When system cheat becomes rampant!

Chapter 233 Fierce Battle

Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!

Out of nowhere, a gust of wind arose in the forest, and all the leaves began to shake and rub against each other, the withered leaves hanging from the branches, seemingly ready to fall at any moment.

But strangely, the yellowed leaves still dangled from the branches, struggling as if dying.

Whoo—

Whoo—

Among the rustling, there was a hint of a peculiar whisper, as if something was whimpering in their ears.

"This sound, why does it sound so eerie?" Ma Ziqian murmured softly.

"It sounds like... like someone is groaning in pain?" Xi Keyao said uncertainly.

The more she mentioned it, the more the surrounding noises seemed like someone in agony, moaning lowly!

"You all wait here."

Xiang Beifei's expression turned serious.

He signaled everyone not to move, then he slowly approached a pine tree that had just withered.

The pine tree looked dead, withered and yellow, but as Xiang Beifei approached, the tree turned green again, as if it had been rejuvenated, the withered leaves once again filled with moisture.

Not only this pine tree, but the nearby locust and banyan trees also turned green.

Xiang Beifei carefully examined the soil under the pine tree, noticed traces of disturbed earth, and a few faint footprints that extended to the vicinity of the tree, then disappeared.

Just as he was about to squat down for a closer look, suddenly, a scream came from deep within the forest!

Everyone's expressions changed once again.

"It's Liu Qing's voice!" Tang He exclaimed, "He just got separated from us."

The sound seemed somewhat distant.

"Let's go."

Xiang Beifei glanced at the pine tree, no longer bothered about its peculiar state, and decided any anomalies with the tree could be investigated later when the alliance's people arrived.

He immediately stepped on the tips of the pine branches and leapt up above the canopy. Li Zimu also led everyone else, following Xiang Beifei into mid-air.

At that moment, they noticed that the withered forest behind them had once again shown patches of green, seemingly in the direction of Liu Qing's screams, just about fifty meters to the left.

They immediately rushed over, leaping down through the trees, only to be greatly shocked!

There was a person lying on the ground in the forest.

To be precise, half a person.

His body looked as if it had been severed by some sharp blade, blood and guts blurred together, the lower half thrown about five meters away, various organs scattered around like trash from a kicked-over bin, emitting a strong stench of blood.

But the place where he lay had no blood whatsoever.

Only the wildly thriving weeds!

Even the organs were the same.

The person's skin was wrinkled, his face covered in wrinkles and twisted like a wrung-out rag, appearing like a nearly dead old man.

"Is it someone you recognize?" Long Guocheng looked at Tang He.

Tang He stared in horror at the half-bodied old man, at a loss to confirm the man's identity for a moment.

"I don't know, but he... I remember Liu Qing was wearing these clothes, but Liu Qing wasn't this aged…" Tang He couldn't be sure.

"He must be your companion."

Xiang Beifei saw the interface above the other party. No matter how much a person's appearance might change, the system interface would never change, the characters "Liu Qing" were clearly written.

Liu Qing still seemed to be breathing, but his complexion had turned ashen. He heard the noise, looked toward Tang He, and then trembled as he extended his hand, "Save... save... save..."

But just then, Xiang Beifei felt that sense of unease surge up again in his heart, and he shouted lowly, "Be careful."

Whoosh!

In the trees not far from Liu Qing, suddenly, more than a dozen figures appeared.

These figures looked terribly miserable, covered in blood from head to toe, with severed hands and feet, some even had holes in their hearts. Some had their clothes shredded into rags and others, perhaps due to the ravages of time, were barely covered, their pants gone.

Yet each of these dreadfully miserable figures emitted a strange and powerful aura!

They were all in the Meridian Opening phase!

Ghost Whiskers of Remnant Visage!

"It's them! They've come again!"

Tang He looked horrified!

"Back off." Xiang Beifei said sternly.

Surrounded by so many Ghost Mustaches of Remnant Visage, even he was troubled. Although he now had the ability to deal with the Ghost Mustaches of Remnant Visage, the problem was, he was accompanied by a group of people in the Qi-Controlling phase.

The Ghost Mustaches of Remnant Visage just stood among the branches, watching this line of newcomers with a pitiful gaze, their eyes flickering with a strange gleam.

What surprised them most was that these people were standing on the branches, but the branches showed no sign of turning green.

It was completely different from Xiang Beifei and his group.

"Ah..."

The foremost Ghost Mustache of Remnant Visage let out a miserable scream, sharp and heart-wrenching, making one think it was hurt and wailing in pain.

However, this sound was more like a command.

Hearing the scream, the other Ghost Mustaches of Remnant Visage also made various sounds left from before their deaths, their bodies rapidly extending long tentacles that immediately engulfed Liu Qing and continued sweeping towards Xiang Beifei and the others!

"Take them and leave!" Xiang Beifei shouted to Li Zimu.

Li Zimu, without hesitation, gathered everyone quickly, leaped onto the tree tops, and darted away.

Xiang Beifei punched out, exploding flames roaring and surging over the tentacles. The tentacles, once touched by the flames, twisted fearfully and swiftly retracted, while Xiang Beifei had already stepped on his flying sword to catch up with Li Zimu and the others, beating back the approaching tentacles from behind.

However, they had not flown far when tentacles suddenly burst from the forest ahead, blocking their path. These tentacles were dense and stretched for tens of meters, clawing in the air like a wall, blocking half the sky.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Each tentacle swung powerfully, with Long Guocheng blocking in front. His gaze immediately shifted, his Vision Pressure ability instantly falling on the tentacles, the furious pressure colliding violently with the tentacles!

Crash!

The power of Long Guocheng was such that wherever he looked, his ability took effect instantly, slicing a swath through the obstacles quicker and more cleanly than laser eyes, leaving the tentacle monsters no time to react before being broken.

The foremost tentacles were directly burst by his Vision Pressure, but as one tentacle burst, more tentacles extended out, rapidly pressing down on them again.

However, although his gaze could shift quickly, it was still unable to handle the overwhelming tentacles. These tentacles seemed endless, growing faster than they could be destroyed, almost rolling up to him as they pressed down.

Long Guocheng's arm was suddenly caught and pulled over!

Whoosh!

A fist flame raced over and severed the tentacle holding Long Guocheng!

Xiang Beifei, surrounded by blazing heat, shouted, "Don't try to fend them off, Li Zimu, take them up and leave!"

As he spoke, he charged out again, scattering the tentacles chasing from behind!

"Long Guocheng, stick close to me!"

Li Zimu intently fixed his gaze on the tentacles coming from the front. As the tentacles fell towards them, the light around Li Zimu slightly rippled, as if it twisted, then it covered everyone.

"Don't resist my ability."

Li Zimu shouted at the others!

The others all held their breath. There were so many tentacles, they simply couldn't withstand them and had to follow Li Zimu's instructions. Li Zimu made a very bold decision; he didn't dodge at all but directly led everyone towards the tentacles.

Hum!

The tentacles struck them but seemed to hit a phantom, as though their bodies had become ethereal. For a moment, the tentacle monsters couldn't grab them, not even touching a corner of their clothes!

Swish!

Li Zimu led everyone through the wall of tentacles created by the Ghost Mustaches of Remnant Visage as if they were ghosts, shooting straight into the sky.

The "Transient Dream" ability allowed Li Zimu to forcefully blur reality and dreams, making their physical bodies seem like ethereal entities in a dream, thus avoiding the attacks of the tentacle monsters.

But more tentacles rapidly swept towards them, and after Li Zimu had used his ability five or six times, he could no longer withstand it. This ability significantly drained Spiritual Power, and he was only in the late Qi-Controlling phase. If it had been just him it might have been manageable, but he was leading a large group, and his cultivation was not enough to support so many uses of his ability.

Tentacles still poured out relentlessly from the forest below, wrapping around them, blocking their path once more with a barrier impenetrable enough to make them feel powerless.

Boom!

Xiang Beifei, flying up from behind on his sword, threw a punch that struck the wall of tentacle monsters, blasting a large hole into it.

Violent flames roared, tearing apart the subsequent tentacles.

"Go, don't linger in battle."

With a stern shout from Xiang Beifei, Li Zimu immediately gathered the others and flew through the hole, continuing forward.

Yet countless tentacles still tried to catch up from behind, Xiang Beifei's gaze tightly focused on the tentacles continuously emerging from the forest, his spiritual power already spread to the dead trees.

"So fond of dead trees, let you have enough of them."

Xiang Beifei's gaze intensified.

Crash!

The flames instantly fell on the dead trees, igniting the dry branches and leaves with flames from Xiang Beifei, quickly turning the surroundings into a sea of fire. The crackling flames, like a rampant dragon, lit the nearby dead trees, and the entire forest was soon engulfed in towering flames.

The tentacles, surrounded by a sea of fire, appeared somewhat panicked. The Ghost Mustaches of Remnant Visage weren't usually afraid of ordinary flames, but they were particularly wary of Xiang Beifei's flames. These flames threw countless tentacles into disarray, making them continuously retract.

Xiang Beifei had no time to pay attention to the condition of the tentacle monsters; he had Xi Keyao assist Li Zimu in recovering Spiritual Power, then he increased his speed and quickly left the fiery expanse.