The mountain was coming down!!
The instant they grasped this terrifying reality, every face turned deathly pale. They poured every ounce of strength into their final, desperate sprint towards the tunnel entrance.
"You go first!!"
Lin Feng's eyes widened as a fireball screamed towards them. He deliberately slowed his step, letting Zhang Fangzhou and the other two surge past him. He poured all his energy into the spirit light jade pendant in his hand.
BOOM!!
A heavy explosion shook the air. Flames bloomed and roiled. The cyan spirit shield flared intensely, warping under the impact before dimming significantly.
"Lin Feng! HURRY!!"
A frantic shout echoed from ahead. Zheng Kai's group had finally made it into the tunnel entrance. They stood just inside, faces taut with anxiety, staring back.
"WAAAAAH!!!"
Zhang Fangzhou, Yao Wangtian, and Xu Rong, driven by pure adrenaline, managed a few more lunging steps and stumbled into the relative safety beside Zheng Kai's group. They barely kept their footing before whipping around to look for Lin Feng.
"Boss Lin!! BEHIND YOU!!!"
The sight that met their eyes drained the color from their faces instantly. Yao Wangtian couldn't hold back a terrified yell.
Lin Feng was only a few steps behind them. Yet, in that split second, a bucket-thick crimson tail swept horizontally from the side like a flaming battering ram!
"Tch!!"
Lin Feng's expression tightened. He dared not rely solely on the weakened spirit shield. Instead, he planted his foot and threw himself backward, ducking low. The massive tail whistled harmlessly overhead, missing him by inches.
He pushed himself upright, ready to launch himself the final distance into the tunnel with a powerful kick-off.
But when his right foot slammed down, expecting solid ground to propel him forward, it found… nothing. It felt like missing a step on a staircase. His leg plunged downward. He lost balance instantly, lurching sideways uncontrollably!
—The ground beneath his feet had shattered completely, collapsing into the void below!
It wasn't just his spot. The entire broad space near the tunnel entrance was disintegrating, starting from the center where the Scorpion King raged. Countless fissures tore open the surrounding walls. Above, chunks of rock began to rain down.
Lin Feng, caught off-balance, with no purchase, tumbled down amidst a cascade of falling stones!
"Lin Feng!!"
"Big Brother!!"
Horror and despair washed over Zheng Kai's group. A look of utter hopelessness flashed in their eyes.
"MOVE!!"
A sharp, commanding cry cut through the chaos. A white figure shoved past Zheng Kai, lunging to the very edge of the collapsing entrance. Simultaneously, a ribbon of pure white silk shot out like a striking serpent. It crossed the dozen meters in a blink, coiling tightly around Lin Feng's waist, arresting his fall!!
Panic had flared in Lin Feng's heart during that plummet. Before he could formulate a plan, he saw the white streak snake towards him. As it cinched around his waist, halting his descent, relief surged. He looked up. The other end of the silk ribbon was wrapped securely around Chang Gong Xiaojing's right hand.
"Saved…"
The thought barely formed in Lin Feng's mind, the sigh of relief still caught in his throat, when his expression transformed into terror again. He bellowed a desperate warning: "LOOK OUT!! It's on your LEFT!!"
—Facing them, he had a clear view… The Fire-Tailed Scorpion King had somehow scaled the cavern wall beside the tunnel entrance, clinging to the stone as easily as walking on flat ground. It loomed directly to the left of Zheng Kai's group, its enormous, flame-wreathed tail reared high… and now whipping down towards them!
"What?!"
Lu Yang and the others blanched at Lin Feng's shout. They didn't need to turn to confirm; the sight of the massive, fire-tipped tail sweeping in from the left was horrifyingly clear.
"LOOK OUT!!"
"AHH!!"
"FALL BACK!!"
Pandemonium erupted. Instinct took over. Everyone scrambled backward into the tunnel. Chang Gong Xiaojing started to retreat too, but a flicker of hesitation crossed her face. She gritted her teeth. She did not let go of the silk. Instead of stepping back, she ducked low, twisting to her right to avoid the tail's arc!!
CRASH!!!
The Scorpion King's tail smashed into the tunnel entrance's edge. Rock fragments exploded like shrapnel. Miraculously, everyone had dodged in time; no one was struck directly. However, while the others had retreated several meters deeper into the tunnel, Chang Gong Xiaojing alone remained perilously close to the crumbling entrance.
"Xiaojing!! WATCH OUT!!"
"Mistress!!"
The next instant, Chang Gong Xiaojing heard Kou Tingting and Wei Lie's voices, raw with terror. Simultaneously, shadow engulfed her. A wave of scorching heat pressed down…
She looked up. Her face drained of blood. The massive tail was already sweeping back… aiming straight for her!
No escape!!
"AAAAAAHHH!!!"
Lin Feng saw it all with horrifying clarity. His pupils contracted violently. With a primal roar, his right hand shot out and grabbed the silk ribbon stretched taut before him. Muscles corded in his arm as he hauled back with every ounce of his strength!!
...
As the colossal tail blotted out the light above her, despair washed over Chang Gong Xiaojing. But suddenly, an immense force yanked her right arm. The silk coiled around it pulled taut. She was violently jerked forward, completely off her feet.
Chang Gong Xiaojing flew through the air like a white butterfly flung from the tunnel entrance. Then, she felt herself land against something solid and warm—a pair of arms closing tightly around her.
BOOOOOOM!!!!
A fraction of a second after she was 'flung' clear, the Scorpion King's tail hammered down exactly where she had been standing. The edge of the tunnel entrance shattered and collapsed into the abyss below…
Chang Gong Xiaojing instinctively glanced back at the destruction, realizing she was alive. Then she turned her head and found Lin Feng's face mere inches from her own.
"Hold on tight!! Brace yourself!!"
Lin Feng had no time for a lingering gaze. His expression was grim, focused. His left arm locked firmly around the girl in his arms. His right hand flicked out, producing a circular golden jade talisman—a spare, top-grade treasure artifact defensive talisman. True essence surged into it. Instantly, a golden barrier shimmered into existence, enveloping them both, adding a second layer of protection outside the original, nearly depleted cyan shield.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM…
The golden shield had barely formed when a torrent of rocks, large and small, crashed down upon them from above. Already falling, they vanished from sight in the blink of an eye, swallowed whole by the deluge of stone and dust…
...
"Xiaojing!!"
"Lin Feng!!"
On the other side, Zheng Kai's group had been forced relentlessly deeper into the tunnel by the cascading collapse. They didn't see Chang Gong Xiaojing being 'pulled' away, nor Lin Feng's desperate catch. Their view was instantly cut off by the avalanche of falling rock.
The collapse spread like a wave. Starting from the vast chamber, it tore through dozens of meters of the connecting tunnel. The group retreated again and again. When the thunderous roar finally subsided, the passage ahead was completely gone, replaced by a solid wall of shattered stone and debris.
"Xiaojing…"
"Boss Lin…"
Though safe, no trace of relief touched their hearts. Kou Tingting's face was ghostly pale, tears streaming down like rain. Zhang Fangzhou and his brothers' eyes were bloodshot, throats tight with unbearable grief.
"No… We have to go back! We have to save Xiaojing! She's trapped in there! We have to get her out!!"
Kou Tingting was utterly distraught. Her words tumbled out in a frantic murmur. She clutched Zheng Kai's arm desperately. "Zheng Kai! Go save Xiaojing! Please! Do something! Find a way to save her!"
"I…"
Zheng Kai's lips trembled. He opened his mouth, but no words came. He'd once lamented to Lin Feng about never having held Kou Tingting's hand. Now he held it tightly, yet he felt nothing but crushing regret and sorrow. The idea to explore this cave had been his. If only they hadn't come… none of this would have happened…
"B-Big Brother… Boss Lin… Boss Lin he…" Yao Wangtian stared numbly at the sealed tunnel, lost. He turned to Zhang Fangzhou, voice shaking, unable to voice the dreadful question: 'Is he dead?'
"SHUT UP!!" Zhang Fangzhou roared suddenly, his voice raw. "Big Brother is FINE!! How could he possibly die… He will come out safely!"
Over the days spent together, Lin Feng had secured an unshakeable place in the hearts of Zhang Fangzhou and his brothers. Having witnessed Lin Feng navigate seemingly 'certain death' situations with apparent ease time and again, they had developed an almost blind faith in him. They believed any obstacle could be overcome in his hands.
But this time? Could Lin Feng still turn danger into safety?
"He absolutely can!!"
The thought, or rather, the desperate hope, burned fiercely in the hearts of Zhang Fangzhou, Yao Wangtian, and Xu Rong…