Chapter 740: Out in the World, You Need Backing

"Gurgle… gurgle…"

Yan Lanting's old face was pale to the point of losing all color, his throat swallowing frantically, yet he still could not stop the crimson blood plasma from seeping out the corners of his lips.

The blood plasma quickly soaked his lapels, but the old man clutched the hem of Shen Yi's robe with all his might, veins bulging on the back of his hand, as if expending the last ounce of his strength.

The three Generals Who Pacify the South had been gravely wounded.

The vast Liuli Prefecture, the expansive Dananzhou—faced with this incomparably massive mountain of flesh, there was no longer anyone ahead to block its path.

Under such circumstances, Yan Lanting actually wanted to stop Shen Yi from stepping forward.

Only after personally experiencing the South Sovereign's true strength could one realize just how thin and inadequate those scattered records about the creature in the ancient texts truly were.

This beast is no match for mortal strength!

Even back in the day, when the Divine Dynasty had the protection of the Immortal Court, and the great sect itself stepped in, all they managed to do was drive it into the Savage Wastes—they never truly slew it.

Let alone the present-day Dananzhou, which has already been abandoned by the Immortal Court.

"Go… Lin Shuya… go find Lin Shuya…"

Yan Lanting finally squeezed out a fragment of a sentence, and the other two Generals Who Pacify the South also recalled that letter they had casually slapped to the ground earlier.

The three of them, old relics, had feasted on the common folk's incense and offerings for so many years—they had no right to walk that path, but a prodigy like Si Nanyang had no reason to stay here and be buried with them.

"…"

Shen Yi did not turn back; he merely gazed quietly at the towering mountain of indigo-blue flesh in the sky, its oppressive presence making one's breathing slightly labored.

He gently patted the old man's hand and said softly, "Leave everything to me."

The next instant, gentle rosy clouds once again illuminated the heavens, golden light rippling within them like a surging great river flowing freely, gradually weaving above Liuli Prefecture a phantom silhouette equally majestic and vast, yet far more fluid and solid than the South Sovereign's corpulent frame.

At the same time, light finally returned to the Liuli Prefecture that had been swallowed by shadow.

As the Golden Body dharma idol gradually took shape, six arms unfolded one by one, and a dazzling halo of light began to rise.

Just then, the South Sovereign, who had been sitting steadily in the sky moments before, suddenly moved!

Those who occupy high positions and possess the foundation and means to look down upon the world usually harbor a certain confidence—or rather, arrogance. It is a common ailment; after all, once they have savored all the splendor and power they could wish for, finding even a shred of amusement in the long passage of time becomes exceedingly difficult.

And among those rare amusements, utterly shattering the Dao-heart of an up-and-coming junior is certainly one of the most important.

Letting the opponent exhaust every trick they have, while one calmly neutralizes them all, and then finishing them in a single strike… that feeling can make one comfortable from the top of the head to the soles of the feet.

But the South Sovereign did not seem to share this particular hobby.

The instant it saw that rosy light, its vast experience needed only a moment to judge that this person's strength had long since surpassed that of the previous three.

Of course, there was still a considerable gap between them and the creature itself.

But that alone was enough to cause a change in the South Sovereign's behavior.

It cared nothing for the foul reputation of launching a sneak attack; the experience of having survived until now had long since taught it that as long as one lives to the end, these ethereal, insubstantial things are utterly meaningless.

No one had ever imagined that a creature so massive that even a slight movement sent its rolls of fat rippling like water waves could move with such lightning swiftness and yet remain utterly silent.

It was as if it had mastered the methods of the Grand Void realm, arriving before that resplendent Golden Body in the blink of an eye.

Among all the monsters Shen Yi had encountered, this was the only one whose physical size could overwhelm his dharma idol—by a full half-body's height.

The next instant, the South Sovereign suddenly threw a punch.

Its corpulent, layered arm suddenly tensed into a perfectly round shape, its indigo-blue skin gleaming with a metallic sheen, and that massive fist drove straight into the dharma idol's chest!

Boom—

The sound was like a war drum!

The golden dharma idol, not yet fully gathered into form, shuddered violently, its outline suddenly blurring. The dazzling halo of light behind it had not yet fully risen when its entire body dimmed considerably, revealing its dark-golden true form, with fine cracks even appearing on its surface.

Shen Yi's Path of the Wanderer cultivated the power of protecting the Dao.

And when he broke through the Third-Three Transformations, he chose a path of rebuilding earth, water, wind, and fire—using heaven and earth to protect heaven and earth.

This ring of light was the heaven and earth he sought to protect, and also the foundation of the Bodhisattva fruit-position.

At this moment… the South Sovereign had used but a single punch to make this very heaven and earth tremble to the brink of collapse.

Shen Yi was only eight golden threads short of the extreme of the Ninth-Nine Transformations. A gap that seemed as though it could be smoothed away with a casual flick now revealed itself in all its brutal clarity.

And what was even more despair-inducing was…

Being able to withstand this punch at all was already due to the fact that Shen Yi cultivated a true scripture of the great sect, and his path of transformations was top-tier within the same realm. Were it any other cultivator of the Huang Liuliu tier, their Dao-body would likely have shattered by now.

From within the dharma idol, a thin, almost imperceptibly small figure shot backward, black robes billowing wildly.

"Bodhisattva, you're going to die."

Having landed a successful strike, the South Sovereign let out a ferocious laugh and did not pause for even a moment.

A lion still needs to exert its full strength to slay a rabbit. Facing a Ninth-Nine realm cultivator against a Sixth-Six Transformation, it first drove the opponent back with an utterly unheralded punch, then, while the dharma idol needed time to reform, mobilized tribulation-force to execute a killing move, so as to exert the maximum effect.

Its tightly clenched right fist suddenly opened, five fingers pressed close together. Already like a Shanfeng, in an instant it swelled several hundredfold, as if to grasp all of heaven and earth in one grip.

"Luo Tian Da Shou Seal!"

It fixed its gaze intently upon that tiny, insignificant figure.

The technique the opponent had used when appearing to rescue those few people bore some resemblance to the methods of the Divine Void Mountain. Therefore, this hand-seal that sealed away tribulation-force had been prepared by the South Sovereign for this general ever since that very moment.

Under the South Sovereign's watchful gaze.

Shen Yi finally steadied himself, his expression betraying no ripple whatsoever, as if he had long anticipated this.

He extended his thumb and gently wiped the bloodstain from the corner of his lips.

Facing the enormous hand-seal that blotted out the sky and earth, he did not so much as twitch an eyebrow.

"…"

What made the South Sovereign's fury surge most was the unchanging calm that remained on this young man's face.

As if everything were already within his grasp.

What gave him the right?!

The South Sovereign no longer wished to ask, only wanting to crush him into wisps of green smoke in a single grasp.

Yet the next moment, it saw the youth lightly flick his sleeve, and nine small flags swept out from within the folds.

The flags were identical in form, differing only in the patterns painted upon their surfaces.

They swiftly scattered and rose into the sky, soon vanishing into the horizon as if transformed into stars, the size of rice grains, faintly shimmering with light.

The Southern Emperor instantly realized he was surrounded in the middle by these starlight points.

He withdrew his gaze, only to see that the golden dharma image before him had vanished at some unknown time, while the surrounding white clouds roared and gathered, gradually obscuring his vision.

"Trivial tricks, yet you dare display them before this Emperor? Your great sects truly grow ever more destitute."

The Southern Emperor took a deep breath, mockery surging in his eyes.

The next moment, he suddenly closed his eyes; his massive form surged violently, and he dashed madly toward the direction of the Glazed Mansion in his memory.

With a single descent, the giant handprint could utterly shatter the entire Songfeng Fucheng and its surroundings.

Do not forget, he came to Pozhou, while the other was responsible for guarding it.

Fleeing... is it useful?

With the Southern Emperor's speed, destroying the Glazed Mansion would not even require the blink of an eye.

He strove to run, yet gradually felt something was wrong; why did this mere inch of distance require so much time?

The Southern Emperor instinctively opened his eyes, only to see that after the white clouds dispersed, there was no Songfeng Fucheng in the distant distance ahead, only a single shimmering rice-grain star.

No matter how many steps he took, he could only make that starlight enlarge slightly.

"Heh..."

The Southern Emperor split his mouth open.

He wished to use such means to exhaust one's reserves?

Could this Bodhisattva open his eyes and see exactly how vast the gap is between the two.

He calmed his mind, staring straight at that starlight; the next moment, this flesh mountain erupted with unprecedented speed, dashing forward as if tireless.

About one stick of incense later, the Southern Emperor finally stopped.

He arrived before that starlight.

Only now had the previously rice-grain-sized radiance transformed into a massive star wrapped in cold brilliance; the sizes of the two seemed to have reversed.

Before this star, the Southern Emperor had become the rice-grain mayfly-like existence.

No matter how he looked up, he could not view its entire form.

The Southern Emperor stared fixedly at this terrifying giant, the savagery in his eyes dancing like fire; his smile did not cease, but grew ever more mad.

"With this thing, you also wish to block this Emperor!"

"Give me... Break!"

The Luo Tian Da Shou, long poised, struck this star like an ant shaking a tree.

Boom!

The next moment, accompanied by a deafening roar.

The entire star instantly turned into scattered dust, and the cold starlight upon it, like flames, wound up the Southern Emperor's arms and clung to his body.

"Roar!"

The Southern Emperor bent slightly forward; amidst that strange stinging pain, he erupted with a mighty roar, as if his ferocity had been provoked, and the aura radiating from his body grew even stronger!

Moreover, this roar carried a confidence so powerful it was beyond description.

Since one could be destroyed...

Then these nine stars, he could break them all with his own strength!

By that time, would the so-called Southern Yang dare stand before him again?

The Southern Emperor suddenly turned his body and dashed toward the second starlight.

He gave no thought whatsoever to his own consumption; his cultivation, perfected to the extreme of the Ninety-Nine Transformations, was the true foundation of his name as the Southern Emperor.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In the blink of an eye, three more stars were destroyed.

The surrounding white clouds seemed much fainter; the Southern Emperor chuckled, and even though the starlight winding around his body each emitted a different aura, burning his indigo skin until it cracked and causing sap-like fluid to flow from his entire body.

But as long as he thought of soon crushing that arrogant young man, the excitement in his heart danced like an evil fire without cease.

The Southern Emperor ran toward the fifth star again.

Just then, a piercing whistle flooded his ears.

This flesh mountain instinctively looked to the side; his pupils suddenly contracted.

He saw the white clouds instantly turn as red as a fire, and before he could react, dozens of ferocious crimson dragon souls, dragging a magnificent carriage like a falling sun, with flame tails like rainbows, tore through the sky and crashed straight toward him.

The Southern Emperor's body was pierced by the dragon souls; his skin, already cracked, was further torn apart by that heavenly fire.

He stumbled backward, his features twisted, teeth clenched; at that most critical moment, his arms suddenly swung out, precisely grasping the carriage frame!

Crack! Crack!

This flesh mountain exerted force with his legs; his entire body, like his arms before, tensed into a round shape, and he actually stopped this fire dragon carriage by sheer force.

The corners of his mouth lifted; suddenly, he exhaled the breath from his chest: "Hah—"

The massive carriage was actually pushed backward several feet.

"Do you have any other means?"

"This Emperor asks you! Do you have any other means!"

The Southern Emperor finally could not restrain his mad laughter, yet he failed to notice that the golden dharma image he had always pursued now stood silently behind him.

The dharma image's expression was indifferent, just like the ink-robed youth in its midst.

Both raised their arms simultaneously.

That straight, heavy coiled-dragon mace swung through the long sky and then fiercely smashed onto the back of the Southern Emperor's neck.

"..."

The Southern Emperor's laughter cut off abruptly, his entire face trembling slightly.

His palms gripped the carriage frame tightly, yet his knees gradually lost strength and bent, until finally, with a Boom, he knelt before the Fire Dragon Carriage.

Behind him, Shen Yi's actions at this moment were just like the Southern Emperor's earlier ones.

Equally meticulous, equally cruel and ferocious, leaving no room for compromise.

Seizing the opportunity, the Panlong Mace thrust straight into the Southern Emperor's already cracked spine, splashing up green fluid!

"You... you..."

Suffering this heavy blow, the Southern Emperor was engulfed by starlight, his entire body covered in heavenly fire. He knelt half on the ground, slowly turning his head to look, appearing quite desolate, unable even to speak a complete sentence.

Yet just at this moment.

Another poised and ready Great Hand of Luo Tian once again locked onto the void.

The misery on his face instantly vanished, replaced by the calm, crouching posture of a beast before hunting.

The giant palm instantly covered the body of the Dharma Image.

Whether it was the earlier mad laughter, the unceasing mockery and ridicule, or even kneeling to reveal his weakness, all were preparations for this very moment.

But there was not a shred of joy in the Southern Emperor's eyes; he stared blankly as the Dharma Image scattered with the wind.

Shen Yi, standing quietly within it, looked down on him coldly, his figure also slowly blurring.

The moment the Panlong Mace was thrust out, the other party had already left this place; what remained was merely an illusion.

Caution was not only the Southern Emperor's trait.

It was also the reason this youth, having walked this path to now, could still be alive.

"You rat! If you have the courage, reveal yourself, put aside these despicable tricks, and fight this Emperor fairly and squarely!"

Facing the empty sky once more, only a few remaining stars twinkled.

The Southern Emperor finally roared; even the cracks and agonizing pain all over his body could not compare to the trauma brought by Shen Yi's final calm gaze.

This was a hunt, and the other party was the hunter.

All his schemes, in the eyes of that youth, were so clumsy.

"This—"

And beyond the Southern Emperor's line of sight, in the eyes of the three Southern Suppression Generals.

The sky remained clear.

The youth in the black robe sat quietly in mid-air; before him, the giant flesh mountain, trapped by nine Squad Leaders, was already kneeling on the ground covered in wounds, locked in a standoff with the surging Fire Dragon Treasure Carriage.

Yan Lanting and Yang Mingli swallowed simultaneously: "Gulp."

Feng Xi stared blankly, her head raised.

Since the Southern Emperor suffered a small loss when the other party first struck, he had not had a single chance to fight back.

Because in a short time, this youth had already used the supreme techniques of the two greatest sects in the world, making one's eyes dizzy.

"..."

On Shen Yi's handsome face, a pair of clear eyes resembled an ancient well without waves, showing no fluctuation whatsoever due to the Southern Emperor's words.

To mix in the world, one must rely on power.

Facing the master of the Sanxian Sect lineage, the Divine Dynasty's Southern Suppression Grand General, the Puti Sect's Dragon-Suppressing and Tiger-Subduing Bodhisattva, and the Xian Sect's soon-to-be-promoted third-rank Qingyun General.

A mere mortal demon.

What do you have to present before this Seat?

(End of this chapter)