Chapter 712 - 710: Toying With Them
"There are many holes in the ice wall beside the Immortal Tree. The snow rabbits hide in them to absorb the cold Qi."
Hearing this, Xu Yang shifted his body slightly, scrutinizing the wall, and sure enough, spotted countless holes in the ice.
Zhao Hong grinned broadly. "As long as you’re fast enough, the snow rabbits won’t catch you."
"Besides, this area below is a labyrinth, and further down, where Cold Veins crisscross, it’s like an underground glacier metropolis, with countless natural treasures. Snow rabbits are especially fond of the scent of these treasures. If they discover valuable treasures along the way, chances are high they’ll be distracted."
With those words, he shrugged, as if to prove that acting as bait looked dangerous, but actually wasn’t all that deadly.
Xu Yang remained noncommittal, not believing a single word.
"Are we acting now?"
"Of course!"
Zhao Hong’s expression sharpened, his eyes locked onto Xu Yang.
"Then you all better be ready, too."
Xu Yang smiled slightly, didn’t hesitate for a moment, and shot out like a bolt.
"That guy’s really that decisive?"
"He didn’t hesitate at all."
"Does he still have that much confidence facing all those snow rabbits?"
Zhao Yuanyuan and Li Qingtian were stunned.
Zhao Hong snorted. "Doesn’t matter what confidence or tricks he has—so long as he draws away the snow rabbits, we just take the Immortal Fruit."
"If he survives, it’s his own damn skill!"
"But I’ll admit, this guy’s definitely not simple."
Zhao Yuanyuan and Li Qingtian fell into silence.
Not just not simple—utterly insane.
In the hush, the trio readied themselves, eyes glued to Xu Yang.
But Xu Yang’s speed wasn’t fast.
After dozens of seconds, he finally reached the edge of the ice wall.
Five fruits hung from the little tree, each emanating chilling cold, as if ghost Qi welled from the netherworld; their surfaces bore intricate patterns, looking just like tiny immortal veins.
Xu Yang’s gaze shifted up to the ice wall.
The holes were especially obvious—scattered without pattern, densely packed like a honeycomb, making his scalp tingle in dread.
There were far more than just thirty or fifty holes.
Xu Yang stood unmoving, staring at the snow rabbit lairs, his expression ever-changing.
"What’s he doing? He’s right there, why isn’t he doing anything?"
"Damn, it’s been nearly fifteen minutes—has he chickened out?"
Zhao Hong and the others grew anxious as Xu Yang stopped and moved no further, uneasy expressions on their faces.
Another moment ticked by—a pot of tea’s time.
The three of them grew increasingly impatient.
Finally, a change flickered across Xu Yang’s face.
He licked his lips, glancing between the Cold Nether Immortal Vein Fruit and the holes in the ice wall, then suddenly turned to look back at Zhao Hong and the others.
"What’s he up to?"
Zhao Hong’s brow furrowed deeply.
That sudden turn, that strange glint—made him feel something was off.
But he genuinely couldn’t guess what Xu Yang could possibly pull off here.
"He’s moving."
The instant Xu Yang dashed toward the Immortal Tree, the ice wall trembled.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!
Streams of white light shot forth as scores of snow rabbits burst out, absurdly acute, swarming out in a heartbeat.
Densely packed—not just thirty to forty, as Zhao Hong had said, but almost a hundred!
Anyone faced with this horde would drop everything and bolt.
This was why Zhao Hong was sure Xu Yang couldn’t play any tricks.
But Xu Yang, facing the snow rabbit swarm, darted back with the speed of lightning.
However, after retreating just a few meters, he stopped dead, motionless, letting the snow rabbits rush at him head-on.
"Is he crazy?"
Zhao Yuanyuan screamed involuntarily, unable to bear witnessing what came next.
But Xu Yang wasn’t crazy; as the wave of snow rabbits surged, his pupils trembled uncontrollably.
Just as they struck, Xu Yang suddenly shut his eyes.
Boom!
A tide of dark light exploded outward, splashing in all directions.
A colossal tripod appeared out of thin air—just as the snow rabbits reached Xu Yang, it shot down like lightning.
With no warning and such speed, the snow rabbits could only screech in alarm, unable to escape.
Whoosh!
The snow rabbits seemed swallowed whole by the giant tripod.
In that instant, Xu Yang ghosted to the other side.
He dashed for the little tree, and, with a sweep of his sleeve, gathered all five fruits in one move.
"Xu Yang!"
"You bastard!"
"Put down the Cold Nether Immortal Vein Fruit!"
Zhao Hong’s furious roar echoed throughout the cavern.
The three of them charged like madmen.
The scene was near-dreamlike to them.
No matter the shock, they could absolutely not let Xu Yang escape with the Cold Nether Immortal Vein Fruit.
Rumble!!
The giant tripod shook fiercely, resounding as it quaked.
Inside, ancient Evil Qi clashed violently as the snow rabbits rampaged and battered.
In the blink of an eye, the rabbits tore through the Divine Tripod’s restraints.
Xu Yang, fast as ever and unhurried, remotely manipulated the Divine Tripod, releasing all the snow rabbits at once—and a storm of ancient Evil Qi gusted out from within.
The herd of snow rabbits was flung dozens of meters—straight toward Zhao Hong and the others.
Whoosh!
The tripod shrank midair, transforming into a streak of black light and darting away.
Xu Yang turned and bolted at full speed.
Zhao Hong and the other two abruptly froze in their tracks.
Countless snow rabbits tumbled down, red eyes blazing with menace, all locking on the trio.
Gulp!
Zhao Yuanyuan swallowed hard, her pretty face going deathly pale, and her long jade legs shuddered uncontrollably.
"Wh-what should we do?"
Li Qingtian’s lips quivered, cold sweat on his brow.
Zhao Hong’s face twisted with rage and he roared, "Xu Yang, you won’t get away!"
Boom!
He shot up like a War God, immortal light blazing all around, his might arching skyward like a comet, icy Qi billowing in a terrifying tide.
Whoosh!
Zhao Hong produced a palm-sized snow-white scale, infusing it with bursts of immortal energy and cold. Not done, he bit his tongue and spat blood, painting it a vivid, fiendish crimson.
Roar!
The scale shone brilliantly, a world-shaking howl thundering out from within.
The land within a thousand meters jolted as if struck by lightning, fissures ripping outward.
The entire stretch of ice wall collapsed and blasted apart.
Reflected on the scale was a massive, white-plumed bird—wings unfurled to blot out the skies, exuding suffocating, murderous power.
Even more terrifying, its snowy white eyes were cold and merciless as frost, enough to make one’s hair stand on end.
The snow rabbits, unable to act or even fight back, were struck by the will, trembling, howling and fleeing in panic; nearly half, too slow to react, were crushed by the aura, bursting into sprays of blood mist.
Spurt, spurt!!
Zhao Yuanyuan and Li Qingtian coughed blood in unison, their faces ghastly pale, terrified beyond reason.
"That’s the White-eyed King Sparrow!"
"It’s actually the life-scale of a White-eyed King Sparrow!"
The two were so stunned, they could scarcely believe it.
With Zhao Hong’s abilities, it was simply impossible to slay a White-eyed King Sparrow and claim its most precious life-scale.
Spurt!
Zhao Hong trembled, a bolt of blood bursting from his lips, his aura collapsing inward.
The phantom White-eyed King Sparrow shattered instantly, and the snowy scale reverted to what it was.
He pocketed the scale, swallowed a pill, and dashed after Xu Yang.
Zhao Yuanyuan and Li Qingtian, after recovering, hurriedly chased after him.
On the other side, Xu Yang shuddered with dread.
"What in the world was that just now? It felt like the aura of a powerful immortal beast..."
When the White-eyed King Sparrow’s aura exploded, even across the distance Xu Yang felt icy to his soul, heart pounding uneasily.
As a sudden disturbance rose behind him, Xu Yang glanced back, his face shifting, and instantly accelerated to his limit.
"You dog bastard! Played me for a fool—I’ll turn you into an ice sculpture!"
Zhao Hong’s furious shout echoed after him.
Xu Yang ignored him, keeping his head down, fleeing at top speed.
However, the presence behind him was closing in at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Though Zhao Hong was drained from that last move, his fury and hatred were boundless; unleashing all he had, he was far faster than Xu Yang now.
It took only ten breaths.
Zhao Hong conjured a longsword, crossing a hundred meters in one leap, slashing down a torrent of frigid sword light like a tidal wave.
"Damn it!"
Xu Yang’s face darkened; spinning nimbly, he summoned the Celestial Refining Divine Tripod in a flash to block overhead.
Bam bam bam bam~~~
Amid a string of deafening clangs, the Divine Tripod took no damage—but the sword waves battered it, tumbling it dozens of meters off course.
Xu Yang, hiding within, was thrown out in disarray, blood leaking from his every orifice from the shock!
"Running? Is that all you’ve got?"