Elder Chen was startled. Wen Ting had already reached him, grasping his vital points. The blood jade flute in his hand transformed into a sharp sword and stabbed directly into Elder Chen's dantian, churning violently and even wounding his nascent soul.
Elder Chen was filled with terror. He tried to make his nascent soul escape its physical form, but it was caught by the heavenly net set by Wen Ting. "No one can escape my heavenly net. Be a good puppet for me."
Suddenly, the ground shook and the mountains trembled.
The nascent soul held by Wen Ting seized the opportunity to escape.
Wen Ting's expression turned grim. He quickly pursued, but Elder Chen's nascent soul was incredibly fast and soon disappeared from sight. Wen Ting's face darkened with annoyance. If it escaped, it would cause him considerable trouble.
If Jin Yao died inside and this person also escaped, wouldn't the crazy old woman of the Jin family fight him to the death? Thinking of this, Wen Ting chased after him, unwilling to let him get away.
Xiao Man and Nan Gongyu had originally planned to use Jin Yao to hold off the Eight-Headed Serpent, giving them a chance to escape. To their surprise, the Eight-Headed Serpent had caught up so quickly, filling them with dread.
"It caught up so fast. Is Jin Yao dead?"
"That kid might be weak, but he has many magical treasures. He wouldn't die so easily. He must have used some kind of treasure to escape," Nan Gongyu analyzed calmly. "You go first, I'll cover your retreat."
"Cover what retreat? He has treasures, and so do I!" Xiao Man grabbed Nan Gongyu, and they disappeared together.
The Eight-Headed Serpent pursued them. Seeing that Xiao Man and Nan Gongyu had also vanished, it became utterly enraged, blasting a large pit within a hundred-meter radius. Xiao Man brought Nan Gongyu to hide inside the Heaven-Reaching Pagoda. Since she couldn't control the Divine-Reaching Tower to leave yet, and even if she could, she wouldn't dare. The moment the Eight-Headed Serpent sensed the existence of space, they would be doomed.
However, she never expected the Eight-Headed Serpent to launch such a terrifying attack. The Heaven-Reaching Pagoda, hidden in the air, hadn't truly disappeared. It was sent flying by the fierce attack, crashing into a distant mountainside. Xiao Man and Nan Gongyu were thrown together in a messy heap.
"A'man, are you alright?"
Xiao Man climbed up, spitting out a mouthful of blood. The Heaven-Reaching Pagoda was her life-bound magical artifact. Suffering such a heavy blow, she herself would be affected.
"I'm fine. It's just, we've probably been exposed." Xiao Man watched the Eight-Headed Serpent rapidly approach their location. "You stay inside, I'll find a way to escape."
Xiao Man immediately exited the Heaven-Reaching Pagoda's space. Nan Gongyu followed her out. "Alone, how can you be a match for this beast? Two people working together, the odds of winning are at least a little higher."
Xiao Man felt a little helpless. Even with both of them working together, they were no match for the Eight-Headed Serpent. "Let's run separately."
"No." Nan Gongyu refused without hesitation and drew his sword to confront it. "You go first."
As soon as Nan Gongyu finished speaking, Xiao Man had already run a hundred meters away. Nan Gongyu was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. However, before he could fully relax, his vision went black. When he came to his senses, he was already back inside the Heaven-Reaching Pagoda!
"Xiao Man!"
For the first time, Xiao Man felt how fortunate it was to have practiced her lightness skill to its extreme. It could be used for escape at critical moments. If not for that, she would never have been able to escape from danger so many times.
The Eight-Headed Serpent was furious and locked onto Xiao Man, refusing to let go. Even though Xiao Man was fast, she couldn't outrun the Eight-Headed Serpent. Moreover, the Eight-Headed Serpent continuously released terrifying pressure, trying to force Xiao Man to the ground. However, Xiao Man remained unfazed, not even changing her speed. This further challenged the Eight-Headed Serpent's authority.
"It's catching up, it's catching up," Elder Qin yelled in Xiao Man's ear. "Run faster, run faster."
Xiao Man suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. She really wanted to yell at Elder Qin, "If you're so capable, you come!" She was practically running herself to death, and yet that thing behind her was relentlessly pursuing her!
The Eight-Headed Serpent launched an attack. Xiao Man flipped to dodge it and continued to flee upon landing. Seeing the Eight-Headed Serpent getting closer and closer, Zhu Qing appeared, transforming into its true form and engaging the Eight-Headed Serpent in battle.
Xiao Man glanced back and increased her speed to the maximum. However, she underestimated the Eight-Headed Serpent's determination to kill her. Before she could escape its line of sight, Zhu Qing fell in front of her, blocking her path. Xiao Man quickly stopped and unleashed a ball of fire backward.
The Eight-Headed Serpent opened its mouth and swallowed. As soon as it swallowed, it realized something was wrong. The swallowed snake body writhed in pain. Another snake head immediately severed the body that had swallowed the flame. The severed snake head quickly turned to ash.
The remaining seven heads of the Eight-Headed Serpent glared fiercely at Xiao Man. Xiao Man flinched. She clearly felt the air filled with violent killing intent. The Eight-Headed Serpent was truly enraged!
Nan Gongyu emerged from the Heaven-Reaching Pagoda and fought alongside Xiao Man. "I'll hold it off for a moment..."
"What nonsense are you saying? Its target is me, you go first."
"We go together or we don't go at all." Nan Gongyu drew his sword and engaged. Since they couldn't escape, they could only fight with all their might!
Xiao Man and Nan Gongyu joined forces. Xiao Man had just entered the Golden Core stage and lacked a sparring partner. This Eight-Headed Serpent was a perfect opportunity to practice. Nan Gongyu's movements were somewhat sluggish, as the Eight-Headed Serpent's pressure made him extremely uncomfortable. Xiao Man's contracted beast was the divine beast Vermilion Bird, and she possessed the heaven-defying bloodline of the Ten Thousand Poisons Golden Body. The Eight-Headed Serpent's pressure had no effect on her, but it was exceptionally difficult for Nan Gongyu.
Zhu Qing got up from the ground and joined the fray. The two of them and the beast focused on attacking one head, managing to sever another snake head. Having lost two heads, the Eight-Headed Serpent's eyes turned red. It sent the two flying and targeted Xiao Man with all six of its remaining heads.
Nan Gongyu tried to rush forward, but the Eight-Headed Serpent concentrated all its pressure on him, forcing Nan Gongyu to his knees, unable to move. Even more terrifyingly, no matter how Xiao Man dodged, she couldn't escape the Eight-Headed Serpent's attack.
"Attack locked!" Nan Gongyu struggled with difficulty, trying to figure out how to save Xiao Man. Xiao Man used her agility to change positions constantly, but under the lock-on, escape was impossible.
The first attack instantly arrived. Xiao Man summoned the Heaven-Reaching Pagoda to shield herself and mobilized all her true qi for defense. However, she was still sent flying by the Eight-Headed Serpent's domineering attack, crashing heavily onto the distant ground, her body feeling like it had fallen apart, unable to move.
"Xiao Man!"
Xiao Man spat out a mouthful of blood and saw the Eight-Headed Serpent gathering power again. If not for a protective golden light on her body just now, that single blow would have been enough to take her life. Another one, and she feared she would be blown to smithereens!
Move, move quickly! Xiao Man tried with all her might to move, but her internal energy was in disarray, and her body was immobilized by the impact. She could only watch helplessly as the Eight-Headed Serpent's attack came again. It was over, she was dead for sure this time!