Chapter 258: Surrounding the Thief

"Wait..."

Zhang Cheng said in a low voice, his gaze sweeping the surroundings vigilantly.

The shadows appeared even deeper under the strange, warped light of the space, and a sense of unease settled over everyone's hearts.

"What is it, Zhang Cheng?"

Kelinda asked with concern, gripping her weapon tightly, ready at any moment to respond to sudden danger.

Zhang Cheng shook his head, his brow tightly furrowed:

"I sense someone watching us from the shadows."

Xingji Xiake gave a hearty laugh:

"Haha, little brother, are you being too tense? Besides us and that big fellow, who else could be here?"

He was referring to Xingling.

"Caution keeps the ship afloat for ten thousand years."

The Blue Star Guardian said weakly, his earlier battle with Xingling having drained a considerable amount of his strength—

"This space is full of unknown dangers. We must remain vigilant at all times."

Suddenly, a faint energy ripple came from a corner. The Blue Star Guardian's expression changed, and he violently shoved everyone aside.

"Careful!"

A red energy beam shot out from the corner, grazing the Blue Star Guardian's shoulder.

Though merely a graze, for someone already injured, it was undoubtedly adding insult to injury.

The Guangming Shizhe hurried forward to treat his wounds, golden light enveloping the Blue Star Guardian—but the glow seemed somewhat dim. Clearly, the earlier battle and this healing had already drained a considerable amount of the Guangming Shizhe's strength.

"Damn it, an energy trap!"

The Blue Star Guardian said through gritted teeth,

"This space is even more dangerous than we imagined."

Xingyun Zhizhe spoke slowly:

"It seems Xingling's warning was no empty words. We had best not approach those red energy sources."

Everyone grew even more cautious in their hearts, carefully exploring the space, the atmosphere heavy.

Zhang Cheng's gaze fell once more upon the runes flickering in the corner—that spot seemingly unaffected by the energy traps.

He wanted to move closer to examine them, but Kelinda held him back.

"Zhang Cheng, be careful!"

Kelinda looked at him with concern,

"Let's move together first. Don't act alone—it's too dangerous."

Zhang Cheng nodded; he knew Kelinda meant well for him.

At this moment, Xingji Xiake's expression suddenly changed. He made a gesture to keep quiet, then pointed toward another corner of the space, lowering his voice as he said:

"I think I saw something..."

Xingji Xiake narrowed his eyes, like a cheetah that had spotted its prey.

He crouched low and approached that corner without a sound.

The others held their breath, watching his movements tensely.

In the dim light, a blurry silhouette gradually became clear—it was a person dressed in a black skintight suit, wearing a ferocious mask on their face. It was none other than the Shadow Thief.

He was furtively fiddling with something, seemingly completely unaware of the approaching danger.

Xingji Xiake seized the moment, lunging abruptly from the shadows and landing a heavy punch squarely on the thief's back.

Caught off guard, the thief let out a muffled grunt, stumbled a few steps, and the object in his hand clattered to the ground.

"Grab him!"

Zhang Cheng shouted, and everyone immediately sprang into action, surrounding the thief completely.

The thief scrambled frantically to escape, but it was already too late.

He glared viciously at everyone, his eyes filled with venomous hatred.

The thief, normally arrogant and domineering, now resembled a beast caught in a trap—wretched and disheveled. A surge of satisfaction welled up in everyone's hearts.

"Hmph, you lot of trash think you can catch me?"

The thief gave a sinister laugh and suddenly pulled a black orb from his robes.

The orb emanated an eerie dark purple glow, and a powerful dark force erupted instantly, sending everyone reeling backward.

The encirclement was broken, and the thief seized the chance to escape.

Worse still, this dark force seemed to affect the flow of energy within the space. The originally stable energy traps turned violent, red energy beams darting about like wandering snakes, striking toward everyone.

"Not good!"

The Blue Star Guardian cried out in alarm, reaching out to push Kelinda beside him away.

"Zhang Cheng! Careful!"

Kelinda also saw the incoming energy beam and shouted anxiously. Zhang Cheng whipped his head around, his pupils contracting sharply...

The red energy beam struck toward Zhang Cheng like a viper flicking its tongue. In the nick of time, a flash of silver light swept past, and the energy beam was cleaved clean in two.

The silver light dissipated, and Xingling's figure appeared before everyone, his gaze burning like torches, coldly fixing on the Shadow Thief.

"How dare you run wild in my territory!"

Xingling's voice resounded through the entire space like a great bell.

The Shadow Thief, unwilling to show weakness, gave a strange laugh:

"Just a fool guarding junk—yet you dare block me?"

The black orb in his hand flared brilliantly, conjuring countless shadow bats that surged toward Xingling like a tidal wave.

A longsword shimmering with starlight appeared in Xingling's hand; with a flourish of blade-light, the shadow bats were slain one by one. The two sides traded blows back and forth, the battle exceptionally fierce.

"Let's join in too!"

Zhang Cheng gave a low roar, drew his weapon, and charged first toward the Shadow Thief.

Kelinda, the Blue Star Guardian, and the others followed closely behind, joining the battle.

"Watch out for his shadow orbs! Those things absorb energy!"

Xingji Xiake warned, simultaneously wielding his twin blades and slashing out streak after streak of razor-sharp blade qi.

The Shadow Thief was exceedingly cunning, using the bizarre terrain and energy traps within the space to constantly evade attacks, every so often tossing out shadow orbs to interfere with everyone.

For a moment, no one could do anything about him.

"We can't go on like this — we have to concentrate our strength and attack together!"

Zhang Cheng shouted.

"No, it's too dangerous! We should protect ourselves first, then look for a chance to strike back!"

The Blue Star Guardian objected.

"There's no time to argue about this now!"

Kelinda cried out anxiously.

Just as everyone was arguing endlessly, the Shadow Thief suddenly changed his target. In a flash, he dashed toward an energy source deep within the space that radiated dazzling brilliance…

"This is bad! What is he trying to do!"

Guangming Shizhe exclaimed in alarm.

"That energy source is the core of the space! If it's destroyed, this place will collapse!"

Xingling cried out in alarm, the light of the starlight longsword in hand surging brilliantly as she tried to intercept the Shadow Thief.

However, the Shadow Thief's speed was extreme — like a bolt of black lightning, he closed in on the energy source in an instant.

The black sphere in his hand emanated an eerie suction force, seemingly intent on devouring the energy source.

"Stop him, quickly!"

Kelinda shouted anxiously, condensing a dark-red energy orb in her hand and blasting it toward the Shadow Thief.

The energy orb struck the Shadow Thief's black shield, erupting in dazzling light, yet failed to stop him in the slightest.

"It's useless, little girl!"

The Shadow Thief laughed wildly; the black sphere had already touched the energy source.

The energy source began to vibrate violently, its radiance flickering between bright and dim, and the entire space started to tremble.

"This is bad! It's going to collapse!"

Xingji Xiake shouted in terror, instinctively trying to flee.

"Don't panic!"

Zhang Cheng bellowed,

"Blue Star Guardian, protect the others! Xingling, let's go together!"

Though anxious at heart, the Blue Star Guardian followed Zhang Cheng's command, deploying an Energy Shield to protect Kelinda, the mysterious Elf, and the others.

"Hold on! I'll do my best!"

Zhang Cheng and Xingling charged at the Shadow Thief simultaneously. Xingling's starlight longsword transformed into sky-filling starlight, enveloping the Shadow Thief, while Zhang Cheng followed close behind, condensing a blazing fireball in his hand and slamming it fiercely at the Shadow Thief.

Struck by starlight and flame at the same time, the Shadow Thief let out a bloodcurdling scream, and the black sphere in his hand dropped to the ground.

However, the energy source's vibrations grew even more violent, and the collapse of the space seemed unavoidable…

"Damn it! Why won't this thing come off!"

The Shadow Thief frantically slapped at the black sphere stuck to the energy source, only to find that it clung fast like a parasite on bone, firmly adhered to it.

Zhang Cheng's heart sank as he watched the space tremble ceaselessly.

"It's too late…"