Chapter 560

The iron chain was made of some unknown material, completely immune to high temperatures.

Meanwhile, the 【Laguan Gui】 had now shed two-thirds of its human body, as if white bones were gradually consuming the human components—only the head, right arm, and right leg remained as human flesh, all else transformed into skeletal form.

Moreover, the skeletal form had gradually shifted from pure white bone to black bone.

The black-boned 【Laguan Gui】 seemed stronger, overpowering the three-meter fire giant in furious attacks, leaving trails of iron chain afterimages.

Forced into retreat, the three-meter fire giant shrank in size, beaten back to human dimensions.

The situation took a sudden turn for the worse!

"Heng Zongzhu!"

Bei Hufa shouted, his hands trembling.

"I've arrived!"

Heng Zongzhu had come despite his severe injuries—he leapt high into the air, clasped his palms together, then split them apart, both fists clenched simultaneously; the Diamond Circles roared loudly, like the dual fists of an enraged Vajra Buddha crashing down!

In that instant, Tian Erjun's mind flashed a single phrase: Do you know a fist technique that descends from the heavens?

"Diamond Fist!"

With a deep rumble, the 【Laguan Gui】 was momentarily immobilized, frozen in place, as Heng Zongzhu's heavy fist struck.

Boom! Boom!

One punch to the chest, one punch to the head.

Crack!

Under the crushing force, both the 【Laguan Gui】's body bones and skull shattered, spreading five or six jagged cracks.

The terrifying Supernatural Strength drove its entire body, along with the Bone Coffin, straight into the ground, blasting a massive deep crater and burying the body over ten meters underground.

"Ha… ha…"

After landing, Heng Zongzhu couldn't even stand for a second—he collapsed onto the ground, utterly drained.

Tian Erjun, missing an arm, rushed forward, lifted him, slung his arm over his shoulder, retreated while forcing a pill into his mouth.

"Thank…"

Tssss!

Heng Zongzhu weakly opened his eyes; the moment he spoke, a black iron chain pierced straight through his chest.

Heng Zongzhu froze, his pupils dilating and contracting, staring blankly at Tian Erjun beside him, his mouth opening slightly, his life slowly draining away, expression locked in final stunned vacancy.

Tian Erjun was stunned.

He stared at the black iron chain piercing through Heng Zongzhu's back and emerging from his chest, standing upright in midair as if defying gravity, slowly retracting.

With no support, Heng Zongzhu collapsed fully, lying motionless on the ground, now a lifeless corpse.

Turning around, following the slowly retracting iron chain, they saw the 【Laguan Gui】 had completely shed all human flesh—only its head remained half-human, half-bone; the rest was entirely black bone, still bearing fragments of shattered bone and cracks, as if Heng Zongzhu's strike had also taken a toll on it.

Most astonishingly, a faint stream of black mist now spread around the 【Laguan Gui】, radiating an extremely ominous aura.

"Heng… Zongzhu?"

Bei Hufa, who had been taking pills to recover, also froze.

One moment he had been overjoyed, thinking the tide was turning—the next, the exhausted Heng Zongzhu was instantly killed.

He looked in terror at the black-boned 【Laguan Gui】; at this moment, he could not gauge its true strength—only that it was unfathomable!

Had it ascended to another level of power??

The thought terrified Bei Hufa—but he quickly realized his inability to sense its power was entirely due to the faint black mist surrounding it, blocking all external probes!

That meant the 【Laguan Gui】's strength was most likely still at the Catastrophe level!

"Bei Hufa, use that technique! I'll use my life to create an opening for you!"

Suddenly, Tian Erjun spoke in a low voice from nearby.

That technique?!

"But if it fails, we both die for sure—and the situation will plunge into irrecoverable ruin!"

"Is there any other chance left?" Tian Erjun laughed bitterly.

The Qing Si forces and sect forces were fighting the eerie army.

But the situation was not optimistic—indeed, they were at a disadvantage; only if they won could they lead others to ultimate victory.

And now, it appeared they would be the first to fall!

Then… only a desperate gamble remained!

Bei Hufa sighed inwardly—he knew Tian Erjun was right.

But charging head-on, their chance of success was far too low.

"Only one gamble left…"

Tian Erjun was about to bolster Bei Hufa's resolve when he suddenly noticed—the 【Laguan Gui】, which had been staring at the distance, had now sharply turned its gaze toward the two of them, its expression seeming almost bewildered.

Startled, Tian Erjun and Bei Hufa instinctively turned around.

Behind them, a two-headed dog was walking steadily toward them, toward the 【Laguan Gui】.

"Lord Han?!" Tian Erjun exclaimed in delight.

"This is…" Bei Hufa stared in shock—only when he recalled Tian Erjun's words did he finally realize, staring in awe at the dog.

"It's Lord Han?! The living legend of the Heiqing Shanmai, Lord Han?!"

Bei Hufa was stunned—in his memory, legends of Lord Han depicted him as an ethereal, ancient elder.

How could the real Lord Han be a dog with a human head??

The contrast was too great—this was clearly an eerie entity!

As Bei Hufa reeled in shock, Lord Han passed between them, guiding Xiao Xuedou step by step toward the 【Laguan Gui】.

"Find… find… find find find… can't find… target found… target not found… target… mark mark mark mark…"

Facing the approaching Lord Han, 【Laguan Gui】 was like a program stuck in an infinite loop, tilting its head and muttering meaningless words, seemingly utterly confused.

Lord Han narrowed his eyes.

Originally, Lord Han had not intended to act now.

His three-way battle plan with Xiao Xuedou was still immature, risky to control, and could only last a short time.

Therefore, it had to be used at a critical moment. Had it not been for this, Lord Han would have been the first to confront 【Laguan Gui】, not let these juniors step forward.

But now, he had no choice.

Two of the Four Leaders were dead, one crippled, one with Heavy Injury.

If Lord Han did nothing now, Qingsi County would be finished.

So he stepped forward.

Ignoring 【Laguan Gui】's strange reaction, Lord Han condensed black matter atop his head, shaping it into arms that ripped away Xiao Xuedou's Seven Seals Short Swords!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A sound like a heart pounding in agonizing pain immediately rang out.

Xiao Xuedou's eyes visibly turned pitch black, his body rapidly swelling and growing.

By the time Xiao Xuedou neared the bewildered 【Laguan Gui】, his form had expanded to four or five meters tall, his forehead split open to reveal a crimson red stone, his entire body resembling a small hill.

And atop this hill, Lord Han's head appeared tiny, like a pendant.

Yet it was this crucial pendant that, through sheer will and power, suppressed the eerie consciousness.

(End of Chapter)