Chapter 72: An Inevitable Battle

Shi Ran suddenly drew the Ice Stream sword from her waist; cold light flashed. She carried a fierce ruthlessness of being driven to a dead end, fiercely hacking at the first red-eyed demon wolf that lunged at her, and simultaneously roared at the buzzing black cloud in the sky: "Grudges have heads, debts have owners; what's the skill in relentlessly chasing me? If you have ability, go find the person who shot the arrow!"

Shi Ran was also fuming, not caring whether the poisonous bees could understand; Luo Changfeng, looking from afar, could see three trails of black smoke rising from her head.

Unfortunately, Shi Ran's roar sounded utterly insignificant amidst the beasts' buzzing; although it was full of pent-up sorrow with nowhere to vent, this commotion was ultimately a way she least wanted to see, as they forcibly pressed her head, dragging her completely into it.

Luo Changfeng silently turned his back on Shi Ran; what he faced was a three-tailed red fox. Although this red fox had far fewer tails than a nine-tailed demon fox, it was still extremely ferocious. Luo Changfeng drew Breaking Cloud and focused his utmost spirit to face this red fox.

Qi Chengshuang and Ruan Xinli also rose to their feet together, not far from Shi Ran and Luo Changfeng; however, they were not facing any major demon beast, merely sparring with an agile squirrel.

The squirrel looked the weakest, yet the two of them fought in an extremely strange and stifling manner; although the squirrel's body was small, its speed left only golden afterimages on their retinas.

It never engaged the two head-on; it merely relied on inconceivable agility, darting up and down around them, left thrust, right weave. Its sharp claws occasionally aimed at their ankles, wrists, etc., from tricky angles, and it even tried to climb onto their shoulders to attack their faces.

Each of its attacks carried a weak numbing electric current; though not lethal, its power was great, interfering with their movements and spiritual power flow.

"Damn it! What the hell is this thing?!" Qi Chengshuang swung her sword, slashing the air; sword qi gouged a shallow trench on the ground, yet it didn't even touch the squirrel's fur.

The golden figure let out a sharp squeak, instantly appearing behind Qi Chengshuang's head, its claws crackling with electricity as they grabbed Qi Chengshuang's rear.

"Be careful!" Ruan Xinli shouted sharply; her soft sword precisely aimed at the squirrel's inevitable path, but the squirrel seemed to have anticipated it, performing an unnatural mid-air twist, easily dodging the soft sword, then using the rebound to soar higher, making a grimace at Ruan Xinli.

Ruan Xinli's eyebrows flared up in anger; as she was about to change her move, she saw the squirrel leaping halfway into the air pause, its eyes, which had been merely clear and lively black beans, suddenly flashing with piercing golden light.

A terrifying demonic fluctuation, far surpassing before, erupted violently from its tiny body; the air around it began to warp, and every strand of its golden fur stood on end, as if an ancient, mighty power was being inscribed.

"Oh no!" Qi Chengshuang and Ruan Xinli's faces changed simultaneously, alarm bells ringing in their minds; 'This is hardly a low-level demon beast; it's clearly pretending to be weak to eat the strong!'

Moreover, Shi Ran's side was no simple matter; the Ice Stream sword's light, like splitting silk, fiercely slashed the red-eyed demon wolf's shoulder blade, producing a bone-cracking sound that made teeth ache. Foul-smelling demon blood spurted out; the wolf winced, its crimson pupils blazing with even greater ferocity, and despite its wound it opened a bloody maw, reeking of stench, and lunged again.

At the same time, the poisonous bees lying in wait in the sky all took action; they had been waiting for this very moment.

Shi Ran held the sword in one hand and formed a seal with the other, chanting: "With my spirit, the departing fire illuminates; true yang gathers; collect light to become fire—ignite!" Blazing flames erupted, scorching those headless-fly-like poisonous bees, and the air filled with a meaty smell.

At the same time, Shi Ran gripped the Ice Stream sword with both hands and fiercely stabbed it again into the red-eyed demon wolf's body.

A earth-shaking wolf howl full of pain and fury drowned out all other sounds; although a demon wolf on this side had already been wounded, a sword piercing its belly, making it unable to survive, but unexpectedly another demon wolf seized the chance to lunge, its huge claws bringing a wind that tore the air, fiercely slapping toward Shi Ran's head.

But Shi Ran, her old strength exhausted and new strength not yet arisen, the Ice Stream sword remained tightly lodged in the abdomen of the dying demon wolf; she could only watch helplessly as the deadly claw rapidly enlarged in her field of vision, the shadow of death instantly enveloping her.

At the critical moment, Breaking Cloud flew in a spinning arc, its silver light shattering, directly knocking the demon wolf back half a step; Shi Ran turned her head, smiled at Luo Changfeng, and intensified his Golden Bell Cover talisman a bit more.

The three-tailed red fox facing Luo Changfeng was extraordinarily cunning; it did not meet him head-on, its three giant tails blazing with crimson flames like three deadly fire whips, bringing scorching heat waves that constantly lashed, entangled, and thrust from tricky angles.

Flames swept across the ground, leaving scorched black marks; Luo Changfeng's Breaking Cloud turned into a silver flash of lightning. Layers of sword shadows precisely blocked each deadly crisis; the sword tip occasionally tore the air, emitting a sharp whistle, pointing straight at the fox's vital spots, forcing it to temporarily avoid the edge. In the duel of man and fox, fierce winds howled, flames and sword light intertwined, the intensity far surpassing elsewhere.

An extremely subtle yet seemingly soul-penetrating strange tremor, without any omen, centered on the golden squirrel about to complete its transformation, suddenly spread outward.

Time seemed to freeze for an instant.

The demon wolf lunging at Shi Ran suddenly stalled in its movement, a flicker of bewilderment crossing its crimson pupils; the red fox locked in struggle with Luo Changfeng also had the flames on its three tails flicker strangely; even the poisonous bees drifting in the air showed a momentary disruption.

Moreover, this influence indirectly caused Luo Changfeng, Qi Chengshuang, and Ruan Xinli to feel that their spiritual power, thoughts, and even movements were hindered by an invisible lag.

Only the squirrel hovering in midair bathed in golden light and Shi Ran seemed to become the core of this space-time; the squirrel's tiny body, wrapped in the golden light, began to elongate and deform, a vague human silhouette rapidly forming.

This sudden change bought Shi Ran a breath of life at the brink of death; a strong will to survive flared in her eyes, and seizing this pause she fiercely kicked open the dying demon wolf before her.

She used the recoil to retreat backward, meanwhile relentlessly drawing the ice sword, the blade scraping against bone and emitting a grating sound that made teeth ache; but she finally pulled it out, foul blood spraying! Shi Ran's face turned ashen, her chest heaving violently.

Although Shi Ran was also wounded in this battle, a blood slit torn by a wolf's claw and gust ran down her forehead; she stared fixedly at the still churning mass of evil bees, and glanced at the weird squirrel in the midst of transformation. In her mind there was only one thought: either flee or die.

Luo Changfeng also glanced at the squirrel; suddenly a bright idea struck him—this, this is the Golden Sparrow Divine Protection! He turned to Shi Ran, gave her a meaningful look, saying, "Shi Ran, capture it!"