He had barely agreed to Chao Lu when a phantom figure suddenly materialized beside him.
Li Ban and the helper sent by Priest Yu Hai immediately cast the Spatial Oscillation Technique.
The spatial ripples instantly interrupted the black liquid monster mid-teleport.
It let out a muffled groan, snapping back to its original position as its body shattered into pieces.
Its wounds revealed no red flesh, only a black, semi-congealed liquid. The moment the pieces scattered, they began pulling back together.
Priest Lang Jiao seized the opening, instantly unleashing the Flash Freeze Technique.
His subordinates immediately followed up by casting a reverse Protection Spell, isolating every individual chunk of the black liquid monster.
For the moment, they had the black liquid monster contained.
Elsewhere, Priest Li He and his group had just pulverized the headless Priest, shoving its mangled remains into the stomachs of several big-mouthed monsters.
With only a few stray fragments left outside, the headless Priest finally stopped moving entirely.
Meanwhile, Zhu Yao and Priest Dong Yi had regrouped and were jointly casting the Spatial Guidance Art.
Before entering the Sea of Monsters, they had practiced this joint casting several times.
Although their rest had been brief, they could barely manage to cast it successfully.
"Priest Dong Yi?" As his junior, Zhu Yao asked for his opinion, since he was far more proficient with the spell.
Dong Yi did not hesitate. "Heaven Beyond Heaven."
"Alright."
They half-closed their eyes in unison, rapidly shifting their intent.
Priest Dong Yi considered that Zhu Yao had spent most of her time practicing the Spatial Guidance Art to connect to Heaven Beyond Heaven; if they hastily tried to link to the White Strait right now, the spell would likely fail.
It was better for him to assist Zhu Yao in connecting to Heaven Beyond Heaven.
He was more proficient with the spell, and he had been to Heaven Beyond Heaven and understood the conditions there, giving them a greater chance of success.
This cast of the Spatial Guidance Art was likely their final move in this operation. They absolutely could not fail!
Zhu Yao was naturally more confident in connecting to Heaven Beyond Heaven as well. However, considering that Priest Dong Yi would not be able to "sheathe the blade" for her this time, she made a slight alteration to her shifting intent.
Instead of connecting upward, she connected downward.
Once the halo opened, Priest Lang Jiao and the others just needed to send the black liquid monster inside. The instant it entered the other side, the laws within the water column would warp it into a block shape; it would no longer be able to use its spiritual rhinoceros, and it would be washed into the peaks, unable to return.
With Zhu Yao and Priest Dong Yi cooperating, and under the protection of Li Ban and the others beside them, they arduously but smoothly opened the halo.
At that same time, Priest Lang Jiao smoothly delivered the frozen black liquid monster to their vicinity.
Having just dealt with the headless Priest, Priest Li He led the others to assault the Flying Shuttle.
But the Flying Shuttle had once again activated a powerful Protection Spell. Although it had not released any new 8th Tier monsters, Priest Li He and his men could not temporarily damage it either.
Knowing that ordinary spells could no longer damage the Flying Shuttle, Li He glanced at Zhu Yao and the others—whose operation was going smoothly and on the verge of success—and fell back three meters, letting the others take the front.
"I am going to cast the Molecular Detonation Art. Draw the Flying Shuttle's attention," he instructed his remaining subordinates via a Mind Art.
The Molecular Detonation Art was no simpler than the Spatial Guidance Art.
The more one understood the enemy and the more adequately one prepared, the greater the damage would be.
Its maximum effect could make the enemy disappear in a physical sense.
Facing a Flying Shuttle that possessed nearly the strength of a Divine Offspring Priest, Li He was not arrogant enough to think he could absolutely obliterate it.
But as long as he could damage it, they would have a chance to pin the Flying Shuttle down and enter the spatial rift it was blocking.
They were a mere ten meters away from success, and a fiery intensity burned in Li He's eyes.
However, the situation on Lang Jiao's end suddenly took a drastic turn!
One of the originally contained chunks of black liquid suddenly dissolved. In the blink of an eye, it broke free from its frozen state, morphed into the shape of a water droplet, and slipped right through the reverse Protection Spell without any resistance!
The guard Priest intercepting in front of Zhu Yao did not even have time to react before the droplet-shaped black liquid shot straight through his skull.
It left an apple-sized hole right through his brain.
Without losing a shred of momentum, the drop of black liquid continued striking toward Zhu Yao.
At the critical moment, Li Ban stepped forward and raised his hand to release a Starlight Domain.
This time, he pushed himself with everything he had. His mind raced into overdrive, and starlight flared like awns in his eyes.
A ray of starlight instantly enveloped Li Ban's vicinity, wrapping the black liquid droplet inside it just inches away.
This time, he finally managed to trap the black liquid in place.
But he could also feel that he would only be able to control it for a second or two.
The Starlight Domain was not a complex spell; Li Ban simultaneously cast a guiding art.
Inside the Starlight Domain, the enemy was weakened and Li Ban's abilities were enhanced. His guiding art smoothly directed the black liquid chunk near the halo.
At this moment, Zhu Yao and Priest Dong Yi—who had not been distracted in the slightest despite facing a life-and-death crisis—had just managed to prop open the halo.
The swirling water currents unique to Heaven Beyond Heaven faintly appeared on the opposite side of the halo.
Sweat beaded on Li Ban's forehead. With a forceful fling, he threw the black chunk into the halo right before it could slip out of control.
After the chunk entered the water droplets, it instantly warped into an irregular quadrilateral and was swept along the current, vanishing from everyone's sight.
But no one was in the mood to cheer right now.
Because there were still four split chunks of the black liquid monster left outside.
Although Priest Lang Jiao had immediately enforced the Flash Freeze Technique and a guiding art to control three of them the moment he noticed one escape, he had still let the last chunk get away.
Upon leaving the reverse protective shield, the last chunk simply vanished.
It was actually capable of independently casting Shrinking Ground to an Inch!
None of them had expected this, so no one had cast the Spatial Oscillation Technique.
It had suddenly vanished, yet it did not immediately reappear in everyone's line of sight.
Everyone's heart pounded in terror; no one dared to underestimate a chunk of that black liquid monster.
Li Ban's brows locked together. Almost the instant the chunk disappeared, he immediately cast an enhanced Starlight Domain.
The enhanced Starlight Domain's range was not large, only able to cover himself, Zhu Yao, and Chao Lu beside him.
At the same time, Priest Lang Jiao moved beside Priest Dong Yi, releasing a barrage of Protection Spells and a Starlight Domain to protect Priest Dong Yi within it.
However, the moment Priest Lang Jiao's starlight descended, Priest Dong Yi suddenly turned his head to stare blankly at him.
Lang Jiao jolted in shock. Without a shred of hesitation, he instantly flashed away.
Just as his figure vanished, Priest Dong Yi's body exploded with a bang!
No one could have anticipated this. Priest Dong Yi—such a powerful camp leader and the person most proficient at the Spatial Guidance Art—had died without a single warning sign!
The explosion of his head did not produce a massive shockwave, but his detonated head was actually pitch-black!
Those black chunks landed on the nearby Priests, instantly corroding gaping holes right through their bodies.
A portion of the chunks also splattered toward Zhu Yao, but their speed slowed down once they entered the Starlight Domain.
Yet Zhu Yao herself had no way to dodge.
With Priest Dong Yi dead, she alone remained to maintain the Spatial Guidance Art. The slightest slip in focus, and the halo would collapse, rendering the spell void.
Li Ban pulled Zhu Yao by the waist, carrying her out of the way of the highly corrosive chunks of minced flesh.
Chao Lu bravely flew in front of Zhu Yao, spreading her jelly-like body to counter the black flesh's corrosiveness with her own.
But her corrosiveness was clearly no match for the enemy's; her body began to melt away bit by bit, as if being roasted by fire.
Seeing that Li Ban had carried Zhu Yao out of the most dangerous zone, Chao Lu drew her body back together and returned to their side.
Only then did Priest Lang Jiao, who had been the first to flee, fly back with an ugly expression.
"To think it flashed straight into Dong Yi's brain! A monster is truly a monster."
Li Ban still had not relaxed his guard. He scanned the surroundings. "I am worried there are still chunks of the black liquid left outside."
The enemy had split into five chunks, and every single one could still cast spells and move independently.
What if it split into seven or eight pieces?
Just now, they had lost track of the final chunk of black liquid.
And since they could not observe the situation inside Priest Dong Yi's head, who could be certain if it was an entire chunk that blew off Priest Dong Yi's head, or only a portion of it?
If there were still leftover chunks, would they flash directly into their brains next?
"Zhu Yao!"
Just as everyone was on alert, Priest Li He called out Zhu Yao's name from his end.
It turned out that while Li Ban and the others were fighting, Priest Li He had finally seized the opportunity to unleash the Molecular Detonation Art.
Unfortunately, the Flying Shuttle's protection was too strong; despite charging the attack for a long time, Priest Li He failed to erase its existence.
But their efforts had not been entirely without effect. Li He successfully shattered the Flying Shuttle's defensive ring, detonating its silver-white metallic hull.
The originally smooth shell of the Flying Shuttle was reduced to resembling charred wood—pitch-black, singed yellow, and covered in cracks.
At the same time, stripped of its protection, the Flying Shuttle was being bombarded by the combined attacks of several other Priests. The hull was being beaten back bit by bit, drawing closer and closer to Zhu Yao.
They were teaming up to throw the nearly five-meter-long Flying Shuttle straight into the halo.
Black liquid appeared in the Flying Shuttle's cylinders once again, though the amount was much less compared to the last time.
"Faster!" Constantly maintaining his attacks, Li He did not even have the time to use his Mind Art, instead barking out loud for his men to pick up the pace. They had to push the entire Flying Shuttle inside before the black liquid could condense into a new Priest monster.
But without Priest Dong Yi's assistance, Zhu Yao was already at her limit trying to maintain the trembling halo alone.
She did not know if she could hold out long enough for Li He to drive the Flying Shuttle over.
She did not even dare to move, terrified that the slightest motion would cause the halo in her hands to completely dissipate.
Just as Zhu Yao felt she was about to break, her entire body suddenly felt lighter, and her mental burden significantly decreased.
Looking up, she saw Li Ban surprisingly standing on the opposite side of the halo. His hands were loosely gripping the halo's outer edge; he had somehow barely managed to cast the Spatial Guidance Art!
Zhu Yao found it somewhat unbelievable, since he had been completely unable to cast it just a short while ago.
Li Ban wanted to tell Zhu Yao that this was his first time successfully casting the Spatial Guidance Art.
He seemed to just be good at sharpening his spear right before battle. Unfortunately, his brain was throbbing agonizingly, and he did not dare break his focus.
With Li Ban stepping in to help maintain it, Zhu Yao could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
She turned her attention back to the gradually approaching Flying Shuttle and forcefully spread her hands apart.
Under her control, the halo expanded from its original one-meter diameter to two meters across.
On the opposite side, Li Ban bared his teeth in strain, but fortunately managed to hold his ground.
Priest Li He was elated when he saw this.
Now there was only one powerful enemy left on the scene. As long as they temporarily transferred the Flying Shuttle away—even if it truly possessed the power of a Divine Offspring Priest and could eventually escape Heaven Beyond Heaven—they would still have ample time to leave the Northern Continent Rift.
Just as the Flying Shuttle was pushed within half a meter of the halo, its front surprisingly assembled into a screen again.
"It seems the only ones who know the Spatial Guidance Art are you few."
Staring at Priest Qian Que's familiar face on the screen, a sudden wave of unease inexplicably flashed through Li Ban's heart.
Had the Flying Shuttle deliberately allowed itself to be driven over? Had it merely been stalling for time instead of fleeing, all just to root out everyone who could cast the Spatial Guidance Art?
Why?
Was it because this spell actually posed a genuine threat to it?
But with the arrow already nocked on the bowstring, none of them could possibly stop now.
"There is no need to try shaking our resolve anymore," snapped Lang Jiao. His expression was dreadful after failing to protect Priest Dong Yi just now. "You are completely out of helpers."
"Is—that—so?" A bizarre smile suddenly appeared on Priest Qian Que's face.
Suddenly, the halo maintained by Zhu Yao and Li Ban violently trembled.
They fought desperately to control their arms, yet they could only watch helplessly as an overwhelming wave of spiritual rhinoceros power warped its shape.
Snap!
The halo was thoroughly warped, twisting from a "0" into an "8."
"Ah!" Zhu Yao cried out, all ten of her fingers curling backward. "Spatial collapse! Li Ban, leave!"
She shouted for Li Ban to leave, but she made no move herself.
Li Ban looked at his own hands, which felt as if they had been crushed under a carriage wheel. He was likewise holding out, not leaving.
The edges of their Spatial Guidance Art were indeed crumbling under the impact, triggering a spatial collapse, but Li Ban could feel that the spatial guidance connection still existed.
He could still hear the sound of Heaven Beyond Heaven's water column swirling.
As long as they persevered, it was not impossible to send the Flying Shuttle through before the space collapsed entirely.
Since the Flying Shuttle had put itself at risk to smoke out all the Priests capable of using the Spatial Guidance Art, they would beat it at its own game and hurl it directly into Heaven Beyond Heaven.
Neither of them chose to give up, actually managing to wrench the "8" back into a "0" bit by bit.
Priest Li He watched Li Ban and Zhu Yao persevere despite the risk of being swept into the spatial collapse, and he nodded in satisfaction.
At this point, other than the Spirit Practitioners and a small number of Priests holding off the monster siege, everyone else had already joined the ranks "escorting" the Flying Shuttle.
But just as the Flying Shuttle was about to enter the halo's bounds, its leaking black liquid violently splattered in all directions.
Because everyone was momentarily distracted, nearly half of the Flying Shuttle's hull was directly shoved into the halo, transforming into a partial teardrop shape right before their eyes.
However, the liquid that flew out of the Flying Shuttle also instantly detonated the heads of three Priests.
The balance of power instantly collapsed.
The Flying Shuttle actually started to slowly reverse, trying to yank itself back out of the halo!
No matter how hard the other Priests pushed to maintain the offensive, they could only slow the Flying Shuttle's retreat, completely unable to stop it.
Li He and Lang Jiao exchanged a glance and simultaneously decided to unleash a final burst, relying on a powerful shockwave to hurl the Flying Shuttle inside.
Just at this moment, Priest Qian Que spoke from the screen once again.
"Li He, Lang Jiao. You only get one chance at this. Have you decided what choice to make?"
Li He, whose face was fraught with ruthlessness, faltered. He abruptly looked over his shoulder, glancing at the Northern Continent Rift behind them.
As if being intentionally manipulated by the Flying Shuttle, there was surprisingly not a single monster around the rift.
Even a Spirit Practitioner could effortlessly fly over and plunge into the rift—
And escape the Recycling Station!