At that very instant, Lin Mu, closest to the Gu, seized the initiative and thrust out his hand without the slightest hesitation!
But in the same moment that he raised his hand, all three experts in the chamber exploded into action at once!
Lin Cang's objective was the clearest of all — the Gu had to stay, and Lin Mu had to stay even more!
His massive hand, hard as iron bone and broad as a fan, swept forward with howling force, reaching straight for Lin Mu's shoulder as he roared:
"Lin Mu! Stop this instant!"
On the other side, Wu Xiang moved as well.
She absolutely could not allow Lin Cang to take Lin Mu under his control, and still less could she bear to watch this Rank 5 Gu fall into another's pocket.
"Hmmmm——!"
The Rank 4 Spider Web Gu unfurled in an instant, blotting out everything!
Countless tough, invisible threads split into two in midair. One portion sliced out like an iron curtain, firmly intercepting Lin Cang's iron hand.
The other portion became a fine, dense net that swept straight toward the Blood Rock Heart Gu in midair!
But of the three, the one who struck most viciously and with the least regard for consequences was Li Mang!
He had already been driven into a corner. Now that the true Rank 5 treasure lay only a short distance away, how could he possibly hold back?
"Die!!!"
Madness blazed in Li Mang's bloodshot eyes. He clenched the already dimmed Bone Spine Scepter in his hand with all his remaining strength—
and the last of the Rank 4 power sealed within the scepter erupted in golden light, forming a pale bone spear that shot straight into the space between Lin Mu and the Blood Rock Heart Gu!
His intent was vicious and straightforward — if Lin Mu died, the Rank 5 Gu would naturally remain behind, and he could still snatch it then!
In that instant, three people who had been guarding against one another struck toward the same prize, and the resulting shockwaves threatened to tear the ruined chamber apart!
But just as Li Mang's attack was about to land—
Wu Xiang's expression changed abruptly.
Lin Cang only meant to capture the man, but Li Mang's strike was genuinely aimed at taking Lin Mu's life!
In that split second, hesitation flickered through Wu Xiang's mind.
It was not that she had never considered abandoning Lin Mu and instead helping Li Mang break through to Rank 4 to fulfill the conditions of her own inheritance.
But right now Lin Cang was watching like a tiger, and Li Mang was already at the end of his strength. The moment Lin Mu died here, the situation would spiral out of control in an instant, and she would lose even the last shred of initiative!
After an instant of hesitation, Wu Xiang gritted her teeth and made her choice.
"Shriiik!"
The half of the spider web that had been sweeping toward the Blood Rock Heart Gu twisted sharply through the air, forming a barrier before Lin Mu and intercepting Li Mang's lethal strike!
"BOOM——!!!"
The spider web twisted violently, forcibly stripping away the greater part of that fatal impact, while Lin Cang's grasping hand was held back by the spider silk on the other side for the briefest of moments!
But even buffered by the Rank 4 spider web, the terrifying residual shockwave that scattered outward still slammed savagely into Lin Mu's chest.
"Pfft!"
A metallic sweetness rose in Lin Mu's throat. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his body sliding backward under the impact.
But it was precisely this opening of less than a breath, bought with a mouthful of blood!
A ruthless light flashed in Lin Mu's eyes. Refusing to retreat, he surged to his feet and lunged forward, his bloodstained right hand shooting out—
and closed firmly around the beating Blood Rock Heart Gu!
The Rank 5 Gu was his!
This Blood Rock Heart Gu had been deliberately left behind by the Black Bone King as a legacy Gu for his successor, and the residual will of its original owner within it had long since been worn away to almost nothing over the endless years.
And after Lin Mu passed the heart-questioning trial just now, that final wisp of remnant will had dispersed of its own accord in concert with the handover of the inheritance.
Thus, the instant Lin Mu grasped it, he needed only to pour a stream of Primeval Essence from his aperture into the Gu—
and the Rank 5 Gu let out a soft cry. Offering no resistance, it cooperated with him as he completed an initial refinement in a single moment!
Even though a long period of slow nurturing and refining would still be required afterward, at the very least, in this moment, he could already forcibly drive it!
And in the instant Lin Mu closed his palm around the Blood Rock Heart Gu, the expressions of Lin Cang, Wu Xiang, and Li Mang all sank at once.
No verbal probing was needed; all three saw through Lin Mu's next intention almost immediately—
This brat meant to run!
Only a moment ago, the three had been fighting to the death, ready to grind one another's bones to dust.
Now, without exchanging a single word, they moved in perfect accord to seal every route Lin Mu could take!
Lin Cang's burly frame sidestepped sharply, iron fists clenched, blocking off the space to the left.
Wu Xiang's fingertips twitched, and the vast invisible spider web wove itself into a wall on the right in an instant, sealing the other path.
And Li Mang, who had already been quietly edging toward the exit, happened at this moment to be standing precisely at the junction between the collapsed fissure of the rear mountain and the passage to the outside.
Both hands braced hard on the Bone Spine Scepter, he stood like a malevolent ghost choosing its prey, nailed firmly in the very center of the only exit!
The three had formed no alliance.
Even now, when their gazes brushed one another from the corners of their eyes, they still carried the grim killing intent to end each other.
But in this moment, they shared one completely identical common interest—
Lin Mu must not be allowed to leave this chamber with the Rank 5 Gu!
Lin Mu, locked at the center by those three auras, did not even need to waste any thought. His gaze merely swept rapidly across the three of them.
Right side, Wu Xiang.
Rank 4 middle stage. She had conserved her strength while the others wore themselves down, and was in the best condition of the three.
No good.
Left side, Lin Cang.
A genuine Rank 4 Gu Master. Even after successive bloody battles and severe wounds, his remaining strength was terrifying.
Also no good.
Finally, Lin Mu's line of sight crossed the vast dust and settled hard on Li Mang, straight ahead.
The most gravely wounded, his blood and qi depleted, and the Bone Spine Scepter in his hand — the very thing sustaining his Rank 4 combat strength — had dimmed to the absolute limit.
And most conveniently of all — he stood precisely in the direction of the exit leading outside!
Lin Mu had no second option at all.
Li Mang was his only chance of escaping this death trap alive!
"It can only be you."
Those words flashed through Lin Mu's heart with great speed, and his gaze turned utterly cold in an instant.
The next moment, without any hesitation, he poured the Primeval Essence in his aperture into the Rank 5 Blood Rock Heart Gu in a frenzy, holding nothing back!
At the same time, the six Rank 3 Gu worms within his aperture stirred into motion, their powers synchronizing with the Rank 5 core in his hand!
Only at this moment did Lin Mu truly feel firsthand what the Black Bone King had meant by "a treasure can save your life, and it can hasten your death"!
Barely a sliver of the Rank 5 Gu's might had been drawn out, yet his reasonably full primeval sea was draining as though the bottom of his aperture had been torn open!
Fifty percent gone!
Seventy percent!
Eighty percent!
In the blink of an eye, his aperture was nearly dry, and Lin Mu's face turned pale as paper!
Then, when the supply of Primeval Essence could no longer keep pace at all with the terrifying devouring speed of the Blood Rock Heart Gu,
an incomparably domineering suction suddenly spread from his palm throughout his entire body, beginning to forcibly draw out the vital blood energy within him!
"Ngh!"
Lin Mu let out a muffled grunt as crimson blood seeped simultaneously from his nostrils, the corners of his mouth, and even the corners of his eyes.
And between his chest cavity and his palm, some violent resonance seemed to arise — his heart gave one extraordinarily heavy, savage beat!
"Thump——!"
Violent blood energy and the thick earth qi beneath his feet truly fused together for the first time under the command of the Rank 5 Blood Rock Heart Gu!
A layer of black and red blood rock, radiating a terrifying aura, spread wildly up the right arm that held the Gu,
and in less than half a breath, it had covered his chest, shoulders, back, and both legs in a seamless shell, turning his entire body into a jagged, ferocious statue of black and red stone!
"Not good! Stop him!"
Lin Cang, standing nearest, was the first to sense that terrifying piercing aura climbing at frightening speed, and roared out sharply on the spot!
At that command, Lin Cang's iron fist, Wu Xiang's spider web, and even Li Mang's bone spikes all came crashing toward Lin Mu at the same moment!
For the first time, the three forces stood completely on the same side in action!
At the exit, Li Mang, who had been ready to finish off his weakened opponent, stared at Lin Mu encased in black and red blood rock and failed at first to understand what he was seeing.
Until—
Encased in heavy blood rock, Lin Mu lowered his body like a siege ram being drawn back, his gaze fixed directly on Li Mang!
Meeting those cold eyes shining out through the gaps in the blood rock, Li Mang's expression finally changed completely!
Because he realized with horror that out of the three people in this chamber, this little bastard had chosen him!
He had been judged the weakest obstacle, the easiest target for a forced escape!
A surge of rage and humiliation at being utterly looked down upon instantly swept away Li Mang's reason.
"You little beast, you dare to look down on this old man?! You're courting death!!!"
Li Mang let out a hysterical roar and abruptly raised the Bone Spine Scepter with both hands, gathering every last remaining shred of his power before him!
And at this moment, the black and red blood rock over Lin Mu's body had fully sealed shut.
The Earth Quaking Gu activated, and the hard bluestone floor beneath his feet shattered into powder with a roar!
The Rank 5 core killer move — Blood Rainbow Pierce!
The next moment, a peerlessly violent black and red rainbow tore through the air and burst straight across the cramped chamber with the terrifying momentum to smash through anything in its path!
Target — Li Mang!