Su Xi looked at the scene before her with a hint of helplessness on her face.
Myriad demons and monsters appeared like bamboo shoots, densely surrounding them and leaving them no room to retreat.
Moreover, each of these figures had a cultivation level of at least the Nascent Soul stage, with many even having reached the Integration stage, or even the Great Ascension stage.
The oppressive pressure made it difficult to breathe.
Facing more than a hundred people, Su Xi could only feel a multitude of black lines appearing on her forehead, a wave of helplessness washing over her.
Although these spirits had no consciousness, their cultivation levels were still formidable. If these people attacked together, she and Gui Lao would be utterly incapable of handling so many.
For safety's sake, a direct confrontation was out of the question; caution was paramount.
The spectral beings, seeing Su Xi and Gui Lao, let out continuous roars and lunged at them with bared teeth and claws, intent on devouring their flesh and blood.
For them, the most crucial task was to quickly consume blood food.
Only sufficient blood food could compensate for their deficiencies.
Seeing the hordes of spirits charging towards them, Gui Lao looked at Su Xi, his voice laced with worry, "They're all charging at us, what do we do now?"
His meaning was clear: surrounded by so many, escape was impossible, leaving only one option – to leave quickly.
Therefore, his words were not meant for conversation, but to urge Su Xi to leave.
However, Su Xi, watching the ferocious spirits rush forward, did not agree. Instead, a smile flickered across her lips as she said, "Since they've come this far, why leave so easily?"
She had initially thought they were in danger, but now she realized it wasn't that difficult. These seemingly formidable spirits were not that hard to deal with.
With that, Su Xi gripped the Meteor God Sword and charged forward impetuously.
Facing a crowd alone, she showed no signs of apprehension.
"Kill!"
With a furious roar, she charged at the spirits.
The moment they clashed, the two sides plunged into a fierce battle.
Witnessing Su Xi's actions, Gui Lao was utterly dumbfounded.
This woman was truly audacious.
Facing so many powerful opponents, even without consciousness, they were not to be trifled with. How could Su Xi dare to do this alone?
Moreover, Su Xi's demeanor wasn't that of someone surrounded, but rather someone actively besieging others.
Though he found Su Xi's actions baffling, he had no choice but to charge forward as well.
If anything were to happen to Su Xi, he would not survive either.
Therefore, for his own safety, he could not let Su Xi get into trouble and had to do his utmost to ensure her safety.
Facing so many enemies, he had initially thought he would perish here, but as soon as they engaged, he realized something was amiss.
The spirits before him, though exuding immense power, were not as formidable as they appeared upon engagement.
Not only was their strength not as great as their aura suggested, but their true cultivation level was only at the Foundation Establishment stage.
Though he didn't understand why, he dared not let this opportunity slip by.
Thus, realizing the issue, his movements became much swifter.
In a short while, the once menacing spirits were all reduced to piles of corpses lying on the ground.
"How could this be?" Gui Lao looked at Su Xi, utterly bewildered.
Why were these things all paper tigers?
Gui Lao couldn't grasp the situation, but he knew he could only get the answers he sought from Su Xi.
Su Xi pointed at the corpses on the ground and explained with considerable ease, "These people were all an illusion. They were merely minor characters."
"Minor characters?" Gui Lao mumbled the word, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face.
A bluff, he understood that very well.
Did this situation indicate that there was no longer any danger here, hence the anticlimactic outcome?
Su Xi understood Gui Lao's thoughts and nodded in agreement.
"Damn it, they dared to scare me! I'm going to beat the hell out of them," Gui Lao said, his face flushing with anger at the thought of being tricked.
He had actually been frightened by them and even considered fleeing, which was utterly humiliating.
Su Xi smiled at Gui Lao's angry demeanor and consoled him, "Don't worry, there will be opportunities to act later. Don't be impatient for now."
???
Gui Lao looked at Su Xi, unable to comprehend her words.
Why, there's more ahead? What did that mean?
"Let's go. You'll know soon enough," Su Xi said, not elaborating further, and began to walk forward.
Ahead, her supercomputer had detected an anomaly, and there was bound to be something strange.
That place not only held familiar energy fluctuations but also powerful auras.
If she were to say too much now, Gui Lao would surely refuse to go.
Only by getting him to go first could she confirm her suspicions.
Looking at the unfolding scene, Gui Lao’s forehead creased with helplessness, but he couldn’t help but follow.
He had no choice but to follow.
After taking a few more steps forward, both of them stopped in unison, their gazes becoming tense.
It wasn't that there was danger ahead, but rather that a chair had appeared. On the chair sat a person, head bowed, bound to the seat.
The person kept their head down, showing no signs of movement, as if dead.
However, despite the bowed head, Su Xi could recognize them.
The man tied to the chair was Lin Qing, whom they had been searching for.
"Master!"
Su Xi called out and stepped forward to examine him.
She was certain that this was the real Lin Qing, not a copy.
Seeing the scene before her, Su Xi's heart filled with concern, and she hurried forward to check his condition.
If Lin Qing were to die now, all their previous efforts would be in vain.
Fortunately, after Su Xi's examination, she confirmed that although Lin Qing's life force was weak, he was still breathing.
Su Xi removed the tubes inserted into Lin Qing and then took out a pill from her person, placing it in his mouth.
Lin Qing's blood was almost drained, so it was imperative to replenish it.
Without sufficient blood replenishment, even an immortal couldn't save Lin Qing.
After taking the pill, Lin Qing's previously paper-pale complexion began to regain some color, and his condition visibly improved.
Seeing the situation, Su Xi let out a long sigh of relief.
This meant things weren't as dire as they could have been.
Gui Lao was also surprised by Su Xi's skill; a single pill had such a remarkable effect. A person on the verge of death had actually recovered.
However, before he could finish speaking, a monstrous beast appeared before them.
It was a scorpion, at least eight feet tall, brandishing its two massive pincers and swinging them about. Its tail stinger twitched constantly, as if seeking a target.
Gui Lao sneered at the scorpion, which seemed to be at the Integration stage, "I was just startled, and now you monster still want to scare me?"
With that, Gui Lao charged forward.
What was important to him now was irrelevant; he simply wanted to prove his strength.
The moment Su Xi saw Gui Lao charge, a wave of helplessness washed over her.
"Can you not be so impulsive? You haven't even finished speaking yet."
Su Xi quickly covered her eyes, not wanting to witness the ensuing tragedy.
As expected, shortly after charging, Gui Lao was sent flying before he could even make a move, crashing heavily to the ground, utterly bewildered.
What was going on?
He had said they were just paper tigers, so why was this creature so powerful, leaving him with no direction?
Gui Lao looked at Su Xi innocently, his face filled with question marks.
Why was this monster so strong?
Su Xi pointed at the scorpion before them and said, "I forgot to tell you, this scorpion is real and not an illusion. Therefore, you must deal with it."
Upon hearing Su Xi's words, Gui Lao nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.
He vowed that next time he would ask for clarification properly, and he wouldn't be in such an awkward situation.
Now that he was facing the scorpion, it was extremely difficult to fend it off.
Though he inwardly blamed Su Xi for not telling him earlier, Gui Lao now dared not be careless and began to contend with the scorpion spirit.
His cultivation had originally reached the Great Ascension stage; being sent flying earlier was simply because he was unprepared. Once he understood the situation, he would have the means to cope.
Seeing Gui Lao engage the scorpion spirit in a fierce battle, Su Xi wasn't worried and lowered her head to examine Lin Qing.
Although Lin Qing's vitality had been restored, why couldn't he wake up?
Su Xi pondered for a moment and unhesitatingly activated her supercomputer to conduct a thorough examination.
At this juncture, it was imperative to understand what was happening.
He had taken medicine, so why couldn't he wake up?
With the supercomputer's analysis, the problem with Lin Qing was quickly identified.
Lin Qing had no other issues, but a chip had been implanted in him.
It was this chip that was continuously devouring his mental energy, preventing him from waking up for the time being.
"Who are these people, to possess such methods?" Su Xi was very curious, but she still began to prepare to remove the chip from Lin Qing's body.
However, after taking out the chip, as she tried to separate it, she discovered that the chip had fused with Lin Qing, and she felt a surge of helplessness.
At this point, attempting to cut off the chip would easily injure Lin Qing.
After all, the soul was a fragile thing.
If not handled properly, Lin Qing would be ruined.
"This has truly presented me with a difficult problem," Su Xi sighed and began to act.
If the chip wasn't removed, Lin Qing would never wake up.
Despite the risk, she had to try.