Chapter 119: Subduing the Pill Beasts!
Dong!
A deep, muffled sound rang out. Jiang Yun's trio immediately turned their heads, now fully alert. The door to the third floor behind them had suddenly opened. Immediately after, a squad of people burst forth in a swarm.
The two groups faced each other, momentarily stunned. They never imagined someone would have beaten them to it. Looking up at the pills suspended in midair, radiating such dense pill fragrance, these people's eyes instantly turned bloodshot.
In the very next instant, sharp killing intent exploded from the squad members' eyes.
Within the enormous pill chamber, the two forces met head-on. Seeing that Jiang Yun's trio had already swept through a round of collecting, thick killing intent abruptly erupted, causing the temperature inside the chamber to plummet sharply.
The razor-sharp killing intent howled through the entire room like a fierce gale.
"Heh heh, you lot are pretty sly, aren't you? Getting to the third floor ahead of us. Hand over the pills you just collected, and I, Zhong Shan, guarantee we'll spare your lives!"
At the front of that squad, the brawny Zhong Shan took the lead, his face twisted into a ferocious grin as he looked at Jiang Yun, Zi Yan, and Medusa.
"Then come and try!" Medusa sneered, replying coldly without yielding an inch. Her peak Heaven-Connecting Realm aura quietly erupted.
"Heh, I'd also like to see how you plan to steal my things!" Zi Yan arrived beside Medusa, coldly sweeping her gaze over the crowd. Her late Heaven-Connecting Realm aura swept toward them all.
Although Zi Yan's strength wasn't as great as Medusa's, the dragon might mixed into her aura possessed an even more terrifying deterrent force.
"Misjudged them. They're tough nuts to crack!" Sensing Zi Yan's and Medusa's auras, Zhong Shan's expression immediately turned grave. He himself was only at the Fleshly Tribulation.
Although Zi Yan and Medusa were merely at the Heaven-Connecting Realm, they gave him the same oppressive feeling as fellow Fleshly Tribulation experts. This forced him into serious consideration.
Right at that moment, Jiang Yun stepped forward and said with a smile, "If we keep tangling with each other, once the people behind us get in, your chances of making any more gains will be even slimmer!"
Jiang Yun's words immediately stirred a commotion among the opposing group. Coupled with the sounds of movement coming from behind, Zhong Shan's expression shifted. Glancing deeply at Jiang Yun's trio, he knew if he didn't make a decision soon, his squad might descend into chaos. In the end, he could only bellow: "Spread out! Everyone get what they can!"
As his voice fell, the numerous figures surged forward. In an instant, the ceiling was packed with people, each deploying their own methods to collect pills.
Watching pill after pill fall into others' hands, Zi Yan could barely contain herself. She said to Jiang Yun, "Xiao Yun, aren't we going to make a move?"
Zi Yan's question also drew Medusa's gaze to Jiang Yun!
Jiang Yun, contrary to his usual demeanor, had his brows tightly locked. In a deep voice, he said, "We've already reaped quite a bit. We can't get greedy, or we might become the target of everyone."
Hearing this, Zi Yan and Medusa could only nod. Jiang Yun's words weren't unreasonable. Besides, they had already gathered a fair number of pills—at least six or seven per person. This fortune was simply an explosive windfall.
In truth, Jiang Yun had another suspicion. During the process of collecting the pills, based on their medicinal properties, he discovered that the vast majority of pills here were below the five-colored level. There wasn't a single eighth-tier pill above five colors. This anomalous situation made him choose caution.
And soon after, more squads arrived. Conflicts broke out inevitably. Fighting began spreading to every corner of the pill chamber.
Jiang Yun's trio fought together, weaving along the periphery of the battlefield, casually fending off the figures charging at them as they slowly retreated toward the exit.
"Hm?" Just as they were about to leave, Jiang Yun abruptly turned around, his face growing solemn.
The entrance behind them was now blocked by the four stone beasts. Their eyes were now luminous, astonishing spiritual light surging within those eyes.
"These are... Pill Beasts?" Seeing this, Jiang Yun spoke with some surprise.
"Pill Beasts?" Zi Yan and Medusa had also noticed the anomaly. Upon hearing Jiang Yun's words, they looked blank, exchanging a confused glance, clearly quite unfamiliar with the term.
"Pill Beasts are a type of puppet in the Great Thousand World, distinct from the pill beasts of the Dou Qi Continent. They aren't powered by spiritual energy, but by the medicinal power of the pills within them. It seems the higher-grade pills are inside these Pill Beasts' bodies!" Jiang Yun turned and explained to the two of them.
"Careful!" Just then, Medusa suddenly cried out, pulling Jiang Yun and Zi Yan at top speed and soaring into the air.
"Roar—"
In the next instant, a low, deep roar sounded. The roar was like thunder, reverberating through the stone hall, actually stirring up gusts of hurricane winds.
"What is that?!"
"It's Pill Beasts! Those four stone statues at the entrance were actually Pill Beasts transformed!"
"What do we do?! Their strength is too great! If we don't kill them, it looks like we won't be getting out!"
The massive roar startled the people locked in slaughter within the pill chamber. This sudden turn of events caused the various factions to cease their plundering. Then they immediately spotted the stone statues blocking the entrance.
A wave of outcry instantly swept through the crowd!
"So powerful!"
Zhong Shan stared intently at the four Pill Beasts. They were shaped like flood dragons, their two dragon eyes gleaming with a crystalline luster. An exceptionally peculiar fluctuation emanated from them.
"Divine Soul Tribulation!" A man at the Fleshly Tribulation level beside Zhong Shan spoke, scratching his head with a troubled look. "This is a bit troublesome."
The strongest among them were the few leaders, all at the Fleshly Tribulation. With such strength, wanting to break through the encirclement of four Divine Soul Tribulation opponents was simply arduous beyond measure.
"Let's join forces and fight our way out!" Another man, holding a saber, said coldly.
"Fine!" Zhong Shan and the others immediately nodded in agreement!
However, when it came to assigning opponents, the group ran into difficulty again. They had only three at the Fleshly Tribulation, plus a group of fairly strong Heaven-Connecting Realm fighters.
But the opponents were four puppets at the Divine Soul Tribulation. Who would take the last one?
Amidst the silence, Zhong Shan's eyes darted around. He abruptly looked toward Jiang Yun's trio and said, "You three—I know you're no ordinary folk. You can see the situation we're in. We three will each take on one Pill Beast. We'll leave the remaining one to you!"
"I'm sure, for the sake of all our fellow travelers here, the three of you won't refuse!"
Zhong Shan's words instantly pushed Jiang Yun's trio into the spotlight. At that moment, everyone's eyes fell upon them.
As for why Zhong Shan had three Heaven-Connecting Realm fighters face a Divine Soul Tribulation Pill Beast, no one dug too deep. But the aura the three radiated was indeed extraordinary. Perhaps they truly had such means?
"In that case, we'll hold off the last Pill Beast."
Toward Zhong Shan's moral coercion, Jiang Yun showed not a trace of anger. Instead, he agreed with a smile!
Medusa and Zi Yan had no objections whatsoever to Jiang Yun's decision. As far as they were concerned, they didn't feel the slightest fear toward the Pill Beast. On the contrary, they were somewhat eager.
"Then we'll take the one on the far left!"
As his voice fell, Jiang Yun took the lead, heading toward the flood-dragon Pill Beast on the far left. Zi Yan and Medusa followed closely behind.
"Let me see first what tricks this puppet has!" Zi Yan, her fighting spirit soaring to the heavens, stared at the flood-dragon puppet. A flash of purple light, and a suit of purple dragon-scale battle armor appeared on her body.
The armor hugged her curvaceous, well-proportioned figure, accentuating her alluring silhouette to the fullest. Below the battle skirt, a pair of long, perfectly straight jade legs gleamed with a luster that made countless people's eyes struggle to look away.
Her waterfall-like black hair cascaded down, reaching her pert, shapely hips. Wielding a thick and long dragon-shaped Purple Crystal battle spear, she was like a goddess of war, her sharp gaze fixed on the Pill Beast ahead.
Although Zi Yan was slender and willowy, anyone who had sparred with her knew the terrifying power contained within that exquisite, graceful frame.
Roar!
The Pill Beast lacked sentience, but seeing Zi Yan's erupting battle aura, red light flashed through its eyes. It let out an enraged roar. In the next instant, carrying rolling wind and thunder, it charged straight at Zi Yan.
"Hmph!"
Seeing this, Zi Yan let out a cold snort. Then, stepping forward with her jade foot, vast spiritual energy swept out. Faintly, it seemed to coalesce behind her into a pair of magnificent, colossal light dragon wings.
Swoosh!
The dragon wings spread. Her figure vanished like a phantom. When she reappeared, she was already at the Pill Beast's flank.
Bang!
Her palm gripped the battle spear. A streak of violet-gold light flashed out. Amidst a fearsome dragon roar, a sharp spear shadow, quick as lightning, stabbed into the Pill Beast's body. Yet such a fierce strike only left a shallow scratch.
Feeling the recoil force in her palm, Zi Yan's pupils sharply constricted. This Pill Beast's defenses were beyond her expectations.
But she did not give up easily. Her slender palm lifted slightly. Radiance surged, immediately transforming into a thick dragon claw. The sharp dragon claws emitted waves of cold gleam. Even the surrounding space seemed to tremble faintly, sensing the claws' razor edge.
The dragon claws slashed. A terrifying claw mark howled forth, slamming into the Pill Beast's body, tearing out a gash approximately a foot deep.
This destructive power was indeed much stronger than the earlier attack, but relative to the Pill Beast's colossal body, it wasn't a particularly severe injury.
"Roar—"
Thwarted repeatedly, the Pill Beast also roared. Its massive tail whipped out violently, carrying the force of a thousand jun, swinging straight for Zi Yan.
A powerful oppressive feeling spread out, as if even the flowing spiritual energy within the pill chamber showed signs of congealing.
Zi Yan's pupils abruptly constricted. Tapping her toes, spatial power gathered between her dragon wings, and her entire person instantly vanished from the spot.
"Boom—"
The Pill Beast's tail slammed into the ground. The entire pill chamber trembled violently. Huge cracks, like pythons, rapidly spread across the floor. That kind of destructive power made everyone's heart pound in fear.
"What a formidable Pill Beast!"
Seeing Zi Yan's two attacks fail and her being beaten into 'scrambling for cover,' Medusa also spoke with utter seriousness.
"Do you want to give it a try?" Jiang Yun watched the massive figure 'thrashing' Zi Yan in the field, looking toward Medusa beside him and chuckling lightly.
The reason he was so relaxed was that Jiang Yun had already noticed: though this Pill Beast's attack and defense were formidable, by comparison, its speed was considerably slower.
Zi Yan was in a sorry state, but she wasn't in mortal danger for the moment!
"Then I'll go see just how powerful this Divine Soul Tribulation is. Perhaps I can find an opportunity to advance to the Fleshly Tribulation!" Medusa cast a glance at Jiang Yun. Under his gaze, she somewhat evasively averted her eyes and spoke coolly.
"Bang—"
A claw descended. Violent fluctuations of force swept out like a storm. The ground directly caved in. Zi Yan's figure flew backward from within. At this moment, aside from looking somewhat disheveled, she had suffered no major harm.
But she had never fought such a stifling battle in her entire life. Her physical body's power had been comprehensively crushed. Had the opponent's speed not been inferior to hers, she would likely have been in real danger.
This infuriated her immensely!
Swoosh!
Right at that moment, a torrent of supremely sharp sword energy howled forth, slashing onto the Pill Beast's body. A graceful figure stepped out from behind Zi Yan.
"Hmph, I don't need your help!" Even without turning around, Zi Yan knew who it was. She curled her lip somewhat tsundere.
"I wasn't trying to help you. I just wanted to test my own strength," Medusa replied just as coldly. Then, paying no further heed, she darted toward the Pill Beast.
"That's my prey!" Watching Medusa advance with her sword, Zi Yan immediately panicked, rushing forward furiously right on her heels.
Watching the two women coordinate in battle, their sharp, fierce attacks now raining down upon the Pill Beast's body with repeated booms, Jiang Yun was in no rush, seeing they were in no danger. Instead, he looked toward the battle not far away—the main force under Zhong Shan and the others had begun encircling and hunting the three Pill Beasts.
But they were encountering the same trouble as Jiang Yun's group: the Pill Beasts' defenses were simply too high. Aside from a few peak Heaven-Connecting Realm and Fleshly Tribulation fighters in their squad who could break through the defense, everyone else's attacks were just a tickle against the Pill Beasts' bodies.
For the moment, the two sides were locked in raging, pitched battle!
After watching for a while and judging that the crowd would still need some time to whittle the Pill Beasts to death, Jiang Yun turned his head toward his own Pill Beast. By now, it was covered in wounds from Zi Yan's and Medusa's grinding.
Seeing this, Jiang Yun hesitated no longer. His fingers flicked lightly. Spirit seals, like a sky full of stars, howled out, merging into the surrounding space.
At this moment, Jiang Yun's attainment in the array path was extremely close to that of a Spiritual Array Grandmaster. This deployment of his spiritual array could only be described as flowing water and drifting clouds.
In just a few short breaths, the space before him twisted, gradually forming a massive spiritual array. Within that array, the air appeared exceptionally viscous. The spiritual energy inside seemed to carry a weight as heavy as mountains.
"Zi Yan! Medusa!"
With the spiritual array formed, Jiang Yun shouted. Then he pointed. The array howled as it shrouded toward the two battling sides.
Hearing Jiang Yun's warning, Medusa and Zi Yan, with perfect tacit understanding, shot out of the array's range at top speed just as it descended.
The Pill Beast was not so fortunate. Lacking sentience, it was completely engulfed by the forming array.
"Roar—"
Within the array, the flood-dragon Pill Beast struggled madly. But inside the array was like a quagmire, making it sink deep within.