“I don't care how many deva souls you have,” Mistress Red-Dust shrieked. “I wouldn’t care if you had a Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul cultivation base! Today is the day you’re going to die!” Mistress Red-Dust’s face was distorted with such madness that it seemed even her aura was negatively affected. As she yelled, her Dharma idol grew larger, transforming into a sun which began to rumble toward Bai Xiaochun.
Bai Xiaochun’s true self was joined by three clones to fight back against a single deva-level palm strike being delivered by Mistress Red-Dust. With even one less clone, all of them would have been killed in body and soul.
Although death still seemed to be an inevitability, at least they were able to delay that dismal outcome for a bit longer than before.
Thankfully, it was in that very moment that, as the sepulcher collapsed into nothing around them, the teleportation spell formation was completely and fully activated within the sepulcher.
The glow of teleportation began to rise up around everyone present, whether they were in the tunnels, the area surrounding the trials by fire, or in the sepulcher itself!
Anyone and everyone that was still alive was being wrapped up in the teleportation power.
Back in the realm of the trials by fire, the combined efforts of Chen Hetian and everyone else present had resulted in them being able to break the barrier surrounding the void they were in. And yet, to their surprise, the only thing they found beyond that barrier was another void.
However, despair was not in order, as the light of teleportation began to build up around them, leading to sighs of relief on the part of all present.
“We can finally get out of here!”
“Yeah, but considering how enormous the spell formation must be, who knows where we’ll end up afterward....”
“What are you scared of? We're all members of the Holy People, we’ll be fine as long as we end up somewhere in the Wildlands....”
“Heh heh. How do you know we won’t be transported into the lands of Heavenspan...?”
Such talk rose up everywhere within the labyrinth. Everyone was feeling much more relaxed now that the teleportation was beginning.
Of course, the light of teleportation was also there around Bai Xiaochun and Mistress Red-Dust, causing Bai Xiaochun’s expression to brighten, but Mistress Red-Dust’s eyes to blaze with fury.
If Bai Xiaochun got away now, before she had used all the power she had at her disposal, it would be the greatest humiliation of her life. That in itself caused her fury to burn hotter than ever.
“You’re not going anywhere, Bai Xiaochun!!” she screamed. Then her Dharma idol began to pick up speed, causing rumbling sounds to echo out as it closed in on Bai Xiaochun, threatening to turn him and everything around him into nothing more than ash.
The moment that the teleportation light had appeared, Bai Xiaochun had assumed that he’d held out long enough, and finally had hope of surviving. But when he saw the Dharma idol speeding toward him, he suddenly realized that his hope was like a candle flickering in the wind, with that wind being imminent destruction!
“How could I possibly die in this place!?” His eyes were so bloodshot that they were pure crimson, and that included his three clones in addition to his true self. Bai Xiaochun’s true self threw his head back and roared, disregarding all matters of safety pertaining to his cultivation base or his spiritual power. As if this moment, none of that mattered. If he didn't get past this moment, he would be dead forever!
“Living Mountain Incantation!” shouted his true self. Despite being seriously injured, rumbling sounds surrounded him as he transformed into a 30-meter-tall giant. At the same time, his three clones echoed his words.
“Living Mountain Incantation!!”
“Living Mountain Incantation!!!”
“Living Mountain Incantation!!!!”
All three of the clones transformed into 30-meter-tall stone golems. Then, even as the four stone golems prepared to defend against the incoming attack, the clones joined their voices with his true self’s to shout, “Waterswamp... Kingdom!”
Four stone golems performed incantation gestures and then shoved their hands down toward the sepulcher floor, causing the entire area to turn into a watery swamp!
In fact, the borders of the swap seemed to go past the edges of the sepulcher and out into the void beyond, as though this weren’t a single Waterswamp Kingdom, but rather, four!!
As the four Waterswamp Kingdoms expanded and then merged into each other, they became a watery swamp that was four times larger than the original!!
That was a huge difference! Almost immediately, a roar erupted out from the Waterswamp Kingdom, as if from ancient times.
The sound alone caused Mistress Red-Dust’s face to fall, and was so loud that it reached the locations outside the trials by fire, and the labyrinth as a whole.
“Come forth, my life essence spirit!” Bai Xiaochun shouted, throwing his head back and laughing madly. His voice was a bit hoarse, and he was physically shaking. His cultivation base and life force were being drained madly, and it was the same with the three clones, and yet, that was when something came out of the watery swamp that did not look like the spikes from before!
Five twisted mountains could be seen, and yet, closer examination would reveal that they were no mountains!
It was the clawed hand of some enormous beast, with talons as pitch black as night!
As the five talons stretched up, it was possible to see further down into the watery swamp, to what appeared to be a forest-like stretch of pitch-black hair, beneath which was green skin!!
However, because of the incredible size of the clawed hand, even a Waterswamp Kingdom that was quadruple its normal size was still not large enough for it to fit through. Only the claws could emerge into the open, where they shot toward the incoming palm and Dharma idol!
Were anyone capable of illustrating this scene, it would have been completely shocking to behold. When the five talons touched the Dharma idol and the palm, it was the palm which began to tremble first, and then collapse into pieces. As for the sun-like Dharma idol, it erupted with radiant light and a powerful shockwave that rippled out in all directions.
Anything that remained of the sepulcher was smashed into rubble and sent spinning into the pitch-black void beyond.
In fact, that made it possible to see Chen Hetian and the others far off in the distance, who had long since noticed what was happening, and were looking on in complete shock.
The shockwave sent Bai Xiaochun stumbling backward, his stone golem form crumbling to reveal his true form.
Blood sprayed out of his mouth as his three clones became white motes of light that spun back into his true self. Bai Xiaochun could tell that all of the clones were seriously injured. Half of his water clone’s body had been destroyed, his fire clone’s chest was completely caved in, and worst off was his wood clone, of whom only half a head remained.
Although his true self remained completely intact, he was also severely injured. Most of his bones were crushed, and the majority of his flesh and blood had been destroyed. Even his skull was cracked and on the verge of shattering....
Thankfully, he had used his Living Mountain Incantation right before summoning the Waterswamp Kingdom, otherwise he would have been killed, and not just injured.
He and all of his clones would have been rendered into nothing more than dust!
Bai Xiaochun didn’t even have the energy to smile bitterly. His vision was fading, and he couldn’t move. He could also sense the flame of his life force teetering on the verge of being extinguished. If he had plenty of time to rest, the power of his fleshly body would ensure that he could recover. But at the moment, he had used every trick in his book, and had nothing left.
Off in the distance, Chen Hetian and the others looked on with gaping jaws. Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan were completely wrapped up in their anxiety, and Chen Hetian’s pupils were tiny dots. As for Zhou Yixing, he looked quite excited.
“Your comeuppance is at hand, Bai Xiaochun!” Zhou Yixing hadn’t seen Bai Xiaochun’s clones, nor had anyone else. Nobody had really been able to see clearly everything that just happened.
It was in that very moment that an incredible rumbling sound filled the entire area. The light of teleportation grew dazzlingly bright, and even before Zhou Yixing could laugh out loud, he began to fade away. So did everyone else.
Bai Xiaochun was finally completely gripped by the power of teleportation, and began to disappear.
“Bai Xiaochun!!” Mistress Red-Dust screamed, her hair whipping around her as she took a step forward.