The scene was abruptly thrown into chaos as Alex tumbled onto Wu Lina.
Shen Hong, who had been roused from his stupor, and Xiao Se, who was already alert, instantly swiveled their heads in their direction.
Their gazes, brimming with an indignant flame, bore down on Alex.
Just as the dust settled, Wu Lina, recently jolted awake, found herself in an unfamiliar and rather compromising predicament.
Her face flushed a deep crimson, a mix of mortification and fury coloring her features. With a surge of adrenaline-fueled strength, she shoved the offending figure off her.
Caught unawares, Alex was sent sailing through the air by the force of Wu Lina's shove, the momentum of his fall amplified by her fury.
The harsh impact with the cold, unforgiving ground elicited a wince from him as a fresh wave of pain coursed through his body, mingling with the residual agony of his battle with the shadowclaw in the dreamscape.
In the meantime, Wu Lina had regained her footing, her eyes still blazing with righteous anger.
She directed her wrath towards the figure sprawled on the floor, her finger trembling as she jabbed it in his direction, her words seething with fury. "You!... You!! How dare you!" she practically spat out.
Alex, still wincing from the pain, felt a spark of anger ignited within him at her words.
Sitting up defiantly, he retorted, "How dare me? I was just..." His words were cut short by a high-pitched shriek that sliced through the tense atmosphere, signaling the bats' approach.
"Wake the others up, now!" Wu Lina's command cut through the tension like a sword, clear and sharp. "We are under attack!"
"Of course, I know we are under attack, I knew that before you even did," Alex grumbled in response, rolling his eyes at her obvious statement.
He then pushed himself off the ground and dashed towards Chen Wei, who was the next closest person.
"Smack!" Alex's palm landed heavily on Chen Wei's cheek, but the latter remained blissfully unaware of the looming chaos, a content smile gracing his features.
Alex couldn't help but let out a dry chuckle. "This fool is busy dreaming about Wu Lina while we're out here battling Qi beasts in the dreamscape."
"Smack!" "Smack!!" "Smack!!!" "Smack!!!!" Alex's palm connected with Chen Wei's cheek repeatedly, yet the latter remained undisturbed.
At this point, Alex was convinced that Chen Wei was indeed lost in the dreams of Wu Lina.
With a sigh of resignation, Alex gathered a bit of his cultivation strength for the next smack. He raised his hand high in the air, his eyes narrowed in determination. "If this doesn't wake him up, he might as well be dead," he mused to himself.
His hand, now imbued with his cultivation strength, descended with a force that sent shockwaves through the air. "SMACK!!!!" The sound echoed throughout the area, momentarily drowning out the shrill cries of the bats before gradually fading away.
The abrupt, resonating crash of a smack echoed through the battlefield, causing an instant cessation of all ongoing battles.
The sound of the slap was like a divine thunderclap, breaking through the din of the ongoing fight, startling everyone into momentary stillness.
Alex could sense curious eyes piercing towards his direction, their gazes lingering upon him like a scorching sun.
He turned around, his eyes meeting with those of Xiao Se, Shen Hong, Wu Lina, and even an inner sect disciple whose name he didn't know, who had just managed to break free from the dreamscape.
Their faces were a canvas of shock and disbelief as if the slap had shattered their understanding of the world.
Suddenly, a gut-wrenching scream of agony pierced through the eerie silence.
Alex's eyes darted toward the source of the sound. It was Chen Wei, blood trickling down from the corner of his mouth, his face contorted with pain.
A wry smile played on Alex's lips, "It seems that my method of waking him was effective, albeit a bit too forceful." He mused, his voice echoing the faintest hint of regret.
"Welcome back," Alex greeted Chen Wei, his tone laced with an underlying sarcasm.
He swiftly turned to evade the seething gaze that Chen Wei shot him, instead directing his attention towards Zhang Jie, who was still caught in the illusions of the dreamscape.
As Alex reached Zhang Jie, he raised his hand, delivering a gentle smack to his cheek.
Unlike his harsh treatment of the others, Alex bore no ill feelings towards Zhang Jie.
As if jolted awake by divine command, Zhang Jie immediately rose, a furious expression adorning his face.
But before he had the chance to utter a word, Alex's voice thundered out a warning, his tone urgent and commanding, "We are under attack, grab your weapon!"
No sooner had the words left his lips than the air was filled with the eerie shrieking of hundreds of bats.
Alex turned to look at the approaching horde. Each bat was as large as an adult human's head, its eyes glowing with an eerie light. The sight was as horrifying as it was mesmerizing.
Suddenly, Wu Lina let out a piercing scream, "These are Soulweavers, do not lock gazes with them!" Her voice echoed with a chilling urgency.
No sooner had her warning rung out than the swarm of Soulweavers swooped down upon them.
Shen Hong, with a swift and practiced motion, unsheathed his bow and began to fire.
His bow was devoid of any physical arrows, instead, it was shooting arrows made of pure winds.
Cultivators, upon reaching the cultivation level of an elite warrior, gained control over one element - fire, wind, water, lightning, and others.
This allowed them to practice martial techniques and utilize their elements in battles, escalating their fighting prowess to extraordinary levels.
Wu Lina, her hands grasping a pair of short swords, joined Shen Hong in the fight against the swarm of Soulweavers.
The Soulweavers, consisting mostly of low and middle-staged lesser Qi beasts, were no match for their combined prowess as their numbers continued to dwindle with each passing moment.