Chapter 4372: Phantom Shadows

ll courtyard where he was, another pair of eyes also saw the faint black shadow when he disappeared. A thoughtful look appeared in their eyes. 。Lu Xia Tian lightheartedly came to the abandoned dry wel...“This person is quite slippery.” Lu Xia Tian glanced at Yu Jing. This person was too self-protective and wouldn't even look him in the eye. Lu Xia Tian didn't have much energy to waste on Yu Jing anyway.

At that moment, Lu Xiaoteng's momentum, fueled by his victory over Gu Fan, was unstoppable. His soul essence flying sword slashed left and right, forcing back several assailants. This allowed Lou Yikong, Fu Lianyue, and the others to break free from their encirclement, creating a gap. The five of them immediately darted out through this opening, fighting as they retreated.

"Fellow Daoist Chi, Fellow Daoist Meng, the two of you follow me and Fellow Daoist Qi to besiege Dongfang together! The rest of you should first hold back the other four," Cui Tianzheng gritted his teeth and immediately made a new arrangement. Given the current situation, it was unrealistic to want to keep all five of them here. Since that was the case, he had to focus on keeping Lu Xiaitian, the biggest target, behind. With the combined efforts of four people, Cui Tianzheng didn't believe he couldn't kill Lu Xiaitian. Even if the other party was powerful, they would still have their limits.

"Good!" Chi Zhanglin and another grey-robed elder also realized the seriousness of the situation. Being greedy and not chewing thoroughly, even if they killed Lu Xia Tian one person, it would be a heaven-defying achievement.

Two groups of people chased each other, and before they knew it, the chasing group entered a strange icy land. The surroundings were filled with pillars of ice that looked like forests. These ice pillars came in all shapes and sizes; some resembled steep cliffs, while others were thick at the top and thin at the bottom, like giant cones standing on the ground. There were also large and small boulders, and ice chunks floating in the air, making the scene before their eyes both mysterious and eerie.

All around, icy winds howled. Even these celestial beings of formidable strength couldn't help but feel a bone-chilling coldness that never ceased to assail them from all directions.

Leveraging the eerie atmosphere of this place, Lu Xia Tian and his group managed to momentarily escape the sight of Cui Tianzheng and others.

"This place is rather eerie." Yu Jing stood among the crowd, watching snowflakes fly all around. As the icy wind howled, the smooth, mirror-like ice reflected the figures of the people from time to time. Yu Jing couldn't help but frown and look around curiously.

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"This place has a considerable constraint on divine consciousness." Pool Changlin's expression changed slightly as well. Strictly speaking, they had never left the Yuan Shenshui Huan realm since entering it. Previously, Pool Changlin was somewhat frightened by the armored ape demons and the pythons. Out of their original group of five, only Pool Changlin and Yu Jing were still alive; the other three companions had died before their eyes. As for those from Yuxuan Heavenly Court, Nandantian, and Mingluo Heavenly Court, there were also many who had perished.

Even these celestial beings, who are as heavenly as they are, would naturally feel fear in such a dangerous situation where their lives were constantly threatened.

Cui Tianzheng and Qi Hongzhu, the leaders of their group, also looked around with grim expressions. They had been chasing after Lu Xiaottian and his companions but ended up losing them. It was a great disgrace. Fortunately, they had been pursuing closely, so even though Lu Xiaottian and his group had temporarily disappeared from sight, they hadn't gone too far. There were still traces of their presence here. With some effort, they should be able to find them again.

After a while, Lu Xia Tian and the others' breath became weaker and weaker under this chaotic cold wind and snow. Cui Tianzheng and Qi Hongzhu's confidence in their hearts gradually disappeared. The two discussed and started to split into two teams, using specific treasures to sense each other's presence. Then they began to search separately.

Yet, no one had noticed that within the glistening ice surface, among all the reflections, there was a gaze that seemed oddly sinister.

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All around stood towering ice pillars, and countless ice stones floated in the air. Their shadows refracted and twisted, and with the constant biting cold assaulting them, even powerful celestial beings could not tell if each shadow was genuine or a trick.

Cui Tianzheng led Hu Yidao and the others carefully forward for a while. In the midst of several booming explosions, everyone's nerves became tense.

“Another shard of explosive ice.” Mu Qing’an saw the sky filled with exploding ice chips and shook her head with a smile, but she didn't notice a shadow in the ice wall behind her. Taking advantage of the chaotic energy caused by the violent explosion, the shadow reached out from the ice, its fingernails sharp as blades, silently slashing towards Mu Qing’an’s back at lightning speed.

The most powerful contender present, Cui Tianzheng, had already sensed something amiss. A chill ran down his spine as he suddenly sprang forward. The others reacted a fraction slower. Although Mu Qing'an also sensed something was wrong, he was just too late. In a rush, he activated his celestial light behind him, and a yellowish battle armor materialized from it.

Though the armor offered some protection, it was ultimately unable to completely withstand the shadow's assault. With a grating screech, its claws pierced through the metal, plunging directly into Mu Qingan's body. A heart-wrenching scream escaped Mu Qingan's lips as the claws ripped his heart out. Scorching blood splattered onto the ground, and a crimson tongue lashed out from the shadow's mouth, coiling around the still-beating heart before swallowing it whole.

“Bold demon!” Cui Tianzheng was instantly enraged, more shocked than when Lu Xiaoteng had killed Lü Fan before. When Cui Tianzheng’s Chixiao Pearl struck and the other two companions' magic weapons followed suit, the distorted figure shrank rapidly and fled into the thick ice layer.

The ice stone exploded with a deafening roar, shattering the eerie shadow's hiding place into countless shards of ice. However, there was nothing unusual inside. In the blink of an eye, the other party had not only killed and taken their hearts, but had also easily retreated from under their noses. The key was that they didn't know how many such monsters existed. If they reached a certain number, none of the remaining few would be able to escape.

“It is imperative that we rendezvous with Zhi Dao and the others as soon as possible,” Chi Changlin said, his expression shifting slightly.

Choi Tianzheng nodded and immediately took out a crimson disc. Seeing another flickering dot on the disc, he let out a slight sigh of relief. At least there were no abnormalities from Qi Hongzhu's side for now.

A group of people converged toward Qi Hongzhu, and Qi Hongzhu's group also moved closer to Cui Tianzheng's direction. Cui Tianzheng had a bad feeling in his heart. If they hadn't been attacked, Qi Hongzhu's group shouldn't have taken the initiative to approach them.

Whoosh! Despite the defenses of Cui Tianzheng, Chi Changlin, and Xu Jing, three figures sprang from the ice surface. Cui Tianzheng and the others unleashed their immortal weapons against the first figure. As they focused their attention on it, two other figures darted past Xu Jing on either side. Although a few managed to react and defend halfway, they only managed to block one shadowy figure's attack. Xu Jing was left with a deep wound on his abdomen, visible to the bone. Had he not reacted in time, that shadowy figure could have easily cleaved him in half with a single blow.

>

Once again attacked, Cui Tianzheng and the others were drenched in cold sweat. These phantoms not only possessed extraordinary strength, but their numbers seemed to be far greater than they had anticipated.

Please: m.lstxt.ccIf King Lu has some free time, perhaps we could go sit there for a while"“I still have things to attend to, and I can’t afford any delays. If there’s anything the Spider Empress needs, please speak fr...