A chaotic, evil aura descended, bearing the overwhelming pressure of the Saint stage. It caused the hearts of the Spirit Realm walkers present to nearly skip a beat, making them think that terrifying desiccated corpse had returned to life.
Fortunately, though the mountain ghost possessed the aura of a Bewitching Demon, it was noticeably weaker than the dried corpse.
Even so, it remained a monster of the Saint stage.
The suffocating pressure forced Asano Ryo back step after step. Her calves tightened, and her entire body went rigid, leaving her frozen in place.
*Is this the Mountain Ghost faction's trump card? Summoning a Saint-stage mountain ghost?* An intense sense of crisis welled up in Guan Ya's chest. In her assessment, she was the only one in their squad capable of contending with it.
Yet even with her set equipment to protect her, facing such a terrifying foe still gave her pause.
The divide between the Transcendent and Saint stages was not a matter of levels, but an entire cultivation realm.
Zhao Chenghuang knitted his brows, swiftly weighing his options. If he unleashed Ghost Transformation and coordinated with his level 4 yin corpse, he could barely manage to hold off this mountain ghost. However, to intercept it and prevent it from entering the depths of the park, he would need either Guan Ya or Yuanshi Tianzun to assist him.
If that happened, the remaining three would have to confront eight enemies on their own, which was utterly impossible.
They were already vastly outnumbered, and the play of this mountain ghost card plunged the situation into dire straits at once.
"Wh-what kind of monster is that?!"
At the Bank Building, Peony Fairy had been circling a controlled bird in the distance. Through its eyes, she saw a towering, hideous monster suddenly rise from the lush foliage.
The majestic, crushing presence sent shivers through her as she observed through the creature.
Her colleagues nearby noticed her sudden loss of composure and hurriedly asked:
"What's wrong?"
"How's the situation over there?"
Peony Fairy drew a deep breath, trying her best to keep her voice steady. "The Mountain Ghost faction... seems to have summoned a monster—a Saint-stage monster."
The moment the words left her mouth, dead silence fell over the top floor of the Bank Building.
The Spirit Realm walkers turned pale, hidden tension and despair flickering in their eyes.
Their very lives hinged entirely on that five-person squad.
Meanwhile, the Spirit Realm walkers at the downtown mall and the abandoned subway station used their respective methods to remotely monitor the park.
Once the observers shared the news with their companions, everyone grew anxious.
They had expected the Mountain Ghost faction to be formidable, but no one anticipated the enemy would unleash such a massive trump card right from the opening move, calling upon a Saint-stage monster.
Even those with absolute faith in Yuanshi Tianzun and Zhao Chenghuang could not help but feel panic creeping into their hearts.
"So this is the power of the Saint stage... To think I'd get to experience it ahead of time."
A deep, booming laugh escaped Taboo-Free's fanged maw. "Only a Bewitching Demon can bring this power to its peak! Yuanshi Tianzun, Zhao Chenghuang—which of you will step forward to die?"
He had not originally possessed such an arrogant temperament, but after fusing with the mountain ghost's power, he was influenced by it. His disposition had unconsciously shifted, growing aggressive and wild.
A-Yi, I Alone Am Supreme, and the others fell back one after another, quietly creeping toward the depths of the park.
As long as Yuanshi Tianzun and Zhao Chenghuang teamed up to deal with Taboo-Free, they would immediately charge into the park and cast the blood jade into the blood pool.
They firmly believed that three "weak women" plus two yin corpses would never be able to stop them.
Zhao Chenghuang said in a heavy voice, "I can tie down Taboo-Free, but I need a helper. Aside from the high school girl, any of you three will do. But how will the rest hold back that crowd?
"If someone can help me stall Taboo-Free, I can intercept all of them."
Guan Ya pondered for a few seconds before saying, "I can give it a try, but I don't have much confidence."
Zhao Chenghuang frowned. "If you're not confident, why bring it up?"
A single lack of confidence could get everyone killed.
Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath. "Zhao Chenghuang, can you really hold them off?"
Zhao Chenghuang glanced at him. "With the three of them coordinating with me, no problem. Do you have a plan?"
Zhang Yuanqing gave a nod. "I can try taking on Taboo-Free alone."
Zhao Chenghuang nodded. "I knew you'd have a way. A cunning hare never keeps only one burrow."
"You could have just said 'a crafty rabbit has three burrows,'" Zhang Yuanqing retorted. He pinched the empty air, plucking out an exquisite, pocket-sized stone monkey.
The stone monkey was carved with meticulous detail, its fur lifelike, its facial expression fierce, baring its fangs in a posture of furious rage.
"This was the reward for defending the Mountain God Temple in the second stage."
As his words fell, the stone monkey crumbled into fine powder, drifting down from his fingertips. Immediately after, the phantom of an ape nearly three meters tall condensed above Zhang Yuanqing's head. Its arms braced against the ground as it bared its fangs and roared toward the sky.
The phantom then shrank, slowly merging into Zhang Yuanqing's body.
In the next instant, thick black fur sprouted from Zhang Yuanqing's skin. His frame ballooned, tearing through his shirt and trousers. His arms rapidly lengthened down to his knees, and his facial bones popped and cracked as his muzzle extended, transforming into a thunder-god beak and a baboon-like face with protruding fangs.
His pectoral muscles and abdomen remained bare of fur, exposing powerful, chiseled muscle.
His glutes hardened like steel, and between his legs hung two testicles the size of rice bowls.
A terrifying pressure descended, an aura rippling outward.
It was not the slightest bit weaker than the mountain ghost's, standing on equal footing.
"The Monkey King?" Asano Ryo exclaimed in delight. "Is it the Monkey King?"
She had never seen the boss, but she could guess.
From the black-furred ape's mouth came Zhang Yuanqing's voice: "No, you must address me as—Sun Wukong, the Handsome Monkey King, Great Sage Equal to Heaven of Mount Guo."
"Sun Wukong, the Handsome Monkey King, Great Sage Equal to Heaven of Mount Guo," Asano Ryo repeated obediently.
*She actually played along...* Zhang Yuanqing praised inwardly. Then he realized this was no time for jokes. After fusing with the Monkey King's beast soul, his state of mind seemed to have grown flamboyant and unruly.
"The Monkey King..."
The expressions of the Mountain Ghost faction shifted, filled with shock and fury. They had never expected Yuanshi Tianzun to be harboring such a hidden card.
With both sides canceling each other out, neither held the advantage.
The trump card Taboo-Free had kept hidden for so long had been neutralized by Yuanshi Tianzun just like that.
A card derived from the instance would ultimately be countered by something within it.
Kou Beiyue rejoiced secretly, though his face remained contorted in rage. Gritting his teeth, he shouted, "Yuanshi Tianzun, don't get cocky! We have the numbers. In the end, your Mountain God faction won't escape death!"
Having yelled his slogan, he hastily retreated to put distance between them and ensure his own safety.
Kou Beiyue's sole purpose in taking up a spot was to slack off.
That way, he could shrink the gap in numbers.
And when the critical moment arrived, he could turn around and help butcher these evil classes.
Taboo-Free roared in fury, "So you had a trump card too! Fine, excellent! Today, I'm going to tear you to shreds!"
With that, he thrust his portly belly forward and charged toward the Monkey King with thunderous thumps.
Zhang Yuanqing casually grabbed a nearby tree, ripped it from the earth roots and all, and swung it backward.
*Smack!*
The mountain ghost took a clubbing strike directly across the face. Staggering, it tilted sideways and crushed an entire patch of woods.
Tossing aside the snapped trunk, Zhang Yuanqing sprinted forward and drove a brutal punch into the mountain ghost's face.
*Boom!*
A shockwave like a missile detonation tore through the area. Surrounding trees bent double, branches snapped with loud cracks, and countless fallen leaves were swept into the sky.
A punch like that could easily kill a Transcendent-stage Spirit Realm walker, yet it only left the mountain ghost slightly dazed.
*Thud, thud, thud...* The long-armed ape swung fists the size of water vats, hammering the mountain ghost's face repeatedly. It mashed half of the creature's face into pulp, tearing its tough black skin and exposing bright red flesh.
Suddenly, the incantations etched across the mountain ghost's skin flared with crimson light.
The berserk great ape's pupils instantly lost focus, its expression going blank.
Seizing the opening, the mountain ghost jerked its head upward. Its curved horn plunged deep into the Monkey King's chest, releasing spurts of warm blood.
Tasting the blood, the mountain ghost grew even more frantic, violently thrashing its head to drive the horn deeper and tear open an even more gruesome wound.
The sharp agony snapped Zhang Yuanqing back to his senses. Baring his fangs in a roar, he wrinkled his lips to reveal all his pale white teeth in a vicious snarl.
He dipped his head and bit down on the mountain ghost's shoulder, savagely ripping off a huge chunk of flesh.
The two monsters grappled together, flesh and blood flying everywhere as they wrought catastrophic destruction upon the park's vegetation.
The remaining seven members of the Mountain Ghost faction did not intervene in the battle between the Saint-stage monsters—nor could they. Keeping their mission firmly in mind, each employed their own methods to rush toward the park's interior.
A-Yi and Trampling the Firmament flapped their membranous wings and took to the sky, leading the charge toward the park's depths.
Moments later, the Ghost Bride and Zhao Chenghuang's spirit servant possessed them, causing both to plummet.
To Witch Doctors, spirit servants were extremely troublesome foes.
Though they lacked terrifying destructive power, their illusions and possessions during combat proved an immense headache.
*Boom! Boom!*
Jiang Jingwei flung two fireballs that detonated across the backs of the two Witch Doctors.
The fiery explosions were not enough to wound them seriously, but the intense heat incinerated their wings. Growing a new pair would take time.
*Splash! Swish!*
The sound of rushing torrents arose. I Alone Am Supreme rode atop churning river waters, cleaving through the waves.
Water was his home ground, and the Mountain God faction had no Earth Monsters, lacking the means to counter him.
*Thump, thump, thump!*
Asano Ryo bounded through the woods, catching up to the rampaging I Alone Am Supreme. Raising her Ice Soul Blade high, she cried sharply:
"Frost Descent!"
She planted the blade into the ground before her. A bone-chilling cold descended as if opening a gateway to the polar reaches. The freezing gale swept in all directions, frosting everything in its path.
Ice crystals coated the foliage, and a shell of ice formed over the ground.
The surging river I Alone Am Supreme commanded froze solid the instant it touched the frigid gale.
Water Ghosts could control water, but they could not shatter ice.
The Water God Seal that this top-ranked unaffiliated expert relied upon for his fame was perfectly countered by Asano Ryo's Ice Soul Blade, stripping him of his greatest asset.
*Whoosh!*
Blessed with extraordinary combat instinct, Jiang Jingwei spotted her moment, transforming into a streak of fire that slammed toward I Alone Am Supreme.
A Water Ghost's passive ability allowed them to ignore physical attacks, but they could not ignore an assault from a Fire Specialist. Once a body turned to water was evaporated without water to replenish it, death was instantaneous.
Abandoning his breakthrough, I Alone Am Supreme retreated at once.
*Skrrt—*
A harsh scraping noise rang out. Dual-wielding twin sabers, Dropout Fish skated rapidly across the frozen surface of the river, nimbly weaving past the trees as he charged into the forest depths.
Jiang Jingwei was mid-dash, and her momentum was too great for her to turn back and stop him.
At the crucial moment, a figure darted in from the flank, cutting off Dropout Fish's path. It was Guan Ya, with her long, shapely legs.
Swift as a hunting cheetah, Guan Ya closed in behind Dropout Fish. With a twist of her slender waist, her long leg whipped out like a lash, the air shrieking in its wake.
As a Scout, he was naturally impossible to catch off guard with such an attack. Dropout Fish dropped low into a half-crouch to evade the whip kick, then pushed off with both legs, raising his twin sabers and leaning back to thrust at the woman behind him.
"Hmph!"
A cold snort from the mixed-race woman reached his ears. Shifting her footing, she executed a basic side-step, perfectly dodging Dropout Fish's backward thrust.
Dropout Fish's heart tightened. Just as he was about to spin his body like a top to shred the woman at his side, Guan Ya bent her knee slightly and jabbed it into his waist, knocking his balance askew. With that single subtle, simple movement, she shattered his leverage.
Immediately after, Guan Ya pressed her palm against Dropout Fish's chest, unleashing hidden force from her palm.
*Bang!*
Dropout Fish was slammed flat against the ice.
Guan Ya followed up with a flying kick to his lower abdomen, sending him hurtling more than ten meters through the air. He crashed heavily into a tree trunk, jolting the massive tree and causing frost clinging to the branches to shower down.
Curling up in agony, Dropout Fish's features twisted into a grimace.
Ever since making a name for himself, he had relied on a Scout's Insight and years of rigorous saber training to remain invincible in close-quarters combat. Even when stronger enemies defeated him, they did so through diverse techniques and items, never through martial skill.
Yet this woman had thoroughly dismantled him in under ten seconds of melee.
It had been a very long time since Dropout Fish had experienced such absolute physical suppression.
Though two powerful lawful-class combatants had failed in quick succession, they had succeeded in tying down the defenders. A-Yi, Trampling the Firmament, Little Fatty, Hongwei, and the others slipped past the skirmishing fighters and dashed toward the depths of the park.
Right at that moment, an object landed before them with a heavy thud.
It was a bronze box measuring one meter on each side. Carved across its surface was a scene of two armies locked in brutal combat, weapons clashing in gruesome warfare.
A chilling aura of slaughter washed over them.
*Clang!*
The bronze box sprang open, and a humanoid figure leaped out.
It was a bronze puppet with facial features resembling a terracotta warrior, sporting raised brows and glaring eyes. Its torso and limbs were cast entirely of bronze and encrusted with verdigris. Its joints had rusted long ago, and as it wobbled to steady itself, they let out an ear-grating screech.
In its hand, it carried a rust-covered war saber.
Then, figure after figure leaped from the bronze box—ten, twenty, thirty... a full thirty bronze puppets in total.
They shared the same face and brandished identical standard-issue sabers, standing unsteadily while emitting that agonizing screeching noise.
Zhao Chenghuang approached with a frosty expression, stating coldly:
"All six of you, come at me together!"
As if answering his call, *creak*, every bronze puppet tilted its head in unison, fixing their gazes upon the six members of the Mountain Ghost faction.
Chapter 276