After defeating the guardian beast, the group's brief rest allowed them to recover some of their physical and spiritual energy. Looking at the guardian beast's massive corpse, Su Ran spoke first: "This guardian beast was so powerful; it might be hiding some treasure." Her words resonated with everyone, and they began to carefully search the guardian beast's body.
Near the guardian beast's head, Lin Feng discovered a black crystal shimmering with a faint light. The crystal was about the size of an egg, its surface bearing peculiar patterns, seemingly containing some ancient power. He reached out and picked up the crystal; instantly, a chilling aura spread from his arm throughout his body. Fortunately, he cultivated ice-type spiritual power and quickly adapted to the cold. "Everyone, come and see what this is!" Lin Feng showed the crystal to everyone.
After examining it carefully, Xuanfeng said, "This seems to be the crystal core of a guardian beast, containing most of its power. It's an invaluable treasure for cultivators. Perhaps it can be used to enhance the power of magical artifacts, or it might assist in breaking through cultivation bottlenecks." Hearing Xuanfeng's explanation, a hint of surprise flashed in everyone's eyes.
Meanwhile, the woman in white found a small black dagger under the guardian beast's claws. The dagger had an ancient design, and its blade emitted a cold, eerie luster, clearly indicating it was no ordinary weapon. She gently grasped the dagger and immediately felt a strange power surge into her body, invigorating her. The woman from the Blood Shadow Sect, on the other hand, discovered a faintly glowing scale at the wound on the guardian beast's abdomen. The scale was incredibly hard, and she struggled considerably to remove it. This scale was warm to the touch and faintly emanated spiritual energy.
The female general and the soldiers of the Zhengyang Army found some stones engraved with runes on the ground around the guardian beast. These stones varied in size, and the runes were obscure and difficult to understand, yet they faintly emanated a mysterious power. Everyone was immediately curious about the purpose of these stones.
Just as everyone was immersed in the joy of their harvest, a deep rumbling sound suddenly came from the depths of the ruins. The ground began to tremble slightly again, and the cracks showed signs of spreading. Xuan Feng's expression changed, and he said, "This is bad. It's possible that our victory over the guardian beast has triggered other changes within the ruins."
Everyone quickly became alert, carefully storing away the treasures they had just acquired, preparing to face the new crisis. Lin Feng gripped his ice halberd tightly, his eyes fixed on the depths of the ruins, ready for battle at any moment. Su Ran also held her ice sword, ice-elemental spiritual energy flowing through her body. Although Feng Wu's original power had not yet recovered, she still managed to send the five-colored phoenix flying out of her body, blue flames flickering slightly around it.
At the female general's command, the Zhengyang Army soldiers quickly formed ranks, their spears forming a forest, their morale high. The woman in white and the woman from the Blood Shadow Sect stood on either side, their magical artifacts gleaming. Xuanfeng flew into the air, using his wind-elemental spiritual power to sense the surrounding movements.
As the roar grew louder, a massive black figure slowly emerged from the depths of the ruins. This figure resembled a dragon, but possessed enormous bat wings, and exuded a chilling aura. Its eyes, like two blood-red moons, were filled with brutality and murderous intent.
"What kind of monster is this?" Su Ran asked, frowning. Lin Feng took a deep breath and said, "Whatever it is, we have already defeated the guardian beast, and we cannot retreat here." Xuan Feng shouted from the air, "Everyone be careful, this monster's aura is no weaker than the previous guardian beast."
The dragon-like monster slowly opened its enormous mouth, and a plume of black smoke billowed out. Wherever the smoke passed, the air seemed to be corroded, hissing and crackling. Seeing this, Lin Feng immediately cast an ice spell, erecting a thick ice wall in front of everyone. The moment the ice wall came into contact with the black smoke, its surface began to melt rapidly, releasing large amounts of white mist.
"This smoke is extremely corrosive; the ice wall won't last long!" Large beads of sweat appeared on Lin Feng's forehead again. He increased his spiritual energy output, attempting to maintain the stability of the ice wall. Feng Wu urged the five-colored phoenix to rush towards the black smoke, its body engulfed in blue flames, trying to dispel the smoke. However, the blue flames were also corroded to some extent upon contact with the black smoke, becoming flickering.
Seeing the dire situation, the female general shouted, "Zhengyang Army, listen to my command! Prepare your bows and arrows!" The soldiers quickly drew their bows, nocked arrows, and fired at the monster. A dense hail of arrows rained down on the monster, but most were corroded by the black smoke before they even reached it; only a few struck its body. The monster, however, seemed unfazed, letting out a deafening roar. With a flap of its enormous wings, a powerful hurricane carrying black smoke swept towards the group.
Lin Feng's ice wall collapsed under the impact of the hurricane. The group was enveloped by the hurricane and black smoke, their vision obstructed and their spiritual energy circulation becoming difficult. The woman in white and the woman from the Blood Shadow Sect joined forces to cast a spell, erecting a defensive light barrier above their heads, temporarily blocking the encroachment of the black smoke.
Under the combined impact of the hurricane and the black smoke, everyone's defensive light barrier was on the verge of collapse. Lin Feng knew that this couldn't go on, so while circulating his spiritual energy to resist the smoke's erosion, he quickly racked his brains for a solution. Suddenly, he remembered some runes and array traces he had seen in the ruins before, and speculated that there might be some hidden mechanism in the ruins that could be used.
"Listen to me, everyone!" Lin Feng shouted, his voice weak in the howling hurricane. "This ruin should have a power that can restrain this monster. We need to find relevant clues and not just attack blindly!" Hearing this, a glimmer of hope ignited in everyone's hearts, but at this moment they were trapped by black smoke and hurricane, making it extremely difficult to move.
Su Ran, on a sudden inspiration, said to Lin Feng, "I'll try using my ice-type spiritual power to freeze the surrounding smoke. Maybe that will buy us some time to search for clues." With that, she formed hand seals and released all her ice-type spiritual power. The surrounding black smoke instantly began to condense, and a thick layer of ice gradually formed, temporarily blocking the raging smoke and hurricane.
Taking advantage of this brief respite, Xuanfeng used his wind-elemental spiritual power to quickly search the air. He keenly noticed several runes on the walls of the ruins, faintly glowing, and they were remarkably similar to the runes on the stones they had previously found. "That wall over there! The runes might be the key!" Xuanfeng pointed to the wall and loudly reminded everyone.
The female general made a decisive move, leading the Zhengyang Army soldiers in a breakout towards the wall. Wielding spears, they fought desperately against the backlash of the black smoke and hurricane, forced back by the ice-elemental spiritual energy. The woman in white and the Blood Shadow Sect woman maintained the defensive light barrier from the rear, protecting everyone's retreat.
Lin Feng and Feng Wu walked side by side. Lin Feng used his ice halberd to cleave through the approaching smoke while keeping an eye on their surroundings. Feng Wu, on the other hand, commanded her five-colored phoenix to continuously unleash flames, dispelling the chill and smoke and clearing a path for them.
When the group finally reached the wall, Su Ran's ice-type spiritual power was completely exhausted, and cracks began to appear in the ice shell. Black smoke and hurricanes surged in again, and the situation was extremely critical.
Lin Feng carefully examined the runes on the wall and discovered that they formed a complex pattern resembling a compass. Remembering the rune-engraved stone he had found earlier, he quickly took it out and compared it to the runes on the wall. After some comparison, he found that the runes on the stone could be embedded in specific positions within the wall pattern.
At this moment, Su Ran's ice shell shattered completely, and black smoke and a hurricane instantly engulfed everyone. Lin Feng, disregarding everything else, quickly embedded stones into the wall. The instant the stones were embedded, the wall shone brightly, and an ancient formation slowly appeared. The formation released powerful energy, counteracting the black smoke and hurricane released by the monster.
The dragon-like monster seemed to sense the threat and let out an angry roar. It stopped releasing smoke and hurricanes and charged straight at the group. Its huge body was like a small black mountain, and wherever it passed, it trampled large craters into the ground.
Lin Feng and the others were enveloped in the light of the formation, temporarily protecting them from the black smoke. However, facing the monster's direct attack, they still dared not let their guard down. The female general directed the soldiers to quickly adjust their formation, forming a tight circle with their spears pointing outwards, attempting to withstand the monster's onslaught.
The monster slammed into the circular formation, the immense impact sending the Zhengyang Army soldiers staggering backward, many bleeding from the mouth. Seeing this, Lin Feng, Feng Wu, Xuan Feng, Su Ran, and the two women unleashed their strongest spells to attack the monster.
Lin Feng's ice halberd erupted with a dazzling blue light, and a huge ice dragon flew out from the tip of the halberd, pouncing towards the monster; Feng Wu commanded the five-colored phoenix, causing the flames around its body to burn to their extreme, transforming into a five-colored stream of light that shot towards the monster; Xuan Feng condensed countless sharp wind blades, like a group of deadly hidden weapons, flying towards the monster's vital points; Su Ran, despite consuming a great deal of spiritual energy, still exerted all her strength, condensing sharp ice spikes under the monster's feet; the woman in white and the woman from the Blood Shadow Sect were not to be outdone, each unleashing powerful attack spells, and for a moment, light flashed and the roar of various spells was deafening.
The monster trembled violently as it was struck by the group's attacks. Several of its black scales were bitten off by the ice dragon, its wings were scorched by the flames of the five-colored phoenix, wind blades left wounds on its body, and ice spikes pierced its feet. However, the monster was extremely tenacious. Ignoring its injuries, it opened its blood-red maw again, preparing to launch a new round of attacks.
Just then, the array on the wall shone brightly, and a golden beam shot into the sky, striking the monster directly. Enveloped by the beam, the monster roared in pain, its body writhing violently. Its power seemed to be gradually weakened by the array, and a hint of fear appeared in its previously ferocious eyes.
As the array's power continued to act, the monster's body gradually became transparent, eventually turning into a wisp of black smoke and dissipating into the air. Calm returned to the ruins, the black smoke and hurricane...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com