Suddenly, Dugu Feng's expression changed.
"Not good… a powerful presence is approaching."
Near the giant tree, the two Emerald Dragon Serpents he'd released were already on high alert.
Their bodies were small, perfectly hidden in the vast forest and even a Titled Douluo would have trouble detecting them.
From the dragon snakes' perspective, two massive silhouettes were charging through the woods at incredible speed and their trajectory pointed straight toward Dugu Feng's location.
The intention couldn't be clearer.
"Then we have to move now….devour it all!"
The Pearl inside Dugu Feng's body spun at full force. He drew in the last of the Eight Spider Lances' energy completely.
In the next instant, an overwhelming pressure crashed down on him.
— Gravity.
His pupils shrank. Titan Giant Ape!
If they had been above ground, this gravity alone would've crushed both him and the old scorpion into paste.
Thankfully, they were more than a hundred meters deep underground, beneath the roots of the colossal tree.
"Withdraw!" Dugu Feng gritted his teeth, his voice hoarse with strain.
A wave of white ripples surged out from his body, enveloping both himself and the old scorpion.
"Boom!"
From above came an earth-shattering tremor and the sound of the tree being torn from the earth.
The old scorpion's expression froze; even he didn't dare delay a second. A heartbeat too late, and they'd both be buried alive.
His tunneling skill was tied to the element of earth and the one attacking above was manipulating the same element through gravity.
Cold sweat dripped from his brow.
Then, suddenly, his eyes lit up.
The enemy was here to save Tang San.
Perfect …a living shield!
The old scorpion's left hand grabbed Dugu Feng, his right grabbed Tang San and with a twist of his wrist, he hurled Tang San upward, straight toward the tree's hollow root tunnel.
A cruel grin curved his lips. Let's see if they still dare to unleash destructive power now.
At the same time, gray soul power enveloped him and Dugu Feng.
As his fifth soul ring flashed, their bodies vanished into the ground.
The gray glow flickered violently, clearly, even with Dugu Feng's Killing God Domain amplifying him, the gravity field above was suppressing his movement.
Still, the two burrowed desperately deeper.
Aboveground.
The Titan Giant Ape, the Azure Bull Python, and Xiao Wu had arrived.
The one releasing that crushing force was the Titan Giant Ape.
But the enemy was buried deep, almost over a hundred meters below.
If it used brute force to dig them out, it might harm Tang San.
So the Titan Giant Ape instead unleashed its gravity domain, controlling the pressure precisely across the terrain.
Unlike Zhao Wuji, whose gravity only reached a few meters below the surface, Er Ming's domain could press through tens — even hundreds — of meters.
"Still struggling?"
The Titan Giant Ape's massive eyes gleamed coldly.
If the ones underground escaped now, he'd lose face in front of Xiao Wu-Sis!
Then suddenly he felt a faint energy rising upward.
Er Ming was about to intensify the gravity when—
"Wait!" Da Ming's deep voice boomed. "They're using Tang San as a shield!"
Xiao Wu's heart lurched. No… Tang San can't die! He's my… my best chance! (T/N : Gold Digger!)
All the effort she'd spent to get close to Tang San, all that delicate manipulation…she wasn't about to lose her "backing" now!
Er Ming instantly pulled back his strength.
But that brief hesitation was all the enemy needed and in the next moment, their energy signatures blurred, scattering in every direction.
At the same time, a faint energy pulse began to fall downward…it was Tang San's aura.
Er Ming reacted instantly, catching that faint energy in his gravitational grasp and lifting it upward.
Then, with a thunderous roar, the giant ape's hands clenched around the massive tree roots.
Muscles bulged like mountains. With a single yank, he ripped the ancient tree from the ground, roots and all. It was just like tearing out a weed.
From within the hollow trunk, a figure was flung free.
"San-ge!"
Xiao Wu, perched on Er Ming's shoulder, cried out in joy.
She leapt down and caught Tang San midair, landing softly with him in her arms.
Seeing Tang San safe, Er Ming finally stopped restraining himself.
He stood tall, raising his colossal arms to the sky. A suffocating wave of power burst from his body, crashing over the forest like a black tidal wave.
The earth groaned. Dark gravity energy flooded downward, sealing the underground space entirely.
But then — he froze.
Because even as he poured his power into the ground, three separate energy signatures appeared — one deep underground, another two kilometers away, and another even farther beyond.
"What… is this?"
Three identical auras and he couldn't tell which was real.
Before he could decide, all three flickered and vanished completely.
Er Ming gritted his teeth.
"Big brother, can you sense them?" he asked. "When Tang San was still underground, I only felt one big and one small aura. But now there were three…"
Da Ming shook his enormous head. "If you can't sense them, how could I? In that instant of escape, I felt another domain-like force…it was probably a concealment or distortion field. Underground, that's almost impossible to trace."
Er Ming exhaled heavily, frustrated but helpless.
At least Tang San was safe. That was what mattered most.
As for revenge… well, their connection with Tang San wasn't worth dying over.
"San-ge…"
Xiao Wu called softly twice, but Tang San didn't respond.
His eyes were shut tight, his body limp and pale.
He curled weakly in her arms, trembling slightly now and then.
When Dugu Feng devoured the Eight Spider Lances' energy, he had also drawn away part of Tang San's life force.
Dugu Feng hadn't bothered to separate the two — energy or vitality, it was all the same to him.
The result: Tang San looked utterly broken.
Panic rising, Xiao Wu immediately activated her martial soul, channeling her soul power into Tang San's body.
But no matter how long she poured her energy in, there was no reaction.
Her expression hardened.
"Er Ming — take me back. Oscar and Rong Rong both have healing abilities. And the dean must have medicine!"
Er Ming didn't hesitate. He lifted Xiao Wu carefully back onto his shoulder and charged toward Shrek's camp.
When they neared the site, Xiao Wu jumped down, still clutching Tang San tightly, and rushed ahead.
Flender, who had been pacing anxiously, saw her first.
He hadn't rested a moment since Tang San was taken. Just the thought of explaining to Clear Sky Douluo or Yu Xiaogang had haunted him the whole time.
If Tang San died, Clear Sky Douluo might flatten him with a single hammer strike.
So when he finally saw Xiao Wu return, holding Tang San, breathing, though weak — all his tension vanished at once.
"Rong Rong! Oscar! Quickly…heal him!", Flender's powerful voice roared through the camp.
The others, still shaken from the earlier chaos, stumbled out of their tents.
"Dean, what happened to Tang San?"
As Ning Rongrong's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda spun in her palm, light flared across the camp.
Oscar, without a word, began conjuring his Recovery Sausages at full speed.