Slender willows sway in the breeze

Chapter 161 Departure from Burial Valley

Liu Sijun then activated the Taixu Mirror once more, and beams of runic light shot out from the mirror, accurately striking the bat monster's vital points.

Min Rui formed hand seals and chanted incantations. Suddenly, the ground rose up, forming sharp rocks that pierced towards the bat monster.

Tong Lei's long sword burst into flames, and with a roar, he charged into the horde of bat monsters, engaging them in close combat.

However, these bat monsters are extremely cunning. They move nimbly through the air, avoiding the attacks of the crowd, and occasionally spraying venom.

One of the Nascent Soul stage experts was unable to dodge in time and was splashed on the arm with the venom. He immediately let out a scream, and a black corrosive mark quickly appeared on his arm.

"Quickly take the antidote!"

Upon seeing this, Liu Sijun hurriedly took out a pill from his mustard seed and threw it to the expert.

After taking the pill, the expert's complexion eased slightly. He endured the pain and continued fighting the bat monster.

Just as everyone was locked in fierce combat with the bat monster, suddenly, dark clouds filled the sky, and a huge black lightning bolt ripped through the sky, striking straight down at them.

This black lightning contained immense destructive power; wherever it passed, the air was torn apart, leaving black cracks.

"Oh no, everyone get out of the way!"

Gu Changzhou shouted, and everyone used their movement techniques to scatter in all directions.

The black lightning struck the ground, instantly creating a huge crater, and the powerful impact scattered the surrounding bat monsters.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, everyone went all out and finally wiped out the entire group of bat monsters.

But before they could catch their breath, another series of heavy footsteps sounded in the distance, as if some enormous monster was approaching them...

As the heavy footsteps drew closer, the ground began to tremble slightly.

Everyone's expressions turned solemn as they gripped their weapons tightly and focused intently on the direction from which the sound came.

A monster as large as a mountain slowly appeared before them. It resembled a bear, its body covered in black scales that shimmered with an eerie luster in the dim light.

The monster's eyes were the size of lanterns, radiating a bloodthirsty red light. Its enormous mouth was large enough to swallow a person whole, and its fangs were interlocked, sending chills down one's spine.

"What...what kind of monster is this?"

Gao Kuo swallowed hard and said in a low voice. Tong Lei frowned, a hint of seriousness flashing in his eyes: "This is probably an ancient remnant species, and its strength should not be underestimated. Everyone must be careful and not underestimate it."

The monster seemed to sense the threat posed by the group, and it raised its head and let out a deafening roar, its voice like rolling thunder, making everyone's eardrums ache.

Before the roar had even faded, it strode forward on its powerful limbs, charging towards the group like a moving mountain.

Gu Changzhou shouted, "Everyone, hold your ground and follow my instructions!"

As he spoke, he channeled the power of the stars, causing the sword to gleam brightly as he unleashed "Star Shattering the Sky," sending a massive sword aura imbued with the power of the stars hurtling towards the monster.

The sword energy streaked through the air like a meteor, emitting a sharp whistling sound, and struck the monster's chest directly.

However, the monster's black scales were extremely hard, and when the sword energy struck, it only left a shallow mark on the scales, failing to cause any substantial damage.

The monster, in pain, roared angrily and suddenly increased its speed, instantly appearing in front of the group. It raised its enormous bear paw and slammed it down on Gu Changzhou.

Gu Changzhou dodged the fatal blow with a swift movement, as if he were a ghost.

The bear's paw slammed into the ground, instantly creating a huge crater and sending dust flying. At the same time, Liu Sijun activated the Taixu Mirror with all his might, and beams of runic light containing powerful spiritual energy shot out from the mirror, heading towards the monster's eyes.

Sensing danger, the monster quickly closed its eyes. Runic rays struck its eyelids, sending sparks flying. Min Rui rapidly formed hand seals, chanting, "Earth's power, imprison in the rocky prison!"

The ground beneath the monster's feet suddenly rose up, and huge rocks firmly bound the monster's limbs.

The monster struggled fiercely, making cracking sounds as if it might break free at any moment.

Seizing the opportunity, Tong Lei poured all his spiritual power into the longsword, causing it to burst into flames. He roared, "Blazing Flames Slash the Sky!"

A massive fiery blade of energy slashed towards the monster's neck.

The monster roared and forcefully broke free from the rocks, dodging the blow by sidestepping.

Upon seeing this, Gao Kuo swung his longsword, sending a sharp sword aura piercing towards the monster's leg.

The monster kicked, scattering the sword energy.

Just as everyone was locked in a stalemate with the monster, Liu Sijun suddenly noticed a tiny gap between the scales on the monster's abdomen, which seemed to be its weak point.

A thought struck her, and she hurriedly shouted to Gu Changzhou, "Changzhou, there's an opening in the monster's abdomen, attack there!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Changzhou immediately activated his Star Power and charged towards the monster like lightning.

He spotted the opening in the monster's abdomen, and with his sword shining brightly, he unleashed his strongest attack, "Starfall Annihilation."

A sword aura containing powerful stellar energy, carrying a world-destroying momentum, hurtled towards the monster's abdomen.

At the same time, Liu Sijun activated the Taixu Mirror again, and a powerful beam of spiritual energy shot out from the mirror, striking the monster's abdomen together with Gu Changzhou's sword energy.

The monster let out a shrill scream as its abdominal scales were torn open, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

The others seized the opportunity, unleashing their unique skills to attack the monster. Under their combined assault, the monster's body began to sway precariously, finally collapsing to the ground and dissipating into a cloud of black smoke.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they looked at the fallen monster.

"Is everyone okay?"

Gu Changzhou looked at everyone and asked, and everyone said that there was nothing seriously wrong.

“Then let’s move on. Time is of the essence. Xuanji Hall may already be on its way to the Blood Spirit Source.”

Gu Changzhou said with a solemn expression.

The group continued along the winding path deeper into the Valley of Burial Spirits. The eerie atmosphere in the valley grew stronger, and the surrounding mist seemed to be tainted by some evil power, becoming even thicker and making it almost impossible to see.

As we walked, a stone forest suddenly appeared ahead.

These stones come in various shapes; some point straight to the sky like swords, while others are twisted like cursed souls.

A strange fluctuation permeated the stone forest, making people feel vaguely uneasy.

Min Rui frowned and carefully sensed the stone forest as he circulated his spiritual energy: "This stone forest is strange. Everyone be careful and do not act rashly."

Tong Lei gripped his longsword tightly, a hint of wariness flashing in his eyes: "Whatever strange things they may be, we'll just have to be careful."

Gu Changzhou nodded, signaling everyone to slow down and enter the stone forest.

(End of this chapter)