Chapter 454: United Strike

In the center of the river, two massive, dark red lights suddenly flared beneath the murky surface, like two lanterns from hell.

Immediately after, a colossal shadow slowly rose, churning the entire stretch of river into a boil.

Boom!

A supermassive venomous dragon, thicker by many times than all the previous venomous crocodiles combined, covered in dark golden patterns and with a head like a small hill, burst violently from the water.

Its jaws, lined with fangs, opened wide—not spewing venom, but a beam of intensely condensed, deep purple light radiating terrifying corrosive and annihilating energy!

Where the beam passed, even the air was corroded into blackened trails, shooting straight toward the frontmost Star Lord, Pojun.

This was unmistakably a venomous dragon that had reached the Heavenly Palace realm!

Likely a branch or descendant of the ruler of "Poisonous Dragon Pool"!

"Watch out!"

Tianfu Star Lord urgently warned, simultaneously drawing a starlight compass from his hand; the compass spun, launching forth streaks of starlight chains that sought to entangle and bind the venomous dragon.

Facing this sudden, terrifying attack, Pojun Star Lord did not retreat—in fact, his eyes blazed with fierce battle lust.

"Come on!"

He let out a long roar, and in his hand appeared an ancient, simple long spear, entirely silver-white, its tip glinting with cold starlight.

Facing the corrosive beam, he did not dodge or evade—he thrust his spear straight forward!

Shhh~

At the spear's tip, an ultimate silver radiance exploded, as if condensed from the full weight and killing will of an entire star.

The silver radiance and the deep purple beam clashed head-on!

There was no earth-shattering explosion—only a muffled, soul-shaking roar of energy being supremely compressed and mutually annihilated.

Purple light and silver radiance intertwined, devoured each other, and erupted!

The violent energy currents blasted a massive hollow into the Shigut River below; water surged backward, killing countless toxins and creatures.

【Corpse detected. Collect?】

"Yes!"

…

Pojun Star Lord's figure trembled slightly in midair, then stabilized.

The venomous dragon let out a pained roar, a charred, bone-deep wound appearing on its forehead; its dark golden scales curled up, oozing foul-smelling purple-black blood.

It clearly had not expected this "tiny thing" to be so troublesome.

"End this quickly—don't get entangled!"

Tianfu Star Lord barked; the starlight chains had already wrapped around the venomous dragon's body. Though most had been snapped by its violent struggles, they still caused significant hindrance and damage.

Tiankui Star Lord and Dikong Star Lord also struck simultaneously.

Tiankui Star Lord slammed out a palm; the palm wind solidified into a dense purple mountain silhouette that crashed down onto the dragon's flank.

Dikong Star Lord once again unleashed spatial slicing, leaving several deep, irreparable spatial wounds across the dragon's tough scales.

Chen Mu saw this and knew it was the perfect chance to kill the powerful foe together.

With his true qi longblade, he aimed at the relatively soft belly region just below the reversed scales, exposed by the dragon's pain and thrashing, and slashed with all his strength!

Shhh~

A domineering Nine Yang blade aura, launched later but arriving first, struck with pinpoint precision into that vital spot during the brief moment when the dragon's defenses wavered under the other Star Lords' attacks.

Chii—

The blade aura sliced through like a hot knife through oil, sinking deep into the dragon's belly, leaving a monstrous, searing wound stretching several zhang long.

The Nine Yang Tyrant Blade Art clearly suppressed the venomous dragon's toxic energy; the wound hissed as purple-black venom and aura were continuously purified and evaporated!

Aang—

The venomous dragon let out an agonizing, piercing scream, thrashing its massive body wildly and turning the Shigut River upside down.

It finally sensed mortal danger; its eyes burned with fiercer fury, yet it began to harbor thoughts of retreat.

"It wants to flee!" Tianxi Star Lord realized.

"It won't escape."

Pojun Star Lord, brimming with killing intent, raised his silver spear again, ready to deliver the fatal strike.

But at that moment, another change erupted!

From deep beneath the Shigut River beneath their feet, and from the direction of the distant "Poisonous Dragon Pool," multiple equally powerful—and even more savage—energy fluctuations erupted simultaneously!

Clearly, the fierce battle and the venomous dragon's screams had awakened even deeper terrors in this water, possibly even drawing the true ruler of the "Poisonous Dragon Pool."

"Bad! More big ones have been startled! Retreat quickly!"

Tianfu Star Lord's face darkened; he spoke decisively.

Their goal was to rescue Julun Star Lord—not to exterminate beasts. Getting entangled with multiple Heavenly Palace realm beasts here would be unwise.

Though reluctant, Pojun Star Lord understood the stakes and roared sharply.

"Go!"

The group abandoned further combat, fully activating their speed, transforming into six streaks of light that shot across the remaining river surface and landed on a relatively dry, stony shore opposite.

Looking back, they saw the Shigut River churning violently; several massive shadows flickered beneath the murky water, converging toward the wounded dragon, emitting low, threatening roars—but did not immediately pursue them onto land.

"Close call."

Tianxi Star Lord exhaled. "The Shigut River lives up to its reputation—so many powerful creatures hidden here."

"This place is no place to linger—hurry, to Flying Eagle Rock!" Tiankui Star Lord urged.

The group dared not pause; they suppressed their energy and swiftly departed the riverbank area, racing toward "Flying Eagle Rock."

Along the way, the land remained desolate and eerie, shrouded in gray mist; occasional low-level beasts or venomous insects dared to attack, but all were casually dispatched, and no further opponents as formidable as the venomous dragon appeared.

About two hours later, the terrain ahead began to rise sharply.

A dark red cliff, as if split open by a giant axe, rose steep and jagged into view; its summit jutted inward over the ravine, forming a peculiar peak resembling a hawk diving—this was "Feiying Rock."

The rock was rust-red, barren of any vegetation, sharply contrasting with the surrounding gray-green foliage and mist, radiating an air of solitary aloofness and grim slaughter.

"There are residual simple concealment and alert arrays on the cliff top; though long neglected, a little repair would restore their function."

Tiankui Xingjun led the group upward along a narrow, steep natural stone path, explaining via mental transmission, "The view from there is excellent—it overlooks a vast area below, including the edge of 'Dulong Tan' and the outer entrance to 'Qianku Shan.'"

The higher they climbed, the stronger the wind became, making their star robes snap loudly.

Gray mist churned beneath their feet like a turbid sea of clouds, temporarily hiding the dangers deep within the ravine.

At the cliff top lay a relatively flat platform, roughly a hundred zhang across, littered with bizarre, wind-eroded boulders.

Along the platform's edge, several ancient stone pillars, seemingly scattered at random but actually arranged according to some hidden pattern, were half-buried in the soil, their surfaces carved with faint, indistinct patterns.

Tianfu Xingjun stepped forward, carefully examining the stone pillars and the surrounding terrain, then nodded.

"The array's foundation remains intact, its energy nearly exhausted, but its structure is undamaged. I will repair and reactivate it—it will take half a watch. All of you, guard the surroundings."

"Thank you." Pojun Xingjun nodded, taking position with Tiankui Xingjun and Dikong Xingjun at the three corners of the platform, extending their spiritual senses to detect any disturbance.

Tianxi Xingjun leapt lightly onto the tallest rock, gazing far into the distance.

Chen Mu also found a spot with an open view, keeping watch while observing the ravine below, shrouded in gray mist, its terrain resembling a crouching beast.

Half a watch later.

As Tianfu Xingjun sent the final streak of starlight into the central array core, the ancient stone pillars beneath their feet trembled slightly; their dim patterns glowed faintly in sequence, then quickly faded again.

A gentle yet resilient invisible energy field quietly spread, enveloping the entire summit of Feiying Rock.

From outside, the rock platform seemed to merge with the surrounding environment, its aura blurred and indistinct—unless one deliberately scanned inch by inch with spiritual sense, it would be nearly impossible to detect.

"The concealment array is activated—it will last twelve hours."

Tianfu Xingjun exhaled slightly, walking to the platform's edge to stand beside Tianxi Xingjun, gazing downward.

"Now, we can examine our target area in detail."

Chen Mu also fixed his gaze downward.

The gray mist did not completely obscure vision; at certain angles and under certain light, the general contours of the ravine's depths could still be faintly seen.

Directly north, about three hundred li away, a region's mist was unusually deep, taking on an ominous ink-green hue.

That must be where "Dulong Tan" lies!

Even from this great distance, a chilling, poisonous aura seemed to pulse faintly, sending shivers through the heart.

To the west of Dulong Tan lay a continuous mountain mass, honeycombed with countless holes of varying sizes—that was "Qianku Shan."

The mountain's color was dark and dull; many of its cavern mouths exhaled faint, multicolored vapors, clearly indicating an extremely complex and perilous interior.

At the boundary between Dulong Tan and Qianku Shan lay a low-lying region, utterly shrouded in thick mist, its details completely obscured.

That was the area where the last signal from Ju Men Xing had originated.

"The mist in that boundary zone… seems unnatural."