Chapter 115: Deceiving and Killing One Another

However, the laughter died out quickly, because those eagle-sized Blazing Poison Mosquitoes were indeed a masterful fusion of the Spirit Swallow and Purple Haze professions, complete with an innate explosive flame effect.

To call them a "synthesis of all perfections" would be no exaggeration.

The group’s reactions were fast enough; the moment the mosquitoes emerged, they formed hand seals to prepare their Immovable Golden Bell talismans. But in the next second, with a buzzing sound, hundreds of Blazing Poison Mosquitoes charged like lightning, appearing ready to self-destruct in a suicidal attack.

"Oh no!"

Wei Cheng’s heart skipped a beat. Without a word, he unleashed the ultimate form of the Immovable Golden Bell, as only this version could withstand the shock of hundreds of self-destructing mosquitoes.

Yet, in the very next moment, his heart turned cold. The hundreds of mosquitoes, upon hitting the Immovable Golden Bell, flapped their wings to reveal faint golden Cloud-Ladder talismans. With unimaginable skill, they braked instantly, turned around, and grazed past Wei Cheng’s barrier.

They had baited him into wasting a major ultimate.

"Cloud-Ladder Talismans?" Xu Shan gasped in disbelief.

Chen Ce’s expression shifted drastically. "I fear it’s more than that. These mosquitoes have likely reached the perfection stage of the Cloud-Ladder Leap. Damn it!"

Everyone, including Wei Cheng, felt the situation turning dire.

Bai Han shot Wei Cheng a panicked look. Up until now, their coordination had been seamless, but he had already exhausted his own ultimate Immovable Golden Bell. Wei Cheng had also released two of his own; in other words, they had no more ultimate defenses left to deploy.

"Yu Liang, Old Mei, get ready! We’ll provide cover!"

"Wei Cheng, pull back the Immovable Golden Bell, quickly!"

As Bai Han shouted, a flicker of genuine panic crossed Wei Cheng’s eyes. Without hesitation, he placed his hands on the Immovable Golden Bell to rapidly retract his inner energy—a process that required three seconds.

But in the next moment, the bell darkened as nearly two hundred Blazing Mosquitoes landed upon it. Their massive, needle-like mouthparts plunged in, releasing a dark golden liquid fire that flowed like a sunset’s purple haze, coating the entire barrier.

They detonated immediately.

Wei Cheng’s ultimate Immovable Golden Bell was shattered, and he only managed to recover less than half of his Mountain-Moving inner energy. He no longer had enough energy to manifest another ultimate barrier. They had lost their strongest shield.

"Sorry, everyone!"

Wei Cheng’s face changed, and he switched to his Spirit Swallow inner energy, turned, and bolted—abandoning the others.

Almost simultaneously, the remaining two hundred Blazing Poison Mosquitoes descended with agile, refined movements, cutting off anyone who might have tried to follow him.

"You son of a..."

Before Bai Han could finish his curse, he was surrounded. He had no choice but to use his remaining Mountain-Moving inner energy to keep casting basic Immovable Golden Bells. Yu Liang and Mei Renli were in the same predicament.

The group was trapped. The moment their barriers broke and their inner energy ran dry, it would be their end. Even Xu Shan and Chen Ce could not break through. Who could have imagined that the one they trusted most, Wei Cheng, would abandon them at such a critical moment?

Damn it, there was no hope left for this world.

But just then, from within the magma hill, thirty three-headed fire lizards charged out. Ignoring the others, they used flashes to cut off Wei Cheng’s path.

It seemed the monsterized magma river had also played its trump card. It had calculated that Wei Cheng was low on Mountain-Moving energy, but since he was also a practitioner of the Spirit Swallow path, he was a precious specimen for consumption—far more valuable than the others.

It was also the thing the entity feared most. It had orchestrated a grand scheme of deception, tricking Wei Cheng into exhausting his energy, baiting his ultimate, and forcing him to switch to the Spirit Swallow path to flee. Of course, the escape was a surprise, but the outcome would have been the same regardless.

Thirty elite fire lizards, capable of flashing and immobilization, were the surprise gift specifically prepared for Wei Cheng.

Tell me, my friend, are you moved?

In truth, as those thirty lizards were hatched, the magma hill became hollow. Had anyone approached, they would have felt a faint, dying heartbeat within. It really was a monster nest, and it had gone all-in.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*

Wei Cheng, running at full speed with his Spirit Swallow energy, slammed on the brakes. He spun around, performed a Cloud-Ladder Leap, and vaulted dozens of meters back, barely dodging several immobilization heads.

But those heads shrieked and pursued him relentlessly, zipping ahead to pelt him with more projectiles.

*Immobilize! Immobilize!*

Unfortunately for them, soaring flames erupted, burning the heads to ash. Wei Cheng had activated his Blazing Ring, and the +10 fire-resistance shield proved highly effective.

However, the fire lizards kept pressing the attack, flanking and intercepting him. Heads flew through the air, and Wei Cheng had to activate his ring again and again, but he couldn't sustain it. Finally, after burning the twentieth head, the shield dimmed, dropping from +10 to +1.

In the next moment, ten more heads appeared above him. He seemed to have nowhere left to run.

But then, a flash of golden light emerged from between his brows. His Mental Barrier had activated, nullifying the ten heads.

In the next second, he drew his savage short sword and, without warning, smashed the skulls of two fire lizards trying to steal a victory.

Surprised? Caught off guard?

"If you have more of those heads, I’ll admit defeat right now!"

Wei Cheng brandished his short sword like a madman. But the lizards surrounded him, pouncing in a frenzy—they were desperate to kill a Spirit Swallow practitioner.

Yet, in the next second, Wei Cheng switched back to his Mountain-Moving heart method. Ten Immovable Golden Bells dropped in rapid succession, trapping ten lizards inside. With a flick of his wrist, ten more bells appeared, capturing nine more.

Taking advantage of the remaining lizards retreating to dodge, he didn't care about the others and bolted straight toward the magma hill.

They had been acting out this drama for so long just for this moment!

At that instant, a furious, venomous howl erupted from the magma hill—like a curse from hell, a demon’s lament. Hearing this, all the Blazing Poison Mosquitoes and fire lizards rushed back into the hill, ignoring Wei Cheng entirely.

Once inside, the mosquitoes and lizards melted into dark golden flames, and the giant fissure in the magma hill began to seal shut.

*Trying to hide in your tortoise shell because you can't win? How naive!*

"Go!"

At that moment, Wei Cheng threw his small wine cup across thirty meters, pouring every ounce of his remaining Mountain-Moving energy into it. He collapsed to the ground, his legs turning to jelly from exhaustion.

The small wine cup slipped into the magma hill just as it sealed shut.

*BOOM!*

The magma hill closed, successfully turning into an invulnerable, magma-based Immovable Golden Bell.

But a second later, with a thunderous roar, the sturdy hill was blown apart from the inside. A real Immovable Golden Bell, wreathed in golden light, erupted outward and slammed into the ground. The impact sent cracks radiating through the solid rock for a kilometer in every direction.

The magma hill was thoroughly pulverized, crushed into nothingness, with no strength left to fight.

In the next second, the magnificent Golden Bell shrank rapidly, returning to the form of the small wine cup.

At the same time, a three-hundred-foot-tall stone stele, covered in golden flames, slowly descended and landed right in front of Wei Cheng. He didn't stand on ceremony and placed his hand on it—it was what he deserved.

In an instant, a vast, galaxy-like divine light poured down. In just a second, all the Mountain-Moving and Spirit Swallow energy he had consumed was fully restored.

Following that, he acquired the first level of the "Iron Prison Law," the sixth level of the "Cloud-Ladder Leap," and the second level of the "Green Wood Order."

Wei Cheng wanted to take this chance to use the divine light to complete the fine-tuning of his ninth innate meridian, but after a quick attempt, he realized it wasn't feasible. He settled into absorbing the light, feeling it transform into mental energy that sank into his mental seed, while another portion flowed into the nine mountain ranges of his Mountain-Moving visualization, manifesting as three wisps of morning mist.

By now, he possessed five wisps of this golden morning mist.

The divine light shone for eighteen full seconds, yet it still hadn't reached the critical threshold. To an outsider, it would seem as if Wei Cheng had gained nothing at all. Only he knew the truth.

When the light faded, the stone stele had shrunk by four-fifths, and half of the golden flames flowing on it had merged into Wei Cheng’s hand. From afar, it looked as if he were clutching a clump of brilliant morning mist.

It was wondrous, and Wei Cheng suddenly gained an epiphany. It was simple: this was another form of material reward, but he could choose how it was granted.

It was like harvesting a bundle of juicy chives—he could choose to eat them in dumplings, in pancakes, grilled, boiled, stir-fried, or raw. No matter the form, the essence of it entering his stomach remained the same.

He now had five choices.

First, increase the fire resistance of the Blazing Ring to +21, which seemed to push its quality beyond its current tier.

Second, keep the current fire resistance but allow the ring to store three extra fireballs—the kind the deer-horn monster used. After firing, they could be replenished with Fire Stones, one per fireball.

Third, similar to the above, allow the ring to store nine extra Blazing Javelins, with one Fire Stone replenishing three javelins. The difference between javelins and fireballs was that the former could pierce shields with precision at a range of 300 meters, while the latter provided area-of-effect damage within a 100-meter radius, with a maximum range of 200 meters.

Fourth, allow the ring to generate an extra Flame Shield to provide protection for allies within a 50-meter radius.

Fifth, allow the ring to store a pure core of flame energy. Once activated, it would envelop his body, transforming him into a Blazing Giant capable of breathing fire, throwing fireballs, releasing fire spears, and exercising higher-level control over flames. However, unlike the first four options, this required synchronization with Mountain-Moving energy; it was not recommended for those who lacked a deep understanding of the Mountain-Moving visualization. Furthermore, this ability required a massive stockpile of Fire Stones.