Chapter 311: This Is No Accident

"Hmph, you dare to bring out such petty tricks to embarrass yourself!" The old man's gaze fell upon Wang Zhenqiu, and he sneered, "As for you, this big brute..." He raised his right hand, his five fingers forming a claw, and grabbed downward violently. An invisible force field formed instantly, pressing down fiercely on Wang Zhenqiu's chest.

With a muffled grunt, Wang Zhenqiu was struck as if by lightning, stumbling back several steps before barely managing to stand firm. "Cough, cough—" A trace of blood welled up in his throat, yet even so, he still wore a ferocious grin: "Hahaha... truly interesting. It seems this trip was not in vain."

Meanwhile, Lin Xuan on the other side was calmly observing the situation. He did not rush to strike, but instead secretly circulated the spiritual power within his body while searching for any potential flaws in the old man.

Suddenly, a Yinying shrouded them. The once clear, cloudless sky had gathered dark clouds at some unknown moment, and they grew denser until the entire valley was plunged into gloom. Gale winds howled, trees swayed, and dust flew.

"Damn it... is he borrowing the power of heaven and earth?" Xiao Qing cursed in a low voice, her brows tightly locked.

Lin Xuan's eyes sharpened, and he spoke decisively: "Break his magical foundation first, otherwise we will be worn down to death here! Xiao Qing, Wang Zhenqiu, follow my lead!"

Hearing this, both of them nodded in agreement.

Taking advantage of the time before the next round of attacks, the three of them launched a coordinated offensive with perfect tacit understanding. Lin Xuan initiated the surprise attack, moving his figure rapidly to try and disrupt the old man's rhythm; meanwhile, Wang Zhenqiu unleashed his most formidable strength to forcibly withstand the thunderous power blasted by the opponent, then quickly counterattacked to create opportunities for his teammates; as for Xiao Qing, she moved flexibly on the periphery, searching for the most suitable moment to intervene in the battle.

"Kid, you're quite clever... but that's not enough!" Facing the three-way siege, the old man clearly stopped holding back, and fighting with full force, he did not fall into a disadvantage at all. Not only that, he deliberately created some seemingly exploitable opportunities to lure his enemies into a trap.

For instance, when Lin Xuan approached once, the old man deliberately exposed an obvious opening on his right shoulder. This scene immediately caught Xiao Qing's attention, and she relayed it to Lin Xuan via sound transmission. However, the latter did not rush in blindly, but instead became even more cautious. Sure enough, just as the two hesitated, several transparent energy threads as thin as hair, hidden beneath the ground, quietly emerged; had they not been prepared, they surely would have been ambushed successfully.

Realizing his trap had been seen through, the old man's expression darkened, and his tone became even more sinister: "Since you want to play dirty, then I'll play along with you to the end!" As he spoke, he waved his hand to summon more elements from heaven and earth to bolster himself, raising his already formidable strength by another level.

As time passed, the fierce battle between the two sides grew increasingly intense. Every clash triggered massive energy fluctuations, not only causing heavy damage to the surrounding environment but even causing the space itself to show slight signs of distortion. Under such high-intensity, sustained confrontation, even the battle-hardened trio of Xiao Qing began to feel the strain.

"This can't go on... we must find a way to break through." Lin Xuan was extremely anxious. He knew that if they could not resolve the formidable enemy before them quickly, the ones who would ultimately fail would be them.

At this very moment, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind—since defeating the opponent directly was nearly impossible, why not change the approach?

Thus, he quietly signaled his two companions to maintain the pressure, while he himself pretended to be exhausted and exposed a flaw to lure the enemy in...

"Lin Xuan, are you really sure this will work?" Wang Zhenqiu asked nervously while throwing punches to fend off the aftermath of the opponent's frantic counterattack.

"Don't worry, trust me this once," Lin Xuan replied, panting, his gaze incredibly firm.

On the other side, the corner of Xiao Qing's mouth curled up: "If this actually succeeds, you're treating me to a grand feast for a month!"

Hearing this, Lin Xuan couldn't help but laugh: "Deal, remember to make good on that when the time comes!"

Just as they were speaking, the old man seemed to sense something unusual and suddenly stopped all movement. At the same time, the temperature in the entire area plummeted, followed by an unprecedented silence descending...

The old man sneered, and a strange energy fluctuation rippled between his hands. His body seemed to be entwined with countless black mists, and that pressure made the air feel stifling. Lin Xuan frowned and whispered, "This old guy is no simple matter; we must be careful."

"What's there to fear? I'll fight as many as come!" Wang Zhenqiu clenched his fists, his muscle lines as hard as iron blocks. He took a step forward, his eyes locked firmly on the old man, "You're just an old man, do you really think you can take on three?"

Xiao Qing stood behind the two, her slender fingers twisting the Dagger at her waist, and said faintly: "Don't be careless, that was just a warm-up. This person... is not quite right."

No sooner had she spoken than the old man's figure suddenly turned into a phantom, blurring in the sight of everyone present. "So fast?" Lin Xuan's pupils constricted, and he quickly circulated the spiritual power within his body, his whole person like a fully drawn bowstring, ready to strike.

"Boom—" A loud noise! Lin Xuan turned his head abruptly to look, only to see that the once tranquil earth had split open into a deep chasm, heading straight for them. This was one of the old man's attack methods.

"Scatter!" Xiao Qing shouted urgently, simultaneously leaping lightly and moving nimbly across nearby rocks to avoid the impact. However, this strike was merely the prologue; from the depths of the fissure, a mass of pitch-black aura suddenly surged, flying toward the three like tentacles.

Wang Zhenqiu did not retreat; he roared at the sky, and the power of his entire body erupted into astonishing light. "Try my flames!" Blazing fire ignited on his fists, each swing carrying destructive power. As he slammed down onto the ground, a wall of fire rose abruptly, colliding with the black aura.

"Bang!" The explosion mixed with billowing smoke scattered in all directions, and the powerful shockwave caused the entire space to tremble incessantly.

Meanwhile, Lin Xuan was also quickly looking for an opportunity to counterattack. As the main controller in the battle, he was best at utilizing the opponent's flaws to deliver a fatal blow. But at this moment, this mysterious old man appeared too composed, completely at ease.

"It's my turn." Xiao Qing's voice sounded eerily; she had quietly approached the center of the battlefield, the cold light of her Dagger flashing as she struck precisely at the old man's right side.

However, before the blade tip could touch the target, the old man dodged sideways without warning, his movements fluid and natural, like an incredibly slippery fish. A mocking smile hung on the corner of his mouth, as if he were ridiculing these young people for being unworthy of mention.

"It's not that simple!" Xiao Qing said coldly, then used the momentum to retreat, once again vanishing into the darkness.

This scene did not escape Lin Xuan's eyes; his gaze sharpened, and he immediately judged where the old man's weakness lay. An opponent of this level must have a shortcoming, and the only thing that could possibly be exposed was that single moment when his mental focus was concentrated!