Chapter 49: Trial Completed
Meanwhile, Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu were also having an incredibly difficult time fighting against two Spirit Elders and one Spirit Ancestor.
Zhu Zhuqing's left arm sleeve was torn, and her arm was covered in dense, tiny blood marks, which were injuries from a Spirit Thorn Vine.
Xiao Wu had a red mark on her neck, left by the insidious Blood Silkworm Spirit Ancestor from the other side, who had released a silk thread. If not for her Spirit Ability, Flash, her head would have been gone!
Ma Hongjun, however, didn't suffer many injuries, as he was only fighting against one Spirit Grandmaster and even managed to spare some time to help his teammates.
Outside the desolate mountain, Bai Yu saw the five people suffer many unnecessary losses, so he shook his head and muttered,
“As expected, life-and-death combat still lacks something. They still need more practice!”
Flender and the others' eyelids twitched when they heard this. Liu Erlong couldn't help but mock him, saying in a strange tone,
“Your little girlfriend is injured, and you're not helping her; you're just standing here making sarcastic remarks. She's really unlucky to be with you!”
Bai Yu's eyes were deep as he looked at Zhu Zhuqing in the water mirror and said softly,
“I don't want to see her injured either. She used to cultivate desperately to control her own destiny, but after she followed me, all her paths became unobstructed!”
“She could choose to live a good life of enjoyment every day, occasionally cultivating, but she didn't do that. Instead, she cultivated even harder. I haven't asked why, but I respect her choice.”
“Since she wants to walk this path and become stronger, then I will help her become stronger. Life-and-death combat is the best catalyst! All I can do is protect her path!”
After hearing what Bai Yu said, Liu Erlong's eyes were very complex. She understood that this so-called trial was all set up by Bai Yu for Zhu Zhuqing, and the others were just benefiting from it.
Then she turned to look at Yu Xiaogang, sighing inwardly, while the others also had strange expressions.
Good heavens! To gain combat experience for his girlfriend, he set up such a huge spectacle? It had to be him!
Inside the desolate mountain, Tang San and the five, who had just exchanged glances, hadn't had time to speak when dense silkworm threads began Binding them.
“Phoenix Fire Wire!”
Ma Hongjun had gained experience by now. Without waiting for orders, he directly unleashed a torrent of fire.
“Mubai, be careful not to be ambushed! Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, and Fatty, let's cover each other and retreat!”
The few of them coordinated with each other, fighting as they retreated, all the way to where they had set up their traps.
Initially, the fallen Spirit Masters were worried about an ambush and didn't fight particularly fiercely, constantly probing their surroundings, especially since the other side was missing two people.
But when nothing happened, they gradually forgot about it and fought more and more fiercely.
Although Tang San and the others had lured them over, the cost was that they were more severely injured. Their bodies were covered in blood, with countless wounds. Dai Mubai's left arm was twisted, and he even had a blood hole in his lower abdomen.
The other side was not completely unharmed either: one Spirit Grandmaster was dead, one Spirit Elder was critically injured and dying, and another Spirit Elder had minor injuries.
“Oscar! Quick!”
Seeing that, apart from the critically injured one left on the road, the other five had stepped into the trap, Tang San urgently shouted.
The fallen Spirit Masters sensed something was wrong, but it was already too late. With a faint cracking sound, the ground suddenly sank, and a large pit appeared.
The pit was densely covered with thin steel wires, and at the bottom, there were bamboo skewers standing upright and covered with lamp oil. Arrows and poisoned needles shot into the pit from outside, giving the fallen Spirit Masters a wave of ambush from all sides!
As Ma Hongjun spat out a flame, a huge fire erupted in the pit, and the few of them finally let out a sigh of relief.
Oscar and Ning Rongrong also rushed over.
“I have a big Sausage! I have a small dried Sausage!”
Oscar continuously released his Spirit Ability, condensing Sausages for them, and Ning Rongrong also released her Spirit Ability, amplifying the five, as amplification could also be considered a form of healing.
“Didn't you say we'd eat the flying Sausage and bring them over? How come we fought our way through?”
Hearing Oscar's question, Tang San and the five all showed wry smiles.
“Plans can't keep up with changes. Those few people are very cautious. If we had flown, they would have just kept their distance and probed us in various ways, and our traps would have been useless.”
Just as they were discussing heatedly, two charred figures crawled out of the nearby fire pit, looking at them with hateful eyes.
“Snake Shadow Assault!”
A tiny, pitch-black snake shadow rushed towards Ning Rongrong's neck, biting into the suddenly appearing Blue Silver Armored Hedgehog.
Tang San and the five's pupils constricted. Their cooperation throughout the journey allowed them to instantly form a defensive formation, blocking Oscar and Ning Rongrong.
“We were careless. We didn't expect two of them to still be alive. Luckily, we have Bai Yu's Spirit Ability!”
Looking at the two people opposite, whose bodies were not entirely intact, the five felt a bit nauseous, but having fought all the way, they could still endure it.
Ning Rongrong and Oscar, however, could not. If they hadn't been startled just now, they would have already vomited.
The two surviving fallen Spirit Masters were disappointed that their sneak attack hadn't killed anyone, but their eyes still showed ferocity as they charged at them.
“Go! Their spirit power is almost exhausted. Kill them.”
Dai Mubai roared in anger. Having been severely beaten all the way, he was also seething with rage. Then the five suppressed their nausea and charged forward.
Down the mountain, Bai Yu saw this, waved his hand, and the water mirror in front of him dispersed. He said,
“The trial is complete. Let's go over and finish things up for them. We'll rest here tonight.”
Flender and the others nodded. It was indeed over. Those two half-burnt individuals wouldn't live much longer even if they didn't act.
Bai Yu led everyone to where Tang San and the others were, and on the way, he conveniently finished off the critically injured one.
He saw the five lying crookedly on the ground, with Oscar and Ning Rongrong frantically bandaging their wounds.
Bai Yu's spirit power surged around him, and he softly chanted,
“Earth Aspect, Myriad Transformations! Water Aspect, Gushing Spring!”
Bai Yu's spirit power fluctuations caught everyone's attention. Amidst a great many astonished gazes, a small building made of stone appeared before their eyes.
Some stone pots, stone bowls, and stone spoons also appeared on the ground, and beside them, a small spring flowed gently.
“Holy cow! Bai Ge, you're amazing!”
Ma Hongjun, who wasn't skilled at verbal attacks, was the first to speak, but he got excited and pulled at his wound, wincing in pain.
Bai Yu shook his head, walked to Zhu Zhuqing, picked her up, and said to the others,
“Later, find a room for yourselves. There's no lighting, but if you want to bathe, there are stone buckets in the rooms. You can go boil some water.”
Then he carried Zhu Zhuqing into the stone building, entered a room, took out a blanket to spread on the stone bed, and began to take off her torn clothes.
Zhu Zhuqing looked at Bai Yu, didn't resist, and instead closed her eyes.
After taking off her clothes, he condensed water in a stone basin and heated it, then began to wipe Zhu Zhuqing's body.
“What are your thoughts on today's life-and-death trial?”
Hearing Bai Yu's voice, Zhu Zhuqing opened her eyes and saw the heartache on his calm face. Zhu Zhuqing bit her lip and whispered,
“I know what you're thinking. You can protect me, but I still want to continue down this path. I'm not afraid of danger!”