Pinprick-like pain densely spread from his skin.
A bad premonition rose in his heart, and his mind subconsciously wanted to take steps and quickly leave this place.
"Is this the effect of the Evasion Talent!? Evading danger?"
Lin Sheng's thoughts flashed through his mind.
This feeling now clearly meant that a great danger was approaching, or rather, had already arrived.
But at the same time, what puzzled him was that he had clearly used the Danger Perception Talent to sense carefully before, and there was no unusual feeling. How could he have such a strong feeling after using the Evasion Talent?
"Could it be..."
Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly, and he immediately thought of something in his heart.
The Danger Perception Talent. Although it could sense danger in advance, it was not omnipotent.
If the difference in strength between the two sides was too great, the effect of this talent would be greatly reduced, or even completely ineffective, especially if the opponent's spiritual attribute was extremely high, this situation would be even more obvious.
Thinking of this, he immediately came before Qi Ning.
"Sister Ning, something is wrong. We'd better leave here quickly!"
"Lin Sheng, did you find something?"
Hearing this, Qi Ning frowned, released her senses, and asked while carefully checking her surroundings.
"I can sense danger to a certain extent, so we'd better..."
Lin Sheng said with a frown, but halfway through, his eyes narrowed, and his voice gradually deepened.
"It's too late..."
As soon as his voice fell, the ground around everyone shattered the next moment, and sticky tentacles broke out of the ground, converging into a huge network of tentacles wrapping everyone inside.
This sudden scene shocked everyone.
Before everyone could react, sticky tentacles had silently pierced the chests of several people, absorbing them into mummified corpses.
"Damn it, what is this thing!?"
Seeing this terrifying scene unfold before their eyes, everyone's hearts were shaken, and they quickly retreated.
"Not good, it's Gongsun Yuanzhou! Prepare to break through!"
The moment she saw these tentacles, Qi Ning had already shouted with a gloomy face.
At the same time, a black dagger suddenly appeared in her hand, and with a tap of her toe, her figure had turned into a phantom, slashing several tentacles apart.
Not far away, Lan Man also reacted quickly, and her dark blue light blades cut the approaching sticky tentacles into pieces.
They had both fought against Gongsun Yuanzhou before, and naturally knew his formidable strength. Moreover, after so many days, his strength might have improved again, and they were definitely not able to contend with him.
As a large number of tentacles emerged, although Qi Ning and Lan Man's actions shared a lot of the pressure.
But the rest of the Dark Star members. After all, they were not at the Divine Form Realm. Facing these constantly retracting tentacles, even their full-strength attacks had extremely limited effect.
Huang Quan's pipe emitted a bright yellow glow in his hand. His Bone Strength accumulated to the extreme, and he simultaneously unleashed a stacking burst secret technique. His full-strength strike landed on the tentacles, but he couldn't sever them, only leaving a not-too-large, not-too-small wound, which recovered in the blink of an eye.
However, after just a few breaths, more than a dozen Dark Star experts had died under the tentacles, sucked into human husks.
If this continued, it wouldn't be long before everyone from Dark Star, except for Qi Ning, Lan Man, and others, would die within the tentacles.
Lin Sheng was in the crowd, facing the sweeping tentacles. The strength in his hands increased, directly tearing the tentacles apart one by one.
It was just that the tentacles seemed endless. The moment they were torn apart, more would surge out from underground the next moment.
His brows furrowed tightly. He obviously understood that if this continued, the situation would become increasingly troublesome.
Quack...
This was Little Black's startled quacking sound, rising from the crowd. At the same time, Big Yellow's terrified whimpering also sounded.
Lin Sheng turned his head to look and saw this one crow and one dog scurrying back and forth in the crowd in a sorry state, constantly dodging.
Facing the surrounding tentacles that could easily take the lives of Bones Transformation Martial Artists, the two Elementary Level Spirit Beasts were undoubtedly even more defenseless.
At this moment, several tentacles were sweeping towards Little Black and Big Yellow, surrounding them like venomous snakes choosing prey.
Boom...
Just as the tentacles wrapped around Little Black's wings, a ball of terrifyingly high-temperature golden-yellow flames enveloped several tentacles, melting them completely in a breath.
With the appearance of the golden-yellow flames, the other tentacles nearby seemed provoked, rapidly shooting over like thick crossbow bolts.
Their speed was so fast that they reached Little Black and Big Yellow in an instant.
At this moment, a reddish-black large hand suddenly appeared, crushing a large number of tentacles.
Seeing the precarious situation of the crowd, Lin Sheng took a deep breath, his figure rapidly expanded. As the Burning Corpse talent activated, golden-yellow flames swept over his entire body, and he became like a massive fiery deity.
As Lin Sheng fully activated the ability of the Blazing Eyed Flame Dragon, large patches of black viscous liquid on the ground quickly condensed, and a tall figure emerged.
The head of the tall figure was covered with densely packed strange black eyes. The black eyes blinked rapidly, and all their gaze fell on Lin Sheng, carrying almost tangible malice and greed.
Who else could it be but Gongsun Yuanzhou?
"As expected, you came for me!"
Lin Sheng's golden eyes also looked directly at Gongsun Yuanzhou.
His figure flickered, and he had already arrived before Qi Ning, speaking in a deep voice.
"Sister Ning, I will lure Gongsun Yuanzhou away. You take the people and leave immediately while you have the chance."
"Xiao Sheng, you..."
Hearing this, Qi Ning opened her mouth to say something, but Lin Sheng didn't give her another chance to speak. After dropping a sentence, he had already taken large strides and rushed towards the mountain forest.
All the tentacles blocking his way along the path were either burned to ashes by the flames or directly torn apart by his brute force. After breaking free from the giant net's restraint, his figure rapidly sped away like a cannonball.
And Gongsun Yuanzhou, who saw this scene, melted into a ball of black water and disappeared into the ground in the blink of an eye.
With Gongsun Yuanzhou's disappearance, most of the thick tentacles around also vanished, leaving only a few still entangled with the Dark Star members.
They were quickly cleared away by Qi Ning and Lan Man.
"Sister Qi, what do we do now!?"
Lan Man looked at Qi Ning somewhat anxiously and asked. From the appearance of the tentacles until now, it had only been a few breaths, and they had already suffered considerable casualties.
Strictly speaking, Gongsun Yuanzhou hadn't even truly made a move yet, but he could achieve such a degree. His strength was clearly much stronger than when they met last time.
And now Lin Sheng had lured him away alone, undoubtedly taking a huge risk.
"Xiao Man, you take them and leave immediately to seek help. I'll go support Xiao Sheng. Be quick."
Qi Ning spoke in a deep voice.
"Okay, I'll go now..."
Lan Man didn't hesitate and nodded heavily.
"Seeking help? If I remember correctly, the one stationed by Dark Star in Fulong City is Luo Yin, right? Unfortunately, even Luo Yin can't protect you..."
Before Lan Man could lead the people out of the mountain forest, a deep voice like an elephant's trumpet suddenly sounded. The voice was clearly not loud, and there was no one around, but it seemed to resonate from everyone's consciousness.
The moment they heard this voice, both Qi Ning and Lan Man's expressions changed.
As God-Form Martial Artists, they were naturally experienced and immediately realized that the voice just now was not someone actually speaking, but a master who had influenced everyone with their spirit.
To achieve this, and with so many of them, the owner of the voice's spirit was definitely far above theirs.
Furthermore, the Luo Yin he mentioned was precisely the Dark Star Envoy stationed on Volong Road by Dark Star. Luo Yin was his real name. Most people in Dark Star used code names, so someone who knew his real name was definitely not ordinary.
"May I ask which Senior is here? Please show yourself."
Qi Ning's gaze constantly swept around. After exchanging a glance with Lan Man, she slowly spoke.
As her voice fell, a young monk less than 1.6 meters tall, wearing a moon-white monk's robe, with a face like jade and skin like an infant's, suddenly appeared before everyone.
"You are..."
This strange method, appearing as if out of thin air, shocked everyone's hearts, especially Qi Ning and Lan Man. Their eyes widened, as if they had thought of something, and looks of fear appeared on their faces as they looked at the seemingly harmless young monk.
"Run!!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Qi Ning flicked her hand, shooting out the black short dagger, and her figure shot towards one side like a phantom.
Lan Man also rapidly swept towards the opposite direction.
Both of them were extremely fast, instantly covering a distance of over ten zhang.
The young monk's face was calm and undisturbed. He merely extended his palm and gently clenched it. The space seemed to gain invisible chains. Whether it was Huang Quan, Red Leaf, and others who hadn't reacted yet, or the rapidly fleeing Lan Man and Qi Ning.
Their bodies stiffened, standing rooted to the spot as if struck by lightning, unable to move.
Everyone's eyes lost focus, and they slowly fell to the ground. Even Qi Ning and Lan Man only managed to hold on for two more breaths.
At this moment, a figure rapidly approached from outside the mountain forest. The person's speed was extremely fast, not inferior to Lan Man's at all, clearly also a God-Form Martial Artist.
The figure flickered a few times and landed in front of the young monk, immediately kneeling on one knee and speaking respectfully.
"Greetings, Elder Ge."
The person who came was wearing light armor, with hands reaching past his shoulders. It was precisely Lu Chuan.
"Get up."
The young monk's eyes slightly closed, and he spoke faintly.
After bowing, he stood up. Lu Chuan's gaze swept over the Dark Star members on the ground, pausing particularly on Qi Ning and Lan Man.
"Elder Ge's strength is heaven-reaching, I admire you. How should these people be dealt with? Should they be killed or kept?"
"Keep them. That little one named Thousand Faces should have some connection with Luo Yin. After this matter is settled, I will go to Fulong City. Using this as bait, perhaps I can catch a big fish."
The young monk spoke softly. Although he had a young appearance, his voice was quite old, rough like an old man of seventy or eighty.
"As for the others, after dealing with Gongsun Yuanzhou, bring them back to Fu City as experimental materials. This can make up for some of the losses during this period."
"Yes, Elder Ge's considerations are always thorough." Lu Chuan first responded respectfully, with a hint of flattery on his face, then cautiously asked.
"But why didn't Elder Ge just keep Gongsun Yuanzhou just now?"
He had come with Elder Ge and had discovered Gongsun Yuanzhou's tracks several hours ago.
With Elder Ge's speed, he should have been able to keep Gongsun Yuanzhou long ago. Why did he just watch Gongsun Yuanzhou leave?
Although Gongsun Yuanzhou's strength was very high now, he didn't think he could threaten Elder Ge. After all, the young monk in front of him was a genuine Transforming Void Grandmaster, Tianhong Pavilion's Elder Sanmu Luosha Xiang Kong, so he was quite curious in his heart.
"Gongsun Yuanzhou's ambition is huge, but it's a pity he's too greedy. With his temperament and Realm, swallowing demonic blood at such a high frequency, even using talismans to suppress it, sooner or later there will be a situation where it can't be suppressed and completely erupts. However, the time of this eruption is quite a bit earlier than I imagined. It seems that after the demonic blood accumulates continuously, the demonic nature will also gradually strengthen. This is something I overlooked before..."
Xiang Kong's face showed a faint smile, a little happy that he had discovered a flaw in advance.
Seeing this scene, Lu Chuan felt a chill in his heart for no reason.
He originally thought that Gongsun Yuanzhou was just unable to suppress his greed and was impatient for success, which was why he disregarded the rules and secretly kept swallowing demonic blood. Now it seemed the situation was not as simple as he imagined. Besides Gongsun Yuanzhou's own reasons, there was probably also the assistance of this Grandmaster Elder in front of him.
Looking at what this Grandmaster Elder meant, Gongsun Yuanzhou was just a chess piece of his.
Perhaps Gongsun Yuanzhou himself didn't realize it. He thought he had grasped the secret of demonic blood and could cultivate a thousand miles a day with it. In the end, he was just an experimental subject for the higher-ups.
Not paying attention to Lu Chuan's subtle change in expression, how others thought wasn't important; what was important was how he thought. Xiang Kong's gaze fell on the direction Gongsun Yuanzhou left, and a thoughtful look appeared on his face.
"After being dominated by demonic nature, killing other beast-transformed Martial Artists and devouring more demonic blood is very normal, but why he is tracking these ordinary Martial Artists who don't have demonic blood is somewhat interesting."
"Why is that? Besides demonic blood, there is only Bloodline. Gongsun Yuanzhou has the Scarlet Blood Dragon Lizard Bloodline. Among the disciples of the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect, one lineage should have a trace of the Hibernating Dragon Bloodline. And that kid just now should also have a dragon-type Bloodline, and the purity should be very high, otherwise Gongsun, who is dominated by demonic nature, wouldn't give up the blood food in front of him. Interesting..."
Xiang Kong faintly felt that he seemed to be about to make another interesting discovery. The corner of his mouth curved up, and the smile on his face deepened.
"Dragon-type Bloodlines are rare to begin with, and those with high potential are even scarcer. However, there seems to be something strange about that kid. Forget it, let me see what changes Gongsun Yuanzhou undergoes after eating him... If it can further suppress the demonic blood, that would be even better."
Muttering to himself, Xiang Kong's gaze swept over Lu Chuan.
"Lu Chuan, you previously followed Prince Yan, so you can be considered half a member of Tianhong Pavilion. After this matter, are you willing to join my Tianhong Pavilion? I will mention this to Prince Yan at that time."
Feeling that indifferent gaze fall upon him, Lu Chuan immediately felt as if he was carrying a thousand-pound burden and quickly nodded in response.
"To be able to join Tianhong Pavilion, this Junior couldn't ask for more."
"Very good, this matter is settled. You stay here and guard until I return."
"Yes."
Lu Chuan responded again. When he raised his head, Xiang Kong's figure had already disappeared from his sight.
This caused the expression on his face to change uncertainly just now, but in the end, he could only let out a bitter smile.