Chapter 162: The Suspended Island (Part 2)

"Roar!"

A emerald-green phantom bore down upon them. This phantom was more than five meters wide, towering as high as a ten-story building. Its massive triangular head alone spanned over a dozen square meters, and two pairs of solid-looking green eyes radiated an eerie light. This ghostly radiance flashed and shot like lightning toward Dugu Yixiao, whose cultivation was the weakest among them. How could Lei Xiang allow him to succeed? With a single thought, the Blue Lotus Flower Dish met the incoming attack. With a loud *clash*, the eerie light was deflected, leaving the surface of the Blue Lotus Flower Dish completely unblemished. However, a surge of blood roiled within Lei Xiang's chest, and he had to secretly circulate his profound cultivation technique to barely suppress it. This was primarily because Lei Xiang was suppressing his true power, outwardly appearing only at the peak of the Core Formation stage.

Given the opponent's discerning eyes, the entity known as Decayed Tooth naturally perceived that Lei Xiang had suffered a minor internal injury from that single exchange. A wild laugh immediately broke out, "A mere Core Formation cultivator actually dared to dream of devouring my Grinning Tooth! Aren't you afraid of choking?" As he spoke, the giant phantom pressed down rapidly, releasing the terrifying pressure of the Nascent Soul stage. This caused the surrounding group to stagger and retreat in defeat, leaving only Lei Xiang exposed at the epicenter of the oppressive force.

Fortunately, supported by both the Blue Lotus Flower Dish and the Nine-Treasure Lotus Rod, Lei Xiang managed to avoid being crushed. Yet, the triangular head—twice the size of a house—lunged forward, exhaling thick, suffocating green vapor as it crashed violently against the Blue Lotus Flower Dish. The Blue Lotus Flower Dish whistled backward for five meters, while the triangular head was violently jerked back by a zhang. Decayed Tooth let out a voice laced with utter disbelief, "Impossible! How could you withstand my Eight-Branched Kiss? Oh, I understand now. This plate of yours is rather strange; it doesn't seem like an ordinary object. Let me destroy it first before I kiss you to death!"

A mouth two zhang wide gaped open, expelling dense waves of green vapor that formed a mushroom cloud. Suddenly, a emerald-green "silk ribbon" shot out from the maw, entangling the Blue Lotus Flower Dish and pulling it directly into the green mushroom cloud. The toxic cloud swallowed the artifact effortlessly, causing Dugu Yixiao and the others to feel a chill in their hearts. Their entire group relied solely on Lei Xiang, and Lei Xiang relied entirely on the Blue Lotus Flower Dish. If any mishap befell this treasure, let alone achieving their original objective, whether they could escape alive became a massive question mark.

At this moment, Lei Xiang's expression remained as calm as stagnant water. Blue light flashed in his eyes as he executed the Divine Thunder Slash. Nine beams of blue light activated the nine stone lotuses carved upon the Blue Lotus Flower Dish. Decayed Tooth watched as nine pristine white lotuses blossomed, instantly dissolving the "Fog of Covetousness" he had cultivated for a millennium. Left with no choice, he had to retract his green tongue and abandon the toxic fog. Decayed Tooth, whose injuries had not yet fully healed, suffered compounding trauma upon losing this vital mist of his essence. Yet, proud as he once was, how could he simply let it go? The massive triangular phantom flickered and smashed fiercely toward Lei Xiang.

Lei Xiang had originally intended to fly up on the wind, but suddenly recalling Qimenzi—who was deeply engrossed in deciphering the formation not far behind him—he smiled bitterly and shook his head. If he dodged, Qimenzi would undoubtedly die, ensuring their mission would end in total failure. It seemed he had no choice but to fight head-on. With frantic hand seals, he drove the Blue Lotus Flower Dish, its nine lotuses in full bloom, striking downward from above upon the giant serpent-head phantom.

There was no explosive sound; the serpent-head phantom shattered completely, leaving the mountain-like phantom behind Decayed Tooth transformed into a headless monstrosity.

Steadying the Ninety-Nine Immortal-Shooting Spear, Lei Xiang prepared to strike while the iron was hot and annihilate this pest. With a decisive press of his right index finger on the trigger, a crisp *snap* echoed out. The black crystal bullet struck precisely at the phantom's fatal seven-inch spot. The colossal phantom rolled over and crashed heavily to the ground.

Gritting his teeth in fury, Decayed Tooth slapped the crown of his head. A jade-white, half-inch tooth flew out. Enhanced by the Divine Thunder Slash, Lei Xiang could clearly see that it was a miniature jade tooth shaped like a pristine white snake. The miniature snake refined from this jade tooth should be this fellow's Nascent Soul. The tiny serpent writhed and plunged directly into the fallen phantom on the ground. The massive phantom vibrated, instantly growing a brand-new serpent head.

The serpent head reared up straight, facing Lei Xiang and Qimenzi, who was still busy breaking the formation behind him, and unleashed another "Eight-Branched Kiss."

Lei Xiang directed the Blue Lotus Flower Dish to meet the attack. The nine white lotuses spun wildly, once again blocking the "Eight-Branched Kiss." However, Lei Xiang was beginning to reach his limit. His internal spiritual power was being frantically drained away. The miniature snake, manifested from the white tooth, infused the giant phantom with renewed vitality. The thirty-square-meter triangular head bore down once more with the crushing, irresistible momentum of Mount Tai. Even the black crystal bullets from Lei Xiang's Ninety-Nine Immortal-Shooting Spear could only slightly hinder its downward descent. Qimenzi, enveloped within the phantom's shadow, was sweating profusely, yet he kept his eyes tightly shut and endured. This was the critical moment to break the Tooth-Opening Hazy-Mist Formation. If he pulled away now, all his previous efforts would be wasted, and he would suffer severe internal injuries. Therefore, he gritted his teeth and persevered, placing his hope for survival entirely on Lei Xiang, the smiling youth with the prominent canine teeth.

Yet Lei Xiang could no longer muster a smile. The Ninety-Nine Immortal-Shooting Spear was useless; even switching to a twenty-round volley from the Forty-Seven Immortal-Shooting Spear probably wouldn't severely injure the phantom. The Blue Lotus Flower Dish had activated its ultimate defense, its nine luminous lotuses blooming with dazzling brilliance, but Lei Xiang had no confidence that it could withstand another "Eight-Branched Kiss."

He whipped out the Nine-Treasure Lotus Rod, planting it vertically between heaven and earth as his ultimate fallback. If both the Blue Lotus Flower Dish and the Nine-Treasure Lotus Rod failed to hold, he would have to leave his fate entirely to luck.

Suddenly, Lei Xiang received a telepathic transmission from Tian Rui in his mind, "Lei Xiang, retreat if you can't hold on! Don't die fighting blindly! Or try using your Gluttonous Pig..."

"That's right!" Lei Xiang mentally cursed himself for being foolish. How could he have forgotten this little fellow? It was a spirit beast renowned for swallowing everything in existence. Although it had never faced a Nascent Soul cultivator before, treating a dead horse like a living one, he might as well give it a try. With this thought, he reached into one of his spirit beast pouches, stroked the soft fur of the Gluttonous Pig, and communicated with it through his mind, hoping to awaken the gluttonous and sleepy creature.

At last, a miracle occurred. The Gluttonous Pig's tiny bean-like eyes snapped open, and a wave of divine sense echoed in Lei Xiang's sea of consciousness, "This old senior's mouth has been watering terribly. How could I waste such fine, nourishing fare?" Simultaneously, the pink little pig leapt out of the spirit beast pouch. Disregarding the creature's grandiose self-proclamation as an "old senior," Lei Xiang was astonished to observe the changes in the Gluttonous Pig after such a long slumber: it now possessed three semi-transparent feathered wings, one long and two short thicker tail stingers, and the pink shade of its entire body had deepened considerably. Had it leveled up once more?

All of this occurred in the flash of a lightning strike: Decayed Tooth's giant phantom pressing down with the "Eight-Branched Kiss," Tian Rui's transmission telling Lei Xiang to wake the Gluttonous Pig, and the pig leaping into action—the entire sequence unfolded in the blink of an eye. At that moment, the triangular head was merely half a meter away from the outermost defense of the Blue Lotus Flower Dish. The Gluttonous Pig hopped *thud* onto the top of the dish. The massive triangular head phantom trembled slightly and inexplicably froze mid-air. Decayed Tooth, directing it from behind, felt a simultaneous pang in his chest. What on earth was this thing? A pig?

Decayed Tooth did not dare to continue his "Eight-Branched Kiss" because he truly could not fathom this endearing, deep-pink little pig. The cultivation aura it emitted should have been above a Level-Eight fierce beast, but he genuinely couldn't guess its exact tier. Furthermore, as a fierce beast himself, Decayed Tooth had never encountered its kind in all his years of experience. As it turned out, Decayed Tooth was not originally human, but a fierce beast that had successfully survived the heavenly tribulation and transformed into human form. His own tier was that of a top-tier Level-Ten fierce beast, yet even he felt somewhat fearful of the Gluttonous Pig. Just what tier could this creature possibly be?

The Gluttonous Pig had no such reservations. It parted its red lips to reveal cucumber-sized green teeth and took an unceremonious bite. With a crisp *crack* akin to shattering glass, a plate-sized chunk was bitten right out of the phantom's tongue-kissing region.

"Ah!" Decayed Tooth let out a miserable scream. His previous injuries had not yet fully healed, and now he had sustained another heavy blow.

The sound of *crunching* was ceaseless. The colossal triangular head phantom vanished into thin air in an instant, and the entire phantom collapsed once more. Refusing to let up, the Gluttonous Pig charged into the crumbling phantom to feast wildly. Coughing up two mouthfuls of blood, Decayed Tooth ignored the phantom entirely, transforming his entire body into a ball of dark green cloud and fleeing at top speed. This deep-pink creature seemed to be his nemesis, rendering him almost entirely defenseless. If he didn't run, was he supposed to wait around to be utterly tortured? As for his "Nascent Soul" trapped within the phantom, Decayed Tooth could no longer afford to retrieve it. Though his cultivation would drop by at least a full realm, it was still better than losing his life.

The group stared in astonishment as the Gluttonous Pig went on a crazed biting and devouring spree. Even Wisdom Tooth, renowned for his intellect, wore a blank expression and could only instruct the smiling tooth subordinates to retreat. Meanwhile, he desperately churned his demonic mist to press down upon Lei Xiang and the others. Tian Rui and the others regrouped around Lei Xiang once more, while Yang坚 remained terrified of the Gluttonous Pig, hiding strictly behind Dugu Yixiao and never daring to show his face.