Chapter 2888: Unexpected Incident

A whistling sound tore through the air as dense streaks of golden light shot out from the void, heading straight for Gu Xiao and his group.

Gu Xiao was stunned; he had never imagined that Ai Feng would betray them.

Ai Feng had been a member of the Blood Frog tribe for over three millennia, having married and raised a family whose members still resided in the tribe's main lair. If he were to betray the tribe and side with the human race, his wife and children would undoubtedly face severe consequences.

Gu Xiao had no time to ponder; just as he was about to summon a treasure to defend himself, a man's thunderous roar echoed through the sky.

It was the Soul Suppressing Roar, a divine ability that only elite disciples of the Wang family could master.

Although the human race had attacked Blood Butterfly Valley multiple times, this was the first time cultivators from the Wang family had joined the battle, leaving the Blood Frog tribe completely unprepared.

The Blood Frog tribe's Spirit Transformation cultivators cried out in agony; some collapsed to the ground, while others simply passed out.

Thousands of hazy golden blades of light struck their bodies, immediately leaving terrifying bloody gashes. Though the Blood Frog tribe was known for its mastery of poison techniques and its tough, thick hide, they were still vulnerable.

Gu Xiao wore a cyan jade lock on his chest. As it flared with dazzling cyan light, a thick cyan barrier of light materialized in front of him. Hundreds of golden blades of light struck the barrier in quick succession, producing a series of muffled thuds.

Then, a dazzling golden giant fist descended from above, slamming into the cyan barrier. The barrier twisted and deformed, its spiritual light growing dim.

Following a loud saber hum, a hazy golden sky-cleaving saber energy swept in, striking the cyan barrier from below.

The sky-cleaving saber energy was the final blow; the cyan barrier flickered wildly before dissolving completely. The attack then struck Gu Xiao's back, but it was blocked by his magical robe.

Immediately, a dazzling golden giant fist slammed into Gu Xiao's head, sending him flying backward as he coughed up a large mouthful of blood.

Before he could even stand, a torrent of dense golden light shot towards him, piercing straight through his head.

Just as a miniature blood frog emerged from his body, a thick golden beam descended from the sky, striking it and instantly reducing it to dust.

Gu Xiao had fallen. While Wang Chuanming and Long Yunxin might not have been Gu Xiao's match in a direct confrontation, their surprise attack from the shadows led to Gu Xiao's death, filled with bitter resentment.

Wang Chuanming and Long Yunxin revealed themselves, activating their Dharma Idols to assault the Blood Frog cultivators, who were instantly thrown into disarray. Simultaneously, Su Qingheng and the others intensified their offensive.

Su Qingheng raised his right hand, and with a flash of white light, a palm-sized white seal flew from his grasp, instantly expanding as it hurtled towards the formation.

Lin Ziqi and Lin Zidun each took out a small mirror shimmering with spiritual light. After injecting their spiritual power, each mirror shot out a thick beam of fire, striking the formation.

Liu Chuanting and the others also launched their attacks, striking the formation. Their plan was to coordinate an assault from both inside and outside to eliminate the enemies at this stronghold.

With a series of loud rumblings, the formation became precarious, its spiritual light flickering erratically, appearing as if it could collapse at any moment.

Just then, a deafening peal of thunder echoed from high above. A massive golden thundercloud appeared in the sky without warning, filled with lightning and thunder.

Following the thunderous rumble, tens of thousands of thick golden lightning bolts struck down, heading directly for Su Qingheng and his companions. At the same time, a loud horn blast echoed, and a vast wave of silver sound swept in from the distance.

Su Qingheng and his group were greatly startled and quickly cast spells to defend themselves.

A tremendous explosion ensued, with various spiritual lights intertwining as tidal waves of energy swept outwards.

A silver flying boat, over a hundred zhang long, appeared high in the distant sky. Dozens of cultivators stood aboard; their physiques were generally larger than humans, with slender limbs and small, silvery-white eyes. Leading them was a robust elder in silver robes.

The silver-robed elder had a square face and large eyes, and emanated a terrifying aura, clearly indicating he was a late-stage Void Refinement cultivator.

There were seven Void Refinement cultivators alone, along with more than fifty Spirit Transformation cultivators.

"The Snow Mantis tribe! How is this possible!"

Su Qingheng paled. The Thunder Mantis tribe was a subordinate race of the Lizard clan, and Xu Xiang, the leader of the Nine Sons of Xuanqing, was assigned to deal with them. "How could the Thunder Mantis tribe have surplus forces to support the Blood Frog tribe?" he wondered. "Could Xu Xiang and his group have been defeated? That's impossible! Furthermore, if the Thunder Mantis tribe were sending reinforcements, they should have arrived via a teleportation array, not by flying over with treasures."

With no time for further thought, Su Qingheng felt a strong urge to retreat.

"Retreat, scatter immediately!"

Su Qingheng ordered, as he couldn't ascertain the enemy's strength or contact the human cultivators attacking other strongholds.

The Blood Frog tribe's seven strongholds were hundreds of millions of miles apart at their closest, rendering ordinary communication artifacts useless. Their mission was merely to harass the enemy and coordinate with Integration cultivators like True Monarch Qingyuan.

"Fellow Daoist Long and Fellow Daoist Wang are still trapped in the formation."

Lin Ziqi showed hesitation. He had a personal grudge against Wang Changsheng in the past, but that was ancient history, and the Nine Flames Sect had no direct conflict of interest with the Wang family.

Su Qingheng's expression flickered with hesitation as the ground began to shake violently. Five colossal earthen mounds swelled up from beneath the earth, moving rapidly towards them, causing mountains to crumble in their wake.

"Let them fend for themselves!" Su Qingheng commanded. "If we don't retreat now, we'll all be stuck here!"

Su Qingheng gave the order. If a Void Refinement cultivator from the Cold Flame Sect were trapped, he would naturally intervene for a while, but Wang family cultivators were a different matter. He could barely protect himself, let alone care for Wang Chuanming and Long Yunxin.

Su Qingheng retreated with the majority of their forces, while Lin Ziwei and Lin Zijing each produced a red spherical pearl and charged towards the silver-robed elder and his group.

With a thunderous roar, two colossal red mushroom clouds soared skyward.

The red fire clouds churned violently, as massive fireballs rained down, smashing into the formation. Rolling flames then engulfed the entire structure.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, Fellow Daoist Long, retreat quickly!"

After saying this, Lin Ziqi retreated with Lin Zilin. This was all they could do; at least they would have something to report upon their return.

Wang Zhongru ordered ten of her clansmen to retreat, while she and nine others summoned treasures or puppet beasts, attacking the formation to help Wang Chuanming escape.

She knew this was a dangerous move, but she couldn't bring herself to abandon Wang Chuanming and flee. They were clansmen of the same lineage.

Wang Chuanming and Long Yunxin realized the gravity of the situation and each summoned treasures to attack the formation.

Five enormous humanoid puppets each spewed a thick beam of light that struck the formation, alongside over a dozen shimmering spiritual treasures, all producing a series of muffled thuds.

The formation shook slightly. Long Yunxin then summoned a giant, shimmering golden brick and slammed it onto the formation, causing it to twist and deform, its spiritual light dimming further.

Wang Chuanming raised his right hand, and a blue spherical pearl shot out, flying directly towards the formation.

With a thunderous roar, a blinding blue light flared, engulfing a significant part of the formation.

It was a Heavy Water Thunder Pearl!

Wang Chuanming, being responsible for intelligence gathering on the front lines, had been provided with numerous treasures by his family for self-defense, including a Rank Six puppet beast, the Heavy Water Thunder Pearl, and other powerful artifacts.

If Gu Xiao had still been alive, the formation would not have been broken so quickly. However, Gu Xiao was already dead, and Su Qingheng and his group had been attacking it for some time.

With the formation shattered, Wang Chuanming and Long Yunxin broke free.

From high above, a loud peal of thunder echoed as tens of thousands of thick golden lightning bolts struck down, engulfing Wang Zhongru and her group, followed by a chorus of screams.

"No!"

Wang Chuanming was overwhelmed with grief; his spiritual sense could no longer detect Wang Zhongru or the others' auras, confirming their deaths. "Be careful, Fellow Daoist Wang!"

Long Yunxin's urgent voice rang in his ear.

With a thunderous roar, golden lightning engulfed Wang Chuanming.

As the silver-robed elder and his companions were about to employ other techniques, a man's powerful roar rang out. The silver-robed elder's brow furrowed, feeling a sudden dizziness.

A beam of light shot out from the golden lightning, and Long Yunxin also summoned a treasure to make his escape.

"Trying to run? No chance! Pursue them, don't let them get away!"