Chapter 50

“Demon aura?” As the brocade-clad elder moved, Gu Zhao sensed a demonic energy—similar to Bai Ke’s, slightly different but fundamentally the same.

“You’re a Daoist priest?” the brocade-clad elder snapped.

The brocade-clad elder’s face darkened; he recognized the power of Taiyi Wind-Fire from Daoist Yan Song and dared not touch it, but seeing Gu Zhao, so young, standing beside Yan Song, he unconsciously looked down on him—only to have kicked a block of iron.

Gu Zhao nodded. “You could say that.”

“We have no grudge against you. Return the Blood Spirit Pearl, and we’ll leave your feud with Xu Kongting alone. Otherwise, Sanjue Mountain will fight you to the death!” the brocade-clad elder threatened.

Bai Ke gasped. “Sanjue Mountain?”

Gu Zhao asked Bai Ke, “What is Sanjue Mountain?”

“Another major force in Changping Prefecture. Its leader is a great demon who kills for sport and feasts on flesh and blood,” Bai Ke replied.

Gu Zhao nodded, showing no hesitation, then pulled out a yellow paper and chanted, “Eyes like sun and moon, opening and closing heaven and earth. When the One Origin is established, the Four Symbols are complete. Yin and Yang transform, the Divine Ascends to Qing.”

The yellow paper turned to ash—the Shangqing Transformation Spell took effect!

Gu Zhao not only empowered himself with the Shangqing Transformation Talisman, but also bestowed one upon Daoist Yan Song.

“Whooosh—”

Taiyi Wind-Fire surged forward like a wall, its wind and flame strengthened by a third.

The white-robed Xu Kongting and the brocade-clad elder’s faces twisted in shock; both retreated at full speed, leaping out through the ancestral hall’s window.

But the moment they stepped outside, the sky grew darker than before—the sun was no longer filtering through mist, but as if completely blocked.

The brocade-clad elder looked up sharply and saw a small cloud condensing above them, blocking the sunlight while faint purple light flickered within.

The brocade-clad elder shot upward to flee—but the instant he moved, he realized Taiyi Wind-Fire surrounded him completely.

Outside the ancestral hall, Daoist Yan Song swept his sleeve again, his face turning black, eyebrows vertical, eyes round and blazing with fury. With full power, he enveloped the entire surroundings in Taiyi Wind-Fire, forming a wind-and-fire prison that trapped the ghost and demon at its center.

The violent wind and fire curled and scorched the brocade-clad elder’s robes, forcing a cry of shock from him: “Who are you people?”

Xu Kongting glanced at the thundercloud above, then at the surrounding wind and fire, his face pale. He gritted his teeth and leapt toward the dry well beneath the ancient locust tree.

The next instant, a death-dealing chant echoed from behind them: “Heavenly Thunder, Earthly Thunder, resound through all eight directions. Crush mountains, topple peaks, blast through the Celestial Granary.”

“Boom!”

Dozens of lightning bolts suddenly erupted from the thundercloud, striking down at the brocade-clad elder and the well’s mouth.

The brocade-clad elder roared, his body swelling three feet, bursting his brocade robes to reveal his true form—a yellow ape over two meters tall. He crossed his arms over his head, demonic energy radiating, bracing himself against the heavenly thunder.

A thick stench of corpse energy suddenly rose from the well’s mouth, forming a visible black-red mist that layered around the well, sealing it completely.

The next moment, thunder and fire interwove—purple lightning, golden light, crimson flames, black smoke—blazing ten thousand zhang!

…

“Huh? There’s actually demonic energy!” Daoist Yan Song extinguished the Taiyi Wind-Fire, his eyes brightening.

Several strands of demonic energy were drawn into the thunder seed within Daoist Yan Song’s spiritual sense, then transformed into spiritual power that flowed into his body, accelerating his cultivation and enhancing his base.

Gu Zhao sensed it even more deeply, for the Five Thunder Talisman not only boosted his cultivation but also began condensing a new thunder seed.

“Are they all dead?” Xiuniang whispered.

“The old man’s dead,” Bai Ke shook his tail. “The whole man—no, the monkey—is charred to ash.”

Just now, heavenly thunder rained from above, Taiyi Wind-Fire raged all around, striking from every direction. Though the brocade-clad elder was no weakling, half the Thunder Invocation directly blasted him to the brink of death, then the Taiyi Wind-Fire swept over him like a whirlwind through dry grass, reducing him to a lump of charcoal.

In Gu Zhao’s view, the old man was no stronger than Ren Tianhe—a mere hundred-plus years of cultivation, daring to resist Shenshao Heavenly Thunder and Taiyi Wind-Fire?

As for Sanjue Mountain’s threat of eternal enmity—wasn’t that problem solved?

“What about the white-robed ghost?” Xiuniang asked.

Gu Zhao, Daoist Yan Song, and Bai Ke all turned to the dry well beneath the ancient locust tree.

Thin streams of red mist rose from the well’s mouth, accompanied by a heavy stench of decay, then a voice filled with rage and hatred echoed from below: “You’ve wounded my soul, shattered my Crimson Corpse Qi Art—I’ll make you die!”

The next instant, a figure suddenly rose from the well’s mouth—dressed in white, skin bluish-black. His face was unmistakably that of the white-robed Xu Kongting.

But this figure was different from before.

Earlier, Xu Kongting had broken through Taiyi Wind-Fire and been struck by Gu Zhao’s Palm Thunder—his ghostly body had nearly dissolved, appearing insubstantial. Now, he possessed solid form; the dirt on his robes and skin was clearly visible.

His aura was unstable, yet clearly stronger than the brocade-clad elder’s true form had been.

But when he saw the blackened lump nearby—still recognizable as a towering ape—he froze. “You killed Huang Ping Gong?”

“So he wasn’t allowed to die?” Gu Zhao asked.

“He’s the Yellow Robe Envoy of Sanjue Mountain!” Xu Kongting snarled, teeth bared in fury and resentment.

If Huang Ping Gong died here, Sanjue Mountain would never let it pass. Even if he killed these three and the fox, he’d still be held accountable by Sanjue Mountain.

“How does Sanjue Mountain compare to the Golden Wind Divine Cult?” Gu Zhao asked.

Xu Kongting blinked in surprise. “You’re from the Golden Wind Divine Cult?”

Both Sanjue Mountain and the Golden Wind Divine Cult were major forces in Changping Prefecture. Though Sanjue Mountain had three mountain lords, they wouldn’t underestimate the Golden Wind Divine King, who had been famous for decades.

“No,” Gu Zhao smiled faintly. “I’ve already killed five protectors of the Golden Wind Divine Cult.”

“What?” Xu Kongting’s pupils shrank.

“By the same logic, if I kill you, who’ll know we killed this ape?” Gu Zhao snapped his fingers. “Heavenly Thunder, Earthly Thunder, resound—”

As the thundercloud above began to reform, Xu Kongting let out a piercing shriek and lunged at Gu Zhao.

“Whooosh—”

Wind howled, heat gathered, Taiyi Wind-Fire blasted toward him.

Drenched in Crimson Corpse Qi, Xu Kongting boasted his corpse-body was as hard as iron. Ignoring the wind and fire, he charged through it, determined to close the distance and slaughter them with brute force.

Though his Crimson Corpse Qi Art was shattered and he couldn’t fully unleash his power, these opponents clearly weren’t skilled in close combat. Once he got close, his claws—strong as gold and steel—would tear them apart.

“Shhh! Shhh! Shhh!”

But he had just expended most of his Crimson Corpse Qi and finally broke through the Taiyi Wind-Fire—when suddenly, several beams of solar-lunar Gangqi erupted before him, transforming into waves of Heavenly Gang , surging toward Xu Kongting.

At the same time, Daoist Yan Song channeled his magic power, waved his hand, and the Taiyi Wind-Fire coalesced further, spiraling into a vortex that trapped Xu Kongting at its center.

The next instant, endless purple lightning poured down from the thundercloud.