"Qing Tong, you thief..."

Long Chong cursed angrily but did not have time to counterattack. He struggled to control his body that had been flung away.

Yet the hit from the other party was somehow strange; a kind of insidious power entered his body, making the circulation of his mana sluggish, and for a moment, he couldn't control his own body. He could only watch helplessly as he hurtled toward a Magma Fire Column.

What was worse, a Fire Crocodile suddenly emerged from within the Magma Fire Column with a splash, seemingly swept up by the underground magma and utterly panicked.

Seeing Long Chong crashing toward it, the Fire Crocodile opened its gaping maw and bit towards his waist.

The two were extremely close, and with Long Chong's mana disobedient, it seemed he would be bitten in half.

At the critical moment, a streak of cold light flew out from his body—it was Long Chong's Winter Flood Dragon Spirit Beast rushing out, placing itself in front of him.

"Han'er, move away!" Long Chong saw this and shouted anxiously.

However, the Winter Flood Dragon, focused on protecting its master, did not hesitate and crashed into the Fire Crocodile.

The Fire Crocodile's massive jaws snapped shut, sharp crocodile teeth piercing through the Winter Flood Dragon's scales and fiercely biting into its neck.

Shattered scales, accompanied by blue blood, splattered; the Winter Flood Dragon let out a piercing scream, yet it did not dodge and clutched the Fire Crocodile's body with its powerful claws, holding it fast to prevent it from harming its master behind it.

The cold aura emanating from the Winter Flood Dragon clashed with the heat from the magma, causing large swathes of vapor to rise.

The next moment, Long Chong's body collided with the Winter Flood Dragon's, finally stopping his momentum and he immediately leaped to the rescue.

He stepped on the back of the Winter Flood Dragon and, regardless of the sluggish mana, forcefully spurred his spear, stabbing at the Fire Crocodile's head.

Alas, his mana was restricted at the moment, and the skin of the Fire Crocodile was particularly tough; the spear only pierced through a few scales, hardly causing much damage.

In pain, the Fire Crocodile rolled, biting and pulling the Winter Flood Dragon towards the Magma Fire Column.

The body of the Winter Flood Dragon was half-dipped into the scorching magma, its fine scales immediately turning red-hot.

Just as the dragon was about to be completely submerged by the Magma Fire Column, a flash of lightning burst from the mist.

Amidst the "crackle and buzz" of electric current, the figures of Yuan Ming and Lei Yu appeared.

Lei Yu unleashed his Thunder Strike Divine Ability, a thick bolt of lightning striking the Fire Crocodile's head.

Bright arcs spread and danced over the crocodile's body. The creature convulsed, and its mouth that was clamped on the Winter Flood Dragon instantly loosened.

Long Chong was overjoyed and swiftly pulled the Winter Flood Dragon, flying away to a distance.

Yuan Ming flicked his finger, sending a streak of white cold light at the Fire Crocodile.

With a "crack" sound, the body of the Fire Crocodile froze into an ice lolly.

Yuan Ming shook his hand and shot out a stream of Blood Light, wrapping around the Fire Crocodile and pulling it into the Shura Blood Devouring Map. He then rode on Lei Yu, quickly catching up with Long Chong.

Qiong Yun had just arrived in time, summoning his Thunder Flood Dragon Spirit Beast, carrying Long Chong and fleeing outward.

The Winter Flood Dragon Spirit Beast was nowhere to be seen, apparently having been taken into its Spiritual Beast Bag.

"Brother Yuan, you're unharmed? That's great!" Qiong Yun, seeing Yuan Ming, showed a relieved expression.

"Barely escaped with my life. This place is not safe; let's get out first," said Yuan Ming, controlling Lei Yu to fly forward.

"Brother Yuan, I cannot thank you enough for your great kindness. Did you see Qing Tong on your way here?" Long Chong clasped his hands towards Yuan Ming and spoke through gritted teeth.

"No, he vanished immediately after the sneak attack on you; he wouldn't possibly be lingering nearby," replied Yuan Ming, shaking his head.

"That scoundrel, I will never let him off the hook!" Long Chong's eyes were bloodshot, like a furious beast, he uttered with hatred.

As they spoke, the three of them sped away, the erupting volcano behind them grew smaller and smaller, and they soon arrived at a safe area.

The crowd that had escaped ahead of them was there, except for Tu Sheng, all were present, including Wulu.

Seeing the three of them arrive and that Yuan Ming was among them, the crowd had varying expressions, most of them joyous.

Yuan Ming had quite a few Earth Core Fire Lotuses on him, and his survival meant an increase to everyone's gains.

"Qing Tong! Come out and face your death!" A thunderous roar erupted, disrupting everyone's thoughts.

Long Chong, his face twisted with rage, morphed into one with his spear, turning into a blue streak of light, lunging directly at Qing Tong in the crowd.

After regaining his breath, the sense of sluggishness in his body had disappeared, leaving only a burning rage to be vented.

Qing Tong, fearless, drew a pair of black swords from his hands, making a cross-cut.

A loud clang of metal striking metal echoed!

The spear and the swords clashed, then separated, causing a strong wind to blow, making several people nearby stagger back.

"Stop it, you two! Fellow Daoists have just fought side by side, why is this happening?" Daoist Qian Bao frowned and asked.

"What's this? If you want to fight, take it elsewhere!"

"The two of you might as well settle life and death directly, once and for all. Don't waste our time," one commented.

The others, eager to divide the Earth Core Fire Lotus, also looked at Long Chong with displeasure.

"Long Chong, don't be impulsive. Tell us what happened to you; I believe everyone will give you justice," said Qiong Yun, stepping forward and giving Long Chong a tug.

Upon hearing this, the others realized that there was more to the story and became curious.

Long Chong took a deep breath, calmed down, and looked around. "Fellow Daoists, before we cooperated to retrieve the treasure, we agreed that no one shall attack a companion during the cooperation period. Otherwise, the offender shall be treated as a traitor, expelled, and must return all the treasures obtained in the secret realm. Do you all remember this?"

"Indeed, we did agree to this," Daoist Qian Bao nodded.

"Just now, when the Magma Lake erupted, and everyone was fleeing, this scoundrel took advantage of my distraction and suddenly attacked me, almost causing me to die at the jaws of the Fire Crocodile. Tell me, shouldn't I kill him?" Long Chong suppressed his anger and pointed at Qing Tong as he questioned the crowd.

Upon hearing that, everyone's expressions changed.

It was already made clear that no one should attack a companion. Would Qing Tong really take such a great risk and harm Long Chong?

"You say I ambushed you, so I ambushed you? Baseless accusations, fabricating lies—I could also claim that you ambushed me!" Qing Tong, certain that during the previous chaos, everyone was too focused on saving themselves to notice anything here, scoffed.

After that, he looked Long Chong up and down and said, "He claims I ambushed him. Look at him—does he have the slightest sign of being attacked?"

Upon hearing this, everyone examined Long Chong closely, displaying hesitant expressions.

Although Long Chong indeed looked disheveled before, he did not seem to have any injuries, and his appearance seemed intact, not at all like someone who had been ambushed.

Long Chong's eyes flared with greater fury as he slapped his Spiritual Beast Bag at his waist and brought out his spirit pet, the Winter Flood Dragon.

"I wasn't injured because my loyal spirit pet protected its master and took all the injuries for me," Long Chong declared indignantly.

People around looked at the ground, only to see that half of the scales on the Winter Flood Dragon were already off, its body severely burned, with several appalling bloody holes on its neck, blackened and charred.

"These injuries are not light…" Daoist Qian Bao frowned.

East Sea cultivators highly valued their spirit beasts; it was unlikely Long Chong would use his own spirit pet to stage such defamatory theatrics.

"Fellow Daoist Long, this is the Cold Dew Jade Skin Powder produced by my Golden Turtle Island, which can reduce some of the pain for your spirit pet and also aid its recovery. Use some on it," Daoist Qian Bao took out a White Jade Porcelain Bottle and handed it to Long Chong.

"Thank you, Daoist Qian Bao." Long Chong was not bashful, took the Jade Bottle, and applied the blue ointment inside to the Winter Flood Dragon's wounds.

The wounds on the Winter Flood Dragon immediately emitted a blue glow, forming a thin blue membrane that covered the wounds, radiating silken strands of coldness, greatly alleviating its pain.

Long Chong's face showed joy, and he thanked Daoist Qian Bao once again.

"Fellow Daoist Long, your spirit beast is indeed gravely injured, and I do sympathize. However, sympathy aside, you cannot use your spirit beast to garner sympathy and blame me. If you don't have solid evidence, I can only consider your words as slander," Qing Tong said, feeling inwardly delighted to see the Winter Flood Dragon's severe injury but claiming otherwise with his mouth.

"You thief..." In a surge of rage, Long Chong was about to curse vehemently.

"Fellow Daoist Long, what Fellow Daoist Qing Tong said is not entirely without reason. To accuse him of an ambush, you still need direct evidence; otherwise, it will be difficult for everyone to administer justice for you," Huan Ling Zi said.

Upon these words, the rest looked toward Long Chong, waiting for him to present more evidence.

Long Chong was momentarily at a loss for words. The anomaly on his body had disappeared and couldn't serve as evidence against Qing Tong. Additionally, since no one witnessed the event, he indeed lacked substantial evidence.

Seeing him speechless, Qing Tong's smile began to grow more insolent.

"See for yourselves, everyone? Long Chong has no evidence because he is simply slandering me, trying to strip me of my right to divide the Earth Core Fire Lotus and coveting the treasures I obtained from the secret realm. Such behavior is utterly despicable. I suggest depriving him of his right to the Fire Lotus distribution!" Qing Tong advocated arrogantly.

"If it is indeed false accusation, such a request doesn't seem excessive," Huan Ling Zi stroked his chin, feigning contemplation.

"To slander a fellow daoist is no different from dark treachery. He should also hand over the treasures obtained from the secret realm and share them with the rest," Hou Santong said with disdain, his voice booming.

"Indeed..."

"That's right..."

Hearing they might gain additional loot, the rest responded eagerly.

"I too believe what you are saying is utterly correct," just then, Yuan Ming's voice suddenly rang out.

Upon hearing this, Long Chong looked incredulously towards Yuan Ming.

Qiong Yun was also shocked, while only Wulu remained serene, even with a slight smirk on his lips.

He knew Yuan Ming too well; that demeanor of his usually meant he was about to stir up trouble.

"However..." Yuan Ming paused, drawing all eyes to him.

"If I produce evidence, should Fellow Daoist Qing Tong also pay the appropriate price? Hand over the treasures, lose the qualifications, expel him from the team, and no one else shall ally with him anymore?" Yuan Ming asked slowly and methodically.

"Of course," everyone agreed, given the previous discussion, they didn't mind the escalation of the proposed punishment.

"If Fellow Daoist Yuan has evidence, then please present it, and we will deal with it impartially," said Daoist Qian Bao.

Qing Tong, seeing Yuan Ming's confident tone, felt an unreasonable tightness in his heart, sensing that something was amiss.

As Huan Ling Zi watched this, his expression hardly changed, but he watched Yuan Ming intently without blinking.

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