The monsters pierced the spirit practitioners' defensive line like an awl stabbing through a sack.
Li Ban's Starlight Domain had a limited range and could not control all the monsters.
The two Priests guarding the east flank had to step forward and plug the gap in the line.
Fortunately, while many monsters had poured through, they were not among the most powerful.
They attacked relentlessly, shredding the monstrous awl like a meat grinder.
Li Ban did not even need to strike again.
Zhu Yao maintained her spell, holding back rather than fully opening her halo as Priest Dong Yi had.
Her method of using the Spatial Guidance Art to attack differed from Priest Dong Yi's.
Priest Dong Yi needed to throw monsters into the halo, whereas Zhu Yao had to maneuver the halo to catch them.
Having drilled this exact maneuver several times, Priest Lang Jiao immediately rushed into the inner battlefield, stopping less than ten meters from Zhu Yao.
Dozens of transparent chains erupted from his body, dragging the tumor monster along as he ran toward Zhu Yao.
But the monsters here were not fools; they possessed a powerful survival instinct that those outside lacked.
As Lang Jiao dragged it, it seemed to sense the danger. Its bound body split into several chunks directly along the transparent chains.
It was different from the previous monster that could split into a chrysanthemum shape.
Even when that monster split into a thousand pieces, its parts remained slightly connected.
The tumor monster entangled with Priest Lang Jiao split cleanly into several chunks, with not a single shred of flesh connecting them.
Bizarrely, after using this self-division to escape Priest Lang Jiao's bindings, its severed pieces fused back together on their own.
Even its draped black Priest robes merged back together, albeit looking much more tattered.
"Need help?" Priest Li He asked Priest Lang Jiao via a mind art, though he clearly had no intention of stepping forward from afar.
"Of course I do!"
Priest Lang Jiao did not stand on ceremony with Li He. Even though he clearly had other methods and was in no immediate danger, he outright demanded his help.
A cold sneer touched Li He's face. He raised a hand, commanding the five Priests beside him to unleash highly pressurized shockwaves of air at the tumor monster in unison.
The transparent air pillars merged, forming a solid wall of air that crushed down on the tumor monster.
Unexpectedly, the incredibly resilient tumor monster flattened beneath the wall of air with a loud splat.
Pressed into a pancake, it was sent flying toward Lang Jiao, spraying fine splatters of minced flesh in all directions.
Priest Lang Jiao's eyes narrowed. Rather than celebrating, he vanished from the spot, instantly reappearing behind the tumor monster.
The moment Priest Lang Jiao vanished, the tumor monster—which had appeared to be flying out of control—suddenly came to a dead halt.
"It was faking it!" someone nearby exclaimed.
Li Ban, who had been closely watching the battle, saw it clearly as well.
When struck by the air shockwaves, it had not absorbed the massive kinetic energy at all. Instead, using its bizarre physical structure, it had directly converted a portion of that kinetic energy into potential energy.
It then used the remaining impact energy to launch a sudden sprint, preparing to ambush Lang Jiao.
But Lang Jiao had spotted the discrepancy in an instant and used Shrinking Ground to an Inch to dodge.
However, the two Priests fighting alongside Priest Lang Jiao failed to evade in time and were completely bowled over by the pancake-like tumor monster.
Not just them, but nearby spirit practitioners were also touched by the scattered minced flesh bursting from the tumor monster.
"Ah!"
Half of one Priest's face was splattered with the flesh. That side rapidly swelled into a massive orb, making it look as though he had grown a second head.
Very quickly, his screams stopped, and the hands clutching his face dropped weakly to his sides.
His hands and all ten fingers were covered in tumors, looking absolutely horrific.
The other Priest was slightly luckier; only his right arm and a small part of his shoulder were grazed.
He did not hesitate in the slightest, immediately using the Rending Technique to diagonally slice off his own right shoulder.
The severed limb hovered in the air and rapidly transformed into a new amalgamation of tumors.
The fleshy, pinkish orbs emitted a disgusting squelching sound.
Looking back at the dead Priest, half of his body had already sprouted terrifying flesh tumors. Clearly, he would soon fully turn into a tumor monster.
Seeing this, the other spirit practitioners hastily sliced off their own contaminated parts.
One man got tumor fragments on his neck. He hesitated for a moment and acted too late.
Even though he ultimately gritted his teeth and chopped off his own neck, the tumor had already invaded his brain through the inner muscles.
"Ah—glub glub glub—"
He opened his mouth wide in terror, but halfway through his scream, his tongue—now mutated into a massive tumor amalgamation—stuffed his oral cavity entirely.
Seeing this from close by, Li Ban immediately unleashed the Rending Technique, cleaving the man's brain in two and giving him a swift death.
By now, relying on its potent infectiousness, the tumor monster had shaken off all its enemies and was directly facing Zhu Yao, who controlled the halo.
Earlier, it had been bound, so it struggled to escape. But now that it was free, it chose to first eliminate Zhu Yao, an existence that made it feel threatened.
Although the situation was not exactly what they had envisioned, the enemy had at least appeared within the halo's range.
Paying no mind to her own safety, Zhu Yao fully opened the halo according to plan.
Splash!
A wildly fierce pillar of water blasted out from the halo!
The water pillar was a full ten meters long and a meter wide.
The water possessed a peculiar cohesive force, preventing it from scattering despite being sprayed into the air.
It remained tightly bundled together, forming a bizarre backflow at the far end.
It looked just like a colossal pillar constructed from flowing water.
Only then did the tumor monster realize Zhu Yao was hiding such a formidable attack.
It instantly shattered into pieces.
But the massive water flow still enveloped the vast majority of its shattered fragments.
Under the tense gazes of everyone keeping their distance, the fragments wrapped in the water instantly transformed into flat, two-dimensional graphics. They lost all their combat prowess and the infectious abilities they relied on.
"Nice!" Li Ban punched the air, exclaiming in excitement.
Before their official operation, they had naturally had Zhu Yao cast the art to channel the water from Heaven Beyond Heaven, confirming beforehand that it would turn the monsters into harmless graphic blocks.
But just a moment ago, everyone's hearts had still been in their throats, unsure if the tumor monster's terrifying infectiousness would continue spreading even in the water.
Now they could be certain. Even a mighty 8th Tier monster from the Sea of Monsters was completely helpless against the water of Heaven Beyond Heaven.
That was the mighty power of rules from a Great Wizard!
Joy bloomed in Zhu Yao's heart as well, but her brows remained tightly knit. Exerting all her strength, she slowly shifted the halo, sweeping the water pillar across the remaining tumor fragments hanging in midair.
Li Ban noticed a tiny tumor fragment stealthily inching closer to the spirit practitioner's brain he had just cleaved apart.
That half-brain and the rest of the corpse had completely turned into an amalgamation of tumors, quietly levitating in the air.
But when the tumor fragment drew near, the two hovering tumors snapped over with a swish, like iron drawn to a magnet.
The three fragments merged together, rapidly changing shape. Astonishingly, a brand-new tumor monster appeared.
It was still draped in the now-even-more-tattered black Priest robes.
"The tumor monster's main consciousness is over there!" Li Ban immediately warned Zhu Yao.
The latter was currently busy using the heavenly water pillar to sweep up the other large tumor fragments.
"This monster's brain sure is small," Zhu Yao grumbled helplessly as she struggled to shift the halo in the opposite direction.
By this time, the reformed tumor monster was rapidly assaulting Zhu Yao from the flank.
At this moment, everyone else was keeping more than twenty meters away from Zhu Yao to avoid the heavenly water pillar.
Only Li Ban and the two Priests responsible for protecting her were still hidden behind her.
Seeing the tumor monster closing in before Zhu Yao could redirect the water pillar, Li Ban charged straight forward.
"Careful!"
Several voices warned him from behind, but Li Ban was not meeting the enemy recklessly.
Having just seen Priest Lang Jiao evade the tumor monster's pounce, an idea had already formed in his mind.
He rapidly cast the Flash Freeze Technique.
A blue-white beam of light struck the shrunken tumor monster, instantly coating it in a layer of frost.
Li Ban did not even pause to check the results. He directly used Shrinking Ground to an Inch to teleport behind the tumor monster.
However, unlike Priest Lang Jiao, who had retreated to the rear and stayed away, the moment Li Ban appeared behind the tumor monster, he spun around and cast the Flash Freeze Technique once again.
Right after, he flashed to yet another direction, continuing to unleash the Flash Freeze Technique.
The tumor monster, which had originally intended to attack Zhu Yao, was immediately drawn away by Li Ban.
The spots on its body hit by the Flash Freeze Technique had already formed a thin layer of solid ice.
Unfortunately, as an 8th Tier monster, its physical body was extremely resilient.
Li Ban's Flash Freeze Technique could only freeze a portion of its limbs; it could not rapidly spread throughout its whole body and freeze the tumor monster completely.
Seemingly enraged, the tumor monster ruthlessly tore off a large chunk of its own tumorous flesh and hurled it at Li Ban.
However, Li Ban never stayed in one spot for more than a single second. After casting the freezing technique, he relocated once again.
After his third blink, he discovered that Priest Lang Jiao had unexpectedly appeared beside Zhu Yao, casting the Flash Freeze Technique in coordination with him.
Priest Lang Jiao was truly worthy of being an 8th Tier Priest. Both the speed and the sheer solidity of his Flash Freeze Technique were entirely beyond what Li Ban could currently achieve.
Massive chunks of ice began appearing on the tumor monster's body, significantly hindering its movements.
Realizing it could not catch Li Ban anytime soon, the tumor monster simply gave up on him. The unfrozen portions of its body once again split into several pieces, all of them pouncing toward Zhu Yao.
Right at that moment, blue-white beams of light unexpectedly shot out from all directions, precisely striking each and every tumor fragment.
As it turned out, upon seeing Li Ban's tactics, Priest Li He had once again mobilized ten Priests, shifting them to surround the monster. Then, seizing the moment the monster divided itself, they swiftly unleashed the Flash Freeze Technique.
Because the monster's volume was significantly reduced after dividing, and with one or two Priests handling every single fragment, the collective bombardment of Flash Freeze Techniques completely froze every piece of the divided monster solid!
As for the finer, dust-like fragments, there was no need to worry; the monster's brain could not possibly hide inside such minuscule specks.
By this time, Zhu Yao had finally turned her halo around. She steered the water pillar to wash over all the frozen monster fragments, transforming every last one of them into graphic blocks of varying sizes.
Li Ban watched as the leftover fine tumor fragments hovering in the air suddenly lost their vitality.
"The tumor monster's brain got swept up by the water!"
However, Li Ban knew full well that this was far from over.
If Zhu Yao closed the halo right now, the water pillar left within the Sea of Monsters would instantly lose the unique power of rules from Heaven Beyond Heaven, reverting to ordinary water.
The tumor monster forcefully turned into graphics inside it would also revert to its true form in the blink of an eye.
Thankfully, they had prepared a countermeasure for this as well.
The Priests fighting on the front lines received an order and opened up a gap.
Completely unaware of what had just happened, a horde of ordinary monsters surged right through that gap.
Yet what greeted them was the colossal pillar of water controlled by Zhu Yao!
After effortlessly resolving over a dozen monsters, Zhu Yao, her forehead soaked in sweat, shouted, "Priest Dong Yi!"
Yet, it was Priest Li He's voice that echoed in Zhu Yao's mind. "Zhu Yao, can you hold on a little longer?"
The effectiveness of using the power of rules from Heaven Beyond Heaven against the mighty beasts of the Sea of Monsters was far better than they had anticipated. Priest Li He could not bear to let Zhu Yao stop her spell so soon.
But casting the Spatial Guidance Art while sustaining and moving the halo had already drained massive amounts of Zhu Yao's spiritual rhinoceros and mental energy.
Her spiritual rhinoceros reserves were still passable, but her mental energy was truly on the verge of overdraft.
Zhu Yao glanced at Li Ban from the corner of her eye, gritted her teeth, and held on for another three seconds.
Suddenly, Li Ban's figure vanished. He appeared directly beside Priest Dong Yi, grabbed his arm, and vanished again.
By the time the two reappeared, they were already standing at the very end of the heavenly water pillar.
Without Li Ban needing to explain, Priest Dong Yi already understood his intent. He immediately unleashed the Spatial Guidance Art once more.
Having stayed entirely out of combat just now to desperately recover his energy, he was barely capable of casting the Spatial Guidance Art.
Before long, he swiftly and skillfully deployed the halo leading to the White Strait once again.
This halo was different from the one he had cast earlier.
Earlier, to ensure the monsters could be smoothly thrown into the White Strait, the halo's diameter had been a full three meters wide.
This time, however, he only manifested a one-meter-diameter halo—exactly the same size as the one Zhu Yao had opened.
This halo also led to the White Strait. It would act like a scabbard, completely sheathing the heavenly water pillar that Zhu Yao controlled, simultaneously taking the opportunity to dump the monster graphics trapped inside into the deepest depths of the White Strait.
Casting the halo for a second time in such a short period, Priest Dong Yi would not be able to hold out for long either.
The front lines sealed shut once more, preventing any more monsters from entering.
Priest Lang Jiao and the others rapidly cleared out the monsters remaining within the inner circle of the defensive line.
Free from any interference, Priest Dong Yi moved quickly with the halo in his hands.
The mental energy he had just managed to recover was rapidly depleted once more, sending a wave of intense dizziness washing through his brain.
Yet, looking at Zhu Yao as she desperately held on, Priest Dong Yi gritted his teeth and accelerated his pace once more.
In less than two seconds, the two halos practically overlapped.
The colossal pillar of heavenly water vanished completely from everyone's sight.
Zhu Yao instantly terminated her spell, and Priest Dong Yi quickly followed suit.
The two of them collapsed almost simultaneously.
Zhu Yao was caught by Li Ban, who had appeared behind her in a flash, while Priest Dong Yi had his arms propped up by his two guards.
Far in the distance, Priest Li He apathetically withdrew his gaze. His voice echoed in their minds.
"You two could have held out for at least another five seconds."
He said nothing else, simply turning to rush toward the front lines to fight.
Priest Lang Jiao suddenly appeared beside Li Ban, a smile on his face. "Got scolded, huh? Hurry up and curse him back. Li He, you dog, aren't you also holding back all the time? Taking down one 8th Tier monster and you still had to call on a dozen subordinates? Pah!"
Li Ban remained expressionless.
If Priest Lang Jiao had not directly blinked to hide in the rear after luring the tumor monster in front of Zhu Yao just now, Li Ban might have been willing to chime in and agree with him.
But looking at it now—heh, they were all old foxes.