The valley presented a panoramic view, empty and devoid of any human presence.
Li Xiaotian, though harboring some doubts, plunged in nonetheless, trusting his subordinates, trusting Long Yi, and trusting Rat.
With the obstruction of the forest gone, the four Imperial-level powerhouses instantly accelerated, unleashing their full might to close in on Li Xiaotian.
Li Xiaotian, gritting his teeth, also charged into the valley.
Though called a valley, it seemed endless, and as they ventured deeper into the mountains, the valley floor sank lower, and the cliffs on either side gradually closed in.
Within a few breaths, the four Imperial-level powerhouses were closing in on Li Xiaotian, their eyes glinting with ferocity. Li Xiaotian had nowhere to escape.
"Rumble!" The four Imperial-level powerhouses attacked simultaneously, their terrifying fluctuations aimed directly at Li Xiaotian.
Li Xiaotian, teeth clenched, sprinted madly, desperately dodging the attacks. In an instant, his body was sent flying; he had been hit.
"Mmph!" Li Xiaotian let out a muffled grunt, forcibly swallowing the blood in his mouth, and continued to charge deeper into the valley before his body had even stabilized.
"You can't escape, Li Xiaotian. Stop now and accept death, or we'll make your life worse than death!"
One of the Imperial-level powerhouses sneered. The four of them felt a slight relief, believing Li Xiaotian was already within their grasp and no longer a threat.
Perhaps no one present noticed a peculiar phenomenon: the four Imperial-level powerhouses unleashed their attacks on Li Xiaotian, and the terrifying energy fluctuations spread instantly, impacting everything around them.
Yet, strangely, the valley cliffs and the ground remained utterly undamaged.
This was the result of the combined assault of four Imperial-level powerhouses. Previously, any single one of them could have destroyed a patch of forest or a hilltop. But now, the valley showed no sign of damage, which was truly inconceivable.
However, everyone's attention was consumed by the chase, and no one paid heed to this abnormal sight.
Li Xiaotian, at this moment, was in a sorry state. Ever since being hit by one of them, his speed had slowed, and his movements were no longer as agile. In mere seconds, he was hit again.
"Pfft!" This time, Li Xiaotian could no longer hold back and spat out a mouthful of blood.
After continuously unleashing his full power for several hours, his internal energy was almost depleted.
"King! Just ahead, we're almost there!" Rat yelled anxiously, his eyes bloodshot. They were nearing their destination, and the King's stamina was failing.
"King, put me down. I'm just a nobody; they won't kill me!" Rat said, knowing that the King carrying him was only slowing their escape.
"Shut up!" Li Xiaotian cursed through gritted teeth and continued to flee.
At this moment, the four Imperial-level powerhouses were less than fifty meters away from Li Xiaotian. It was only a matter of breaths before they would capture him.
"Li Xiaotian, you have nowhere left to run. Heh, if you had known this, you should have obediently handed over the Heavenly Stele to us earlier."
An Imperial-level powerhouse chuckled mockingly.
"You toyed with us, hmph. Li Xiaotian, you insisted on escaping here. Could it be that your Dragon King Hall members are all here? Very well, I will kill them all before your eyes! Hahaha."
The four Imperial-level powerhouses felt a surge of exhilaration. Having been tricked by Li Xiaotian once, they were filled with pent-up anger and had long wished to torture Li Xiaotian severely.
"Boom!" Suddenly, from deep within the valley, a streak of light flew out, directly attacking the four Imperial-level powerhouses.
"What is that?" One of the Imperial-level powerhouses frowned and casually sent a giant hand of energy to swat at the streak of light.
"Boom!" A deafening roar ensued, and a sky full of fire instantly engulfed the four Imperial-level powerhouses.
Following that, from deep within the valley, countless streaks of light erupted. They spewed flames from their tails, and within moments, they shot into the fiery mass in the sky.
"Rumble!" A barrage of explosions echoed, and the entire valley instantly lit up as if it were daytime, filled with flames everywhere.
Li Xiaotian was propelled forward by the blast's shockwave. Though his back was injured by the explosion, his heart was filled with relief.
Those streaks of light were all missiles.
He had arrived!
From deep within the valley, Long Yi roared with red eyes.
"Attack! Attack like your lives depend on it! Fire all our remaining inventory! I refuse to believe that a combined power equivalent to three nuclear explosions still won't kill four Imperial-level powerhouses?"
Li Xiaotian also saw Long Yi's figure deep in the valley at this moment, but he didn't let his guard down. He knew firsthand the terror of Imperial-level powerhouses, and whether these bombs could kill them remained uncertain.
As expected, in the next moment, extremely furious roars erupted from the fiery mass in the sky, and at the same time, a terrifying aura rapidly spread.
"Damn it!!! You bunch of ants!!!"
Four beams of intense light shot out from the fiery mass. They were in a sorry state, their clothes severely tattered, and their bodies covered in burn marks.
"We were actually injured by a group of ants! Unforgivable!!!"
One Imperial-level powerhouse roared. At this moment, they all ignited their internal energy and charged forward recklessly.
However, the continuous stream of light fired from deep within the valley forced them to dodge in a frenzy.
The previous missiles had not hit them directly, only exploded near them, but even that had made them extremely uncomfortable. If they were to endure continuous blasts of this magnitude, even at their peak, they would not dare to withstand it.
"Die!!!" Someone roared, employing various techniques to intercept the missiles from afar. As long as they could evade the instantaneous shockwave of the explosions, they could traverse past them.
But there were too many missiles being fired from deep within the valley. They were dense and launched without interruption. Even if a single strike from any of the four of them could intercept a large number of missiles, they could not continuously attack.
After all, the previous explosions, while not severely wounding them, had also cost them significantly.
Simultaneously, Li Xiaotian finally rendezvoused with Long Yi and the others. He looked around, noticing the meager number of people. Apart from Long Yi, who was idle, everyone else was busy launching missiles.
"Where are they?" Li Xiaotian asked, frowning. If Long Yi's preparations only amounted to this, they wouldn't be able to hold off the four Imperial-level powerhouses.
"Big Brother, follow me. I'll explain everything once we're safe," Long Yi said hastily, grabbing Li Xiaotian and sprinting towards the depths of the valley, while shouting to those behind him.
"Everyone, retreat quickly! Fire all the remaining ammunition!"
Li Xiaotian was confused, but he understood that Long Yi was not a reckless person, so he followed him in escape.
"Buzz!" Suddenly, Li Xiaotian felt his entire body jolt, as if an electric current had flowed through him.
Immediately after, the world around him fell silent. The sounds of explosions in the valley and the roars of the four Imperial-level powerhouses vanished.
"What's going on?" Li Xiaotian quickly asked, but upon seeing the surrounding scene, he was stunned.