Chapter 367: The Sage Intervenes, Eerie Abilities (3k)

The Sage's hand left Hongchen's head, and he slowly unbuttoned his mink coat, storing it away into his spatial storage.

With a light tap from him, Hongchen slammed into the ground with a bang, embedding directly into the asphalt road surface.

"Heh, it seems Tao Baibai didn't even take you seriously at all, Hongchen..."

The Sage's eyelids drooped; the combat power Tao Baibai had displayed far exceeded his expectations.

He had assumed that even if it were so-called Breaking the Rules-level combat power, it would be at most an upper-tier performance of 【Strong】, and combined with a Bloodline possessing Immortality and Super-Speed Regeneration characteristics, it would indeed be able to defeat some Title-level Reincarnators by punching above its weight.

But he had not expected that hidden beneath those pink robes and the ugly red Avatar was such a Monster.

A Reincarnator who had been deployed at most ten times according to Intelligence analysis had, in a frontal battle, crushed a famous East District Third Tier Reincarnator team in less than two minutes, even though that team was missing its two strongest members.

But the Sage knew very well that even if he didn't intervene, and even excluding Hongchen, the current group of Archimedes, Left Eye, and the others was enough to easily crush most Second Tier Reincarnator squads, kill almost any mass-produced Title-level Reincarnator, and defeat a significant portion of Title-level Reincarnators who lacked powerful special abilities.

And yet, a team with such a configuration, despite having the advantages of Intelligence support and the initiative to engage, had been beaten to the point of collapse in under a minute of actual combat, with their morale completely shattered.

This kind of combat power was simply incomparable to Hongchen; the Sage knew Hongchen's strength very well. After the 【Reverse Universe】 successfully took effect, Hongchen, possessing Breaking the Rules-level energy attributes, had roughly the strength of a true Title-level Reincarnator.

But even a Hongchen like that would struggle to parry Archimedes' Magic that could cut through anything, and with the coordination of the others, Hongchen would likely end up heavily injured or dead after killing a few of them.

It was completely different from the overwhelming situation Tao Baibai was currently creating.

Therefore, he concluded that everyone who had appeared before, whether it was Hongchen or the Millennium Worm, had not been taken seriously by Tao Baibai at all.

He hadn't even used his full strength.

The Sage had indeed originally intended to bring Tao Baibai under his command just as he had "subdued" Hongchen back then, which was why he hadn't attacked directly.

But at this moment, seeing Tao Baibai's true strength, the Sage abandoned that plan.

"Tang Sanzang, kill him; this Tao Baibai is likely a guy of that level."

He spoke, and then a soft chuckle rang out. Hongchen was slammed face-down into the asphalt, almost unable to breathe, blood streaming down, but he still perceived that voice.

The true main force within the 【End Empire】, the follower of the 【End Sun】, 【Tang Sanzang】, had actually appeared.

His heart turned cold; the 【Sage】 and 【Tang Sanzang】 appeared together, and it was a coincidence that Saitama and Tatsumaki had both left this group.

This was likely no coincidence.

This was a "staged" ambush.

Tang Sanzang was draped in a Red Kasaya, his chest exposed; his skin was nearly golden, appearing almost dazzling under the sunlight.

Hearing the Sage's words, he pressed his palms together, a self-satisfied smile on his face.

"Even if he is an 【Outlier】, he is merely an 【Outlier】 who has yet to grow up; why would you and I need to attack at the same time?"

Afterward, Tang Sanzang turned his head to look at the Sage.

It was said to be "looking" at the Sage, but in reality, Tang Sanzang kept his eyes closed the entire time; when communicating and interacting with the 【Sage】, he would never rely on any external senses.

"Could it be that you hope this guy will cause me some consumption, so you can go and snatch that legendary 【Limiter】 fragment yourself?"

The Sage's expression did not change; he simply turned his head, too lazy to even look at this eccentric 【Supreme】 follower.

"Don't talk nonsense. Since His Excellency has already entered this world, such things naturally have nothing to do with you or me."

The Sage unbuttoned his exquisite shirt one by one; his movements were elegant, as if he couldn't see his own subordinates being driven into a desperate situation by Tao Baibai.

That Silver Plot Equipment shield, reinforced to +6, was about to run out of energy, and the wantonly sprayed venom had already entered the battlefield of the two Monsters, 【Tatsumaki】 and 【???】.

There was a not-insignificant possibility of attracting attention.

"Tsk tsk, still as hypocritical as ever, Mr. Sage. Doesn't living like this tire you out?"

Tang Sanzang asked.

"All living things and phenomena are but a skin, but a vast sea of karmic obstacles..."

"You, you are attached to appearances~"

He then pulled out a purple gourd and began to drink heavily.

The Sage saw the purple gourd out of the corner of his eye, his movements of unbuttoning his shirt pausing slightly, before he smiled, seemingly unbothered by Tang Sanzang's mockery.

He took off his crisp shirt, revealing a toned physique; unlike his elegant exterior, the Sage's muscles were also like carved stone, covered in terrifying scars.

A flash of light appeared in his hand, and he changed into an all-black priest's robe.

"Heh heh, Tang Sanzang, tell me, if everyone in this world didn't disguise themselves, didn't decorate their skins, wouldn't this vast human world be overrun by demons and ghosts?"

"Especially us... Reincarnators, heh..."

【Team member cf97731144 (Archimedes) has died】

The Sage reached out and grabbed at the air in front of him, as if seizing the "scene" before him, and then gave a pull.

Hum~

Bai Cangshu, radiating scarlet malice, and the Red Queen and Left Eye, who were already naked and entangled at his feet, all trembled slightly.

Their bodies had appeared before the Sage and Tang Sanzang.

Bai Cangshu's eyes shifted, seeing the sliced-up black sedan, Hongchen smashed into the ground, and... the grotesque monk sitting cross-legged in the air, and the black-robed priest with a kind face and slightly white temples standing before him.

"Amitabha, Tao Baibai, it seems you are also a man of passion."

Tang Sanzang saw the fate of the Chaos Sage and the two women and gave his assessment. As a Reincarnator, one was naturally unconstrained; he looked down most upon those hypocritical fellows, especially that group from 【Blue Sky】, just a bunch of fools who couldn't distinguish their own stance.

The Sage looked at this scene and nodded.

"This is the first time I have seen this scale of karmic sin power on a Sequence 2 Scarlet Sin."

"You are indeed an 【Outlier】."

The Sage seemed to be praising him, but his tone shifted quickly.

"It is a pity that this space can no longer withstand the appearance of more 【Outliers】."

At this moment, the 【Greed Cocoon】 around Bai Cangshu had grown to a terrifying thickness; he had continuously absorbed the powers of lightning, Magic, and sword arts amidst the fear of the Chaos Sage and the others, and later soaked in the venom, further utilizing the 【Heart of Slaanesh】 to make the two female Reincarnators sink into desire, wantonly absorbing their life force.

If he were to fight Hongchen again now, that kind of blade aura would almost be unable to break the defense of the Greed Cocoon.

"Tsk, stop with this nonsense."

Bai Cangshu spoke, a blood-mist-like aura spewing from his mouth, carrying those toxic fumes with it, instantly filling hundreds of meters and shrouding everyone.

Hongchen, lying on the ground, instantly felt unable to breathe oxygen; her vision began to darken, and her consciousness was about to dissipate.

After the Sage approached Tao Baibai, he intuitively felt that thorough, unadulterated wildness, as well as that physical capability that seemed on the verge of exploding.

Great Sin Reincarnators possess the ability to plunder the 【Intelligence】 of others and generally have stronger attributes; this was within his expectations, but...

【You have suffered the effect of Evil God's Omen: Arrogant Gaze, currently undergoing a Strength check...】

【You have suffered the effect of Evil God's Omen: Lustful Heart, currently undergoing a Spirit check...】

In just an instant, accompanied by a sweeping wave of malice, some kind of attack had already been generated.

The corner of the Sage's eye twitched; the blood mist in front of him vanished in an instant, and a massive blood-red figure, stretched to the extreme, had already appeared before him; in front of the palm, the spiral-shaped scarlet air was like a rotating blade.

It emitted a strange, shrill whistle.

Pfft!

With a single palm strike, the sonic boom cloud was instantly shattered, and the fine, dense gusts of wind scattered like blades.

The Sage's head jerked for a moment, and a large number of cracks instantly appeared on the asphalt ground behind him.

His eyes were calm as he raised his hand and held it vertically in front of him.

"Taijutsu... I also know a little... uh."

Before he could finish his sentence, a distorted force of Qi struck from behind; the moment he lowered his head to dodge, he suffered a violent impact in front of him.

A knee slammed into his body.

Bang!

A searing white shockwave expanded, and the Sage was sent flying in an instant.

Bai Cangshu's form coalesced from the blood mist; Gaojie Chana was already activated. He glanced at Tang Sanzang, who seemed to have no intention of making a move, and sneered at the Sage who had been knocked away.

"The tactile sensation is not bad, Mr. Sage~"

The Sage stepped on the air with his feet, sliding back several hundred meters before coming to a stop.

He looked at his twisted hands and slightly sunken chest, then shook his head.

"Things like taijutsu are still just as boring."

"Come and play something interesting with me, Tao Baibai..."

"In the upcoming battle with me, if you dodge my fist, you will die."

Bai Cangshu's heart suddenly sank slightly, as if he were experiencing the instinctive discomfort of hearing some ominous curse, or perhaps some restriction had been placed within his body.

【Based on your Spirit attribute, you have obtained the following information:】

【You have been affected by the special ability of an unknown Reincarnator.】

Hum!

The air was torn open in an instant; the Sage crossed a distance of several hundred meters with a heroic posture, his form stretching out as he threw a punch at Bai Cangshu.

The speed of this punch could not be considered fast, and Bai Cangshu could have avoided it with ease, but the nerves in his brain began to burn with pain—it was some kind of danger warning.

Bai Cangshu stepped forward in an instant and threw a punch of his own.

Boom!

The fists collided; the Sage's force softened rapidly before the Greed Cocoon, but Bai Cangshu's punch speed was terrifyingly fast, landing dozens of blows on the Sage in a mere instant.

Senluo Death Intent appeared instantly.

Pfft!

The Sage's form exploded instantly.

Bai Cangshu looked at the corpse shattering in mid-air, feeling that something was wrong; he looked down and saw only the corpse of that woman with long bangs covering her eyes.

The Sage's figure appeared again in the distance; his expression was calm as he raised a finger once more.

"Tao Baibai, in the upcoming battle, if you block my fist, you will die."

【Based on your Spirit attribute, you have obtained the following information:】

【You have been affected by the special ability of an unknown Reincarnator.】

Tang Sanzang sat in the air, using his telepathy to perceive the Sage's battle, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.

He noticed that one of the two women of the Chaos Sage had already died, but in his perception, the one fighting Tao Baibai was indeed the Sage himself.

That was not some kind of Illusion Technique or Hypnosis ability.

So, it was some kind of ability to substitute death or transfer damage; what was the trigger condition?

Tang Sanzang knew very well that to defeat the Sage, Intelligence was essential, but when facing a Reincarnator capable of interfering with cognition, how could Intelligence be obtained...

Ha, Tao Baibai, try a little harder, don't die so early; let me watch a little longer!

Bai Cangshu looked down at his own fists; the tactile sensation of hitting the opponent's flesh and the feeling when the Senluo Death Intent erupted were both normal.

He also quickly realized that the Sage likely possessed some special ability to transfer damage.

Watching the Sage, who was once again casting some kind of ability on him, Bai Cangshu licked the corner of his mouth, his heart rate still rising.

"Good, this is really good... Mr. Sage, I have taken a liking to you..."

Chichi!

Intense thunder began to erupt from within the phantom of the Evil God's Omen, and a wild, frenzied bolt of lightning began to roam.

(End of chapter)