&nbs......But just after a short walk, the trees around them began to twist as if alive, stretching out their sturdy branches to sweep over the crowd. Mo Wenjie bellowed a command, drawing his spirit sword from its sheath. A sword qi sliced through the branches that approached, cutting them off. The others also quickly reacted, casting spells to defend themselves.
At this moment, the ground suddenly cracked open, and a massive earth-elemental monster burst forth from the earth. Its figure was as massive as a mountain, with a pair of copper bell-sized eyes that glowed with ferocity. Mo Wenjie surged forward first, leaping into the air with his entire body and pointing his sword at the vulnerable spot of the monster. Ding Qingyao and others coordinated their actions perfectly; some cast binding spells to restrict the movements of the monster, while others unleashed offensive spells to assist Mo Wenjie.
Mo Wenjie's sword pierced the monster's body, sending up a cloud of dust. The monster, in pain, went into a frenzy and struggled fiercely. However, with everyone pulling together and continuously adjusting their strategies, Mo Wenjie unleashed even greater strength, ultimately successfully slaying the beast. As the beast fell, the path ahead became clear again. Looking at each other's messy yet determined expressions, the group smiled and continued to advance confidently in the direction of protecting the righteous path of heavenly realms.
Before the group had time to relax for long, the sky suddenly darkened, with thick clouds and thunder rolling. A dark silhouette dived down from the clouds at an incredible speed. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an eagle-shaped beast exuding a darkness aura. It let out a shrill scream, and its sound waves spread out towards the group as if they were tangible.
Mo Wenjie formed hand seals, raising a spiritual energy shield to protect the others. Ding Qingyao's eyes narrowed, and she began to dance her hands, releasing several spiritual vines towards the eagle beast. The eagle beast spread its wings and sent a powerful gust of wind that dispersed the vines. Mo Wenjie seized the opportunity and transformed into a beam of light, charging towards the eagle beast in mid-air and engaging in a fierce battle. Other cultivators below continued to cast various spells to support Mo Wenjie.
Mo Wenjie felt the overwhelming strength of the eagle beast before him, its aura far surpassing any beast he had encountered before. At this moment, he had multiple wounds bleeding profusely on his body, but he dared not let his guard down for a moment.
At this crucial moment of life and death, Mo Wenjie had no hesitation in taking out a precious healing pill from his pocket and swallowing it whole. As soon as the pill dissolved in his mouth, a surge of powerful medicinal energy spread throughout his body rapidly. He could feel that the exhausted force within him began to recover at an incredible speed.
Mo Wenjie, gritting his teeth and enduring the pain, gathered the force that was surging within him into his longsword. In an instant, the sword light burst into a fierce glow, as brilliant and dazzling as a blazing sun. Following that, he bellowed loudly and unleashed a legendary sword technique that had never been seen before.
The sword glowed with a dazzling light that was mesmerizing, as if it contained boundless power. When the blade of light touched the eagle beast's defenses, it pierced through as easily as a hot knife through butter.
The eagle beast was clearly unprepared for Mo Wenjie's lethal move and it opened its eyes wide in terror, emitting a shrill and despairing shriek. Then, it fell straight down towards the ground as if it were a kite with a broken string. As the fearsome and menacing eagle beast finally crashed to the ground, Mo Wenjie and Ding Qingyao could not help but breathe out a long sigh of relief. The tension that had been gripping them had finally eased slightly at this moment.
Ding Qingyao, standing beside him, gently patted her chest as if to soothe her heart, which was pounding rapidly due to tension. Her beautiful face still bore traces of shock, but her eyes shone with determination.
Huang Ling'er, excitedly waving her sword in the air, shouted loudly, "We did it!" The clear and melodious sound echoed in the air, lifting everyone's spirits and making them feel a lot more relaxed and joyful.
Jiang Yu and Xiao Yaowen exchanged glances, both of their eyes reflecting relief after narrowly escaping danger and anticipation for the future. They nodded slightly, then together looked at the fallen eagle beast's body on the ground. In their hearts, they pondered about the challenges that might lie ahead.
Ding Yan crossed her arms and beamed with pride on her face. Tuobaying Yingying and Qin Xiaodie were gathered together in low whispers, occasionally erupting into tinkling laughter.
Cao Chunling wiped away the sweat on her forehead, gasping for breath as she said, "This battle was truly not easy……"
Ling Xue stood silently in place, the breeze gently caressing her hair, enhancing her ethereal beauty. She gazed into the distance, lost in thought.
Liu Chuandong clutched his fists tightly, his eyes resolute as he said, "Although we defeated the eagle beast this time, our mission is far from over." His words rang out like a bell of warning to the group.
Indeed, although they had just defeated a powerful enemy, the road ahead of them still held many unknown dangers. However, at this very moment, these brave and fearless people showed no signs of retreating.
After a brief rest and adjustment, Mo Wenjie and Ding Qingyao and their group regained their spirit, stepping forward with resolute determination, unflinchingly continuing their long journey to safeguard the righteous path of the heavens.
The group moved along the mountain path, and not long after, a patch of mist appeared before them. From within the mist came the melodic sound of a flute, which was enchanting and seemed to have a magical allure. Mo Wenjie became alert and warned everyone to be cautious. Ding Qingyao cast a divination spell but found that her magic seemed to vanish into thin air with no response.
As the group hesitated, a group of white-clad humanoid beings emerged from the mist. Their faces were as pale as snow, but their eyes were terrifyingly red. Mo Wenjie tried to attack them with his spirit sword, but it did not harm them. At this moment, Huang Ling'er remembered the records in ancient books and whispered, "These might be the Phantom Tribe. Ordinary attacks are ineffective; we need to break the core of their dream world."
The group began to search for the core, and Ding Yan accidentally touched a stone that glowed faintly. Mo Wenjie realized that this was the core and struck it with all his might, shattering the stone. The Phantom Tribe instantly dissipated, and the mist dispersed as well. The group exchanged smiles, knowing that there would be more challenges ahead but understanding that as long as they remained united, nothing could hold them back.
Walking along, the group arrived at a valley. The valley was filled with a strange fragrance, which Mo Wenjie felt was hiding something sinister. Suddenly, many colorful butterflies surged out from all directions. They appeared beautiful but emitted a dangerous aura. These butterflies danced around the group, and with their wing flutters, they released tiny wind blades. The group hurriedly used their martial arts to resist. Ding Qingyao summoned spiritual fire to try to scatter the swarm of butterflies, but they were too agile, and it was difficult to injure them at all.
As the group was some confusion, Mo Wenjie noticed that the butterflies were all coming from the deep part of the valley. He guessed that there must be something strange there, so he led the way to go deeper into the valley. The more they walked, the more dense the butterflies became. When they were approaching a cave, Mo Wenjie saw a plant with seven colors of light inside, surrounded by butterflies that seemed to be protecting it. Mo Wenjie thought maybe solving this plant could solve the crisis. He ignored the danger and charged into the cave, and the others followed him, joining forces to fight against the butterflies.
As Mo Wenjie approached the sacred herb, he discovered that it was not an evil entity but merely its own spirituality attracting the butterflies. Mo Wenjie wrapped the sacred herb with spiritual energy, sealing it temporarily. Without a target to focus on, the butterflies flew away one by one, allowing the group to continue their journey forward.
The group pressed deeper into the valley and suddenly heard the sound of running water. Following the sound, they discovered a silver stream, with water that exuded a chill. Mo Wenjie reached out to touch it and felt an ice-cold sting that seemed to freeze his meridians. Ding Qingyao took out a treasure and dropped it into the stream, where it instantly formed a layer of frost. Just as they were puzzled, a whirlpool rose from the water, emerging several small creatures with crystalline shapes.
These small creatures bared their teeth and let out ice spikes from their mouths, trying to intimidate the group of cultivators. Mo Wenjie used his spiritual energy to heat his palms, catching the ice spikes and throwing them back at the creatures. The creatures agility allowed them to dodge the attack, but they did not give up and charged towards the group. The cultivators combined their spells, creating a fire barrier that made the creatures hesitant, though they were still determined to breach it.
Mo Wenjie scanned his surroundings and noticed a few special stones by the streamside, inscribed with ancient runes. He guessed that these small creatures might be connected to the runes, so he charged over to examine them. The creatures saw this and attacked him frenziedly.
Ding Qingyao and the others hurried to block the creatures, and after Mo Wenjie deciphered the runes and chanted several incantations as instructed by them, the creatures ceased their attack and slowly retreated back into the stream, disappearing. The group heaved a sigh of relief, having overcome another difficulty. They continued forward, ready to face whatever new challenges lay ahead.
As the group had just taken a few steps forward, the ground beneath them shook violently. The ground rippled like waves, and cracks began to spread across the surface. Many black beetles, each about the size of a fist, began to crawl out from the cracks, swarming towards the group in a dense mass. Mo Wenjie let out a low shout and waved his spirit sword, unleashing arcane energies that pushed the beetles flying. However, Ding Qingyao noticed that after being repelled by the attacks, the beetles would quickly regroup and surge forward again. Huang Ling'er's thoughts clicked into gear as she produced a piece of talismanic paper and ignited it with fierce flames. The beetles were momentarily halted by the heat but quickly gathered into a large ball and rolled towards the group to crush them. Just as they were about to face this new challenge, the beetles suddenly coalesced into a massive ball and rolled towards them, crushing everyone in its path.
Mo Wenjie's eyes narrowed, and he and Ding Qingyao simultaneously struck out, combining their efforts to unleash a powerful spiritual energy blast that shattered the beetle ball in an instant, completely eradicating the troublesome swarm of beetles.
Mo Wenjie, Ding Qingyao, Huang Ling'er, Jiang Yuruo, Xiao Yaowen, Ding Yan, Tuobaying Yingying, Qin Xiaodie, Cao Chunling, Ling Xue and Liu Chuandong. The group paused for a moment to regroup before continuing their journey deeper into the valley. They walked carefully and cautiously step by step, but they had no idea what challenges lay ahead.
