Chapter 298: Action (Part IV)

The night curtain hung low, and a blood-red moon hung in the pitch-black sky, as if it were a cursed celestial body, emitting an ominous glow.

Xuanwu extended his index finger and lightly tapped Su Xiao's forehead, using blood as ink to draw a bizarre pattern.

Su Xiao's brows trembled; sensing something was wrong, she finally woke up.

"What did you do?!"

Su Xiao struggled with all her might, and her shaking also startled Fang Yuying awake behind her.

"What are you doing? Let us go!"

After seeing the situation clearly, the two broke free from their restraints at the first opportunity; under the influence of True Qi, the cross shattered, and Su Xiao and Fang Yuying fell onto the stage, yet they lacked the extra strength to get up and escape.

The red glow in the center of the stage grew more intense, and as they were caught in the middle of it, all the strength in their bodies felt as if it had been drained away.

Xuanwu ignored them, pressed his palms together, then spread his arms wide; blood droplets splashed onto their faces, and a tyrannical, overbearing force violently extracted the True Qi from within their bodies, gathering it into the Blood Moon in the sky.

"Ah!!!"

Su Xiao and Fang Yuying knelt on both knees, yet their heads were tilted back just right, their lower backs arched into the shape of a crescent moon, their spines nearly snapping.

Xuanwu continued to dance his hands; while the True Qi gathered above the Blood Moon, the gathered True Qi transformed into a wisp of blue smoke, drifting toward the direction where Gu Yuanzong was located, gathering once more on the Array above his head, and subsequently being channeled into his body.

"Hahahahaha..."

Having obtained power, he was filled with pleasure, and Gu Yuanzong laughed wildly in excitement.

"Welcome, God Lord!"

Xuanwu prostrated himself on the ground in the direction of Gu Yuanzong, shouting piously and loudly.

Azure Dragon and White Tiger knelt down in unison, while Gu Zhengying, Gu Zhangsheng, and Gu Yao stared at Gu Yuanzong without blinking, their faces full of astonishment and anticipation.

"Crackle— Snap—"

The ground of Moon Shadow Island shook violently, splitting open a shocking fissure that shot straight from the mound to the center of the stage like a giant snake.

The stage split in two, Su Xiao and Fang Yuying swayed unsteadily, the Ritual was interrupted, and Gu Yuanzong, who had been absorbing power, had his expression change as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

His figure plummeted rapidly, the island villa was destroyed in a series of booms, and Gu Yuanzong was buried in the ruins.

"My Lord!!!"

The three Protectors let out a cry of alarm simultaneously, not yet having had time to react to what was happening.

Two arcs of light descended from the sky; Xuanwu's painted face took a heavy hit, and his entire body went spinning as he flew away.

That beam of light then made a sharp turn, sweeping past Azure Dragon and White Tiger in succession.

The stunned Azure Dragon and White Tiger subconsciously dodged and blocked, but they were still a step too slow and were knocked flying one after another.

"Go!"

Chen Che shouted, Song Jinhe threw Su Xiao directly toward him, while she herself supported Fang Yuying and ran rapidly toward the surface of the sea.

"Whoosh!"

A sound of something piercing the air came from behind, carrying incomparable, violent energy.

Chen Che's expression startled; he immediately threw Su Xiao away, turned to meet the pursuing Gu Yuanzong, and crossed his arms to protect his chest.

"Bang! Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft..."

A deafening, muffled sound spread across the heavens and earth, and a violent True Qi Shockwave shot out from behind Chen Che, causing water columns to explode one after another on the sea surface.

"You little brat, it really is you!"

Gu Yuanzong's face was ferocious; the fist that had struck Chen Che's arms was still exerting force, and his arms were trembling slightly along with it.

"You actually managed to get out of the Justice Inspection Bureau and really found your way here! I've spent so many years preparing, and it was almost ruined by your hands. You still want to run now?! Go to hell!"

"Bang!"

Gu Yuanzong's fist continued to exert force, and a sonic boom erupted between the two; Chen Che flew backward, tumbled a few times in the air, and landed on the water.

"Pfft!"

Chen Che stepped on the water surface and wiped the blood from the corner of his lips; the lush green trees that had grown on his head at some unknown time withered and decayed.

Gu Yuanzong stood at the edge of Moon Shadow Island and looked at Chen Che, sneering: "You thought your plans were foolproof? To tell you the truth, the person you sent to Beijing is dead; don't even think about handing that evidence over to the Justice Inspection Bureau headquarters ever again."

Chen Che's body shook, and the calm water beneath his feet began to turn turbulent.

His original plan was to disrupt the Ritual today, then rescue Su Xiao and Fang Yuying and leave, and as for the rest, he would wait for people from Beijing to come and finish off Gu Yuanzong before he went to ask for the truth.

However, things had exceeded his expectations, and the current situation had deviated severely from his plan.

Since Lin Su was dead, Beijing could no longer be counted on, so he had to change his plan and kill Gu Yuanzong here.

Otherwise, once Gu Yuanzong returned to Jinling, no one around Chen Che would be able to survive.

"Why did you give the order to kill my parents back then? And why did you want to wipe me out completely?"

Chen Che spoke slowly, and a spear formed from gathered lightning appeared in his right palm; water columns connecting to the sky surged up from the sea behind him, twisting and winding until they turned into a giant python made of seawater.

Gu Yuanzong narrowed his eyes and said disdainfully: "Want to know? Kneel down and beg me!"

Chen Che let out a roar and shot toward Gu Yuanzong; the water python behind him launched an attack at the same time, lowering its head from the sky to strike vertically at Gu Yuanzong.

Gu Yuanzong raised a single arm, caught the water python with ease, and with a twist of his wrist, the water python shattered into pieces.

The Lightning Spear thrust out swiftly; Gu Yuanzong was a beat too slow to dodge, and the spear slashed his shoulder, blood droplets splashing and drifting toward the Blood Moon in the sky.

Song Jinhe shook Fang Yuying awake, then came to Su Xiao's side, wiped the bloody pattern off her forehead, and patted her cheeks to wake her up.

"Leave here quickly!"

Song Jinhe pulled Su Xiao and Fang Yuying and ran toward the sea.

Su Xiao paused, and Song Jinhe and Fang Yuying, who were running in front, were also brought to a halt by her.

A wall of water embedded with wooden spikes rose from the ground, blocking the path of the three.

"Want to leave? It's not that easy!"

The figures of the three Protectors flashed into view and launched an attack at the three of them.

Song Jinhe and the other two had no choice but to scatter and engage in battle.

However, the three Protectors were all at the Earth Master Realm, while Song Jinhe and the others were only at the Grandmaster Realm; the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

Fang Yuying and Su Xiao were subdued once again, and while Song Jinhe was able to hold her own against Xuanwu thanks to the unpredictable nature of the Strange Gate, she was becoming increasingly overwhelmed.

………

"Boom! Boom—!"

A pillar of lightning rose from the ground; Gu Yuanzong was entangled by tree roots erupting from the earth, and unable to dodge in time, he took the full force of the lightning pillar's attack.

Chen Che did not press his advantage, but instead retreated rapidly.

As expected—

The next second, Gu Yuanzong tore through the curtain of lightning, chasing after Chen Che with a ferocious expression, True Qi gathering in his palm, all his power concentrated within.

Chen Che had nowhere left to retreat, so he could only raise the Lightning Spear and thrust it forward.

Unexpectedly, Gu Yuanzong did not retreat or dodge, but struck out with his palm facing the Lightning Spear.

The Lightning Spear shattered inch by inch; Chen Che decisively let go, formed hand seals, and wooden spikes spiraled up from the ground.

"Crackle, crackle, crackle, crackle………"

Gu Yuanzong's figure darted forward, and the wooden spikes were all shattered into flying sand and stones, which then transformed into Gu Yuanzong's personal guards, following him as they charged at Chen Che.

If Chen Che retreated any further, he would fall into the sea, and it was already too late to escape.

"Ah!!!!"

Chen Che let out a roar, flames spiraling up around him; the incoming flying sand and stones piled up in front of him, forming a wall of molten rock under the intense heat.

As expected, the stone wall shattered once again, and Gu Yuanzong revealed a ferocious, excited grin, passing through the wall and reaching for Chen Che's neck.

Chen Che gritted his teeth, pointed his right arm toward the sky, and swung it down with force: "Come again!"

"Boom—!"

From within the thick clouds, a Thunder Dragon dove straight down like a hawk hunting its prey, snapping its jaws onto Gu Yuanzong's left shoulder.

"Crack! —Boom!!!"

The Thunder Dragon exploded, and the sky-piercing pillar of lightning emitted a blinding white light, illuminating the horizon.

………

"I advise you not to waste your efforts; once Gu Yuanzong is dead, your fate will be no better than his!"

Song Jinhe's figure darted rapidly, dodging Xuanwu's attacks.

Xuanwu glanced at the direction where Chen Che and Gu Yuanzong were fighting, a meaningful smile curling the corners of his lips: "You think the Ritual was interrupted, but when did I ever say the Array only had one Array Eye?"

Song Jinhe's body shuddered, her eyes widening: "What did you say?!"

Xuanwu opened his left palm and held it high toward the sky, and a round bead of blood flew into the Blood Moon.

Song Jinhe looked up, only then realizing that the True Qi energy gathered above the Blood Moon had never dissipated!

………

"Good lad, you have some skill; if it weren't for the backlash I suffered when you interrupted the Ritual earlier, I wouldn't be in such a sorry state."

The lightning pillar dissipated, and Gu Yuanzong's battered and wretched figure reappeared in sight, "But from here on out, you won't have another chance."

Above Chen Che's head, another tree withered and decayed; he clutched his chest, enduring the pain of suppressing the Great Red Sun Poison, and stared at Gu Yuanzong with wide, incredulous eyes.

Gu Yuanzong drifted slowly toward the Blood Moon in the sky, entering the mass of True Qi energy gathered there.

"The timing is just right!"

Gu Yuanzong muttered with an arrogant expression, "I... shall be a god!"

…………