Chapter 369

Unlike the disciples below, he handled them directly, leaving the group of demonic cultivators without the slightest temper.

Just as everyone was observing the battle, no one expected that the place where problems were least likely to occur would suddenly face a major issue.

A terrifying, thunderous boom rang out, dust and smoke billowed across the battlefield between Venerable Hong and the Joyous Buddha, and then a figure flew backward, spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood.

The person sent flying was not the Joyous Buddha, but Venerable Hong.

Seeing this, the disciples were all stunned. How was it possible? With Venerable Hong's strength, handling a Joyous Buddha should have been a piece of cake; what was happening now?

Flying backward for several hundred meters, Venerable Hong only managed to steady himself after slamming hard into the array's light barrier.

Then, the smoke and dust ahead slowly dissipated, and the Joyous Buddha's form gradually revealed itself to everyone.

"Oh my mother, what kind of thing is this?"

Looking at the Joyous Buddha at this moment, the disciples' eyes widened, and they all opened their mouths in shock.

It wasn't their fault; the Joyous Buddha was truly... how to put it, he had become quite perverted.

His figure had surged to over ten meters in height, his entire body was covered in bulging muscle, and he had even grown thick, black fur, looking... just like a hybrid monster born from the apes of Ape Mountain and humans.

His scarlet eyes emitted a murderous light, staring fixedly at Venerable Hong, and the Joyous Buddha roared.

"How about it? Do you think I am still the same as before? I am very good at fighting now."

Being hunted by Venerable Hong for tens of thousands of miles back then and having an arm severed were painful memories the Joyous Buddha could never forget.

And now, having directly repelled Venerable Hong and gained the upper hand, his mood could be imagined.

To this, Venerable Hong wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said calmly.

"Merging with the demon race's bloodline, are you?"

Demonic cultivators can use special methods to merge with the bloodlines of the demon race, turning into half-human, half-demon monsters, greatly enhancing their strength, especially in terms of their physical body.

But such a method is extremely dangerous; after all, the human race and the demon race are inherently incompatible, and the difficulty of wanting to possess the bloodline power of both races simultaneously can be imagined.

This is completely a high-stakes gamble; if you win, you become stronger, and if you lose, you die and your cultivation vanishes.

He didn't expect the Joyous Buddha to have such courage, and he had actually succeeded.

Regarding Venerable Hong seeing through his fusion with the demon bloodline, the Joyous Buddha didn't care at all. The reason he had become so crazy was all thanks to him.

After escaping from Venerable Hong's hands back then, the Joyous Buddha had sworn to personally kill Venerable Hong to avenge his severed arm.

With a sudden push from his feet, the Joyous Buddha shot directly toward Venerable Hong, his eyes filled with killing intent.

"Venerable Hong, the matters of the past, today is the time for them to be settled."

He appeared before Venerable Hong in an instant, then threw a punch; the terrifying power even caused the surrounding space to distort.

Blood light flared. Seeing this, Venerable Hong had no intention of clashing head-on. With a movement of his feet, he unleashed his movement technique and dodged the Joyous Buddha's attack with ease.

Not far away, the disciples watched the great battle between the two, their eyes filled with worry. There was no helping it; the Joyous Buddha before them was simply too terrifying.

"Great Elder, are you not going to make a move?"

A disciple asked. To this, Qingshi replied with a relaxed expression.

"You all underestimate your own Peak Master too much."

It seemed as if he wasn't worried at all that Venerable Hong would lose, yet right now, Venerable Hong was clearly at a disadvantage, being suppressed by the Joyous Buddha.

The Joyous Buddha attacked continuously with fierce momentum, while Venerable Hong could only dodge repeatedly in the face of such attacks.

With things like this, Qingshi and the others still wouldn't intervene to support him?

The disciples couldn't understand it for a moment, but the Joyous Buddha's attacks didn't last long.

It was just a matter of three simple moves, and then he was directly trapped by the array.

Somewhere, six array disks appeared, and from each disk, a black iron chain firmly locked the Joyous Buddha.

His hands, feet, and body were almost completely bound by the black chains, unable to move at all.

He struggled with all his might, but in the end, he found it was completely futile.

Walking up to the Joyous Buddha, he smiled slightly.

"Are you very good at fighting?"

"What's the use of being good at fighting? Joyous Buddha, the times have changed; nowadays, you have to use your brain when fighting."

Venerable Hong didn't clash head-on with the Joyous Buddha not because he was afraid of him, but because he was setting up an array.

Since there was an easier and less strenuous way, why would he foolishly go up and fight head-on?

Do you know why the demon race has always been suppressed by the human race in the Eastern Continent? It is for this reason; only those demon races that are like brutes choose to rely on head-on clashes for everything.

Moreover, the demon race has become smarter now; haven't you seen that even the Tiger Clan has produced a Demon King known for his wisdom, the Wise Tiger Demon King?

Who would be like the Joyous Buddha, who, for the sake of power, didn't even want his brain?

His strength had indeed increased, but he seemed to have abandoned those previous methods of his.

A demonic cultivator who doesn't even know how to use sleeping drugs or hidden weapons, is he still a demonic cultivator? Therefore, for Venerable Hong, the current Joyous Buddha was even easier to handle.

Isn't this exactly what's happening right now?

Hearing Venerable Hong's words, the Joyous Buddha's face turned ferocious, and he roared with sky-high anger.

"Venerable Hong, you despicable villain, you used an array and borrowed external force; if you have the ability, let me go and we'll go again..."

Before he could finish speaking, a loud shout came from below, and Qingshi was seen looking shocked.

"Holy crap, the Black Lock Array? Isn't this the array that Ergou researched? Old Drunkard, where did you get the Black Lock Array?"

As Ergou, also known as Chen Wang's older brother, Qingshi was naturally no stranger to the Black Lock Array, and besides, in the entire Eastern Continent, only Chen Wang could engrave the Black Lock Array.

But how the hell did Venerable Hong have this array?