Chapter 299: Are You Ready?

A giant rock monster suddenly surged up from the underground, carrying the heavy scent of soil. Its form was as massive as a mountain, its stone body appearing indestructible, and a pair of eyes made of rock stared at the three of them with cold indifference.

Lin Xuan frowned slightly, his Long Sword already unsheathed, "Are you ready?"

Wang Zhenqiu clenched his fists and replied, "Don't worry, I am ready to use my ability to suppress it."

Xiao Qing nodded gently, a faint green light flickering between her hands, "Then I will be responsible for healing and support, ensuring you won't be easily injured."

No sooner had the words fallen than the rock giant roared and lunged toward Xiao Qing, who was closest to it, as if it had discerned that she was the easiest of the three to break through. But to the monster's surprise, the young woman reacted with extreme speed, leaping up at the last moment to dodge the attack and using the momentum to fly into the air. Her hands quickly formed seals, and several rays of emerald light immediately fell upon Lin Xuan and Wang Zhenqiu, filling them with strength and defensive power. "Watch out! I can only slightly enhance your abilities."

"Haha, this bit of reinforcement is like charcoal in the snow for me!" Feeling the power flowing within his body surging more violently, Lin Xuan laughed and charged toward the enemy. He held his sword high, pointing directly at the monster's heart, and left a deep crack amidst the flickering cold light. "Looks like this guy isn't so tough after all!"

Wang Zhenqiu followed closely behind, his body shrouded in golden radiance; that was his special ability. "Move aside a bit, don't hinder me from showing my true strength!" As he spoke, he stretched his hands forward in a hollow embrace, and a small black hole instantly appeared in the center of his palms, sucking in the surrounding air. As the black hole slowly rotated and expanded, countless gravel, debris, and even dust began to converge toward this point.

Seeing this, Lin Xuan hurriedly dodged to give his partner enough space to perform. Wang Zhenqiu's eyes flared with intense light, and he then hurled the condensed mass sphere fiercely at the rock monster. With a loud "Bang!", the mass sphere hit the opponent's head precisely and produced a violent explosion, causing countless sharp fragments to scatter and fly, making the monster scream and retreat several steps.

Taking advantage of this gap, Xiao Qing struck again, but this time it was not to support her teammates, but to launch a direct attack. With a light flick of her fingers, she released dozens of thin, tough plant vines that, like sharp arrows, quickly wrapped around the rock monster's limbs, restricting its movements. "We can't let it have any chance to counterattack! Everyone, hurry up!"

Encouraged, the two immediately took action. Lin Xuan used all his strength to swing his sword and hack at the stone limbs attempting to break free from the restraints; meanwhile, Wang Zhenqiu continuously created micro-black holes to consume all obstacles that might hinder them...

After a fierce battle, they finally succeeded in weakening the rock monster's strength and forced it into a desperate situation. At this moment, Xiao Qing also began to gather her final energy for a fatal blow; the sunlight in the sky seemed to become brighter, illuminating the young woman's delicate face...

"Prepare to receive my ultimate move—'Natural Judgment'!" she shouted loudly, her hands held flat in front of her chest, instantly forming a dazzling green ball of light that quickly expanded to the size of a basketball. "Go!" Xiao Qing decisively shot the energy in her hands toward the struggling monster below...

After the roar, the smoke and dust dissipated completely, leaving only a few scattered pieces of gravel on the spot; clearly, that last strike had completely solved the problem. However, just as the three of them lowered their guard and celebrated with each other, a low, whispering sound suddenly came from the air...

"... It's not over yet..." This voice was both cold and carried a hint of evil charm; it clearly did not belong to the previous rock monster, but was another, more powerful existence issuing a warning to them through some means.

Hearing this, Lin Xuan immediately returned to a state of alert and looked around, "Who is speaking in the shadows? Come out!"

"Hmph, no need to be so anxious." The mysterious voice chuckled, "We will meet soon, and then you will witness what true power is." As the words fell, the surroundings returned to silence, leaving only the rustling of wind through the leaves.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. "What was that just now..." Xiao Qing said with some unease.

"I'm afraid we've run into big trouble this time." Wang Zhenqiu said in a deep voice, a flash of worry in his eyes, "But we won't give up any chance of winning, right?"

"Of course." Lin Xuan nodded firmly, "No matter what challenges await us ahead, facing them together is better than fighting alone."

The three of them reorganized their thoughts and decided to face the unknown powerful enemy together. But they did not know that what was coming would be the hardest battle of their lives...

The three of them cautiously stepped into that ordinary-looking secret chamber, where the walls were carved with some blurry characters and patterns, as if telling an ancient and mysterious story. As the wise one among the three, Wang Zhenqiu tried to decipher the secret information in those carvings, but unfortunately, they were far too profound and difficult to understand.

"Something is wrong here." Lin Xuan whispered; he was always the first to sense danger, "The air feels as if it has gone still."

"Is that so?" Xiao Qing looked around, "I actually think it's exceptionally quiet here."

Just then, a buzzing sound, so faint it was almost inaudible, gradually became distinct. Suddenly, swarms of dense black flies flew out from all directions, shrouding them like a black cloud. Faced with such a sudden attack, although the three were tense, they felt not a hint of panic—because they had already experienced too many trials.

"Scatter!" Wang Zhenqiu shouted, simultaneously waving his right hand, a pale blue light appearing in his palm, which he fired toward the dense swarm of flies in front, instantly clearing part of the attack.

At the same time, Lin Xuan also reacted quickly, drawing the soft sword from his waist and skillfully tracing circles of light around himself, keeping the attacking enemies at bay. "These bugs aren't simple," he said while fighting, "They feel even stronger than the ones we encountered last time!"

On the other side, Xiao Qing did not have the habit of carrying weapons, but she possessed powerful Nature energy within her. She closed her eyes, focused her mind to sense the life force around her, and stretched out her hands to summon a cluster of lush green vines, which grew with lightning speed and wrapped around the enemies approaching her, trapping them on the ground, unable to move.

Although they fought hard against the continuous attacks from all directions, the situation remained extremely critical. The number of black flies was staggering and their recovery speed was incredibly fast, as if they were endless. Moreover, as time passed, the corpse of every dead fly emitted a pungent stench, making one feel dizzy.

"We can't go on like this, we must think of a way." Wang Zhenqiu panted heavily and shouted aloud.