"Seventh Spirit Ability, Martial Soul True Body!"
A resounding cry erupted from the seven Guardian Douluo.
The seven dark spirit rings blazed, elevating their already terrifying aura to new heights.
Tang San's gaze sharpened, thinking, "Here it comes." Purple-gold light suddenly shot from his eyes, merging with the colorful radiance emanating from Ning Rongrong's forehead. Together, they formed a dazzling aurora that caught the seven Guardian Douluo by surprise, their vision blurring as they were plunged into a world of misty light!
The Purple Demon Eye's power, combined with the Illusory Space of the Wisdom Skull!
His Sixth Spirit Ability, "Body of Illusion Breaking," could shatter all illusions and domain-type abilities. Hai Wang Douluo had not anticipated Tang San launching a mental attack immediately. Blindsided by the Purple Demon Eye's piercing light, he, along with the other Saint Pillar Douluo, fell into a brief three-second stun.
Three seconds. In a battlefield of ever-changing dynamics, three seconds were enough to alter many things.
Within fractions of a second, including Tang San, they had all unhesitatingly consumed the six Mirror Sausages and six Excitation Pink Sausages that Oscar had prepared earlier.
These Mirror Sausages were made with Bai Chenxiang's blood as the catalyst.
As a pure agility-type spirit master, her Swift-tailed Swallow spirit, the fastest of its kind, was far quicker than Oscar's third spirit ability, the Whimsical Mushroom Sausage.
Even though Bai Chenxiang's spirit power had only just broken through to Spirit Emperor and she hadn't yet reached Spirit Sage to obtain her Martial Soul True Body, her first three spirit abilities were all acceleration-based. While not as impossibly fast as the trace-less speed of Martial Soul True Body, she was still incredibly swift. Even a Titled Douluo would take time to catch up, let alone on an island like Seagod Island, with its complex, densely vegetated terrain.
Thus, under Bai Chenxiang's excited gaze, and even drawing a hint of surprise from Bo Saixi, a pair of faintly glowing white wings materialized behind the seven monsters. A clear cry echoed, and they split into six, transforming into six streaks of white afterimages, like ethereal mist rising from the mountains. Before the three seconds of stun coupled with the two seconds of the Illusory Space ended, Bai Chenxiang unleashed her first six spirit abilities, darting off in six different directions. In the blink of an eye, they vanished from sight.
The Swift-tailed Swallow's fourth spirit ability was Evasion, the fifth was Shadow Leap, and the sixth was Interference and Detection Waves.
With absolute speed, the Swift-tailed Swallow spirit crossed the Ring Sea in moments, traveling a hundred meters or even further.
The sky was vast, allowing birds to fly freely. Even though some of the seven Saint Pillar Guardian Douluo possessed mental power strong enough to encompass the entire Seagod Mountain, and the strongest among them, Hai Long Douluo, could sense even further, the Interference and Detection Waves of the sixth spirit ability rendered his mental power unable to lock onto the seven monsters escaping in different directions. He couldn't even discern which direction each person was heading.
Thanks to Ning Rongrong's instantaneous release of the Illusory Space, while it couldn't disrupt their sense of direction, it did create a hallucinatory effect on their vision, preventing them from clearly seeing who was running in which direction.
Of the thirty-six stratagems, fleeing was the best.
Although the assessment had changed to challenging the seven Saint Pillar Guardian Douluo, Tang Sui couldn't help but sigh at how effective this strategy remained, no matter the situation.
The seven Saint Pillar Guardian Douluo did not possess Bo Saixi's domain-like power that could directly transform water into form.
They could only pursue.
But who would pursue whom was truly a game of chance.
They had analyzed this thoroughly beforehand.
To truly defeat a Saint Pillar Douluo in a one-on-one fight would undoubtedly be difficult.
However, if the objective was not to attack or defend, but merely to escape, that was an entirely different story.
The seven Guardian Douluo, who found themselves facing an empty scene upon regaining their senses, fell into a brief silence.
They had activated their Martial Soul True Bodies, but most of them provided enhancements to their attacks or defense. None of them offered acceleration.
It was like showing embroidery to a blind man, a wasted effort.
"Tsk, a bunch of little rascals. Using this tactic to waste time," Hai Long Douluo clicked his tongue and looked at his colleagues. "I couldn't see clearly who was who or which way they ran. Just pick one. I'll take this one. You guys choose freely."
With that, Hai Long Douluo soared into the air, a crystal-blue sea dragon roaring as it sped off in one direction.
"Hmm, there are six of them, so that's an extra choice. Then I'll follow Hai Mao," Hai Nü Douluo said, observing the situation.
Hai Mao Douluo did not refuse. His Sea Spear spirit, combined with Hai Nü Douluo's expertise in mental sonic attacks, would indeed be a significant advantage in capturing Tang San and the others.
Every assessment was to be taken seriously, and Hai Mao Douluo did not hesitate for long before randomly choosing a direction and flying away.
Hai Nü Douluo, her long fish tail swaying as if she had returned to the sea, followed in pursuit.
The remaining four Saint Pillar Douluo also randomly selected a direction.
Bai Chenxiang and Zhu Zhuqing, seeing this, tensed their nerves, their hearts filled with worry.
Although they hadn't clearly seen who was running in which direction, during their planning sessions, they had all been aware of each other's chosen directions. If they were truly caught, it would result in a mandatory one-on-one duel.
They hadn't been idle these past few days. They had traversed the entire Seagod Island for reconnaissance and even spent a day observing the sea spirit masters on the island.
Why observe the sea spirit masters?
That was Tang Sui's idea.
She patted Zhu Zhuqing and Bai Chenxiang's shoulders, a slight smile playing on her lips. "Relax, everything is within the plan."
The real game of hide-and-seek was about to begin.
As time ticked by, the answers to the blind draws were gradually revealed.
Ma Hongjun, with his typically lucky disposition, was chosen by Hai Long Douluo.
By this time, the first stick of incense had nearly burned out, entering the time of the second stick.
Ma Hongjun desperately fled, intentionally or unintentionally leading Hai Long Douluo towards the denser, more heavily vegetated forest. He then unexpectedly encountered Dai Mubai, who had been randomly assigned Hai Wang Douluo. The two of them directly swapped their pursuers.
Hai Long Douluo, his vision still dazed from the Purple Demon Eye's second attack, sneered at Tang San, who had now become his target. His fighting spirit soared, showing no inclination to reclaim his original prey.
This was not only due to his trust in his colleagues but also his confidence in his own strength.
No matter who they pursued, as long as they caught someone and that person admitted defeat, the sixth trial would be concluded.
When the second stick of incense was halfway burned, Tang San found himself face-to-face with Hai Mao Douluo and Hai Nü Douluo.
Tang San, benefiting from a "scrying prevention" buff, had a natural advantage against Hai Nü Douluo. Combined with his hidden weapons and poisons, and utilizing his two domains along with the effects of his own Martial Soul True Body, he defeated the two Douluo.
Looking at the two heavily wounded Guardian Douluo, Tang San gazed into the distance. Instead of continuing to flee, he calculated the time and headed towards the pre-arranged destination they had decided upon: if they couldn't hold out, they would lead their pursuers to a specific area.