Chapter 828: Tianyang Faces Life and Death

Its appearance was somewhat similar to Mo Sha's, but it lacked the overwhelming malevolence. Instead, it exuded a deeper, more profound darkness.

“Attack!” Li Fan cried out in his mind, his hands moving continuously to fully activate the Mutated Xuan Tian Spirit Sealing Array. A mysterious power instantly enveloped Mo Shi. Mo Shi, which had already detected Lin Ling and Tian Yang and was preparing to attack, suddenly went rigid. Its form then rippled slightly, like water. In an instant, it seemed as if a white cloth had been draped over it, its color subtly fading.

As Mo Shi was affected by the array, Lin Ling and Tian Yang's attacks arrived. Although Tian Yang was only at the Nascent Soul stage, his battle instincts were superior to Lin Ling's. A massive, red-and-black fiery fist struck Mo Shi, creating faint ripples. Thousands of Lin Ling's green ribbons, resembling flying swords, followed in quick succession, as if to pierce Mo Shi through with countless arrows.

Facing their fierce onslaught, Mo Shi merely gave them a cold glance, neither dodging nor evading.

“Run!” The moment Mo Shi looked at Lin Ling and Tian Yang, Li Fan, observing from the outside with a shared perspective, sensed danger and shouted a warning. Simultaneously, he activated the array, releasing another suppression on Mo Shi.

Lin Ling and Tian Yang both trusted Li Fan implicitly. The moment they received the warning, they each fled. And just as they escaped, the space shattered without warning, transforming into a void cavern filled with destructive black energy, just like the surrounding area.

“Dodge!” Li Fan commanded calmly, without haste. His premonition was correct. After enduring the combined attack of the two and launching a counterattack, Mo Shi's form wriggled and burrowed into a nearby void cavern. The next moment, countless black tentacles suddenly stretched out from all the innumerable holes in this sprawling underground space. They ferociously launched indiscriminate attacks on everything that could possibly exist around them. Like a raging storm, the Spirit Sealing Array, which confined this space, also took a massive impact and was on the verge of collapse. Fortunately, the Final Disintegration Disc promptly analyzed the weak points appearing in the array, allowing Li Fan to quickly mend and reinforce them. Though dangers emerged constantly, it remained steadfast and unbroken.

Within the array, Lin Ling and Tian Yang, who were contending with Mo Shi, were not faring as well. Even with Li Fan's timely warnings, this wide-ranging killing move left them with almost nowhere to hide; they could only constantly weave through the attacks, trying to minimize the frequency of being hit. Those black tentacles also possessed the power to shatter space. Even Tian Yang's sturdy puppet body, when struck, instantly vanished in parts. In the blink of an eye, the surface of Tian Yang's body was severely damaged. As Tian Yang struggled to dodge, he took out a black, round stone. With a gentle squeeze, the black stone transformed into a liquid and merged into the holes on his body, repairing his injuries.

Lin Ling, on the other hand, was under less pressure. After all, she was also at the Dao Integration stage, and this body was not her true form; it was merely an energy manifestation. Even if struck by a black tentacle and partially damaged, Lin Ling quickly regenerated with a flash of green light, returning to her original state. After dozens of such repairs, her aura showed no fluctuation or decay.

“Hold on. I’ve used the array to sever its connection with the world. Such a large-scale move cannot last much longer,” Li Fan said coldly. “We’ll wear it down to death!”

However, Mo Shi’s endurance exceeded Li Fan’s imagination. In the underground space, black energy raged and churned, annihilating everything it touched. The spectacle was terrifying; if Li Fan hadn't made prior arrangements and used the dual concealment of the ancient geomantic tree, even though this place was hidden deep underground, cultivators in Qiling State would likely have detected the anomaly. Furthermore, if Li Fan hadn't always acted cautiously and prepared ample supplies for Lin Ling and Tian Yang, they might not have even held out through this first stage, failing outright.

“As expected of the ‘Mo’ generation; it’s far stronger than Chi Yan,” Li Fan thought to himself with a hidden shock.

However, during this stalemate, Li Fan, observing calmly, noticed a few clues. It seemed Mo Shi had an innate duty to repair the underground caverns, preventing it from unleashing its full power. Thus, after the tentacles lashed out, the affected normal space around them merely trembled for a moment before returning to normal. “If it weren't restricted in its attacks, it could easily turn this entire area into a void,” Li Fan mused. “But that would contradict its innate duty since birth. So even with its life threatened, it cannot exert its full power. This also, in another way, demonstrates Mo Sha’s strength. Aside from its astounding power, Mo Sha’s duty is to destroy everything, allowing it to act without restraint…”

While Li Fan was deep in thought, Mo Shi, seeing its attacks were slow to take effect, finally ceased. Without giving Lin Ling and Tian Yang a moment to breathe, it instantly changed its method of attack. The dark tentacles extending from the void caverns broke off, forming numerous smaller, individual Mo Shi entities. Their forms flickering, they continuously closed in on Lin Ling and Tian Yang, forming a massive encirclement that steadily contracted towards the center.

“Break through!” Li Fan quickly determined. Lin Ling and Tian Yang exchanged glances. Then, Lin Ling transformed into a layer of green light, covering Tian Yang’s body. The light erupted, surging towards the rapidly approaching black entities. The black and green lights collided. There was no earth-shattering explosion; instead, the green light rapidly dimmed, like a flickering candle in the wind, as if it could be extinguished at any moment. The black encirclement, however, stood firm like an unyielding reef by the sea, merely trembling slightly. It was impenetrable. Innumerable black entities encroached upon Lin Ling and Tian Yang’s remaining space. Seeing themselves slowly forced into a desperate situation, Lin Ling, who had little combat experience, was the first to panic. Her morale plummeted, and for a moment, she felt despair, giving up resisting and waiting for death where she stood.

“Tian Yang’s life…” Just then, Tian Yang, who had been silent since waking in this world, finally spoke. With flickering red light in his eyes, he looked at Mo Shi nearby, showing no trace of fear. “Is second to none!” With a somewhat strange roar, a massive energy erupted from Tian Yang’s body. His puppet body instantly expanded hundreds of times, carrying Lin Ling as it charged towards Mo Shi! Even if it was a moth drawn to a flame, or an egg hitting a rock; even if his body dissolved into the void the moment it touched Mo Shi’s defense line, Tian Yang still didn't hesitate. He launched a resolute death charge! Lin Ling, too, seemed to be infected by Tian Yang's conviction, and an unprecedented surge of powerful green life energy emerged within her, protecting Tian Yang's core and resisting Mo Shi’s erosion.