"BOOM!!!"
A purple lightning bolt, like a dragon emerging from the sea, streaked down from the snowy sky directly toward Zhou Liudian.
The lightning moved with blinding speed, here and gone in an instant.
Zhou Liudian swung his massive sword fiercely, generating a sharp sword aura that met the heavenly thunder head-on.
With a crisp "CRACK!", the colossal sword collided violently with the lightning, erupting in a dazzling explosion of light.
Within the radiance, the thunderbolt was split cleanly in half, dissipating to both sides.
Yet the moment Zhou Liudian blocked the lightning, a blur flashed before his eyes.
Before he could identify it, a middle-aged cultivator in black robes materialized before him like a ghost.
The cultivator wielded a gleaming silver serpent spear, its icy tip thrusting straight for Zhou Liudian's throat.
"THUNK!"In that single exchange,
a bloody hole appeared in Zhou Liudian's throat.
He staggered backward.
For a Transformation Spirit realm cultivator, such a wound wasn't immediately fatal.
But before Zhou Liudian could react,
two heavy crossbow bolts simultaneously pierced his arms.
His face contorted in agony as guttural noises escaped his lips.
A massive Golden-armored Guard materialized midair, blocking Zhou Liudian's retreat path.
The guard's appearance drained all color from Zhou Liudian's face.
Yet before he could devise a countermeasure,
the Golden-armored Guard raised its warblade without hesitation.
Zhou Liudian had no time to dodge - he could only watch helplessly as the blade descended upon him.
"CRASH!!!"
The warblade struck Zhou Liudian with devastating force, slamming him into the frozen ground.
Blood trickled from his lips as he struggled to rise and escape.
At that moment,
the crossbow-wielding military cultivator smirked coldly and lightly flicked his weapon.
Instantly, countless bolts rained down like locusts, blanketing the area.
"WHIZZ! WHIZZ! WHIZZ!!"
The arrows struck the ice with piercing shrieks.
Yet this was merely the beginning - more bolts poured down endlessly, leaving no room for evasion.
Zhou Liudian's body trembled violently under the barrage,
soon resembling a pincushion.
Blood gushed from his wounds, staining the surrounding snow crimson.
This time, there would be no escape - his life ebbed away in the arrow storm.
"............"
Military cultivators.
This was one of the few times Li Xuanxiao had witnessed them fighting at full strength.
Under their coordinated assault, Zhou Liudian hadn't lasted ten breaths.
Now it was Zhang Zi and Li Xuanxiao's turn.
Seeing their overwhelming numbers and power, Zhang Zi forced a smile.
"I say gentlemen, we Hehuan Sect members are famously tight-lipped. A delicate flower like me would never gossip."
"Only the dead don't talk."
Zhang Zi's face darkened.
Muttering, she complained: "How ruthless... men truly are vile creatures. That palm strike nearly killed me..."
Her only allies were Li Xuanxiao and the Goddess of Wealth.
Their strength paled in comparison.
She glanced at the Goddess of Wealth,
hoping the legendary figure might have some miraculous plan.
But Zhang Zi quickly realized her mistake.
This "Goddess" was clearly just a young girl.
Rumors said after the previous Snowveil Commerce Goddess of Wealth passed,
his granddaughter had inherited the position.
The rumors appeared accurate.
As Zhang Zi suspected,
this wealthy but inexperienced Goddess,
while not exactly a spoiled young mistress
(otherwise she wouldn't have boldly ventured into this frozen secret realm),
had never anticipated such danger on her first expedition.
She'd planned a grand adventure, sneaking away to hunt the Frost Venom Toad,
only to encounter disaster immediately.
The Goddess now regretted trusting Wang Hu's "righteous" reputation.
For days she'd felt guilty about initially suspecting his deceitful nature.
Escape?
How?
Fighting was impossible.
Flight their only option.
Ironically, their strongest member Wang Hu had orchestrated this ambush.
The Goddess touched her storage ring - against two opponents, her treasures might buy freedom.
But four?
Unless... unless Li Xuanxiao and Zhang Zi could buy her enough time.
Fidgeting with a spirit stone, she calculated her options.
"Friends, today none of us escape alone. Only united might we survive.
Snowveil Commerce will richly reward you afterwards."
Zhang Zi scoffed: "Reward? With what? At this point?"
If not for this unlucky Goddess, they wouldn't be in this mess.
Hearing the blame but lacking time to argue, the Goddess turned pleading eyes to Li Xuanxiao.
"Well? What do you say?"
Li Xuanxiao ignored her.
Frustrated and desperate, she tossed several precious spirit stones.
"More awaits if we succeed!"
Still no response. Li Xuanxiao's gaze remained fixed on the Golden-armored Guard above.
Clad in magnificent gold armor, it radiated divine majesty.
Before the guard could move, Li Xuanxiao struck first.
His right hand flicked upward like a ghost, launching two silver needles with terrifying speed.
The needles shrieked through air, piercing the supposedly impregnable golden armor instantly.
As they penetrated,
black poison mist erupted from the punctures,
swiftly engulfing the guard.
The virulent fog corroded even the divine armor,
leaving it dull as weathered bronze.
Wang Hu gaped in shock.
This seemingly ordinary team member attacked with such vicious precision.
As Li Xuanxiao dodged past the Golden-armored Guard,
Wang Hu shouted: "He's escaping!"
No sooner had he spoken than
an icy hand shot up, seizing his ankle.
"THUD!!"
Wang Hu was yanked beneath the frozen surface.
Mechanical chains instantly coiled around him,
forming an inescapable prison.
Li Xuanxiao emerged from the trap.
"Over here!"
The serpent-spear cultivator teleported before him.
Too fast to evade.
Li Xuanxiao could only take the blow.
"SLASH!"
Blood sprayed.
Before the attacker could smirk,
the blood splashing his protective aura began sizzling violently.