Chapter 188

Seeing this, Master Tian remained expressionless but sighed inwardly, preparing to order the disciples of the four sects to retreat.

But at that moment, a figure suddenly flipped up from below, leaving afterimages, landing precisely above the Happy Palace woman, without a word, inverted his body and slammed a palm downward—a massive pale-gold hand crushed down with a roar.

The Happy Palace woman gasped, flicking her jade fan upward; layers of pink peach blossom illusions instantly materialized above her, enveloping her beneath them.

"Boom."

The golden palm print shattered seven or eight layers of peach blossom illusions before blurring and striking the woman's crown.

"Puff."

The woman's voluptuous body exploded outright, turning into a large cloud of pink mist.

In another patch of pink mist-sea, the woman reappeared, her face ashen, glaring fiercely at the new figure above.

This figure was naturally Wang Yu, who had arrived just in time.

Seeing his first strike had failed, he twisted his body and landed steadily beside Master Tian, calmly observing the two demonic sect true disciples before him.

Master Tian was overjoyed but still incredulous: "Brother Wang, you've already defeated your opponent so quickly?"

"Brother, rest assured—he was troublesome, but he's dead. Your side, however, still doesn't look favorable," Wang Yu replied without expression.

"Hah! Brother Wang, don't worry—as long as you can hold off one of them, I'll handle the other one and those two golems myself."

"As for the true disciple who controls those two golems, I've heard of him—he's skilled in mechanical golem arts, but he's a coward who never shows his true form in battle," Master Tian laughed.

Wang Yu nodded, scanning the two true disciples across from him, finally fixing his gaze on the pale youth of the Black Soul Sect; the massive skull beneath him and the soul-guiding banner in his hand both intrigued him.

At this moment, the Happy Palace woman and the Black Soul Sect youth exchanged grim expressions, whispering to each other.

"What's going on? That hairy brat from the Demon Luo Sect is so useless—he's been killed by one of their inner sect disciples!" the Happy Palace woman exclaimed in shock and fury.

"He's indeed a waste, but it proves this inner sect disciple isn't weak. Now, capturing Tian Junzi won't be easy," the black-robed youth replied coldly.

"What, are you thinking of retreating? Now, with my younger brother added, we're still three against two. Besides, even if this inner sect brat killed that Demon Luo waste, he must've expended considerable energy and used up his trump cards."

"At another time, you won't find such a chance again—and this battle concerns so many thousand-year medicinal herbs in the spirit herb garden," the Happy Palace woman frowned.

"If your younger brother were to appear in person, I'd have some confidence—but now you've only sent two golems? What's this?" the black-robed youth retorted sharply.

"Hey, hey—I've devoted my entire skill to mechanical golem arts. Does whether I show my true form matter? Besides, wasn't that true disciple from the Thousand Bamboo Sect killed by my golems' coordination?"

"Let me be clear: your advantage isn't clear anymore. If you want my golems to keep risking themselves in coordination, you'll pay extra. After victory, I want one-tenth more of the thousand-year medicinal herbs from the garden—or I recall my golems."

A voice, genderless and sudden, echoed in the ears of the two demonic sect disciples.

The fat man of the Happy Palace had been eavesdropping via his golems and interjected.

At these words, the black-robed youth and the woman exchanged stunned glances.

"Fine, I agree," the black-robed youth said after glancing across, his face darkening as he accepted instantly.

"You actually agreed to that fat bastard's opportunistic demand?" the Happy Palace woman stared, dumbfounded, glaring at the black-robed youth.

"Hmph. This isn't about whether we fight or not—it's that the other side won't back down. If so, we might as well go all out," the black-robed youth replied, his voice icy as he locked eyes with Wang Yu's gaze.

"Interesting, interesting. This inner sect disciple of the Four Symbols Sect—I once sent golems to ambush him, but failed. He's definitely not someone to be trifled with. If you're truly determined to fight to the death, I'll have my golems fight at full strength—can we bury him here?" the Happy Palace fat man cackled.

"Several thousand-year medicinal herbs in this garden are crucial to my secret cultivation technique. Since you two have decided to fight, I'll join you," the Happy Palace woman said after a swift mental calculation, gritting her teeth.

"Good, good—let's move. Overall, Tian Junzi is stronger. You hold him off for a while. Fat man, have your golems assist me in eliminating the weaker inner sect disciple first."

"The way he looks at me—I hate it. After killing him, I'll pluck out his eyes," the black-robed youth said without hesitation, assigning targets, then glaring at Wang Yu with murderous intent.

The woman said nothing but acted: she flicked her jade fan, and pink mist surged upward five or six zhang high, then crashed down squarely between Wang Yu and Master Tian, rolling mist spreading instantly to separate them.

Both Wang Yu and Master Tian made no move to stop it.

The black-robed youth stood atop the massive skull, shaking his banner—black qi surged forth, and three black-armored ghostly creatures charged toward Wang Yu.

On the other side, the woman hurled her jade fan into the air; it spun rapidly, and countless pink peach blossom illusions rained down, engulfing Master Tian entirely.

Master Tian grunted, tossing his blue miniature bell into the air, where it transformed into a blue light barrier that blocked all peach blossom illusions. Then he stomped once on the giant octopus beneath him.

The giant octopus's massive tentacle tips glowed blue, and thick, crystalline ice spikes emerged, shooting like streaks of cold light toward the Happy Palace woman within the pink mist.

In an instant, clusters of cold light exploded within the pink mist, blue and mist swirling together.

…

Wang Yu saw the black-robed man summoning the three black-armored ghostly creatures charging toward him: one spat yellow sand, one hurled green fireballs, and the last swelled twice its size, its body covered in dense, needle-like bone spines—fearsome indeed.

Wang Yu briefly checked his internal qi, then without delay, flipped his hand—the firearm-like artifact "Wind and Fire Chant" materialized, and he pointed it at the three ghostly creatures.

"Crack."

The hive-like barrel rotated in green light, spewing out a dozen streaks of fire that struck near the three black-armored ghosts.

"Boom!"

Fireballs exploded, rolling flames burning the three ghostly creatures into shrill, screeching cries, forcing them to retreat.