Chapter 267: Stacked Fire Flame Shield

Wang Yu sucked in a sharp breath.

Their thunder art must be incredibly powerful—even without a third-rank artifact to assist, it obliterated Yuan Tong, who had also reached peak Body Refinement.

If they used this same technique against him, given how fast thunder art strikes, he might not even be able to dodge it.

But using thunder art at this level clearly had severe limitations: it required talismans to activate, and seemed to inflict damage on the user as well.

At that moment, the old monk shook his sleeve, and another green talisman flew out, vanishing instantly into his feet; blue lotus shadows appeared beneath them, and more blurred figures surfaced nearby, all staring at Wang Yu with sinister gazes as they chanted softly.

Wang Yu's mind raced—he said nothing, but slapped a storage bag at his waist.

A soft *puff*.

A pale silver ring flew out of the bag, which he caught and slipped onto his wrist; it trembled slightly.

Inside the storage bag came a muffled *thud*.

Another dark object shot out—initially the size of an egg, it rapidly expanded in the wind until it became a massive, jet-black wolf-shaped automaton.

Its body stretched three zhang long, its four claws gleamed with pale silver sharpness, and atop its head sat a crystalline single horn, faintly wreathed in flickering lightning.

It was the premium mechanical automaton wolf he'd obtained after killing his first Mo Luo Sect disciple!

Almost simultaneously, the seven old monk illusions simultaneously spat out essence blood and pointed one hand at Wang Yu.

*Boom-boom-boom*.

Seven thick silver lightning arcs appeared, vanished in a flash, and struck the exact spot where Wang Yu stood.

Amid thunderous roars, clusters of silver lightning exploded one after another, blinding white light nearly blinding all who watched.

But the next instant, another boom erupted from within the lightning!

All the lightning arcs rapidly thinned and shrank, then coalesced into a single point of crimson flame that instantly formed a thick crimson light shield, forcibly carving out a safe space amid the weakened lightning around it.

Twelve large crimson spiritual characters flickered faintly across the shield's surface, and within it stood a figure chanting, one hand forming a seal.

Before the crimson shield stood the massive mechanical wolf automaton, standing tall with its head raised; its horn emitted deep rumbling vibrations, greedily sucking in the surrounding lightning, its once jet-black body now crisscrossed with dense silver lightning threads that shimmered and danced.

"Fire Flame Shield, Thunder-Type Automaton."

The seven old monk illusions watched this, their expressions darkening; they opened their mouths again and spat out two more clots of essence blood, chanted incantations, then barked in unison: "Thunder Triple Strike!"

*Boom-boom-boom*.

Each of the seven figures flicked their fingers three times, each releasing three silver lightning arcs—each slightly thinner than before, but twenty-one arcs in total shot upward and instantly appeared above Wang Yu.

Dozens of silver serpents writhed wildly, as if thunder beasts had descended, their aura terrifyingly immense; a scorching smell of burnt flesh spread through the air.

Six of the seven old monk figures dissolved and vanished the moment they fired their lightning arcs.

Only one old monk remained, trembling on his feet, his hair and beard now pure white, his face gaunt and withered—as if he'd aged over a decade in an instant.

The twenty-one silver serpents began to plunge downward one by one.

The massive wolf automaton below shook its head; its horn flashed repeatedly, as if imbued with some mysterious force, forcibly drawing in the first dozen or so descending arcs and absorbing them into its horn.

But after those dozen arcs struck, a sharp *crack* echoed.

The automaton's horn suddenly shattered; its massive black body, now wrapped in lightning thickened several times over, crumbled and fragmented.

This premium mechanical automaton, at least equal to a Cultivation Completion-level artifact, had barely been unleashed before being forcibly destroyed by the old monk's thunder art.

With no automaton to draw them, the remaining thick silver serpents changed direction instantly and plunged straight toward Wang Yu.

*Boom-boom-boom*.

The crimson shield below absorbed only two or three strikes before nine of its crimson runes shattered one by one; the shield's surface trembled violently, covered in a dense network of fine cracks.

"Damn it."

The silver ring on Wang Yu's wrist had already shattered; though he poured all his internal Qi into the Fire Flame Shield, it was clearly no longer capable of withstanding the thunder strikes below.

Without hesitation, he shook his sleeve—three palm-sized pale red mirrors flew out, rapidly transforming into three swirling crimson flames.

They were the Sub-Mother Floating Mirrors he had crafted!

This artifact was a set designed for both offense and defense—now was the moment to test its defensive power.

*Puff. Puff. Puff.

Wang Yu swiftly formed hand seals and pointed at the main mirror; the three crimson flames flashed and each transformed into a crimson shield, expanding wildly.

In an instant, the three crimson shields merged into one, forming the Stacked Fire Flame Shield with three concentric layers.

The original shield, unable to hold any longer, vanished in another thunder strike; the remaining silver lightning arcs now rained down relentlessly upon the new shield created by the Sub-Mother Floating Mirrors.

The triple-layered crimson shield began to flicker violently, its crimson runes surging across its surface.

The old monk, seeing Wang Yu activate his artifact defense, snorted, forced through his bodily discomfort, and pulled from his person a pale green, cone-shaped artifact; he flicked it with one hand, and it shot forward as a streak of green light.

Unknown in origin, the moment this artifact was released, it emitted a piercing, wailing shriek like ghosts crying and wolves howling; it flashed once and slammed hard into the outermost shield.

The next instant, a grotesque green ghostly head materialized violently on the crimson shield's surface, then exploded.

The outermost shield dissolved instantly, as if encountering its mortal enemy.

*Boom-boom-boom*—the remaining silver lightning arcs surged forward in a flood, hammering the second layer.

*Crash*.

The second crimson shield, despite being laced with thick lightning, held for only a few breaths before shattering as well.

The remaining arcs struck the third shield—but after several thunderous impacts, the lightning finally vanished entirely; the third shield still floated outside Wang Yu's body, its surface blurred, runes flashing wildly, yet undamaged.

Wang Yu's heart surged with joy; he exhaled deeply, his eyes turning cold as he stared at the old monk.

"Impossible! This Thunder Triple Strike is a Foundation Establishment secret art mastered by my third reincarnation—even a typical Foundation Establishment cultivator wouldn't dare to block it directly!" the old monk cried out in shock.

Wang Yu snorted, formed a hand seal, and the crimson shield around him vanished in a flash, reforming into three swirling crimson flames that spun faster and brighter, their glow intensifying until faint afterimages trailed behind them, as if eight or seven crimson suns circled him in relentless motion.