Mo Chuan and Ronnie had just emerged from the Loulan ruins when a yellow figure charged towards them.
He instinctively transformed into the [Hellwalker·Divine Dragon Venerable], using the lantern in his hand to block the attack.
However, the expected collision did not occur. Instead, the lantern flashed and sucked the figure into it.
King Taishan had just regained his senses when he looked up and saw the remnant soul of the Golden-winged Great Peng smash headfirst into Mo Chuan's lantern, completely shattering his spirit.
"Ahhhh!!! Mo Chuan! You're dead!!!"
He had planned to refine vengeful souls using the Myriad Ghosts' Night Parade Array, but this guy took advantage of it; he had planned to kill Xin Lei, but this guy had a backup plan that forced him to escape using a Corpse Liberation Talisman; he had traded with King Wuguan for some bodies for possession, but this guy had wiped out King Wuguan's entire lair; now he was trying to refine the "True Scripture of the Great Sun Tathagata," only to have it snatched away by this guy...
What was even more infuriating was that if King Qinguang hadn't told me you were the new Ghost King, I would still be in the dark! I, King Taishan, have lived for so long, and you, Mo Chuan, are the first one to disgust me like this!
King Taishan no longer cared how Mo Chuan survived the ruins. With a distorted child-like face, he produced a set of scrolls. After opening them, a puff of smoke revealed several stiff corpses.
"With my blood, with the flesh of living beings, I shall seize the soul of my enemy!" King Taishan bit his index finger and quickly drew a magic circle around the corpses with his blood, then stained a bamboo slip red with his blood and inserted it in the center of the array.
"Outer Domain Heavenly Demon! Gluttonous Toad!"
As King Taishan roared, a massive dark shadow twisted and churned in the center of the array like ink. After devouring the sacrificial corpses, it gradually revealed its form.
Mo Chuan heard the system prompt indicating his quest progress had been updated, knowing he had likely foiled King Taishan's grand plan again. He noticed that he and Ronnie were standing on a giant spider web and immediately leaped away with her.
As expected, the moment they left their original positions, the spider web sprouted numerous sharp spikes like fangs, piercing several holes in the back hem of Mo Chuan's robe.
King Du Shi, watching from below, clicked his tongue impatiently as his attack failed. He turned and dragged his massive body up the wall.
"Magic damage..." Mo Chuan glanced at the combat log, his eyes narrowing.
To be honest, with his current magic resistance of 131, he could only tank skills of the fourth or fifth tier. Facing the world-destroying power of sixth tier and above, he could only rely on his shield and HP to survive.
Indeed... if he had gone with the "Three Whips" build back then, the chance of him dying would likely have been quite high. After all, only the living can deal damage.
But Mo Chuan couldn't think too much. King Chujiang suddenly leaped forward and landed directly in front of Mo Chuan. Twisting his waist, he swung a spade like a pale crescent moon towards Mo Chuan.
"So fast." Mo Chuan's pupils contracted. He gripped his chains with both hands and held them to his side, simultaneously shielding Ronnie behind him, and took the blow.
Feeling the recoil from his spade, King Chujiang narrowed his eyes. He hadn't felt this sensation in a long time. This spade could generally send anyone to their grave in one strike, bury them in two, and cover them with soil in three. He had rarely encountered a situation where his first strike resulted in a disadvantage (the last time was Master Wu Hai).
Knowing he couldn't gain an advantage against Mo Chuan for the moment, King Chujiang used Mo Chuan's right arm to brace himself and performed a jumping slash towards Ronnie behind Mo Chuan.
"Soldiers, advance!"
A large number of sand soldiers rushed out from the walls of the cave, raising their shields above Ronnie and directly blocking King Chujiang's spade.
Watching the sand soldiers disintegrate, King Chujiang frowned and retreated, dodging the spears thrust by the remaining soldiers.
Mo Chuan predicted King Chujiang's landing trajectory. The grappling hook in his hand spun rapidly, instantly latching on.
The emerald green grappling hook snaked out like a hidden serpent, heading straight for King Chujiang's waist.
"A petty trick and you dare to show off here, how laughable." King Pingdeng's body suddenly grew, instantly becoming half the height of the great Buddha. He reached out and grabbed the grappling hook as if it were a thin thread, then yanked hard.
A familiar scent, a familiar taste.
Although Mo Chuan's strength had increased to 78 points through diligent practice, his opponent was no longer the headless statue from before. Their strength was not on the same level, so Mo Chuan was naturally flung away.
However, this time Mo Chuan was not without resistance.
In mid-air, Mo Chuan swung the lantern violently with his left hand, launching it like a cannonball towards King Pingdeng's head, clearly intending to trade blows.
"Ridiculous, how can such a frail mortal body possibly injure me—*Pfft!*—"
King Pingdeng's jade-carved face was struck by the lantern, creating a large pit. This caused his grip to involuntarily loosen, and the force with which he threw Mo Chuan was also significantly reduced.
King Pingdeng released the chain, covering his face that was constantly shedding jade fragments and wailing. Mo Chuan's body was also smashed heavily into the embrace of the great Buddha, kicking up a cloud of dust and scattering a large amount of gravel.
At this moment, the dark shadow beneath King Taishan had finally taken shape. A colossal black toad, with a pair of scarlet eyes, looked towards Mo Chuan's last known location.
King Taishan let out a cold laugh, casually fed a corpse to the toad, and then ordered, "Eat him."
...
Longjing, Chongyang Temple.
Xiang Lu offered three sticks of incense to the statues of the Three Pure Ones in front of him, bowed, and then walked out of the Hall of the Three Pure Ones.
"Dao Ling, wake up, wake up." As soon as Xiang Lu stepped out the door, he saw Dao Ling dozing by the doorframe. He sighed and could only shake the latter awake.
"Mmm... senior brother, have you eaten breakfast yet..." Dao Ling rubbed his eyes and asked with a yawn.
"Eaten what breakfast..." Xiang Lu angrily poked Dao Ling's forehead and said, "You haven't finished your night watch for tonight! Remember, watch the offering table carefully. If the incense burns out, add three more sticks. If Uncle-Master Qing Lianzi finds out you've been slacking off, she'll definitely give you a good thrashing with a feather duster when she returns."
"Got it, got it..." Dao Ling stretched helplessly, got up, and walked into the Hall of the Three Pure Ones. He then sat down on the cushion and stared at the incense and candles in front of the statues of the Three Pure Ones.
Xiang Lu shook his head and turned back to rest.
A moment later, a cold wind blew into the Hall of the Three Pure Ones, making Dao Ling shiver. He quickly hurried to the door, intending to close it.
Just as he reached the door, a red figure suddenly appeared behind him and knocked Dao Ling unconscious with a hand chop.
King Qinguang threw the young Daoist boy onto the cushion, turned his gaze towards the statues of the Three Pure Ones on the wall, and then casually blasted open the offering table with a wave of black energy.
Beneath the statues of the Three Pure Ones, a hidden door appeared under the shattered flagstones.
King Qinguang opened the hidden door and disappeared into it.
Not long after, a roar echoed, and a coffin lid burst out of the ground. After smashing through the roof of the great hall, it spun in the air a few times before plunging directly into the soil in the courtyard.
...
Longjing, Forbidden City.
The Imperial Guard, standing like a statue on the bell tower, suddenly turned his bronze mask towards the direction of Chongyang Temple. He lightly tapped with the palace lantern in his hand, and a vortex appeared on the ground. The Imperial Guard stepped into it, and the vortex immediately vanished.