Chapter Seventy-Two: Action

“With the speed of the Grand Ark, as long as we break through the beast tide outside and withstand the spatial compression of the waterfall passage, we can escape with our lives!”

Zi Ling nodded in agreement.

Tu Lu glanced at her, a pang of guilt welling up in his heart.

He didn’t need to say it aloud; he knew perfectly well that while it sounded simple, it would be anything but easy in practice.

The first step alone was daunting. Not to mention the demon beasts, there were at least seven ancient beasts blocking the way outside—each one possessed strength comparable to the Purple Palace realm. Especially that Baxia; its sheer power alone could crush them to dust. There was simply no way to resist!

“Move!”

At that moment, Tu Lu shouted. A glint flashed in Zi Ling’s eyes, and in an instant, the Binding Spirit Cord was released!

Boom!

A colossal claw descended from the sky. The moment the Binding Spirit Cord was unlocked, the entire mountainside was smashed to pieces!

“Baxia!”

Tu Lu’s heart pounded violently.

“Go!”

With a flick of his hand, he cast a spell. The Grand Ark surged forward, transforming into a blur as it shot through the narrow gap between two ancient beasts.

But before Tu Lu could rejoice, Baxia roared. A spectral dragon emerged from its back, swooping down from the heavens to devour the Grand Ark.

“Not good!” Tu Lu’s pupils contracted. He was about to use the Celestial Dragon Talisman.

“I’ll handle this!” Zi Ling shouted, transforming herself into a sword and colliding with the spectral dragon.

With a roar, countless cracks appeared on the dragon’s phantom form. Sword Qi erupted from every fissure, and in an instant, the dragon was shattered into nothingness.

Zi Ling coughed up blood at the corner of her lips as she fell back onto the Grand Ark.

The two barely had time to catch their breath before the world of Flowing Sand Marsh began to tremble violently. It was as if some unseen force had seized hold of the Grand Ark.

Suddenly, a massive black shadow rose before them, with a dozen demon beasts charging from behind.

“Out of my way!”

Tu Lu gritted his teeth, activated the Celestial Dragon Talisman’s defenses to envelop the entire Grand Ark, and poured his mana into the vessel.

The Grand Ark shuddered violently before suddenly bursting out of the area, ramming straight into the black shadow.

Boom!

The energy within the Celestial Dragon Talisman was rapidly depleted. Tu Lu clenched his jaw, barely managing to raise his right hand as the Blood God Gauntlet appeared. He pointed to the sky and then pressed down hard.

“Break for me!”

“Slash!” Zi Ling took a deep breath, raised her sword, and unleashed a strike of unparalleled brilliance.

With a thunderous crash, the black shadow was blasted open by the two of them, leaving a gaping hole.

The Grand Ark shot through, regaining its full speed as it raced toward the waterfall passage.

“Those black shadows slow the Grand Ark down. Be careful—so long as our speed remains unaffected, these demon beasts will never catch up. I’ll handle the left side; the right is yours!”

“Understood!” Zi Ling’s face was pale, but she drew a deep breath and unleashed another sword strike.

Simultaneously, Tu Lu conjured a giant Azure Nether Hand in the void, sweeping away everything in its path.

Beast after beast was smashed apart by the pair, their bodies turning to sand under the laws of the Flowing Sand Marsh.

In this way, the two of them finally neared the waterfall passage.

“Charge in!” Tu Lu’s eyes shone with hope.

“Wait—something’s wrong! Be careful!” Zi Ling’s expression changed.

Suddenly, a giant hand stretched out from within the waterfall passage.

Tu Lu’s face paled. The aura of this hand—it felt just like the Primordial Thunder Tiger!

Gritting her teeth, the mark on Zi Ling’s face glowed, and an overwhelming spiritual pressure erupted from her.

“Slash, Break, Annihilate! Three Thousand Sword Dao!”

With her shout, the void fell eerily silent.

In the blink of an eye, three sword lights slashed across the emptiness, like cracks suddenly spiderwebbing across glass.

The giant hand splintered, shattering into oblivion.

But unleashing that sword strike left Zi Ling gravely wounded. She collapsed, limp, onto the Grand Ark.

“Zi Ling!”

“Don’t mind me—just get us through!” Zi Ling shouted through gritted teeth.

At her words, Tu Lu dared not hesitate. He immediately drove the Grand Ark forward.

But the waterfall passage erupted with a terrifying energy. A wave of heat slammed into them, sending Tu Lu and the entire Grand Ark hurtling back hundreds of meters.

A deafening roar—the demon beasts surged after them.

Tu Lu’s face darkened. But then he saw Baxia closing in behind and a plan took shape.

Clenching his teeth, he summoned all his avatars, pushing each to their utmost limit, and channeled his mana into a mighty strike upon Baxia.

“Get back!”

Boom!

The giant Azure Nether Hand collided with Baxia. The ancient beast was knocked back several meters, while Tu Lu spat a mouthful of blood.

To clash head-on with such a peak ancient beast—any ordinary cultivator of the Purple Palace realm would have been annihilated.

On the verge of losing consciousness, Tu Lu immediately swallowed the three-part Replenishing Qi Pill he’d been holding in his mouth.

With the Grand Ark, he was thrown by the terrifying backlash straight into the waterfall passage.

But before he could feel any relief, a crushing force suddenly bore down upon the Grand Ark.

Bang!

His face flushed crimson.

A suffocating pressure filled his entire being.

Suddenly, the Grand Ark was swept upward by a raging current, racing toward the vortex in the sky.

“Down! Now!”

Tu Lu cried out desperately, pouring all his strength into the Grand Ark. At last, he managed to halt its upward ascent, slowly steering the vessel downward and plunging into the depths below.