Chapter 707: Leading One Step

Chapter 701: A Step Ahead

The green flame on Zhu Erniang's claws also flared up, seemingly trying to devour flesh and blood.

"What formidable elemental power!"

He Lingchuan looked in the direction the arrow came from and saw two more figures on the mountaintop. The one holding the bow was Grand Master Qingyang!

At this critical juncture, the Celestial Palace had brought in this master of elemental force manipulation. No wonder the spiritual rain had suddenly arrived, drenching Suju quite thoroughly.

As Zhu Erniang dodged, Grand Master Qingyang immediately shifted her target, sending her arrows toward Suju. Her arrows were far superior to those of ordinary Celestial Palace guards. Once they pierced Suju, wherever the green light touched, large chunks of lava near the wound would instantly dim and crumble like coal dust.

He Lingchuan finally witnessed today the suppressive effect of elemental force on a great demon. For Suju, this was like the arrow wound suddenly becoming necrotic. Only by pulling out the arrows and digging out the green flame could new lava regenerate. Normally, it wouldn't be an issue, but during a fierce battle, it was extremely troublesome. After all, with its immense size, it would be hard for Grand Master Qingyang to miss.

In just a few breaths, she had formed a flawless partnership with Shen Yuan. Shen Yuan would pull back, and she would move in, her arrows targeting vital spots that the enemy was forced to defend. Under her interference, Suju's movements slowed, and it had to divert its attention to guard against her. This allowed Shen Yuan's severed arm another chance to regenerate.

Rage boiled in Suju's heart. With a wave of its hand, it unleashed seventeen or eighteen lava projectiles towards her, so dense they resembled a meteor shower. These were no ordinary lava projectiles; each was three zhang in diameter, resembling continuous artillery fire for a tiny human. And astonishingly, their flames were white-gold.

Grand Master Qingyang drew out a long staff and slammed it heavily onto the ground. A green barrier expanded just in time, protecting her and Bai Ziqi within its confines. The lava projectiles all smashed onto the barrier, sending dust flying, followed by countless consecutive explosions. If these had struck people, even a hundred or eighty individuals would have been knocked down.

Grand Master Qingyang was forced back several steps, her face pale. She only had a long staff; none of her usual convenient magical artifacts were with her, so her offensive and defensive options were limited. Now, she could only rely on sheer brute force to withstand Suju's attack. For cultivators, magical artifacts were essentially extensions and storage of personal abilities. With Grand Master Qingyang arriving on the battlefield empty-handed, her performance was severely limited. Still, the barrier held.

After the lava projectiles exploded, they shattered into scattered debris on the ground. Under Suju's command, they quickly reformed into over a dozen fire monster clones. It was utterly fed up with Grand Master Qingyang and wanted to keep her preoccupied.

Before the fire monsters could fully form, Grand Master Qingyang rushed forward, striking them down one by one with her staff. Any fire monster touched by her staff would shatter with a 'poof' and turn back into debris on the ground.

Seizing this opportunity, Bai Ziqi also manipulated his Lantern Spirit to transform, flying past the two battling behemoths to reclaim the shrine.

He Lingchuan quickly patted the spider demon's head. "Erniang!"

Zhu Erniang, cunning in this moment, simply shrank back behind the rock wall, not venturing out. She hissed out several strands of spider silk, sticking them to the stone base behind the shrine. With a few artful tugs—

The shrine, pulled by the spider silk, finally tumbled into the lava pool! Once it rolled in, it would become Suju's spoils of war.

Unexpectedly, Shen Yuan, in the midst of fighting, curled the tip of its tail and caught the shrine in mid-air. He Lingchuan was about to curse when the restriction on the shrine activated, severing Shen Yuan's tail. It seemed that although Shen Yuan was a fiend-beast of the Celestial Palace, the restriction on the shrine did not recognize it. He Lingchuan saw a cloud of blood mist burst from Shen Yuan's tail, and the shrine continued its descent.

Zhu Erniang suddenly said, "This monster is being controlled."

"Indeed," He Lingchuan thought. Otherwise, even if it was caught up in the frenzy of battle, why would it specifically extend its tail to snatch this object?

In less than a breath's delay, Bai Ziqi's Lantern Spirit arrived, reaching for the base of the shrine. The Lantern Spirit's form could change at will; this time, it transformed into something resembling a ghost, its body blurred, with only its hands clear and capable of extending. It had learned its lesson and dared not touch the restriction, so it merely supported the shrine's base, pushing it upwards.

If this object were to be reclaimed by the Celestial Palace, it would be disastrous!

He Lingchuan disregarded his safety, jumped onto a large rock, and pulled an object from his pocket, aiming it at the Lantern Spirit. Immediately after, an astonishingly bright, blazing white beam of light shot forth, perfectly enveloping the entire Lantern Spirit! This was the Shadow-Piercing Lamp He Lingchuan had picked up from the core of the Spirit Gathering Array. Mount Xu had used it to project the star map from inside the Spider Immortal's remains, so its brightness, intensity, and penetrating power were naturally top-notch. He Lingchuan even thought it was like a laser lamp. Most importantly, He Lingchuan had personally witnessed Zhu Erniang use it against a Lantern Spirit before, and the effect was an instant kill! Using it now against Bai Ziqi's Lantern Spirit should be very effective.

Sure enough, as the Lantern Spirit was hit by the light, its form and color immediately faded, as if it would dissipate into the white light the next moment. But its power was stronger than the previous smaller Lantern Spirit, and it struggled fiercely within the beam.

Just then, He Lingchuan's brow tingled, and a sudden warning sensation struck him. It was too late to dodge. He threw out his large shield without hesitation and crouched behind it. Grand Master Qingyang's two arrows followed swiftly, striking the shield surface. With a bang, there was an explosion. A powerful force blasted He Lingchuan, shield and all, backward, making him hit the mountain wall hard.

The Soul-Snaring Mirror shrieked, "Ouch, ouch, ouch—!" It had suffered greatly tonight, having blocked dozens of attacks, and now it had to endure Grand Master Qingyang's sneak attack. He Lingchuan's web of thumb and forefinger were split open by the impact, and his left arm was numb, almost impossible to lift.

Grand Master Qingyang's archery was formidable, but He Lingchuan felt that the "welcome" he received upon first entering Panlong City was even more impressive. That arrow had almost given him PTSD. But the question was, Grand Master Qingyang didn't look like a martial cultivator; how could her archery be so powerful? Or was it because her skill in manipulating elemental force was utterly divine? And in the midst of the chaos, He Lingchuan still pondered one thing: Grand Master Qingyang clearly shot two arrows, so why was there only one explosion?

Just as this thought crossed his mind, the mirror suddenly cried out, "Watch out in front!" No sooner had it spoken than a bowl-sized green snake emerged from the top of the shield and lunged violently at He Lingchuan's throat! This snake was an illusion formed by green light, its fangs an inch long. A bite from it would certainly not end well. Grand Master Qingyang's second arrow had conjured this very thing. The first arrow's explosion was just a feint; the second arrow was the real key to her attack! Moreover, the distance between the green snake and He Lingchuan was only a mere foot!

He Lingchuan subconsciously wanted to throw away the shield. But one second before he could swing his arm, the green snake seemed to be grabbed by something and yanked down hard— With a whoosh, it vanished from He Lingchuan's sight. He shook the shield. The green snake... was gone?

"Alright, stop shaking it," came the mirror's tired voice. "I pulled it into the mirror world; it disintegrated as soon as it entered." Once its connection with Grand Master Qingyang was severed, that bit of magical power dispersed.

He Lingchuan, hidden behind a large rock, patted the shield and let out a long breath. "Well done," he said. The Soul-Snaring Mirror's mirror world was mostly tidied up, and could occasionally take in small items. If a small item didn't want to go in, it could still forcibly pull it. However, He Lingchuan also noticed two cracks on the shield; it would probably need some time to recover later. The intensity of tonight's battle was excessive.

When the Shadow-Piercing Lamp's beam moved away, the Lantern Spirit survived, but due to He Lingchuan's interference, it failed to support the shrine. This time, the shrine finally fell into the lava pool, and several large bubbles gurgled up. This series of changes occurred within mere breaths. The battlefield was ablaze, and everyone was incredibly busy, but the shrine ultimately sank.

On the opposite side, Bai Ziqi was so furious that veins bulged on his forehead. He Lingchuan, clenching his fist hard, thought, "Good! With the shrine in the lava pool, the initiative was now in their hands! Wasn't this what they had fought tooth and nail for?"

Suju, keeping an eye on all directions amidst the fierce battle, saw the situation and breathed a sigh of relief. Disregarding Shen Yuan biting its shoulder, it embraced the beast and burrowed into the lava. Being exposed to the icy rain was truly painful, coupled with Shen Yuan's relentless attacks and Grand Master Qingyang's sneaky arrow assists. Furthermore, Suju also discovered that in the areas previously hit by the Star-Plucking Pavilion archers, the candlelight had actually transformed into light-snakes, constantly burrowing into its body! Not to mention, the attacks from the Celestial Palace's divine attendants and guards never stopped. Facing so many layers of attacks, even a powerful being like Suju couldn't endure it and desperately needed the earth fire for healing. Beneath the lava was its most advantageous main battlefield; moreover, this place was not affected by the icy rain.

But it soon discovered that the high temperature of the earth fire couldn't help it eliminate its current opponent. Shen Yuan was actually fearless of the earth's fiery core! The long fur on this creature's body wasn't burned at all; it swam in the lava as freely as in a swimming pool. Suju was both astonished and indignant: So the Celestial Palace had long been guarding against it and had somehow acquired this fire-repelling fiend-beast. It seemed that even if Saint Lord Lingxu couldn't descend to the mortal world, this battle would still be tough.

"This is trouble now," He Lingchuan said to Zhu Erniang. "Quickly find a place to hide." Previously, with two giant monsters blocking the way, no one would pay attention to them. Now both creatures were in the lava pool, leaving only them and the Star-Plucking Pavilion looking at each other across the dense fog. Once the fog dissipated, if they were still exposed within the Celestial Palace's sight, they would face boundless wrath!

Great minds think alike. No sooner had he spoken than Zhu Erniang shrank back behind the mountains, swiftly moving away from the battlefield under the cover of the thick fog. "..." He thought, *Truly worthy of an ancient demon, her self-preservation instinct is top-notch.* "Erniang," he asked, "are you and Suju truly both ancient demon immortals?" Suju almost single-handedly bore all the attacks from the Celestial Palace and the Grand Master, while Zhu Erniang hid and dodged, choosing only the best among the Thirty-Six Stratagems. Although both were considered half-immortals now, their power gap seemed quite significant, didn't it?

Zhu Erniang snapped, "I just woke up and can only use this remnant power from my exuviae. How can you compare me to a rock-fire monster born of heaven and earth? Even in ancient times, the many immortals of the Grand Returning Sect had to be polite to it!" Suju's arrogance wasn't cultivated in a day or two.

He Lingchuan had an epiphany. It seemed that even among demon immortals, there were significant differences between individuals.

Zhu Erniang asked him, "You said someone would be meeting us. Where are they?"

"I need to get the divine object before I can retreat," He Lingchuan said, then asked the little fire figure on his shoulder, "Suju, how are things under the lava pool?"

"Still working on it!" Suju's irritable voice came through the little fire figure. "Making a pact with you this time was a huge loss! You go to Tianji Peak first, where we last met!"