Ye Huohuo desperately covered Lu Yao's mouth, afraid she would further enrage Li Ke by saying another word, but this also caused her to miss Lu Yao's warning.
The giant snake formed by black energy stared at them with a single fierce eye. Suddenly, it opened its mouth and shot a mass of black energy towards them. Ye Huohuo immediately understood that this was how the black energy that chased people after being shot out of the coffin came to be.
With no time to say anything else, the two dodged in separate directions.
The mass of black energy seemed to have eyes and suddenly split into two, pursuing each person.
"Damn, how is it much more agile and faster than before!" Ye Huohuo exclaimed. Just as she dodged one attack, another followed closely behind her.
"I was letting you see earlier, but you covered my mouth and stopped me from speaking. Look over there!" Lu Yao said while dodging, pointing towards a corner at the back of the room.
Ye Huohuo followed her gaze. "What the heck, there's someone here?"
Her momentary distraction allowed a stream of black energy to graze her back. With a "swish," her outer garment was burned with several large holes, and the smell of scorched fabric immediately filled the air.
"Be extremely careful, this black energy is corrosive."
"You don't need to tell me. I smelled it before. Did you see that person? Is it a person or a corpse? Why is it not moving at all?" Lu Yao deflected a mass of black energy with her peach wood sword. Before she could relax, the large black snake spat out several more streams of black energy. The masses split into two, with four masses surrounding each of them.
They were completely sealed in front, behind, left, and right. As these masses were about to converge, they would have no escape.
At this critical moment, Ye Huohuo, who had been tightly clenching her left hand, suddenly opened it, and a golden light shot out.
However, this golden light was not aimed at the black energy around her, but at Li Ke, the little green snake, who was standing on the coffin lid, looking down at their sorry state.
This move surprised not only Li Ke but also Lu Yao. If this strike missed, or was a moment too late, before the lightning talisman in her palm could hit Li Ke, the black energy would hit her first, and Ye Huohuo would be turned into pus and blood by this highly corrosive black energy.
Ye Huohuo looked at the black energy masses that had gathered around her. It was too late to dodge; her lightning strike was indeed a moment too late! She simply closed her eyes, unable to evade it.
"Ye Huohuo, you..." Lu Yao cut down two streams of black energy in front of her and, disregarding the two following her from behind, tried to rush to save Ye Huohuo.
But the distance between them was too great. Before the energy masses could hit Ye Huohuo, she absolutely couldn't reach her. Lu Yao's voice even carried a hint of despair.
Just then, a red light flashed on Ye Huohuo's left wrist, and the golden light she had shot out suddenly accelerated, piercing directly towards the little snake like lightning.
With a "snap," the lightning struck the snake's vital spot, sending the entire little snake flying.
The black energy surrounding Ye Huohuo and Lu Yao instantly vanished, along with the large black snake that had almost filled the entire room.
What surprised Ye Huohuo even more was that the person who had been standing motionless in the corner suddenly flickered and disappeared, then reappeared on the coffin lid.
Ye Huohuo squinted and carefully examined this person. They were wearing a white trench coat and a bucket hat, with their head lowered. The talisman light was now tattered, barely emitting a faint glow similar to candlelight.
Even from below, they still couldn't see his face. His face was hidden in a hazy mist, and he was holding the little green snake that had just been knocked away.
"Teleportation?!" Ye Huohuo and Lu Yao exclaimed in unison.
Teleportation was a lost art in the Xuanmen sect. Legend had it that a true master of teleportation could instantly travel a thousand miles, enjoying the blooming flowers in the south one moment and the snowy landscapes of the north the next.
Ye Huohuo had heard from her master about a Taoist priest thousands of years ago who had used teleportation under the cover of night to infiltrate an enemy camp and decapitate the commander-in-chief in plain sight before disappearing before their eyes, leaving without a trace.
That battle had also ended prematurely due to the sudden assassination of the enemy commander.
They never expected to witness the art of teleportation today. Although the distance was not far, not even leaving the room, it was still something they could only dream of achieving.
The little green snake was severely injured by the golden light of the lightning talisman. It had lost its previous domineering aura and coiled in the white-clothed person's hand, only slightly lifting its head, appearing very weak. Under the dim, uncertain light, the white-clothed person's white trench coat seemed to be covered in a layer of hazy dust, making them appear very mysterious.
"You are Ye Huohuo?" the white-clothed person suddenly said.
Both Ye Huohuo and Lu Yao were surprised. There had been too many surprising events tonight, but this one surprised them the most. They did not expect this white-clothed person to have a woman's voice.
"Are you a woman?" Lu Yao blurted out.
"Does it matter if I'm male or female?" the white-clothed person tilted their head slightly. Ye Huohuo squinted, trying her best to see her face clearly in the dim light.
A delicate chin, exquisite features. Indeed, she was a woman, and a beautiful one at that, not yet thirty years old.
"In the Taoist sect, it's much harder for women to achieve great success than for men. Many men older than you haven't managed to master teleportation. For you to be so young and a woman who can teleport, this..." Lu Yao's eyes even showed a look of admiration.
If the occasion were different, Ye Huohuo would have suspected she would have to kneel and ask to become a disciple.
"The skills of you two young girls are already quite good. With time, you will surely achieve something. However, you have no chance of leaving here tonight," the white-clothed person said coldly, their eyes flashing with a chilling glint like knife edges.
Although the light was dim, they couldn't see the person's face clearly, but Ye Huohuo felt that this white-clothed person looked familiar. Ye Huohuo had a keen eye; she could generally remember anyone she had met. She was certain she had seen this white-clothed person before, and recently too.
However, after thinking for a long time, she couldn't recall who it was.
Out of necessity, she used the secret transmission technique of the Esoteric Buddhism to secretly relay a message to Lu Yao, "Do you think she looks familiar?"
Lu Yao was first taken aback. She hadn't expected Ye Huohuo to know her own sect's secret transmission technique. This method of transmission could only be deciphered by people from the Maoshan Sect; even those with high cultivation could not break it.
The white-clothed person seemed to notice Ye Huohuo's small movement. She turned her head to look at her, then at Lu Yao, but did not expose them.
Being stared at by the white-clothed person, Lu Yao broke out in a cold sweat on her back, wondering who this person really was and why the oppressive feeling was so strong.
She forced herself to calm down quickly and also carefully examined the white-clothed person. With a hiss, she thought, Could it be her?...