Chapter 752: Chapter 752

The Earth-Elemental Flags surged forward, slamming into the ancient barrier. The impact met with fierce resistance.

The yellow light surged like crashing waves, pounding against the barrier without pause, nearly submerging the stone hall. The ground trembled ceaselessly, and rumbling echoed from beneath the earth. Though everyone struggled to remain seated, they still held firmly to the Earth-Elemental Flags, maintaining the spiritual array.

Moments later, a promising sign appeared. The ancient barrier began to violently tremble, and its glow gradually dimmed.

Seeing this, Xiang Yi’s expression lit up with joy. He shouted urgently, "Fellow Daoists, keep going! Pour your full strength into the Earth-Elemental Flags!"

Qin Sang and the others had no choice but to increase their output.

Endless waves of earth-elemental energy surged from the earth veins and poured into the formation. The tremors beneath their feet intensified, as though a real earthquake were erupting. The thunderous noise was deafening, and cracks began to split across many of the surrounding stones.

Then, Xiang Yi suddenly extended a hand and pressed down hard on his triangular flag. In an instant, light burst forth in a blinding flash, shooting out like an arrow.

Boom! A thunderous blast erupted as the ancient barrier was pierced, opening a circular breach.

However, the ancient barrier was far from simple. After being pierced by the Earth-Elemental Flag, runes began to flicker around the opening and slowly pushed back the yellow light, beginning a gradual self-repair.

Xiang Yi’s face tensed at the sight. He dared not hesitate any longer. Withdrawing his hand, he said quietly, "Fellow Daoists, maintain the Earth-Elemental Flags. I’ll return shortly."

With that, Xiang Yi left the flag behind, leapt forward, and in a flash appeared before the barrier. He vaulted through the breach and disappeared inside.

Once he retrieved the treasure, the task would be complete.

This thought rose in everyone’s mind, and their expressions eased slightly.

Just then, Qin Sang suddenly furrowed his brow and instinctively glanced down at the ground.

Due to the Earth-Elemental Flags, the ground had been quaking constantly. Especially around their positions, cracks had formed across the stone, though they had posed no real issue.

It looked the same as before. Yet for some reason, Qin Sang felt something was off, though he couldn’t explain why.

The ground continued to shake.

But now, beneath the tremor, there came a strange rhythm, like something pulsing from within.

Qin Sang’s expression changed sharply. Just as he was about to shout a warning, the ground beneath him suddenly exploded without the slightest sign.

The blast erupted directly underfoot, catching them completely off guard. A powerful shockwave burst from underground, tearing the ground apart in an instant.

None of them had any time to react.

Stones flew in all directions, chaos erupted.

At the heart of the explosion, a deep pit appeared, and from within, a slender figure shot into the sky like a frenzied Jiao. The portion exposed above ground was nearly one zhang long, and the length buried beneath remained unknown.

No one had noticed that this ferocious beast had somehow crept right beneath them!

Because the triangular flag at the Array Eye was no longer being maintained, and the Earth-Elemental Flags had been focused solely on the ancient barrier, they had no defenses in other directions. The array was destroyed almost instantly, and everyone was caught in the blast and sent flying with cries of shock, scattered in all directions.

Qin Sang quickly activated the Golden Radiance Armor to block the impact, but he still felt a tightness in his chest.

This beast’s strength was definitely on par with a late-stage Demonic Core Realm demonic beast!

What was worse, everyone had been blown apart and was now outside the Bone Lotus’s protection. The Purple Mist came crashing down like a wave. Qin Sang immediately felt a sharp sting on his skin and hastily activated his protective spiritual light. His true essence began depleting rapidly.

He was just about to summon the fat silkworm and regroup with the others when a strong wind suddenly surged from above. He looked up instinctively, and his expression changed drastically.

For some reason, the Purple Mist above his head had thinned, revealing countless dark silhouettes in the air. It was a massive flock of Purple Star Eagles!

Judging by the sheer number, they might have mobilized their entire nest.

They had used Purple Mustelids as bait and easily shaken off the Purple Star Eagles after crossing the gorge. Never had they expected that the eagles had never given up the chase and had tracked them all the way here.

And now, they had drawn so close before anyone even noticed.

In hindsight, it was not surprising. The Earth-Elemental Flags had caused too much commotion, masking not only the movements of the underground beast but also drowning out the sound of the eagles’ wings.

Here, under the shroud of poisonous mist, they could not see outside. Nor dared they extend their spiritual consciousness. Their spiritual senses were nearly useless, leaving them as good as blind.

Now they could not even hear properly. It was no wonder danger had crept so close without detection.

Before activating the Earth-Elemental Flags, they had set up several warning barriers, yet for some unknown reason, not a single one had triggered.

Now beasts swarmed from above and below. They were caught in a pincer attack. Chapters fırst released on noveⅼfire.net

The Purple Star Eagles glared down in unison, eyes filled with fury, their gaze utterly deranged. The surging currents of air tore the Purple Mist apart, replacing it with a sky densely packed with Purple Star Eagles. There were so many that they blotted out the heavens.

The Purple Star Eagles let out furious screeches, as if consumed with hatred. One after another, they dove with reckless abandon, hurling themselves downward like suicidal missiles.

At the sight of this, everyone turned pale with terror. Qin Sang felt a chill run down his spine.

He was positioned closest to the front and was the first to be targeted by the Purple Star Eagles.

The others were not faring much better. Still reeling from the underground beast’s ambush, they had barely regained their footing when the sky above was filled with descending eagles. In the blink of an eye, they were completely engulfed by the swarm.

"The stone hall... Regroup..."

That was the last thing Qin Sang vaguely heard, a desperate cry from the cultivator surnamed Liu. Then all traces of the others vanished, and his vision was filled with nothing but a tide of Purple Star Eagles.

Now scattered, each person had to fight alone. Whether they could even break through the encirclement was uncertain. Even if they managed to evade the eagles, there remained the threat of the poisonous mist seeping into their organs, killing them with toxin before they could escape.

If Xiang Yi reacted quickly enough, he should have exited the stone hall when the chaos began. The Bone Lotus was in his hands. Only by regrouping with him could they hope to survive.

At this point, Qin Sang no longer had the energy to ponder why the underground beast and the Purple Star Eagles had both appeared here at the same time.

The sharp cries of the eagles were enough to split his eardrums. One Purple Star Eagle spread its talons and lunged at Qin Sang’s face.

In haste, a flash of light erupted between Qin Sang’s eyebrows. The ebony sword shot out like lightning, piercing through the eagle’s body. Sword qi exploded, tearing its corpse into shreds.

Unfortunately, the other Purple Star Eagles were completely unfazed. Witnessing the death of their kin did not evoke fear or hesitation. They had abandoned all concern for life and death. In their eyes, there was only slaughter.

Qin Sang’s expression darkened. He pointed at the ebony sword and triggered the sword array, slashing down several nearby eagles. Yet each time he carved a path open, it was quickly filled again.

He frowned inwardly. Though he appeared swift in slaying these beasts, it was not effortless.

Worse still, he had to continuously circulate his true essence to resist the poisonous mist, making him shine like a beacon in the eyes of the Purple Star Eagles. There was no way to hide himself. At this rate, it would only be a matter of time before he was exhausted and killed.

I wonder how the others are doing. Qin Sang thought grimly as he manipulated the ebony sword to continue cutting down enemies. At the same time, he struck the insect basket at his waist and opened it.

The fat silkworm awakened and leapt into Qin Sang’s palm. Its plump body twisted from side to side, but it showed no hesitation upon sensing the surrounding mist. Instead, it opened its mouth and spat out a seven-colored halo.