She didn't recognize any of the other trial participants.
None of the big shots in the group wanted to take her in, not even the kind and amiable Daoist Bai wanted to act alone with her.
However, Qin Xiaoxiao didn't dare to act alone. After much thought, there was only one last person she could choose.
She hadn't expected that Luo Xiaowei would be the one to reluctantly take her in.
But Luo Xiaowei also looked disgusted, as if teaming up with Qin Xiaoxiao was a huge loss.
"You go scout ahead!"
"I'm not going! You're at a higher realm, you go first!"
"You're scared of this? According to the promotional video, this mountain range extends ten kilometers outwards, and only has species like Scale Beasts, Bone-Corroding Birds, Cave Spiders, and Tree Snakes. They are almost all first-tier demonic beasts. What are you afraid of with your Ice Phoenix Sacred Body, for crying out loud!"
Qin Xiaoxiao was stunned upon hearing Luo Xiaowei's words. She never expected the seemingly unreliable Luo Xiaowei to know so much.
"How do you know where we are?"
Luo Xiaowei curled his lips and said, "Isn't this simple? Last night I asked your Meteor brother if he had any secrets, and he sent me a map of the [Demonic Spirit Realm] he drew himself, with marked areas where various demonic beasts appear!"
"What?" Qin Xiaoxiao's voice became sharp. "Why didn't he give it to me?"
"You probably didn't ask!"
Qin Xiaoxiao was stunned, she had no response. It seemed she really hadn't asked...
Seeing Luo Xiaowei's disdainful gaze, Qin Xiaoxiao said indignantly, "What are you showing off for? Isn't this also the result of Li Qingyun's labor?"
"Heh, asking for the fruits of others' labor is also a form of labor!"
Suddenly, Luo Xiaowei stopped.
Qin Xiaoxiao immediately became tense and picked up the sniper rifle in her hand, but she quickly realized she might not hit anything, so she flipped it over and used it as a club.
She whispered nervously, "Did we encounter a demonic beast?"
Suddenly, a few trial participants rushed towards Luo Xiaowei and them in a panic.
"Run! Run quickly!"
"It's a Ground Bear! Help! Who will save us!"
"Someone's dead! Someone's dead!"
"......"
Amidst the panicked shouts, Luo Xiaowei's expression turned grim. A five-meter-tall brown bear was chasing after these people who were flailing their arms and legs.
Trees blocking the path were knocked down.
Even more terrifying was that the brown bear was holding a trial participant's head in its hand.
This demonic beast was a Ground Bear, which was supposed to inhabit the caves in the middle of this mountain range. The reason it appeared here was entirely because those few trial participants had provoked it.
These five trial participants were actually a video filming team, bloggers from a short video platform who enjoyed filming "death-seeking" videos.
In Chu Yang's promotional video, they saw this Ground Bear sleeping in its cave.
Chu Yang also introduced that the Ground Bear had tough skin and terrifying strength, but it was usually very sleepy. If it weren't for hunger, they could sleep for an entire year.
So, after discussing, they came to a conclusion – this brown bear was sleeping and wouldn't wake up easily, so they could film it for material!
Unfortunately, they forgot what Chu Yang had said when introducing the Ground Bear: the Ground Bear would wake up when it was hungry.
The scent of human flesh directly stimulated the Ground Bear's appetite, and it woke up instantly. This short video team had a total of five people, and only three escaped from the cave.
The Ground Bear chased them for ten kilometers, seemingly savoring the scent of human flesh and unwilling to let them go easily.
The remaining three had legs as heavy as lead. Even though they were cultivators, if their survival instincts hadn't kicked in, they would have collapsed on the road long ago!
Seeing Luo Xiaowei and Qin Xiaoxiao at this moment, they rushed towards them as if they had found a lifeline!
"That woman, she's the heaven-blessed Ice Phoenix Sacred Body! She can save us!"
"Brother Wei! Brother Wei! Save us!"
"We don't want to die!!"
Luo Xiaowei's expression became even more somber. He had intended to leave, but now he couldn't, because these scoundrels had attracted this Ground Bear, whose strength was comparable to the late stage of Foundation Establishment, towards them.
The timid Qin Xiaoxiao's face had turned extremely pale. She gripped Luo Xiaowei's sleeve in terror, constantly repeating, "What to do, what to do, what to do..."
Luo Xiaowei was annoyed and roared at Qin Xiaoxiao, "You're so noisy! Can you shut up! What's there to do? Just kill it!"
Qin Xiaoxiao was startled by Luo Xiaowei's roar and began to cry profusely, but she really didn't dare to make a sound anymore.
Those scoundrels, after leading the Ground Bear to Luo Xiaowei and them, ran off without looking back.
Luo Xiaowei, facing the giant bear that was two bodies taller than him, showed no sign of retreat and drew the "Azure Water Flying Sword" from his waist.
He said coldly to Qin Xiaoxiao, "You run first, head for the outer perimeter. There won't be any high-tier demonic beasts there."
"I'm not leaving..."
"Stay or go, I don't care!"
After speaking, Luo Xiaowei no longer paid attention to Qin Xiaoxiao. Alone with his sword, facing such a terrifying giant bear, he actually took the initiative to attack!
If one looked closely, they would notice that Luo Xiaowei's eyes were filled with ambition!
"If I run, there's a chance to escape! But I want to try. They say only those with heaven-blessed talent have a chance to ascend to the Immortal Emperor realm. I'm not convinced!"
"You geniuses can kill monsters of higher levels, right? But this isn't your monopoly!"
"Big Brother Immortal said, sword cultivators should be like swords, always sharp and always forging ahead!"
Boom!
Blue-purple lightning flashed from Luo Xiaowei's body and converged onto the flying sword!
The Ground Bear, seeing this small human dare to attack it, was also furious. It threw the human head it was holding away fiercely and then swiped down at Luo Xiaowei with immense force.
The giant bear's claws, carrying earth-yellow spiritual energy, caused the air itself to produce sonic booms!
However, just as the bear's claw was about to descend, Luo Xiaowei threw the "Azure Water Flying Sword" in his hand.
And he himself immediately dropped to the ground, the bear's claws just grazing his hair harmlessly as they passed overhead!
Immediately after, thunder boomed!
Luo Xiaowei, still on the ground, rolled again, brought his right index and middle fingers together, and issued a remote command to the thrown "Azure Water Flying Sword"!
"Return!"
"Whoosh!"
The flying sword, which had flown out, was once again summoned, its body glowing with even more concentrated lightning.
The flying sword charged back at extreme speed, directly piercing into the Ground Bear's back!
"Roar!!!"
The Ground Bear felt pain and became even more ferocious!
Luo Xiaowei's face also turned pale, and his hand controlling the flying sword trembled slightly.
The Ground Bear's defense was too high. He had intended to pierce its heart, but his flying sword got stuck when it entered the Ground Bear's body...
——————/
(Thanks to "Daoqi" for the Great God certification, and many bosses for the gifts. The bosses are too generous, more updates! Truly adding chapters today!)