Ye Huohuo felt her vision blur and immediately shouted, "Careful! Teleport!" But it was too late. Miaofeng had already appeared beside Lu Yao, raising a palm to strike.
Just as Ye Huohuo was about to rush forward to help, she found herself unable to move. At the same time, Lu Yao was struck squarely in the chest by a palm, sent flying from beside the coffin like a rag doll, landing at Ye Huohuo's feet. Lu Yao coughed up a mouthful of blood, her face turning deathly pale.
Ye Huohuo couldn't even bend down to help her up; every part of her body, down to her fingertips, was immobile.
"The scent just now!" she looked at Miaofeng in disbelief.
So, it hadn't been her imagination. The scent was real – a top-tier aphrodisiac that took effect with astonishing speed. She had never imagined that a master like Miaofeng would resort to such a low-class tactic. It was a method used only by the dregs of the martial world. Caught off guard, seeing Lu Yao thrown out without even a chance to resist, Ye Huohuo knew she too must have been affected by the aphrodisiac, losing her ability to fight back.
Lu Yao gently caressed Li Ke's coffin, as if touching her beloved. "How dare you plot against it! You deserve to die!"
Although Lu Yao had previously attacked Ye Huohuo and the others, she hadn't used any Xuanmen techniques, relying mostly on her fists and kicks. The threats from Ye Huohuo and the others had enraged her. The hem of the trench coat she wore billowed as if in a strong wind, and her fisherman's hat seemed to be blown upwards by a gale. It flew up to the ceiling before falling back down, landing perfectly on the coffin lid, securing it in place.
In her left hand, she cradled the little green snake that had fallen into a deep sleep. Her right hand rested on the coffin. All her previous actions had been done with just one hand, yet she had completely suppressed Ye Huohuo and Lu Yao, leaving them with no means to retaliate. Now, she waved her sleeve at Ye Huohuo, sending a gust of wind directly at her.
Ye Huohuo wanted to dodge, but her body was still affected by the aphrodisiac, rendering her immobile. She could only brace herself, hold her breath, and endure the blow. Though this palm strike seemed like an empty gesture, it was imbued with powerful spiritual energy. Ye Huohuo felt as if she had been hit by a car traveling at 120 mph, her back slamming violently against the wall, and her chest experiencing a dull ache.
When she landed on the ground, she was even more severely injured than Lu Yao, spitting out two large mouthfuls of blood and seeing spots before her eyes. Perhaps the pain had broken the effect of the aphrodisiac, for Ye Huohuo felt she could move again, but after struggling for a long time, she couldn't even get up from the ground.
Lu Yao on the side was not much better. She managed to force herself up, but could only half-squat on the ground, supporting herself with one hand. When she tried to speak, she coughed up another mouthful of blood.
She gave a wry smile. "Ye Huohuo, bad things always happen when I meet you. It seems neither of us will survive today." While saying this aloud, she secretly used the special mind-to-mind transmission of the Maoshan sect to communicate with Ye Huohuo, "I can still launch one more attack. When I make my move, run quickly. Let's at least save one of us."
After all, she was a genuine disciple of the Maoshan sect, far more advanced than Ye Huohuo's half-baked telepathy. Ye Huohuo could only use the transmission when neither of them was speaking, but Lu Yao could speak normally while simultaneously transmitting messages. Her ability to multitask made it much more discreet, and even someone as skilled as Miaofeng hadn't detected her communication with Ye Huohuo.
Lu Yao had always been decisive. After transmitting her message to Ye Huohuo, she began to gather her strength for an attack. However, just before she could move, her wrist was firmly grasped. She looked down to see Ye Huohuo, lying on the ground, looking up at her and shaking her head slightly. With great effort, she managed to squeeze out a few words from between her teeth, "I'll attack, you run!"
She didn't use mind-to-mind transmission because she had no strength left. She intended to gather all her spiritual energy for one final blow. Even if she couldn't take the enemy with her, she wanted to buy Lu Yao a moment to escape. Just as Lu Yao had said, one of them had to get out. The events of today couldn't be buried silently.
"Heh, you two truly are sisters, so affectionate. How enviable. You're out of luck today, running into me. Neither of you will escape! Since your bond is so strong, I'll send you to your deaths together." With that, she tucked the little green snake into her pocket and gathered energy in both hands, preparing to deliver a palm strike to each of them, sending them to their demise.
Ye Huohuo couldn't discern what martial art she practiced. She saw that in one hand, her palm was covered in frost, while in the other, flames seemed to erupt. Miaofeng herself appeared to be divided into two halves, one ice-white and the other fiery red.
"What kind of skill is this?" Lu Yao exclaimed in shock.
"Whatever it is, it's something we can't defeat. I'll take the hit, you run!" Ye Huohuo tried to push Lu Yao towards the door, but she couldn't muster any strength. "I didn't expect we couldn't escape!"
"Fine, if we can't run, we fight. In twenty years, we'll still be… a beauty!" Lu Yao, even now, managed a heroic declaration.
Ye Huohuo's lips twitched, attempting a smile, but it never fully formed. As her lips curved slightly, a blast of chilling energy struck the top of her head. If this palm hit true, she would either be frozen into an ice sculpture or have her brains blown out.
Lu Yao wasn't faring any better. A surge of hot air mixed with flames rushed towards her. Instinctively, she raised her hands to block the palm strike, but before her sleeves could even touch Miaofeng's hands, they were ignited by the flames. The fire followed her sleeves and began to spread towards her body.
Forget about saving each other; both of them were struggling to save themselves.
Ye Huohuo was at her wit's end. The absolute disparity in strength left her completely unable to retaliate. There was only one option left.
Forcefully break the seal.
In just a few days, she had broken the seal twice. Such frequent unsealing was extremely damaging to her body, especially now that she was suffering from both external and internal injuries, making matters even worse. It was highly possible that after breaking the seal completely, she would die from exhaustion.
But if she didn't break the seal, she would only wait for death.
She was the type who would rather die standing than live kneeling. Gritting her teeth, she prepared to break the seal for one final gamble.
Just then, the door of the dark chamber above them was forcefully broken open from the outside, and a gust of the fresh air from outdoors rushed in.
Miaofeng couldn't help but be surprised, but she knew clearly that she couldn't stop now. She would rather kill everyone than let anyone escape. She was prepared to eliminate anyone who entered, even if it meant killing everyone in the entire facility, she couldn't let Li Ke's secret be leaked.
Not only did she not stop, but she also increased the spiritual energy in her palms. As a result, Ye Huohuo was frozen before she could even break the seal, her last bit of spiritual energy also frozen. Her entire body was covered in a thick layer of frost.
Lu Yao on the other side was in an even worse state. The flames had enveloped her entire being. Although she had recited a fire-repelling incantation, Miaofeng's fire was infused with spiritual energy, second only to the legendary Samadhi True Fire. Water couldn't extinguish it, and the fire-repelling incantation could only temporarily ward off its sharpness. Lu Yao's clothes and hair were burning in many places, and soon she would be reduced to ashes.
Lu Yao, such a proud person, couldn't help but cry out in pain as she was burned. Her screams echoed in the vast space of the underground chamber, chilling the listener to the bone.
The two most outstanding disciples of the Xuanmen's younger generation were both hanging by a thread.