Chapter 174: Holding Her Hand

With a series of sharp sounds, the glinting cold lights instantly buried themselves into the ground, vanishing from sight. The sharp aura in that instant gave even the eighth-order Peacock demons a chilling sensation down their spines.

The Peacock demon race, naturally endowed with powerful perceptive abilities, had suddenly sensed imminent danger, which prompted their instantaneous evasion.

Wang Yan, too, was startled. He leapt back abruptly, and the expression on his his face changed dramatically. He barked, "Who's there?"

A yellow light flickered instantly, and Mei Gongzi, acting on instinct, raised her hand, only for it to be suddenly seized by a powerful grip. The next moment, wrapped in the flickering yellow light, she was suddenly whisked out of the hillside's range.

A swath of cold lights instantly burst forth from that yellow figure, hurling toward the five Peacock demons.

The one who acted was naturally Tang San. He had been biding his time, understanding all too well that defeating these Peacock demons was impossible with his current strength. He stood no chance against such a formidable race's eighth-order members unless he unleashed his divine consciousness.

Those streaks of cold light were bolts fired from the Godly Zhuge Crossbows. Two fully loaded Godly Zhuge Crossbows alternating their shots for repelling the enemies, seizing a person, and covering the retreat, The whole process was executed in one fluid motion.

Mei Gongzi's hand was small and delicate, and it felt cool to the touch. When Tang San grasped it, a surge of immeasurable love almost instantly rose inside him.

As he held her hand tightly, he was filled with indescribable complex emotions. Keeping them under control, he activated Leopard Flash in succession like it was nothing, running away with Mei Gongzi as if they were shooting stars.

Facing the Zhuge Crossbows, the four Peacock demons swung their own plumes, blocking the crossbow bolts fired at close range amidst a series of metallic clashing sounds.

Their strength was formidable. Confronting such a powerful attack, their Peacock plumes blossomed in the air like a fan, easily deflecting each cold light. However, they were still taken aback by the mighty force carried by the bolts.

While blocking the bolts from the Godly Zhuge Crossbows, Tang San, with Mei Gongzi in tow, used Leopard Flash several times in succession, escaping dozens of meters away.

"Fools, chase them!" Wang Yan bellowed, and all five Peacock demons spread their wings, pursuing Tang San and Mei Gongzi without a moment’s delay.

At this time, Tang San's Discerning Eye of Heaven was fully activated. Everything around him was clear in his mind without the need for actual. Each use of Leopard Flash was precisely executed using the trees for cover, forcing the five Peacock demons to determine their direction of escape constantly.

However, eighth-order was eighth-order, especially since the Peacock demons were of the highest bloodline tier. Their lithe forms could nimbly cross both mountains and forests, and their low-altitude flight through the woods was truly swift.

White light surged in Tang San's eyes, and a white vertical eye gradually lit up on his forehead. As it was concealed by his mask, even Mei Gongzi at his side couldn't see this vertical eye's appearance. She could only feel that Tang San's aura seemed different at this moment, as if he had merged with the world around him, becoming an inseparable part of it.

Tang San suddenly flung out his left hand, hurling Mei Gongzi forward. His voice rang in Mei Gongzi's ears, "Go quickly, I'll draw them away."

Mei Gongzi's delicate body flew forward, and her Peacock wings unfurled behind her. As she soared ahead, she turned her head to look back at Tang San, her beautiful eyes filled with astonishment.

This sudden rescue made no sense to her. From this stranger, she felt an odd sense of trust. She didn't perceive his strength as particularly great; those continuous Leopard Flashes indicated he possessed the Flash Leopard bloodline. Yet, it was not easy to master Leopard Flash to such an extent! After all, the Flash Leopard was not a powerful species to begin with, and the one who saved her was human.

Having thrown Mei Gongzi to safety, Tang San stopped in his tracks, reaching into his storage bag with his right hand and instantly pulling out his Godly Zhuge Crossbows. The two crossbows in his hands flickered like illusions as he rapidly loaded bolt after bolt.

He had redesigned the quiver for quick reloading and prepared the bolts in advance, so it took him just a brief moment to have them locked and loaded.

In this brief moment, the five Peacock demons had already caught up.

With a slight smile on his lips and the white light in his eyes growing more intense, Tang San thought:

Come, taste the fate-favored might of my Zhuge Crossbows, the Aetherhorn Bolts!

The arrays on both Godly Zhuge Crossbows lit up with a faint white glow, and in the next instant, bolts enshrouded in a soft white light shot out.

Previously, while rescuing Mei Gongzi, Tang San had focused on maximizing the speed of his Leopard Flash, so he had not infused the power of the Discerning Eye of Heaven into the Zhuge Crossbows. Now, their true power was unleashed.

These bolts, except for the faint white light wrapping them, seemed no different from those before. However, the eight pursuing Peacock demons felt an intense sense of crisis.

They all wielded their peacock feathers to defend while trying to evade. But then, something strange happened.

Wang Yan precisely pointed his peacock feather at a bolt, but for some unknown reason, his heart suddenly trembled and his feather was inexplicably skewed, allowing the bolt to graze past its edge and arrive instantly at his chest.

Caught off guard, Wang Yan found it too late to dodge. Numerous peacock feathers moved from his back to protect him, blocking in front.

However, eerily, the bolt found its way through the gaps, and although brushed by the peacock feathers, it still pierced his body.

Wang Yan felt his bloodline power suddenly stagnate for a moment, and a pain in his chest indicated he was wounded.

And this was only the first bolt; similar situations occurred with most other bolts.

He and the other four Peacock demons also encountered various problems, inexplicably failing to block the powerful bolts. For a time, muffled grunts echoed as the five powerful Peacock demons' defenses were broken, causing them to fall from the sky.

Tang San's smile broadened slightly. "Indeed, the effects of the Aetherhorn Bolts are the best!"

Due to their size and the quality of the black gold, the Zhuge Crossbows could only carry one Demonic God Transformation effect at a time. Otherwise, their power would be even more terrifying if combined with other effects.

The five eighth-order powerhouses were all immediately subdued by the Godly Zhuge Crossbows with the effects of the Discerning Eye of Heaven. Although such injuries were unlikely to penetrate their muscles and cause severe damage, they still instilled terror in the five Peacock demons as they couldn't comprehend what force had harmed them.

After firing, Tang San turned and ran, pursuing Mei Gongzi ahead. To his dismay, he found Mei Gongzi hadn't run far; she was nearby, looking at him curiously.

"Are you stupid? Run!" Tang San couldn't help but scold her. He dashed to her side like lightning, grabbed her hand again, and pulled her as he ran forward.

Mei Gongzi's hand twitched, but she was unable to pull away from Tang San's grasp. He had already stored both Zhuge Crossbows in his storage bag, not reloading them as he had no more bolts. The bolts he had previously crafted were only enough for two volleys.

The five Peacock demons behind them didn't pursue further, possibly frightened by the Aetherhorn-infused crossbow bolts.

After running for over ten kilometers, Tang San gradually slowed down, sensing no pursuit from behind.