Chapter 713: The Combat Golden Monk!

These words, Lu Ran could only hide in his heart, daring not to speak them aloud.

He was not entirely clear what Tu Fengzhu's current situation actually was; regarding each other's actions, it was best for everyone to maintain a tacit understanding.

Once exposed, it would very likely bring ruin to the Forbidden City!

Tu Fengzhu clearly did not wish to act this way, yet he continued nonetheless, plainly indicating he had reservations.

Perhaps he was threatened by a deity, or perhaps he was being monitored by one.

Or maybe all of Tu Fengzhu's actions would be made public to the deity afterward, leading to a reckoning later.

Regardless, since Tu Fengzhu was subtly offering an opportunity, Lu Ran must strive desperately to seize it!

The only problem was that this opportunity was far too difficult to grasp!

Merely the realm of 'Heavenly Realm' was sufficient to crush someone of the Sea Realm.

Moreover, the opponent Lu Ran faced was no ordinary Heavenly Realm cultivator, but a First-Rank Deity's disciple—a Wu Seng!

Had the deity worshipped by Tu Fengzhu been weaker, with divine arts less all-encompassing and less domineering, Lu Ran might have found some loophole to exploit.

But this was a Great Wu Seng of the Heavenly Realm.

How exactly was he supposed to fight this?

"Roar!"

"Hiss!" In the sky above, dragons and pythons ran rampant.

The dragon's roar and the snake's hiss intertwined, shaking heaven and earth, terrifying to the very soul.

Lu Ran's spirit remained constantly tense, cautious to the extreme.

A Heaven-grade divine art, especially a Heaven-grade Wu Seng Shen Fa, needed only to graze Lu Ran slightly to shatter his defensive armor and blast his Sea Realm body into fragments!

"What are you persisting in?" A faint voice drifted across the sky.

The voice contained no human emotion whatsoever, yet possessed immense penetrative power, cutting through the hissing and roaring of dragons and snakes to reach Lu Ran's ears.

"Gulp." Lu Ran's Adam's apple bobbed as he tightened his grip on the Jade Jiang Ruyi.

Ever since he advanced to the Sea Realm within this Holy Spirit Mountain, he had rarely encountered an equal; Lu Ran had not felt this sensation of "one misstep meaning death" in a very long time.

Fleeing far away and avoiding the enemy's sharp edge was undoubtedly the most correct decision!

Correct?

Was it truly correct?

"Hoo~"

A surge of divine power churned within Lu Ran's body.

Wu Sheng Shen Fa: Swallow Feather Turn!

This was one of the Three Treasures of the Lyceum, allowing Wu Sheng believers to sway with the "wind," even remaining idle amidst ten thousand armies, truly achieving the state where not a single leaf clings to the body.

The Great Wu Seng of the Heavenly Realm before him was absurdly strong, with output explosively devastating! Precisely because of this, every technique Tu Fengzhu unleashed carried particularly violent fluctuations of divine power.

Therefore, before any divine art of the Wusengyi Sect could actually strike Lu Ran, the terrifying fluctuation of divine power would push him away!

Clearly, Lu Ran had made what he believed to be the correct choice; holding the Jade Jiang Ruyi in one hand, he reached forward once more.

"Hum~"

The exquisite, jade-white Jade Jiang Ruyi suddenly trembled lightly, and a magnificent white-scaled great python immediately shot out, hissing as it charged toward Tu Fengzhu.

Tu Fengzhu turned his head, looking toward the location where the white-scaled great python appeared, then immediately tapped the ground and darted over.

He did not mind falling into a trap; he pursued ferociously, allowing the mysterious youth to lure him out above the Forbidden City.

But even if he left the skies above the Forbidden City, so what?

Was it to give you all a slight chance to catch your breath and organize the city's populace to evacuate?

Tu Fengzhu remained expressionless; wielding his long staff in sweeping arcs and kicking out dragon after dragon from beneath his feet, every single movement constituted a fatal blow to Lu Ran!

Do you truly believe the lives of those lowly servants are so precious that a deity must personally order their collection?

"Roar!" Another golden dragon kicked out from beneath Tu Fengzhu's foot.

In the instant of his spinning kick, Tu Fengzhu glanced once more at the majestic Forbidden City in the distance.

Behind him, the hoarse hissing of a snake sounded again.

Tu Fengzhu silently turned to look, a trace of disappointment arising in his heart.

Is that all?

Then let it be.

"I am beginning to feel annoyed," Tu Fengzhu said faintly.

Holding the Second-Rank Divine Weapon, the Xuanhuang Staff, he thrust it forward.

The dark-golden Xuanhuang Staff suddenly grew larger and longer; the staff's tip pressed against the side of the enormous python's head, pushing it aside.

"Ugh." Lu Ran gritted his teeth tightly, as if exerting every ounce of strength he possessed.

The Immortal Heaven Python, possessing a physical form, could move according to the caster's will, twisting its body at will and adjusting its charging direction.

Yet no matter how Lu Ran manipulated it, the Immortal Heaven Python simply could not move, forced to be ruthlessly pushed aside by the giant staff.

"Whoosh!!"

The massive Xuanhuang Staff swept out fiercely.

The Immortal Heaven Python hissed angrily, its body twisting askew as it crashed diagonally toward the ground.

"Boom-rumble!"

The giant python smashed heavily into the earth; the ground trembled, and swathes of forest were snapped and crushed.

The Xuanhuang Staff did not stop its sweeping!

It continued to circle around Tu Fengzhu, sweeping a full revolution.

In an instant, a dark-golden disc appeared in the sky!

The massive staff swept out thick golden energy, like a churning sea of clouds, with the power to blot out the sun and sky.

Lu Ran's temples thumped wildly!

He instinctively blinked, and when he reappeared, he was already standing atop the golden sea of clouds.

Yet more than ten meters below his feet, the terrifying wind and waves continued; the gale swept up tiny ants and flung Lu Ran away in one go.

Peak Master Tu pressed his palm against the base of the Xuanhuang Staff and swung it again.

"Hum!!"

The Xuanhuang Staff vibrated violently; already massive enough, its size was actually still growing crazily?

The increasingly thick giant staff swept out round after round of dark golden discs, appearing at various angles high in the sky.

Terrifying golden shockwaves dyed the entire sky.

Lu Ran was like a small boat tossing in towering waves, seemingly in peril, liable to be shattered by the golden surge at any moment.

In reality, the Divine Art of the Wu Sheng faction—Yanling Fan—carried Lu Ran up and down, flipping him left and right.

It was undeniable that the Monk was indeed very strong.

But the opera performer was no less formidable!

Who among them wasn't from a first-rate divine sect?

"Whoosh!"

Lu Ran, swaying with the wind, exerted all his strength to blink, appearing directly in the sky ten kilometers away.

From afar, Peak Master Tu was still running wild!

Lu Ran knew clearly that his time was running out.

Peak Master Tu's earlier remark, "I'm starting to get annoyed," was less a sneer of contempt and more a warning!

"Damn it!"

Lu Ran, anxious at heart, rarely cursed aloud.

He flung away the jade Jiang Ruyi, forcibly suppressing the feeling of his heart pounding in terror, and stared fixedly at the sky where dark golden energy churned in the distance.

One second, two seconds... now!

Lu Ran's eyes narrowed; at the exact instant Peak Master Tu stopped swinging his staff, Lu Ran's figure suddenly blinked away.

The next moment, Lu Ran was pressed entirely against the Xuanhuang Staff.

An ant trying to shake a great tree? Laughable overestimation of one's own strength?

No!

This tiny ant had accomplished something earth-shattering!

Lu Ran hugged the Xuanhuang Staff tightly with both hands and teleported away once more.

"Hmm?" Peak Master Tu paused mid-action.

A divine weapon and its master naturally shared a mental connection, knowing each other's location.

Peak Master Tu turned to look; ten kilometers away in the far north, the Xuanhuang Staff was there, yet invisible to the naked eye!

For a moment, Peak Master Tu's expression became somewhat unusual.

He had thought

the mysterious youth was nothing more than this.

He hadn't expected that on this battlefield where life and death hung by a thread, the other party could still display such quick wit and pull off some clever tricks?

But holding my divine weapon doesn't that expose your position?

"Bold!" Peak Master Tu shouted harshly for the first time; he tapped his foot, and the Three Thousand Ripple Shoes rippled out a circle of golden waves.

Carrying endless majesty, the Heavenly Realm Great Wu Seng shot fiercely toward the north.

"Behave!" Lu Ran shouted just as harshly, gripping the Xuanhuang Staff, which was now only two meters long, in his hand.

A divine weapon's domain naturally required the master and the weapon to cast techniques together; after Lu Ran forcibly took the divine weapon, the Xuanhuang Staff, away, it immediately reverted to its ordinary size.

"Hum!"

The Xuanhuang Staff struggled violently, yet it simply could not break free from Lu Ran's control.

Even though the attributes of a second-tier divine weapon were explosive, Lu Ran had reached the Zhi Hai Jing, and furthermore, the power of Divine Lie Tian coursed through his entire body.

However, noticing Peak Master Tu killing toward him head-on, Lu Ran immediately realized the situation was wrong.

"Off you go!"

Lu Ran decided on the spot and violently flung the Xuanhuang Staff away.

The instant the Xuanhuang Staff left his hand, it immediately revealed its form and strained to ease its momentum, attempting to return to its master's embrace.

【Take it away, get it away from me!】 Lu Ran's thoughts raced; Xia Guang Ji Ye unsheathed in succession, stabbing straight at the Xuanhuang Staff.

【Master!】 An urgent female voice echoed in his mind.

Yan Yan Shuangzi?

At this moment, Lu Ran had no time to scold her for disobeying orders and immediately said: 【Take the staff away!】

"Whoosh~"

A woman in a straw raincoat abruptly appeared in the sky, grabbed the Xuanhuang Staff, and blinked away alone.

Peak Master Tu, leaping forward at high speed, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly.

In merely an instant, the divine staff was once again far from him.

Was the newcomer a believer of Gun Xiu? A believer of Liangye Jian Yi? Or a disciple of E Quan?

In any case, it shouldn't be a disciple of Xue Lu; when this person teleported, no bloody afterimage was left behind.

Or perhaps, this was yet another person possessing a teleportation artifact?

Peak Master Tu's eyes suddenly narrowed.

From the northern sky flew a young woman wielding a golden Zen staff and draped in a loose golden robe.

He Qi?

"You—" Peak Master Tu's mouth hung slightly open, yet his words cut off abruptly.

You didn't die?

If you didn't die, then why appear? Why let me see you?!

"Boom!!"

Peak Master Tu's expression sank; he suddenly pressed his palms together, producing a muffled roar that shook heaven and earth.

Brilliant golden light suddenly erupted from his body.

Though the midday sun blazed fiercely in the sky, the dazzling radiance emanating from Peak Master Tu now rivaled the scorching sun above!

Terrifying surges of energy rose up, plating Peak Master Tu's flesh and blood with a layer of gold.

Wusengyi Sect Heaven-Realm Ultimate Move: Fighting Golden Monk!

"Tu!" He Qi's pupils trembled violently as she halted abruptly in midair.

In the sky over ten kilometers away, that tiny monkish figure resembled a golden sun, radiating fierce morning glow.

The next instant, a colossal golden palm spanning a kilometer suddenly appeared, charging forward with unstoppable force.

He Qi gripped her Tier-2 Divine Weapon, the Nine-Ring Golden Zen Staff, and hastily dodged sideways.

Shockingly, that kilometer-spanning golden giant palm was not alone!

There was a second palm, a third, a fourth...

Every time Peak Master Tu thrust out his palm, he unleashed another heaven-destroying golden monk palm!

"Rumble-rumble-rumble!"

"Rumble-rumble-rumble"—earth-shaking explosions rang out incessantly.

The golden monk palms swept across the high skies, the turbulent winds they stirred up tearing trees from the forests below by their roots.

Even the continuous mountain ranges blocking the monk palms were blasted into shattered ruins.

Truly heaven-destroying and earth-annihilating!

However, this was not the entirety of the Heaven-Realm Ultimate Move: Fighting Golden Monk.

When the rapidly leaping Peak Master Tu slammed his foot hard against the air, the earth suddenly began to quake.

The mountain forests shook, trees toppled, and rubble and dust flew everywhere.

Golden giant dragons burst forth from the ground, surging upward to strike He Qi, who was frantically dodging in the sky.

Dodge?

What did He Qi have to dodge with?

Above and to the side were successive sky-blanketing giant palms; below was a dense swarm of dragons charging upward.

A deadly trap!

"Aaaah!" He Qi suddenly roared in anger, her short hair dancing upward with the wind waves as golden light erupted from her pupils.

She gripped the Nine-Ring Golden Zen Staff with both hands, planting it firmly before her.

"Hum!"

From the Nine-Ring Golden Zen Staff, rings of golden light suddenly spread outward.

These massive golden rings encircled He Qi, then rotated outward in every direction and at every angle with her as the center, forming a spherical defensive barrier.

Divine Weapon Domain: Nine-Ring Compassion Barrier!

Could these rapidly spinning rings withstand the attack of a Heaven-Realm expert?

No one knew.

What Lu Ran did know was that He Qi's appearance had completely drawn Peak Master Tu's attention away.

A heaven-sent opportunity!

"Whoosh~" Lu Ran's figure flashed instantly, appearing directly beneath Peak Master Tu's feet.

At this moment, the Gate Master of Ran Gate cast aside life and death, closing the distance with the terrifying Heaven-Realm expert to grab Peak Master Tu's feet firmly with both hands.

"Hmm?" Peak Master Tu felt a start in his heart; just as he was about to act, he suddenly felt a chill beneath his feet.

The magical artifact he wore on his feet, the Three Thousand Ripples Shoes, had vanished.

Peak Master Tu's shoes had been stripped off by Lu Ran!

Peak Master Tu:???

In such a serious situation, amidst a fierce life-or-death battle, this kid...

... actually stripped someone's shoes?

The key was that it was especially effective!

No matter how powerful a Heaven-Realm Great Wu Seng might be, he could not fly!

"You—" For a moment, Peak Master Tu's expression was extraordinarily complex as his entire body plummeted downward.

"Hiss!!"

The familiar sound of a snake hissing rang out once more.

Falling on his back, Peak Master Tu saw directly above him a phantom giant python roaring as it charged down fiercely.

"Whoosh~"

Energy churned in Peak Master Tu's hand as he casually gripped an ancient bronze staff forged entirely from pure energy.

However, just as he intended to thrust the staff upward and detonate the golden energy...

Peak Master Tu's face suddenly went stiff!

As he plummeted rapidly, he detected an astonishing fluctuation of energy erupting from the mountain forest directly below.

Such a level of divine power fluctuation could absolutely not be unleashed by anyone from the Sea Realm!

For the first time, Sect Master Tu felt a sense of crisis!

Instinctively, he lowered the ancient bronze staff to his side, intending to detonate it early and use the blast wave to fling himself away.

Who said that one unable to fly could not dodge?

But just then, a vast, illusory, pitch-black petal, dyed with the form of a golden Wu Seng, encompassed the tiny human within it.

Is this the Red Spider Lily of the Chenying Sect?

Sect Master Tu's gaze shifted slightly, and he forcibly halted the action of detonating the staff's tip.

"Huff~"

Almost at the same time, the petals swayed gently, and the flower suddenly contracted.

Sect Master Tu returned to his expressionless state, silently watching this scene, letting everything unfold.

In mid-air,

the vast, pitch-black, beautiful Red Spider Lily, carrying the radiant Golden Battle Monk, vanished together without a trace.

In the forest below,

the old man in the gray robe squinted his eyes, gazing up at the sky, and slowly lowered his arms.

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(End of this chapter)