Chapter 1166: Reversal of the Situation

After about fifteen minutes, Yun Jianyue returned to Zu An. "How much have you learned?" she asked.

Before Zu An could answer, she continued, "The Star Shattering Profound Seal is exceptionally profound. It's very difficult for beginners to grasp its essentials quickly. Based on generations of cultivation experience, those with excellent aptitude can usually achieve about three times its power. Truly exceptional individuals can unleash around five times its power, and a very rare few geniuses can quickly reach about seven times its power."

"Given your aptitude, you should be able to achieve five times its power. Hmm, that should just barely be enough to deal with the Death Worm. After all, the time was short. With more practice and time, you'll slowly master it and eventually be able to unleash ten times its power."

After speaking for a while and receiving no response from Zu An, she couldn't help but frown. "Not even five times? Well, the time was indeed too rushed, you needn't be disheartened... You can't possibly fail to unleash even three times, can you?"

Zu An remained silent. He simply took a deep breath, and his elemental energy circulated through a unique pathway throughout his body. Then he unleashed a punch. In that instant, friction between his fist and the air ignited a dazzling white glow.

An abyss-like crater appeared on the ground before them, stretching far into the unknown.

The entire Blood Moon Domain trembled violently, and Yun Jianyue retreated dozens of feet to avoid its formidable power.

A long moment later, she flew back, a strange expression on her face. "You didn't say anything before you attacked! You nearly shattered my domain with that punch."

It must be understood that within their own domain, a Grandmaster is like a god of creation, capable of defining various rules at will. No matter how strong an individual trapped within, they cannot significantly affect the domain, unless the opponent also possesses a domain of equal or higher level, causing the two sets of rules to cancel each other out.

Yet this guy, Zu An, nearly shattered her domain with sheer brute force?

She showed no anger; instead, she was somewhat delighted. "You can unleash ten times the power?"

Zu An replied gravely, "I was afraid of hurting you, so I held back. But yes, I should be able to unleash ten times the power."

Yun Jianyue was speechless.

She, the dignified leader of the Demonic Sect, never imagined that a junior would show her mercy.

Of course, she also understood that she was heavily wounded and her strength greatly diminished, and that he was also concerned for her.

"You've grasped the Star Shattering Profound Seal to such a high degree in such a short time, and can directly unleash ten times its power?" She still found it hard to believe.

"Is that difficult?" Zu An asked, somewhat puzzled. "How many times the power did you grasp when you first started learning it, Sister Sect Master?"

"Of course... it was also ten times. It's not really that difficult. Although few in number, there have been a few cultivators throughout history who reached this level upon first learning it." Yun Jianyue's cheeks felt a bit hot as she spoke. In truth, she had only been able to unleash seven times the power when she first started, and even that had made her the most outstanding talent in the Sacred Sect for centuries. Who knew this anomaly would be even more heaven-defying?

"Huh, I recall you just mentioned that only a very rare few geniuses could reach seven times its power?" Zu An asked, puzzled.

"Ahem..." Yun Jianyue turned her head away, her expression unnatural. "I deliberately didn't tell you that because I was worried you might become overly ambitious and eager for quick success. If I had known you possessed such aptitude, I wouldn't have kept it from you."

"Oh~" Zu An didn't suspect a thing.

Feeling guilty, Yun Jianyue, worried he would continue asking questions, hurriedly dispelled her domain.

Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo had already sensed the commotion and rushed over. "How did he learn?" they asked.

Yun Jianyue felt a surge of emotion in her chest, feeling somewhat stifled. After a long moment, she finally uttered two words: "Very well!"

A hint of softness also appeared in Yan Xuehen's usually cold eyes. "His aptitude is indeed excellent," she commented.

Just then, the ground shook violently again, and from a distance, the terrifying shriek echoed once more.

"It seems it's angry because it hasn't found us," Yu Yanluo said worriedly. "We need to hurry, or it will collapse this mine, and that would be troublesome."

As the head of the Yu family, this mine was their lifeline, so she naturally worried about any accidents.

The others also worried that if they delayed, more new creatures might emerge from the spatial rift. They quickly began discussing the specific details.

They finally decided that Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue would directly attract the attention of the Mimic-Scaled Death Worm, shielding Zu An as he stealthily approached to deliver a fatal blow.

As Grandmasters, they all possessed powerful spiritual senses and could perceive their surroundings even in complete darkness, which wouldn't hinder their actions.

Yu Yanluo would stand guard in a more outer layer, helping to deal with sneak attacks from smaller Death Worms and ensuring their retreat path was secure.

After the discussion concluded, the group ventured deeper into the mine.

Their small target size made them difficult for the Death Worm to find. However, the Death Worm kept shrieking intermittently, and the closer they got to it, the denser the black mist became around them, making it quite easy to locate.

Before long, the group took their positions. The Mimic-Scaled Death Worm was not coiled on the ground like a snake; instead, its entire body was hidden underground, with only a small section exposed.

From a distance, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen each unleashed their skills, attacking the worm. Throughout the entire process, they were careful not to emit even a sliver of light.

The Mimic-Scaled Death Worm itself had no eyes, and the area it inhabited was naturally in complete darkness.

A grating sound echoed.

The chilling grating sound echoed again, and the Mimic-Scaled Death Worm instantly extended half of its body.

It was clearly enraged. These detestable humans! It had already given up on bothering them, yet they dared to come seeking trouble?

Its mouth opened, and a stream of black mist, almost tangible, shot towards the two women.

The two women naturally knew its power and dared not confront it directly. They scattered to either side.

When the black mist hit the cave walls, it instantly corroded large pits. It was easy to imagine that if it struck them, even at their peak strength, they would likely be unable to withstand it.

They did not flee, but instead moved around the area, making it easier for Zu An to approach the worm.

Just then, two objects resembling flying swords suddenly shot out of the Mimic-Scaled Death Worm's mouth, rapidly pursuing the two women.

These were its large mouthparts, shed over the years and refined into weapons, their power far exceeding that of human cultivators' flying swords.

Normally, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen would have countless ways to deal with them. But at this moment, both were severely injured and not yet recovered, so they could only flee awkwardly, narrowly escaping danger several times.

Due to the difference in the pills they took, Yun Jianyue's recovery of strength was clearly not as good as Yan Xuehen's.

After dodging a few more times, she could no longer avoid them. She was about to take the hit with a non-vital part of her body, only worried whether she could withstand the potent venom on the worm's fangs.

Just then, Yan Xuehen arrived by her side, pulled her away with a grab, and they narrowly dodged the attack.

Yun Jianyue was somewhat surprised. They had been enemies for so many years, both wanting to kill the other, and she never would have thought Yan Xuehen would save her.

Although she felt a hint of gratitude in her heart, she retorted, "Who asked you to save me? It's not like I couldn't dodge it myself!"

As she spoke, she summoned her Star-Moon Wheel, blocking another long poisonous fang that was attacking Yan Xuehen from behind.

"Don't flatter yourself, who wants to save you?" Yan Xuehen retorted, with no warmth whatsoever in her words. "I want to kill you myself; I just don't want you to die in the mouth of a beast before I get the chance."

Hearing the two women bicker back and forth, Yu Yanluo, from a distance, felt a look of exasperation cross her face. She thought that if outsiders witnessed this scene, their eyes would probably pop out. Two Grandmasters, feared throughout the land, acting like squabbling sisters all day.

She was not idle either. She continuously drew in the air with her brush, adding various blessing auras to the two women.

Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen immediately felt their bodies become light as swallows; their speed, recovery ability, and other attributes were greatly enhanced. With their extensive knowledge, they immediately realized these were painting-path blessings from the academy.

Normally, these blessing auras would offer them almost no help, and might even have adverse effects. After all, Grandmasters need complete control over their bodies, and hastily adding other elements could easily affect the accuracy of their judgments.

But now that both women's strength had significantly diminished, these enhancements were very useful.

At least when dealing with the Death Worm's flying fang attacks, they were no longer as discomfited as before.

"To think we ended up owing this woman a favor..." Both Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen felt a strange sensation in their hearts. They found it somewhat easier to accept owing each other favors previously, as they had become intimately familiar through years of rivalry. But owing Yu Yanluo a favor...

The other woman's captivating beauty gave both women a considerable sense of crisis, coupled with her intimate relationship with Zu An, or perhaps her identity as a Medusa... For reasons unknown to them, both women subconsciously did not want to be indebted to her.

However, they didn't have time to dwell on this now. They sensed the mother worm's figure disappearing and reappearing from the ground; it was clearly circling, searching for the opportune moment to deliver a fatal blow to the two women.

It wouldn't move unless it was to kill!

Cold sweat trickled down the backs of both women. With their keen senses, they knew that within three breaths, they would no longer be able to dodge.

Just then, a dark light suddenly erupted beside the Mimic-Scaled Death Worm. Zu An's figure appeared, and he stabbed downwards with the speed of lightning.

The Mimic-Scaled Death Worm was greatly alarmed. Its senses of smell, touch, and spiritual perception were extremely developed; not even a blade of grass or a tree could escape its perception in the darkness.

But where did this person come from? It only reacted after he had already stabbed it!

It was too late to dodge or retaliate now.

The beast's instinct made it feel the threat of the dagger. Black light surged throughout its body as it desperately channeled its energy to create a defense, preparing to withstand the opponent's blow.

Unfortunately, in its haste, it ultimately could not achieve a perfect defense.

The dagger, imbued with potent poison, struck fiercely and smoothly cut through the still unstable protective energy shield.

It finally pierced its scales, emitting a harsh metallic scraping sound and striking out a series of sparks.

The scale armor defense of this Mimic-Scaled Death Worm was shockingly formidable!

Yun Jianyue's heart sank. Knowing the Star Shattering Profound Seal so well, how could she not see that in that instant, the fifty percent chance of activation had not succeeded!