Chapter 869: Cut Off Their Tails

Retreating into the tunnel was surely useless, but there was no better option. After all, they couldn’t just charge out and plunge straight into the encirclement of thousands of magical beasts.
The eight members of Zholi’s and Haus’s teams were the first to retreat into the tunnel. At this point, they had no time to be wary of each other. The space inside the tunnel was narrow, forcing everyone to stand shoulder to shoulder or face to face.
Zholi’s group was still discussing who would dig and who would defend, aiming to hold on as long as possible. No matter how desperate the situation, they couldn’t give up on themselves…
Although Su Che and the others also retreated into the tunnel, they had no intention of going to the back to dig—that would be pointless. It was better to think of other solutions.
Tian Yin said, “I can try to use sound waves as weapons to cut off those magical beasts’ tails. If we sever their connection to the ground, we might be able to kill them easily.”
“We can give it a try.”
Su Che nodded lightly, though he didn’t hold much hope.
Originally, the tiger-patterned monster had targeted Tian Yin because it believed her sound-wave ability was unpredictable and uniquely powerful, possibly capable of cutting off a magical beast’s tail.
Manzi had the same suspicion, but no one dared be certain that this method would work.
Based on the experiences of countless travelers who had fought against magical beasts, these beasts cared deeply about their tails and protected them fiercely. Everyone knew that this must be their greatest weakness, but no one had ever heard of anyone actually cutting off a beast’s tail.
Nor did anyone know what would happen after cutting it off.
There was no time for further discussion. A few of the nearest magical beasts had already entered the tunnel entrance. Moreover, Su Che and the others could hear faint strange noises coming from the soil around them. Clearly, more magical beasts were breaking through the soil and approaching from all directions.
The magical beasts were connected to Devil Island and could move freely above and below ground at great speed.
Most strangely, their tails disappeared into the soil. No matter how they moved, those tails left no trace on the surface, as if they were mere illusions.
At that moment, Tian Yin had already launched her sound-wave attack. However, aside from her, no one else could sense the spread of the sound waves.
Tian Yin’s lips trembled slightly, and her expression remained unchanged from before. But Su Che, who knew her best, could intuit that at this moment, she must be exerting all her strength, pushing her ability to its absolute limit.

Invisible sound waves spread out, locking onto their targets one by one. Like a gentle breeze, they circled around the tails of the several magical beasts charging into the tunnel. Unaware of anything, these beasts roared with their mouths full of sharp teeth, getting closer and closer. Su Che, Lao He, and the others closest to them were fully focused and highly tense, ready for battle. Suddenly! Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh… At the front end of each beast’s tail, closest to its buttocks, a circular ring made entirely of sound wave energy appeared. Several rows of sharp serrations inside the ring tightly gripped their tails, immediately starting to spin rapidly while tightening inward. This crushing rotational cutting force was, of course, the most concentrated and direct—even the shaft of the Demon-Slaying Spear could cut through it in just over ten breaths. In theory, it was similar to a high-pressure water gun that could pierce steel. Softness could overcome hardness. “Ahh…” Seeming to feel intense pain, the beasts immediately did the same thing: they turned around simultaneously, trying to crush the serrated rings on their tails with their mouths. But the problem was that Tian Yin had chosen very clever attack points—right at the area closest to the buttocks. For beasts with short bodies, even if they folded themselves completely, it was difficult to reach that spot. If the attack were aimed at the end of the tail, closer to the ground, they could usually reach it with just a turn. In this regard, these beasts were far inferior to humans, who had longer arms and much more flexible upper limbs—almost everyone could easily slap their own buttocks, as long as they weren’t overly obese. Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh… Taking advantage of this moment, the serrated rings spun at high speed, cutting frantically. Tian Yin’s body trembled as well, clearly exerting all her strength, pushing her divine powers to their limit. This showed just how tough these beasts’ tails were—comparable to the Chaos Spiritual Treasures. Cutting them off might indeed be possible, but even the sharpest serrations in the world would need time to cut through an iron rod. “Attack!” Su Che shouted, sending mental messages to Man Zhi, Zhuo Li, and the others. Those who could fight should do so together, attacking these beasts and harassing them to buy time, allowing Tian Yin to gradually cut off their tails.

Manzi was the fastest. Immediately, two oddly shaped characters pierced into the foreheads of two of the monsters, ready to use his most skilled soul control technique to take control of them before attacking the others.
Lao Hei and Xiao Hei, the two close-combat warriors, also charged forward fearlessly, each choosing a monster and unleashing punches, kicks, and battle axes at them.
Zhuo Li and the other traveler also used their own methods to attack a monster each. In this way, all eight monsters that rushed into the tunnel were dealt with, leaving Su Che without a target for now, allowing him to stand by and protect Tian Yin.
Ahow!
One of the longer-bodied monsters folded its body almost in half, almost able to bite its own tail, but it was struck hard in the stomach by Lao Hei’s kick.
Bang!
Its body instantly straightened like a spring. Before it could react, Lao Hei delivered a fierce punch right to the center of its forehead.
The monster’s head was covered in sharp spikes, looking terrifying, but Lao Hei, confident in the strength of his fists, paid no attention to them.
That punch actually broke several of the spikes on its head. With a thud, the monster’s front legs gave way under such force, and it collapsed to the ground.
“Brute! I’ll beat you into submission!”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang…
Lao Hei pounced and unleashed hundreds of punches in an instant, all hitting the monster’s head accurately, almost crushing it into the ground.
The soil beneath their feet was incredibly hard due to gravity, showing just how fierce Lao Hei’s strength was.
Yet even so, Su Che, as an observer, could see that the monster hadn’t suffered much damage. The hardness of its head was hardly inferior to that of Lao Hei’s puppet body.
Indeed, countless Chaos Travelers had explored Devil Island many times and faced attacks from monsters countless times, yet no one had ever truly killed one. On Devil Island, they seemed completely immortal.
Many speculated that as long as their tails weren’t severed and they remained connected to Devil Island, they couldn’t be killed.
Xiao Hei’s battle axe strikes were just as fierce as Lao Hei’s, but again, they didn’t cause much damage to the monster. At most, they only severed a few spikes and knocked off a few scale-like surface layers.
Zhuo Li and the other person were in the same situation, able only to distract the monsters to prevent them from turning around and crushing the serrated rings created by Tian Yin.

For now, this is enough. Everyone’s hope of survival rests on Tianyin’s ability to use sonic waves to sever the tails of the magical beasts and create a miracle for them. Speaking of which, Manzi deserves the most credit—she managed to control two of the beasts while attacking the other two. With her tiny frame, she managed to withstand four of them. In terms of this skill, she is undoubtedly the best among all the travelers. It’s just unclear why, with such abilities, teams like Zhuoli and Haus didn’t do everything possible to recruit her, instead becoming those she sees as “untrustworthy.” There must be a reason, but at this critical moment, it no longer matters. Right now, time seems to pass incredibly slowly—one breath, two breaths, three breaths… Just a short span of ten or so breaths feels longer than thousands of years. “It’s cut!” “It’s really cut!” “Great! Keep pushing—success is just around the corner.” Behind Su Che, Haus and the others, who were also prepared for battle, all saw that the skins of the eight beasts’ tails had been sliced by the sonic saw, with several rows of teeth already embedded inside. The hardest part was just this outer layer of skin. Generally speaking, it’s well-known that the strongest defense lies in the outermost layer. For ordinary beings who haven’t practiced cultivation, bones are surely the hardest part of their bodies. But in the world of cultivation, it’s exactly the opposite—the outermost protective layer has the strongest defensive effect. So, it seems that those beast tails, as thick as arms, will be cut in just another ten or so breaths! Haus and the others were greatly surprised, as if they saw a glimmer of hope for survival. They weren’t idle either; they didn’t deliberately stand by, because more magical beasts would surely break through the soil and rush into the tunnel from all directions. So, without anyone giving orders, everyone knew they had to work together to protect Tianyin and the two people digging the tunnel behind them. Only by doing so could they carve out a path to survival amidst death. Of course, some people continued to curse Su Che in their hearts: At first, instead of breaking through the ice layer from above to escape, he insisted on jumping into that pit and diving into the lair of the magical beasts. Now, he’s desperately digging to get back. What is this? This is pure stupidity! Su Che’s ears grew hot, as if he could sense someone constantly cursing him viciously in his mind.

In response, Su Che could only stop overthinking and paying attention to it. To this day, he still stubbornly insists: the path to survival isn’t behind us; it’s definitely, absolutely right ahead!
Not only for survival, but I also want to obtain the Hunli Purple Crystal Fruits that can enhance my cultivation strength. One isn’t enough—I need two, three…
I must move forward!
Chirp chirp chirp chirp…
A few more agonizingly slow moments passed, and the sharp teeth of the sound wave ring had already cut off half of those magical beasts’ tails. It seemed that the first victory was within reach.
But then, with a rustling sound, dust fell from the tunnel walls.
Nearly twenty of those ugly and ferocious magical beasts’ huge heads emerged from various locations and directions in the soil. They pushed aside the dirt and rocks, ready to burst into the tunnel in an instant and launch a frenzied attack on Tianyin and everyone else.
Everyone knew this was just the beginning—more magical beasts would keep coming in, filling the entire tunnel…