The Mist Maze, though miraculous, had clear drawbacks: it could only last for a very short time, and after each use, a period of rest was needed before it could be used again.
"You two go back to the raft and return to the Golden Eagle Alliance immediately." Su Li stared at the two women and Ling Yi.
"If no one stays behind to hold it off, none of us will escape. Once you get away, I'll find a way out myself."
"I'll stay and help you. My Storm Shield can block it for a moment. If we work together, we might be able to kill it." Gong Xiao said calmly, "You saw it just now."
Su Li nodded. "Good. Shuijue, you two leave now. No more hesitation."
Jiang Shuijue saw the Mist Maze rippling violently, on the verge of collapsing. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Fine, I trust you. Ling Yi, let's go."
With that, she turned and swam toward the raft nearby.
Ling Yi shot a deep glance at Gong Xiao, his lips moving slightly as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing and followed Jiang Shuijue away.
The moment they climbed onto the raft, the Mist Maze suddenly collapsed and vanished. The Lion-Scorpion Ember Beast burst out of the water, roaring like a lion, its fury palpable.
First frozen by the Ice Python King's Bite, then trapped in the Mist Maze—it was enraged.
"Go now!" Su Li barked at the people on the raft. Gong Xiao quickly reformed three water shields, protecting herself and Su Li.
The raft crew immediately began paddling, heading into the distance.
On the raft, Wu Feng let out a low growl. With a sweep of his hands, he launched all the remaining giant fireballs he controlled toward the Lion-Scorpion Ember Beast as it emerged from the water.
This was his strongest strike, the maximum number of fireballs he could command.
Ding Longyun, pale from vomiting, opened his mouth wide and suddenly spat out a beam of white light—finally unleashing his "Air Bomb."
The second-form "Air Bomb" had vastly increased power, locking onto the Lion-Scorpion Ember Beast as it shot forward.
The "Air Bomb" and the seventeen or eighteen fireballs reached the Lion-Scorpion Ember Beast almost simultaneously. The rare monster, breaking through the water, let out a roar and spewed Unquenchable Flame from its gaping maw.
This Unquenchable Flame, which could even withstand the Ice Python King's Bite, was terrifying. In an instant, it engulfed Ding Longyun's "Air Bomb" and Wu Feng's seventeen or eighteen giant fireballs.
The Unquenchable Flame incinerated them all, leaving no trace of the explosive power they should have had.
On the raft, Ding Longyun and Wu Feng stared in disbelief, unable to trust their eyes.
The Lion-Scorpion Ember Beast had neutralized their full-force attacks with its Unquenchable Flame, but Su Li saw an opportunity. Activating "Spider Walk" and entering the second form of "Demon Muscle," he unleashed his full power, shooting through the water like a torpedo. With both hands gripping the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword and the Ice Python Sword, he swung with all his might.
In that instant, he had finally caught a glimpse of the Lion-Scorpion Ember Beast's weakness.
The Unquenchable Flame was indeed fearsome. Each burst was nearly as powerful as his "Dragon Rhinoceros Slash" or "Ice Python King's Bite"—if not equal, then infinitely close. In essence, every time it spewed flame, it was like him unleashing a sword technique without limit. Imagine how terrifying such a monster was: like having an infinite, unrestricted sword skill, unstoppable.
But when the Lion-Scorpion Ember Beast unleashed its strongest attack, that was also the only time its weakness was exposed.
In its normal state, the Lion-Scorpion Ember Beast was top-tier in speed, strength, and defense, making it nearly impossible to kill. However, when it spewed the Unquenchable Flame, that changed.
Given the terrifying power of the Unquenchable Flame, even the Lion-Scorpion Ember Beast had to focus entirely to expel it. In that state, it could barely move or defend, making it the only chance to strike.
Unfortunately, most enemies facing the Unquenchable Flame were too busy defending or fleeing to think of attacking at that moment.
Su Li had been intimidated by the flame earlier. But when Wu Feng and Ding Longyun launched their combined attack, and the Lion-Scorpion Ember Beast spewed the Unquenchable Flame again to counter the incoming fireballs and air missile, Su Li watched it burst from the water and crash back down. Suddenly, it clicked: the only chance to kill it was when it was spewing the Unquenchable Flame.
With this realization, Su Li charged from the side in an instant. "Spider Walk" combined with "Demon Muscle" gave him terrifying speed even in water. The Lion-Scorpion Ember Beast, focused on countering the air missile and giant fireballs with its Unquenchable Flame, couldn't change direction to fend off Su Li's attack from the other side.
The Dragon Rhinoceros Sword and Ice Python Sword descended simultaneously toward the beast's massive lion head.
But out of the corner of his eye, Su Li caught a flash of a snake-like black shadow. Sensing danger, he swung the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword in his right hand to the right, intercepting the shadow, while the Ice Python Sword in his left hand continued its deadly arc toward the beast's neck.
The snake-like shadow was the Lion-Scorpion Ember Beast's scorpion tail, tipped with a massive, terrifying hook, dark red in color. It had been kept tucked behind, never used offensively until now. At this moment, the tail hook lashed out like lightning.
Su Li understood: the Lion-Scorpion Ember Beast knew its weakness, so its tail wasn't for attacking but for defense, to prevent enemies from striking while it spewed flame.
All of this happened in a split second. Su Li's Dragon Rhinoceros Sword swept right, clashing with the lightning-fast tail. The impact produced a harsh, leathery sound. Both forces were immense. The hard-shelled tail couldn't withstand the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword's sharpness and snapped under the colossal force, but Su Li, mid-leap, was also sent flying sideways by the tail's blow.
The Ice Python Sword had just bitten into the beast's neck flesh when Su Li, sword and all, was hurled horizontally.
Even in the second form of "Demon Muscle," with monstrous strength in his right hand, his five fingers went numb, and the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword nearly slipped from his grip.
With a splash, Su Li plunged into the water. The Lion-Scorpion Ember Beast opened its gaping maw, roaring in fury. Its tail hook severed, neck wounded, blood streaming—it was utterly enraged. After spewing the Unquenchable Flame, it too crashed heavily into the water, sending up a massive spray.
Once in the water, it opened its maw again and shot flames toward Su Li, who had also fallen in.
Gong Xiao charged from the other side. Raising her left hand, three water shields quickly formed in the water, positioning themselves between Su Li and the Lion-Scorpion Ember Beast to block the incoming Unquenchable Flame.
The Unquenchable Flame struck the three water shields. Though they lasted only a second or two before being burned away, that brief window allowed Su Li, using "Spider Walk," to surge to the surface. He shouted to Gong Xiao, "I'll draw its attention! You attack when you can! When it spews flame, that's the best time to strike!"
Su Li knew that by severing its tail, he had earned its hatred. Compared to Gong Xiao, it would always prioritize him, making him the perfect bait to provoke its Unquenchable Flame.
Gong Xiao was sharp and caught on instantly. She had already seen from Su Li's near-fatal strike how he seized the opportunity.
The Lion-Scorpion Ember Beast burst out of the water again, but this time, instead of spewing flame, it rammed upward with its massive body, aiming to crush Su Li.
Su Li activated "Spider Walk," his feet kicking up water as he accelerated, darting away like an arrow.
The beast missed its charge. With a roar, it twisted its head, opened its maw, and shot Unquenchable Flame at the fleeing Su Li.
The flame shot from its mouth like a dragon of fire, terrifying in both power and speed, covering a vast area of water.
Su Li could have used "Spider Walk" to dive underwater and evade, but to keep the beast's focus, he didn't flee downward. Instead, he turned to face the incoming Unquenchable Flame.
At the same moment, three shields appeared before Su Li—not side by side, but stacked in a line, blocking his front.
Three layers of water shields, each capable of withstanding the Unquenchable Flame for a second or two, bought at least four to five seconds.
"Now!" Su Li roared, thrusting both swords forward, pointing them at the Lion-Scorpion Ember Beast. In the same instant, blinding blue-white electric light erupted from his hands.
The "High-Voltage Electric Shock," which he had learned from killing the Demon-Faced Electric Eel, was finally unleashed.
This leader-level skill was immensely powerful. Su Li had held back, fearing the beast would learn his tactics and become wary. Now, seizing the moment, he unleashed the full force of the "High-Voltage Electric Shock." His hands acted as positive and negative poles, channeling through the swords, breaking through the air, and striking the Lion-Scorpion Ember Beast several meters away.
"ROAR!"
The beast was jolted senseless, its neck mane bristling like a hedgehog.
Though the "High-Voltage Electric Shock" was terrifying, capable of hitting the beast from meters away, Su Li didn't expect it to kill the Lion-Scorpion Ember Beast outright.
After all, this was a level-nine rare beast, far stronger than the eight-level Seven-Star Ghost Shark.
His real intent was to use the "High-Voltage Electric Shock" to immobilize the beast, paralyzing it for a few seconds, creating an opening for Gong Xiao.
Gong Xiao had already charged from the side. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Clapping her hands together, she conjured over a dozen spikes, each wreathed in green flames—a fusion of "Heterogeneous Spike Barrage" and "Toxic Armor Fire."
With a series of sharp whistles, the spikes, imbued with "Toxic Armor Fire," embedded themselves into the Lion-Scorpion Ember Beast's head, face, and gaping maw.