"Don't open your eyes! Whatever you do, don't open your eyes!"
Zi Linling prayed silently in her heart.
But as it often happens, what you fear the most is precisely what comes to pass.
Just as Zi Linling was anxiously praying, the giant eyes of the Chaotian Hou moved.
"Not good!"
Zi Linling inwardly cursed and quickly shouted, "Ye Lingyuan, hurry!"
Ye Lingyuan, already battle-hardened, didn't need Zi Linling's reminder and dashed towards her.
However, the Chaotian Hou was too enormous to be scaled quickly.
The moment he stepped onto the Chaotian Hou's body, its eyes snapped open.
A fierce glare shot from its eyes, the terrifying aura causing the surrounding magnetic field to churn.
"Roar roar roar..."
A series of earth-shattering roars vibrated, threatening to rupture eardrums.
Despite its colossal size, the Chaotian Hou was incredibly agile.
It leaped up swiftly, its tail whipping with a mighty sweep, flinging Ye Lingyuan, who had just climbed onto its body, off.
Then, it opened its massive maw, and a beam of energy shot towards Ye Lingyuan.
Though Ye Lingyuan's ears were momentarily deafened, his combat experience kicked in, and his Potian Sword was already in his hand.
"Potian First Stance!"
With a roar, his sword light met the energy beam.
This Potian First Stance was the first move of the thirteen Potian stances, a sword art that came with the Potian Sword after he broke through to the Small God Realm.
As he had never encountered a worthy opponent before, his Potian Thirteen Stances had remained unused.
Now, facing the powerfully combatant Chaotian Hou, he dared not underestimate it and immediately unleashed the Potian First Stance.
The Potian First Stance collided with the energy beam, erupting with even greater power.
"Boom!"
A mushroom cloud soared into the sky, kicking up dust and stones, plunging the surroundings into darkness.
Ye Lingyuan was propelled back a dozen steps by the energy storm before he could steady himself.
The Chaotian Hou, however, fared no better. A wound about ten feet long appeared on its massive body, bleeding profusely.
After the energy storm subsided, the ground within a five-hundred-mile radius appeared to have been shaved off, forming a massive crater.
Zi Linling, having reached the other side of the Chaotian Hou's body, was shielded from the energy storm by its immense form and thus remained unharmed.
Even so, the recent collision had sent her heart into her throat.
Though Ye Lingyuan's blood and qi churned, he had managed to shed most of the energy by retreating, so he was not injured.
But the Chaotian Hou, now wounded, became ferociously enraged.
It spun its body violently and lunged at Ye Lingyuan.
A flicker of excitement appeared in Ye Lingyuan's eyes.
"Potian Second Stance!"
A sword light, even larger than before, slashed towards the Chaotian Hou.
Having suffered a blow earlier, the Chaotian Hou was naturally unwilling to clash directly with Ye Lingyuan again.
With a light leap, it evaded the sword light and lunged at Ye Lingyuan once more.
The power of laws surged around Ye Lingyuan, and he leaped onto the Chaotian Hou's back.
By then, the sword light of the Potian Second Stance had already struck the ground, gouging a hundred-foot-deep trench.
Having missed its attack, the Chaotian Hou became even more furious.
It twisted its body forcefully, trying to shake Ye Lingyuan off.
But Ye Lingyuan's feet seemed to have taken root, and no matter how much it shook, he stood firm.
Seeing that twisting its body was ineffective, the Chaotian Hou began to charge wildly, attempting to dislodge Ye Lingyuan through violent jolts.
The power of laws surged around Ye Lingyuan again, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared on the Chaotian Hou's neck.
He grabbed hold of the Chaotian Hou's shaggy fur, maintaining his balance on its neck.
"Roar roar roar!"
Having expended a lot of energy without achieving its desired effect, the Chaotian Hou grew even more enraged.
It suddenly stopped and rolled onto the ground, its back on the earth and its belly facing upwards.
If it had landed firmly, Ye Lingyuan would have been crushed beneath it, becoming a flattened mess.
But would Ye Lingyuan let it have its way?
Certainly not.
The power of laws surged beneath Ye Lingyuan's feet, his position constantly shifting, yet he never left the Chaotian Hou's neck.
Unable to succeed, the Chaotian Hou began to roll on the ground.
But no matter how it thrashed about, Ye Lingyuan remained as calm and unruffled as ever.
"Potian Third Stance!"
Ye Lingyuan seized an opportunity and slashed downwards towards the Chaotian Hou's belly.
Sensing danger, the Chaotian Hou quickly rolled its body, attempting to shield its belly.
Although its belly was covered by thick scales, it dared not take Ye Lingyuan's strike head-on.
However, the direction it rolled was precisely towards Zi Linling.
Zi Linling's attention had been solely on Ye Lingyuan, so when she saw a "mountain" descending upon her, it was too late.
Though she held a scalpel in her hand, there was no time to attack.
She thus employed the Illusory Dragon Step to its utmost, trying to escape the area covered by the Chaotian Hou's body.
But the Chaotian Hou was too large, and it seemed about to crush her beneath its belly.
"I'll risk it!"
Zi Linling gritted her teeth, advanced instead of retreating, and nimbly moved to the side of the Chaotian Hou.
Then, her Illusory Dragon Step shifted constantly, and by the time the Chaotian Hou lay down, she had reached its back.
Ye Lingyuan's sword missed again, and another hundred-foot-deep trench appeared on the ground.
"Lin'er!"
He could no longer concern himself with attacking the Chaotian Hou and channeled the power of laws around Zi Linling, teleporting her to his side.
"Ye Lingyuan, stop fighting it, let's head directly for the spatial passage!" Zi Linling said urgently.
"No! No matter how fast we run, we can't outrun its devouring power!"
Ye Lingyuan replied with a solemn expression.
They were currently on the Chaotian Hou's back, so it couldn't lock onto them, and its devouring power was rendered ineffective.
But if they tried to escape, it would create an opportunity for the Chaotian Hou to lock onto them.
At that point, its devouring power would erupt, and they would have no means to resist.
After all, even dragons found it difficult to withstand the Chaotian Hou's devouring ability, which was why there was the saying of "roaring and eating dragons."
"Then what do we do? This thing is invulnerable and incredibly agile, making it difficult to land a fatal blow!"
A hint of gravity also appeared in Zi Linling's eyes.
The reason Ye Lingyuan's first strike had wounded the Chaotian Hou was because it had just woken up and its body's defensive functions were not yet at their peak.
Furthermore, the Chaotian Hou had been caught off guard, not taking Ye Lingyuan seriously at all, which had given Ye Lingyuan his chance.
Now, the Chaotian Hou was thoroughly enraged, its body's defenses fully activated, leaving no opportunity to wound it again.