The Golden Scorpion, upon nearing the green light cast by the Qilin Fan, would be consumed by flames erupting from the light. However, their intelligence seemed lacking. Despite heavy casualties, they continued to charge forward relentlessly.
The bodies of the Golden Scorpions cracked open within the green light, releasing a foul stench that permeated the air.
Observing the strangely behaving Golden Scorpions before her, Su Xi felt something was amiss. She approached the green light and examined it closely. She was certain that as level two demonic beasts, Golden Scorpions would not be so foolish as to court their own demise. Their frenzied self-sacrifice must have a hidden purpose.
Gu Qingzhou noticed Su Xi's actions and called out, "Junior Sister Su Xi, have you discovered anything?"
He too sensed the abnormality of the Golden Scorpions' behavior. Being fully occupied with channeling his術法 (shù fǎ - magical arts), he could do nothing else.
Hearing Gu Qingzhou's inquiry, Su Xi turned back with a grave expression and said, "These Golden Scorpions are attempting to use their potent venom to corrode our defenses."
Upon hearing Su Xi's words, Gu Qingzhou swiftly descended towards the defense projected by his Qilin Fan. Indeed, he found that the barrier formed by the green mist was covered in countless tiny black dots, which were continuously expanding.
Though confident in his treasure, Gu Qingzhou dared not be complacent. Golden Scorpions were no trivial foe. The potent venom within their bodies meant that once infected, there was no chance of survival.
He looked at the two individuals casting spells ahead and urged them, "Stop thinking about subduing the Golden Scorpions. If we don't eliminate them soon, once our defenses break, we will all perish here."
The Zhang brothers, upon hearing Gu Qingzhou's words, also realized the gravity of the situation and knew they could not delay. Thus, despite their extreme reluctance, they abandoned any thoughts of capturing the Golden Scorpions.
Facing an ever-increasing number of Golden Scorpions, they knew they truly could not afford to hesitate any longer.
They then struck their chests with their fists, spitting out a mouthful of vital blood. The vital blood, like falling flower petals, landed on the Flying Squirrels.
Nourished by the vital blood, the Flying Squirrels' bodies rapidly expanded, and the teeth in their mouths instantly lengthened. The pressure of bloodline suppression also lessened, and they pounced towards the Golden Scorpions.
Under the frantic output of magical power from the Zhang brothers, the Flying Squirrels became even more ferocious. The Golden Scorpions began to gradually retreat under their attacks.
However, before anyone could breathe a sigh of relief, they suddenly heard a more piercing sound of something scraping against the floor. Immediately afterward, the once spirited Flying Squirrels all turned into trembling quails, cowering on the ground.
Seeing this, the retreating Golden Scorpions pounced and began to tear them apart.
"Splinter!"
After a large number of Flying Squirrels died, the Zhang brothers immediately suffered a backlash. They coughed up a mouthful of blood, and their auras rapidly weakened.
As the Flying Squirrels were devoured by the Golden Scorpions, an even larger Golden Scorpion emerged from behind the others.
This Golden Scorpion was seven meters long, and the pincers it wielded at its chest were like two small mountains, constantly swaying. The tail stinger behind it twitched incessantly, emitting a bone-chilling sound in the darkness.
The Golden Scorpion King, a genuine level three demonic beast.
The moment the Golden Scorpion King appeared, everyone's faces turned grim. The Zhang brothers on the ground, without even wiping the blood from their lips, lost all courage to fight.
As those most familiar with demonic beasts, they understood the formidable power of the Golden Scorpion King. Even if all of them combined, they would be no match for the Scorpion King, let alone the numerous Golden Scorpions beside it.
Despite its colossal size, the Golden Scorpion King's movement speed was not at all affected. In the blink of an eye, it had moved from over ten meters away to directly in front of them.
It approached the green light, raised its massive pincers, and smashed them down fiercely onto the green light before it.
"Boom!"
With a deafening sound, the green light shield instantly shattered into pieces.
Those within the Qilin Fan felt a buzzing in their heads the moment the shield broke. For a moment, everyone was disoriented by the immense impact.
The Golden Scorpion King did not miss this opportunity. It swung its giant pincers towards Zhang Yuan, who was closest, and clamped down.
Zhang Yuan knew danger had arrived, but due to the recent impact, he was unable to muster any magical power within his body. Facing the oncoming pincers of the Golden Scorpion King, he could offer no resistance and could only watch as the pincers fell upon him.
"Ah!" Zhang Yuan's scream soon echoed through the tomb, followed by him being torn in half.
The Golden Scorpion King swung its pincers and shoved Zhang Yuan's bloody corpse into its mouth. In just a few bites, with a crunching sound, Zhang Yuan was swallowed whole.
After devouring Zhang Yuan, the Golden Scorpion King turned its gaze to the others, quickly locking onto another target.
It had not tasted fresh flesh and blood for a long time, especially not that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. This enticing aroma made it unwilling to let go of the food before it.
"No!" The death of his brother unleashed a furious roar from Zhang Liao, who desperately wanted to charge forward for revenge.
Gu Qingzhou knew the Qilin Fan could not contend with the Golden Scorpion King and prepared to use his trump card. He carefully took out a miniature sword, only a few inches long, from his person and tore off the talisman attached to it.
The small sword was covered in intricate patterns, and sharp sword qi raged everywhere, seeming to slice through everything around it.
Gu Qingzhou, not wanting to waste time, began to activate the small sword, preparing for a desperate struggle.
The iron sword, with Gu Qingzhou's incantations, spun and grew larger, releasing an even more potent sword qi that enveloped the entire cave.
Although Su Xi and the others were not directly targeted, they felt prickling pain under this pressure, as if they were about to be sliced apart.
The Golden Scorpion's pair of eerie green eyes fixed on the iron sword above. It recognized the sword's power and abandoned its attack on the humans, charging towards the iron sword not far away.
It clearly understood that only by eliminating the threat of the iron sword could it then enjoy its bloody feast in peace.
The iron sword in Gu Qingzhou's hand was his last resort, a life-saving treasure specially gifted by his grandfather. When fully activated, it could rival a Golden Core stage expert.
Seeing the Golden Scorpion charge towards the iron sword, Gu Qingzhou anxiously exclaimed, "Quick, hold it back! Don't let it disrupt my spellcasting."
The iron sword possessed immense power, but it required an extremely long time to unleash. If the spellcasting was interrupted, it could not be activated again for a considerable period.
Zhang Liao and Su Xi understood the seriousness of the situation. After exchanging glances, they charged towards the Golden Scorpion together, intending to hold it back.
Zhang Liao's strength relied on controlling beasts. Now that his demonic beasts were dead, his power had greatly diminished. To hold back the Golden Scorpion, he could only resort to a secret technique, burning his own vital blood to conjure demonic beasts.
Although this technique of manifesting demonic beasts with vital blood could replicate the beasts' strength, it severely damaged one's cultivation. However, at this critical juncture of life and death, he could not afford to be so concerned.
Seeing Zhang Liao's self-harming method, Su Xi naturally wouldn't be so foolish. She took out a handful of low-grade talismans from her person and threw them towards the Golden Scorpion.
Under the combined attacks of Su Xi and Zhang Liao, the Golden Scorpion could only defend itself.
The Golden Scorpion swung its pincers, swatting away the Great Strength Vajra Ape conjured by Zhang Liao's vital blood. It then raised its pincers and smashed them towards Su Xi's talismans.
In its eyes, these talismans were merely scraps of paper, posing no threat whatsoever.
As the Golden Scorpion made contact with the talismans, Su Xi instantly activated them.
"Crackling!" A series of explosions erupted, filling the tomb with smoke.
The moment the smoke appeared, Su Xi immediately pulled out a laser gun from her person. Her magical power surged, filling the weapon with energy before she unhesitatingly pulled the trigger.
Her secrets must absolutely not be known to a second person. Therefore, everything she had done prior was merely a cover.
The Golden Scorpion, expecting to deal with the talismans easily and preparing to resume its assault on the iron sword, suddenly felt a sharp pain and several bloody holes appeared on its body.
The laser gun was of interstellar origin, emitting no energy fluctuations upon firing. The only sound was masked by the talismans' explosions, and with so much smoke, no one could detect it.
The searing pain from the wounds stimulated the Golden Scorpion. Its eyes turned red, and it charged towards Su Xi, brandishing its pincers.
The one who harmed it must die.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye.
Su Xi, watching the Golden Scorpion charging towards her, threw out another handful of talismans. Simultaneously, she concealed a fire-poker in the talismans and hurled it.
The fire-poker had reacted strongly from the beginning, but she didn't know how to use it. This was a perfect opportunity to test its effects.
As the fire-poker touched the Golden Scorpion, it instantly blazed with light. However, this brilliance was concealed by the talismans' explosions, and no one noticed.
The Golden Scorpion initially found nothing unusual about the fire-poker, but upon contact, it discovered it could not move at all. At the same time, its energy was continuously being absorbed by the fire-poker.
Under the fire-poker's suction, the Golden Scorpion was immobilized, forced to watch as its energy was siphoned away bit by bit.
In its eyes, a human-like terror appeared.