Uemiya Ji was not injured, but the situation around him was far from optimistic.
Aside from himself, only three students were ultimately forcibly rescued...
Apart from Li Shubo, the other two students were terrified and were sitting on the ground, their faces filled with fear.
Gu Yuan, who had previously been greatly feared by Shang Gongji, now lay motionless in a pool of blood like a dead dog.
Meanwhile, the Black Earth Statue also began its operation.
It turns out that not long ago, the Magma Tiger and the Black Soil Statue were evenly matched. The Magma Tiger's innate ability is "Magma Skin"!
This skill causes the Magma Tiger to radiate intense heat. Ordinary black soil will be dried out, hardened, and rendered uncontrollable once it gets close.
The magma tiger is also wary of the excessive black soil in this area, and it will take a considerable amount of time to completely kill the black soil statue.
The two sides remained deadlocked until Shanggong Ji and his group arrived at the place for the first time, and immediately started fighting with the most conspicuous magma tiger.
The Magma Tiger initially intended to enhance itself by killing students and devouring their flesh and blood, but it never expected that Uemura Ji possessed the Fire Shield.
While the magma tiger was devouring the students' remains, he suddenly attacked, injuring the magma tiger's forelimbs and greatly depleting the magma tiger's innate abilities.
Ultimately, both sides suffered heavy losses. After Shanggong Ji and the others fled, Heitu Xiang made a ruthless move and killed the wounded Magma Tiger!
As for the lava tiger's corpse, the black earth statue does not have the ability to "eat carrion".
However, he used this corpse to continuously pour black sand into it and manipulated the body of this second-tier magma tiger.
The original plan was to keep this body until there was an opportunity to slowly devour it later.
However, the appearance of Uemura Ki and others interrupted Kurotsuchi's opportunity, which led to the scene just now.
The black soil seemed to have prematurely detonated the black sand inside the magma tiger's body, which, combined with the large amount of black soil that formed into spikes on the walls, ground, and ceiling, created the effect.
This series of attacks completely overwhelmed the students, and some didn't even have a chance to react before dying on the spot.
but....
It's not time to despair yet!
At that very moment, Shang Gongji saw a glimmer of hope for turning the tide!
Within the mangled remains of the magma tiger, shattered into pieces, something was glittering. Shang Gongji lunged forward without hesitation, his fire shield slamming into the glittering object.
It was a round, fiery red pill that was somewhat uneven and had cracks on it!
A tiger's shadow can be faintly seen imprinted on the round pill.
This is....
The inner core of the magma tiger!
This item was not destroyed in the chaos just now, and since it had no effect on the Black Earth Statue, it was preserved.
Although some cracks and damage have appeared on this inner core, and evil energy and spiritual power are seeping out from the cracks, it still does not affect its second-tier quality!
This is a genuine second-tier evil artifact inner core!
Moreover, he cultivates both the Beast Path and the Fire Path. Although he mainly focuses on the Beast Path, he also incorporates the Fire Path in no way!
"Yes, that's it!"
Uemiya Ji couldn't help but shout, "With this, we have a chance to survive!"
"What is that?"
Li Shubo had already taken the medicine to heal his wounds and had barely managed to recover from his superficial injuries. The other students had also treated themselves to varying degrees.
"The three of you should quickly protect me. Once I've absorbed this inner core, I'll be able to break through to the next level, and then I'll be able to use the magic weapon that the old man left me!"
"Does the old master still have a backup plan?"
"Of course!"
Shanggong Ji smiled confidently, "Hold on, I will lend you the Fire Shield temporarily. If you can hold on until I finish absorbing it, that will be victory!"
"Easy for you to say. Even with the Fire Shield protecting you, that's still a second-tier evil artifact!"
The student standing next to Li Shubo growled, "Really... I've had enough!"
The student ran frantically towards the entrance, nearly tripping over Gu Yuan who was lying on the ground...
Li Shubo, however, did not try to comfort the other person. At a time like this, there was no point in living for someone who couldn't see reality.
Li Shubo took the Fire Shield directly.
"Let me make this clear first, I can't hold on for too long."
"Of course, the Fire Shield is also included."
Shang Gongji wasted no more time and quickly circulated his internal energy cultivation technique to accelerate the absorption of the inner core.
The student who broke down died tragically shortly afterward, buried under the black soil.
At this point, no one even had the right to move around freely.
The black soil beneath their feet could turn into hard, sharp spikes at any moment, giving everyone a chilling sensation.
At this moment, the Black Soil Statue also took to the field, manipulating the black soil on the ground while simultaneously spreading its body out and merging into the earth.
Li Shubo and the last student stood guard beside Shang Gongji, using their tattered fire shield to block the approaching Black Earth Statue.
The Fire Shield was, after all, a genuine second-tier magic weapon. Even though its energy was about to run out and its surface was riddled with dents, it was still quite powerful.
But its power remains undiminished!
Li Shubo and the other person worked together, and even when the black clay statue split into several smaller miniature clay statues, they could not find any loopholes in the two.
Meanwhile, Shanggong Ji, who was behind, gradually entered a state of focus, continuously drawing upon the fire-elemental spiritual power within his inner core.
Relying on the Shanggong family's mental cultivation method, the Swallowing Qi Technique and Breathing Technique are used together to strip away the evil energy and absorb only the fire-elemental spiritual power within it.
Using three different mental techniques simultaneously had already left Shanggong Ji feeling exhausted.
At this moment, Shanggong Ji had no time to pay attention to his surroundings, and right above the three of them, who were completely unprepared...
The third Tier 2 evil creature, which had been lurking in the area, also bared its fangs at this moment!
Just as Shanggong Ji was about to extract the purest fire elemental power, several iron spears flew down from above!
By the time Li Shubo and his companion realized what was happening, it was too late to get back to their aid.
They could only watch helplessly as Shanggong Ji was struck by the iron spear!
At this critical moment, Shanggong Ji gritted his teeth and stood up abruptly, circulating his spiritual power and condensing a layer of crimson spiritual power shield!
"It's...it's blocked?"
Just as Li Shubo and his companion were about to withdraw their support, they were entangled by the black earth statue again.
A piercing metallic scraping sound came from the Black Earth Statue's mouth, and then its body exploded, turning into a black whirlwind that separated Li Shubo and the other two from Shang Gongji!
Even the Fire Shield was separated, unable to return to Shanggong Ji's side.
And Shanggong Ji...
He was now burning with rage.
Looking at the iron-shaped evil creature above him, Shang Gongji wished he could tear it to pieces on the spot!
Others didn't understand why Shang Gongji was able to stand up and fight back; only Shang Gongji knew the pain she endured.
Own....
He abandoned most of his fire-elemental spiritual power and forced his way through!
He then transformed all his remaining spiritual power into that crimson shield; otherwise, he would probably be dead by now.
As for cultivation level...
Shang Gongji has naturally entered the realm of a first-order cultivator!
However, he did not obtain the perfect foundation he had hoped for, nor did he refine his spiritual roots further.