Chapter 286: Racing Against Time

"That was close!"

Li Luo was sprinting frantically across the river surface. His forehead was drenched in cold sweat, and his heart was pounding like a drum, vibrating so hard it made him feel dizzy.

It was too thrilling.

Just a moment ago, he had swaggered right past the very eyes of a Heaven-General-tier spirit beast.

In that instant, Li Luo truly felt the breath of death. After all, if that three-tailed giant beast had been just a bit more ruthless and swiped at him regardless of anything else, given Li Luo's strength, there would likely have been no way to survive.

But the power of the seal in Li Luo's palm had made the three-tailed giant beast fearful.

Before it could figure out the bottom line of that sealing power, the three-tailed giant beast remained cautious.

This was what gave Li Luo his chance.

Li Luo looked down at the ancient seal in his palm. The seal did indeed possess some power, but it would be too naive to think it could directly suppress and kill the three-tailed giant beast.

Based on the information left behind by the Dean, this seal could only take effect after the three-tailed giant beast was injured; if the opponent was in its prime state, the seal would be useless against it.

However, the three-tailed giant beast clearly did not know this information.

The opponent clearly knew the Dean's level, so it harbored deep fear toward it, and Li Luo had just used that fear to force the opponent into hesitation.

It was nothing more than a fox borrowing the tiger's might.

Li Luo glanced behind him. The figure of the three-tailed giant beast had disappeared, but he was not anxious. Although the opponent had some intelligence, its nature remained cruel and greedy. While the seal in his hand could cause it some hesitation, surely the three-tailed giant beast would soon see through some clues—for instance, if this seal could truly suppress and kill it, Li Luo would never have needed to flee in such a wretched state.

Once it figured that out, it would definitely come chasing.

And this, precisely, could buy him a lot of time.

Li Luo gently pressed against his rapidly beating heart, gradually calming his emotions. When he decided to execute this plan, he had actually anticipated the dangers, so he had already made all kinds of preparations.

To break out of a desperate situation, there is no such thing as absolute safety; one can only gamble with their life.

As Li Luo thought these things, his sprinting speed did not diminish in the slightest, carving a white wake across the river as he sped toward the distance.

After some time, Li Luo sensed movement from behind. A glance revealed a massive figure constantly rushing along the riverbank, kicking up rolling dust.

The three-tailed giant beast had indeed come in pursuit.

Even from a great distance, Li Luo could still perceive the rage, cruelty, and a trace of suppressed hesitation surging within those beastly eyes.

*Huff.

Li Luo's body tensed up again, but he also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it followed, that was fine; he was only afraid that he had truly scared it off earlier and it had fled directly, which would have caused his plan to fail completely.

And so, the man and the beast began another chase.

Only this time, the three-tailed giant beast was no longer as reckless as it had been at the start. It hung behind Li Luo at a distance, its gaze lingering more on Li Luo's palm, clearly conducting a secret assessment.

As time passed and Li Luo never revealed the palm with the seal, the three-tailed giant beast grew impatient and began to close in on Li Luo.

Just as the three-tailed giant beast prepared to attempt another fierce assault to pounce on and kill Li Luo, Li Luo unexpectedly stopped.

"You monster, I'll fight you to the death! Let's die together!"

His face flushed red as he roared, as if he were a cornered beast, and he actually turned around to charge at the three-tailed giant beast, the ancient seal in his palm blooming with light once more.

It was a posture of mutual destruction.

Li Luo's momentum in actively turning back to charge startled the three-tailed giant beast again. Its scarlet eyes flickered, and its massive figure retreated rapidly.

Although it did not know if Li Luo was truly going to fight to the death, it saw no reason to take such a risk.

But because of this, it had lost another chance to get close to Li Luo and crush him to death.

As the three-tailed giant beast backed away, Li Luo immediately put away his desperate stance and turned to run again.

He glanced behind him. This time, the three-tailed giant beast did not flee until it was out of sight; it only retreated a certain distance. Clearly, with Li Luo's repeated use of the fox borrowing the tiger's might, the threat posed by the seal was gradually weakening.

After all, the three-tailed giant beast was not stupid; it too had begun to glimpse the truth behind the seal through Li Luo's repeated bluffs.

That power did not seem sufficient to suppress and kill it.

However, out of caution, it still did not directly attack Li Luo. It needed to wait for a good opportunity to avoid any damage Li Luo might cause in a desperate struggle.

Yet, this hesitation and waiting on its part actually suited Li Luo's plan. As long as this situation could be maintained, he would be able to reach the stronghold smoothly.

Li Luo looked up at the direction the river was surging; that was where the stronghold was located.

Hopefully, the stronghold could hold out until he returned.

"Something is not right."

Duze Honglian looked up at the purification barrier covering the entire stronghold. Under the erosion of the black torrential rain, the light upon it was constantly dimming, and as time passed, the speed of this dimming was increasing.

Originally, they thought the purification barrier could hold for three days, but looking at it now, even three days seemed doubtful.

Inside the stronghold, many students looked at this scene with pale faces, their eyes filled with undisguisable panic.

"That Smiling Demon has increased the power of its erosion," Jiang Qing'e said slowly. Her face was also still somewhat pale, clearly indicating that her previous injuries had not yet fully recovered.

Her gaze flickered toward the back of the stronghold.

"Still waiting for him?"

Duze Honglian curled her lip and said, "Only you would believe in his fantasy-like ideas. Does he really think a Heaven-General-tier spirit beast is a dog raised at home that can be led around at will?"

"And even if he could lure out a Heaven-General-tier spirit beast, with his strength, how could he possibly escape?"

She did not continue with the rest of her thoughts, because, based on the above, Duze Honglian felt it was more likely that Li Luo had simply run away on his own.

The so-called plan was just an excuse.

Jiang Qing'e said indifferently, "Actually, I would hope he really did run away, but unfortunately, Li Luo is not that kind of person."

Duze Honglian could only sneer at this.

Immediately, she did not argue further with Jiang Qing'e on this matter, but instead said, "At this rate, the purification barrier might be broken ahead of time. When that happens, we will have no choice but to fight it with all our might."

"You can still fight, right?"

Jiang Qing'e did not answer, only gently gripping the hilt of her heavy sword with her jade-like hand.

If it truly came to that point, it would basically be a desperate situation. The entire stronghold would likely be slaughtered by the Smiling Demon, so they had no choice but to fight with their lives to see if they could delay it for a little longer.

Facing this situation, Jiang Qing'e actually truly hoped that Li Luo would not return; perhaps that way, he might at least preserve his life.

However, knowing Li Luo's character, she understood in her heart that regardless of whether his plan succeeded or not, he would definitely return.

Time gradually slipped away within the solidified and oppressive atmosphere of the stronghold.

Until a certain moment.

The panic within the stronghold suddenly reached its peak.

*Drip.

A drop of black, viscous liquid fell, landing on the stone wall in front of Jiang Qing'e. The stone wall was immediately corroded, and from that liquid, it was as if countless insects were swarming out, beginning to spread.

The purification barrier had finally broken.