As the giant rolling stones continued to approach, Chu Tianshu let out a humph. "So arrogant and presumptuous, clearly someone from the Demonic Sect. Most likely they barely escaped from Senior Brother and dare to seek revenge. They're tired of living!"
Lu Jixing looked at the man in black and couldn't recognize him. "Who are you? State your name if you dare!"
"You don't even recognize this young lord!?"
Fan Tian, suspended in mid-air, narrowed his eyes, a torrent of rage erupting. Feeling deeply humiliated, he raised his arm and menacingly declared, "Since that's the case, then all of you shall die!"
The rolling giant stones suddenly accelerated, their deafening rumble encircling Su Luo and the others.
Watching the approaching stones, Sun Lulu and the other outer disciples felt their blood run cold as they simultaneously charged upwards. However, the moment they lifted off, the surrounding mud and stones transformed into tentacles, wrapping around their legs and forcefully pulling them down.
"Not good, he has earth elemental talent!" Su Luo understood the man in black's abilities.
To cultivate earth elemental talent to this extent, controlling so many giant stones, this person was surely no ordinary figure. Could he be one of the Eight Envoys?
She had no time to ponder further. Several muddy tentacles had already coiled around her ankles.
"How disgusting, so slippery!"
Su Luo unleashed a palm strike downwards, and the muddy tentacles exploded.
Splattering mud flew everywhere, then coalesced again, continuing to wrap around her. Su Luo dodged continuously, the muddy tentacles dispersing only to reform, clinging to her like an unkillable monster, preventing her from escaping.
"Not good!"
If she didn't evade now, once those giant stones rolled over, everyone would be crushed into meat paste.
In this moment of crisis, Su Luo activated the Divine Seal Technique.
An invisible force, like ripples, spread outwards. Centered on her, the mud within a ten-zhang radius suddenly froze in mid-air.
Drips of muddy water, clumps of mud, and tendrils of slime all hung suspended, as if time had stopped. The others landed on the ground, their movements unaffected, their faces filled with astonishment, completely unaware of what had happened.
"How… how could this be…" Lin Yao was dumbfounded.
Su Luo sternly commanded, "What are you waiting for? Hurry and evade!"
This time, the area of effect was too large, the targets too many. It cost her a full three years of her lifespan and most of the spiritual energy within her, leaving her nearly depleted. If she hadn't had the Spring of Life and elixirs to replenish herself, she wouldn't have dared to waste it like this.
The others reacted, and all of them soared into the sky, finally escaping the encirclement.
Boom, boom, boom…
In the next moment, the sound of a terrifying explosion echoed from behind them.
Over a dozen thousand-jin giant stones collided, shattering with a roar. Endless fragments shot out like cannonballs. The shockwave whistled past, and even though the others had fled quickly, they were all sent flying far away.
Chu Tianshu and the other inner disciples were fortunate, as they possessed protective artifacts and remained unharmed. However, several outer disciples fared poorly, crashing heavily into the muddy ground, writhing in pain, and transforming into mud-covered figures.
Su Luo also wore a protective ring she'd found somewhere, remaining unaffected.
"They're still alive even after all that!"
Fan Tian's eyes narrowed. He had expected to eliminate everyone from Qingxu Heaven with one move, but not a single person had been harmed.
He didn't understand why he had lost control of the mud earlier; the sensation drove him mad. If not for that brief pause, no one from Qingxu Heaven would have escaped.
Such an unexpected turn of events was unprecedented. Fan Tian's enraged expression turned cold, and his hands glowed with spiritual light once more.
"Not good!" Su Luo felt the ground beneath her loosen and quickly took flight.
The originally solid ground, though muddy, had been somewhat stable to stand on. Now, it had completely melted into a mire of mud, with all the wild grass and stones sinking beneath.
Chu Tianshu exclaimed in alarm. The moment he stepped down, he began sinking uncontrollably and quickly flew up again.
Lu Jixing and the others also took to the air. However, they couldn't sustain themselves in the air for long. Once their breath ran out, they would fall and be swallowed by the mud pit.
"Hahaha… Do you know how powerful this young lord is? Today, all of you will die!" Fan Tian, suspended in mid-air, arrogantly curved his lips, laughing coldly as if he could already foresee his targets' demise.
Just then, Zhan Li waved his hand and released his spirit pets.
Golden Griffins and Firebirds flew out, lifting everyone. At this critical juncture, these flying spirit pets became the best aerial transport, preventing them from falling.
A killing intent flashed in Fan Tian's eyes. With a wave of his hand, black tentacles rose from the mud pit once more, lashing out at the spirit pets.
"Die! Stop prolonging your agony!" he sneered.
Muddy tentacles flew everywhere. The Golden Griffins and Firebirds dodged continuously, the people on their backs panicking. Wen Ruchu and Sun Jian were terrified to death, wondering who this man in black was, with such formidable abilities.
He must be at least a Spirit King, right?
If this continued, they would only perish here, swallowed by the mud pit.
Suddenly, a dazzling beam of light descended, illuminating the sky.
"Fan Tian, it's you!"
Li Tianjue's icy voice resonated in everyone's hearts. At the crucial moment, he had finally returned.
Having no time to deal with the others from Qingxu Heaven, Fan Tian, upon seeing Li Tianjue appear, immediately formed his hands into claws, his face contorted in a ferocious expression. He lunged viciously towards Li Tianjue. "You've finally shown yourself, Li Tianjue. This young lord has been waiting for this moment for a long time. Die!"
Boom!
Black mud surged into the sky, like a tidal wave, rushing towards Li Tianjue.
Chu Tianshu and the others, riding their flying spirit pets, immediately flew far away. Watching Li Tianjue and Fan Tian engage in battle, with tentacles swirling and spiritual light flashing, emitting terrifying waves, it was completely different from their own desperate evasion just moments before.
This was a battle of equals!
Su Luo felt a sense of relief. "Fourth Senior Brother, it's a good thing you have so many flying spirit pets. Otherwise, we'd all be in trouble."
Zhan Li's lips curled into a slight smile, but he remained silent for a long time.
A hundred zhang apart, the others watched Li Tianjue and Fan Tian's battle, immensely curious about the identity of this man in black.
"So he's Fan Tian!"
Chu Tianshu exclaimed in surprise, "He is the only son of Moluo Jia, the lord of the Dark Demonic Ridge. I never expected him to have earth elemental talent and such terrifying cultivation. A few years ago, Senior Brother defeated him once, and he wasn't Senior Brother's match then, but managed to escape. In just a few years, he's become so powerful."
Watching the fierce battle in the distance, Li Tianjue had already unleashed his most potent secret art, Mirror Flower Water Moon.
At times, mirror reflections would appear, causing tentacles and spiritual light to penetrate and then refract, appearing in opposite directions. Flowers would vaguely manifest in the void, beautiful yet deadly, their falling petals carrying fatal killing intent.
The two fought to a standstill. It was evident that Fan Tian was a formidable opponent for Li Tianjue!
Su Luo frowned slightly.
No wonder the young lord of the Dark Demonic Ridge dared to come in person without bringing any lackeys; it was a testament to his absolute confidence in his cultivation and abilities. However, for them, this presented a good opportunity to capture him.
How could she help Li Tianjue?
If she didn't get closer, even with her killer move, the Divine Seal Technique, she couldn't execute it. But with such a great distance between them and such an intense battle, she had only just broken through to the Venerate realm. If she got even a little closer, she would likely be annihilated into dust.
Alas, she had cultivated so diligently, yet she still couldn't match others.
It seemed there was only one way.
Su Luo's eyes flickered, and she suddenly leaped from the Golden Griffin, soaring forward.
Chu Tianshu and the others were startled and shouted, "Junior Sister, what are you doing? Come back quickly!"