Chapter 228: The Gap

"I wonder how much Fire Saliva Immortal Wine you still have, Junior Brother?" the sword-browed youth suddenly asked.

The others, hearing this, also looked over.

One cup of immortal wine could sustain half a day. There were six people here, and they still needed to stay in this Ice Crystal Mountain Range for nearly a month. Relying on just this one bottle would likely not be enough.

"Rest assured, everyone. I still have several jars, enough to get through this trial," Sun Ke said with a chuckle.

The others immediately relaxed their expressions.

"Senior Brother Sun, we are deeply grateful for your help this time. If there is ever anything you need assistance with in the future, please do not hesitate to ask," another tall youth said solemnly.

"Yes, Senior Brother Sun is generous. We thank you here!" The rest nodded in agreement.

"We are fellow disciples; helping each other is only right. You are too kind," Sun Ke replied calmly, but inwardly he was pleased.

He had joined the Candle Dragon Sect not long ago and needed to do some favors to build connections within the sect. Although it cost him some immortal wine, it was worth it.

Meanwhile, in midair thousands of miles away, a flicker of joy crossed Han Li's face, and then he fell into contemplation.

Beside him, Su Tongxiao had disappeared at some point.

Sun Ke and the others did not delay long and continued forward. Before they had flown far, they encountered their first real battle since entering the mountain range.

It was a pack of snow foxes, each equivalent to the Nascent Soul or Deity Transformation stage, numbering forty to fifty. They surged from the mountain ranges on both sides, forming a massive torrent as they charged, howling in unison, their momentum astonishing.

Bai Suyuan and the other six were already quite capable. With the previous磨合 and the warming effect of the immortal wine, they had developed a tacit understanding, and they quickly formed a battle formation.

Bai Suyuan, the sword-browed youth, and Sun Ke, the three with the highest cultivation, stood at the front.

A crescent flying sword, a purple-golden staff, and four flying blades shot out almost simultaneously.

The crescent flying sword flashed, transforming into a hundred-zhang-long silver sword rainbow that slashed down head-on.

The purple staff radiated intense light, and hundreds of purple staff shadows materialized, emitting piercing shrieks as they struck fiercely.

The four cyan flying blades blazed with cyan spiritual light, suddenly expanding dozens of times into four giant cyan blades dozens of zhang long, chopping down.

The torrent formed by dozens of snow foxes crashed against the three like waves against a reef and was immediately repelled.

The leading dozen or so Deity Transformation stage snow foxes were killed by the trio's attacks, their bodies blasted apart, and the charge of the foxes behind was momentarily halted.

But that pause sealed their fate.

The other three standing behind Bai Suyuan and the others waved their hands.

A rain of magical treasure light descended, enveloping these snow fox beasts.

Boom, rumble!

Lights of various colors interwove, producing explosions like muffled thunder.

After a moment, the light of the treasures faded, and the dozens of snow foxes had become a field of mangled corpses. Blood stained a large area of the ground nearby, emitting a strong smell of blood.

In the distant midair, Han Li nodded slightly.

These people had decent adaptability, especially Bai Suyuan and Sun Ke. Having experienced life and death outside, they understood the cruelty of the cultivation world, which set them apart from those juniors born and raised within the sect.

As a major sect in the Northern Frost Immortal Domain, the Candle Dragon Sect had established a cultivation environment unimaginable outside, with all resources and treasures readily available, allowing these direct disciples to advance quickly. But drawbacks had also emerged.

For the growth of these core disciples, the sect's higher-ups had truly put in great effort.

Yet even immortals seemed unable to escape worldly concerns...

Bai Suyuan and the others did not linger long. After a brief rest, they immediately continued forward.

At that moment, the other two groups had also encountered beast attacks.

On the Snow Camel Ridge route, Qi Huanyu and his group encountered a flock of ice-type ferocious birds. Their heads resembled vultures, but their beaks were very large, and they continuously spat white ice arrows.

These ferocious birds numbered over a hundred, with about half possessing Deity Transformation stage strength.

White ice arrows mixed with extreme cold fell, and from time to time, birds swooped down.

Although Qi Huanyu's group was larger and all had high-quality treasures, most had little experience in life-and-death battles.

The cold, ferocious killing intent of the birds and their storm-like attacks caught them off guard. Overwhelmed by the momentum, they fell into some disarray.

Everyone stood in a circle, and the light from various defensive treasures connected to form a hemispherical shield, blocking the waves of attacks.

"Don't panic! They're just Deity Transformation stage beasts! Everyone, follow my orders! Half of you continue supporting the shield, and the other half counterattack!" Qi Huanyu shouted, his face slightly pale but his voice firm.

The others naturally looked to him as their leader. His shout steadied them, and they immediately began acting on his instructions.

Bright beams of treasure light shot out, striking the white birds above as they began to counterattack.

Although their attacks seemed somewhat weak due to being suppressed in momentum, the gap in cultivation was still there.

The birds in midair began to fall.

A quarter of an hour later, the battle finally ended.

Most of the white birds were killed; the rest fled.

Qi Huanyu and the others were unharmed. Looking at the scattered corpses around them and the smell of blood in the air, their faces were still pale, but their hearts gradually calmed.

"Just a group of Deity Transformation stage beasts scared you like this? How embarrassing! You see, as long as we fight steadily, these beasts are nothing to fear!" Qi Huanyu shouted, boosting morale.

The others nodded in agreement.

Qi Huanyu was about to say something more when a more experienced person beside him stepped forward and reminded, "Young Master Qi, the smell of blood here is too strong; we'd better leave as soon as possible."

Qi Huanyu paused, immediately understood, and led the group to continue forward.

In midair, a ripple stirred, and a blurry figure materialized—it was Su Tongxiao.

He shook his head, his form flickered, and vanished from the spot.

The situation on the White Fox Valley route was similar. Tang Chuan and the others also lacked experience in bloody combat. Faced with a sudden surge of ferocious beasts, they were thrown into a flurry of panic.

However, their strength was considerable, and they had excellent magic treasures at hand. They managed to withstand the beasts' assault, steadied themselves, counterattacked, and routed them without suffering any casualties.

The three groups of disciples continued forward.

In the blink of an eye, seven or eight days passed. Following the three routes, they gradually penetrated deep into the Xuanbing Mountain Range.

As the beasts they encountered along the way grew stronger, beasts at the Void Refining stage began to appear.

After several rounds of fighting, Qi Huanyu and the others had improved their practical combat skills, but they still seemed flustered when facing beasts of the same level.

On the Snow Camel Ridge route, Qi Huanyu's group was blocked by a pack of beasts—a dozen enormous Ice Snow Mantises.

These mantises were pure white all over, covered with frost patterns. Their mouths split into four parts, and their two large eyes bulged outward, looking quite terrifying. Their two thick forelimbs resembled two broad-backed giant blades, exuding a bone-chilling icy aura.

Each Ice Snow Mantis was at the early Void Refining stage, and they were extremely fast, turning into a dozen white phantoms that fiercely attacked Qi Huanyu's group from all sides.

As before, Qi Huanyu and the others formed a circle, combining their magic treasures to create a multicolored hemispherical light barrier that shielded everyone.

But these Ice Snow Mantises were far beyond the previous fierce birds. They swung their foreclaws, drawing out streaks of bright blade light that emitted terrifying shrill sounds and slashed against the spherical barrier.

These bright blade lights were immensely powerful, causing the barrier to tremble violently.

Qi Huanyu and the others had no chance to counterattack; they poured their magical power desperately into their respective treasures to maintain the spherical barrier.

The Ice Snow Mantises' eyes were cold, but their mouths emitted bloodthirsty hisses. They swung their foreclaws tirelessly, and blade lights rained down from all directions, growing denser and denser.

The spherical barrier was not a single entity but a combination of everyone's treasures. Some weaker spots began to dim, threatening to shatter.

"Young Master Qi, what do we do? These Ice Snow Mantises are all Void Refining stage beasts, and there are so many of them. We can't possibly win!" A tall, thin youth looked at Qi Huanyu in terror.

This person was a direct descendant of a True Immortal elder of the Zhulong Dao. He had cultivated in the sect since childhood, relying on various elixirs to break through to the Void Refining stage smoothly. He had rarely ventured outside, let alone fought.

Although he had made some progress over the past few days, the icy eyes and overwhelming killing intent of these Ice Snow Mantises still made him tremble from the depths of his heart.

The others were in a similar state to the tall, thin youth, and a thought crept into their minds.

Could they die here?

At this thought, their panic grew.

With a loud crack!

The light barrier formed by a white silk treasure was shattered by a blade light, leaving a gap in the spherical barrier.

A bright blade light slipped through the gap, blood flashed, and a scream rang out.

A person near the gap was knocked flying, with a wound cut on his arm. Fortunately, he wore a high-grade battle armor treasure and was not seriously injured.

Qi Huanyu's brow glowed with purple light, and he waved his arm.

A wheel-shaped purple treasure shot out, transforming into a purple vortex that sealed the gap.

"Everyone, don't worry. This trial mission has True Immortal cultivators secretly protecting us. They will eliminate unexpected situations. These Ice Snow Mantises should be beyond the trial's scope. I believe someone will act soon," Qi Huanyu announced loudly.

Hearing this, the others were overjoyed.

"I've heard of this too, but I was half-doubtful. Since Young Master Qi says so, it must be true."

"I see."

"There are only ten of us, but nearly twenty of these mantises. This definitely exceeds the trial's scope. Why hasn't that person acted yet?"

High in the sky, Su Tongxiao's body turned into a blurry shadow. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he shook his head with a sigh, then flicked his finger.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

Streaks of invisible sword qi shot out from nowhere, like a torrent, piercing through most of the Ice Snow Mantises.

The bodies of these Ice Snow Mantises silently exploded, turning into a pile of powder that drifted away with the wind.

All this happened in the blink of an eye. Su Tongxiao's figure flickered and vanished again.

Qi Huanyu and the others soon noticed that the blade light falling outside had decreased by more than half, leaving only a few of the dozen Ice Snow Mantises.

"Eh! How did so many mantises suddenly disappear?" one person said in confusion.

"Disappear? They were killed. So someone is indeed secretly protecting us!" another immediately retorted.

Qi Huanyu also felt relieved, a smile spreading across his face. He looked at the remaining few Ice Snow Mantises outside and shouted loudly:

"These beasts dared to attack us. Kill them all!"

The others responded in unison, and beams of treasure light swept toward the remaining mantises.

In a few breaths, all but two of the remaining Ice Snow Mantises that escaped were killed.

The forelimbs of these Ice Snow Mantises were rich in spiritual power, excellent materials for artifact refining, and of considerable value. Even those present coveted them, and several people quickly cut them off and stored them away.

"Let's go!" Qi Huanyu took the lead, flying forward and continuing ahead.

Knowing that someone was indeed secretly protecting them, he felt greatly reassured and quickened his pace.