Chapter 864: Unexpected Guest

"Keep going! Don't let it breathe!" the young man surnamed Fang roared, urging his blood sword to stab deeper.

The Kui Dragon still possessed the strength to resist; countless bolts of lightning surged into its wound, preventing the blood sword from penetrating further. Therefore, the young man surnamed Fang recalled the blood sword and, with the cooperation of Qin Sang and the others, continued his assault.

The Kui Dragon struggled to parry, its wounds increasing in number. These were no longer mere superficial cuts; each one was deep enough to expose bone, leaving behind residual vital energy that caused continuous bleeding and prevented recovery.

The battle continued, but the outcome was already decided. Qin Sang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

During the fierce fight, their true essence was constantly being absorbed by the crystal tablet. Qin Sang's Corpse Elixir had been depleted, forcing him to activate his own Golden Elixir. The others, having no external elixirs to draw upon, had expended even more energy. They had been worried earlier, but seeing victory finally within reach and the treasure about to be theirs, their faces relaxed into smiles.

Outwardly, the young man surnamed Fang appeared extremely excited, his eyes glinting with greed, but inwardly, he was tense, his very body taut.

No one noticed that while attacking the Kui Dragon, his peripheral vision constantly darted towards the area outside the island, in the direction the Kui Dragon had appeared, as if waiting for something.

The others, oblivious, continued their fierce assault on the Kui Dragon. The cage tightened its grip.

Ma Debao urged the young man surnamed Fang not to hold back, but to fully activate the blood sword and kill the Kui Dragon as quickly as possible.

The Kui Dragon's resistance began to weaken; victory seemed imminent. Just then, several points of light suddenly flickered in the distant dark clouds, clearly visible in the night, flying towards the battlefield at an extremely high speed.

"Stop, all of you!" A loud shout echoed from afar, faintly audible amidst the stormy, rainy night.

The group almost simultaneously noticed the points of light and immediately recognized them as cultivators' escape lights. Moreover, the approaching cultivators were strong, at least at the Core Formation stage.

Hearing the shout, everyone instinctively slowed their attacks, looking at each other with expressions of surprise and tension.

In the open sea, with no one to restrain them, snatching prey from another's jaws was a common occurrence. Their hunt for the Kui Dragon, though fierce, hadn't taken much time thanks to their thorough preparations. The battle itself wasn't slow, yet they hadn't expected it to attract other cultivators, and such powerful ones at that!

Qin Sang and the others all looked at the young man surnamed Fang. The newcomers were clearly hostile and powerful; if they intended to contest for the Kui Dragon, another fierce battle would be unavoidable.

They had been operating the Freezing Gale Formation for so long that their true essence was significantly depleted. After the Kui Dragon died, its entire carcass would belong to the young man surnamed Fang, and they would get nothing. No one wanted to risk their lives fighting strangers when they were not in top condition. Furthermore, the Kui Dragon was not yet killed; facing both it and these newcomers simultaneously would put them in a dire situation, pressured from within and without.

The young man surnamed Fang clutched the blood sword, remaining silent, his gaze fixed on the approaching escape lights.

In a stretch of sea far from the small island, several black-robed figures lurked beneath the water.

Their bodies blended with the seawater, rising and falling with the surface, their aura extremely subtle. Through the water, they could vaguely discern the battle unfolding on the island.

At this moment, they also noticed the unwelcome guests.

"They're here!" The Second Senior Brother's voice was low as he transmitted a message to the others, "Quick! Activate the Beast King Banners!"

Without a word, everyone sat cross-legged beneath the water, forming a circle. Around them, numerous banners appeared out of thin air; they had been there all along, rotating around the group. The banners were made of golden material, each depicting a different demonic beast on its surface. Counting them carefully, there were no less than eighty-one banners!

Under their activation, the demonic beasts on the banners seemed to come alive, emitting silent roars, and a strange power quickly linked all the banners together.

Among these people, each controlled a portion of the banners, but the Second Senior Brother controlled the most—twice as many as anyone else—and was clearly struggling, his breathing heavy.

"Second Senior Brother, there aren't any Nascent Soul old monsters among them, are there? What if... what if Senior Brother gets into trouble?" After setting up the formation, they remained still, waiting for the opportune moment, when a junior disciple timidly asked.

The Second Senior Brother glared fiercely. "Don't jinx it! With Senior Brother's wisdom, how could he not be prepared? If there were truly a Nascent Soul old monster, Senior Brother would have long since escaped! From now on, everyone, fully activate the Beast King Banners. Remember, don't let a single person escape!"

"Understood!"

On the small island, everyone looked at the young man surnamed Fang, awaiting his decision.

The young man surnamed Fang's face turned pale then flushed, as he glared fiercely at the incoming escape lights. He commanded the blood sword to fiercely stab the Kui Dragon, while also shouting sternly, "Kill!"

"The newcomers are fast and strong. I'm afraid we won't have enough time to kill the Kui Dragon..." Qiu Ji spoke up, reminding the young man surnamed Fang.

The other four remained still. The Freezing Gale Formation rotated on its own, its cold energy trapping the Kui Dragon, but without further suppressing it. Without the cooperation of the Freezing Gale Formation, the blood sword's power couldn't be fully unleashed. Under the Kui Dragon's desperate counterattacks, the blood sword's efforts repeatedly failed.

As the eye of the formation, Chu Heng sat cross-legged on the crystal tablet, operating the spiritual array with his eyes tightly closed, not saying a word. Ma Debao's eyes darted around, giving Qin Sang and the others a meaningful glance, and then voiced his agreement with Qiu Ji's assessment. Luo Kun, who had always been taciturn, also spoke up.

Qin Sang lightly coughed and echoed their sentiment. He was in good condition, and while the unfamiliar cultivators weren't so strong as to make him flee at first sight, he wasn't about to fight strangers for no reason either. The reward the young man surnamed Fang had promised was merely for killing the Kui Dragon, not for engaging in a conflict with other cultivators.

The young man surnamed Fang, with an angry expression, his face grim, stared at each of them in turn. After a moment of silence, he said, "If we kill this beast, I will only take one dragon tendon. The promised reward will be paid in full, and the rest of its body will be equally divided among the five of you. How about that?"

Hearing this, everyone exchanged glances, their hearts stirred. The most valuable treasures on the Kui Dragon were its demonic core, along with its dragon tendon, bones, and hide. The young man surnamed Fang asking for only the tendon, and even offering to share the demonic core, showed considerable sincerity. The Kui Dragon's demonic core likely contained abundant thunder force, making it extremely rare. Whether used to refine magical artifacts similar to thunder beads or sold to lightning cultivators, its value would far exceed that of other demonic beasts.

They were all seasoned veterans, highly decisive individuals. With hardly any hesitation, they agreed, pressing their palms firmly onto the crystal tablet, and surges of powerful true essence gushed forth.

Outwardly angry, the young man surnamed Fang was actually very calm. He snorted inwardly, said no more, and silently urged the blood sword to press its attack.

The Kui Dragon was immediately in peril. Its injuries grew more severe, its lightning aura dispersed, and wounds covered its body. Its massive form was almost entirely dyed red with blood, a truly tragic sight.

Qin Sang and the others intensified their assault. The Kui Dragon steadily retreated, even being knocked down from high altitude, emitting a mournful cry. The distant approaching cultivators noticed the Kui Dragon's condition and were filled with alarm and fury.