Chapter 953

In a clash between experts, the one who strikes first will fall at a disadvantage if they fail to attack where the opponent must defend.

Ancestor Hongjun had not yet uncovered Luo Fu's true nature, so naturally he could not strike at anything Luo Fu cared about.

This meant that whenever Ancestor Hongjun moved, he would be at a disadvantage.

Of course, Ancestor Hongjun did not see it that way.

To Ancestor Hongjun, battles between sages and semi-sages were merely games.

He who would soon master the Honghuang Heavenly Dao, while within Honghuang, was invincible, inherently standing on unshakable ground.

Thus, Ancestor Hongjun truly did not care about the lives or deaths of the Sacred Beast Bai Hu and the Sacred Beast Zhu Que.

The so-called sages and semi-sages were but his puppet strings; even if they died, he could revive them at any moment, merely consuming some Heavenly Dao energy.

Over these years, the Honghuang Heavenly Dao had accumulated ample Heavenly Dao energy, enough to revive all sages and semi-sages many times over.

Compared to the lives or deaths of the Sacred Beast Bai Hu and the Sacred Beast Zhu Que, Ancestor Hongjun cared far more about who stood behind Luo Fu and what other tricks remained hidden.

"Qing Long, Xuan Wu, Beginning Qilin—you too, strike!"

Ancestor Hongjun's thought stirred, and he immediately summoned the remaining three of the Five Sacred Beasts.

Now that the Sacred Beast Bai Hu and the Sacred Beast Zhu Que had appeared, there was no longer any need for the other three of the Five Sacred Beasts to remain hidden.

Now was the most suitable moment to deploy all three.

As for the sages, Ancestor Hongjun had no intention of mobilizing them at all.

The Chaos Demon God behind Luo Fu had clearly come prepared.

If he had come prepared, he would surely have anticipated the sages.

The fate of the Two Western Sages had involved Luo Fu's hand.

While the Two Western Sages were entangled, even if the Chaos Demon God behind Luo Fu had done nothing to the other sages, Ancestor Hongjun still could not easily command them.

Saint Taishang was the most mysterious and the most powerful; even Ancestor Hongjun held some caution toward Saint Taishang.

From the very beginning, Saint Taishang had never been easily controlled by Ancestor Hongjun.

Now, Ancestor Hongjun could not command Saint Taishang at all.

Pingxin Niangniang was always capricious, and Ancestor Hongjun found it hard to mobilize her.

Moreover, Pingxin Niangniang had long resented Ancestor Hongjun for sealing Emperor Fu Xi; unless Ancestor Hongjun agreed to unseal Emperor Fu Xi, he could not possibly move her.

Compared to sealing Emperor Fu Xi and locking down the entire Human Dao, a single sage was utterly insignificant.

Master Yuanshi could still be mobilized by Ancestor Hongjun.

He cultivated the Way of Following Heaven, and had always been relatively obedient to Ancestor Hongjun's commands.

But Saint Tongtian had already been released from house arrest and now stood on Luo Fu's side.

It was foreseeable that once Master Yuanshi moved, Saint Tongtian would find his reason to act—and would inevitably intervene.

With Saint Tongtian blocking him, Master Yuanshi could hardly contribute anything.

Thus, mobilizing the sages would not resolve the current situation but would instead plunge the Three Realms into greater chaos.

Such a thankless, exhausting endeavor—Ancestor Hongjun, with his wisdom, clearly would not undertake it.

In comparison, deploying the remaining three of the Five Sacred Beasts was far more appropriate.

After all, they had already been exposed; there was no point in hiding further.

Most importantly, when the Five Sacred Beasts united, they could unleash far greater power—even sages were no match for their combined strength.

Roar!

Howl!

Splash!

A dragon's roar, a beast's howl, and the sound of splashing water rang out.

The Sacred Beast Qing Long, the Sacred Beast Xuan Wu, and the Sacred Beast Beginning Qilin, who had long waited near the Western Continent of Cattle, could no longer contain themselves and revealed their forms.

The Sacred Beast Qing Long rode upon clouds and mist, transforming into tens of millions of zhang tall, blotting out the sky above Bombarding Lingshan.

The Sacred Beast Xuan Wu slowly rose from the ocean, its serpent neck coiled around its shell hissing, its colossal body—vast as an island—commanding boundless seawater, surging at incredible speed onto the Western Continent of Cattle.

Then its entire form lifted into the air, like a floating island, crushing toward the Western Continent of Cattle.

The final of the Five Sacred Beasts, Beginning Qilin, condensed directly upon the earth of the Western Continent of Cattle, then vanished in an instant, reappearing near Bombarding Lingshan.

Clearly, it had employed the most famed technique of the Earth Dao: shrinking distance into a single step.

Sensing the arrival of the Sacred Beast Qing Long, the Sacred Beast Xuan Wu, and the Sacred Beast Beginning Qilin, the Sacred Beast Bai Hu and the Sacred Beast Zhu Que, locked in fierce battle, could not help but grow energized, their aura surging with intensity.

Alone, either the Sacred Beast Bai Hu or the Sacred Beast Zhu Que was merely an ordinary semi-sage, easily crushed by a sage.

But if the Five Sacred Beasts united, they were far more than mere semi-sages.

This was precisely why Ancestor Hongjun cultivated the Five Sacred Beasts and the Twelve Yuan Chen.

Merely a dozen semi-sages, even united, were still no match for six sages.