Mo Tong lowered his gaze to his palms, then looked at those struggling to rise from the mud. He sighed like a man faced with a tedious but necessary chore.
"Let's get this over with quickly."
Eight milky-gray rings revolved around his feet. The first ring flashed with gray light.
"First Spirit Skill: Devouring Fangs!"
Ten bone-white fangs materialized out of thin air. Each was as long as a forearm, curved like a serpent's fang, with hollow tips that seeped a pale mist. For a fraction of a second, they hung motionless in a wide fan, and the silence on the clearing became deafening.
A moment later, all ten fangs shot forward.
They spread out in a fan, simultaneously rushing toward each of his opponents. The bone projectiles did not simply fly in straight lines. They changed direction, curved around obstacles, and pursued their targets as though they could sense the life force within them. A low whistle accompanied their flight, sending a chill down the spine.
Hui Mi raised his head and saw two white streaks hurtling straight toward him and Sheng Min. He tried to raise his hand to unleash a bolt of lightning, but his fingers only twitched spasmodically.
Sheng Min wrenched herself out of his arms, stepped in front of him, and raised her hands.
"Third Spirit Skill: Barrier of Life!"
A massive, translucent silhouette of the Tree of Life appeared behind Sheng Min. Its branches rapidly spread, intertwining around the girl and Hui Mi. A moment later, a dense green dome enveloped them—and at that very instant, the first fang slammed into its surface.
The impact made the barrier shudder. Black cracks raced along its branches. The second fang struck immediately afterward, followed by the third almost at the same time, and the green glow noticeably dimmed.
Sheng Min gritted her teeth and poured more spirit power into the barrier. The branches thickened and drew closer together, but they could no longer withstand the relentless assault of the bone projectiles.
With a deafening crack, the dome shattered.
Wooden fragments flew in every direction. Two fangs, knocked off their original trajectories, plunged into the ground near Sheng Min and Hui Mi. Another struck the earth nearby. The soil beneath the bone fangs instantly turned black. Darkness spread through the grass in thin veins, turning the green blades into brittle, lifeless threads. Even the leaves touched by this power withered and crumbled into dust.
Sheng Min clearly felt that the fangs were literally draining the life force from the earth.
Zhou Shenyang had only just managed to get back on his feet after the explosion and had not yet regained his balance. One projectile was heading straight for his chest, while another approached from the side, cutting off his escape route. He sharply twisted his shoulders, trying to let the first fang pass him, but immediately realized he would not be able to dodge the second in time. He could see both fangs closing in, yet his legs refused to obey him.
At that very moment, the air around him exploded with a gust of wind.
"Don't just stand there, big guy!"
Xiao Yu appeared at his side and slammed his shoulder into Zhou Shenyang, knocking him out of the attack's path. They both tumbled across the ground. The fang passed over them, slicing off several strands of Shenyang's hair before plunging into the trunk of a tree behind them with a dull thud. The bark around the impact point immediately turned black, and the tree began to wither before their very eyes.
Xiao Yu was the first to spring to his feet, but this time, he was not smiling. His breathing was heavy, and his legs trembled after the sudden burst of speed. Even with the aid of wind, he had needed to push himself to the limit to save his companion in time.
He glanced at Zhou Shenyang and nodded.
The latter said nothing. He simply got back to his feet, never taking his eyes off Mo Tong.
Jin Luo pushed himself up onto one knee and wiped the blood from his face. It began flowing again almost immediately. He raised his head—and saw two white fangs rushing straight toward him.
Jin Luo raised his free hand, intending to draw a card, but his fingers did not reach the fan in time.
Qin Ye appeared at the last moment. She shoved Jin Luo out of the attack's path and leaped sharply in the opposite direction. The bone fang shot between them, grazing the edge of her clothes before embedding itself in the ground.
Jin Luo fell onto his side and let out a pained breath. Qin Ye landed on one knee, bracing herself with a hand against the earth. She immediately looked up, checking whether more projectiles were approaching.
Hao Min lay off to the side, where the boulder had stopped him. His arms were spread wide, his sleeves charred, and a broken sword remained clutched in his fingers. He did not move.
And the last two fangs were heading straight for him.
The first ten-thousand-year spirit ring beneath her feet lit up.
"First Spirit Skill: Seraphim Sword!"
Two blades of pure light materialized beside her, and with a single motion of her hand, she hurled them forward. The first sword struck a fang in midair, shattering the bone into white fragments. The second was a fraction of a second too late. It merely grazed the tail of the other fang, knocking it off course by barely the width of a hand.
It was not enough.
The fang plunged into Hao Min's lower leg.
The skin around the wound darkened and turned gray, like dead wood. Thin green threads began stretching from the wound along the fang.
"Hao Min!" Qin Ye shouted.
Mo Tong did not even turn at her cry. All his attention was fixed on the fang embedded in Hao Min's leg. His eight milky-gray rings revolved slowly around him, and the pale skin along his cheekbones took on a faint rosy hue. He savored the sensation of another person's life force becoming part of his own.
"What remarkably dense life force," he drawled, closing his eyes. "Thank you for the meal."
When he opened his eyes, he finally looked at the others. A lazy, almost noble smile rested on his face—the smile of a man who had been served an exquisite dish and now had only to decide where to begin.
"One down. Six left."
Hao Min lay motionless in the grass. His chest rose and fell in shallow, irregular breaths. His eyes remained closed.
"Everyone, regroup! Our priority is survival!" Qin Ye's voice rang out, sharp and clear.
Zhou Shenyang straightened, although something crackled in his right side with every breath. A rib, perhaps two. His left arm hung limp, dislocated by the explosion.
Hui Mi lay where the shock wave had thrown him. Sheng Min knelt beside him. Jin Luo had already managed to stand, though he was swaying on his feet. Blood from the gash in his temple streamed into his left eye, and he wiped it away with his sleeve without looking.
Sheng Min did not rush toward Hao Min. He was too far away, and Mo Tong could intercept her before she reached him. Instead, she darted to the side, stopped, and stretched out her hand. The first ring flashed with purple light.
"First Spirit Skill: Sunflower Seed!"
A tiny, glowing seed flew over the devastated clearing and landed on Hao Min's chest. Sheng Min immediately dropped to one knee and brought her palms together before her chest. The fifth, black spirit ring at her feet lit up.
"Fifth Spirit Skill: Bloom!"
A lush green circle of softly glowing flowers blossomed around her. It rapidly expanded and swept across the entire clearing, leaving no one untouched. Within moments, flowers had bloomed at the feet of every one of her companions. Their petals rose into the air and swirled around the wounded as though carried by an invisible breeze. In the next instant, the luminous petals entered their bodies, dissolving into their skin and clothing.
Zhou Shenyang was the first to feel the effects. The cracking sensation in his side subsided, as though a warm hand had restored his broken ribs to their proper places. His dislocated arm snapped back into place with a dull click. His fingers twitched and curled into a fist. He drew a full breath and stared at his own hand in astonishment.
The edges of Jin Luo's split temple wound drew together, and the bleeding stopped. He blinked with his newly cleared eye, ran his fingers across his forehead, and felt only smooth skin beneath the dried crust of blood.
The burns across Hui Mi's back rapidly faded, while the fractures in his bones healed just as quickly. He sucked in a sharp breath, his eyelashes fluttering. His vision cleared, and his mind returned to its usual clarity.
The petals settled over Hao Min as well. The seed on his chest burst with a silent pop, and the abrasions across his body began to close. His breathing grew slightly deeper, but his eyes remained shut. The fang was still embedded in his leg. The wound tried to heal around it, only to split open again.
Sheng Min slowly lowered her hands. The fifth ring went dark, and the ghostly Tree of Life behind her grew more transparent. She had expended a considerable amount of energy on healing everyone across such a wide area, but not enough to leave herself completely unable to support her companions.
Mo Tong finally noticed what was happening. He shifted his gaze from the flowers to the girl and smiled.
"What a fine spirit skill," he said, licking his lips.
There was neither surprise nor irritation in his voice, only growing interest. He had already tasted Hao Min's life force, and now he looked at Sheng Min as though he had discovered another, far more enticing prey.
"You're next."
Mo Tong's second ring flickered faintly with milky-gray light.
"Second Spirit Skill: Serpent Ring!"
A ghostly gray serpent, two meters long, took shape out of thin air. Its scales shimmered dully, like moonlight on water. It lunged at Sheng Min so quickly that the clearing barely had time to react. In the space of a single breath, it was upon her. She did not even have time to recoil.
But at that moment, a figure flashed in front of her.
A sweep of the arm. A black spear crackling with lightning tore through the air.
The serpent split in two before it could even hiss. Both halves dissolved into gray smoke, and black sparks flickered through the air for another moment. Everything had happened so quickly that even Mo Tong needed a moment to understand what had occurred. His eyebrows lifted slightly.
"You're fast."
Hui Mi stood in front of Sheng Min. Lightning coursed beneath the skin of his arms, neck, and face. His hair floated in the air, charged with static electricity, and his eyes burned with a white-blue light. A mantle of lightning enveloped his body, making every movement seem blurred. He gripped the Spear of the King of Myriad Lightning in his hands.
"Hey, bastard," he snarled. "You're going to die."