Chapter 561: Latecomer (9/10, Autumn Moon Tickets)

"Roar!!!"

With a loud roar from Xiao Xuedou, its body suddenly compressed, shrank, and ultimately reverted to human form—only its lower half remained pitch black, still resembling dog legs in appearance.

But its upper body was now exactly as Lord Han had once looked!

The pitch-black lower half also emitted faint black vapors, as if identical to 【Laguan Gui】!

"Target correct! Target correct! Target! Target! Target! Target locked!"

【Laguan Gui】 immediately reacted, its iron chains exploding outward like a porcupine's spines, unfurling a vast net of iron that swept down toward Lord Han.

Lord Han seemed utterly unresponsive, eyes closed, sensing the changes within his body.

"Lord Han?!"

"Lord…"

Amid the shocked cries of Tian Erjun and Bei Hufa, the iron chains fully descended, striking Lord Han in near-perfect synchronization, as if aiming to pierce his body into a thousand holes!

Just as the chains were about to strike Lord Han, he opened his eyes—and moved.

The scene that followed would haunt Tian Erjun for life.

He couldn't even see how Lord Han moved—only that the faint black vapors coiled around Lord Han's legs all converged into his right hand, forming an invisible sword of black mist.

Before he could even perceive the strike, the black mist surged wildly…

Ding ding ding ding dong!!

All the iron chains were severed!

"Broken? The unbreakable chains of 【Laguan Gui】 were just cut?!"

Tian Erjun stared, dumbfounded, at Lord Han standing with the sword in hand, his mind utterly numb.

【Laguan Gui】 was simply too strong—so strong that even he and Bei Hufa had felt despair.

Those iron chains, as weapons, were utterly unbreakable, unstoppable!

Both Tian Erjun and Bei Hufa had believed those chains could never be cut.

But now, Lord Han had acted—proving with sheer power that nothing in this world was uncuttable!

If something couldn't be cut, it was only because the strength wasn't enough!

"Lord Han!" Tian Erjun cried out, thrilled.

"Lord Han!" Bei Hufa trembled all over, for the first time truly comprehending the power of a living legend!

"Target… mature… target… non-target… not yet mature…"

【Laguan Gui】 muttered something repeatedly, lifting its body upward by propping itself on its chains, looking down upon them all from above.

Its attack target was now locked entirely on Lord Han.

"I'm beginning to master it!"

Lord Han looked down at the solidified black mist sword in his hand, lost in thought; when he looked up again, his expression was utterly calm.

In a flash of motion, he leapt upward, arriving before 【Laguan Gui】 in midair.

The black mist sword slashed diagonally.

Ding ding ding!

The iron chains erupting wildly from behind 【Laguan Gui】 all rushed forward, gathering to block the strike.

But it was useless.

The black mist sword cut through like air, effortlessly slicing every chain in its path—and cleanly severed 【Laguan Gui】's upper and lower halves in one stroke!

The moment Lord Han completed this act, his expression changed abruptly; the black mist sword flickered twice and vanished in a burst, his clear eyes instantly darkened to ink-black, oozing black blood.

His stable human form swelled and contracted—swelling into the grotesque Xuedou form, contracting toward the dog-headed form of Xiao Xuedou.

His form became wildly unstable, his power fluctuating erratically.

【Laguan Gui】 immediately sensed this. Its falling upper half stretched forward in midair, twisting violently.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh—

The iron chains wrapped around its upper body shot out, wrapping tightly around Lord Han's body and constricting!

Lord Han groaned, blood trickling from his lips, unable to break free—the black chains tightened further, his body gradually transforming into the monstrous, grotesque form of Xiao Xuedou.

"Lord Han?!" Tian Erjun cried out, and Bei Hufa had already charged forward.

As 【Laguan Gui】 crushed Lord Han's monstrous Xuedou form, spraying black blood everywhere, Bei Hufa suddenly lunged from below and clamped his arms around 【Laguan Gui】.

"Bei Hufa?!" Tian Erjun cried, shocked and terrified.

Shocked that Bei Hufa had seized the perfect moment, terrified that his move might not work.

At that moment, Bei Hufa, gripping 【Laguan Gui】 tightly, grinned.

"Magma Burst!"

Boom!!

Terrifying power erupted from Bei Hufa's body, roaring like a volcanic eruption.

Wild energy burst forth, spewing like molten lava, exploding outward.

The searing heat and explosive force shattered 【Laguan Gui】's bones with continuous, crunching snaps.

The pitch-black bones melted partially, becoming brittle and fragmented.

Half its human face was blown into a bloody pulp, riddled with holes, one cheek torn open into a massive cavity—its appearance horrific beyond words.

Even so, 【Laguan Gui】 did not die—only collapsed heavily to the ground with Bei Hufa, seemingly on the verge of death, its chains loosening from Lord Han.

As the chains released and Lord Han fell to the ground, his form shifted from grotesque Xiao Xuedou to a small dog form; by the time he landed fully, Xiao Xuedou had taken full control, barking "Woof!" and sprinting away.

Seeing this, Tian Erjun exhaled deeply in relief.

Seeing 【Laguan Gui】 still alive, he immediately rushed forward to deliver the final blow.

But as he reached 【Laguan Gui】's side, fist raised, a single iron chain suddenly erupted from 【Laguan Gui】's body, piercing straight through his chest and hoisting him high into the air.

In stunned disbelief, Tian Erjun's body gradually grew weak, losing strength, and was suspended high in the sky.

His field of vision kept rising, bringing the entire battlefield into full view.

The sect disciples and Qingwei forces were retreating step by step; especially after seeing their side's clear defeat, their morale collapsed completely, leaving corpses strewn everywhere.

Directly beneath him, 【Laguan Gui】—like an immortal monster—once again used its iron chains to lift its body, effortlessly piercing through the dying Bei Hufa's skull, ending Bei Hufa's life.

It found its lower half, seemingly intending to reattach its body, but after two attempts, it was stunned to discover the body could not be rejoined.

As if the wounds inflicted by Lord Han were beyond its capacity to heal.

Yet the bloody human face torn from its face by Bei Hufa's explosion had already rapidly restored its original form.

Iron chains replaced its feet, replaced its lower body; 【Laguan Gui】 stood atop the corpses of Qingsi County's top experts, its body slowly rising, overlooking all living beings!

Zhenjiu descended!

Everyone saw this scene; they all knew 【Laguan Gui】 was coming to end Tian Erjun's life.

And this meant the final conclusion—the end of Qingsi County!

In the despairing gazes of all, the ascending 【Laguan Gui】 suddenly froze midair, as if noticing something new, and sharply turned its gaze toward a distant place entirely opposite the battlefield.

There, a massive, exaggerated thundercloud—so vast its scope nearly covered half of Qingsi County—was rapidly approaching!

Boom—

Thunder roared, illuminating the entire scene!

Beneath the brilliant light, two figures were riding horses at full speed!

"That's… Ye Baiyi?!"

……

(End of Chapter)