Chapter 293: Who Disturbs Me!

Seeing the danger temporarily recede, the three of them couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. But just as everyone prepared to rest for a moment, an eerie voice drifted down from above:

"Who disturbs my slumber? Daring to trespass into the Shengdian, you shall pay the price for this!"

The three looked up, only to see an old man dressed in strange attire, his face full of a ferocious expression, slowly descending...

The old man's eyes were as cold as icy stars, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned in a malicious smile. His body was surrounded by a layer of black mist; as he slowly landed in front of the three, this mass of black mist gradually dispersed. The surrounding air seemed to be distorted by his power.

"Hmph! You mortals actually dare to trespass into the forbidden ground!" The voice was sharp and carried a strong sense of oppression, "I am the guardian of the Shengdian—Youming Laozhe!"

Xiao Qing was the first to react; she quickly raised the Long Sword in her hand and watched Youming Laozhe vigilantly: "We have no malicious intent, we only wish to retrieve what belongs to us."

Lin Xuan lagged half a step behind, carefully observing the changes in the surrounding environment and the distribution of power of this seemingly formidable enemy. "If that is the case, then why attack us? Is this how you treat 'guests'?" Lin Xuan asked calmly.

Wang Zhenqiu, however, was already poised for action, energy crackling with electricity gathering between his hands. "No matter what, we will not give up easily." His words were filled with determination.

Youming Laozhe sneered upon hearing this and suddenly waved his arm; instantly, countless black tentacles surged from all directions, as if alive, attempting to entangle the three.

"Mere resistance will only increase your sorrow!"

"Don't get too arrogant, old man!" Wang Zhenqiu roared as he charged forward, his palms striking out with powerful electric currents that directly severed several incoming shadow vines. But soon, more and thicker new vines grew rapidly; they lunged at the three warriors like hungry snakes.

Seeing this, Xiao Qing gritted her teeth, suddenly leaped to dodge one of the most lethal surprise attacks, and took the opportunity to pierce a spot that seemed to be the Core, causing several tentacles to instantly lose control and fall back to the ground. However, this clearly did not reach the root of the problem, and more offensives continued.

Meanwhile, Lin Xuan was not idle; while constantly moving to dodge, he searched for potential flaws. "Pay attention to coordination!" he shouted to his companions, then immediately unleashed his special ability, creating one small cyclone after another in the Void to interfere with the enemy's movement path. "We need to fight while spread out; only then can we find a solution!"

Not long after adjusting their positions according to the strategy Lin Xuan mentioned, they discovered that although it remained difficult to face him alone, if they could support and cooperate with each other, the situation could become slightly more optimistic.

Suddenly, just as everyone was about to be unable to hold on, Xiao Qing keenly sensed a subtle, abnormal change in the air. "Wait... I think I feel some kind of power source! Right over there!" Following the direction she pointed, one could indeed see a strange crystal floating in the air, emitting a soft light.

"That is..." Lin Xuan said, slightly surprised. "If we can get it, perhaps we can restrain this guy! Let's go!" He gave the order decisively, and the group began to advance toward the glowing object.

While continuing to fend off endless attacks along the way and striving to approach the target, finally, when Xiao Qing reached out her hand and almost touched the mysterious crystal—

"Stop!" An extremely angry roar arrived, accompanied by an unprecedentedly powerful shockwave...

Xiao Qing hurriedly withdrew her hand and, together with Lin Xuan and Wang Zhenqiu, stared tightly at the furious Youming Laozhe not far away. "Do you really think you can defeat me with such methods? It is simply a delusion!" His entire figure seemed to become even larger and darker.

"What now? It looks like things have become a bit tricky." Lin Xuan said with a frown.

"Then let's give it our all and have a go!" Wang Zhenqiu's gaze was firm and resolute.

Youming Laozhe's words cut through the air like ice, and immediately after, a circle after circle of dark light permeated around his body. This light not only emitted an aura that made one's hair stand on end, but also carried a certain bizarre power. Seeing this, the three of them immediately reacted.

Xiao Qing took the lead, and after quickly drawing several Rune gestures with her hands, a green light suddenly appeared between her palms. "Five Elements Seal!" she shouted in a low voice, pushing the condensed energy violently toward the front. This beam of light headed straight for Youming Laozhe, emitting a series of intense clashing sounds when it met the dark aura released by the latter in mid-air.

Meanwhile, Lin Xuan had no intention of sitting still. He gently gripped the necklace hanging on his chest—it was one of the protective talismans passed down from his family. "Power of the stars, please grant me strength!" As soon as his voice fell, countless tiny but exceptionally shining star points gathered at his fingertips, finally converging into a bright and dazzling small meteor hammer. Without a moment's hesitation, he swung it forcefully toward the opponent.

However, the most unexpected one was Wang Zhenqiu. The one who initially seemed the least capable of offense appeared very calm when facing such a powerful enemy. "You guys are responsible for pinning him down." After saying this, Wang Zhenqiu closed his eyes and began to breathe deeply. With every breath, his body gradually became ethereal, as if he were about to disappear like a wisp of smoke in the wind.

Just as his two teammates were struggling to resist, Wang Zhenqiu had completely merged into the air. When he reappeared, he was already not far behind Youming Laozhe. "You'an Tunshezhe is not an invincible existence."

Sensing the sudden change behind him, Youming Laozhe was furious, "Where did this brat come from, daring to sneak attack? You're courting death!" He backhanded a wave of black curtain, wanting to capture the spot where that flash of spiritual light had passed.

"It's useless, you will never catch me!" The moment he was attacked, Wang Zhenqiu's figure disappeared again, only to appear on the other side in the blink of an eye, while a small sword emitting golden light had appeared in his hand at some point. "Light severs all evil; this is the judgment from the power of justice."

Upon hearing these words, Youming Laozhe sneered, "Haha... Naive human brat, do you think this insignificant power can pose a threat to me?" Having said that, an even thicker dark aura surged around his body, as if it were about to swallow the entire space.

Feeling this unprecedented pressure, even the usually calm and composed Lin Xuan had a trace of unease appear on his face. "Can the three of us combined not suppress him? It seems we have really encountered a difficult character this time."