Both Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing were visibly stunned.
They had known Zhao Ming's martial spirit was unusual and that his spirit rings were extraordinary, but they hadn't expected his spirit ability to manifest in such a way.
A puppet martial spiritโwas this what a puppet truly was?
However, after their brief hesitation, the two quickly regained focus.
Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing continued their assault on Zhao Wuji, but by this point, Zhao Wuji's full attention was fixed on the Medusa Queen.
She was the only one among them who could pose any real threat to him. Though he was holding back in his attacks, the pressure she exerted was considerable.
The battle continued.
It was clear that Zhao Wuji had grown serious now.
With Medusa Queen drawing the majority of Zhao Wuji's focus, Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing found it easier to launch their supporting attacks from behind.
Even though their strikes weren't enough to cause significant damage, the pain Zhao Wuji felt was undeniably real.
"Roar!" Deciding he could no longer stay on the defensive, Zhao Wuji unleashed his first spirit skill.
A powerful golden light erupted in an instant. Zhu Zhuqing, who was in the middle of her Ghost Shadow Claw attack, was sent flying, a pained cry escaping her lips. The powerful shockwave knocked Xiao Wu backward, sending her spiraling through the air.
Zhao Ming reacted quickly, planting his feet and catching both girls by the waist before they hit the ground.
Feeling the softness of Zhu Zhuqing's waist, Zhao Ming's mind couldn't help but wander. The combined fragrances of the two different girls filled his senses, making the moment all the more intoxicating.
Held in Zhao Ming's embrace, Zhu Zhuqing's face turned red, and Zhao Ming could feel her body stiffen. However, she didn't resist too much.
Who would have thought Zhao Ming would end up in this situation, holding two beauties at once?
But, seriously, wasn't this a bit too fast?
After softly landing on the ground, Zhao Ming reluctantly let go of Zhu Zhuqing.
"You two should rest for now. With Zhao Wuji using his spirit abilities, you're no match for him," Zhao Ming said, quickly grabbing the girls' hands when he saw they intended to rejoin the battle.
"But..." Zhu Zhuqing hesitated, her gaze falling on the incense stick. It had only burned halfway.
"Leave the rest to me," Zhao Ming replied calmly.
What had happened so far was just a warm-up. Now, the real fight was beginning.
With Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing out of the way, he could finally let loose.
After all, his puppets had no emotions, and if they accidentally hurt the girls, things could turn ugly.
"Medusa Queen, unleash your strongest attack," Zhao Ming commanded.
It wouldn't do to keep dragging things out. No matter how vast his spirit power reserve was, prolonged battles could exhaust him.
Upon hearing Zhao Ming's command, the Medusa Queen paused her assault on Zhao Wuji.
She gathered her strength, forming a strange hand seal.
In the center of this seal, countless beams of light shot out, so bright that it was hard to look directly at them.
A strange roar echoed from the light, and moments later, the blinding brilliance intensified.
Reflexively, everyone's eyes shut tight in response to the dazzling light.
When they reopened their eyes, they were greeted by a shocking sight: a 12-meter-long purple serpent floated in midair.
It flicked its forked tongue, its pale violet eyes radiating a savage, predatory aura.
The Medusa Queen's true form was the Purple Nether Flame Serpent, a creature that had gained part of the power of the Green Lotus Core Flame, eventually evolving into the Seven-Colored Sky-Devouring Python. This was only the first stage of its transformation.
Zhao Wuji was left speechless. He had no idea what kind of creature Zhao Ming had summoned. A humanoid snake woman was one thing, but now she had fully transformed into a giant serpent. Could she also transform back into a human?
Before Zhao Wuji had time to think further, he channeled his spirit power to defend himself.
"Boom!" The Medusa Queen lashed out with her tail, striking Zhao Wuji hard.
Zhao Wuji staggered back slightly. He felt the immense force from the blow and couldn't help but show a trace of surprise in his eyes. The strength of that attack was nearing the level of a Spirit King.
Realizing he couldn't hold back anymore, Zhao Wuji activated his second spirit ring. His hands instantly grew larger and more robust.
"Great Strength Vajra Palm!" He controlled his power carefully, delivering a forceful palm strike that sent the Medusa Queen retreating.
Seizing the opportunity, Zhao Wuji charged towards Zhao Ming and the others.
Zhao Wuji knew that only Zhao Ming and Ning Rongrong posed any real threat to him. As for the serpent, it was merely a puppet Zhao Ming had summoned. Defeating Zhao Ming would bring an end to everything.
In mere moments, Zhao Wuji closed the distance between himself and the group. His palm sliced through the air, aiming straight for Ning Rongrong.
Zhao Ming's expression remained calm as he swiftly pulled Ning Rongrong behind him. At the same time, his second spirit ring lit up. Up until now, he had only summoned the Medusa Queen as his puppet.
But he had another trump card: Tu Shan Yaya.
Compared to the Medusa Queen, who was still maturing, Tu Shan Yaya was someone who had already reached the pinnacle of power in her world.
"Shit." Just as Zhao Ming was preparing to summon Tu Shan Yaya, Zhao Wuji's hand abruptly shifted direction, aiming straight for Zhao Ming instead.
"Damn, old man, you're sneaky!" Zhao Ming's expression darkened as he saw the malicious glint in Zhao Wuji's eyes.
"This battle ends now," Zhao Wuji said with a smirk.
Without waiting for a reply, his palm came crashing down on Zhao Ming, leaving him no time to react.
"Do you really think it's that easy to take me down?" Zhao Ming snorted. He released Ning Rongrong and focused his spirit power, channeling it into his arms to block the incoming blow.
Zhao Ming's body had been strengthened by the Ancient Undying Phoenix martial soul, and further tempered by the Ice and Fire refinement during his absorption of the Skydream Iceworm's soul ring. His physical resilience far surpassed that of an ordinary Spirit Elder.
As soon as Zhao Wuji's hand made contact with Zhao Ming, he felt an unexpected resistance. Surprised, a smile crept across his face. Increasing the force of his attack, he sent Zhao Ming flying back.
Zhao Ming shot backward at a rapid pace.
---
๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐จ๐จ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐จ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐จ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ ๐ข๐ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ช๐ง๐ฃ๐๐ฎ. ๐๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ช๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ ๐ข๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐!
๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ธ๐ ๐๐ผ:
โข ๐ฝ๐ค๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐๐จ๐๐ช
โข ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ
โข ๐ผ๐๐ข๐๐ง๐๐๐๐
โข ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฏ ๐ ๐ผ๐ฒ๐ฒ
๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป, ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ป๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ:
โข ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐: ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ด๐ฑ+ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ก๐จ๐.
โข ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐๐-๐ข๐๐: ๐๐๐๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐จ๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐จ ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐จ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ!
๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐บ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ๐ ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐. ๐๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐'๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐, ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ท๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐!
๐ ๐ ๐ค๐๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ: ๐๐๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ค๐ฃ.๐๐ค๐ข/๐๐ค๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ง