As Kuang Batian's words fell, everyone except Su Min turned their cold, murderous gazes toward the small group of followers who had stubbornly trailed behind them. At this moment, those stragglers seemed like glaring eyesores, witnesses who needed to be eliminated.
"Hmm."
Seeing the four late stage Divine Transformation experts' bloodthirsty stares, the trailing cultivators wisely turned tail and fled without a second thought. Now that a real treasure had appeared, it was time for the big shots to clear the field. They understood the rules of this world.
Anyone who had played games like Legend in their youth knew this rule, it was best not to linger when the bosses started their real fight.
"At least they have some sense."
Kuang Batian watched the fleeing crowd with complete indifference. What happened here today could not be leaked to the outside world. As for the others, they were afraid these stragglers might try to ambush them or steal the treasure during the heat of battle.
"How do we attack this thing? Who among us is actually good at defense?"
Once the scavengers were gone, Liu Xunhuan looked at the group, his expression serious. His signature Yin Yang Dual Cultivation Art was not suited for pure defense. Without someone reliable to hold the stone demon's attention, he would not be able to fight effectively.
A Dao Comprehension stage stone spirit was not something any of them could underestimate, except perhaps the enigmatic Su Min.
"I will take the front. But you all have to break its shell. Just saying this upfront, I might not be able to hold it off completely, and I will not sacrifice myself for you."
Su Min glanced at the others, her tone flat. If they kept dragging their feet and holding back, who knew how long this would take? She wanted to deal with that Five Elements Sacred Body quickly and claim all the Five Elements Crystals here for herself.
If necessary, she might even have to use the Future Maitreya Bell, her Emperor grade artifact. Though she could only activate its full power once a month, this situation was potentially worth it.
"Since Miss Le is willing to take the front, we will naturally give it our all."
Seeing Su Min take on the most dangerous role, the others were inwardly overjoyed, except for Kuang Batian, who felt something was off. No one who reached this level of power was an idiot. If Su Min was this enthusiastic, what was her real goal?
But there was no time to dwell on it further,
BOOM!
The earth shook violently as the stone spirit finally sensed the group's concentrated killing intent. Multicolored, chaotic light erupted from the massive crystal on its back, raining down on them like a furious elemental storm.
"Watch out!!!"
Kuang Batian shouted in genuine alarm. The creature had no intelligence, it acted purely on instinct and would attack anything with hostile intent. Even he, with all his power, could be killed by a direct hit from its full force.
"Sand Shield."
Su Min reacted far faster than him. A torrent of purplish gold sand surged from the gourd on her back, forming a massive, domed barrier above their heads just as the devastating attacks landed.
Squelch!
The sand shield instantly bulged inward in multiple places, groaning under the strain. It could not fully block the barrage, but it bought just enough time for everyone to scatter to safer positions.
BOOM!!!
A series of deafening explosions rocked the entire area. Though the main attacks missed them, the resulting shockwaves made the entire Five Elements Mountain tremble violently, leaving the group swallowing hard in fear.
During their earlier battle with the smaller creatures, they had not used their real trump cards, but they had still gone all out by normal standards. Yet even then, they had not been able to shake the foundational mountain range like this.
The fleeing cultivators in the distance shuddered in renewed fear, the big shots were about to go truly all out.
"Sand Prison!!!"
Su Min suddenly slammed her palm onto the ground, unleashing a massive surge of spiritual power. The earth beneath the stone spirit erupted violently, countless sandy hands grabbing its limbs and launching the massive creature bodily into the air. The group exchanged quick, determined glances, seeing their chance,
BOOM!!!
A kaleidoscope of their strongest attacks bombarded the suspended stone spirit, filling the sky above the Five Elements Mountain with violently clashing energy. The deafening explosions made the stone spirit roar in pain and rage. The tortoise like shell on its back, where the crystal was embedded, glowed brilliantly once more as it prepared another counterattack.
"Disperse."
Su Min abruptly canceled her sand technique. The massive stone spirit, suddenly losing its sandy support, plummeted back to the ground, only to be punched upward again by giant stone fists erupting from the earth below. Under this clever, repeated assault, the stone spirit was flipped unceremoniously onto its back, its limbs waving helplessly in the air like an overturned turtle.
BOOM!
The pent up energy it had gathered erupted from its chest, but this time, thanks to Su Min's maneuvering, the blast did not target the group. Instead, it exploded uselessly against its own back and the ground beneath it.
Crack. Crack.
Tiny, spiderweb like fissures spread across its once impenetrable shell. A mindless creature like this was easy to manipulate for someone of Su Min's tactical mind, she could have dealt with it even before reaching the Dao Comprehension stage.
"Now is our chance! Aim for the cracks!"
The group did not have time to marvel at Su Min's quick thinking. They immediately focused all their subsequent attacks on the newly formed fractures.
"ROAR!!!"
The stone spirit's agonized screams filled the air as its massive body twisted in pain. Chunks of rock and crystal fell from its form, but the real danger was the cracks spreading across its back.
If those shattered completely, it would be fatal.
"Increase the firepower! Do not let up!"
Seeing this, the group attacked even more fiercely. Meanwhile, Su Min used tendrils of sand and summoned stone pillars to pin its limbs firmly in place. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead, she had to keep up appearances and show strain. If she suppressed a Dao Comprehension stage stone spirit effortlessly, it would be far too suspicious.
"Hurry up! I cannot hold it much longer!"
Su Min cursed, letting frustration color her voice. The moment she spoke, the sandy and stone restraints on the stone spirit's limbs shattered with a loud crack. The enraged creature scrambled furiously to its feet,
And the front of its chest shell split open, revealing a glowing, crystalline orifice that looked like the barrel of a massive energy cannon.
"!!!"
Su Min's eyes widened in genuine alarm. Without a moment's hesitation, she vanished from her spot in a blur of motion,
WHOOSH!!!
A thick beam of condensed, multicolored energy shot across the sky where she had just been standing. It was so fast it traversed the entire visible horizon of the continent in an instant before vanishing into the distant ocean with a sizzle.
Countless people in nearby cities looked up in shock and confusion. Ordinary civilians only saw a bright streak of light, but cultivators of all levels broke out in cold sweat, some even wet themselves in sheer terror.
The attack had not been aimed at them, but the residual aura felt like a spiritual nuclear explosion detonating overhead. It might not kill them directly, but the sheer, overwhelming terror it inspired was paralyzing.
"What kind of attack was that?!"
The group's scalps tingled with fear. They could all tell, that single strike had far exceeded their own defensive limits. A direct hit would have annihilated them completely, leaving no trace behind.
"Where is Miss Le?"
Only then did they realize the attack had been aimed squarely at Su Min and she was nowhere to be seen. Without her to hold the stone spirit back now, they would be in serious danger. If not for her quick thinking in baiting its attack, they would still be chipping away at its shell like scraping a dead fish.
"Pah."
Su Min's voice rang out weakly as she crawled out of a nearby ditch, covered in mud and debris but seemingly unharmed. She had barely dodged in time, using the terrain to her advantage.
That cannon blast had been nearly instantaneous. If she had reacted even a fraction of a second slower, she would have taken a direct hit. Even with her true power, she did not dare to face that kind of concentrated elemental fury head on. It would not kill her, but it would definitely leave her severely injured and blow her cover.
"Stop staring! While it is stunned from that massive attack, hit it now! It cannot fire again so quickly!"
Su Min's sand warrior reappeared beside her, its dark bow glowing ominously as it prepared to strike. The others did not dare hesitate further, this was a temporary alliance of necessity. If the battle turned decisively against them now, they would scatter like rats to save their own skins. And if that happened, none of them might survive another point blank blast.
So, in the next moment, dazzling lights of various colors gathered before each of them as they prepared their ultimate, most powerful attacks. The sky above the Five Elements Mountain churned violently with the gathered energy. A visible hurricane of spiritual energy erupted from the center of their battle, sweeping outward in all directions.
Those who had barely escaped to the periphery earlier now trembled in renewed fear. News of several Divine Transformation experts teaming up to enter the mountain had already spread like wildfire. This was the true power of late stage Divine Transformation cultivators in a serious battle, far beyond what any of them could hope to withstand.
"Heavens, thank goodness I ran. If that attack had landed anywhere near us, even the aftershocks would have made me wish for death."
"So this is the true might of Divine Transformation experts, I, I overestimated myself..."
The group that had fled to the outskirts stared in awe and terror. They had escaped just in time. If they had been caught in that maelstrom, they would have been reduced to spiritual dust.
Back at the stone spirit's location, everyone's attention was fixed on the momentarily dazed creature. This combined attack would surely finish it off, and the magnificent crystals on its back would be their spoils of war.
But,
Whoosh!
In that critical instant, as they were about to release their attacks, Kuang Batian's gathered energy suddenly dissipated into nothingness.
"Brother Kuang???"
The Skeletal Sect Leader, Gu Hai, stared in shock and confusion. This was the perfect, agreed upon moment to kill the stone spirit, why had Kuang Batian stopped? If their combined attacks were not enough, they would all be in terrible trouble.
But then, something even more shocking happened.
Kuang Batian, moving faster than anyone but Su Min could perceive, appeared directly before Gu Hai and slammed a palm blazing with dark energy into his chest.
"You, URGH!!!"
Blood sprayed from Gu Hai's mouth as he was sent flying backward like a meteor, crashing with a sickening crunch into a distant cliff face. His voice, filled with utter disbelief and fury, echoed weakly through the air before being cut off.
"AHHH!!!"
Another scream followed immediately. Liu Xunhuan's chest was pierced by a withered, skeletal hand from behind before he could even react to the betrayal. Then, his head was grabbed by a second dark appendage,
Crunch. Crunch. Crack.
The horrifying, wet sound of chewing and bone breaking filled the suddenly silent air. In mere seconds, the powerful Liu Xunhuan had been utterly devoured, body and soul.
"!!!"
The remaining two sect leaders, Tian Mengchan and the now terrified other leader, were frozen in shock. It had all happened too fast, a perfect ambush. They hastily aborted their own attacks, the spiritual backlash surging painfully through their meridians.
Su Min reacted the fastest, redirecting her nearly loosed arrow away from the stone spirit and toward the mysterious assailant,
BOOM!
The dark arrow exploded against the figure, giving the other two a precious second to retreat to Su Min's side. Amid the dissipating energy, Gu Hai, already grievously wounded by Kuang Batian's betrayal, was seized by a dark purple energy hand and dragged into the shadows.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
The sound of relentless chewing resumed, followed by a satisfied sigh.
"Who, who are you?!"
Tian Mengchan's famed composure finally shattered completely. Her face twisted in pure horror as she stared at the emerging figure. The stone spirit, now strangely suppressed by some unknown force, lay motionless on the ground, ignored.
"Kuang Batian! What is the meaning of this?!"
She also turned her fury and terror toward Kuang Batian, who now stood coldly and calmly in the background, a faint smile on his lips. The entire scene was utterly surreal, a nightmare come to life.
"Munch, munch, delicious. Very tasty. Little girl, your reflexes are truly impressive. But there is something strange about your aura, No matter. You will make an excellent final meal."
A dry, raspy voice emerged from the fading energy fluctuations. An elderly, gaunt man with sunken eyes and parchment like skin stepped forward, licking his lips and eyeing Su Min like a rare, spiritual delicacy.
"Hmph."
Su Min merely snorted coldly, her mind racing. Before she could formulate a response, Kuang Batian burst into obsequious laughter.
"Congratulations, Master, on such a fine feast! Three late stage Divine Transformation cultivators will surely restore much of your power!"
"Hahaha! You have done well, my disciple. I am most pleased."
The old man laughed heartily, clearly thrilled with his "meal." But his laughter abruptly froze, cutting off into a choked gurgle,
Because a hand sheathed in burning black energy had pierced clean through his chest from behind.
And that hand belonged to Kuang Batian.
This sudden, ultimate betrayal left everyone, even the two remaining sect leaders, completely stunned and speechless, their minds struggling to process the layers of treachery.