The moment the massive dark shadow took shape, it swung both of its long arms downward in a sweeping strike, lashing out like two pitch-black whips with ferocious momentum, swift as lightning.
Sensing the terrifying force contained within those two attacks, Luo Lan — bringing up the rear — paled. Without the slightest hesitation, she bit the tip of her tongue and spat out a mouthful of vital blood. The hiltless longsword in her grasp blazed with radiance, transforming into a colossal sword that slashed downward with devastating force.
A soundless collision. The shadow's two arms were held at bay for a single heartbeat, but Luo Lan's Artifact sword was also sent flying.
The attacks the merged shadow could unleash were countless times more powerful than those of the smaller shadows!
A soul-type Artifact was driven by the power of Divine Sense — its might was unpredictable and ever-changing, but any damage inflicted upon it would inevitably affect the wielder's own soul. The instant the sword was knocked away, Luo Lan's face went deathly pale, and she coughed up a mist of blood.
Even with her formidable cultivation at the Void King Realm, she had been injured in a single exchange.
In that moment, everyone present clearly understood just how formidable these eerie shadows truly were.
Fortunately, the four of them had already burst free from the underground and soared into the sky. Not one of them dared to look back or linger — they continued to fly upward.
From deep within the chasm behind them came an earth-shattering roar. Two enormous black arms reached up from below, fingers splayed wide, transforming into colossal demonic claws that grasped at the four of them.
But the distance seemed insufficient. Those two titanic hands stopped short of Luo Lan — who was last in the group — by more than a dozen zhang, their fingers closing on empty air.
The next instant, the two massive hands slowly withdrew. The howling that had filled everyone's ears gradually subsided, and the world fell silent once more.
Ni Guang, who had been leading the way, slowed his pace and eventually came to a halt in midair, gazing downward with a contemplative expression.
"These things… don't seem willing to chase us out," Yang Kai observed, having noticed the same issue.
"So it appears." Ni Guang nodded, agreeing with Yang Kai's assessment. "But we still can't let our guard down. Best to put some distance between us and this place first."
The other three nodded hastily and followed Ni Guang as they flew off into the distance.
A quarter of an hour later, the four of them touched down at a safe location. Although the surroundings were still barren and desolate, the crisscrossing chasms were gone. After confirming that there was truly no danger nearby, they stopped to rest and recover.
The crisis they had just endured, though successfully resolved, still left them shaken even now.
This attack had been virtually impossible to guard against. After all, before descending into the underground chasms, they had thoroughly scouted the area. With two Void King Realm powerhouses present, they had still failed to avoid being ambushed — it was almost inconceivable.
"Elder Luo, how are your injuries?" Ni Guang turned to look at the pale-faced Luo Lan and asked.
"Nothing serious. Just some instability in my soul." Luo Lan frowned as she probed her condition with her senses before answering.
"That's good." Ni Guang let out a breath of relief. He had originally believed that with his cultivation at the second level of the Void King Realm, even if things weren't entirely smooth sailing in this Lost Land, there shouldn't be any truly lethal threats. But after what had just happened, he no longer dared think that way.
If Yang Kai hadn't helped him escape just now, he had no idea how much longer he would have remained trapped in that illusion. Perhaps his physical body would have withered away entirely before he ever woke up, and his soul would have perished along with it.
"Uncle Ni, what exactly were those things?" Xue Yue asked, still shaken. Everything she had experienced in the illusion had felt completely real. Even after Yang Kai had awakened her, she still needed time to readjust to the real world.
"I don't know either. I've never heard that the Lost Land contained anything like this. Elder Luo, have you encountered such a thing?" Ni Guang shook his head and looked toward Luo Lan.
"I don't know the Lost Land particularly well. I've never heard of such strange creatures."
"It seems that those who encountered these things before us never made it back alive — that's why no information about them was ever passed on." Ni Guang's expression turned thoughtful. "But fortunately, from what we observed, they're extremely stealthy — even I couldn't detect their presence — yet they seem confined to the dark underground. As long as we don't go below ground again, we should avoid running into them. And we haven't actually lost much time. In that illusion, I felt as though I had lived through many years, but judging by my current state, we were in there for one or two hours at most. Their methods are truly terrifying!"
The other three nodded slightly upon hearing this.
"Elder Luo, tend to your injuries first. Once you've recovered, we'll set out again," Ni Guang said, glancing at Luo Lan.
"Then I'll have to trouble all of you to wait. I'll try to be quick," Luo Lan said gratefully.
She and Ni Guang had no particular history between them, so the fact that he was willing to wait for her at a time like this naturally earned her gratitude. It also spoke well of his character — he was someone worth cooperating with.
Ni Guang's strength exceeded her own, and partnering with someone like that was exactly what Luo Lan would have hoped for.
Then again, it might also have had something to do with her decision to hold the rear just now. Ni Guang's attitude toward her was noticeably more cordial than it had been at the start.