Although Lu Xueqi's cultivation level was extremely high, she had not been cultivating for long and lacked experience in fighting others.
As the head of the Blood Refining Hall, Elder Nian naturally had some skills. Even though the Crimson Demon Eye was useless against Tianya, he still managed to fight Lu Xueqi with various spells without being at a disadvantage!
Unfortunately, seeing his three subordinates either dead or fleeing, he dared not linger any longer. Instead, he fought and retreated, moving towards the inside of the cave in an attempt to escape.
"Senior Sister Lu, I'm here to help you!" Zhang Xiaofan immediately brandished his Hongyu Sword, ready to step forward and lend a hand!
But Lu Xueqi glared at him and said coldly, "Don't interfere! I'll deal with him by myself!"
Seeing Zhang Xiaofan standing there in a daze, Li Ling stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "It's alright. Xueqi is just unhappy because we've all dealt with our opponents, while she hasn't been able to defeat hers yet. Let's not interfere and just watch Xueqi unleash her power!"
Lu Xueqi snorted, and the Tianya Sword in her hand shone even brighter, constantly pushing back the eldest brother who had lost the will to fight. Soon, the group arrived at an extremely bright space—the Abyss of the Dead!
At this moment, the eldest brother seized the opportunity and shot out several red beams from his giant eye, striking Tianya. Lu Xueqi's body paused slightly, while he used the force of the attack to fall backward and leap into the deep, bottomless Abyss of the Dead!
"Hahaha, I'm not playing with you kids anymore!" With a triumphant laugh, Old Man Nian's figure disappeared into the Abyss of the Dead!
"Damn it!" Lu Xueqi was furious. She gritted her teeth and was about to chase after them when Li Ling grabbed her and advised, "Don't chase after them. This place is the Heartless Sea, which is extremely vast. Moreover, we don't know how many demons are inside. Going down rashly could be dangerous!"
"But..." Unable to move due to being pulled by Li Lingqiang, Lu Xueqi bit her lip, clearly unwilling!
“Alright, this Boss Nian is their leader, so it’s not surprising that he’s quite capable. Even if we didn’t catch him this time, we’ll have another chance later.” Li Ling said, pulling Lu Xueqi back to keep her from acting impulsively.
Beneath the Abyss of the Dead lies the Black Water Serpent. Now that Li Ling's cultivation has reached the Upper Clarity Realm, he can only be confident in protecting himself at most. If he were to encounter it, escaping would not be easy.
Seeing that Lu Xueqi had given up the pursuit, Li Ling finally let go of her hand and laughed, "Alright, the Blood Refining Hall has been defeated by us, and our mission is almost complete. Let's go out and wait to meet up with Master Faxiang and the others!"
"ah!!"
No sooner had Li Ling finished speaking than a shrill scream suddenly echoed from within the Abyss of the Dead…
The eldest brother, who had just escaped, flew back up, his face filled with panic and fear. He didn't even care about Li Ling and the others, and quickly ran towards the cave exit, as if there was an invincible ferocious beast behind him!
Upon seeing Elder Nian return, Lu Xueqi's eyes lit up. The Tianya Sword flashed, and with a 'whoosh', she pierced Elder Nian's chest with a single sword strike.
The eldest brother stared at the divine sword that had pierced through his chest. His distorted face flickered across Lu Xueqi's for a moment, then lingered on the faces of Li Ling and the other two, before he gave a bitter laugh and said, "You will all die..."
As he spoke, his head lolled to the side, and he died instantly!
Zeng Shushu asked curiously, "What does he mean?"
"Not good!" Li Ling's expression changed at this moment, and he immediately grabbed Lu Xueqi and shouted, "Retreat quickly!"
Before Zhang Xiaofan and Zeng Shushu could react, an unbelievably large black shadow flashed by, and with a deafening roar, the Abyss of the Dead collapsed, even snapping the cliff where Li Ling and the others were standing in half, sending them plummeting downwards.
"This is the Blackwater Serpent!!"
Below, in the pitch-black abyss, two enormous, eerie green lanterns flickered, their narrow pupils chilling and piercing, making the four of them shudder.
"You guys retreat first!" Li Ling said, throwing Lu Xueqi back onto the cliff above. At the same time, he cast a spell at Zhang Xiaofan and Zeng Shushu, knocking them back to their original ground. He then merged with his sword and charged towards the Black Water Serpent!
"You all retreat outside first. I'll distract the Blackwater Serpent, then we'll find a chance to leave!" After leaving these words, Li Ling slashed the Blackwater Serpent's head with his sword.
With a loud 'clang,' the Dragon Slayer Sword merely sliced through a patch of scales on the Black Water Serpent's body, penetrating only a few inches into its flesh. To the Black Water Serpent, this was hardly an injury.
"Hiss~~!"
However, Li Ling's actions enraged the Black Water Serpent. With a terrifying roar, a huge shockwave knocked Lu Xueqi, who was trying to catch up, back down. Meanwhile, Li Ling took the opportunity to venture deeper into the Abyss of the Dead.
At this moment, Zeng Shushu hurriedly called Zhang Xiaofan to pull Lu Xueqi away, and Li Ling didn't have time to think about what would happen to them next. Instead, he used all his strength to activate the Dragon Slayer Sword to escape and try to shake off the Black Water Serpent that was chasing closely behind him.
To Li Ling's surprise, he had only gone a short distance when he heard a voice beside him shout, "Junior members of the Qingyun Sect, don't move! The Black Water Serpent loves to kill its fleeing prey. Just wait until it gets tired of playing with them, and it will retreat on its own!"
Li Ling hurriedly turned his head and saw Bi Yao and You Ji standing in the corner, but the six people he had seen earlier were nowhere to be seen, presumably having met with a terrible fate.
Youji was hoping that the Blackwater Serpent would retreat on its own, after all, such a strange beast of heaven and earth was beyond human power to contend with.
Looking at the two of them, countless thoughts flashed through Li Ling's mind, but in the end he shouted loudly, "You two go first! I'll hold off this Black Water Serpent!"
After speaking, Li Ling twisted his body, dodging a pounce from the Black Water Serpent behind him. The Dragon-Slaying Sword instantly flew into his hand. Holding the sword with both hands, he chanted the Divine Sword Thunder Control Technique he had just learned—
"Nine Heavens Mystic Temple, transformed into divine thunder. The majestic might of heaven, drawn forth by the sword!"
As the incantation was recited, the weather on the merciless sea instantly changed, and a dark, deep vortex slowly appeared in the sky, with streaks of silver lightning dancing wildly and muffled thunder rumbling.
"Snap!!"
With a deafening roar, a bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, landing on the Dragon-Slaying Sword in Li Ling's hand.
The next moment, a thick, blinding bolt of lightning shot from the tip of his sword toward the Blackwater Serpent!
"boom!!"
A surge of seawater erupted, and even the Black Water Serpent was fiercely repelled by this ultimate technique of the Qingyun Sect. A charred electric mark was clearly visible on its body, and charred, cooked flesh could be faintly seen inside.
But that was all. Li Ling's cultivation was still shallow, and even the Divine Sword Thunder Control Technique couldn't seriously injure this ancient beast!
"roar!!"
The Blackwater Serpent was clearly hurt. It roared angrily, its massive tail lashing out, creating a colossal wave that swept towards Li Ling! (Wish Star of All Realms and Heavens)
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Chapter 354: A Desperate Escape
Faced with the giant tail that was being swung at him, Li Ling had no time to dodge. Immediately, a precious light appeared on his body. It was the Six Harmony Mirror that he had obtained as the first place winner of the Seven Veins Martial Arts Tournament. The precious light protected him.