Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

The attacked team member was already mentally exhausted, and when he was hit by the illusionary mist, countless beautiful illusions appeared before his eyes, causing his hand movements to falter.

A red shadow had already closed in on him, its sharp fox claws aimed straight for his heart.

"Pfft!"

Despite Wen Ruoxu's timely rescue, the team member still had a deep, bone-revealing wound on his shoulder. He let out a scream, staggered backward, and a gap appeared in the formation.

Seeing an opportunity, the ghost cultivator cackled, causing the black mist to surge and countless yin spirits to transform into sharp arrows, launching a fierce attack.

The people of Wanxiang were attacked from both sides and their formation was thrown into chaos. Wen Ruoxu was struggling to hold on and was in grave danger. It looked like he was about to give up.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a loud crash was heard, bricks and stones flew everywhere, and dust filled the air. A blood-soaked figure crashed through the wall and rushed in.

The newcomer was Zhao Lingyun. His eyes were bloodshot, and the silver light of his Jingyun Spear was dim, but his killing intent was overwhelming.

Following closely behind were Leng Yue and another member of the Tian Ce team. All three were dressed in tattered clothes and their breathing was disordered, clearly indicating that they had also gone through a fierce battle in the tomb passage maze.

In the end, it was only thanks to Zhao Lingyun's willingness to use a precious barrier-breaking talisman that they were able to forcefully break through the fog set up by the fox demon and find their way here by following the sounds of fighting.

As soon as he rushed in, Zhao Lingyun's gaze was fixed on the fox demon. His eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he was even more furious when he saw the wooden plaque that the fox demon was playing with.

"Demon! Prepare to die!"

Ignoring everything else, he charged at the fox demon with his spear, determined to retrieve the token and avenge Sun Miao and Zhou Tong, washing away their shame.

Leng Yue glanced at the battle and immediately swung her sword at the ghost cultivator, intending to share the pressure with Wan Xiang. She knew that only by joining forces could they have a chance of survival.

Seeing Zhao Lingyun charging towards them, the fox demon was not alarmed but laughed instead. With a swift movement, it dodged the spearhead and let out a strange shriek.

“Wuwu!”

With a shrill whistle, a figure staggered out from the depths of the tomb passage. His clothes were tattered, and his eyes were vacant. It was Zhou Tong, who had been severely injured by the fox demon earlier.

At this moment, he was surrounded by a faint pink mist, clearly having been completely controlled by the fox demon's illusion, becoming an ignorant and unconscious puppet.

"Zhou Tong!"

Upon seeing this, Zhao Lingyun's eyes widened in fury.

"Hehehe... Your fellow disciples are back to you!"

The fox demon chuckled and pointed her finger. Zhou Tong let out a roar, brandishing his weapon and charging madly at Zhao Lingyun. His moves were completely unorthodox, but his strength was immense; he was fighting with reckless abandon.

Zhao Lingyun was hesitant to act rashly; how could he bring himself to kill his fellow disciple who was being controlled? He could only barely parry, constantly dodging, trying to find an opportunity to subdue him.

This series of actions only made Zhou Tong more flustered and disorganized. The fox demon took the opportunity to roam around and occasionally shoot out several pink energy arrows to launch sneak attacks, making Zhao Lingyun and the others even more embarrassed.

……

Deep underground.

Li Yuan and Leng Ningshuang walked swiftly through the damp and dark underground passage, one after the other.

The passage was clearly carved out by the vine spirit over a long period of time using a natural cave. The walls were covered with slippery moss, and the air was filled with a strong earthy smell.

Leng Ningshuang held a fist-sized pearl in her hand, which could not only illuminate the way ahead, but also dispel the poisonous fog with its light.

Li Yuan held the nameless sword horizontally in front of him, the runes on the blade flashing, guiding him towards the vine demon.

The two, one using magic and the other martial arts, cooperated with surprising synergy, breaking through the hastily left obstacles by the vine demon at an extremely fast speed.

They didn't know how far they had gone underground, but the passage ahead suddenly opened up, revealing a huge grotto.

In the center of the grotto, there is a pool of water, about several meters square, exuding a misty spiritual aura. The water is clear and faintly shimmering with iridescent light.

Various exotic flowers and plants grow along the edge of the pond, appearing vibrant despite the darkness.

This place is clearly the vine demon's true lair, and also the source of its cultivation through the earth's spiritual energy.

At this moment, in the center of the spirit pool, half of the giant Ghost Cry Vine was submerged in the pool, while the other half emerged from the water, firmly protecting the cage containing the hostage.

The old face glared angrily at the two of them, a hint of fear flashing in its eyes.

Seeing them rush in side by side, the aged voice of the vine demon resounded directly in their minds.

"Human child, wait! You two are entitled to this hostage. Let me go..."

The vines that wrapped around the cage tightened slightly, making a teeth-grinding creaking sound, and the hostage inside immediately let out a terrified groan.

"Otherwise, we'll all perish!"

The vine demon, having survived for thousands of years right under the noses of humans, naturally cherished his life. He wanted to use hostages as bargaining chips to exchange for a way out.

Clearly, Li Yuan's strange sword, which could devour its demonic power, made it feel a deadly threat, and it didn't want to fight these two human prodigies to the death.

Li Yuan looked at the powerful vine demon in the spirit pool, then at the buzzing nameless sword in his hand, and a cold smile appeared on his lips.

In the past, he wouldn't have minded making a good connection, but now, what a joke! The wood-attribute original demonic power of this thousand-year-old vine demon is a godsend for the nameless swordsman. How could he let it go?

He ignored the vine demon's threat and turned to Leng Ning Shuang, saying, "Senior Sister Leng, if we join forces to kill this demon, we'll naturally get the hostage."

"Since it's a joint achievement for both our teams, how about we each get half a point?"

Half a point each?

This suggestion was truly unexpected; even the usually indifferent Leng Ning Shuang's eyes flickered as she looked at Li Yuan.

The audience members below the stage who heard the conversation between the two were in an uproar.

"You can calculate scores like this?"

"How does Li Yuan's brain work? How could he even think of something like this?"

"That seems to be the case. The rules don't say you can't score points by cooperating..."

"What if everyone does this from now on? Wouldn't that create chaos?"

"Are you stupid? There has to be a team willing to split the score with you, and the referee has to approve it."

On the high platform, the deans and referees looked at each other and quickly began to discuss in hushed tones. However, the rules did not explicitly prohibit this kind of cooperative scoring method.

In the end, Su Wenyuan and the referee exchanged a glance and nodded slightly, which was considered as tacit approval.

After thinking for less than a moment, Leng Ning Shuang readily nodded: "Okay."

She was not a pedantic person. The vine demon in front of her was powerful and had the advantage of occupying the Spirit Pool. Even if she could win alone, it would be a Pyrrhic victory, and she might even lose the hostages.

Cooperation is the best option, and even a small contribution is better than nothing.

"you!"

Hearing the two of them openly discussing how to divide the spoils right in front of it, the vine demon was so angry that its branches trembled and its demonic power fluctuated violently, even causing the water in the spirit pool to ripple.

It truly hadn't expected that these two junior humans would completely disregard it and ignore its threats.

"Since we can't reach an agreement..."

"Then let's die together!"

The vine demon let out a desperate shriek, and with a sudden burst of force, it tried to crush the hostages inside.

At the same time, its enormous body, immersed in the spirit pool, began to expand violently, and a destructive and violent demonic power frantically condensed and compressed within its body.

Oh no, it's about to self-destruct its demon core, taking the two of them down with it.