Liu Xing stared in horror at the gigantic yellow eye looking down at them. The pale white giant had always seemed like a distant threat, and its slow, lumbering movements had made him almost dismiss it. He knew he had to stop it from becoming complete, but his focus had been on Wei Yi, not the giant itself. That thinking was technically correct—Wei Yi was controlling the eye—but he had been wrong to underestimate the giant. He had to reassess the situation, and fast.

The eye stared down with blatant mockery, as if Wei Yi had already won. Though his hands and feet trembled, Liu Xing gritted his teeth and met its gaze. He would not back down. It was strong, but it was still a Lock Opening abomination. There was still a chance, however small, to win.

"Yang Suyin, remember what I told you," Liu Xing said, his voice tight. "There's a chance that we won't be able to stay together. When that time comes, I expect you to make the right moves."

"I understand," Yang Suyin replied. "I'll probably die before making a difference, but I will take an opportunity if it presents itself."

The mouth below the eye gaped open as if in a silent scream. Several hundred red balls of energy formed in front of it, condensing the surrounding qi into tight, compressed balls. The sheer power of the balls warped the air around them, making them feel like black holes with their own gravity.

Yang Suyin gulped beside him. Liu Xing gripped his gun and stone blade, his knuckles white.

The red balls blazed brighter until, as if a switch had been flipped, each one erupted into a pillar of condensed qi, shooting toward them like lasers. From a distance, the beams looked like a torrent of red thread converging into a single, massive attack meant to shred them to pieces.

"Incoming!" Yang Suyin shouted, turning his body into a streak of yellow light and zipping away.

Liu Xing cycled more qi into his Lightning Cloak Technique and tried to dodge, but then he saw a single gap in the torrent of lasers. It had to be intentional. Lihuo was still below, and Wei Yi wouldn't want to shred his own prize.

Liu Xing summoned his shield and leaped toward the opening. A few lasers grazed his left shoulder, searing his flesh, but he made it to safety. Standing on his shield, he felt his heart pound as the attacks blazed past him. It was as if he were standing on top of a train hurtling through a bright red tunnel. A strong air current buffeted him, and he planted his feet firmly on the shield.

For several moments, he stood there, wind rushing and red light flashing around him. Wei Yi had left a gap for Lihuo, and he could use that. Dismissing his shield, he spun his body, careful not to touch the searing energy, and dropped like a man falling into a deep, bright red well.

A moment later, the red light vanished, and the world snapped back into view. His gaze locked on Lihuo, who lay on a small island of earth in the middle of a massive crater between the giant's feet. Realizing the attack had ended, Liu Xing resummoned his shield and kicked it, accelerating his fall toward Lihuo.

Currently, he was exposed. And so, he knew Wei Yi would attack again. Gripping his stone blade, he poured potent qi into it until it shone with a purple light, draining his Ethereal Pearl to less than half its capacity. Then, with a powerful shout, he swung his stone blade down, intending to send a crescent of purple qi to slice Lihuo apart. But before he could unleash it, something yellow flashed in his peripheral vision. He snapped his head to the left and came eye to eye with the giant yellow eye. It was sliding down the pale white giant's skin like an elevator, descending toward Lihuo.

Liu Xing's eyes widened as it slid along the giant's right foot. The eye and the mouth could move, and they were faster than him!

As the eye passed him, it looked down and its mouth began to open, extending a long, tentacle-like tongue to fish Lihuo up from the ground. Upon seeing this, Liu Xing gritted his teeth and kicked his shield, accelerating faster and faster, trying to catch up to Wei Yi. He might catch up to the eye with a bit more time, but it was already below the giant's knee, its tentacle tongue having a long reach.

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He was too slow.

His body moved before his mind could process it. He swung his stone blade, but not at Lihuo. He changed his target to the eye—or rather, to where it would be. The crescent purple qi shot forward like a jet, a whistle trailing behind it. The yellow eye saw the attack and stopped short. A smart move. A moment later, the purple energy slammed into the giant's foot several meters away from it, exploding in a flash of purple light.

Though it missed, the attack served its purpose. It had stopped Wei Yi's descent. Ignoring the explosion, Liu Xing dove toward Lihuo, where the giant tentacle was conveniently in his path. Less than a fraction of a second later, he swung his blade again, severing the tongue as if it were an annoying branch. Before the severed tentacle could fall, he accelerated again, landing just centimeters from the worm that had swallowed Lihuo.

Liu Xing took a wide stance, lowering his center of gravity, and brandished his stone blade as he looked up at the yellow eye, now positioned on the giant's foot. He pressed his lips into a thin line, his eyes burning with a defiant challenge.

The yellow eye pulsed with anger, and the mouth below it let out a furious roar. It opened as wide as possible, launching hundreds of tentacles that descended on Liu Xing. They covered the sky, their shadows blanketing the ground for hundreds of meters around him. To any observer, it would have looked like Liu Xing was protecting the worm from the tentacles, when in reality, the opposite was true.

"Come at me!"

As he shouted, Liu Xing flared his qi, and the lightning surrounding him blazed, making him shine like a blue star in the night. The first tentacle arrived, and the fight began anew.

He slashed his stone blade, splitting the first tentacle in two. He threw his gun into the air, where it hovered and began blasting Exploding Fist bullets, shredding the appendages and making it rain red blood and pieces of flesh. With his blade, he flung crescents of purple qi, severing dozens of giant tentacles in a single swoop. But more came and relentlessly tried to bypass him and reach Lihuo.

For a full minute, he unleashed everything he had. Crescents of purple qi and rapid-fire bullets filled the air. His invisible gun fired relentlessly, the blue bolts seeming to erupt from thin air. The severed tentacles and bits of flesh piled high around him, walling him in like the rim of a volcano.

His hands were a blur, his eyes tracked every incoming attack, and his concentration was fixed on keeping his gun firing. He couldn't spare a single second to deal with Lihuo. Luckily, he wasn't alone. Reinforcements arrived to do what he could not.

Yang Suyin arrived behind him as a streak of yellow light.

A ferocious smile blossomed on Liu Xing's lips. He glanced at the giant yellow eye; it narrowed, and he could feel Wei Yi's undisguised frustration radiating in the air.

"Destroy it!" Liu Xing said to Yang Suyin.

Yang Suyin nodded.

While Liu Xing relentlessly parried and destroyed the tentacles, Yang Suyin stood before the worm sack and extended both hands. Qi accumulated not at his palms, but directly over the worm. It swirled, and a fireball ignited, swallowing the worm and Lihuo. The sphere of fire rotated, and the heat was so intense it felt like standing too close to a bonfire. He knew instinctively this wasn't an explosive fire, but one that would incinerate everything it touched. Hopefully, it could turn a Sun Refining abomination to ash.

Wei Yi screeched again, and the rain of tentacles doubled. Liu Xing's hands blurred, matching the increased intensity.

Yang Suyin fire finally receded. The worm had turned to dust, but Lihuo, though slightly charred, remained intact.

"Damn, your body is too tough," Yang Suyin said. "But let's see if you can handle this!"

Yang Suyin lit Lihuo's body on fire again. This time, a blue bonfire engulfed the body, burning so brightly that Liu Xing felt a shearing pain on his back. But once again, after the fire receded, it only charred Lihuo's body slightly.

"Try something else!" Liu Xing shouted.

Yang Suyin nodded and slashed at Lihuo's neck as hard as he could.

A sharp ping echoed as the blade struck, leaving no mark.

"Dammit! I'm not going to give up!" Yang Suyin said. "You're a piece of trash, Lihuo. I'll channel all my hatred and destroy your body!"

"Hurry!" Liu Xing shouted.

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