Cang’er couldn’t hide the smile on her face. Nervously, she took the Xiangfei Stone, running her hands over it in a sly, lingering way. Three whole minutes later, with a satisfied look, she placed it into the Mo Gold box, securing it in her Biyou Ring.
Fu An’an and the others looked on with a mix of disgust and disbelief at her mischievous grin.
Sigh… they just don’t understand. This is how a top fashion designer feels when seeing a piece of iridescent, exquisite fabric.
“Run! It’s a high-star guardian beast!” Her smile froze. Cang’er suddenly looked up, grabbed Mia, and bolted.
The three of them quickly activated their mechs.
A Soaring Snake was rapidly approaching.
“Wasn’t that one already dead?!” Fu An’an shouted in surprise.
“This is another one. A Seven-Star Soaring Snake—there’s no way we can fight it,” Qi Ming replied as he ran, urging the two of them to speed up, catching up to Cang’er.
“What do we do? It’s about to catch up!” Fu An’an looked back at the glaring seven-star symbol on the snake, her heart racing.
“There’s no choice—fight!” Jilin swung his long spear, striking first at the snake’s head. The snake sensed the attack aimed at its eye, shut its eyes, and struck back quickly with its tail.
Seeing the snake close its eyes, Fu An’an stopped abruptly, flipped backward, and leapt onto the snake’s body. She landed on its head, her whip lashing hard at its massive skull.
The snake’s upper body reared up and violently thrashed its head toward a nearby rock. Fu An’an’s whip looped around its head, and she used the momentum to swing and land safely. Jilin followed immediately, thrusting his spear again at the snake’s eye.
The spear feinted, and Qi Ming appeared behind him, body soaring through the air, Bowie knife raised, stabbing hard into the snake’s right eye.
The Seven-Star Soaring Snake howled in pain, coiling its tail frantically around the just-landed Fu An’an.
“Ah!” Fu An’an couldn’t resist and spat out blood. Jilin jumped, driving his spear hard into the snake’s tail. The snake, unable to control its body, left an opening. Qi Ming quickly grabbed Fu An’an’s whip, pulled her out, and carried her forward.
The snake, seeing the three trying to escape again, ignored its injured tail and pursued them relentlessly. Its gaze locked on Cang’er ahead, seemingly aware that the Xiangfei Stone Crystal was with her.
“Looks like both snakes are guardians of the stone crystal,” Cang’er said, releasing Mia’s hand and turning to run in another direction.
The three running toward another direction saw Cang’er head straight for a giant rock. Instantly, a bulky black mech encased her entire body, tightly sealed, even covering her head. Her hands transformed into sharp blades, digging fiercely into the stone, wedging her body into a crevice.
Seeing Cang’er deploy her mech, Mia quickly summoned her own “Pan’an.” The bulky, awkward mech made walking difficult; when she couldn’t move her legs, she mimicked Cang’er and wedged herself into a nearby rock crevice.
The snake reached Cang’er, but seeing her trapped in the rock crevice, it couldn’t swallow her. It bared its fangs and lunged.
Jilin and the others, seeing this, were furious. They turned and charged at the snake with full speed.
The snake’s fangs clashed against Cang’er’s mech, creating a screeching metallic sound. The mech took deep scratches but held firm. Cang’er couldn’t escape, but the snake also couldn’t take her down quickly.
Enraged, the snake turned to attack Jilin and the others. Weapons clashed with its hard scales, sparks flying. They fought while retreating, trying to lure the snake away from Cang’er and Mia.
The snake, sensing their plan, lost patience. Its tail ignored Jilin’s spear and whipped up, catching the nearby Fu An’an. Its fangs pierced through her mech and body.
The cyan-green neurotoxic venom instantly paralyzed her. Fu An’an lost all ability to resist. The snake was about to swallow her when Jilin and the others were violently knocked aside by its tail, unable to intervene.
Blood in her eyes, Cang’er poured all her mental energy straight at the snake’s eye. Blue mist in her mind was instantly drained. She felt her temples about to explode, blood streaming from her ears and nose. In her final moments of consciousness, she saw the snake’s eye burst, spewing disgusting yellow ichor, and then the snake collapsed to the ground.
“Cang’er—!” Mia screamed.
Seeing the giant snake suddenly fall, Mia turned to look at Cang’er. She saw Cang’er unconscious on the ground, unable to maintain her mech, bloodied and pale, with only a faint, fading breath remaining.