“It’s huge...” Zhuang Chan muttered under her breath.

“Yeah, but we all know that size is not always directly proportional to combat strength,” another party member answered softly.

“Focus,” Nuo Qianling hushed. “As long as we perform as per usual without slipping up, this bastard will soon be nothing but a barrier on the ground to help us block the wind!”

She and her party members glanced forward at the black shadow that was gradually approaching from behind the heavy snowstorm, all of them already in their battle-ready stances.

It was not as though they had never heard of the Serpent Mammoth, but seeing it in the flesh brought about a completely different feeling.

Standing at ten metres tall, it was almost like a moving structure in the middle of the tundra, capable of blocking out the winds just like Nuo Qianling had said.

The black body camouflaged well into the black snow, but it was nigh impossible not to notice its presence – not even when shrouded in the current darkness of the night.

After all, each step it took sent tremors through the ground – a good indicator of its incredible weight.

One could only imagine the force behind a charge from such a massive creature.

However, that was not all there was to it.

Instead of long fur, the Serpent Mammoth had black snakes growing out of its body. Covering just about every inch of that gigantic body, there were at least thousands of snakes, if not more.

With all of them constantly squirming around, it looked as though the Serpent Mammoth was covered in a layer of living carapace.

All these snakes seemed to have minds of their own as well. As the Serpent Mammoth gradually got closer, a large number of them started to fix their gazes upon the Wei Group.

Thousands of eyes stared them down from afar, giving off a creepy feeling of intimidation that could not usually be felt when facing a single enemy.

However, that alone was not nearly enough to make Nuo Qianling waver.

“Zhuang Chan, keep working on melting that ice,” Nuo Qianling ordered. “The rest of you, on me! It’s time to take it down and show the sect administrators our true capabilities!”

Her party members did not need to be told twice.

With the exception of Zhuang Chan, the other two quickly flanked Nuo Qianling as they rushed towards the Serpent Mammoth.

Snort-!

The Serpent Mammoth reacted instantly. The very moment the Wei Group started moving towards it, it began its charge.

And it was not slow by any measure.

In fact, it was even faster than the Wei Group!

“Evade!” Nuo Qianling shouted.

After years of fighting together, the three of them had a tacit understanding among them. Even without planning it beforehand, they quickly scattered in three separate directions, attempting to confuse the Serpent Mammoth.

However, the Serpent Mammoth showed no signs of confusion. It did not even hesitate to chase after Nuo Qianling, seemingly having locked onto her since the very start.

“Tch! Come at me then, you cursed beast!” Nuo Qianling turned around and stabbed her hand into the black snow.

[World of Ice Stalagmites]

Numerous icicles instantly shot out from the ground, forming giant spikes that threatened to impale anyone unfortunate enough to be in the area.

The terrain changed with a single technique, turning into a precarious world where a single misstep could result in death.

This was a grand ice-element technique that could take out entire armies all at once – a move that had earned Nuo Qianling victory over numerous battles in the past.

Unfortunately, that was not going to be the case today.

Shatter-!

The giant icicles were crushed directly under the weight of the Serpent Mammoth. Not only did their pointed ends fail to penetrate the tough exterior of the monster, but they also could not withstand the force coming from its charge.

No matter how one looked at it, this powerful technique that Nuo Qianling had prided herself on had absolutely zero impact on the Serpent Mammoth!

“What?!” Nuo Qianling widened her eyes in shock before continuing to run.

But while she was fast, the Serpent Mammoth was faster. Not even her repeated attempts at changing directions managed to increase the distance between them, with the Serpent Mammoth perfectly following her every move.

“Not a chance!”

Projectiles flew over from her party members, striking the Serpent Mammoth squarely on the body despite its quick movements.

Then again, perhaps it would have been more difficult to miss such a huge target.

Still, the armour of snakes sprang into action at this moment. They directly bit down on any projectiles that came close, crushing any tangible projectiles while dispersing any intangible ones.

“Switch to fire-element attacks!” Nuo Qianling anxiously ordered.

She had heard of fire being the Serpent Mammoth’s weakness, but wanted try handling things her own way. Now that it was clear that the latter was not going to work, it was time to adopt the easy way out.

“Take this, foul beast!”

A fireball flew out from her party member, striking the Serpent Mammoth that was only moments away from reaching Nuo Qianling.

Once again, the snakes bit down on the approaching fireball without hesitation.

Boom-!

The thunderous explosion resulted in a shockwave that even cleared out the snowstorm for a moment, creating a giant cloud of smoke that shrouded the entire monster.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

“Did it work?” the attacking party member, Qin Biyu, felt hopeful for a moment.

Compared to her party members, she was rather confident in her superior comprehensions into the Law of Fire. Considering how the Serpent Mammoth was weak to fire, she believed that this was her moment to shine.

However, the tremors that followed proved that her attack was far from enough.

A loud trumpeting could be heard as the Serpent Mammoth charged out of the cloud of smoke, this time headed straight for Qin Biyu.

Her earlier attack had perfectly drawn over the aggro of the monster.

“Shit!” Qin Biyu immediately turned and ran.

“Just keep running and leave the rest to us!” Nuo Qianling shouted, albeit with a tinge of relief.

She was just moments away from being caught up to earlier, and she could hardly imagine the consequences if that had happened.

But at the same time, this outcome proved that their understanding of the Serpent Mammoth was correct.

It was indeed much more sensitive to attacks of the fire element.

Now, all they had to do was to use that information to their advantage, slowly wearing it down until it was spent.

Slowly and steadily... just like how they had dealt with many of their opponents in the past!

***

“Qin Biyu has activated the jade tablet and is returning!” Zhao Yunxiao announced.

“Physicians, get ready!” Fei Weng shouted.

Just like the other participants, a streak of light shot out from the huge energy globe above the tortoise statue, turning into Qin Biyu in the participants’ tent.

A curtain was promptly set up around her as female physicians tended to her wounds.

“The situation is critical! The patient’s bones are shattered in multiple areas, resulting in several ruptured organs. There are also signs of being afflicted with poison!”

“What is the poison? What antidote do you need?”

“What happened? What kind of opponent did this to her?”

“Speak up! We can’t deliver the right antidote promptly unless you tell us what you need!”

“Stop asking already! The patient is unconscious, so she cannot answer any questions! Don’t distract us from making our diagnosis!”

Due to the urgent yet complex situation, other physicians quickly started gathering around to help, only to be told off by the two physicians in charge.

Shattered bones and poison...

Zhao Yunxiao closed his eyes and tried to think of the potential culprits.

Given the capabilities of the Wei Group, there was only one answer that he could think of. However, he had already specifically warned them not to engage the Serpent Mammoth in combat, so that was out of the question.

Or at least, it should have been out of the question.

No way... right?

“Try matching the venom to that of the Serpent Mammoth...” Zhao Yunxiao said.

“Serpent Mammoth?” Deacon Que furrowed his brows upon hearing that.

Now that he thought about it, the symptoms did seem similar to what the Serpent Mammoth was capable of.

However, he also clearly remembered Zhao Yunxiao’s earlier message, cautioning the Wei Group against engaging the Serpent Mammoth.

This was not an opponent that could ever sneak up on anyone.

If the Serpent Mammoth was truly the culprit here, it could only mean that the Wei Group had chosen to ignore the advice given to them.

Doing so would be understandable if they actually had something to back up their confidence. But from the looks of it, that could not be further from the truth!

“It’s a match! Bring us the antidote for the Serpent Mammoth’s venom!” one of the physicians declared.

It was a confirmation that brought mixed feelings to both Zhao Yunxiao and Deacon Que.

Even Fei Weng could not help but shake his head in disapproval.

However, this was not entirely shocking either.

Nuo Qianling’s party was not the first that had ignored the advice of the sect administrators, and they most certainly would not be the last.

If the participants really wanted to do as they pleased, then there was nothing that they, as deacons and sect protectors, could do about it.

As long as the participants were prepared to face the consequences, this was still their decision to make.

Unfortunately, while Fei Weng and Deacon Que could reluctantly accept this outcome, Zhao Yunxiao could not easily do so.

It would not be too bad if all of them eventually managed to escape the mystic realm. But if anything untoward were to happen to any of them, that would have a huge negative impact on his assessment results!

Think!

Zhao Yunxiao bit his lower lip, anxiously combing through the information in his mind as he tried to come up with anything that he could do to help.

Anything at all would do!

He was certain that there was zero chance that the Wei Group could emerge victorious over the Serpent Mammoth, so he could only think of three other ways to go about it.

Firstly, escaping.

This was definitely the ideal option. Unfortunately, he had already tried telling the Wei Group to do so, but they simply did not listen. That said, he could possibly try to scare them by claiming that Qin Biyu was currently in grave danger, but that could end up fuelling the rage in their hearts instead.

Many cultivators lose their rationality when it comes to protecting or avenging their companions, so this was a risky move that Zhao Yunxiao would rather not take his chances with.

Secondly, scaring it away.

Considering how the Serpent Mammoth stood at the apex of the Blacksnow Tundra, this was another lost cause. Without having experienced any threats to its life, how could it know the feeling of danger?

That being the case, it was simply not possible to emulate anything that it could be afraid of.

Thirdly, distracting it to buy time.

The Serpent Mammoth had likely been drawn over by the party’s attempt to melt the black ice, which had already been going on for hours. If they could somehow keep it busy without trying to defeat it, perhaps they could last until the black ice had completely melted?

Once that was done, the Wei Group should no longer have a reason to continue entangling with the Serpent Mammoth.

As of now, this sounded like the most feasible method.

The problem here was that Zhao Yunxiao did not know for sure how big this black ice was, as well as whether the Wei Group’s intention was to take down the Serpent Mammoth or simply defend themselves.

It would be best if it were the latter. But if the members of the Wei Group were truly trying to prove themselves by defeating the Serpent Mammoth, then no amount of advice he gave now would be of use.

Regardless, it was not like he could just stand by and watch.

As long as there was even the slimmest possibility, he had to try his best to make things happen!

Zhao Yunxiao took a moment to organise his thoughts before tapping on the talisman in front of him.

“If you wish to defeat the Serpent Mammoth, you are on your own. But if you simply wish to buy more time, then there is indeed a way to do so. However, please be prepared to make some sacrifices in the process. Here’s the plan...”