An arrow pierced clean through beneath its shoulder, and another arrow struck the center of its chest. This second arrow, in particular, had skewered the vital organs of the Six-legged Blade Cicada. However, as a demonic beast with exceptionally robust vitality, as long as its Níwán Gōng wasn't pierced, immediate death was impossible; it could continue fighting.
"Roar~~"
The Six-legged Blade Cicada roared, blood continuously spilling from its mouth, while it desperately scuttled towards Teng Qingshan.
"Blade Cicada!" Not far off, Teng Qingshan was also rushing over with all his might.
"Hahaha, vile beast, you're still not dead?"
The earth and sand cracked open, revealing the magnificent Shen Gongtu perched atop the giant demonic beast, the 'Six-eared Earth-drilling Rat,' whose back was like a massive drill. He already held a dark-gold 'Void-Rending Arrow' in hand. In Shen Gongtu's eyes, the near-dead Six-legged Blade Cicada was no longer worthy of him expending another Void-Breaking Arrow.
"This wretched beast, even if I don't strike, given its heavily damaged internal organs, it likely won't last much longer before it dies."
He drew his divine bow once more.
The dark-gold Void-Rending Arrow was nocked onto the bowstring, the divine bow pulled taut into a perfect circle. Shen Gongtu frowned slightly. "This Jing Yi is fast in his escape, but... that’s fine too. Liu Xia and Yu Tonghai have arrived. When the time comes, the three of us joining forces will ensure Jing Yi has nowhere to flee. Oh, Jing Yi, you really are risking your life for this demonic beast."
Chī chī~~
At the tip of the dark-gold Void-Rending Arrow, faint, spiral-shaped spatial cracks began to rotate incessantly. Shen Gongtu stopped being distracted, allowing Teng Qingshan and the Six-legged Blade Cicada to converge, focusing entirely on his draw, his aura growing stronger and stronger.
...
"Rumble~~" Shattering a massive subterranean rock, Teng Qingshan shot forward like a meteor in a straight line, arriving before the heavily wounded Six-legged Blade Cicada.
"Chī chī~~" Robust Heaven and Earth power violently surged around Teng Qingshan, forcefully holding the surrounding earth several zhang away at bay. Now, within Teng Qingshan's sight, was the grievously wounded Six-legged Blade Cicada, the two Void-Breaking Arrows already showing fractures. The green blood belonging to the Cicada stained its lips and chest.
"Roar~~" The Blade Cicada's blood-red eyes fixed on Teng Qingshan.
"Blade Cicada." Seeing the arrowhead protruding from the Cicada's chest, the anger that had already filled Teng Qingshan's chest burst forth, momentarily filling his heart with boundless killing intent and the will to destroy... Everything unfolded naturally; Teng Qingshan, who had tirelessly practiced the Three-Body Stance and pondered the 'Way of Death,' yet always felt a slight gap, instantly broke through that barrier.
"Boom~~" The Heaven and Earth power surrounding Teng Qingshan vibrated violently. Almost instantaneously, a dense black energy, mixed with Earth power, encircled his body. The Way of Fire, the Way of Metal, and a portion of the Way of Water directly fused to form the 'Way of Death,' also known as the 'Way of Destruction.'
Naturally, the Fire and Metal powers Teng Qingshan originally controlled also fused, transforming into the 'Power of Death,' which now accounted for a full fifty percent of the Heaven and Earth power he commanded.
Instantly, his control over Heaven and Earth power rose from sixty percent to seventy percent!
Adding the one-tenth of Heaven and Earth power equivalent of his own physical strength, he reached eighty percent! Unleashing his strongest ultimate move through the 'Thirty-Six Forms of Mountain Splitting' could definitely achieve a terrifying power of ninety-five percent, nearing ten percent.
"The Way of Destruction, so that's how it is..."
"Kill!"
"Kill everyone who obstructs me! Let them all die!!!" Since receiving guidance from Pei San, Teng Qingshan's state of mind had been relatively calm, never before experiencing such furious murderous intent. Upon comprehending the 'Way of Destruction,' Teng Qingshan realized that this deadly Way of Destruction required the most resolute and decisive will of annihilation!
Annihilate everything! Destroy everything!
But just then... he clearly sensed that about twenty zhang away, Shen Gongtu, together with the Six-eared Earth-drilling Rat, had already gathered a terrifying Heaven and Earth power in his hands.
He could judge—
"He's going to shoot another arrow." Teng Qingshan's eyes narrowed with rage, almost splitting open.
The Six-eared Earth-drilling Rat was still approaching.
The distance between them continually shrank—twenty zhang, ten zhang...
"Roar~~" The Six-legged Blade Cicada desperately tried to dodge.
"Shen Gongtu, die!!!" Teng Qingshan roared. Instead of fleeing with the Six-legged Blade Cicada, he suddenly turned and charged violently towards Shen Gongtu. What had been a pursuit where the distance closed slowly suddenly became a head-on collision as the Earth-drilling Rat and Teng Qingshan rushed towards each other.
The ten-plus zhang distance vanished in an instant!
"Hm?"
Shen Gongtu’s cold eyes snapped open, flashing like lightning. Without the slightest hesitation, he effortlessly released his right hand.
"Courting death!"
A dark-gold light arrow instantly pierced the obstruction of mud and stone, followed by a "Clang!" sound! At such a close range, even with Teng Qingshan's speed, he couldn't block this arrow with the 'Mountain Splitting Divine Axe'... However, Teng Qingshan never intended to block it with the Divine Axe!
"To kill me? To think you can kill me, you?!"
As he was struck, Teng Qingshan wildly swung the Mountain Splitting Divine Axe. The giant axe, trailing a remnant shadow of dark blade light, contained a terrifying aura that alone startled Shen Gongtu. "Wrong—" He could only raise his divine bow in front of him to forcibly block the blow.
Peng! Shen Gongtu was sent flying backward, struck by the axe.
Teng Qingshan merely retreated two steps.
"Hmph!" He glanced down at his chest. Only his outer garment was damaged, but beneath it, the 'Inner Armor' of the Hongtian Divine Armor showed only a single white mark. "Not even a Void-Breaking Arrow dares to try and injure me?" Wearing the Hongtian Divine Armor, second only to the supreme battle armor, Teng Qingshan was full of confidence.
...
Shen Gongtu, sent flying by Teng Qingshan's axe strike, was completely shocked. He had fought Teng Qingshan before; although his own defense was weaker, he still believed Teng Qingshan's strength wasn't superior to his. But what he just witnessed... the power of that axe strike was clearly much stronger than in their previous battle outside Jiangning Prefecture City.
"Brother Liu Xia, Brother Tonghai, it seems this Jing Yi has broken through. He is likely comparable to that Iron Blind Man," Shen Gongtu urgently transmitted via sound.
Meanwhile, Liu Xia and Yu Tonghai were already closing in on Teng Qingshan.
"Even if he is the Iron Blind Man, without the help of this Blade Cicada demonic beast, he is surely doomed," Yu Tonghai confidently messaged Shen Gongtu.
Both Yu Tonghai and Liu Xia could unleash nearly one hundred and twenty percent of the Heaven and Earth power's potential.
With such strength, a Rift-Wind Dragon Falcon above and the Six-eared Earth-drilling Rat below, Teng Qingshan's side—with the heavily injured Six-legged Blade Cicada—had no escape above or below ground.
...
After batting Shen Gongtu away with one axe strike, Teng Qingshan immediately caught up to the Six-legged Blade Cicada and clearly sensed its aura had weakened slightly.
"It really hit a vital spot."
Teng Qingshan was alarmed.
"Roar~~" Seeing Teng Qingshan approach, the Six-legged Blade Cicada turned its head, its blood-red eyes fixed on Teng Qingshan from its triangular skull. Teng Qingshan, ignoring everything else, swiftly pulled out a jade box from his robes, opened it, and quickly retrieved one of the two Undying Grass stalks within. This Undying Grass had seven leaves, faintly circulating a seven-colored halo. Simply inhaling deeply near the Undying Grass made one feel noticeably lighter.
The Undying Grass was something he carried with him, just in case of an emergency.
"Glad I brought this."
"Blade Cicada." Teng Qingshan couldn't care less about the importance of the Undying Grass; he tossed the entire stalk directly to the Six-legged Blade Cicada. The Cicada's blood-red eyes showed a flicker of yearning—a yearning for life—and it opened its mouth, swallowing the entire Undying Grass in one gulp.
Upon swallowing it, its aura instantly strengthened noticeably.
"Truly miraculous effects." Teng Qingshan leaped onto the Cicada's back and pointed upwards.
"Roar~~"
The Six-legged Blade Cicada roared with full strength and immediately began drilling upward at high speed.
...
The Six-eared Earth-drilling Rat, being timid and cautious, did not engage in a life-or-death battle with Teng Qingshan and the Six-legged Blade Cicada after Shen Gongtu was blasted away. Instead, it scuttled towards Shen Gongtu, allowing him to climb onto its back again. In this brief moment, Teng Qingshan had already fed the Six-legged Blade Cicada a stalk of Undying Grass!
It wasn't surprising for the Earth-drilling Rat; it still remembered the huge loss it suffered helping Hongtian City last time. Its mission today was merely pursuit, not direct combat, so it naturally wouldn't risk its life.
Swish! Swish!
Yu Tonghai and Liu Xia barely caught a glimpse of the rapidly ascending Six-legged Blade Cicada. They almost caught up.
"Why is it so fast? Why has the Blade Cicada's aura strengthened so much?"
"I don't know. Never mind that, the demonic beast is severely wounded; let's take the chance to finish it."
Yu Tonghai and Liu Xia rapidly drilled upwards.
...
Pat! Pat! Pat!
The heavily clouded sky had begun pouring rain, and the Great Yan Mountain was drenched. High in the sky, a massive avian demonic beast circled high above—a Void Realm demonic beast, the 'Rift-Wind Dragon Falcon,' that had once followed Emperor Yu. It stared down coldly, its beak already open.
Peng! The damp mountainside violently exploded upward. Two large trees standing close together on the ground were struck and toppled, crushing everything beneath them.
"Roar~~"
The Six-legged Blade Cicada, carrying Teng Qingshan on its back, burst out with extremely graceful agility.
At that moment, the Rift-Wind Dragon Falcon in mid-air shot down an invisible spike from its sharp beak. "Awoooar~~" The Six-legged Blade Cicada sounded oddly excited, performing a breathtakingly swift, flickering maneuver in the forest, instantly leaving three illusory shadows of itself in place.
Puchi!
The invisible spike grazed the edge of the Cicada's scales, shooting into the earth and leaving a nearly bottomless, minuscule hole on the surface, which was quickly buried by falling debris.
Peng! Peng! Peng!
Shen Gongtu, riding on the Six-eared Earth-drilling Rat, along with Liu Xia and Yu Tonghai, burst through the surface almost simultaneously.
"Didn't I destroy this Cicada's wings? How can it be..." Shen Gongtu was completely stunned upon seeing the Six-legged Blade Cicada execute such astonishing evasive maneuvers.
Crack! Crack!
The Void-Breaking Arrows stuck in the Cicada's body in mid-air naturally snapped and fell away, and there wasn't even a visible scratch on its scales.
"Awoooar~~" An excited roar echoed across the sky above the Great Yan Mountain.