Chapter 49: A Thousand Thunders, Come Forth!

Facing the pincer attack from Wu Chang, Liu Shan, and the Mist Demon, Chi Yuan did not panic, nor did he attempt to flee; instead, he examined the two halves of the Shadow-Reflecting Mask with surprise.

"Does Young Master Wu understand the art of artifact refining?"

Wu Chang replied casually, "I know a little."

Chi Yuan shook his head and said with a serious expression, "You don't just know a little. To be able to bypass the flaws of the Demon-Transformation Method, bring this semi-finished product to near completion, and even deduce part of my intent to make that ability manifest ahead of time—"

"And all this was done casually in the wilderness. In terms of artifact refining alone, I am inferior to you. But that makes sense; the Tang Sect, where Young Master Wu hails from, can craft such intricate mechanical hidden weapons, so it is no surprise you are skilled in refining."

Wu Chang shrugged, "At this point, even if you flatter me, I won't stop or let you go."

Chi Yuan laughed, "That won't be necessary. I am simply delighted by the hunt and lament that if we had met a few years earlier, we surely would have become good friends."

Wu Chang: "Five years ago?"

Five years ago was the day the bandits of Heishan slaughtered Huaigu Village.

A look of slight trance appeared on Chi Yuan's face, as if he were recalling something. A moment later, he regained his focus and said:

"Yes, if I had known you back then, perhaps everything would have turned out differently. Unfortunately, once some things begin, it is hard to turn back."

"Although I study the art of demon-transforming artifact refining, I am at least from the orthodox Daoist lineage; it is not as if I have no power to fight without my artifacts. Young Master Wu, be careful."

After Chi Yuan spoke, he formed a hand seal, lightning flickered in his palm, and a Palm Lightning shot out.

Wu Chang felt his vision blur, and when he looked beside him, he saw the Mist Demon had already evaporated and dissipated.

A notification appeared on the Shadow-Reflecting Mask.

"Shadow-Reflection: The Mist Demon has been dispersed. Time required to re-condense: 23 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds."

Lightning techniques are inherently the most effective method for suppressing demonic entities, and Chi Yuan had a numerical advantage over the Mist Demon, causing the latter to be "one-shotted" by a single Palm Lightning before Wu Chang could even see what happened.

"Young Master Wu, is my lightning technique worthy of your eyes?"

Chi Yuan shook his Daoist robe, sending out thousands of strands of lightning energy. Wisps of electric light emerged from beneath his robe, spiraling around his body before finally converging on the Daoist crown atop his head.

Wu Chang squinted at Chi Yuan and clicked his tongue. Forget whether it was worthy of his eyes; he was now blinded by the glare.

The pressure he felt from Chi Yuan was already no less than that of Dr. Charles from the Moonlight Sanitarium.

One must know that Dr. Charles was a minor elite monster in a B-rank dungeon, with stats of at least level 17 to 19.

And this was merely the pressure from Chi Yuan's true form; combined with three artifacts that could transform into demons, he was far too overpowered to be a hidden boss in a C-rank dungeon.

He took two steps back to put some distance between himself and Chi Yuan, then ordered Liu Shan to launch an attack.

Liu Shan was agile and his attacks were vicious; he was better at fighting people than trimming the branches of tree demons, making him perfect for testing Chi Yuan's mettle.

While sending Liu Shan to attack, he fired a shot at Chi Yuan to provide cover for Liu Shan's approach, ensuring Chi Yuan could not use Palm Lightning to one-shot Liu Shan again.

Chi Yuan dared not take Wu Chang's "hidden weapon" head-on and had to hide behind a large rock, unable to focus on attacking Liu Shan.

Liu Shan seized the opportunity to use his movement technique, rushing behind the boulder to engage Chi Yuan in close combat.

Unexpectedly, a thunderous roar suddenly exploded from behind the boulder; the sound was soul-shaking and nearly ruptured his eardrums.

By the time the buzzing in Wu Chang's ears subsided, he saw that Liu Shan had already returned to the mask to keep the Mist Demon company.

"Shadow-Reflection: Liu Shan has been dispersed. Time required to re-condense: 23 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds."

Not good!

He shook his head, using his willpower to suppress the dizziness caused by the ringing in his ears. Chi Yuan would never have made such a huge commotion just to deal with Liu Shan.

If he were Chi Yuan, he would definitely launch a sneak attack while his opponent was stunned by the thunder.

He hurried to the side of the sacrificial altar, backing against the wooden structure, and carefully guarded his surroundings.

Facing Chi Yuan, who was lurking in the shadows, only the insulating wooden altar allowed him to safely expose his back.

After about three or four breaths, a flash of intuition struck him, and he whipped his head to the side. He saw that Chi Yuan had somehow crept within fifteen meters of him, Palm Lightning flickering in his hand, preparing to launch a sneak attack.

Wu Chang quickly changed his position, moving to the other side of the wooden altar so the Palm Lightning could not aim directly at him.

At this moment, he became the King of Qin, using the altar as a pillar and beginning to circle around it.

With his sneak attack foiled, Chi Yuan simply stopped pretending and switched from a sneak attack to a charge.

Surrounded by lightning, Chi Yuan ran with flickering afterimages, his speed in no way inferior to Liu Shan's.

During the run, the afterimages left behind by the lightning behind him actually accelerated, running side-by-side with him and transforming into two other Chi Yuans.

Three Chi Yuans charged at Wu Chang side-by-side, their movements perfectly synchronized; at a glance, it was impossible to tell which was real.

Chi Yuan's intent was very clear: he was telling Wu Chang to pick one and see if he could hit the real body.

If he were facing a Tang Sect disciple wielding traditional hidden weapons—which, while powerful, could only fire once every five breaths—this move would be highly threatening.

After all, once a shot missed, he would be closed in upon by Chi Yuan and finished off before his weapon could be reloaded.

Unfortunately, Wu Chang was not a Tang Sect disciple, and he was not using traditional hidden weapons.

When Chi Yuan came within seven steps of him, he transformed into a Western cowboy, pulling the trigger ten times in succession, instantly emptying his 6 silver bullets and his 4 points of energy.

The charging Chi Yuan had just reached two meters in front of him when he was struck by three bullets, collapsing to the ground with an expression of disbelief.

Clutching the wound on his chest, Chi Yuan smiled bitterly and said, "So your hidden weapon can fire continuously like a repeating crossbow..."

"Of course. Who would reveal their hand to someone they just met?" Wu Chang said as a matter of course.

Being able to plant this hidden trap was purely a coincidence.

When the two first met at the inn of the Mountain-Blocking Ghost, before the hidden side quest was triggered, Wu Chang felt that the Daoist priest was not a good person because his artifacts were entwined with resentment, so he wanted to keep an ace up his sleeve.

He had deliberately revealed that his weapon took a long time to reload, letting the other party lower their guard so he could catch them off guard when he made his move.

However, after triggering the side quest and Chi Yuan explained the source of the resentment on his artifacts, he temporarily believed in Chi Yuan's identity as a good person, and no battle occurred.

But belief was one thing; he did not correct the previous lie, and instead, he was greatly inspired by the incident.

During the dungeon clearance, he could always feel a faint gaze.

He initially thought it was an evil spirit spying on him, so to protect his trump card, he continued the lie.

Since then, whether fighting the Mist Demon in Chen Village, ambushing the brothers Liu Wei and Liu Wu, or fighting Liu Shan, regardless of whether anyone was watching, he had intentionally or unintentionally revealed the characteristics of his weapon: low rate of fire and slow reloading.

Clearly, his performance during this time had been effective. Chi Yuan, who had been observing him in the dark for a long time, confirmed the characteristics of his hidden weapon, which led to today's clone charge.

And the subsequent emptying of Wu Chang's magazine.

Chi Yuan coughed up a mouthful of blood. He gasped for air and said weakly, "It seems I have lost."

Wu Chang replied politely, "A pity."

Chi Yuan: "But I would like to try one more time."

Wu Chang: "?"

A sense of foreboding rose in his heart. He hurriedly flicked open the cylinder, loaded bullets into it, and prepared to finish off Chi Yuan with a follow-up shot.

But this time, Wu Chang was truly slow to reload.

Chi Yuan spat out four words: "A Thousand Thunders, Come Forth!"

The next moment, lightning struck down from above their heads.

The dazzling electric light turned the world into a blinding white.

Boom! (End of chapter)