"Crow's mouth," Deng Feihong muttered softly while dodging.
After dodging the giant rock, the narrow canyon was blocked, and the Lu Xi Giant arrived in front of them.
"Run again, Lu Dong Turtle!" Amidst Nangong Nizi's scolding, Nangong Qinglong's greatsword slashed horizontally.
Cao Yueying held the Liao Tian Treasure Fan, first waving it at the enemy, and a fire dragon formed by Spiritual Qi directly lunged at the Lu Xi Giant's face.
She then closed the fan, using its ribs to block the sword's edge, hoping to use the force to get behind the Lu Xi Giant and continue escaping.
But how could the Lu Xi Giant let them go?
The Giant shook its head, dodged the fire dragon, and extended its left hand, a bone claw reaching for their chests.
This bone claw belonged to Caizhu, and they couldn't defend against it!
Helplessly, Qian Duoduo and the others had no choice but to take a step back, still in a desperate situation with the Lu Xi Giant in front, and giant rocks behind and on both sides.
In the fierce battle, the Lu Xi Giant's Spiritual Qi was abundant, showing no signs of weakening.
Qian Duoduo wondered, they didn't have any assisting defensive implements, how could they not be exhausted after running for over an hour?
"Slash!" Nangong Qinglong's sword strike was fiercer than the last.
Taking advantage of the opening created by the bone claw, the Mountain Suppressing Greatsword pressed down on the Liao Tian Treasure Fan, piercing into their hearts.
Qian Duoduo and the others felt a chill penetrate to their bones.
The moment they fell, the Instrument Spirit said coldly from the sky, "Second round, Lu Xi wins."
When they woke up, they were back in the Magic Treasure vault.
Ning Hao's face was flushed, and his hands were clenched into fists.
Everyone sat in a daze, no one wanting to speak.
"I have a plan, perhaps we can achieve a draw," Dugu Yunshan suddenly said.
The words "draw" immediately invigorated Qian Duoduo and the others.
A draw was certainly a hundred times better than losing.
"There are powerful Spirit Beasts in the chess board plaza.
We'll go there.
We'll use the power of the Spirit Beasts to fight Lu Xi, aiming to perish with Lu Xi, and then it can be a draw."
Dugu Yunshan's eyes gleamed with a fierce, cold light like a Spirit Beast's.
"But we don't know what Spirit Beast will appear in the next round," Deng Feihong said.
"It's fine.
Spirit Beasts are basically afraid of strong light, so we'll choose this Magic Treasure."
Qian Duoduo pointed at the Gilt Light Mirror in the vault.
Activating the Gilt Light Mirror with Spiritual Qi could emit a beam of light that could instantly kill Cultivators below the Golden Core Realm.
For Golden Core cultivators, a direct hit would cause injury.
The only drawback was that it required pre-infusion of Spiritual Qi, taking three to five breaths to prepare.
"For defensive implements, we still need the Chuan Yun Boots," Deng Feihong gritted her teeth.
The protracted battle she proposed hadn't worked, which greatly annoyed her.
Everyone agreed with this.
In the previous round, the Chuan Yun Boots allowed Qian Duoduo and the others to run easily ahead, with minimal consumption.
"There are still two problems," Qian Duoduo looked at everyone.
"One is why Lu Xi's Spiritual Qi consumption is particularly low, and the other is how they managed to trigger the giant rocks on the Gobi.
If they can use it, we should be able to too."
"Their low consumption should be related to Su Dalin," Dugu Yunshan said.
He had also considered this question.
Cao Yueying nodded, "They should be using the greatsword to cut the giant rocks on the Gobi and then using mechanisms to trigger them."
"That line on the ground—" Deng Feihong turned her head and said.
"I think we should also study the rules within this chess instrument more.
I believe that anything not explicitly forbidden, we can do," Qian Duoduo added.
The mechanical Magic Treasure used by Lu Xi was brought in from outside.
Since they could use their own external items, their side could also use them.
Cao Yueying looked at Qian Duoduo and said, "I think so too.
As long as we can win, my Hundred Burning Fang Mace can be taken out."
Xu Fa and He Shi'an also said, "I can too."
Most of the Magic Treasures they currently used were Mortal Weapons, and even if they self-destructed, they posed no threat to the Golden Core Realm Giants.
Only the high-level Magic Treasures obtained from the Burial Instrument would be effective.
Dugu Yunshan, Deng Feihong, and several others also expressed that they could take out their Dan artifacts.
However, Qian Duoduo had not repaired their Dan artifacts, so they couldn't self-destruct.
"Time's up, the third round begins."
The vault door opened, revealing a torrential downpour outside, where the sky and earth met in a boundless swamp with three to five lakes of varying sizes.
Qian Duoduo and the others felt a sense of relief.
In such a harsh environment, walking was impossible; they could only fly over the swamp, which consumed a great deal of Spiritual Qi, so choosing the Chuan Yun Boots was the right decision.
Qian Duoduo returned to the position of the Heart Chess, Dugu Yunshan was the right hand.
Cao Yueying was the Head Chess.
Deng Feihong was still the right leg.
He Shi'an was the left leg.
Xu Fa was the left hand.
"Find Spirit Beasts," Qian Duoduo told everyone using Spiritual Awareness.
Most Spirit Beasts in the swamp lurked in the mud, and with the heavy rain interfering with sight and sound, they needed to be even more careful.
After flying for a quarter of an hour, Qian Duoduo noticed that the surface of the swamp ahead was too quiet.
With a thought, she took out a Wolf Fang Black Iron Hammer and threw it over.
With a "bang" it self-destructed, splashing mud everywhere and creating a large pit in the swamp's surface.
It was effective indeed.
In Qian Duoduo's Golden Toad, there were dozens of Wolf Fang Black Iron Hammers, which she could use freely.
A Spirit Water Python emerged from the mud.
This was a Middle Stage Jin Beast, equivalent to a Golden Core Middle Stage Cultivator.
The Spirit Water Python's two eyes were like two lanterns, looking over, and with a flick of its giant tail, it charged directly at them.
"Go!" A Middle Stage Jin Beast was not their target.
The Chuan Yun Boots drew a streak of light, flying into the distance, with the Spirit Water Python chasing closely behind like an arrow.
Ahead was a lake, over a thousand zhang in circumference.
The heavy rain stirred up swirls of water on the lake's surface.
There must be Spirit Beasts in this lake.
They turned around and indeed saw the Spirit Water Python stopping its movement, intending to turn back.
Want to leave? Not so easy!
"Attack!" Xu Fa, the left hand, pinched a spell and pointed, a streak of sword light striking the Spirit Water Python's tail.
The Spirit Water Python's body recoiled in pain, turning back with a hiss.
Xu Fa continuously shot out three streaks of sword light, one of which hit the Spirit Water Python's head.
Although the Spirit Water Python was not injured, it was provoked, and its eyes immediately bulged.
"Come, come and die!" Cao Yueying, the Head Chess, cursed.
Dugu Yunshan, the right hand, launched a punch, striking the Spirit Water Python's tail.
The Spirit Water Python extended its long red tongue and lunged fiercely.
They retreated, falling back to the edge of the lake.
The quiet lake was like a giant mouth, waiting silently.
As it neared the lake, the Spirit Water Python hesitated, then tried to retreat again.
A streak of sword light accurately hit the python's head.
Although the python's scales were hard and the Spirit Water Python was not injured, it was so enraged that it hissed and flicked its tongue.
The Spirit Water Python cautiously entered the lake, floating on the water, but not initiating an attack.
"It seems to be communicating with someone," Qian Duoduo saw fine ripples appearing on the lake's surface.
Suddenly, a huge head burst forth from the bottom of the lake, with four rows of gleaming giant teeth biting towards Qian Duoduo and the others, while a huge suction force pulled them in.
This was a Violent Star Crocodile.
It had crescent shapes on its body and limbs, a High-Level Jin Beast, equivalent to a Golden Core Late Stage Cultivator.
Qian Duoduo and the others were already prepared, and with all their might, they flashed to the right.
The Violent Star Crocodile missed.
The Spirit Water Python had already retreated into the swamp, burying its body in the mud, with only its head exposed.
This Violent Star Crocodile's strength was considerable, posing a fatal threat to the Lu Xi Giant.
Just as Qian Duoduo and the others were about to activate their Chuan Yun Boots and flee into the distance, a bone claw suddenly grabbed the Chuan Yun Boots.
Not good, Lu Xi Xiongjie had an ambush here!