Chapter 44: 43. Zeng Jiangjun

43. Zeng Jiangjun

Under the warm, dark red light that shone like flames, Li Jiahong felt as if he had found an oasis in a lost desert, or a spark of life in the pitch-black night; feelings of peace, excitement, and other positive emotions welled up within him, and his fear and bewilderment were gradually dispelled.

The burly man before him, wearing a red ghost mask, stood tall and firm, clad in Golden Patterned Red Flame Armor like a war god general come to life; with him blocking the way, it felt as if all the filth and danger in the world would be annihilated by him, and that hideous, terrifying, and massive Dimensional Harmful Beast seemed to be among them.

"Zeng Jiangjun, is this Zeng Jiangjun?" Li Jiahong seemed to finally feel the weight of this title; at the very least, in terms of strength and might, he was worthy of the word "General."

Only hearing a muffled grunt from Zeng Jiangjun, he pushed with one hand, and that Alien God with wings, called Kusuen by the ancient records, staggered and was pushed back several steps.

That tumor-like head covered in eyes seemed to reveal a sense of disbelief; every eye was filled with shock and anger, as if it did not understand what this suddenly appearing, human-like yet non-human thing was, or why it possessed such immense power.

Li Jiahong picked up the young girl and stumbled over to Yu Lianyun's side; he checked Yu Lianyun's injuries and breathing, then let out a long sigh of relief—she was still alive.

The next moment, Zeng Jiangjun took off the Shackles at his waist, gripped both ends of the Shackles and pulled; the two holes of the Shackles separated instantly, revealing a crimson chain in the middle. He released one hand, spun the Shackles with the other, and then flung them out like a flying sickle claw; the other end of the Shackles split in two, heading straight toward two spots in the ruins.

With a sound like a mountain splitting and rocks cracking, the Shackles pierced into the ruins filled with hard stones; as Zeng Jiangjun gave a forceful tug, two battered figures flew into the air, and under Zeng Jiangjun's manipulation, they landed lightly beside Li Jiahong.

"Team Leader He, Investigator Li!" Li Jiahong felt a surge of excitement upon seeing He Jia'an and Li Yingqi again; when he saw their chests rising and falling slightly, he couldn't help but weep with joy, "Thank goodness, you are both alright!"

Seeing this scene, Kusuen let out an angry roar, its body shaking the ground as it moved, intending to crush that arrogant and flashy mysterious fellow with its hands.

Yet, facing the mountain-like giant beast, Zeng Jiangjun remained completely fearless from start to finish; instead, the look of rage on his face grew more intense. His entire body erupted with golden and red light, like a walking sun; he stepped out in a ritual pace, gathering the momentum of heaven and earth. Suddenly, the Taiji Two Forms appeared behind his back, and he trod upon the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams; with a sound like space shattering, Zeng Jiangjun's figure vanished from where he stood, turning into a dazzling golden-red stream of light that traveled through the ruins, actively meeting the Dimensional Demon Beast that was charging at him.

No one could see Zeng Jiangjun's movements clearly; suddenly, the Shackles, inserted with high-temperature, scorching chains, were flung out in succession. In an instant, the chains extended for hundreds of meters, and under Zeng Jiangjun's control, they locked onto Kusuen's two front legs covered in tentacles.

The two front legs were suddenly trapped by the giant-sized Shackles, and as the chains tightened and merged, Kusuen suddenly lost the ability to control its body while running, crashing headlong into the ground.

Kusuen's many eyes felt a blur; its pupils, capable of crossing dimensions and piercing through space, had failed to see how the Zeng Jiangjun, clad in red flame golden armor, had flashed behind it.

Zeng Jiangjun swung the Shackles in his hand toward the sky, and the merged Shackles separated once more; the other end shot straight into the sky, then dove into a suddenly opened red light screen. Immediately, several booms echoed from all around the space; circles of dark red light screens tore open the space, and a full eighty-one chains and eighty-one Shackles flew out simultaneously.

Facing the encircling chains, Kusuen tried to resist with all its might, but whenever it accidentally touched the scorching crimson chains, it felt a soul-tearing pain; it couldn't help but shrink back, yet one careless move would cause its back to touch the chains that had flanked it from behind, once again experiencing agonizing pain.

Gradually, Kusuen discovered that it had been trapped in this puzzle constructed by the chains; beyond its anger, it finally experienced a trace of unease at losing its freedom—it was an emotion called fear, sprouting deep within its soul.

With several sharp sounds of breaking through the air, the Shackles circling its body locked onto every part of Kusuen; the crimson, scorching chains wrapped around it, and the soul-burning, intense heat surged toward it like ocean waves, one after another, from every extending chain.

Kusuen let out a miserable howl as the Shackles and chains imprisoned its body.

"Endure the pain of the Karma Fire, Evil Beast!" Zeng Jiangjun shouted loudly. He pulled hard on one end of the Shackles in his hand, and the towering giant beast, whose weight could not be accurately estimated, was hoisted up alive; then he flung the other end of the Shackles into a light screen. The next instant, another circle of light appeared beneath Kusuen, and another ring of Shackles pierced into Kusuen's body, locking tightly onto its heart.

Thus, the chains all over Kusuen's body formed a perfect closed loop through the manipulation of space; its strong heart hoisted its entire body, but at the same time, its weight dragged on its heart, constantly tightening the chains on its body. As long as it moved even slightly, the soul-scorching heat on the chains would intensify by a fraction, simultaneously increasing the tightening force.

Because of this, Kusuen could only endure the intense pain, its whole body stiff, not daring to move; for as long as it moved even a little, the chains would repeatedly bring it even more unbearable torture.

Kusuen was afraid; it feared Zeng Jiangjun, who was clearly as small as a human; the opponent was so clearly visible, and his form was not difficult to understand, yet the opponent possessed power even greater than its own.

This Alien God, which had never known fragility since its birth, had been showered with blind worship, and had acted according to instincts inherited in its memory, now that it had encountered an existence capable of subduing it in a backhand, finally knew what fear was, and what humbleness was...

"Born of heaven and earth, uniquely endowed, yet possessing such great power without any enlightenment, instead creating countless killings and burdened by karmic obstacles... This power is simply a waste on you." Zeng Jiangjun shook his head and sighed, with a hint of disappointment in its failure to improve. With a casual flick, a Fire Token appeared in his right hand; he threw the Fire Token out, and it landed on top of Kusuen's head. Immediately, a large amount of flowing fire emerged from the Fire Token, pouring into every chain.

The constantly rising temperature of the chains plunged Kusuen into even more intense pain; its unintelligible strange sounds gradually turned into concise, mournful wails.

"Atone for your sins here; under the baptism of the Karma Fire, you will gradually lose your original power until you completely become a harmless, simple-minded creature. This is your retribution." Zeng Jiangjun said, ignoring the Evil Beast begging him for mercy. At this moment, the Burning Incense on the Golden Crown was also burning to its end; he glanced sideways at Li Jiahong, who was taking care of the Mysterious Investigators and the young girl, nodded lightly at him, turned, and vanished into the void...