With Xin Lei's shout of "Heavenly Punishment," thunder boomed in the sky, and a bolt of lightning descended, blasting a large hole in the "eggshell."
Fierce lightning elements roamed within, severely slowing down the "eggshell's" automatic repair speed.
"Go."
At Xin Lei's command, Ding Yang and Ren Yin immediately activated their abilities and advanced rapidly.
But to everyone's surprise, because the police and Xin Lei were located at the back door of the Grand Marshal Bathhouse, as soon as the "eggshell" was broken, a swarm of purple fluorescent butterflies emerged.
Before everyone could brace themselves, the butterflies landed and merged, flashing with light to transform into a man in somewhat tattered clothes.
Upon seeing the police and Xin Lei, the man immediately shouted excitedly, "I am Zhang Henshui! The monster is behind!"
In fact, Xin Lei and the other two had already noticed without Zhang Henshui's mention.
After the statue emerged from the bathhouse, free from the constraints of the venue, it retracted the "eggshell" and grew even larger.
Looking at the statue that was at least four stories tall, Xin Lei said, "Ding Yang, go and engage this monster; Ren Yin, go inside and see if there's anything else."
The two nodded in understanding. Zhang Henshui, who had just been supported by a police officer, immediately said, "Mo Chuan and Abe Haruko are still inside!"
Upon hearing this, Ren Yin's spiritual power surged, summoning a crescent-shaped platform to float in the air. With a casual wave, an attraction pulled Zhang Henshui over.
"Guide the way."
Ren Yin, seemingly unfazed by the statue, floated into the Grand Marshal Bathhouse with Zhang Henshui.
When King Taishan saw the two floating into the bathhouse through the statue, his expression turned grim, and he took direct control of the statue.
Branches rapidly grew and intertwined in the palms of the statue's two hands, transforming into a long sword and a drill, stabbing towards Ren Yin and Zhang Henshui.
"Monster! Your opponent is me!"
With a loud shout, Ding Yang's body ignited with a ball of golden flame. The flames churned and leaped, as hot and dazzling as the sun. Behind him, the phantom image of a divine bird appeared.
"Three-Headed Golden Crow!?" King Taishan, hidden in the shadows, narrowed his eyes, a glint flashing within. He rubbed his hands and sneered, "Good... very good..."
Ding Yang controlled the Golden Crow, circling the statue rapidly. As expected, the golden flames burned the branches to ashes. Where it passed, branches fell, sparks scattered, and the tall, terrifying statue was quickly dismembered, leaving only a charred, smoking husk – its arms, weapons, and lotus seat turned to charcoal and ash.
"Good! Let's press on! Great Sun Illumination!" The Golden Crow behind Ding Yang flapped its wings a few times, and the sun erupted with golden flames once more, charging at the statue's remains like a meteor.
BOOM!!!
A violent explosion occurred in the statue's chest. Amidst the sky-high flames, burning branches scattered everywhere, then were blown apart by the wind.
Three severely twisted and charred corpses were revealed in the flames and ashes, filling the air with the smell of burnt meat.
"Senior Xin Lei, my task is complete," Ding Yang said, descending back to the ground from mid-air. "Now we just need to wait for Ren Yin to bring the people out, right?"
Xin Lei nodded, then remembered something. He took out the last brocade pouch from his pocket, intending to open it and see what he was supposed to do upon arriving at the Grand Marshal Bathhouse.
Meanwhile, the police rushed to Ding Yang and the three corpses, beginning to assess the situation and gather information.
However, no one noticed that a few branches beneath Ding Yang's feet moved slowly, as if blown by the wind.
Suddenly, a powerful and overbearing spiritual force repelled the police around Ding Yang. Then, several branches floated rapidly in the air, trapping Ding Yang in place like a cage. Dozens of purplish-black runes hovered in the air, shining with forbidden radiance.
"Ding Yang!"
Xin Lei couldn't bother with anything else and intended to rescue Ding Yang, but a large "Golden City of a Thousand Miles" suddenly appeared, blocking Xin Lei's path.
Familiar spiritual energy fluctuations, familiar moves.
Xin Lei's expression visibly darkened, and he muttered, "This font... it's Tang Fang's 'On the Fall of Qin,' the Jin Shi Tie inscription..."
"Hehehe... I never thought I'd see you, old Thunder God, again. What? Still not dead?"
The words "Shrink the Ground to an Inch" flashed on the ground, and a short, hunched figure instantly appeared before Ding Yang.
It was King Taishan.
"Hmph... If you old toad are still alive, how could I possibly die?" Xin Lei, seeing King Taishan appear before him, said nothing more. His spiritual power surged, his hair and beard bristled, and crackling arcs of electricity snapped around him.
"Axe of Astonishing Thunder!"
Xin Lei gripped his hand, summoning a purple lightning-formed double-bladed battle axe. Then, his muscles were activated by the lightning, and he transformed into a silver-white flash, charging at King Taishan.
"Don't touch others! Settle this with me first!"
"Heh heh..."
King Taishan merely sneered. He first pointed a finger at Ding Yang, who was immobilized by the branches, and with a flash of purple light, Ding Yang disappeared.
Then, he casually tossed a yellowed scroll. As the scroll unfurled, it revealed a poem, "The Hard Road to Shu."
"Ah, alas, how perilous and high! The hard road to Shu is harder than climbing the sky."
As the scroll glowed with purple light, Xin Lei, who had been advancing rapidly, suddenly slowed down by more than half. He felt as if he were climbing a treacherous peak, finding every step difficult and every move strenuous.
"Ten years ago, you couldn't save your family. Ten years later, you can't save this kid either," King Taishan sneered and said, "Without killing, hatred is endless; without stealing, what's the difference between strong and weak? Without lust, all sentient beings are sinned; without lying, dreams are illusions; without intoxication, worries rise and fall unpredictably; without pleasure, youth is fleeting; without indulgence in sleep, suffering is inescapable; without excess desire, all actions are meaningless; without greed, the world's flavors are unknown; without disrupting the cycle of reincarnation, all beings are puppets."
"Ten years ago, I told you these principles, wanting you to abandon those precepts, doctrines, old habits, and pursue the path of eternal life and the ultimate power with me. But you?" King Taishan slowly walked in front of Xin Lei and said, facing him across "Golden City of a Thousand Miles," "A minor official post made you complacent; half a bowl of soup satisfied you for days; a wife and daughter made you stagnate."
"It was you yourself! You yourself used these worthless bonds! These meaningless attachments! These pointless emotions! To drag down your own footsteps! And I! I helped you sever these shackles and chains!"
King Taishan became more agitated as he spoke, several yellowed scrolls floating around him. He said with a cold face, slowly opening his mouth:
"Now, feel the difference between us."