Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Overpowered
Lu Sangjiu and her companions followed the scent of the Devouring Spirit Sand, but the path wasn’t easy.
Thankfully, all three were quite agile. Despite a few stumbles along the way, they successfully reached the area near the Snow Cloud Beasts’ den.
They didn’t rush in. Instead, they concealed their auras and hid in the shadows, observing the entrance to the den.
Snow Cloud Beasts were pack animals. In the short time they watched from hiding, they saw quite a few of them coming and going.
Lu Sangjiu could sense the presence of a Beast King inside the den, but it showed no intention of coming out.
Continuing to wait like this wasn’t an option, so she sent a voice transmission to both Feng Lin and Chi Yan. "Get ready to move."
Soon after, another pack of Snow Cloud Beasts departed. The trio was just about to make their move when they suddenly heard the sounds of a duel from the direction the beasts had taken.
The trio froze, a little surprised. ’Someone else found this place?’
’Then again, it makes sense. These Snow Cloud Beasts have been attacking Cultivators all over. It’s only natural that some powerful individuals, like us, would notice something amiss and track them back here.’
’They were just unlucky enough to run into a pack that had just left the den, which is why a fight broke out.’
The commotion didn’t just alert Lu Sangjiu’s group; the Snow Cloud Beasts inside the den were also stirred. Immediately, another large pack rushed out to provide backup.
Lu Sangjiu had been a little worried about someone else coming to snatch the prize, but seeing this, she couldn’t help but feel delighted.
’We were all prepared for a huge battle, but it turns out some unexpected allies arrived to lure most of the Snow Cloud Beasts away for us.’
’If we don’t go look for it now, when will we?’
Without further hesitation, the three of them darted towards the Snow Cloud Beasts’ den.
Most of the Snow Cloud Beasts had gone out to help, leaving very few behind.
As they moved deeper into the den, they dispatched the few beasts they encountered as quickly and quietly as possible.
They continued until they reached the innermost chamber, the Beast King’s lair.
The moment they appeared, a barrage of Snowball Techniques hurtled toward them!
Lu Sangjiu and the others hastily conjured Protective Shields to block the attack. As they did, their eyes fixed on the scene before them: amidst a pack of normal Snow Cloud Beasts stood one with a single crystal horn, glaring at them with fury.
Feng Lin saw it too and gasped in surprise, "There’s a mutated Snow Cloud Beast here!"
Normal Snow Cloud Beasts don’t grow horns; this one was clearly an exception, and who knew what other abilities it might have evolved.
At that thought, she immediately warned, "Everyone, stay alert!"
Chi Yan, however, was pointing excitedly at a corner not far away. "Look! There really are Cold Ice Crystal Stones!"
Lu Sangjiu and Feng Lin’s eyes instinctively followed his finger. Sure enough, several Cold Ice Crystal Stones were embedded in the icy wall.
And from their brilliant, iridescent glow, they were clearly at least a hundred years old!
Chi Yan’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. He was overjoyed. "We’re rich! We’re rich! We’ve really struck gold this time!"
While he was still lost in his excitement, their Protective Shields shattered under the bombardment of Snowball Techniques.
Lu Sangjiu immediately yanked him aside. "Snap out of it! Fight first!"
These Cold Ice Crystal Stones were obviously treasured and protected by the Snow Cloud Beasts. Even with the intruders’ arrival, the beasts didn’t flee; instead, they all gathered here to defend them.
This meant that to get the Cold Ice Crystal Stones, they first had to deal with these Snow Cloud Beasts.
Chi Yan instantly snapped back to reality, no longer daring to be careless.
"I’m thick-skinned! I’ll tank! You guys deal damage from behind!"
Chi Yan understood his role perfectly. With a shout, he moved to stand in front of the two women, giving Lu Sangjiu and Feng Lin room to attack.
Fortunately, they were in a narrow cave. With Chi Yan standing there, he truly looked like one man holding a pass against ten thousand enemies.
Since there were still others outside, Lu Sangjiu wanted to end this fight quickly to avoid running into them on the way out and causing unnecessary trouble.
So Lu Sangjiu covered her ears, and with a look of someone bravely facing death, said to Feng Lin, "Feng Dao You, I’m ready!"
Feng Lin didn’t waste a moment. She immediately took out her Suona... and a melody that could shake the heavens and the earth erupted!
The unique thing about a Sound Attack is that it can’t be avoided simply by blocking one’s senses. Lu Sangjiu covering her ears was purely for psychological comfort.
However, since Feng Lin’s attack wasn’t aimed at them, it wasn’t too uncomfortable.
The pack of Snow Cloud Beasts, however, met a miserable fate. After resisting for a short while, they all collapsed unconscious, leaving only the Beast King still standing.
However, agitated by the noise, the beast grew even more furious. The crystal horn on its head immediately condensed a Spell and launched it at Lu Sangjiu and her companions.
Since Chi Yan was protecting Lu Sangjiu and Feng Lin, he initially tried to block the attack head-on with a Protective Shield. But he quickly realized this Beast King was incredibly tough, perhaps no less formidable than the giant python they had encountered before.
So he shouted a warning to the two behind him and stopped blocking, beginning to dodge instead.
But once they started moving, Feng Lin couldn’t maintain her Sound Attack. She had to put her Suona away and start dodging with Lu Sangjiu.
They dodged the Beast King’s Spell, which struck the ground. Lu Sangjiu watched as a layer of ice rapidly formed where it hit, emanating a bone-piercing chill. It was clearly far more powerful than the other Snow Cloud Beasts they had encountered.
"Don’t let it touch you!"
Lu Sangjiu shouted, then used her Six-sided Exquisite Dice to cast Wood Magic. A giant vine shot out, attempting to entangle the Snow Cloud Beast so Chi Yan could move in for close-quarters combat.
But the Beast King was even stronger than they had anticipated. The vine had barely thrashed twice before the beast froze it solid. Then, with a loud CRACK, it shattered into pieces that clattered to the ground.
Seeing this, Lu Sangjiu knew attacks from her Six-sided Exquisite Dice were essentially useless, so she decisively recalled it.
But she had no stronger Magic Treasure, so she could only resort to attacking with her Nine Dragon Roar.
On the other side, Feng Lin hadn’t given up just because her Sound Attack was no longer an option. She pulled out a thick stack of Blast Talismans and hurled them all at the Beast King.
Chi Yan was still at the front, keeping the Beast King’s attention. Sensing the commotion behind him, he reacted quickly, leaping back on the balls of his feet to get out of the blast radius.
Lu Sangjiu had thought that the combined power of her Nine Dragon Roar and the talisman damage would be enough to take down the Beast King.
But in the next moment, the three of them watched, stunned, as the Beast King’s crystal horn flashed with light, forming a massive Ice Shield in front of it!
The two waves of attacks slammed into the shield. With a series of sharp CRACKS, several fissures appeared on its surface, but it somehow held together, refusing to shatter completely.
’This Beast King is terrifyingly strong!’
Before the trio could even react, the Beast King’s counterattack was upon them.
A torrent of freezing energy shot from its horn once more, shattering its own shield. The force of the blast propelled the resulting shards, sending them whistling toward the trio!
Normally, while the Beast King’s attacks were fast, they were still able to dodge them in time.
But this time, a countless number of icy shards, each carrying that same intense chill, rained down on them like a dense volley of arrows. It was simply impossible to dodge!
