Armor of Light

As the Earth Element Flags battered the ancient restriction, they met with stubborn resistance. Yellow light surged like rolling waves, crashing continuously until it nearly submerged the stone hall. The ground trembled incessantly, deep rumblings echoing from subterranean depths. Though barely able to remain seated, everyone firmly guarded their Earth Element Flags to maintain the spiritual formation. A moment later, an encouraging sign appeared: the ancient restriction began to churn violently, gradually dimming. Seeing this, Xiang Yi’s face lit up with joy, and he urgently shouted, "Keep going, fellow Daoists! Pour everything into the Earth Element Flags!" Qin Sang and the others could only press harder. A continuous stream of earth elemental power converged. The ground shook with mounting violence, as though a real earthquake had struck. Deafening roars rang out, and fissures even began spidering across many of the surrounding rocks. Immediately after, Xiang Yi reached out and slammed a hand onto the triangular flag. Instantly, dazzling radiance burst forth like an arrow of light, shooting out in a flash. With a booming crash, a circular opening was blasted through the ancient restriction. Yet the restriction here was not as simple as it seemed. The moment the Earth Element Flags breached it, runes flickered around the breach, slowly repairing the hole and repelling the yellow light. Xiang Yi did not dare wait. Pulling back his hand, he said in a low voice, "Keep the Earth Element Flags steady, fellow Daoists. I shall return shortly." With that, Xiang Yi released the flag, kicked off the ground, and flickered before the ancient restriction, leaping inside. *Once he retrieves the treasure, our mission will be complete.* With that thought rising in their minds, everyone relaxed. Right then, Qin Sang's brow furrowed, and he instinctively glanced down at the ground. Because of the Earth Element Flags, tremors had been running continuously through the earth, opening cracks in the rock beneath their feet, though it had posed little trouble. It seemed no different now from moments ago, yet for some reason Qin Sang sensed something amiss, even if he could not put his finger on why. *Rumble, rumble...* The earth was shaking. And within those tremors was a rhythmic pulse. Qin Sang's expression changed abruptly. Just as he opened his mouth to shout a warning, the ground beneath them detonated with a deafening blast, completely without warning. A terrifying burst of concussive force erupted from the subterranean depths, instantly blowing the ground apart. No one was prepared. Shattered stone sprayed in every direction amid total chaos. A deep crater formed at the center of the blast. A slender silhouette shot skyward, thrashing wildly like a flood dragon. Nearly ten feet of its body rose above the surface, with no telling how much more remained coiled beneath. None of them had realized that this ferocious beast had slithered directly under their feet! With no one maintaining the central triangular flag at the formation core, and with the Earth Element Flags aimed solely at the ancient restriction without any guard against other directions, the flag formation was shattered almost instantaneously. Inevitably swept up by the shockwave, the cultivators cried out in alarm and were hurled through the air, scattered across the area. Qin Sang activated the Gold Glow Armor in time to withstand the brunt of the impact, yet he still felt a stifling tightness in his chest. This ferocious beast was every bit as formidable as a great demon of the late Demon Core stage! Worse still, the blast had scattered them beyond the protective radius of the bone lotus. The purple mist surged toward them from all sides. Feeling a sharp prickling on his skin, Qin Sang hurriedly circulated his protective spiritual glow, causing his true essence to drain rapidly. Just as he was about to awaken the fat silkworm and regroup with the others, he felt a fierce gust of wind bearing down from above. He snapped his head up, his gaze locking in place as his face fell. The purple mist overhead had somehow thinned out, revealing a dense swarm of dark shapes wheeling in the air—all of them Purple Star Eagles! Judging by their sheer numbers, the entire flock must have mobilized. After using the purple ferrets as bait to cross the canyon, they had easily shaken the eagles off. Never had they expected the flock to be so relentlessly vengeful, hunting them all the way here. Furthermore, the eagles had drawn this close before Qin Sang and the others even noticed. Upon reflection, it was hardly surprising. The commotion caused by the Earth Element Flags had been immense, not only masking the subterranean beast's movements, but also drowning out the sound of the eagles' wingbeats. In this place, enveloped by toxic mist, they were blinded and dared not extend their spiritual sense, reducing their perception to the barest minimum—little better than blind men. Now that even sound had been masked, it was no wonder danger had crept up to their doorstep unnoticed. They had set up several warning restrictions before driving the Earth Element Flags, yet for some reason, not a single one had triggered. With beasts striking from above and below, they were under attack from both flanks. The Purple Star Eagles glared downward in unison, their eyes furious and seized by utter madness. Air currents dispersed the purple mist, replaced by a dense swarm of eagles that blocked out the sky itself. *Skre-e-e!* The Purple Star Eagles let out shrill, furious screeches, seemingly harboring bone-deep hatred for the cultivators. Casting aside all regard for their own lives, they dove downward in a suicidal frenzy! *Whoosh! Whoosh!* At the sight, the cultivators' faces turned stark white. Qin Sang felt a chill run down his spine. Standing furthest forward, he was the first to draw their focus. The others fared no better. Barely having caught their footing after the underground beast's surprise attack, they were greeted by the sight of the sky black with Purple Star Eagles—and in the next instant, the swarm engulfed them all! "Regroup toward the stone hall...!" In the end, Qin Sang only caught Cultivator Liu’s desperate shout before losing track of everyone. His entire field of view filled with the thrashing forms of Purple Star Eagles. Fighting separately, even setting aside whether they could cut through the eagles' siege, they risked succumbing to the toxic mist seeping into their internal organs and dying of poison before the eagles could even finish them. If Xiang Yi was quick to react, he should be able to exit the stone hall the moment trouble began. The bone lotus was in his hands; only by regrouping with him was there any hope of escape. At this point, Qin Sang had no time to ponder why the subterranean beast and the Purple Star Eagles had appeared here together. *Skre-e-e!* The screeching of the eagles was nearly deafening. One of the birds spread its razor-sharp talons and lunged straight for Qin Sang's face. In the nick of time, light flared between Qin Sang's brows. The ebony sword shot out like lightning, piercing through the eagle. Sword qi erupted, shredding the creature’s corpse into mincemeat. Unfortunately, the sight did nothing to deter the other eagles. Oblivious to life and death, their eyes held only slaughter. Qin Sang's face darkened. He flicked a finger toward the ebony sword, deploying a sword formation that cut down the nearest eagles, but the opening was plugged almost immediately. He frowned inwardly. Felling the Purple Star Eagles might look effortless, but in truth it was anything but easy. Furthermore, to resist the toxic mist, he had to keep his true essence constantly circulating. In the eyes of the eagles, he shone as brightly as the moon, making concealment impossible. If this continued, he would be ground down to exhaustion before long. *I wonder how the others are doing?* Keeping the ebony sword moving to slay his foes, Qin Sang tapped his insect basket and popped it open. The fat silkworm woke and crawled willingly onto Qin Sang's palm. Wiggling its plump body from side to side, it noticed the surrounding toxic mist. Without the slightest hesitation, it opened its mouth and exhaled a seven-colored halo.