Having said this, Gu Li regained a bit of strength and gasped out weakly, "First... carry us and run!"
The moment the word "run" left his lips, an enormous paw measuring over a zhang across smashed viciously toward Xiao Chen!
*Bang!*
The ground shattered and collapsed into the magma with sizzling splatters.
Xiao Chen swallowed hard, hoisting the others onto his back and shoulders to carry them all at once.
He surveyed his surroundings. Dense brambles covered the slopes, blotting out the sky, with no path in sight.
Moreover, the entire mountain was steadily sinking, and the magma's heat continued to climb.
A torn shred of fabric from Xiao Chen's hem had dropped into it just moments ago, reduced to ash in the blink of an eye.
His only choice was to climb the thorn-covered mountain!
Xiao Chen gritted his teeth and, without the slightest hesitation, plunged forward into a mad sprint!
He ignored the razor-sharp brambles tearing at his cheeks and driving their thorns deep into his flesh.
His speed did not slacken in the least. Using his healed left hand to wield the Blood God Spear and carve open a path, he sprinted all the way!
The vicious hound behind them seemed unable to leave the magma's reach, able only to howl at Xiao Chen's receding figure.
Along the way, Gu Li kept his eyes closed, carefully analyzing their current predicament.
With the wind howling past his ears, Gu Li opened his eyes and spoke softly: "We... must be trapped in some sort of technique."
Xiao Chen glanced back. Having covered at least tens of thousands of zhang without seeing the hound, he finally slowed to a stop, collapsing onto the ground and gasping for breath.
Beads of sweat the size of beans dripped pattering onto the earth.
His robes had been shredded into ribbons by the thorns.
He was drenched in blood from head to toe, covered in palm-sized scrapes and gashes—none deep, but each agonizingly sharp.
Furthermore, these brambles seemed to possess a peculiar property that made wounds heal exceptionally slowly.
Gu Li lay on the ground, his mind continuously replaying everything that had transpired.
In the end, he reached an astonishing conclusion.
"This is a world... that exists between the illusory and the real..."
"And that three-headed slit-mouthed hound is likely the manifestation of that old man's divine soul and consciousness."
Xiao Chen paused, startled.
"Hasn't that old geezer already left?"
"I only need to find a way to recover my strength and break open this space, and then I can get you all out."
Gu Li shook his head. Looking up at the sky-obscuring thorns and the steadily sinking mountain, he murmured, "This is like a game..."
"To see who falters first."
He turned his gaze toward Xiao Chen, a sense of powerlessness welling up within his chest.
Constrained by this power, Xiao Chen could neither fly nor mobilize primal energy...
To carry the four of them while scaling this mountain of thorns was an almost impossible feat!
What was more, the mountain was sinking at an alarming rate. Out of the corner of his eye, he could already see that hideous beast lying in wait for them.
The three-headed hound seemed endowed with intelligence. Its earlier frenzy had faded, and it now crouched quietly at the foot of the mountain, its eyes glinting.
It was as though it were watching its prey struggle at death's door, waiting to deliver the final strike at their weakest moment.
With a grim expression, Xiao Chen said in a low voice, "Can I kill it to break this illusory world?"
Gu Li shook his head.
"That three-headed hound possesses the strength and cultivation of a Tribulation Transcendence realm cultivator."
"Without being able to mobilize primal energy, with no primal energy at your disposal, how could you kill it?"
Xiao Chen shifted his gaze toward Gu Li.
Gu Li gave a bitter laugh. "Stop looking at me. Right now, I can't muster any divine sense either—not since this world transformed."
"There's nothing I can do..."
Xiao Chen slowly rose to his feet. Without a word, he hoisted all four companions onto his shoulders.
Gazing up at the towering mountain with resolute eyes, he said, "Then we keep climbing up!"
"Eldest Brother will definitely notice something is wrong on our side. We just need to hold out until he finishes his battle."
Gu Li opened his mouth, wanting to say more.
"But..."
Xiao Chen cut him off.
"No buts."
Gripping the God-Shooting Spear with both hands to distribute their weight, he let out a low grunt and broke into a mad sprint!
***
Outside.
Li Qingchan and Meng Wanshu could not find any trace of the others, their hearts burning with anxiety.
Yet the battle still raged on, leaving them no time to investigate.
Inside the domain, Li Guanqi, who was preparing for his breakthrough, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, an inexplicable tremor stirring in his heart.
He could no longer sense the auras of his brothers...
Just as he prepared to step out, dozens of attacks suddenly hurtled toward him!
A man stood clutching a bizarre array plate that drew upon a wisp of the Devouring Void Sacred Flame's fire.
He had actually traced Li Guanqi's hiding spot through the bond between Shiwu and him!
Li Guanqi cursed under his breath.
"Damn it! They really aren't going to give me an inch!"
"In that case, I'll carve out some time myself!"
With this resolve, Li Guanqi raised his sword and lunged forward, an imposing aura rolling off him.
His aura climbed to its absolute peak in an instant. Bolstered by Pengluo's power, the strength he unleashed was not in the least inferior to that of a mid Ascension realm expert!
His cultivation method roared, his vital energy and blood thundering.
Li Guanqi transformed into nine dragons as afterimages scattered; the prowess of his technique, Moon in the Water, was pushed to its very limit.
Innumerable attacks shattered his afterimages like broken mirrors.
The man in opulent robes looked cautiously around, only for a scorching breath to brush past his ear.
"Are you... looking for me?"
The man panicked, slashing his sword horizontally in flustered haste!
*Boom!*
Li Guanqi's fist slammed down on his wrist, shattering the bone on impact.
Wielding his sword in his left hand, Li Guanqi slashed savagely upward!
"Eight Desolations: Extinction!"
*Slash!*
Nearly half of the man's torso was carved open in an instant, only for someone to drag him away at the very last second.
Li Guanqi remained calm and collected. Facing the surging onslaught of attacks, he relied on his superior speed to dodge swiftly.
Even as he evaded, the illusory clones from Moon in the Water created immense confusion.
Suddenly!
A terrifying beam of sword light surged from the ground!
A low murmur resonated.
"Sword-Drawing Stance: Dao Fall!"
*Boom!*
The sword ray was blindingly fast, virtually imperceptible to the naked eye.
Beneath the fleeting glint of sword light, the armor on the strongest man among them shattered, his robes torn to shreds.
A bone-deep slash opened across his chest; his internal organs were violently ruptured, and a gaping gash was carved into his waist.
The man slashed back multiple times in desperation, trying to force Li Guanqi back.
Li Guanqi dared not meet the blows head-on for fear of being surrounded and slain; dodging sideways, he flapped his lightning wings and shot backward at blistering speed.
The man was flung back, his aura violently fluctuating, his face as pale as paper, blood pouring from his mouth.
When he looked at Li Guanqi again, his eyes were filled with unadulterated terror.
The seven figures converged together, all of them trembling with fear.
No one had anticipated that Li Guanqi's target would be the strongest among them!
Had that strike fallen upon the weakest, that opponent would certainly have died.
Yet Li Guanqi had deliberately unleashed his deadliest sword strike to grievously wound the strongest of the seven!
Li Guanqi glanced down at the wound on his chest and licked his lips, his eyes brimming with murderous intent.
Still shaken with lingering dread, the wounded man swallowed pills to frantically heal his injuries.
Li Guanqi's gaze flicked toward the outside world, murmuring in his heart:
*Hold on, brothers. Just wait a little longer!*
Within the world between the illusory and the real, a figure drenched in blood was trudging forward, one step at a time.
Chapter 1536