Chapter 155: Zheng Zha: Eat My Buddha

Zhao Ying:???

Looking at the black tentacles wildly surging toward her, this former assassin turned warrior, a fearsome little girl, was left utterly bewildered.

Why are you chasing me? Aren't the vampires and demons over there more appealing? Or does the Golden Horn Beast bloodline better suit the demon's possession requirements?

Even as she thought this, Zhao Ying's running speed did not slow at all.

She instantly unlocked the second-stage gene lock and fully activated her Golden Horn Beast bloodline, doubling all her attributes; in the blink of an eye, she surged over a hundred meters away, putting considerable distance between herself and the black tentacles.

{Stop those tentacles—they're targeting Yingkong!

Zhan Lan screamed within the mental network, then poured all her strength into a psychic assault, attempting to damage the will within the dark nebula—even if it failed, it might buy the others time to counterattack.

As expected, the ancient demon's power was too terrifying; centuries of accumulation had long transcended mortal boundaries, and he was equally skilled in psychic techniques.

If rated within the Main God Space, the full-strength "The Forgotten One" would be at least a mid-high-level demigod, possibly even nearing the high-level spirit rank.

Thus, even now reduced to a half-crippled soul, his psychic power remained terrifyingly vast—far beyond what a mere second-stage gene lock psychic controller could suppress.

{Get out—!!

A voice filled with impatience echoed through the psychic realm, like a giant hammer slamming into Zhan Lan's mind; she let out a muffled groan as blood gushed from her nose and mouth.

But this brief delay finally gave the Zhongzhou team a window to attack—they unleashed every technique they had, trying to sever and destroy the black tentacles, preventing them from advancing an inch further.

The effect was mediocre; the tentacles seemed to exist between reality and illusion—whenever attacked, they passed through like phantoms, as if the team were battling air itself.

Yet when the tentacles counterattacked, they turned from illusion to reality, inflicting heavy damage on the Zhongzhou team, with a sensation as if striking directly at the soul; had it not been for the enhanced armor modified by Chu Xuan, casualties might already have occurred.

Seeing this, Zhao Ying, far away, wanted to rush back to help—but Chu Xuan stopped her.

Undoubtedly, "The Forgotten One" was clearly coveting her body; though the reason was unknown, if he succeeded, his power might surge dramatically, making the situation far worse.

If so, it was better to let Zhao Ying circle the battlefield, drawing "The Forgotten One's" attention away.

Meanwhile, as the team gradually fell into disadvantage, Zhan Lan—despite her damaged psyche—pushed the brainwave enhancer on her forehead to its absolute limit with her last reserves of strength.

At the final moment, she managed to send Wu Xian a fragmented message across the vastness of space, conveying the general situation here.

After completing it, Zhan Lan lost all strength, closed her eyes, and collapsed backward; Du Gu Feng, who had been following her closely, caught her in his arms.

Judging by her pallid face, she would be unable to participate in combat for a long time.

"Damn it!!"

Feeling the mental link severed, the Zhongzhou team, struggling desperately against the black tentacles, erupted in fury; Zheng Zha's karmic fire blazed fiercely, engulfing all the illusory tentacles and burning them rapidly.

"Roar roar roar————!!!"

"The Forgotten One," transformed into the dark nebula, let out a roar for the first time—like a beast caught in a trap, filled with pain and confusion.

Indeed, this ancient demon could not comprehend: why could a mere vampire, with no particularly high bloodline, wield such strange and powerful flames capable of even burning his demigod soul? It was utterly irrational.

As he thought this, "The Forgotten One" finally regarded Zheng Zha with serious eyes—and saw in him the shadow of Dracula (Gabriel), recalling the moment he had been defeated and stripped of his power.

Instantly, "The Forgotten One" surged with murderous intent; with a roar, thick black mist erupted from the nebula, coalescing into a colossal hand that slammed down toward Zheng Zha.

Zheng Zha stood ready, all his karmic fire shifting to his palms.

Simultaneously, the crystal-clear flame, under his control, compressed and condensed until it became a blood-red lotus of fire, floating forward toward the black giant palm.

This was a technique Zheng Zha developed with Wu Xian and Chu Xuan's help.

By compressing the karmic fire to its limit, he could condense an unimaginably terrifying power in a short time.

Once fully unleashed, its power rivaled a small nuclear bomb—and it specifically countered all negative energies, making it his most powerful attack.

During training in the Curse World, Wu Xian had seen Zheng Zha use this move before and had marveled at it, calling him the bearing of the Flame Emperor, and even helped name it with a cool title—

"Buddha's Wrath Lotus!!!"

Zheng Zha roared as the fire lotus collided with the black palm, unleashing blinding, radiant light.

Hummmmm————!!!!

The shockwave erupted in a circular burst, rapidly spreading and rippling the air as if the very void trembled and cracked; even a fraction of the leaked energy could annihilate all things, and the entire Blood Castle began dissolving from its base…

After an unknown length of time, the residual energy of the blast scattered the storm clouds overhead, and sunlight poured down upon the flattened Blood Castle.

Crack!

A mound of earth rose; a translucent white protective barrier slowly lifted, revealing the Zhongzhou team, unharmed.

As Zheng Zha and "The Forgotten One" unleashed their ultimate techniques, Chu Xuan had already warned everyone to gather together to avoid the residual energy; Zhao Ying had also returned at the last second, carrying the exhausted Zheng Zha—hence this scene.

Chu Xuan scanned the surroundings with the Yu Tian Ring, finding no trace of "The Forgotten One"; then he looked at Zheng Zha, who looked drained, and Zhan Lan, still unconscious, his brow furrowed tightly—he clearly found the current situation troubling.

"Wait! Where's Fan Haixin?"

Cheng Xiao suddenly cried out; only then did the rest of the Zhongzhou team realize Fan Haixin was not within the protective barrier—or rather, everyone had unconsciously ignored his presence during the battle.

Thinking of the terrifying power unleashed moments ago, Zheng Zha and a few others couldn't help but worry.

"Don't worry—he's not that easy to kill."

A girl's playful voice drifted softly through the air, startling everyone present.

(End of Chapter)