Chapter 310: Just Playing Like This

"It looks like a type of secret art of the evil path." Lin Xuan analyzed calmly, his voice low and steady. His gaze swept over the beast's entire body, every movement revealing focus. "Such moves mostly rely on the consumption of life force; they will be powerful for a short time, but cannot be maintained for long."

Wang Zhenqiu sneered: "Who cares what kind of thing it is, we cannot lose today. If this place is destroyed, we won't have another chance to come and figure it out!" Having said that, his hands quickly formed seals, the spiritual power within his body surged wildly, and a wisp of golden light rose from behind him, like a small, rising sun.

Seeing this, the giant black beast stopped lingering and lunged at the nearest Xiao Qing with a roar. Its blade-sharp claws tore through the air, the speed so fast it caught one off guard. Xiao Qing reacted immediately, rolling sideways to dodge the fatal strike, while at the same time, the short sword in her hand flew out, piercing precisely into one of the monster's eyes.

"Ah—" A painful roar resounded through the valley. The beast shook its head frantically, trying to pull out the blade embedded in its eyeball, yet blood had already splattered everywhere, and the ground seemed to have turned into a foul-smelling hellscape.

"Well done!" Lin Xuan seized the opportunity to strike, a blue arc of electricity erupting from his palm, heading straight for the beast. As the current tore through space, it emitted a harsh crackling sound, causing the leaves of the surrounding trees to drift down involuntarily. This strike successfully hit the target, causing the once majestic giant beast to suddenly turn charred, with parts of its skin and flesh even showing burn marks.

"As expected, it's just a strong exterior hiding a weak interior." A look of contempt curled the corner of Lin Hui's mouth.

However, at this very moment, the sky suddenly darkened, dark clouds layered upon one another, as if the whole world were holding its breath for this battle. Suddenly, an aged yet majestic voice rang out: "I didn't expect you brats to actually force me to use my true form."

"Who?!" Lin Xuan looked up abruptly, his eyes extremely vigilant. "Come out! What kind of hero hides their head and shows their tail?"

A ripple appeared in the Void, and a hunched old man slowly manifested. The wrinkles on his face were as deep as gullies, his eyes turbid yet emitting an eerie, ghostly glow. It was the very person controlling the black smoke beast!

"Heh heh... since you know there's no escape, then be buried with me." After the old man said this coldly, he suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of essence blood. Immediately following, the injured black smoke beast actually expanded once more, its entire body permeated with heart-palpitating energy.

Sensing an unprecedented sense of crisis, Wang Zhenqiu shouted: "No more hesitation, let's work together to finish this guy off!"

Without hesitation, Lin Xuan acted first, treading the Bagua Steps, spinning rapidly around the beast, and continuously applying the Binding Array. At the same time, countless phantom images of Talismans appeared between his fingertips, sticking onto the beast's body. These special Runes not only restricted the opponent's movements but also reduced its defensive power.

On the other side, Xiao Qing utilized her agile figure, leaping flexibly around the beast, searching for any possible flaws. Whenever a favorable opportunity arose, she would fearlessly charge forward, relying on her small weapon to create more wounds. Occasionally, she would deliberately tease the monster, baiting it into launching attacks to find chances for a counterattack.

As for Wang Zhenqiu, he continued to strengthen his own power to build up an offensive. "Blazing God Fist!" he shouted, his arms erupting with scorching firelight, and then he charged directly at the black smoke beast, which had already fallen into a predicament. At this moment, all his power converged at one point and erupted, echoing throughout the entire area like a thunderclap.

The level of tacit cooperation between the three was beyond the enemy's imagination, and it caused the situation to rapidly turn in their favor.

The beast could no longer hold on, its massive body finally collapsed, scattering into a pile of decaying black ash that vanished with the wind. But the group did not lower their guard, still staring fixedly at the old man who had been hiding his figure.

"What a bunch of troublesome little brats..." the old man said hoarsely, his eyes filled with a mix of anger and admiration. "It's a pity, even if I exhaust my last shred of cultivation today, I will take your lives!"

As soon as he finished speaking, another mass of black mist surged from the old man's sleeve. However, what was unusual this time was that the mist slowly formed into a pitch-black spear, and faint signs of lightning flickering could be seen at its tip.

Xiao Qing exclaimed: "More weird stuff! What kind of abilities does he actually have?"

Lin Xuan's expression was grave as he replied in a low voice: "That is a Magic Weapon forged from his own life force. Although its power is infinite, the user must also pay a great price. We must finish this quickly!"

Hearing this, Wang Zhenqiu nodded to show he understood: "That makes it easier. We'll just keep fighting the way we did before; this time we will definitely be able to end the battle completely."

The three divided the work and cooperated again, with seamless tacit understanding. Facing the sudden fatal threat, they were not afraid or retreating; instead, their fighting spirit was even higher. Xiao Qing, in particular, took the initiative to provoke the old man: "Hey, is this all you've got? I thought you were so impressive!"

These words undoubtedly completely enraged the opponent. One could hear rapid footsteps in the air, and the next moment, that terrifying black spear shot instantly toward Xiao Qing's chest.

Just when it seemed certain death, Lin Xuan blocked in front of her without hesitation, taking the blow head-on. "Pfft!" Accompanied by a spray of blood, his face turned deathly pale, but he still forced a smile: "It's okay, don't worry, it's not over yet..."

"Brother Lin Xuan!" Xiao Qing's eyes were almost blurred with tears, but she understood that she could not be weak at this moment, so she turned her grief and indignation into motivation, her roar piercing the eardrums: "Bastard, you really deserve to die! Look at my Demon-Slaying Sword!" Accompanied by a dazzling white light, her speed exceeded her usual limits, and in an instant, she closed in on the location of the culprit...

"Do you think you can win?" On the verge of death, the old man was still arrogant, laughing wildly at the sky. "Don't think you can solve everything so easily. The real storm hasn't arrived yet! Hahaha—"

The laughter stopped abruptly, the lingering sound circling in the valley for a long time, and no one knew what it actually meant...

A cold light flashed in the old man's eyes, and the aura around his body surged suddenly. He formed seals with both hands, and it was as if countless threads were being stirred in the air, emitting a sharp whistling sound. Lin Xuan, Wang Zhenqiu, and Xiao Qing stood back-to-back in a triangular formation, each watching the other vigilantly.

"You lot are truly bold, daring to break in here to challenge me." The old man's voice was like grinding iron and stone, carrying a chilling pressure. "Today I will let you understand what a gap in strength is!"

Xiao Qing sneered, the long whip in her hand instantly turning into a black spirit snake. "Tsk tsk, you big-talking old thing, have you lived your life in vain? Don't think we'll be afraid of you!"

Before the words had even faded, the spirit snake had already lunged fiercely at the old man. But just as it was about to approach, a powerful wave of energy suddenly erupted from the old man's body, directly knocking the spirit snake back several meters. Xiao Qing gritted her teeth to control the whip in her hand, her face looking slightly pale.