"Senior Brother, did Yang Kai send back any response when you contacted him?" Dong Xuan'er suddenly asked Wei Guchang.
"No!" Wei Guchang laughed bitterly.
"Could it be that Junior Brother Yang has…" Dong Xuan'er hesitated, worry creeping across her face.
"You think he might have perished here?" Wei Guchang chuckled, then shook his head. "That shouldn't be the case. With his skills and abilities, as long as he hasn't been unlucky enough to run into this kind of bizarre restriction like we have, he definitely won't perish."
"Then why hasn't he replied at all?" Dong Xuan'er's beautiful eyes dimmed, instinctively feeling that Yang Kai must have encountered something as well, which was why he hadn't sent any response.
Wei Guchang didn't know how to answer. He pondered for a moment, then sighed. "Perhaps Brother Yang hasn't even checked the communication compass. I sensed it before we entered—he wanted to act alone. I gave him the communication compass, but if he doesn't check it, how would he know we're trapped here with no way out? Still… he's the only one I can turn to for help. And with his abilities, he should definitely be able to reach the third layer. Let's hope our luck holds."
"Senior Brother Wei, the lava restriction is erupting again!" One of the two male disciples suddenly cried out in alarm.
The other four all changed color and turned to look. The lava lake, which had seemed relatively calm just moments ago, was now churning as if brought to a boil. More bubbles surged up from below, and several burst close to them, sending waves of fire toxin and corrosive energy rapidly spreading toward the five.
Wei Guchang snorted coldly and swept his palm outward. A burst of crimson thunderfire crackled to life, blocking all the fire toxin and corrosive energy outside.
But after that single movement, Wei Guchang's body swayed slightly. Under normal circumstances, he would never have feared such fire toxin and corrosive energy, but now, at the very end of his strength, any use of his abilities placed an enormous burden on him.
"It's coming!" the male disciple shouted in a trembling voice. Within the lava lake, the dark crimson magma surged and rose, transforming into pillars of fire that shot inward from every direction toward their position at the center.
This had happened countless times over the past month. Each time, all five had to work together to withstand the restriction's eruptions. But this time seemed somehow different.
"Why are there so many?!" The tall female disciple's face drained of color at the sight of the sheer number of attacks the restriction had unleashed. She stood there, nearly frozen in shock.
The number of attacks this time far exceeded anything they had faced before. They had already been struggling to cope previously, and Wei Guchang had sustained multiple injuries. Now that none of them were at their peak, how could they possibly withstand this wave of killing force?
It's over! The tall female disciple and the other two male disciples went ashen-faced, staring blankly at the lava pillars hurtling toward them. They made no move to defend themselves, resigning themselves to death.
"Don't panic!" Wei Guchang barked. He and Dong Xuan'er simultaneously erupted with what little power they had left, pouring it all into the turtle shell and pushing its protective barrier to its limit.
On the surface of the turtle shell, already scorched crimson, a layer of shimmering blue light suddenly blazed to life. The light contained an extremely dense water-attribute aura, enveloping all five within it.
Ssss…
The lava pillars slammed into the blue light barrier, which shuddered violently. After absorbing only the first wave of attacks, it was already on the verge of collapse.
When the second wave of restriction attacks arrived, the barrier shattered completely.
A chill gripped Wei Guchang's heart. He knew this time there was truly no escape. If his three junior brothers and sisters hadn't just stood there frozen, they might have held on for a few more breaths. But they hadn't moved. Relying on himself and Xuan'er alone, the turtle shell's defense simply couldn't hold.
So be it! To die beneath such a bizarre restriction—that wouldn't tarnish his reputation. It was just that…
Wei Guchang turned his head toward Dong Xuan'er, and their eyes met. They exchanged a small smile, everything understood between them without a word.
Swish, swish, swish…
Several sharp sounds cut through the air, as if something energetic was hurtling toward them from a great distance. Then, around the turtle shell, a multitude of shields materialized out of thin air—dark as black fire, one after another, packed so densely they completely sealed off the space around all five of them.
The lava pillars continued their assault but were all blocked by those shields. One shield after another shattered, yet more formed in their place, guarding the space around the turtle shell so tightly that not even a drop could slip through.
Then from the distance, streaks of pitch-black sword light shot forth, sweeping many of the incoming lava pillars out of the sky midway.
Having stared death in the face and come back alive, all five on the turtle shell erupted with expressions of astonished joy, turning toward the source of those sword lights.
"Brother Yang!" Wei Guchang burst into hearty laughter the moment he saw that it was Yang Kai who had saved them in their moment of crisis. There stood Yang Kai on the shore of the lava lake, a pitch-black demonic sword in hand, looking for all the world like an ancient demon god descended upon the world, continuously slashing out those swirling black sword lights.