The moment she saw those violet-black vines, Jiang Qingtong instantly realized who had struck to block their way!
Countless tendrils of violet-black vines lashed toward Jiang Qingtong and Xiao Xiao, wrapping around them from all sides. Jiang Qingtong had no way to steer the Phantom Sea Sojourn to change direction; she hugged Xiao Xiao close, putting herself between her companion and the Myriad Demon King's attack.
The seven-layer barriers released by the Seven-Leaf Mirror Lotus blocked the assault of the Myriad Demon King's vines. Jiang Qingtong thought she heard a note of surprise, and then even more vines erupted from other directions, growing madly to surround her and Xiao Xiao completely.
Although Jiang Qingtong still had other defensive-grade Rank Nine soul tools on her, at this moment her only real option was to use Old Moon of Bygone Days to evade the all-encompassing strike. Otherwise, no matter how many defensive tools she had, they would only burn through her soul power until nothing was left.
She clenched her hand and activated Old Moon of Bygone Days.
A brilliant silver-white radiance instantly wrapped around Jiang Qingtong and Xiao Xiao, making the two of them vanish within the Myriad Demon King's vine encirclement.
Far away, Di Tian—who had been watching this battlefield ever since Xiong Jun moved—let out a soft "Hm?"
"Such a frail human can actually wield the power of spatial transfer?"
"It's probably one of those so-called human 'soul tools,'" Bi Ji said calmly from the side.
Di Tian's expression remained composed, his voice slow and cold:
"To flaunt spatial arts in front of me… is nothing more than a mantis trying to stop a chariot."
With that, he slowly raised his hand and closed it into a grasping motion. The space before him warped with a strange twist, ripples spreading outward as if the entire Star Dou Forest had become a pond disturbed by a thrown stone. His power spread along those ripples.
In an instant, Di Tian sealed the space across the entire nearby region of the Star Dou Great Forest!
Though such a large-scale spatial lockdown consumed a great deal, it was nothing to Di Tian—and he didn't need to hold it for long. Just a fleeting moment was enough to disrupt the space transfer that Old Moon of Bygone Days had constructed.
"Bi Ji, go and bring them back," Di Tian ordered evenly.
To him, Jiang Qingtong and Xiao Xiao themselves were unimportant. But the people standing behind them—Mu En and Shrek Academy—mattered a great deal. The clash between Xiong Jun and Xuan Zi would break the fragile balance between soul beasts and Shrek Academy, regardless of who won.
With these two humans in his hands, whatever negotiations followed with the humans, the beasts would hold the advantage.
Bi Ji acknowledged the order and flew toward the forest's outer regions.
When the space transfer of Old Moon of Bygone Days was broken, Jiang Qingtong and Xiao Xiao were thrown out of the spatial channel. The violent backlash knocked Xiao Xiao unconscious instantly, while Jiang Qingtong remained awake only because of her formidable spiritual power.
She rubbed her aching body and glanced around.
They were still within the Star Dou Great Forest, but where exactly—she couldn't tell.
Please, she thought, don't let us have fallen right in front of Di Tian…
Just as she was thinking this, a rustle came from the grass ahead, and a golden-colored soul beast leapt out, landing before her and staring at her curiously.
The moment Jiang Qingtong saw it, alarm bells went off in her mind—this was the Three-Eyed Golden Lion!
It wasn't the beast's status that startled her most, but the fact that, as the Emperor Auspicious Beast, it was certain to have a guardian of fierce beast level by its side. At this moment, if she and Xiao Xiao ran into a fierce beast, they had no power to resist!
Jiang Qingtong didn't hesitate for an instant. She hauled the unconscious Xiao Xiao up and released her Evilfire Phoenix martial soul, flaming wings sprouting from her back.
But before she could take off, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion lunged at incredible speed.
Although it was "only" a hundred-thousand-year-level equivalent cultivation, its nature as the Emperor Auspicious Beast made it comparable to a true hundred-thousand-year soul beast. Its speed was so great that Jiang Qingtong had no time to react—one flying pounce and she was slammed to the ground!
The fiery wings on her back were shattered by the impact. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion pinned her completely—its forepaws on her arms, its hind legs pressing her thighs—leaving her utterly immobilized.
Jiang Qingtong's chest rose and fell rapidly as she glared up at the beast holding her down.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion only ate the brain marrow of soul beasts with light attributes; it didn't eat humans, nor did it attack them without reason. It shouldn't harm her or Xiao Xiao… but she had no idea what it meant to do by pinning her like this.
As she was wondering, the beast suddenly lowered its head, bringing the third eye on its forehead to touch her own.
Her eyes widened in shock—wasn't this exactly what had happened to Huo Yuhao in the original events? But she didn't have the Spirit Eyes, so what was going on?!
Before she could think further, a vast force slammed into her mind like a temple bell tolling beside her ear. Her brain was thrown into chaos, and her eyes rolled back as she lost consciousness.
At the same time, in Mingdu, Jiang Shengyu—who was working with Kong Deming to tune a new defensive chain-type Rank Nine soul tool—suddenly rolled her eyes and collapsed into sleep without warning.
The sudden incident frightened Kong Deming greatly. He quickly caught her and sent someone to notify the Tianyin Douluo.
Back in the Star Dou Great Forest, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion tilted its head after seeing Jiang Qingtong fall unconscious, a trace of confusion flickering in its eyes.
At that moment, another powerful aura arrived—a three-headed scarlet demon mastiff, the Red King, appeared at its side.
Looking at the Golden Lion, the Scarlet King said helplessly,
"Auspicious Beast, why did you sneak out again? If Di Tian finds out, he'll punish me! Just days ago a human Limit Douluo appeared outside the forest—the outer regions aren't safe…"
The Golden Lion replied,
"I didn't mean to sneak out. I just… had this vague feeling I needed to come find this human."
As it spoke, it moved to reveal Jiang Qingtong to the Scarlet King.
Seeing Jiang Qingtong and Xiao Xiao lying there, the Scarlet King was startled.
"Humans? What's going on? How could there be humans here…?"
"Xiong Jun and the Myriad Demon King seem to be fighting humans. These two must have run here from that side," the Golden Lion explained.
At that, the Scarlet King's three pairs of eyes flashed with ferocity.
"In that case, let me just eat them!"
Its bloody maw opened wide—
—but two voices stopped it at once.
One was the Golden Lion's, and the other was a far more mature, alluring female voice. Hearing it, both beasts turned toward the source.
Bi Ji was walking toward them.
"Why not eat them?" the Scarlet King asked.
"They're the humans Di Tian specifically named. If you eat them, you can explain yourself to him," Bi Ji said coolly.
At her words, the Scarlet King shrank its head back in visible fear. Go explain to Di Tian? Best not. Even Xiong Jun, fighting with all his might, couldn't necessarily win against Di Tian—let alone itself.
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