Chapter 424: Locking the Gate to Beat the Dog (Three-in-One)

"..."

Nie Jun froze for a moment, then revealed his form and dashed toward the main hall without hesitation.

By the time he landed in that dim, silent hall,

he saw a scene that left him stunned.

Beneath the towering statue of the Ancestral Founder, the black-backed old dog stood tense, raising its front paws and cautiously staring at the silver-armored figure approaching it.

Shen Yi strolled leisurely to stand before it.

Then he slowly crouched, extended his palm, and curled his index finger.

"Psst, psst."

The crisp sound echoed through the hall.

Nie Jun fell completely into a daze.

The old dog's pupils dilated, and its entire body froze in place.

Within its line of sight, the silver-armored youth transformed into a figure draped in a white robe of General Nanyang, his face blurred, radiating a hint of benevolence, bending down and reaching out toward it.

"Laifu, come here."

That was the understanding it had waited tens of thousands of years for.

Yet in an instant, killing intent nearly overflowed the old dog's eyes: "Roar!"

This was sheer nonsense.

Because the Shen Zongzhu could not possibly know the name of a spiritual dog guarding the back kitchen.

It suddenly raised its front paws and slammed them fiercely forward!

But due to that brief moment of stunned distraction, Shen Yi had already ruthlessly seized its front paw, his body beneath the silver armor unleashing unimaginable strength.

Under his violent swing and smash,

Zhang Laifu's entire body soared through the air, crashing down outside the hall and rolling dozens of times on the stone steps before entering the range of the Iron-Brush Tiehua Yingou Formation.

Slay! Trap! Seal!

The three techniques merged into a single complete great formation, sealing the old dog within.

It stood up, dazed.

Even though it had indeed been distracted for a moment,

the terrifying force just now was absolutely not the power level of the Transformation of Spirit Realm.

In the next instant,

Zhang Laifu watched Shen Yi slowly stroll out of the main hall, his silver armor gleaming, a snow-white great cloak billowing in the mountain wind. He stood atop the General Nanyang relief, looking down at him from above.

His pair of pitch-black, clear eyes seemed to be passing judgment.

That was the deepest nightmare in Zhang Laifu's heart.

Through countless days and nights, he could no longer recall how many times he had dreamed of this scene.

The old dog instinctively lowered its head.

Then it saw the iron chain around its neck.

It slowly extended a front paw, grasped the iron chain, trembled all over, and then emitted an extremely strange sound, like crying yet laughing: "Heh... heh..."

Crack, crack.

The iron chain didn't even have a chance to break before it turned into a pile of powder in its palm.

"A monkey wearing a crown."

The old dog seemed to be muttering to itself, slowly raising its head to look at Shen Yi: "Evil demon."

Then it looked up at the sky, sweeping indifferently over the slightly trembling graceful figure: "Heterodox path."

"Invading the territory of General Nanyang! Its crime deserves execution!"

It was not the last disciple of the General Nanyang Sect.

According to the principles of inheritance,

this Zhang was the Shen Zongzhu of General Nanyang!

No one could judge its faults, and it had no faults at all; everything of the General Nanyang Sect belonged to it to enjoy.

In the instant the old dog's eyes changed,

Ye Wenxuan seemed to see again that terrifying figure who had slaughtered Mount Wutong back then.

She even felt the urge to turn and flee.

Fortunately, the old dog's attention was not overly focused on her.

Now, its eyes held only one person.

That was Nie Jun, holding the Dao Token inside the main hall.

"..."

Ye Wenxuan swallowed hard.

Although cultivating Nie Jun was originally intended for this very scene—disciple holding the Dao Token to attract the old dog while she employed various methods to restrain it—

yet when she truly saw the old dog raising its paw, she still felt a trace of worry.

As expected, although the trapping formation could seal the old dog inside,

a giant dog paw still appeared in the air, smashing down toward the main hall with a boom!

Nie Jun had already found the spot to insert the Dao Token.

It was precisely the groove in the palm of the Ancestral Founder statue.

His realm was too low; he needed to channel all the heaven and earth spiritual energy he could mobilize entirely into that groove to barely activate the Dao Token and open the entire sect-protecting great formation.

It would take at least half a shichen.

In this situation, the only thing he could rely on was the Dao Palace hidden within his brow.

But facing that domineering claw that came crashing in.

The Purple Sky True Lei Jiangong he took such pride in seemed utterly fragile.

BOOM!!

Beneath that enormous dog's paw, the silver-armored youth suddenly appeared.

From the seams of his armor, blinding golden flames surged forth, and in an instant transformed into two seas of golden fire, like sky-covering great wings, crashing violently against the dog's paw!

Like the Golden Crow of the heavens, rolling up boundless waves of fire!

Shen Yi lowered his gaze to look, and said nothing.

Nie Jun, however, immediately understood the other's meaning.

He only needed to focus on activating the great formation; he could even channel the aura from his Dao Palace into the grooves at the same time, and leave the rest to him.

"……"

Shen Yi withdrew his gaze, and the golden sea of fire swept out once more, shattering the dog's claw phantom outright.

His figure shot forth in a violent rush.

He stood in midair, suspended above the great formation.

With a wave of his hand, the enormous writing brush used blazing flames as ink, sweeping freely, gathering in the air into a profound array symbol that fell directly onto the old dog.

A sealing formation, to lock away its demonic power.

Under the joint formation-setting of the two, the complete Iron Stroke Tiehua Yingou finally revealed its true might.

No longer merely a test question, but a Return-to-Void formation array that even the old dog found troublesome.

Sensing the violent stirring of the world's spiritual energy, gathering in unison toward the great hall.

The old dog swung its claw again, slashing toward Nie Jun!

Clearly, even without being able to use demonic power, having abandoned all sorts of techniques and methods, relying solely on this demonic body and the divine abilities born from swallowing and refining countless heavenly treasures was enough to make it proud before all of General Nanyang Sect.

Boom—

Shen Yi dove down from the horizon, his fist carrying golden flames slamming viciously into the old dog's nose tip.

Following his movement.

A piercing cry erupted from the phoenix egg within his body, and the crimson flames swirling around poured entirely into his limbs and bones.

Under such a full-powered punch, the black-backed big yellow dog's lips peeled back, its entire body was sent flying once more, golden flames scorching its fur.

By the time Zhang Laifu landed, it had already become a wretched sight, its whole body mottled and battered.

"Hmph."

The old dog quickly flipped back to its feet, blood dripping from its nose tip, eyes wide and round.

If the previous strike had been an accident, then this punch made it completely recognize Shen Yi's true strength.

"The Undying True Body of the Heavenly Phoenix... was the great medicine I gave you?"

This Spirit Body technique once had a slight reputation within General Nanyang Sect; cultivated to perfection, it could even rival a Return-to-Void sixth-layer cultivator.

Zhang Laifu suddenly recalled the Spirit Emperor it had released.

No... the bloodline of a phoenix demon is so violent; even if the Spirit Emperor was ambushed and killed right after leaving Thousand Demon Cave, at the very most, the other party couldn't possibly have digested its essence blood.

Even for the former cultivators of General Nanyang Sect, with the aid of all sorts of precious medicines, it would take at least a thousand years.

The Spirit Body technique only relates to the Dao Infant; there's no such thing as a comprehension bonus.

"There's something wrong with you!"

Zhang Laifu slowly took a step forward.

In this place, no one knew better than it how long it took to digest medicinal power.

It stared fixedly at the youth ahead.

Its earlier plan had been to first kill the one holding the Dao Token, then slowly deal with these two demonic heretics; but now it seemed that without dealing with this youth, with its magic power sealed, it would be hard to find any way to slay a Return-to-Void cultivator through the formation.

"Let this seat see just what Chen Qiankun you're hiding in your body."

The old dog bared its fangs; it was actually panicking too. Now looking carefully, given Nie Jun's cultivation, to activate the formation, it still had plenty of time.

As the words fell, it suddenly pounced out!

Without the terrifying phantom from before, its claws were almost no different from an ordinary mongrel's, only slightly larger.

But the wings that had casually shattered the phantom earlier were now easily torn apart beneath that dog's claw.

Riiip!

The golden sea of fire split apart, scattering into a skyful of golden radiance, then slowly regathered.

In that instant, Zhang Laifu's claw had already slammed viciously onto Shen Yi's chest.

Crack, crack.

The silver armor split open abruptly.

But compared to the previous magic robe, at least it didn't explode outright.

The tremendous force poured entirely onto the youth's body.

The golden flames all over Shen Yi seemed scattered by a violent wind, but he didn't dodge; instead, he threw a punch back even more viciously than Zhang Laifu.

A crisp crack rang out from the old dog's eye socket; likewise unhesitating, it opened its mouth and bit toward Shen Yi's neck.

Shen Yi pulled back his fist and slammed his elbow brutally into the other's mouth.

Majestic golden flames and boundless blood energy intertwined, shooting straight toward the heavens, causing rolling waves of heat to surge up throughout the entire Thousand Demon Cave.

"……"

Ye Wenxuan covered her face with the back of her hand, her pupils contracted to the extreme.

The old dog was still that old dog, as ferocious as ever; yet in this world there had appeared one who could match its demonic body with his own flesh.

No matter which one of them it was.

All of them were far beyond what she could contend with.

The plan she had schemed for so many years, under a mere three or two moves from the old dog, was like a ridiculous joke.

She simply did not have the strength to stop it.

She had to lure it out of the Thousand Demon Cave before there could be any chance of leaving this place.

But judging from the old dog's reactions, without absolute certainty, the other party would never have left the great hall.

If one wanted to force their way into the hall like Shen Yi, there was a high probability that Nie Jun had already become its great medicine for replenishment.

So from beginning to end, she had never had any hope of leaving General Nanyang Sect.

But... but how did Shen Yi grow to such a stage? Could it be that the shackles of this heaven and earth had overlooked only him?!

Ye Wenxuan lowered her hand, and a stream of flowing light shot out from between her brows.

With the Palace-Suppressing Object, the Dao Palace was stripped out from heaven and earth and taken into the Sea of Consciousness.

After so many years, her Lingji Heavenly Origin Palace had finally seen the light of day again.

At the same time.

Tong Xinchuan, who had been hiding extremely far away, seized the moment and abruptly pulled the Soul-Forging Heavenly Silk at his fingertip.

He had always wanted to find a chance to launch a sneak attack from behind some powerful expert, to test the power of the formation.

He had simply never imagined that the target would shift in an instant from Senior Brother Nie or Lingxi to the only Return-to-Void great demon in this world.

Tong Xinchuan's hands were trembling with excitement.

The enormous writing brush within the formation abruptly sketched out a "Kill" character, which lashed viciously onto the old dog's back.

"Ow!"

Zhang Laifu had already had several sharp teeth shattered by a strike of Shen Yi's elbow, and had planned to focus on biting through the other's arm, but suddenly suffered such a scorching heavy blow and immediately cried out in pain.

How could a cultivator like Shen Yi, who had fought his way up from the very bottom, let slip such a hard-won opportunity.

He seized the old dog's throat in one grip.

Then his fists fell like a rainstorm, pounding relentlessly onto its brow bone.

A towering wave of golden flame rose from behind, swallowing the old dog whole.

At the same time, another crimson Dao Palace appeared in the sky, with the Boundless Demon Emperor seated upon a meditation cushion, nine celestial demons roaring in unison, and four Suppressing Stones overlooking the mortal world.

Ten thousand demons paid homage.

Delusion-Shattering! Scarlet Sun! Golden Wind Soul-Snatching!

Three Dao techniques were unleashed in succession.

The eerie and terrifying blood-plasma eye, the crimson great sun, and the blood sea and foul wind that swept forth with a roar all charged together toward Zhang Laifu, who was wrapped in golden flame!

"Roar!"

The old dog seemed to be sunk deep within a sea of blood and waves of fire, the wind howling like a tiger through the mountains, shaking its divine soul.

One after another, Fire-Departing brand marks surfaced in Shen Yi's palm, and he slammed them viciously into the old dog's head.

"Do you know... just how many precious medicines... this seat has consumed?"

Zhang Laifu's gaze was dazed, its dog face soaked in blood plasma, yet it did not look the least bit foul — instead, a rich fragrance of medicine wafted from it.

With its utterly unremarkable bloodline, it simply could not digest so many heavenly materials and earthly treasures.

And at this moment, the accumulated medicinal power was bursting forth like a raging Dahe!

It suddenly swung its claw, carrying endless force, and brutally landed on Shen Yi.

The silver armor, already cracked, now shattered apart completely.

The golden flame around Shen Yi faded, his body split open, and the dan poison within gradually stirred, emitting a faint black mist.

His figure was sent flying, rolling twice across the ground.

He staggered to his feet, wiped the corner of his mouth, his pitch-black pupils utterly calm.

"..."

Though the old dog had landed a blow, there was no joy in its eyes — instead, it panted heavily, breath after breath.

The fluctuations of energy between heaven and earth were already gradually settling.

This meant that Nie Jun's act of activating the formation had reached its concluding stage.

And though Shen Yi appeared wounded, in truth he was still a long way from falling.

This almost spelled out its own death.

Zhang Laifu stood dazed for a moment, its body gradually beginning to twitch lightly. The General Nanyang Sect it had guarded for so many years had ultimately been breached by thieves.

"..."

Nie Jun, who was within the great hall, finally found a moment to glance outside the hall.

He finally understood why Shen Yi had been so decisive.

Even up to this moment, Master had not even made a move, yet the matter of activating the great formation had already been settled.

The other's overwhelming dominance came from his strength, which surpassed ordinary imagination.

"If that's the case, then let's all die together."

The old dog's voice suddenly calmed. It shifted its gaze away from Shen Yi.

From now on, its goal shifted from protecting Nie Jun to pure slaughter.

If it was slaughter, then naturally it had to start with the easiest to kill.

It slowly turned around, a claw reaching toward Tong Xinchuan in the farthest distance — first break this formation, unleash its full demonic power, and not a single one of these people would escape.

Just at this moment, within that unfamiliar Dao Palace in the sky, after such a long accumulation.

A terrifying spiritual pressure that nearly covered a radius of dozens of li.

It had already gathered into a fist-sized mass, within which the Spirit Sea churned, containing an inexpressible, overwhelming might.

Ye Wenxuan lowered her gaze to stare at the old dog on the ground, her palms swinging down with great difficulty.

That fist-sized wave of spiritual pressure descended soundlessly, slamming into the old dog's waist.

She should have been in Shen Yi's position.

Failing that, she should have replaced Nie Jun, who had just broken through.

Yet now, she had somehow become like an outsider, ignored by everyone.

Then let this old dog see just what price one pays for ignoring her.

Pfft—

Half of the old dog's body was crushed to pieces beneath the spiritual pressure.

Fragrant blood splattered across the ground.

It showed no reaction at all, merely swiping its claw toward Tong Xinchuan.

And under the gaze of everyone present—

The old dog's wounds were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. It was not that the beast itself possessed any divine ability; what it displayed to the world was the foundation of the General Nanyang Sect.

"Heh! Heh! Heh!"

Tong Xinchuan had previously watched Shen Yi fight the old dog from a distance, and hadn't found it too terrifying.

But when he became the target of the dog's claws—

That cultivation of late-stage Soul Transformation seemed to have vanished for no reason.

He felt as if he had become a mortal.

Beneath that immense pressure, he couldn't even move a finger.

Watching the dog's claw grow ever larger—

In an instant, it vanished outright, as if everything had been an illusion.

Within the formation—

Shen Yi seized the old dog by the scruff of its neck and casually hurled it away.

The pill-poison attacked the Dao Infant's five viscera; the golden flames across his body strained to suppress the pill-poison. Even so, it left his bare upper torso covered in jet-black flame-like patterns, looking quite horrifying.

Clearly, he had fallen into a state of exhaustion.

Just then, a crisp hum suddenly rang out from the heavens.

Like the sound of death claiming a life.

It caused the old dog's body, which had yet to rise, to suddenly tremble several times.

It stared dumbly at the radiance surging within the great hall, and even its roars carried a few shades less conviction.

"This seat will kill you!"

Zhang Laifu's eyes blazed crimson as he lunged toward Shen Yi!

Ye Wenxuan looked at the old dog's now fully healed body, her pupils contracting—her all-out strike had been dissolved so easily.

Once again, she felt a deep helplessness against her opponent.

Without the Meng Sect's reinforcements, the old dog would still be that unmatched great demon.

She looked toward the great hall again and found that no outside cultivators she had imagined had walked out of it.

"Go first!"

Ye Wenxuan roared, waving her hand one last time as spiritual pressure fell from the Dao Palace again, barely helping Shen Yi drive back the old dog.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, she darted toward the great hall.

She landed beside Nie Jun and shrieked: "Give me the Dao Token! Let's go!"

"..."

Nie Jun stood beneath the statue of the patriarch, holding the Dao Token with roaming spiritual light.

He gazed silently at his master, then looked outward again.

That young figure drenched in blood didn't seem to have heard his master's warning. Shen Yi merely glanced casually at Tong Xinchuan outside the formation, then looked toward somewhere farther away, before fiercely pouncing on the old dog to kill!

Nie Jun withdrew his gaze and pointed at the light screen beside him: "I helped you draw the old dog's attention—that was what you asked of me back then. I did it."

"But this—"

He shook the Dao Token in his hand and said flatly: "You're not suited for it."

With that, Nie Jun suddenly hurled the Dao Token toward Shen Yi within the formation, then stepped into the air. The Purple Heaven Divine Lei Jiangong thundered into being, blanketing the heavens.

Yet those present did not know—

That the instant the sect-protecting grand formation activated, their figures had already occupied the sky like immortals.

From Thousand Demon Cave, to Da Qian, to every corner—

Whether cultivator or common mortal, anyone who merely lifted their gaze could clearly see that majestic great hall.

"Madmen! They're all goddamn madmen!"

Ye Wenxuan watched helplessly as the Dao Token flew out of the great hall, and her heart suddenly went hollow.

She shook her head, gasping for breath, and strode straight into that light screen.

The people within Thousand Demon Cave—whether as powerful as Lingxi Miao Qinghui, or as weak as Jiang Qiulan and Master Zhu Jue—all were rushing toward the great hall with all their might. The instant they saw their master turn and leave—

The Mount Wutong disciples led by Lingxi all froze for a moment.

They roughly understood their master's temperament.

But when this scene truly fell before their eyes, it still brought an inexplicable pang of heartache.

"Purple Heaven Divine Thunder! Hear my command!"

Nie Jun stood atop his mystic sword. Upon the throne of the Dao Palace, that longsword—condensed from void into substance—was suddenly cloaked in purple thunder.

From the horizon it stabbed straight toward the old dog's skull!

Whoosh!

The Purple Heavens Divine Thunder Sword Art split the blue sky apart, accompanied by deafening thunder, and at a speed the naked eye could not follow it pierced through the old dog's brow, sinking in about an inch.

Nie Jun's body tumbled down—he had nearly exhausted all his reserves when he had just now driven the Dao Token.

But he reversed his grip on the Xuan Sword and still hacked straight toward the old dog.

Zhang Laifu glanced at him indifferently, and casually slashed out with a claw.

In an instant, Shen Yi's pair of Jin Yi slammed Nie Jun flying, his dark eyes fixed tightly on the Purple Heavens Divine Thunder Sword in the old dog's brow; the next moment, he reached straight out toward it.

The Purple Heavens Divine Thunder crackled and popped, bursting against his fingers.

Yet those long, slender five fingers still gripped the sword hilt tightly.

Under Zhang Laifu's startled gaze.

Shen Yi seemed to transform into a vicious fiend-god, his calm expression suddenly twisting into ferocity.

He seized its neck in one hand and slammed it hard onto the ground!

The phoenix egg within his body, under the erosion of the dan poison, had developed several cracks; from within them burst vigorous vitality, transforming into incomparably dazzling gold that poured into both his arms.

Shen Yi pressed his knee down on the old dog's head.

Both hands gripping the sword, raised high above his head—within the Purple Heavens Divine Thunder, the straight blade flickered in and out of sight, wrapped in dense killing intent.

He plunged it ferociously toward the old dog's neck!

Puchi!

Scalding dog blood splashed across Shen Yi's face; on that Bai Xi handsome face there was no savagery, only a resolve of utter determination to kill.

The blade tore all the way down from the back of its neck, and a deep gash split open across the old dog's belly.

Just at the moment the accumulated medicinal power began to mend the wound.

Shen Yi reached in with practiced ease—almost without needing to search—and in a flash had seized the old dog's demon core, moving so fast that Zhang Laifu didn't even have a chance to react.

Chi-la.

With a swing of his hand, another spray of blood burst up.

Shen Yi released the long sword and pressed down hard on Zhang Laifu's dog's head, until his palm could feel no more struggling at all.

Only then did he drop to the ground as though drained of strength, his throat heaving like a broken bellows.

Across the whole sky, only one man and one dog remained.

"..."

Nie Jun had crashed onto the General Nanyang relief carving, staring fixedly at the bare-chested youth.

After a moment, he silently walked into the great hall.

In the compartment behind the patriarch's statue, he rummaged about.

Nie Jun could not think of anything else that could be used to cover the other's body—perhaps only the thing in his hands.

Among Zhang Laifu's treasured possessions, placed at the very top, was a white General Nanyang ceremonial robe.

He reverently held that ceremonial robe in both hands.

Step by step he entered the formation, draped it over the exhausted Shen Yi, and along the way picked up the Dao Token from the ground for him.

Then he dropped to one knee and presented the item.

"..."

Shen Yi glanced at Nie Jun before him, finally steadied his breathing, raised a brow and said: "Cut the mush."

(End of chapter)