Chapter 42: Were I Wrong, Take My Life!
The enormous flame formation above An Ying’s head had been completely shattered by the frosty light beam!
Nie Tian noted that the rich, white frost mist in the surrounding area had been gradually gathered to that beam of frosty light.
This was the glacier area of the Green Illusion dimension, the habitat of the Frost Python. With its second grade cultivation, the Frost Python was even able to draw power from the freezing spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth to increase the power of its beam of frosty light.
Because of the freezing spiritual energy, the beam was bolstered, growing longer and thicker!
On the other hand, An Ying became more and more exhausted because of the wastage of power and energy.
HISSSSS!
After destroying An Ying’s flame formation with its frosty light beam, the Frost Python slowly slithered towards her.
Even though Nie Tian was a hundred meters away, he was able to see the frustration and fear in An Ying’s eyes.
It seemed she knew that she wouldn’t be able to last much longer.
She had placed all her hope in Zheng Rui and Pan Tao, and yet they hadn’t found any trace of the Lurker Lizard.
Nie Tian had a clear understanding of the situation, and he knew that the key to surviving this fierce battle was An Ying successfully stalling the Frost Python.
If An Ying died, and the Frost Python crashed into their battle formation, the trial takers who had been fighting the first grade spirit beasts would all be killed instantly.
If it came down to that, Nie Tian himself would have no hope of escaping, and would also fall prey to the spirit beasts.
“This won’t work.” With a grim look in his eyes, he racked in his brain for a way to turn the extremely dangerous situation around.
Of course, from the moment the Frost Python showed up with the Lurker Lizard, he realized that in order to live, he had to cooperate with An Ying and others.
For this reason, he didn’t hesitate in the slightest to jump in and save Jiang Miao.
Although he still detested Zheng Rui and Pan Tao, he also knew that they were of great importance in this battle.
Zheng Rui and Pan Tao were the strongest besides An Ying, and could take the pressure off of the rest of the group so that the Lurker Lizard wouldn’t dare to go around and kill more of them.
Nie Tian suddenly said, “The pressure on An Ying is too great. One of you has to go help her!”
Pan Tao was puzzled and froze for a moment. “Are you talking to us?”
Zheng Rui grew irritated and said angrily, “Who do you think you are? Our task is to kill the Lurker Lizard. We know exactly what to do. No need for you to worry!”
“Kill the Lurker Lizard?” Nie Tian laughed coldly. “You can’t even find it. How can you kill it? You are only wasting your time here! If it doesn’t come out, are you just going to continue waiting until An Ying gets killed by the Frost Python?!”
Zheng Rui was about to retort when Pan Tao waved his hand, signaling him not to argue with Nie Tian. “Do you have any better suggestions?”
Nie Tian understood that An Ying had been in an extremely dangerous situation, and therefore said as quickly as he could, “Zheng Rui, you go help An Ying. Pan Tao, you stay here and defend. If the Lurker Lizard dares to emerge again, Zheng Rui can always come back and help. I believe that when the Lurker Lizard appears, I’ll be able to shoulder some of the burden for you, and buy us enough time for Zheng Rui to return.
“Time is of the essence, An Ying won’t be able to last much longer. You need to make up your mind now!”
Unlike Zheng Rui, Pan Tao was able to look at the bigger picture, and make the wisest decisions at critical moments.
Therefore, Nie Tian addressed him alone.
Pan Tao took a deep breath and firmly said, “Zheng Rui, listen to him. Go help An Ying! Don’t worry about me. If that Lurker Lizard dares to emerge, I can hold out for at least five or ten minutes!”
Just as Zheng Rui was deliberating, Nie Tian bellowed, “Do you think An Ying can afford for you to waste any more time?!”
As they spoke, Zheng Rui snuck a glance at An Ying, and realized that An Ying couldn’t hold off the Frost Python’s raging attacks any longer. He gritted his teeth, glared at Nie Tian, and said, “If anything happens to Brother Tao, I won’t let you off!”
Finally, he bolted towards An Ying at the fastest speed possible.
On the other hand, Nie Tian had long since stopped fighting the first grade spirit beasts.
He knew very well that the crucial factors in turning the situation around were the Lurker Lizard and the Frost Python.
Especially the Lurker Lizard!
Ever since it burst out from under the ground and killed Zu Fang, the trial takers’ moves had become somewhat hesitant.
They would constantly look down at the ground beneath their feet, afraid that the Lurker Lizard might suddenly emerge and kill them.
Although the Lurker Lizard hadn’t showed up for a while, it was still like a ticking time bomb beneath the ground that could go off any moment.
With such a huge threat lurking in the shadows, every one of the trial takers moved as if they were fighting on thin ice. They all feared that they could be the next Zu Fang.
“Calm down. We have to find the Lurker Lizard.”
Nie Tian kept adjusting his breathing. After mentally casting aside the life-threatening nature of the situation, he concentrated on the icy ground beneath his feet.
“Calm down, calm… down…”
He forced himself to relax so that he could better detect any unusual movement underneath the ground.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP…
He didn’t even realize that during the process, his heart rate had become slower and slower.
Even his body temperature had dropped significantly.
Shortly after, he found that his entire body had become cold, and his blood flow had become extremely slow, just like his heartbeat.
However, his senses had been augmented significantly, enabling him to perceive the changes in the surrounding spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth, the fluctuations of the trial takers’ spiritual power, and every breath of the spirit beasts.
Whenever the trial takers or the spirit beasts moved, their feet landed on the ground, creating vibrating waves that he could sense through the soles of his feet.
He was secretly surprised by his newly-discovered enhanced perception. In order to get a better feel for the slight vibrations, he took off his shoes and socks and stood barefoot on the cold and hard icy land.
Shedding the two layers of obstruction and standing there barefooted enabled him to feel every vibration of the ground even more clearly.
On the intense battlefield, he suddenly closed his eyes, focusing all his psychic power onto his feet.
He focused his heart on sensing even the most trivial vibrations.
All of sudden, he experienced a mysterious sensation, as if his soul were transcending his body and going out into the open.
It seemed as though strands of his psychic awareness had penetrated the ground from the bottom of his feet, and started to roam about in the underground world.
In that moment, he felt as though there were a dozen versions of himself cutting through the dark space underneath the ground.
It felt like his hands were reaching out into pitch-black darkness, trying to find something…
When his psychic awareness wandered to where the trial takers and the spiritual beasts were, he was able to hear the ear-piercing sounds of their footfalls.
The sounds should have been weak and hard to perceive, but with his psychic awareness, they became as loud as thunderclaps.
Moreover, he could quickly tell which sounds came from the trial takers and the spirit beasts.
Therefore, his psychic awareness filtered out those sounds and continued to search in other directions.
He searched with great patience…
Pan Tao, who was constantly shifting about to observe the icy land around them, quickly noticed his strange behavior.
It was the most crucial moment of the battle, yet Nie Tian didn’t join them, but rather took off his shoes and socks, closed his eyes, and adopted an attitude that seemed as though he was courting death.
Pan Tao took a closer look, and then subconsciously moved closer to him, fearing that he would be killed by the nearby spirit beasts.
Right after Nie Tian had saved Jiang Miao and provided some reasonable suggestions, Pan Tao had come to view him as a true member of the team.
Since he trusted that Nie Tian would never jeopardize their safety, and that he must be helping the team in his own way, Pan Tao viewed protecting Nie Tian as his responsibility.
“What a strange dude!” grumbled Pan Tao, yet he kept watch for Nie Tian, secretly preparing himself to fight off the spirit beasts that had been wandering near them.
As of this moment, strands of Nie Tian’s psychic awareness, which had been roaming the underground world, suddenly sensed a strong sign of life!
“The Lurker Lizard!”
Nie Tian violently opened his eyes, and aimed at a spot according to his previous probing.
Just as he was about to make a move, he was suddenly taken over by fatigue, and discovered that he had been completely depleted of energy, as if he hadn’t slept in seven days.
He immediately realized that he had drained his energy by channeling his psychic awareness underneath the ground and searching for a trace of the Lurker Lizard.
Clearly he was now in no position to effectively fight the Lurker Lizard and make it pay.
He pointed at a teenager who was fighting a Frost Armor Rhino, and shouted urgently at Pan Tao, “Pan Tao! Over there! Behind Tong Hao! The Lurker Lizard is beneath the icy land one and a half meters behind him! Go! Attack that piece of icy land with full force! Please trust me!”
Pan Tao was shocked. “Are you sure?!”
With a pale face, Nie Tian nodded vigorously and urged again, “I’ll kill myself if I’m wrong!”
Pan Tao was stunned.
“Hurry up!” Nie Tian roared.
Pan Tao hesitated no more. He hefted his long golden spear in hand, blurring into action, and arriving behind Tong Hao in blink of an eye.
His long spear suddenly emanated a brilliant golden light, so bright that Nie Tian couldn’t help but close his eyes!
POOFF!
After closing his eyes, he heard the sound of the spear piercing into the ground.
In the next moment, the Lurker Lizard’s mad cry came from underneath that piece of icy land.