A-Yi swooped down with terrifying speed. By the time Asano Ryo registered the warning and planted her feet on defense, the roaring gust above was already right upon her. She caught sight of a hideous face and cold, amber vertical pupils.
Her assailant knew her capabilities all too well. He had deliberately ambushed the weakest link of the team, intending to critically wound or slay her in a single strike to whittle down their numbers.
*It's too late!* Asano Ryo's heart sank. Whether attempting to dodge or casting Frost Descent, there simply was no time.
When a hawk pounced upon its prey, everything remained locked within its sight. No matter which way the quarry darted, it could never evade those razor-sharp talons.
Gritting her silver teeth and raising her delicate brows, she sank her knees and gripped the hilt of the Ice Soul Blade with her right hand, tensing the rounded curves of her calves.
This was the opening stance of iaido.
Even facing mortal peril, Asano Ryo fought back resolutely.
Right then, she saw a terrifying spectral figure clad in a crimson bridal gown materialize behind A-Yi, clinging tightly to his back.
Instantly, A-Yi's body stiffened, and his wings ceased flapping. Propelled solely by inertia, he crashed diagonally toward Asano Ryo.
*It's Yuanshi Tianzun—he came to save me!* Overjoyed, Asano Ryo seized the opening and decisively drew the sharp blade from its sheath.
Battōjutsu!
*Clang!*
A flawless arc flashed past. Sparks burst from A-Yi's chest as his carapace cracked open, oozing dark-green fluid that was instantly sealed over with frost.
Ahead of them, Zhang Yuanqing skidded to a halt and spun around. Brandishing the Bloodthirsty Blade, he slipped into Night Wandering and dashed toward the crashing A-Yi.
Just as he drew close to the young Gu-beast, a beam of dim yellow light struck from afar, hitting A-Yi squarely.
The Ghost Bride was instantly pinned in midair, frozen like a static painting.
Freed from the possession just before hitting the ground, A-Yi shook off the restraint. The thin wings on his back buzzed into motion, and a mere ten centimeters above the pavement, he took flight once more, opening his mouth to spew a thick stream of green mist downward.
*Sizzle—*
Asano Ryo's short skirt was spattered with the green mist, which corroded holes through the fabric.
Red blotches broke out across her fair, slender calves amid the toxic fog, showing signs of mild ulceration.
Zhang Yuanqing revealed himself at the edge of the dense fog. Grabbing Asano Ryo, he yanked her out and shielded her behind him.
"Cough, cough..."
The Japanese girl clutched her throat, her face flushed red as she coughed violently.
She had accidentally inhaled a mouthful of the poisonous mist.
Zhang Yuanqing produced a pitch-black pill and said, "An antidote pill concocted by a Wood Monster. Swallow it. It grants powerful poison resistance for half an hour."
Asano Ryo took the pill and swallowed it. The burning agony in her throat and lungs subsided, and she rasped, "Th-thank you..."
Zhang Yuanqing snorted. "I knew you were useless, so I deliberately lagged behind."
Asano Ryo blinked, stunned.
*He ran at the back of the group on purpose just to protect me?*
A warm current welled up in the girl's heart. Feeling cared for, she could not help stepping closer to him, drawing an immense sense of security from his presence.
By then, Guan Ya, Zhao Chenghuang, and Jiang Jingwei had long halted their advance and doubled back to regroup with their two teammates.
Across from them, A-Yi perched atop a roadside building, frost clinging to his chest as he looked down coldly at the five of them.
From the alleyways on all sides emerged Taboo-Free, I Alone Am Supreme, Dropout Fish, and the rest. Among them, Hongwei held a bronze mirror; it was this very prop that had immobilized the Ghost Bride moments earlier.
All eighteen members of the Mountain Ghost faction surrounded Zhang Yuanqing's five-person squad from every direction.
"Yuanshi Tianzun, didn't expect an ambush, did you?" a Witch Doctor sneered arrogantly. "Did you think a bit of petty cleverness would let you lead us by the nose?"
"Taboo-Free's preemptive strike worked like a charm!" a Fire Specialist from the Mountain Ghost faction bellowed with laughter.
The evil class walkers around them wore feral grins, their expressions feverish with excitement. In their eyes, the enemy was already cornered. Eighteen against five was an overwhelming disparity—Yuanshi Tianzun could dream on if he thought he could break through.
Taboo-Free turned to A-Yi and asked, "Are you all right?"
A-Yi shook his head. "A bit cold."
The blade harbored a terrifying chill that had seeped along the wound into his limbs and bones, freezing his blood and muscles—an utterly dreadful sensation. But having transformed into a Gu-beast, his vitality was boundless and his physique robust. The surging torrent of his blood had already dispelled most of the cold.
It was just a bit cold, nothing more.
Taboo-Free nodded, summoned a massive crimson bow, drew the string, and barked, "Attack!"
In an instant, poison spines, arrows, fireballs, and a barrage of chaotic attacks rained down on the five-person squad.
Top experts like I Alone Am Supreme and Dropout Fish held back, watching for the right moment to deliver a crushing blow.
*Boom!*
A fireball detonated on the ground, the blast wave tearing through enemy silhouettes. Arrows and poison spines also pierced clean through Zhang Yuanqing and his companions, finding only empty air.
Little Fatty's face darkened, and he called a halt to their barrage. "It's an illusion..."
The crowd stopped immediately. As the dust cleared, the surroundings were completely empty and silent; Yuanshi Tianzun and his companions were nowhere to be seen.
The entrance to the abandoned park was deserted as well.
Those five people, along with the two yin corpses, seemed to have vanished into thin air.
Dizzying vortexes swirled within Hongwei's eyes as she scanned the area, her attractive face clouded with gravity. "All of us were drawn into an illusion. This is no ordinary Charm Art..."
Ordinary Charm Arts could only conjure phantoms to deceive the senses; they could not make people vanish into thin air. Back at the Mountain God temple, Yuanshi Tianzun and that woman had actually been hiding inside the shrine, while the bodies outside were merely illusions produced by a spirit servant. Had Yuanshi Tianzun's true body been right under everyone's eyes back then, he never could have fooled an Illusionist's gaze, and the moment the phantom was torn apart, his real body would have been exposed.
Yet this situation was entirely different. Yuanshi Tianzun and his group could not simply disappear. The only explanation was that every single member of the Mountain Ghost faction had fallen into an illusionary realm.
Such a formidable illusion exceeded what ought to belong to the Transcendent stage.
"How do we break the illusion? Think of something, quick! We can't let Yuanshi Tianzun and his squad slip into the formation!" Kou Beiyue shouted in apparent fury, though he was secretly rejoicing inside.
As a double agent whose heart belonged to the other side, he had worried himself sick over Yuanshi Tianzun.
"No problem, Boss, don't panic—leave it to me!" Little Fatty bellowed. He produced six small banners with black fabric embroidered with eerie crimson runes. Staring at the runes for even a few seconds induced dizziness and nausea, prompting him to jerk his gaze away.
With a flick of his wrist, Little Fatty tossed the six banners into the air. Vortexes surged in his eyes as he chanted under his breath.
The six banners froze in midair and unfurled, fluttering wildly as they rippled out concentric rings of black waves.
As the ripples swept past, everyone clearly felt an invisible force receding.
The scenery had not changed, yet it had quietly shifted.
*I... I'll butcher you sooner or later, you little fatty...* Kou Beiyue ground his teeth, swearing an oath in his heart.
"There they are!"
As the illusion dissolved, they saw Yuanshi Tianzun and the others appear at the park entrance.
At that moment, Yuanshi Tianzun stood before the gates of the abandoned park, holding up a vibrant green gem.
The gem emitted a faint radiance, and the ward sealing the park popped like a bubble. Seven figures dashed into the park and vanished from the Mountain Ghost faction's sight.
*Buzz, buzz...*
A-Yi took wing from the rooftop, darting after them in hot pursuit.
Taboo-Free and the others followed close behind.
***
Atop the Bank Building, the setting sun resembled blood as dusk fell.
A six-meter-tall stone sculpture stood on the roof, identical to the statue in the Mountain God temple, only taller and carved with finer detail.
The sculpture depicted a graceful woman with her head bowed slightly, her hands held before her chest in a prayer clasp, though with an open gap left between her palms.
To the left of the Bank Building lay a lush green park; to the right was an abandoned subway station; across from it was the city center mall. In the center of them all stretched an immense lake of blood.
The evening breeze carried wave after wave of sickening stench from the blood pool up to the roof.
At this moment, the members of the Mountain God faction stood gathered around the stone sculpture, watching Peony Fairy with tense expressions as she concentrated with eyes closed.
They had just learned from the Wood Monster that Yuanshi Tianzun's team had been intercepted by the Mountain Ghost faction.
Amid the tense silence, Peony Fairy opened her eyes, let out a breath of immense relief, and looked around at her companions. "Yuanshi Tianzun made it into the park! That was close—they were almost intercepted halfway by the Mountain Ghost faction."
None of Your Business and the others felt a heavy weight lift from their chests. "Stick to the plan," they urged eagerly. "Let's place our gem first."
They had anticipated that the final group would face the greatest danger, but everyone held immense faith in that last team.
After all, that squad boasted Yuanshi Tianzun, Zhao Chenghuang, Guan Ya equipped with an item set, and the exceptionally talented Jiang Jingwei.
Once again, Yuanshi Tianzun and his group had not let them down.
Peony Fairy nodded and retrieved the Heart of the Forest that Yuanshi Tianzun had entrusted to her. The moment the vibrant green gemstone appeared, the stone statue's hands lit up with a faint luminescence that resonated with the stone.
Immediately after, she felt a powerful suction lock onto the Heart of the Forest, pulling it from her grasp.
The Heart of the Forest dissolved into a streak of green light, shooting into the hollow of the statue's cupped palms.
*Boom!*
A majestic pillar of emerald light soared into the sky, piercing straight through the clouds. It overpowered the twilight glow of the setting sun, dyeing the clouds above the building a brilliant jade green.
***
Inside the abandoned subway station.
Niulanshan Little Fairy opened her eyes. Seeing the emerald pillar of light shooting into the sky through the eyes of a stray dog outside, she called out, "Yuanshi Tianzun and the others made it into the park! The Bank Building's formation is activated! We activate the second formation within ten minutes!"
*Looks like they slipped past the ambush. The plan is proceeding smoothly.* The rogue walkers and official members stationed underground felt a wave of relief wash over them.
***
The park had been abandoned for years. Weeds ran wild, and the decorative trees and shrubs had grown unchecked without maintenance, turning the place into a dense, miniature forest.
Only the badly dilapidated park benches by the path, swallowed and overgrown by vines, bore witness to the fact that this had once been a park built by humans.
Zhang Yuanqing and his squad had just plunged into the park when a buzzing sound reached them from above.
Two dark shapes streaked across the sky over the woods, bypassing them and hurtling toward the depths of the park.
It was A-Yi and Trampling the Firmament.
"They want to head straight for the blood pool to drop in the blood jade!" Asano Ryo shouted.
Before her voice had even faded, the Ghost Bride in her brilliant red bridal gown floated out from her husband. Perched atop a treetop, her head concealed beneath the red veil, she "gazed" up at the two Witch Doctors streaking through the sky.
All at once, the two Witch Doctors turned into headless flies, circling aimlessly over the park in tight loops.
A ghost-induced maze!
Seeing this, Jiang Jingwei hissed as flames burst from her palms, coalescing into a longbow. Drawing the bowstring, she released two slender fiery arrows from her fingertips, shooting them toward the Witch Doctors in the sky.
This was an inspiration she had drawn from Taboo-Free's earlier attack.
A bow and arrow possessed the speed and range needed to hit airborne targets, whereas throwing fireballs was hindered by gravity and air resistance, posing little threat to flying enemies.
Although Fire Specialists were often looked down upon by others, in terms of sheer combat instinct, only Bewitching Demons could rival them among all the classes.
*Whoosh, whoosh!*
The two arrows screamed through the air, trailing scorching gusts of wind.
*Crash—*
The violent sound of rushing water surged from the distance as two clear streams crashed in from behind, extinguishing the flaming arrows.
Treading atop surging waves, I Alone Am Supreme swept through the woods, arriving just in the nick of time.
At the same moment, the long-legged Hongwei bounded over the bushes. She glanced up at the two Witch Doctors trapped in the ghost-induced maze and snapped her fingers.
Instantly, A-Yi and Trampling the Firmament broke free from the illusion's grip. The two dropped down to the ground to regroup with their allies.
Rustling sounds arose in rapid succession as five powerhouses—including Taboo-Free and Dropout Fish—burst through the undergrowth, crossing the woods to arrive at the clearing.
The entire Mountain Ghost faction was assembled, locked in a standoff against Zhang Yuanqing's five.
Taboo-Free's gaze swept past the defenders toward the depths of the park, and he chuckled. "I can already smell the blood... What kind of monster requires such an enormous sacrifice?"
With that, he turned toward the Bank Building and said, "Yuanshi Tianzun, your quest must have certain restrictions, right? Otherwise, why would only the Bank Building's formation be activated while the other three show no movement at all?
"Let me guess. Is there an order constraint? Or a time limit? Whatever it is, as long as there's a restriction, that means there's a weakness. Tell me—what happens if we stall for time and pin you down right here?"
There was indeed a time limit: the activation of each formation could be separated by no more than ten minutes.
Therefore, according to the plan, the activation sequence was Bank Building, abandoned subway station, city center mall, and finally the abandoned park.
The reason for this sequence was that enemies were present on this side, making it exceedingly difficult to return the Heart of the Forest. Furthermore, if the four seals were not activated simultaneously, the gem was very likely to be pried loose.
Only by placing the abandoned park last could they ensure that the moment Zhang Yuanqing returned the Heart of the Forest, victory would be secured.
The price was that they had to hold out for twenty-seven minutes.
"Cut the crap!" Jiang Jingwei barked irritably. "Come at us all together! I'll smash every single one of you to death with one punch!"
Taboo-Free wasted no words. Opening his palm, he summoned a pitch-black heart.
The heart thudded with a steady beat, as though alive.
Right before everyone's eyes, he swallowed the black heart whole.
Taboo-Free's expression contorted into sheer savagery, and a guttural rasp tore from his throat.
His pupils turned into vertical slits of pale gold, while the whites of his eyes darkened to pitch-black. Amid the sound of tearing fabric, his white dress shirt, loose track pants, suit jacket, and shoes all burst to shreds.
His bones popped like roasting beans, and his muscles swelled violently. Within seconds, his height ballooned to three meters. Clumps of hair sloughed away, leaving his scalp bald, while a coarse, bristly mane sprouted from the back of his head and a curved horn thrust out from his forehead.
His skin turned a deep, leathery black, and razor-sharp black talons extended from his fingers and toes.
His once well-defined abdominal muscles puffed outward, swelling into a massive potbelly.
In the blink of an eye, Taboo-Free had transformed into a gargantuan monstrosity—bald, with a stiff mane down his neck, a broad lion-like nose, a cavernous mouth with jutting fangs, coal-black skin, a three-meter frame, and a bulging gut.
Across his tough, blackened flesh, intricate and three-dimensional twisted incantations were carved one after another—the very incantations of a Bewitching Demon.
A single glance at them was enough to drive one mad, warping one's thoughts and filling the mind with an urge to tear oneself apart.
"This was our reward for slaying the Tree Monster and the Monkey King!" Taboo-Free rasped. His intended smile twisted into a bloodcurdling grin on his hideous, savage face. "A level-4 mountain ghost!"
He had directly revealed his trump card.
Chapter 275