Chapter 574: Whoa, your dad's fleeing silhouette is seriously cool, huh?

It's a pity that there is no universal law in this world.

Even Bu Long Fei Er De, relying on his millennia‑old unaccumulated astonishing wisdom and the countless refinements of the Mist Formation, could not trap every living being within it.

Moreover, the evil spirit demon dragon commanded by Er Li did not rashly launch an attack; instead it lay in wait at the new lair she was about to relocate to—the ruins of the underground fortress—effectively staging an ambush, a kind of encounter battle.

Thus, even with the protection of the White Mist, Bu Long Fei Er De, who could not control the field, still perished under the demon dragons' pitiless siege.

But the red‑black demon dragons originally broke through the White Mist array mainly because they were in the prime of their ninety‑plus level.

Their Qi and blood are abundant; they outnumber the few, a single force breaks ten thousand methods. If we sisters still can't win, we'd truly be in a bind.

However, now they are the lower‑level, weaker side, still trembling in fear, squeaking and shrieking.

Facing Bu Long Fei Er De's rare moment of vigor, the White Mist array, with no discount and full commitment, naturally left no room for struggle.

Forced to flee clumsily left and right, yet still unable to find a way out, they stood rigidly and shouted, "Father, save me!"

Unfortunately Er Li couldn't hear, and even if he did, he would pretend not to.

There's nothing I can do; compared with those two tool‑girl daughters… Ouch, I think I'd better save myself first!

Even a legendary alchemist is still an alchemist; being able to control and run sounds impressive, but in plain terms it's just a support role.

Facing Xi Er Wei Ya, whose hatred and attack desire are maxed, delivering steady slash combos and cleaving strikes, he had no chance to retaliate and could only flee.

In theory, even though the two, after just battling the main enemy forces at the Radiant Ancestral Land, were ninety‑level, the heavy attrition should have prevented such ferocity.

The reason they achieved such perfect suppression was that they didn't rush here directly from the Ancestral Land; instead they used a precious ultra‑long‑range teleport scroll to return to the dungeon first.

As Ji Ming's underground divine realm, it's like a fantasy charging post; once they enter, they receive virtually limitless magical energy, allowing them to replenish and then launch the second round of battle at full strength.

"How audacious!"

But a ninety‑level should have ninety‑level composure; Er Li no longer even pretends to be human. He toiled for ten thousand years to maintain a ninety‑level high rank just to show off, not to be treated like a dog the moment he appears.

So after consecutively evading Xi Er Wei Ya's four massive AOE slashes and finally catching a breath, he immediately switched to the potion‑jar form.

"Angel, hold on; let me sip some demon elixir first!"

Then, like some shameless players, he began frantically consuming every kind of demon elixir in his pack—restoring HP and MP, boosting stats… without pause!

If this were a regular boss, Xi Er Wei Ya's silence would already be deafening, as if she wanted to pierce Er Li's eardrums with a shout like "Oyster Dad Oil!"

But unfortunately, Xi Er Wei Ya is not a boss.

If she had to be, she'd just be another player in a PvP fighting game, so…

"Fine, I'll wait for you!"

His superior is a secret‑arts sorcerer, his colleague a ten‑thousand‑year‑old ancient tree, and the library houses piles of knowledge gathered from four corners.

If we truly compare potion‑consumption, Xi Er Wei Ya, backed by a powerful support team, wouldn't be far behind Er Li.

—It's just medicine, right? Come on, I'll take it with you!

Thus, after Er Li's arms race had filled half his belly, he gradually stopped.

Two questions.

First, even if he can ignore side effects, as the short‑term dosage increases, the elixir's strengthening efficiency diminishes, making further consumption meaningless.

Second, he's already near the enhancement limit, yet his stats still haven't surpassed those of Xi Er Wei Ya, who is also taking elixirs alongside him.

Guilty, this is only the first run, and my stat‑increase efficiency is actually worse than a boss's. How could I have such a dream!?

Then I should save some medicine; otherwise if I get beaten, there'll be none left…

But the brave Creator never yields; the restored Er Li didn't flee, instead he summoned cold currents and void, continuing to duel Xi Er Wei Ya at a distance with spells.

And although his stats still fall short of the Archangel, as long as the starting point is low, each increment's value is multiplied.

If the earlier gap was 2.3 to 1.9, now it's at least 2.5 to 2.2.

The enemy who originally outclassed him by 21% now only exceeds him by 14%, instantly widening the maneuverable space.

With the alchemist's unique crowd‑control and escape abilities, he even reclaimed much initiative, no longer forced to think only about fleeing.

"Oh? Going all out? Very well!"

But Xi Er Wei Ya is not that delicate, soft‑bodied, neon‑produced welfare angel who can only afford a two‑foot‑wide cloth.

Under that magical armor, her true form is akin to an ancient covenant manuscript, an indescribable special entity.

Thus, upon sensing Er Li's battle intent, she shed her disguise, transforming from a five‑meter‑tall heavily‑armored behemoth into a massive blaze of dazzling light.

"Die!"

In an instant, light coalesced into a hundred‑meter‑long celestial blade, bearing mountain‑heavy, grandiose righteous energy that slashed toward Er Li.

Even with confidence, Er Li dared not meet the Archangel's full strike; he quickly abandoned his humanoid form, turning into a swirling black mist.

Light, clouds, gale, flashes… the ensuing battle is hard to describe in words.

Even under the blazing noon, the sky over Northern Capital Province resembled a Van Gogh canvas, its dazzling colors nearly driving one mad.

Thus we will have Cultivation: Zhen Shen's first echelon, the battle between the Celestial Iron Guard and the Creator!

Across the world, in this dark version of the end‑times era, the sun‑moon's lands have not seen such fierce scenes in nearly ten thousand years.

Ji Ming, rare to witness this spectacle, turned to glance at the two stunned demon dragons lying on the ground, then looked toward the idle Bu Long Fei Er De nearby.

"Um, the fight's a bit abstract; could you explain who's currently ahead?"

The lazy dragon spread a massive raincloud beneath itself, more comfortable than a demon dragon's lie, glanced at the sky, then closed its eyes.

"Don't worry, Xi Er Wei Ya won't lose."

She spoke with conviction, yet the twisted scenery in the air lingered for over half an hour before the massive tableau finally began to fade.

The light and colors rapidly converged, and at two ends several kilometers apart, two majestic figures formed.

Now Xi Er Wei Ya resembles an angel: two wings cover her face, two cover her feet, two enable flight; a slight flap produces a lion‑like roar, and a cold single eye covers her body, each opening unleashing red lightning across the sky.

Er Li, meanwhile, is a massive black hole of countless vortices, his immense gravity creating near‑zero‑gravity around him, the dust from their clash forming a planetary‑ring‑like structure.

"Um, now?"

"Xi Er Wei Ya."

"Oh, that's good."

Just as Bu Long Fei Er De said, when Xi Er Wei Ya glared angrily, eyes wide, and swept the E Er Li turret with lightning like a space battleship, the alchemy master no longer dared to meet force with force.

Although they vanished in the spiral, flashing a few hundred meters away in one breath to dodge the fatal blow, the rotation speed was still a few beats slower, evidently the trailing force couldn't keep up.

But it must be said that this Void‑Walking skill is truly cheeky; using such an evasion technique, the old fellow has dodged countless killing moves from Xi Er Wei Ya.

Unfortunately, Ji Ming set the teleport array here, which is roughly like turning Xi Er Wei Ya into a phone being wirelessly charged; its battery life is certainly tougher than E Er Li's, which relies on an old battery.

So the Archangel wasn't in a hurry, simply playing it steady, continuing to force E Er Li to use blink with a massive AOE that's hard to dodge, until he exhausts all his energy.

When that moment arrives—hehe, hehehe, heh heh heh!

And E Er Li naturally sees that if the battle continues to be worn down like this, he will surely be captured on the spot, hung up and tortured.

So after dodging twice, he tried to clash once, testing the opponent's current strength.

"You disgusting, bizarre filth, you are too audacious! I, the High One, will duel you!"

The previously relatively calm black hole suddenly expanded its volume and directly activated Void‑Walking, teleporting to beneath Xi Er Wei Ya's "feet".

As a support unit daring to engage the angel up close, E Er Li's move was, without doubt, a desperate gamble.

So that under the gluttonous, extreme greed of the glutton, Xi Er Wei Ya felt as if even her soul were being sucked away by this oddity.

But she didn't panic; instead she disintegrated again into dazzling golden light that blotted out the sky, falling like a cleaver.

Want to eat? Then today you'll have your fill!

Boom—!

The earth‑shaking roar echoed in all directions; the powerful shockwave not only battered the surrounding hills, but even Ji Ming was blown dozens of meters away.

"I'm measuring..."

But he didn't care about that; after muttering half a curse, he steadied himself again, only wanting to know the final outcome of this great battle.

What he saw, however, was not E Er Li, who looked like a stray dog in Xi Er Wei Ya's hand, but a black silhouette that vanished into the sky without looking back.

"Desperate? What a joke!"

"Stupid, huh? Little master, huh?"

It must be said, a senior is a senior; if it were Ji Ming, even without a classic villain line like "I will definitely return!",

He would also have to throw a harsh line like "What happened today, I shall repay double in the future!" to recover some of the lost face from the messy retreat.

In contrast, E Er Li is shameless; matters of big or small daughters, face and dignity are all less important than his own life.

He didn't even say a polite "farewell" to the deity, and just slipped away silently!

"Is this still a human?"

…

"Learned from the senior, I can apply it next time!"

【Ah? You learned that too?】

"... Uh, also, anyway I won't lose."

Xi Er Wei Ya didn't expect E Er Li to boldly blink out to control her, and go all out to activate a devouring vortex to seize her power, only to make escaping even easier!

Just after unleashing a massive move that could fling eight mountain peaks into the sky, she saw the black hole in front of her suddenly develop a void, and that empty part immediately shot away like the core fighter of a Gundam.

Worse, at that moment she hadn't fully exerted her front force nor released her rear force, so she couldn't catch the decisive E Er Li, who had abandoned most of his body, leaving only a fragment to preserve his consciousness and flee at high speed.

Thus, when she later transformed into a flash of light to chase, it was already too late; she could only watch E Er Li repeatedly activate Void‑Walking, escaping the battlefield at light speed like twinkling stars.

"This is my sin, my lord; Xi Er Wei Ya pleads guilt before you."

Such a perfect chance to slay the enemy was missed, and even though the Archangel remained in that 'lost sanity' state, Ji Ming could hear her disappointment in her tone.

But he isn't the type who likes to punish subordinates, forcibly inflicting a second wound on his own team; he merely waved his hand.

"You letting the enemy escape is certainly a fault, but how could this not also involve my own miscommand?"

"At the very least, had I not feared your infighting would tear down my underground city, if I had pulled him in and surrounded him to fight, he definitely couldn't have escaped."

"Moreover, the purpose of this battle was to expose the mastermind behind the attack on the Holy See, making the aggressors pay; wasn't that a great success?"

"Right?"

That final sentence wasn't addressed to Xi Er Wei Ya, but to the two demonic dragons whose illusion had already been dispelled by Bu Long Fei Er De.

Seeing them still lying on the ground with eyes shut, playing dead, Ji Ming held nothing back, imitating Dr. Yang Jiao Shou's tale, and surged forward with a bolt of lightning.

"I say, your godfather dropping your fleeing silhouette was really cool, right!?"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"

Now the demonic dragon sisters behaved, hurriedly opening their eyes, turning into obedient humanoid forms, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing as if crushing garlic.

Their rambling was all twisted, but the core message was a single line—"We know we were wrong, please have mercy, sir!"

"Damn, committing a massive crime and still wanting to live?"

Ji Ming originally intended to thoroughly torment these heartless evil dragons, but upon reconsideration, realized there was a more important matter he needed to handle himself.

He simply waved his hand, signaling the teleported Grayson to escort the two prisoners back to the dungeon for proper custody; I will personally interrogate them.

As for himself, he headed west under the escort of Xi Er Wei Ya and Bu Long Fei Er De, traveling to the once‑glorious ancestral land now reduced to ruins.

"Oh, damn..."

What could make Ji Ming, when his own body is under threat, still send all his assets except himself to fight elsewhere?

—Because, of course, there's a group of enemies even stronger than the ones before his eyes.