"ARF..."
The sword had yet to fly into the cave when a bark echoed from within.
The moment they heard the bark, the expressions of the four changed in unison. As their Spiritual Power surged, Shields materialized one after another, and they instantly scattered.
Almost at the same instant they moved, where the four had been standing, Spiritual Light surged and sharp, rocky Earth Spikes erupted from the ground.
After scattering, Zhang Deming stared at the rocky Earth Spikes. Seeing the cold glint on each one, he suddenly felt a chill in his crotch.
’Holy crap! I never really understood the feeling when I used my Vine Technique’s earth spikes on others. Now that I’ve run into a peer who also targets the family jewels, I finally get it. I don’t know about the lethality, but the intimidation factor is off the charts.’
"CLANG..."
As the four dodged, they heard a metallic impact. The Flying Sword shooting toward the cave entrance collided head-on with a rocky cone that flew out from inside.
The two objects let out a clear, metallic ring. The rocky cone shattered, and the Flying Sword lost its forward momentum.
Li Shifan beckoned, and the Flying Sword flew back to him.
The shockwave from the collision between the Flying Sword and the stone cone blasted away the bushes at the cave’s entrance.
A rather large cave at the base of the cliff was revealed before the four of them.
A rather tall Demon Beast appeared before them. It stood about three meters tall and looked somewhat like a wolf, but it was completely hairless, covered instead in grayish-brown, rock-like scales that glinted with a metallic luster.
The creature stepped out of the cave, its eyes flashing with a cold light as it stared at the four humans.
The four paused for a moment. The Demon Dog swept a cold gaze over them, then its body flickered with sparks of electricity. In an instant, it shot forward like a bolt of lightning, charging straight for Tong Hou.
"What the hell! Do I look like a pushover?!" Tong Hou cried out in alarm. A Chess Path appeared beneath his feet, and he slid rapidly backward.
But compared to the crackling Demon Dog, he was still a bit too slow.
In the blink of an eye, the Demon Dog was almost upon him. A Yin Yang Fish emerged beneath his feet, and a small chessboard materialized, trapping both him and the Demon Dog. A huge dome of light enveloped them, resembling a peculiar Crystal Ball.
One person and one demon—no... two people and one demon were suddenly frozen in place. Li Shifan, who hadn’t been far from him, was also caught in it, fixed to the spot like a statue.
Apparently, Li Shifan had never experienced such a scene before. Although he had caught a glimpse of the technique once, he never expected this—it even controlled his own teammates!
As his eyes darted around, a flash of bewilderment was quickly followed by a look of utter stupefaction. In that moment, his cool, aloof, "ice mountain" persona showed signs of crumbling.
Zhang Deming and Nangong Cheng, however, were not caught, as they had dodged to a safe distance.
Zhang Deming and Nangong Cheng exchanged a glance, looked at the frozen battlefield, and began to act simultaneously.
Nangong Cheng placed one hand behind his back and the other across his stomach. A small, worn-out storybook appeared, floating upright before him.
The book slowly opened, and a line of text that sounded as if it were spoken by countless voices emerged from its pages.
"Witnessing, listening, speaking, recording!"
Zhang Deming was much more straightforward. With a wave of his hand, countless Jade Vines began to sprout around the battlefield.
Just as the two finished their preparations, the immobilized Demon Dog began to flash with an intense, silvery-white electric light.
The entire chessboard, which resembled a giant Crystal Ball, began to shake.
Tong Hou’s face paled. With a shift of his eyes, he used a Yin Yang Chess Dao Technique.
Technique: Chess Dao Shell Shedding!
His entire body flickered, and his figure vanished, leaving only an illusory afterimage made of Spiritual Power in his place.
After Tong Hou disappeared, the afterimage maintained the chessboard, but the restraining power was clearly much weaker.
The already shaking chessboard held for less than three seconds before shattering.
As the chessboard shattered, the moment Li Shifan could move again, he didn’t hesitate. Raising his sword single-handedly over his head, he spun and shot away—not toward the Demon Dog, but away from the target.
Nangong Cheng, who was already prepared, had one hand behind his back and the other across his chest as the small storybook floating before him slowly turned its pages.
He spoke directly: "The story goes: Lotus Imprisonment!"
Following his words, a pristine white lotus emerged from beneath the Demon Dog’s feet and slowly closed its petals.
The Demon Dog, having just broken free, was trapped inside before it even had a chance to act.
At that moment, Zhang Deming also made his move. He pressed both hands to the ground.
Developed Technique: Thorny Ball Stab!
Rune Technique: Enhancement Skill!
Following Zhang Deming’s action, the surrounding Jade Vines instantly sharpened, stabbing densely toward the Demon Dog. Simultaneously, countless Jade Spikes erupted from beneath the Demon Dog’s feet.
In an instant, the Jade Spikes formed a sphere, stabbing toward the Demon Dog from every possible angle, leaving no blind spots.
The white lotus turned transparent the moment the spikes were about to hit, revealing the Demon Dog inside.
At this moment, the Demon Dog was covered by a shimmering, earth-yellow, transparent Shield.
The moment the imprisoning lotus turned transparent, the Demon Dog saw the situation outside. Seeing the spikes coming at it from all directions, its pupils contracted. Its next reaction was rather amusing.
Its tail, which had been sticking up behind it, instantly flattened and clamped between its legs, protecting its ’two balls and a stick.’ At the same time, the scales on its body began to glow with an earth-yellow light.