Chapter 586 - 586: Fight to the Death, No Retreat

Although Zhao Yuan hadn't lost hope, his expression turned grim. His mind raced, searching for a strategy.

Elder Shan was also boosting everyone's morale. "Don't be afraid! The Divine Striking Skill can't be maintained for long. He's bound to run out of energy soon. As long as we can hold out until then, we'll have a chance to turn defeat into victory!"

"You want to drag this out until I'm exhausted?" Yanbei Village sneered, glaring fiercely at Elder Shan. "In your dreams!" he barked.

A powerful aura erupted from his gaze, slamming into Elder Shan. Despite having reached the Late Stage Qi Listening Realm, the old man was knocked back several steps and collapsed to the ground.

"You ants, I could wipe all of you out in minutes! Letting you slip away was just an accident. Now, I'll show you just how terrifying I can be when I get serious!" Yanbei Village snarled. A powerful aura burst from his body, crushing everyone and making it difficult to breathe, filling them with a sense of suffocating despair.

It was at this exact moment that Zhao Yuan noticed a block of information had suddenly appeared before his eyes.

In truth, the information had appeared a while ago, but he had been too busy fighting enemies and saving Ying Ji to notice.

Glancing at the information, Zhao Yuan's pupils constricted. A thrill of excitement shot through him.

'What a surprise! Talk about a godsend! This is it!'

The information the Information Leaf had given him was none other than the instructions for using the Divine Striking Skill!

After quickly reading through the information, Zhao Yuan finally understood. The Divine Striking Skill was a Secret Technique that forcibly drew massive amounts of Heaven and Earth Essence Qi and the Thoughts of the Ancestors into the user's body, causing their power to skyrocket.

Because the Heaven and Earth Qi was not refined and the Thoughts of the Ancestors were not the user's own power, both were considered borrowed external forces. Therefore, the Magic's effect wasn't long-lasting, generally only for about ten minutes, or up to an hour or two at most. After the Magic wore off, the user's body would be damaged, resulting in either a serious illness or a prolonged period of weakness.

However, when used at a critical moment, this Magic was a trump card that could slay powerful enemies and turn defeat into victory!

Like right now!

But learning the Divine Striking Skill would take a little time. Zhao Yuan shouted to the others, "I have a way to turn this around, but I need you to hold them off for me for three minutes!"

"Three minutes?" Everyone's faces turned grim when they heard this.

They couldn't even block a single one of Yanbei Village's slashes. How were they supposed to stall for three minutes?

But right now, they had no other choice but to go along with Zhao Yuan's plan.

"We're dead either way, so let's fight them to the bitter end!"

Hao Li took a deep breath. He slapped his case with a blood-soaked hand, gripping the sharp Bone-Cutting Saber that sprang out, and adopted a stance for the final battle.

"If we can hold out for three minutes, we might have a chance to survive!"

Cheng Haoyu banished all distracting thoughts from his mind. He picked his blood-soaked dual spears up from the ground and raised them high, aiming their trembling tips at Yanbei Village and his three companions.

Ying Ji struggled to her feet, but Shan Han forced her back down. "You're too badly injured! You'd be no help. Just stay down! Leave stalling the enemy to us! You can take our place after we've fallen!"

Elder Shan said nothing, merely focusing on frantically circulating the Qi within his body.

Yue Tianchi pulled a wine gourd from somewhere on his person—God knows where he'd been hiding it. He roared, "That's right! The only way to survive is to risk it all! Let's go! Fight these bastards to the death!"

"You think a pack of losers like you can stop us for three minutes? Dream on! We only need one minute to wipe you all out!" Yanbei Village roared, swinging his blade once more. Que Shichao and the other two attacked at the same time.

Yanbei Village alone had been enough to drive them into a desperate corner. Now that Que Shichao and his two companions had joined the fray, how could they possibly win this fight?

But Hao Li and the others had thrown all caution to the wind. Without a second thought, they charged forward with a battle cry.

Yue Tianchi uncorked his gourd, took a swig, and used his Qi to ignite the alcohol as he spat it out. Instantly, a wave of raging flames erupted from his mouth, forming a ferocious fire dragon that lunged toward Yanbei Village and his three companions.

BOOM!

The fire dragon crashed against Guan Gong's Great Saber and was instantly cleaved apart. But the scattered flames rained down on Que Shichao and the other two like a shower of fiery meteors.

This was no ordinary fire. It was catalyzed by a special liquor meticulously brewed by Yue Tianchi. It was not only powerful, but a single drop was enough to make the flames spread across one's entire body.

Realizing how dangerous the flames were, the expressions of Que Shichao and his men changed drastically. They scrambled to retreat, not daring to face the fire head-on.

"Let me!" Yanbei Village roared, slashing out again. The sheer force of the blow sent the flames from the burning liquor back toward Yue Tianchi and the others. "I'll use your own flames to burn you alive!"

"My turn!" Hao Li formed a Dharma Seal and chanted a Spell, making the flames that had been blown back toward them surprisingly pliant. Not only did the fire not harm them, but it formed a wall of flames that blocked Que Shichao and his companions, who were trying to press their advantage.

"I, Master Fatty, am from the Tripod Cuisine School. You're far too green to play with fire against me!" Hao Li boasted with a laugh, but he hadn't gotten two words out before he broke into a violent coughing fit. The previous fierce battle had not only left him covered in wounds but had also pushed him to the brink of exhaustion.

He wasn't the only one; the others were in the same boat.

Noticing this, Elder Shan immediately pulled a small porcelain vial from within his robes, tipped out the Elixirs inside, and tossed them to the others. "Take these!"

Everyone quickly swallowed the Elixirs. A cool sensation instantly swept through their bodies, not only easing the searing pain of their wounds but also restoring a measure of strength to their exhausted frames. They had the power to fight again!

At that same moment, Yanbei Village and his men burst through the wall of fire and charged at them!

The fierce battle erupted once more!

Three short minutes felt like an eternity to everyone on the battlefield.

After one minute, Hao Li and the others were even more grievously wounded. Their weapons were riddled with nicks. The Bone Woman's Tang Blade and Wakizashi had both shattered, forcing her to contend with Yanbei Village and his men with only her bare hands.

"Didn't you say you'd finish this in one minute? Ha! We made it through one minute! We can definitely make it through two, and three! Just you wait, you bastards, you're the ones who are going to die!" Hao Li gasped, panting. He tossed aside his ruined Bone-Cutting Saber, drew a new one from his case, and charged forward again.

Veins bulged on the foreheads of Yanbei Village and his three men, incensed by the taunt, but there was nothing they could do.

They couldn't understand it. How could this group, so clearly inferior in strength, withstand their onslaught time and time again? Though they were covered in wounds, soaked in blood, and on the very brink of collapse, they stubbornly refused to fall.