, shook her head, and said, "I'll try, but I can't guarantee success." With that, the frequency of the bell in her hand suddenly increased, and invisible sound waves spread towards the monster horde.
However, these sound waves seemed to have only a brief effect on some of the monsters; their attack rhythm only paused slightly before returning to normal.
Ge Dalong watched the monster approaching and felt anxious: "This can't go on. We need to think of a more effective way to break through."
A thought struck Zhang Shi: the rhombus-shaped core had just absorbed the energy of that giant monster, and perhaps it could be used again. He took out the rhombus-shaped core once more and slowly poured the remaining power within his body into it. The rhombus-shaped core shimmered, gradually emitting a powerful attraction.
The surrounding monsters seemed to be affected by this attraction; some of them began to move slowly, their bodies involuntarily moving towards the diamond-shaped core.
"Now! Break through in the direction with the weaker attraction!" Zhang Shi shouted. Taking advantage of the chaos in the monster horde, the group charged forward in one direction. Zhao Feng wielded his giant axe, clearing a path ahead, each swing repelling a wave of monsters. Ge Dalong assisted him, using ice spikes to attack monsters attempting to flank them. Huo Xiuxiu, meanwhile, used her vortex of energy to block the pursuing monsters from behind, protecting the group's backs.
After a fierce battle, the group finally broke through the encirclement of the little monsters. But everyone knew that the road ahead was still full of unknown dangers, and their strength was constantly being depleted.
Huo Xiuxiu dispersed the fog, and what she could see was a small mountain with a cave at its foot, not far from them.
"Let's rest in that cave for a while and recover our strength before continuing on."
The group, exhausted, slowly made their way towards the cave. Along the way, they proceeded cautiously, wary of any potential new dangers.
Upon entering the cave, Zhang Shi first set up some simple early warning devices near the entrance to prevent monster attacks. Huo Xiuxiu then cast a weak barrier spell inside the cave to conceal their presence and minimize the possibility of being detected by outsiders.
Ge Dalong helped the injured Zhao Feng to a relatively flat spot to sit down. Zhao Feng's face was slightly pale, but his eyes remained firm. He endured the pain and said, "This little injury is nothing. Don't worry about me, everyone. The key is to recover my strength as soon as possible."
Huo Xiuxiu took out some healing herbs and pills from her bag and handed them to Ge Dalong, asking him to treat Zhao Feng's wounds. She then sat aside, closed her eyes, and tried to recover the magical power she had just used.
Zhang Shi sat near the cave entrance, keeping an eye on the outside while pondering the battle he had just experienced. The appearance of that giant worm monster and the numerous smaller monsters that followed were no accident; they all seemed to be guarding some secret or some area. They should be close to their destination now, but what hardships and dangers awaited them ahead?
After a while, Ge Dalong stood up and said softly, "Zhao Feng's injuries have stabilized for the time being. He should be able to regain his mobility after resting for a while."
Zhang Shi nodded slightly and said, "Everyone, take a break. We'll set off again in an hour. I'll stay here during this time and notify everyone immediately if anything happens."
Everyone closed their eyes to rest, and the cave fell silent, save for the occasional soft breathing. Time passed slowly, and an hour quickly went by.
Zhao Feng was the first to open his eyes, moved his body a bit, and felt that his injuries had improved a lot. He stood up, picked up the giant axe, and said, "I'm fine now, we can continue."
Everyone got up, packed their things, and prepared to leave the cave. Zhang Shi deactivated the warning device at the cave entrance, and Huo Xiuxiu removed the barrier spell. The group carefully walked out of the cave, completely unaware that a pair of eyes on the mountaintop had been watching them.
As soon as they emerged from the cave, an even stronger aura of mystery washed over them. Huo Xiuxiu said with a determined look, "The target should be not far ahead. Everyone, stay alert and be careful."
The group continued along the mountain path, and soon a strange sight appeared before them. In a valley shrouded in thick fog, various strange lights flickered faintly, and within the lights, some blurry figures seemed to be moving.
"What is that?" Ge Dalong asked in surprise.
Zhang Shi frowned and said, "I don't know, but it's definitely not simple. Let's get closer and see what's going on, but we must not act rashly."
The group slowly approached the valley, and as they drew closer, they gradually came to see the blurry figures more clearly. They turned out to be translucent, ghostly creatures drifting through the valley, occasionally emitting strange cries.
"Don't disturb them. See if there's another way to get around them," Huo Xiuxiu whispered.
However, just as everyone was preparing to find a way around, a ghost seemed to sense their presence and suddenly floated towards them. Immediately afterwards, more ghosts turned and surged towards the group.
"Damn it, we've been discovered! Prepare for battle!" Zhang Shi shouted, gripping Lao Duan tightly, and charged towards the ghosts. The others reacted quickly, each unleashing their skills to prepare for the new challenge. Zhao Feng swung his giant axe at an approaching ghost, but the axe passed right through it, causing no real damage.
"These ghosts are illusions; normal attacks are useless against them!" Zhao Feng shouted.
Upon hearing this, Huo Xiuxiu shook the bell in her hand again, and a golden sound wave spread towards the horde of ghosts. Wherever the sound wave reached, the ghosts' figures were briefly distorted, but they quickly returned to normal and continued to approach the group.
Seeing this, Ge Dalong had an idea. He conjured a special ice spike, which shimmered with blue light. He aimed at a ghost and hurled the ice spike with force. After the ice spike struck the ghost, a thick layer of ice instantly formed on its body, slowing its movements.
“We can restrain them with attacks imbued with spiritual power!” Ge Dalong shouted.
Inspired, everyone changed their attack methods. Zhang Shi used Shadow Slash to attack the ghost from a distance. He swung Old Duan, and each swing hit the ghost, leaving a crack on its body.
Huo Xiuxiu increased the intensity of the bell's shaking; the sound waves, combined with the spiritual energy attacks of the group, gradually suppressed the ghost horde.
But there were just too many ghosts, and they kept coming from all directions, and the group gradually became overwhelmed.
Just then, Zhang Shi suddenly noticed a huge stone platform deep in the valley, and on the platform seemed to be a crystal ball radiating powerful energy fluctuations. He had a strong premonition that this crystal ball might be the key to resolving the current crisis.
"Everyone, rush towards the stone platform deep in the valley! There might be a way out there!" Zhang Shi shouted.
Upon hearing this, the group charged towards the stone platform with all their might, advancing with great difficulty amidst the onslaught of numerous ghosts. Every step was fraught with hardship and danger, but their eyes showed no sign of retreat.
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