The sudden rush of the five Pangolin Beasts sent the front ranks of the Great Luo Sect disciples into chaos. Some hurled fireballs, others frantically erected defensive spells, and a few retreated in sheer panic.

Although the Great Luo Sect had nine disciples, they could not coordinate effectively. The mining tunnel was only about ten feet wide, enough space for two cultivators to cast spells side-by-side; having more than three made it severely cramped.

The five Pangolin Beasts charged directly into their midst, utterly fearless, immediately posing a mortal threat. Especially the Pangolin Beast King, covered in ancient bronze scales, which seemed utterly impervious to low-level magic. In its berserk state, a single swipe of its claw was enough to tear through the protective shield of a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator. A leading Great Luo Sect disciple, caught completely off guard, was swatted two zhang away, landing heavily and gravely injured, his ribs horribly lacerated by the claws.

"Ah!"

"The Pangolin Beast claws are too sharp! Those without defensive armor, do not engage directly! Retreat to the rear for support! Those wearing armor, advance! Those in front, reinforce your earth-element shields and use earth magic to hold them back!"

"Disciples in the back, stop wasting magic trying to penetrate their scales—their Earth Scale Armor is incredibly tough; low-level spells are useless. Use your spirit artifacts to stab at their heads and bellies! Hold the line, do not retreat!"

Wei Ming of the Great Luo Sect bellowed, pointing. Amidst the melee, cries of alarm and screams occasionally rang out as the injured disciples were forced to pull back.

After casting his Earth Evasion Technique, Ye Qin only remained underground for the duration of one breath. Once the five Pangolin Beasts charged past above him, he immediately burrowed back out from the same spot. The bedrock in the tunnel was too hard; the Earth Evasion Technique could not carry him far beneath the ground, nor could he reach behind the Great Luo Sect disciples. Thus, he stayed put, waiting for an opportunity.

The five adult Pangolin Beasts had already crashed into the ranks of the Great Luo Sect disciples, catching them totally unprepared and sowing immense confusion. Among the disciples, there was a short young man loudly directing the defense.

Ye Qin let out a cold laugh. Get rid of the Pangolin Beasts? Not so easily. Did they think the Azure Pill Sect disciples didn't exist?

He glanced back. Bao, Zhang Yunzi, and the Old Man Kong had already emerged from the ground one after another. He immediately commanded, "Use control-type spells! Restrict the movements of the Great Luo Sect disciples! Make them sluggish, slow them down! Quickly!"

Ye Qin offered no explanation.

The three asked no questions either; there was simply no time to consider anything else.

Shen Bao immediately drew the Demon Binding Rope from his waist, infused it with mana, and flung it towards the group of Great Luo Sect disciples.

The Demon Binding Rope spirit artifact shot out like a spiritual snake, disappearing into the crowd of Great Luo Sect disciples. It was unclear which one it had ensnared. This kind of spirit artifact, once thrown, could not be controlled by divine sense, making it much inferior to artifacts capable of remote control. Fortunately, the toughness of the Demon Binding Rope far surpassed that of entanglement spells; once it bound its target, it was extremely difficult to undo. If it truly managed to bind even one of the Great Luo Sect disciples, it meant the enemy had one less combatant.

Old Man Kong tossed out his silk net, aiming to drape it over the heads of the Great Luo Sect disciples. While it might not fully cover them, it would certainly cause them considerable trouble, especially while the Pangolin Beasts were rampaging in their midst.

Once they finished their actions, the two immediately flashed backward, clearing space for Zhang Yunzi to cast his spell.

Zhang Yunzi did not possess a dedicated binding spirit artifact. He rapidly formed hand seals, and a sapphire-blue ice cone materialized, shooting towards the nearest Great Luo Sect disciple.

A mere low-level ice cone couldn't pierce the Great Luo Sect disciple's protective shield. However, the ice cone carried a momentary chilling and slowing effect. Upon striking the shield, it instantly encased the disciple in a layer of sapphire frost, causing him to shiver uncontrollably and noticeably reducing his movement speed. He would need to completely dispel the frost before regaining his original speed.

The leading Great Luo Sect disciple, seeing the four figures from the Azure Pill Sect appear, wore an expression of horror and panic. He had charged too far ahead, and though he avoided the main impact of the Pangolin Beasts, he now faced four disciples from the Azure Pill Sect. Four against one—he already regretted his haste. Stiffly, he tried to turn and desperately flee backward, seeking cover from his comrades.

Unfortunately, encased in ice frost, this Great Luo Sect disciple moved too slowly, and it was already too late.

A small, gleaming blue sword flew from Ye Qin's palm. The inch-long blade rapidly grew to a foot in length, then, with a flash of blue light, it shot forward.

"Pfft!"

The disciple's protective shield was pierced by a sharp sword gleam. A massive, bloody hole appeared in his back. Before he could even utter a cry, he fell lifelessly to the ground, utterly immobile.

All these developments occurred in the span of a few breaths—brief, stunning, and the sudden reversal of the battle caught the Great Luo Sect disciples entirely by surprise.

In what felt like the blink of an eye, the two leading Great Luo Sect disciples were neutralized: one swatted away by the Pangolin Beast King, severely injured and combat ineffective, and the other taken down by the coordinated efforts of the Azure Pill Sect disciples.

The Great Luo Sect instantly lost two members.

The remaining disciples, now guarded against the five Pangolin Beasts, managed to dodge and defend. Under a full effort, while they sustained minor injuries occasionally, there were no further severe casualties.

The short, black-clothed youth roared in a gravelly voice, "Damn it, the Azure Pill Sect is behind this! Junior Brother Ma, leave your three men to deal with the Pangolin Beasts! The other four, follow me, we're going to take care of those Azure Pill guys."

A squad leader under Ma in the Great Luo Sect protested anxiously, "Senior Brother Wei, that won't work! We don't have enough manpower. One of my juniors is tied up by the Demon Binding Rope, and I'm helping him cut it; only one person is still fighting effectively. Moreover, all five Pangolin Beasts are berserk—even with three men, I doubt we can control them, let alone just one."

"I'll give you one more person! No matter what, you must control those five beasts and stop them from ruining our formation! If we don't eliminate these despicable Azure Pill bastards first, we'll all die!"

Wei Ming was furious. He left one man behind, ignoring the squad leader's desperate plea.

He led the remaining three disciples of his squad to disengage from the beasts and charge the Azure Pill Sect disciples in the tunnel for a fight to the death. In his view, a few Azure Pill Sect disciples in green robes were nothing to fear. Even in a four-on-four scenario, he was confident in killing a few of them. He knew a bit about the Azure Pill Sect; only the core disciples in blue robes were truly strong. The ordinary disciples in green robes were generally weak. Cultivation trial squads were usually composed of main forces and cannon fodder to preserve the core. Since the main force of this Azure Pill team, Yan Xuan, was already down, the remaining ordinary disciples were not worth worrying about.

He grinned sinisterly and retrieved a high-grade spirit artifact from his storage bag.

After Ye Qin slew a Great Luo Sect disciple with his controlled flying sword, the sword completed a sweeping arc within the tunnel and returned to his hand.

Divine sense and mana for Qi Refining disciples were not strong enough; this flying sword could not attack consecutively. After unleashing one fierce strike, it had to be retrieved and re-enchanted before launching another attack.

"A Dharma Artifact!"

"A Water-element Flying Sword!"

Shen Bao, Zhang Yunzi, Old Man Kong, and the others all gasped in shock and envy upon seeing the small sword. Old Man Kong's gaze held not just envy, but a fleeting trace of avarice.

Dharma Artifacts were largely forged by Core Formation cultivators, with a small fraction being crafted by high-level Foundation Establishment cultivators using special methods. Dharma Artifacts were refined through an extremely rigorous process, and their destructive power was something ordinary spirit artifacts could never withstand.

In the hands of a Qi Refining disciple, a powerful Dharma Artifact meant they were practically unstoppable, killing gods and demons alike. Imagine the disparity when the vast majority of Qi Refining disciples used spirit artifacts, while a select few wielded Dharma Artifacts capable of shattering nearly all of them—how formidable that power must be!

Even within the major immortal cultivation sects, unless a disciple came from the highest echelons, they rarely had the chance to obtain a Dharma Artifact. At equal cultivation levels, a cultivator possessing a Dharma Artifact was nearly invincible, unless their opponent also held one.

This explained why Shen Bao and the other three were so shocked and incredulous.

However, the trace of avarice in Old Man Kong's heart vanished as quickly as it appeared. After all, with a great enemy at hand, this was no time for them to fall into internal strife over a Dharma Artifact. If they fought amongst themselves for the artifact, the team would immediately fracture.

An individual was extremely hard-pressed to survive in this mining tunnel; even possessing a Dharma Artifact made survival only marginally easier.

Dharma Artifacts consumed mana at an astonishing rate, faster than flowing water. Once the mana was depleted, the artifact was just an ornament. Without the support and cover of teammates to buy time for mana recovery, one could only sit and wait for death.

Furthermore, their purpose for entering the cave was to investigate the inner conditions and locate the Mining Tunnel Map scroll.

Though the Dharma Artifact was enticing, it was certainly less appealing than a Foundation Establishment Pill. If they could find the tunnel scroll and obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill, becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be far superior to owning a low-grade Dharma Artifact. Once they reached the Foundation Establishment stage, would they need to fear lacking a Dharma Artifact?

Old Man Kong, despite intense envy and a fleeting spark of impossible hope, understood their current precarious situation. To survive in this tunnel, they had to avoid conflict with their own sect members at all costs.

While they were still reeling from the shock, the three Great Luo Sect disciples, led by Wei Ming, charged forward with roars.

They had been scrambling to evade the Pangolin Beasts earlier. Although they knew a Great Luo Sect disciple had been killed by the Azure Pill Sect, they hadn't witnessed how it happened and were thus completely unafraid.

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