Chapter 949: Forced Retreat

When Zhao Yan led the reinforcements to arrive, he saw at a glance Zhao Zhao Fengxu and the others surrounded by "Guardian Spirits" in the valley, and immediately understood why they had sent out a distress signal.

A "Guardian Spirit" formation of this scale was indeed enough to pose an extremely strong threat to them, let alone with the Dragon Fang Branch people lurking not far away, watching for an opportunity.

Fortunately, however, the people from the Dragon Fang Branch did not dare to step into the valley lightly, afraid of being targeted by the "Guardian Spirits," otherwise Zhao Zhao Fengxu and the others would likely have already suffered casualties.

But... Zhao Zhao Fengxu and the others had clearly come to surround and attack the Dragon Fang Branch people who were entangled with the "Guardian Spirits," so why was it now them who were trapped inside instead? Could it be that from the very beginning, the Dragon Fang Branch had not been collecting "Spirit Aspect Golden Dew" in the valley at all? Instead, they had been lying in ambush on the side, waiting?

"Brother Yan, should we go down to rescue them?" someone beside Zhao Yan asked.

Zhao Yan deliberated for a breath, then cautiously shook his head and said, "Wait a moment. Something feels off here. These 'Guardian Spirits' shouldn't have been able to trap Zhao Zhao Fengxu and the others."

Then, his cold, stern gaze swept toward Li Luo and the others standing on the cliff face, and he said, "I'll give you one chance. Leave this mountain range now, and the Spirit Aspect Golden Dew in your hands—you may take it with you."

The onlookers stared at him in shock, clearly not expecting Zhao Yan to voluntarily take a step back.

Li Luo was also a little surprised. Just moments ago, this Zhao Yan had looked as if he wanted them dead without a burial place, and now in the blink of an eye he was letting them leave with the "Spirit Aspect Golden Dew"? Did this guy notice something?

"Release the squads from the other four branches as well, and we'll leave," Li Luo thought for a moment, then said with a smile.

Zhao Yan stared at him expressionlessly and said, "Don't know when to take the face I'm giving you. You really think I can't deal with you?"

"Then try—" Before Li Luo's words had finished falling, he suddenly sensed a surge of crisis. His entire skin prickled with pain. His heart chilled instantly, and the phase force within his body erupted with a roar, while the "Dragon Seal" between his brows also burst forth with dazzling radiance.

At that very same moment, in the air before Li Luo, a dark-green "Shuttle Shadow" actually appeared. This "Shuttle Shadow" seemed to have merged into the clear wind, yet at its tip flowed an extremely sharp, gleaming light.

A fierce killing intent suddenly erupted.

In a flash, the green shuttle shadow shot forward at a speed nearly imperceptible to the naked eye, streaking straight toward Li Luo's throat to kill.

However, at that very moment, a sword blade suddenly thrust out from behind Li Luo. Vast, powerful phase force flowed along it, tearing through the air at a tricky arc, and then collided with the green shuttle shadow.

Boom!

Violent waves of phase force swept outward, blasting everyone nearby stumbling back step after step.

Li Luo also retreated two steps, but his gaze remained fixed tightly on the point of collision. The green shuttle shadow was blocked by the sword blade, wavered slightly, and then vanished into the air.

Then, in the distance beside Zhao Yan, a streak of green flowing light appeared, spinning ceaselessly around him, the piercing whine of cutting wind grating on the ears.

And at this moment, Zhao Yan, seeing that his utterly covert killing strike had actually been blocked, also showed a flash of astonishment in his eyes. Then his gaze shot toward behind Li Luo, where he saw a young woman standing gracefully, possessed of a beauty radiant and ethereal. She held a longsword in her hand, her fair, lovely face bearing a faint smile. A pair of clear, water-like eyes had originally seemed somewhat serene, yet the slightly upturned corners gave her an inexplicable, bewitching air.

"You there, your manners are rather poor—ambushing people while you're talking," she said, meeting Zhao Yan's gaze with a smile.

"Who are you? Among the Five Heavenly Dragon Guards, I don't seem to have heard of anyone like you." Zhao Yan's expression darkened somewhat as he spoke. The young woman before him gave him the feeling that she was no weaker than Li Li Wuyuan, but Li Li Wuyuan was the Dragon Head of the previous Twenty Banners—how could this woman compare to him?

As adversaries of Li Li Tianwang's branch, they naturally had a fairly thorough understanding of the intelligence on the Five Heavenly Dragon Guards, but as far as Zhao Yan knew, the young woman before him was not in any of the reports.

Upon hearing this, Li Li Lingjing said languidly, "I'm just a weak little woman who failed to make it into the Five Heavenly Dragon Guards."

Zhao Yan gave a cold snort. Someone who could block his sudden strike just now—a weak little woman?

Li Luo, meanwhile, said with a smile at this point, "Thank you, Cousin Li Lingjing."

Zhao Yan's killing strike earlier had been far too unexpected—even Li Luo had only sensed it when the "Wind Shuttle" revealed its traces, and had it not been for Li Li Lingjing's precise intervention, Li Luo would likely have been in a rather sorry state.

"You're too kind, little cousin."

Li Li Lingjing said with a smiling face, then her gaze shifted fluidly toward Zhao Yan: "This man is treacherous—you'd best be careful."

Li Luo nodded, then looked toward Zhao Yan and said, "It seems you're not in any hurry to rescue them."

Zhao Yan said indifferently, "They can hold out for some time yet, so dealing with you lot first and then rescuing them makes no difference. Moreover, right now we hold the advantage in every other direction. As long as we drag this out, until one of your branches can't hold on any longer and is the first to flee, our advantage will only grow, until you completely give up."

"On the contrary, if you're smart enough, leaving now is the wise choice."

Li Luo shook his head with perfect seriousness and said, "I don't think they can hold out."

As his words fell, he stretched out a hand and gave a light clap, without the slightest hesitation detonating the remaining fire seed.