A Fantasy Love Story Across the Warring States Period

Chapter 373: Survival on Vines, Unknown Crisis

Like a black torrent, the dragon swam swiftly towards the boulder where Huanmo and the others were. Its massive body churned up towering waves in the river, and its roar made the surrounding air vibrate. Huanmo gripped the boulder tightly; the force of the rushing water made his arm muscles tense, and he could feel the powerful tearing force of the current on every inch of his skin. He watched the rapidly approaching dragon, his heart filled with anxiety, thinking to himself, "If it gets close, we'll all be buried at the bottom of the river. We must find a way to stop it!"

Yi Chen clung tightly to the boulder, his wounds stinging in the river water, but he gritted his teeth and endured the pain, his eyes fixed on the dragon with unwavering resolve. "I can't let it defeat me like this! I must find a chance to fight back!" he vowed silently, while desperately searching for a solution. He knew everyone was exhausted, and defeating the dragon would be no easy feat, but for survival, for passing the test, he had to give it his all.

The woman in white was ashen-faced, her hair soaked through the river and clung to her face. Fear overwhelmed her like a tidal wave; her body trembled uncontrollably, yet she clung tightly to the boulder, her eyes filled with a desperate yearning for life. "We can survive..." she told herself, but the approaching dragon filled her with despair.

The mysterious figure frowned, watching the dragon and quickly analyzing the situation. "The dragon is agile in the water, and we can't exert our full strength on this boulder. We must find a way to lure it ashore; perhaps there's still a glimmer of hope." As he spoke, he began to gather his spiritual power, preparing to launch an attack.

Just as the dragon was about to reach the boulder, the mysterious figure swiftly formed hand seals, and a golden rune flew from his hands, shooting towards the dragon. The rune shone brightly in mid-air and struck the dragon's body. Hit by the rune, the dragon let out an angry roar, its body pausing slightly, but it quickly resumed its charge towards the boulder.

Seeing this, Huanmo raised his divine weapon, and a beam of light shot out from it, attempting to disrupt the dragon's movements. The light struck the dragon's scales, sending sparks flying, but to the dragon, it seemed to be a negligible attack. Yichen swung his broken spear, its tip gleaming with a faint blue light, and thrust it towards the dragon. However, in the swift current, his attack seemed somewhat powerless, and the dragon easily dodged it.

The woman in white was not to be outdone. She waved her tattered ribbon, which swayed in the river as she tried to entangle the dragon's body. But as soon as the ribbon got close to the dragon, it was torn to shreds by its scales.

The dragon broke through the group's attacks and reached the boulder. It opened its blood-red maw and lunged at the boulder. Huanmo and the others quickly dodged, and cracks appeared on the boulder under the dragon's bite.

"This won't do! We need to think of a more effective way!" Huanmo shouted. His mind raced. Suddenly, he noticed a faint glow flickering on the spot on the dragon's body where the mysterious figure's runes had struck it. An idea struck him, and he said, "Everyone, focus your attacks on the spot where the runes hit it! That might be its weak point!"

Upon hearing this, everyone launched attacks on the specific part of the dragon's body. Huanmo channeled the power of his divine artifact, condensing light into a sharp sword, which he thrust towards the dragon's weak point. Yichen also exerted all his strength, swinging his broken spear, its tip gleaming with its last rays, as he pierced towards the dragon. The mysterious figure formed hand seals once more, and several golden runes flew towards the dragon.

Under the combined attack of the group, wounds began to appear on the parts of the dragon's body struck by the runes, and black blood flowed from the wounds. The dragon let out a painful roar, and its body began to writhe violently, creating even larger waves in the river.

Taking advantage of the dragon's painful struggle, Huanmo said, "Let's take this opportunity to retrieve the vines!" Everyone nodded and swam towards the shore. However, the dragon seemed to sense their intentions; enduring its injuries, it chased after them.

Huanmo and the others swam desperately in the river. Their strength was completely exhausted, but the will to survive gave them their last burst of power. Finally, they reached the shore and grabbed onto the vines.

"Quick, use the vines to cross the river!" Huanmo shouted. The group tied one end of the vine to a large tree on the bank and then climbed up the vine towards the other side.

Just as they were halfway up, the dragon caught up. It stretched out its enormous claws and reached for the vines. The vines, gripped by the dragon's claws, began to shake violently. Huanmo and the others teetered precariously on the vines, in danger of falling at any moment.

"Everyone, hold on tight to the vines! Don't fall!" Huanmo shouted. He clung tightly to the vines, his heart filled with worry. If the dragon broke the vines, they would all fall back into the river, and facing its attack, they would likely have little chance of survival.

Yi Chen gritted his teeth and said, "This beast, I'll teach you a lesson!" He drew his broken spear and thrust it towards the dragon's claws. The dragon cried out in pain and released its grip. Huan Mo and the others took the opportunity to continue climbing towards the opposite bank.

However, the dragon had no intention of letting them off easily. It roared again, opening its blood-red maw, and a jet of black flame shot towards the group. Huanmo, seeing the flames approaching, was alarmed and shouted, "Everyone, be careful!"

Everyone hurriedly dodged, but the flames were too wide, and some still splashed onto them. Huanmo felt a sharp pain; his arm was burned. The woman in white and Yichen also suffered injuries of varying degrees. The mysterious figure used all its spiritual power to create a weak shield around them, resisting the flames.

"Don't stop, we're almost on the other side!" the mysterious figure shouted. Despite their injuries, the group continued crawling towards the opposite bank.

Finally, before the flames died down, they managed to climb to the other side. Huanmo and the others collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, their hearts filled with the relief of surviving a disaster.

"We...we finally made it," Yichen said weakly.

Huanmo looked at his wounds, then at the dragon on the opposite bank, and knew they were still in danger. He slowly stood up and walked towards the large tree that was shimmering with light.

As he approached the tree, he discovered the faint light emanating from an exquisite box hanging on a branch. Huanmo reached out, took the box, and opened it to find a key inside emitting a strange glow.

"Could this be the key to passing the second test?" Huanmo asked.

Just then, the surrounding forest suddenly fell silent, and an eerie atmosphere permeated the air. Huanmo and the others cautiously looked around, wondering what danger might befall them next.

Suddenly, countless black birds surged out from all directions, their eyes flashing red light, and swooped down on Huanmo and the others.