### Chapter 103: Cave Opportunities (Sixteen)
"Kill!"
A voice like 寒冰 (ice) cut through the air. The horde of demons, led by fiends, surged forward, their fangs glinting, their "嘎嘎" laughter sending chills down the cultivators' spines.
Li, the succubus, smirked at the Core Formation nun. With a flick of his foot, he 腾跃 (leapt) into the air, leaving a trail of afterimages. When he reappeared, he stood at the head of the demon horde, his green eyes 闪烁 (glinting) with malice.
"We're doomed," Ji Li whimpered, trembling. "All of us…"
"Demons! They're all demons!" a Qi Refinement cultivator shrieked, driven to madness.
"I'm going to die…" another muttered, his face ashen.
The 139 cultivators froze, surrounded. Even the Core Formation nun looked 震惊 (stunned). Breaking the array hadn't freed them—it had dropped them into a 陷阱 (trap). Demons packed the chamber, with over a dozen fiends commanding them. Beyond them stood a 墓碑 (tombstone)—where Li had sat earlier.
They were 瓮中之鳖 (fish in a barrel).
"Ziyan?!" Lin Yi's face paled. In the distance, beyond the demons, he spotted her—bruised, bloodied, but alive. Rage 灼烧 (burned) in his chest. *Who hurt her?*
Peng and Ji Li followed his gaze. Behind the demons huddled a dozen more cultivators: two Foundation, the rest Qi Refinement. The weakest was Zhang Ziyan, at Qi Refinement Level 5. She'd survived by 避开 (avoiding) fights, focused solely on finding Lin Yi—ignoring treasure, evading both demons and cultivators.
"Lin Yi!" Zhang Ziyan's voice cut through the chaos, her face lighting up with joy as she spotted him. Fatigue melted away, replaced by relief.
*Kill!*
The demons 冲锋 (charged),淹没ing the cultivators. Screams erupted—then fell silent as lives were snuffed out in seconds.
Li moved with 闪电般的速度 (lightning speed), attacking the nun relentlessly. She, still drained from the array, struggled to defend herself, her movements 笨拙 (clumsy) compared to his.
*She's losing*, Lin Yi realized. *If he kills her, we're all dead.*
Gritting his teeth, he formed the hand seals for *Soul Shatter*. His remaining spiritual energy 凝聚 (coalesced) into a 光球 (orb),悬浮ing before him.
"Go!" he roared, sending it hurtling toward Li.
*Boom!*
The explosion 撕碎 (ripped through) dozens of demons, but Li barely 踉跄 (stumbled), nicked but unharmed. He 转向 (whirled) on Lin Yi, his smile 狰狞 (feral).
Lin Yi 早有预料 (expected this). Flight was impossible—Li was faster, and demons blocked every exit. Instead, he dropped into the first stance of *Body Technique: Earth*, 正面对抗 (facing Li head-on).
Li sneered, seeing no killing intent in the stance. *A useless trick.*
He was wrong.
*Body force* surged through Lin Yi, forming an invisible barrier of 气劲 (energy) before him. Li's casual blast of 魔气 (demonic energy) hit it with a 嘶嘶声 (hiss), dissolving harmlessly.
Li's face 沉了下来 (darkened). A mere Qi Refinement Level 8… *dared* to 羞辱 (humiliate) him? He began forming 法诀 (spells), intent on 抹杀 (erasing) Lin Yi.
The nun, seeing Lin Yi hold his ground, 抓住机会 (seized the moment), launching an attack to aid him. Every second Lin Yi delayed Li was a chance for her to recover.
Lin Yi 苦不堪言 (suffered silently). His *body force* was 稀薄 (thin)—he couldn't hold Li off alone. But the nun's intervention 削弱 (weakened) Li's spell, and his barrier 抵消 (nullified) the rest.
Li paused, his gaze 冰冷的 (cold) as he scanned Lin Yi and the nun. Then he 笑了 (laughed), a 刺耳的 (shrill) "嘎嘎" sound.
With a swipe of his hand, he produced a 两寸长 (two-inch) bamboo segment, sealed at both ends, with a spiral of 浓黑魔气 (pitch-black demonic energy) coiling through its center. He 轻抚 (stroked) it lovingly, his eyes 痴迷的 (obsessed).
Lin Yi and the nun 脸色骤变 (paled). This artifact… it reeked of 毁灭 (destruction).
Whatever it was, it spelled 大麻烦 (big trouble).
The battle was about to get far, far worse.