These several renowned powerhouses of the Wind Origin Continent perished simultaneously without so much as a cry.
As for Ming Zun and the others, they had managed to survive under the protection of the Silver Jun Heavenly Book.
The dense web of blood threads striking against the barrier of light projected by the treasure caused it to flash wildly for a time, dimming drastically, but failed to pierce through the shield.
Still, this exchange left Yin Gangzi and the others pale beyond measure.
Ming Zun's expression was grim as his gaze swept toward the Black Ni Beast's position.
There, the four beasts had transformed into black-armored youths, each with a single hand forming seals, sheltering behind a curtain of black flames — they too had managed to evade the blood-thread assault.
In the distance, Ma Liang noticed that so many had preserved their lives, and a flicker of surprise crossed the face of his giant form. But it was immediately replaced by a savage grin as his hands darted through seals, and he pointed a finger toward the colossal blood seal hovering in the sky.
A rumbling boom shook the air.
This time, the enormous seal sank only slightly before crushing the light tower beneath it — already riddled with holes like a wasp's nest — into complete disintegration.
With nothing left to obstruct it, the treasure plummeted toward Ming Zun and the others with the crushing force of Mount Tai. The surrounding void was instantly engulfed by a terrifying power, and the blood-reeking aura that had dissipated moments before surged forth once more.
"Brother Ming, what do we do now?!" Yin Gangzi's silver giant form called out in a low roar at the sight.
"What else can we do? Fight with everything we have, of course," Ming Zun replied without hesitation, his voice carried to Yin Gangzi, Wu Ling, and the four Black Ni Beasts through a mental transmission, his expression deadly serious. "Fellow Daoists, there's no need to worry overmuch. An attack of that magnitude must have consumed an enormous amount of true essence — there is no way the opponent can deploy it a second time. Fellow Daoist Wu Ling, Brother Yin — do your utmost to withstand this treasure for now. I will execute a secret technique to deal with the enemy and see whether I can seal him while his Magical Power is severely depleted. The four of you — unleash your innate divine abilities and coordinate a full-power strike with me."
"Seal him? How confident are you, Brother Ming?" Wu Ling Furen asked with some hesitation.
The sight of several fellow Mahayana cultivators perishing so easily before her eyes had shaken her to the core.
"Rest assured. The technique I intend to use is a secret art of the Immortal Realm that involves sacrificing a wisp of one's own soul essence while greatly depleting one's foundational power. I have at least a fifty percent chance of success," Ming Zun replied with a measure of confidence.
"Very well. I will trust you once more. Brother Yin, let us strike together," Wu Ling Furen declared, gazing up at the awe-inspiring blood seal in the sky and acknowledging inwardly that escape from its pressure was impossible. She steeled herself with a silent clench of her teeth.
Yin Gangzi's giant form merely nodded before letting out a thunderous roar without a moment's hesitation. His body swelled yet again, and thick silver lines surged across his skin, countless runes flickering within them. His two arms thickened another full degree as his palms clenched into fists and punched upward toward the sky.
Wu Ling Furen's boar-headed, ape-bodied monster form threw back its head with a long, piercing howl. The two great swords in its hands swung toward each other, fusing into a single pale-yellow wolf-tooth club. With a gentle shake, it sent a yellow gale spiraling upward into the air.
The pale-green-robed palace woman on the other side had remained silent throughout, but seeing that Yin Gangzi and Wu Ling Furen had both made their moves, she wasted no words. One hand reached up to her hairpin, drawing out what appeared to be an ordinary jade pin set with three silver-blue pearls, and she flung it high into the sky.
Three soft pops rang out!
The jade pin exploded into a burst of spiritual light, while the three blue pearls soared aloft. Upon catching the wind, they suddenly expanded into three head-sized spheres of light, their surfaces shimmering with brilliant blue radiance — yet they seemed unremarkable enough.
Ma Liang, in his golden giant form, let a cold smile cross his face at the sight. He circulated the immortal spirit power within his body once more.
Immediately, the blood mist within the colossal seal overhead surged and intensified. A chorus of hissing sounds erupted from within as thick blood-red tentacles shot forth, trembling once before transforming into blood-colored lances that rained down like a deluge.
A deafening roar of explosions filled the air.
Yin Gangzi's twin fists blurred, and in an instant they multiplied into countless silver fist shadows that forcefully knocked every blood lance flying.
The yellow hurricane conjured by Wu Ling Furen's wolf-tooth club swept the incoming lances into its vortex. After a burst of furious flickering, every last one was twisted to shreds.
Yet the three spheres of blue light seemed incorporeal. They continued drifting upward at a leisurely pace, and the blood lances passed straight through them without the slightest effect.
The next moment, the dense barrage of silver fist shadows and the massive yellow wolf-tooth club smashed squarely into the colossal seal.
A thunderous detonation echoed through the sky as silver brilliance, yellow radiance, and crimson haze interwove and flashed!
The enormous seal swayed only slightly before pressing downward once more.
Yin Gangzi and Wu Ling Furen's faces changed dramatically. The former stamped a single foot against the void below, bending his lower body slightly as all ten fingers spread apart and thrust slowly upward to brace against the seal. The latter hurled the wolf-tooth club from her hands, incantation after incantation pouring from her mouth.
Several world-shaking booms rang out.
Two silver giant hands, each large enough to cover a full acre of ground, materialized beneath the seal, all ten fingers splayed as they pressed upward against it.
At the same time, the yellow light flashed, and a colossal wolf-tooth club — as though wielded by a titan holding aloft a divine weapon — surged up from below, its thickest section slamming hard against the underside of the seal.
The entire void shuddered violently!
The mountain-like seal lurched to a halt and finally froze in midair, neither advancing nor descending.