Chapter 303: Fools (III)

"Prepare the array!"

Wandering Man didn’t dare to place all his hopes on the Spiritual Bamboo Flying Boat. The Human Head Owls were late-stage Demonic Spirit Realm creatures. Their speed was certainly no less than that of the flying boat. If they focused solely on fleeing at this moment, it would undoubtedly lead to their deaths!

In haste, they prepared and activated the Golden Ring Array. However, without Shangguan Lifeng and their strongest member, Luo Xingnan, only four of them remained. The array's power was significantly diminished, and whether it could hold against the Human Head Owls was uncertain.

Meanwhile, Luo Xingnan was in dire straits.

The screech of the Human Head Owls resonated with the roars of the Hook Snakes, giving the eerie impression that these demonic beasts were communicating. It seemed as if the Human Head Owls were accusing the cultivators of stealing their treasured herbs.

Immediately, the Hook Snakes let out enraged roars, and a crimson mist began spreading at an alarming speed.

Luo Xingnan had not anticipated the Hook Snakes being provoked prematurely. Caught off guard, he was soon surrounded by the serpentine swarm and once again found himself under their siege.

Previously, when the Hook Snakes encircled and attacked the cultivators, they suffered heavy casualties due to the cultivators’ counterattacks. Only a few of the snakes remained capable of fighting, so the scene wasn’t as terrifying as before. However, the two middle-stage Demonic Spirit Realm Hook Snake Kings had partially recovered from their injuries and still possessed formidable combat strength. The situation remained exceedingly perilous.

The group was split by the demonic beasts, forced to fight their own battles.

However, the most precarious situation was on Qin Sang’s side.

The moment they activated the Golden Ring Array, darkness descended upon them. The Human Head Owls swooped down with terrifying speed and strength, fully exploiting the open terrain.

Their speed even surpassed that of the Spiritual Bamboo Flying Boat.

Fortunately, Wandering Man had the foresight to prepare the array in advance. Otherwise, the Human Head Owls would have already caught up, leaving them trapped on the flying boat, unable to form an array, and doomed to be slaughtered one by one.

Bang!

The bronze rings of the array trembled violently, golden light erupting as countless illusory rings overlapped. Yet, under the sharp talons of the Human Head Owls, the defense shattered instantly, barely holding off the attack.

Because of the weakened power of the array, their efforts to fend off the attacks of the Human Head Owls were far less effective than before.

The four of them felt as if they had been struck by a heavy blow simultaneously. Their bodies trembled, their faces turned ashen, and their spiritual power drained away like flowing water, devoured by the Golden Ring Array. In just a moment, more than half of their spiritual power had been consumed, barely keeping the array from collapsing.

But before they could recover or adjust, another attack from the Human Head Owls arrived.

Panic-stricken, they hastily took out spirit stones and medicinal pills, desperately trying to replenish their spiritual power.

Everyone understood that if the array broke, they would stand no chance against the Human Head Owls.

The Human Head Owls seemed to remember being trapped previously and used their speed to circle around them, launching hit-and-run strikes. Each attack was as fierce as thunder, leaving no room for reprieve.

As the main operator of the array, Wandering Man bore the brunt of the pressure and had no opportunity to activate the Spiritual Bamboo Flying Boat.

The Golden Ring Array was on the verge of collapse.

Although the exit wasn’t far, at this rate, the array would be torn apart by the Human Head Owls long before they could reach it.

Given the circumstances, their only option seemed to be putting aside past grievances and reuniting with Luo Xingnan to work together.

However, with their group pinned down by the Human Head Owls and Luo Xingnan entangled by the Hook Snakes, reuniting was no easy task.

Qin Sang’s mind raced. He had the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions and the jade ruyi talisman astra at his disposal. Of the two, the Yan Luo Array of Ten Directions was more powerful.

If not for Wandering Man’s presence, and the fact that the others were unaware of his true identity, thinking of him as merely a rogue cultivator, he wouldn’t have hesitated to reveal himself. Even so, under the current circumstances, the jade ruyi seemed more appropriate than the Yan Luo Array of Ten Directions.

After deliberating with Wandering Man and the others, they reached an agreement to buy him time. Just as Qin Sang was about to summon the jade ruyi, Ge Yuan suddenly made an unexpected move.

The Human Head Owls launched another ferocious dive.

The group hurriedly gathered their just-recovered spiritual power and poured it all into maintaining the Golden Ring Array. At that critical moment, Ge Yuan suddenly flung the bronze ring in his hand aside and, without a word, broke away from the array.

He had clearly planned this beforehand. The instant he freed himself, his body transformed into an evasion light and fled towards the exit without looking back.

He used others as a shield!

Everyone was furious. No one had anticipated that Ge Yuan would act so selfishly, especially at such a perilous juncture.

Even Wandering Man cursed aloud in rage.

"Fool!"

Whoosh!

The gale stirred by the massive wings of the Human Head Owls was already bearing down upon them. Despite their anger, there was nothing they could do but adapt. Hastily, Wandering Man reorganized the array.

Now down to just three people maintaining the array, its power plummeted to its lowest point. It didn’t take long before the Golden Ring Array was torn open by the Human Head Owls. Razor-sharp talons reached through the breach, aiming directly for their skulls.

Qin Sang was both shocked and enraged, but his hands moved with precision and speed. The jade ruyi he had prepared was their only option in this dire moment. Without hesitation, he activated it to counter the immediate threat.

Whoosh, whoosh...

The talisman astra manifested, and countless jade ruyi projections shot forward like lightning.

At such close range, the Human Head Owls barely had time to react. Though they sensed the danger, evasion was impossible. The full power of the talisman astra struck them directly.

Black feathers scattered wildly.

Despite the formidable toughness of the Human Head Owls’ feathers and their exceptional defense, the talisman astra’s force at such proximity was unavoidable. A gash tore open on its chest, and blood mixed with feather fragments splattered everywhere, emitting a sickening stench.

In pain, the Human Head Owl frantically flapped its wings and retreated into the sky.

However, while the injury appeared severe, it was far from fatal.

The Human Head Owl let out a frenzied screech, its ferocity only intensifying.

Qin Sang suddenly heard a cry of alarm from up ahead—it was Ge Yuan.

Glancing over, Qin Sang saw that Ge Yuan had nearly reached the abyss and was skimming along the edge of the crimson mist.

Without warning, a beam of white light pierced through the mist, shooting out from within. Within the white light was what seemed like a vortex, emanating an immense suction force that instantly ensnared Ge Yuan.

The source of the white light was a luopan-like[1] artifact held by Luo Xingnan.

From his disheveled appearance and erratic spiritual aura, Luo Xingnan was clearly not in much better shape than the others.

Yet, a cruel smile spread across his face.

Ge Yuan, elated at the thought of his imminent escape, never anticipated Luo Xingnan’s ambush. Caught off guard, he was pulled straight toward Luo Xingnan by the white light.

In the next moment, Luo Xingnan’s figure flickered and reappeared to Ge Yuan’s left.

Simultaneously, the white light abruptly shifted into black light, and its suction force transformed into a powerful repulsion.

Ge Yuan, still struggling to break free, was flung away like a shooting star. Under Luo Xingnan’s precise control, he was hurled directly toward the gaping maw of a Hook Snake King.

Ge Yuan’s expression twisted in sheer terror.

Wandering Man and the white-robed scholar seemed entirely unsurprised by this turn of events, as if they had expected it all along.

With an icy tone, Wandering Man repeated his earlier insult.

"Fool!"

1. The luopan or geomantic compass is a Chinese magnetic compass, also known as a feng shui compass. It is used by a feng shui practitioner to determine the precise direction of a structure, place or item. ☜