Chapter 120: Ambushed

"Giggle, you all seem to be having quite a laugh."

Just as everyone was laughing with their heads tilted back, a harsh, grating voice suddenly rang out from behind them.

"Who’s there!"

Everyone’s nerves tightened instantly, cold sweat sliding down their backs. They spun around, shouting in anger as they searched for the source of the voice.

"Look out!"

Ye Zihan reacted the fastest. Ever since a sense of unease had settled in his heart, he had been secretly on guard. The moment that unpleasant voice cut through the air, he reacted.

With a fierce shout, Ye Zihan used a gentle force from both hands to shove Lin Dong, sending him flying ten yards away.

Barely a second after Lin Dong was thrown, a pitch-black demonic spear pierced through the exact spot where he had been standing.

"Not a bad reaction. Try this!"

The thick fog dissipated, and a woman emerged, dragging a strange, thick demonic arm and fluttering a pair of black wings. She waved a hand toward the black spear.

The spear, having failed to land a hit, let out a hum and prepared to fly back into her hand.

"A spear with a spirit? Then you’re staying with me!"

Ye Zihan let out a cold shout, curled his fingers, and gripped the spear firmly. No matter how much it vibrated or hummed, it was to no avail.

"Not by your hand, you won't!"

The woman didn't seem surprised at all. With a nimble twist of her body, black light surged from the wings on her back, transforming her into a giant butterfly that pounced directly at Ye Zihan.

"Where did this moth come from? Get lost! Blood Dragon Tail Sweep!" Mo You, exasperated, roared as he instantly reverted to his true form. His long, thick tail lashed out, striking the giant black butterfly with immense force.

"Thud!"

With a dull sound, the giant butterfly was undoubtedly shattered into dissipating wisps of demonic energy under the powerful blow.

"Green Rainbow Piercing the Sun!"
"Heaven-Splitting Earth-Render!"
"Whistling Sword Winds!"

Yan Chen and his two companions, having regained their focus, unleashed a flurry of their ultimate techniques, raining attacks down upon the woman.

"Trifling tricks." The woman didn't even bother to look at their attacks. She opened her fair, jade-like hand and, facing their onslaught, calmly commanded, "Heaven-Veiling!"

Yan Chen and the others suddenly felt as if everything before them had descended into chaos. Their attacks instantly lost their targets, and worst of all, the three of them were enveloped within the technique, unable to break free for the time being!

"Thousand-Ghost Blood Phantom Dragon, if you were at your peak, I might have feared you, but now? Killing you before you’ve matured is a matter of an instant," the woman said, turning her gaze toward Mo You.

"Hmph, you old monster, aren't you afraid of biting your tongue with such tall talk? Daring to ambush us—I'll show you what we're made of! Phantom Claws!" Mo You, furious and proud due to his Thousand-Ghost Blood Phantom Dragon lineage, could not tolerate such insolence. He let out a loud roar, his gleaming dragon claws tearing toward the woman amidst layers of illusions.

"Rest for a moment. Once your bloodline is refined, it will make for quite a nutritious supplement."

The woman remained as calm and composed as before. With a flick of her hand, a black bead radiated a dizzying light, encircling Mo You and pulling him inside.

Ye Zihan watched as Mo You was sucked into the black bead, which the woman then tucked into her sleeve.

"Ah! Give him back to me!" Ye Zihan’s eyes turned blood-red. With all his strength, he hurled the spear he was holding at the woman, while his body blurred, lunging directly toward the bead in her sleeve.

Mo You had been through life and death with him; their bond was no less than that of biological brothers, perhaps even more. If anything happened to Mo You, Ye Zihan would never forgive himself.

"Come and take it, if you have the ability," the woman said, a coy smile suddenly appearing on her face. Her eyes flickered with a seductive charm as she stared straight at Ye Zihan.

In an instant, Ye Zihan felt the scenery before him shift. Countless beauties surrounded him, each wearing an alluring expression, shedding their clothes as they walked toward him.

"A mere illusion of seduction cannot stop my path. Break!"

Ye Zihan’s gaze remained steady, his mind as firm as a rock. With a loud shout, he punched out with both fists, shattering everything before him.

"Crack!"

A sound like breaking glass echoed. The scene before Ye Zihan shifted back to the Demon Abyss, but the woman was nowhere to be found.

"Not bad!" Just as Ye Zihan was guarding his surroundings, a faint voice whispered in his ear, and a piercing spear, wreathed in cold energy, struck directly at his temple.

"Clang!"

Sparks flew. Ye Zihan reacted instantly, blocking the spear with his Red Lotus dagger. He then sidestepped, moving through the air, and slashed his dagger toward the woman’s throat.

"Do you know that being near me is a death sentence?" The woman whispered just as the dagger grazed her throat.

Ye Zihan’s expression flickered. He retracted the dagger, which had been inches from her neck, and blocked downward.

"Bang!"

His arm went numb as he was struck by a massive force, launching him several meters into the air before he could stop.

Looking down, he saw a monster with two pointed ears, a cat’s face, and a cat’s body. A pair of eerie green eyes stared fixedly at him, and a long scorpion tail lashed behind it. It was the culprit behind the ambush.

This wasn't the Demon Abyss; it was a breeding ground for freaks! Every kind of monster imaginable was popping out!

Ye Zihan’s mouth twitched. He cursed inwardly, wondering what these things were. They were all so bizarre; if they were on the outside, wouldn't they be considered rare, endangered species?

"Pierce!"

The cat-monster, seeing that its strike had failed and allowed Ye Zihan to retreat, let out a cry that sounded like both a human voice and a cat’s meow.

"Poof! Poof!"

The ground trembled as giant spikes erupted, stabbing straight at Ye Zihan in mid-air.

The strange woman gave a sinister smile, whispered an incantation, and vanished into thin air.

Ye Zihan took a deep breath, unleashing his full Five Elements power. The abundant source energy within him surged like a rolling river. He thrust his dagger at random, slicing the rising spikes into halves.

After several exchanges, Ye Zihan didn't dare to be careless. The woman’s base cultivation was already at the peak of the Dual Water-Fire Realm, and her bizarre methods were formidable; one slip could lead to him being ensnared.

Though Ye Zihan still had tricks up his sleeve, he didn't doubt for a second that this woman had her own ultimate moves as well.

"To think that just after waking up, I’d encounter someone as interesting as you. I remember the last time I tasted fresh human blood was many years ago. You have a well-proportioned body and plenty of source energy; let’s start with you!"

Just as he finished dealing with the spikes from below, the woman’s voice abruptly rang in his ear, and a black spear swept toward his head like a whirlwind.

"Get lost!"

Ye Zihan centered his energy in his Dantian and let out a fierce roar. He swung the Red Lotus dagger horizontally, deflecting the sudden spear strike. He then unleashed a series of mysterious footwork, counter-attacking the woman wildly to prevent her from vanishing again.

Seeing this, the woman unleashed various martial arts and seductive illusions, but Ye Zihan remained calm and adaptable, managing to entangle her tightly.

"Cat-Scorpion."

Ye Zihan’s sudden burst of combat power caught the woman off guard, forcing her to command the Cat-Scorpion to join the fray.

The Cat-Scorpion’s power had reached the early stage of the Sixth Rank—extremely fierce. Upon hearing her order, it lashed its tail and lunged at Ye Zihan like a black shadow.

"Damn it!"

Feeling the biting wind at his back, Ye Zihan cursed inwardly. If he could land his desperate strike on this strange woman, he wouldn't hesitate to take a hit himself just to land a blow. But her strength was immense, and she gave him no such opportunity.

Helpless, Ye Zihan had no choice but to break off his engagement with the woman and dodge the attack from behind.