"Ngh?!"
"Aaaaahhhh!"
Xiao Jun screamed, his face distorted.
Li Xue took this chance to push Xiao Jun back and make a complete swing.
Now that his stance was destabilized due to the pain, Xiao Jun ended up getting thrown away and fell to the ground.
"Senior Brother!" The two cultivators witnessed it and rushed to him. Unlike Xiao Jun, they didn't jump upward. That meant they triggered another trap.
The 7-Star Cultivator didn't realize that he just crossed fake ground. The moment he stepped on it, the fake ground crumbled into pieces, revealing a deep hole.
"Wha—" The 7-Star Cultivator had no time to react as his momentum caused his head to hit the wall. His body was in no position to make any reaction that could save him. Ultimately, his body fell into the bottom of the hole.
"Oi?!" The 8-Star Cultivator was perplexed. On the one hand, he had to help Xiao Jun. On the other hand, the other person had just fallen into another trap and needed to be checked.
There wasn't any sound coming from the hole. Just like the first victim, his body was stabbed by numerous spikes, not allowing him to say anything.
The 8-Star Cultivator had no choice but to go forward and help Xiao Jun.
"Li Xue!" The 8-Star Cultivator roared and waved his sword. Spiritual Qi began to envelop his sword, forming a green dim light.
"I am also an 8-Star now!" Li Xue didn't move from her position. She enhanced her sword with the same technique and struck his sword.
A clicking sound echoed. The Spiritual Qi clashed, forming a small gale.
As expected, Li Xue wasn't pushed back at all. The 8-Star Cultivator knew about the trap, so he positioned himself one step away from it before striking Li Xue.
However, Li Xue took advantage of this and retreated from her current position.
Because they didn't want to fall into traps, the 8-Star Cultivator had no choice but to halt his movement and checked Xiao Jun instead. "Are you alright, Senior Brother?!"
"Shut up!" Xiao Jun gritted his teeth and stood up. It was surprisingly far more painful than he expected. So, he had a hard time enduring the pain.
But he wouldn't forgive Li Xue who caused him to endure this level of pain, so he would definitely capture Li Xue and torture her later.
"We'll attack her together."
"Yes." The 8-Star Cultivator nodded with a serious expression. Since Li Xue's cultivation was the same as his, he would be the one stopping Li Xue's movement while Xiao Jun delivered the last blow.
Since the trap in front of them had been identified, the 8-Star Cultivator leaped over the bush while swinging his sword, using that momentum to blow Li Xue away.
Li Xue couldn't help but frown, thinking, 'Hao Yu's traps have been rendered useless. However, it seems that they have taken out all the people except for these two. I should be thankful that I don't need to fight more than these two… Still, I don't think I can win against them.'
Li Xue wondered what she should do in this situation. On the one hand, running would be the safest option. On the other hand, she didn't know the locations of all the traps to take advantage of them.
The only path she knew would be the direction she came from. It had no traps, so it would be safe to lure them out.
'That place will cause them to be wary of the traps. Wait…' Li Xue remembered what Hao Yu told her previously.
"Listen up. To defeat the enemies, you have to take advantage of your terrain. Creating a doubt will hinder one's movement, having a weird terrain will make them hesitant, and having an illusion that there is something will cause them to change their decision. Even if there is nothing, you can control them all you want. Whether you can do it or not, it's entirely up to you."
After remembering that piece of advice, Li Xue couldn't help but smile. 'Even though he is a mortal, there are a lot of things I can learn from him.'
That advice had cleared her doubt. Without hesitation, she jumped toward the direction she came from as though she was trying to run away.
"What?!" Xiao Jun was shocked while the 8-Star Cultivator hurriedly chased after her. "You're not getting away."
The 8-Star Cultivator seemed to be smarter than she originally expected as he actually imitated her movement. If Li Xue was safe after making that movement, he would have too.
This way, the 8-Star Cultivator managed to maintain his close distance. On the other hand, Xiao Jun was a bit skeptical because there might be another trap lying nearby.
'Hm…' Li Xue recalled the advice. 'There is no doubt in his movement because I have shown him that it's alright. In that case…'
All of a sudden, Li Xue made a little jump between two trees like she was avoiding something. She even bent her upper body downward as if there was another wire at head level.
"Wait. There's a trap!" Xiao Jun shouted, warning him.
The 8-Star Cultivator reacted instantly and stopped all his momentum. He wanted to chase after Li Xue, but he didn't know the location of the two wires.
Since it was just a wire, his sword should do the trick. He made a full swing downwards, slashing the illusory wires. He expected that there might be another trap coming out soon, but he was fooled.
There was no movement around him. In other words, there was actually no wire.
"It was…" He realized what was happening. However, that split-second doubt was what Li Xue needed.
After jumping, Li Xue actually turned around using the tree as her cover. When the 8-Star Cultivator slashed the illusory wires, Li Xue had almost completed her turn.
That was why when the 8-Star Cultivator was expecting some traps, instead of the actual traps, Li Xue was the one coming for him.
Xiao Jun hurriedly moved forward, trying to prevent it. Unfortunately, he was too far. "Li Xue!"
The 8-Star Cultivator gritted his teeth. He threw his body to the side while swinging his sword.
Sadly for him, that half-baked swing was what Li Xue needed. She avoided the blade and struck him.
"Aaaaahhhh!" The 8-Star Cultivator screamed in pain. His entire right arm had been cut. If Li Xue's sword was just a bit longer, his neck would follow.
"Tsk." Li Xue clicked her tongue.