Fang Daolong looked up at the colossal nine-headed python suspended in the sky, a sense of awe filling his heart.
"Indeed, a divine child! I am more and more convinced of her ability to deal with Changsheng!"
In the sky, Nannan's nine pairs of eyes coldly stared at Fang Daolong. Then, a surge of resentment erupted from her entire being, plunging the heavens into darkness in an instant.
One must remember, this was the Changsheng Realm! To alter the celestial phenomena, one at least needed to be in the You Sha state. Nannan's second form was merely Ming Sha, yet her third form had directly reached You Sha!
"Ant, die!"
The white python head in the center of Nannan roared. Dozens of meters high ice cones condensed in the sky and plummeted down, accompanied by knife-like gales and lightning crackling with purple light.
"Boom, boom, boom..."
The ground was bombarded by various attacks. Fang Daolong, with Fang Mu at his side, dodged left and right, finding themselves completely suppressed by Nannan's assault.
"What should we do?"
Fang Mu drew a long sword, fiercely parrying an ice cone descending from the sky, and anxiously asked Fang Daolong.
Fang Daolong was also not idle, continuously blocking incoming attacks. Runes flickered around him, clearly indicating the use of some defensive formations.
"Stall! This form of hers absolutely cannot be maintained for long. Our strength is also at the You Sha level. It's not that easy for her to take us down quickly!" Fang Daolong shouted.
And indeed, this was the case. Each new form Nannan adopted was difficult to sustain for an extended period, let alone her current third form. Maintaining it for even a second would likely place a significant burden on her.
Fang Daolong and his wife resolved to focus solely on defense. Both of them possessed strength at the You Sha level, and their true bodies were even at the Xu Sha intensity. Nannan found herself unable to effectively attack their purely defensive posture.
"Five Elements!" Unable to break through their defenses after a prolonged assault, Nannan's rage flared as she saw Fang Daolong and Fang Mu standing back-to-back, fending off the attacks. The five python heads—yellow, red, green, orange, and blue—simultaneously opened their mouths, spewing five distinct energies.
These five energies converged in mid-air, forming a white beam of light that shot towards Fang Daolong.
"She can actually use the Five Elements?!" Fang Daolong was shocked, feeling a prickle of dread at Nannan's talent.
It was well known that the Five Elements, with their cycles of generation and destruction, could theoretically find a balance point and fuse into one. However, in practice, it was far from easy.
While a single element might be harmless material, when five different materials came into contact, their fusion and repulsion would grow exponentially!
The slightest misstep could lead to self-immolation, blowing oneself to smithereens!
And this was Nannan's first time mastering the Five Elements, yet she could already skillfully fuse them into an attack. Her innate talent was truly remarkable!
"Wife, be careful!" Fang Daolong shouted, his hands blurring as he drew runes. Fang Mu, not daring to delay, quickly reinforced her defenses.
The attack formed by the fusion of the Five Elements was on an entirely different level compared to the ice cones and lightning from before.
Fang Ming, who was hiding nearby, also felt the terrifying power of this attack and looked up at Nannan in the sky with concern. Would using such a powerful technique truly have no impact on her?
"Boom—!"
A deafening explosion reverberated. The surrounding white mist was instantly dispersed by the shockwave. A blinding white light erupted, and centered on Fang Daolong's position, the entire ground sank downwards in a conical shape.
Web-like cracks spread all the way to Fang Ming's feet, thousands of meters away. Several vine-like tendrils emerged from the ground and, before Fang Ming could react, wrapped around him, protecting him.
As the white light dissipated, Fang Daolong and Fang Mu appeared disheveled. Their clothes were largely torn, and their bodies were covered in superficial wounds, but thankfully, nothing fundamental had been harmed.
Fang Daolong pulled Fang Mu to her feet and looked up.
After unleashing this attack, Nannan's body showed no signs of weakness.
This caused Fang Daolong's heart to sink.
He hadn't expected the divine child to be so difficult to deal with.
"I didn't expect you to be able to withstand this attack," Nannan complimented.
As the one who launched it, she was acutely aware of its power. Let alone Fang Daolong, even she herself would have to pay a price to endure it.
Fang Daolong shook his head and smiled, "Your potential is indeed terrifying. Come with me, I need your help to deal with Changsheng."
"Heh," Nannan scoffed, "If you weren't Fang Ming's parents, you would have already died under that attack!"
That was right, Nannan had held back.
"Oh? You can fuse all nine elements?" Fang Daolong asked in surprise, a feat he himself couldn't accomplish!
Nannan let out a cold laugh and did not answer him. Instead, she said, "Leave now, and I won't pursue this matter. From now on, Fang Ming and I will no longer interfere with your plans."
"That won't do," Fang Daolong said with a smile. "You must come with me today. Don't think that because you are Fang Ming's father, I wouldn't dare act against you!" Nannan's anger flared, and she prepared to make them suffer a bit.
"Blood Servants!" Nannan commanded.
Fang Daolong and his wife instantly felt their blood coursing rapidly within their bodies, as if trying to condense a new life form.
"Your innate ability?!" Fang Daolong exclaimed in shock. "You can break through my defenses and influence the blood within me?"
"You are already injured, and your blood has flowed to the surface. Naturally, I can easily control the blood within your bodies!" Nannan sneered.
Fang Daolong suddenly understood, "So that's how it is."
"Leave quickly, or don't blame me for detonating the blood servants!" Nannan said coldly.
But Fang Daolong merely smiled.
"You underestimate me too much. After all, you were created by my design."
Fang Daolong took out a jade pendant from his chest, embedded with a rune.
"Crack." Fang Daolong crushed the jade pendant with force. The rune transformed into a stream of energy that flowed into his body. Simultaneously, his strength surged rapidly, so fast that Nannan's expression turned to shock.
Nannan quickly tried to control the blood servants within Fang Daolong, but it was too late. Layers of runes erupted from Fang Daolong's body as he ascended into the air, countless runes swirling around him.
These runes easily suppressed the agitation of the blood within, and Nannan lost control of her blood servants.
Early You Sha, mid You Sha... Xu Sha!
In the blink of an eye, Fang Daolong's power escalated to Xu Sha. He now loomed in the sky like a deity, gazing down at Nannan with emotionless eyes.
"To deal with you, I have used my only trump card. You should consider it an honor," Fang Daolong said indifferently.
This jade pendant sealed his true body's power. Upon using it, he would temporarily possess his original strength. Although it could only be maintained for ten minutes, it was more than enough to deal with a divine child at the You Sha level.
Nannan did not reply, instead staring cautiously at Fang Daolong. All nine of her heads simultaneously spewed energy, which coalesced into a black beam of light that attacked Fang Daolong. The white mist it encountered was swept away and devoured.
The space crackled, and faint rifts appeared and healed as the black beam passed through.
Fang Daolong, watching this world-destroying attack, remained unfazed.
He simply extended a hand, and a palm-sized rune flew out, colliding with the black beam instantly.
The black beam dissolved and dispersed like snowflakes encountering a scorching iron ball, turning into white mist and becoming a part of the Changsheng Realm.
"What?!" Nannan was stunned. Was this the power of Xu Sha?
"Immobilize!" Fang Daolong pointed a finger at Nannan. A section of the runes surrounding him flew out, instantly enveloping her. Nannan felt darkness before her eyes, and then she fainted, becoming motionless.
The runes wrapped around Nannan, shrinking continuously until they became palm-sized and returned to Fang Daolong's hand.
"Finally caught you," Fang Daolong said with a sigh, glancing at the colorful nine-headed python in his hand.
He had truly paid a great price to capture Nannan.
Then, Fang Daolong turned to face Fang Ming, who glared at him furiously.
"Let Nannan go at once!"
Fang Daolong smiled helplessly. With his other hand, he made a grasping motion and grabbed Fang Ming. With a thought, a rift leading back to reality appeared. Without any further words to Fang Ming, he tossed him directly through it.
"Fang Daolong!" Fang Ming shouted in anger, his voice echoing in the passage until it closed.
...
Reality, a mine.
A spatial rift suddenly appeared in a secluded corner, and a figure was flung out, crashing heavily onto the ground.
However, such an impact was unable to harm Fang Ming.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Fang Ming crawled on the ground, pounding it in anguish.
His father had actually captured Nannan!
He could never have imagined that after all his efforts to find his parents, he would end up losing Nannan. He regretted it. Why had he gone looking for Fang Daolong!
If he hadn't sought out Fang Daolong, Nannan wouldn't have been captured, and they could have lived peacefully in reality!
Qing Mian and Number One appeared beside Fang Ming, gazing at his pained state in silence.
They had witnessed the entire event unfold and could empathize with Fang Ming's heartbreak.
The person closest to him had captured the person closest to him, and furthermore, intended to use Nannan for some plan.
And all of this was caused by Fang Ming himself!
"It's all your fault, you piece of trash!" Fang Ming suddenly thought of something, tearing open his backpack to find the diary. He tore at it furiously, but it was evident that his strength was insufficient to damage the diary.
After tearing at it for a while, Fang Ming angrily threw it far away, venting all his resentment onto the diary itself.
"Fang Ming, calm down," Qing Mian said, attempting to persuade him.
"Yes, getting angry like this is useless. With Elder Sister captured by your father, our priority is to find them and rescue Elder Sister," Number One said seriously, trying to reason with him.
Fang Ming slumped to the ground in despair.
"Rescue? How can I rescue her?" Fang Ming asked with a vacant look. "Fang Daolong is a Xu Sha, and the Principal is involved. I'm only at the Xiong Sha level. How can I possibly rescue her?"
Number One crouched down and placed a hand on Fang Ming's shoulder.
"We don't need to fight them head-on. With Qing Mian's and my abilities, we can completely sneak Elder Sister out."
"Sneak?" A glimmer of hope appeared in Fang Ming's eyes.
"Yes!" Number One nodded. "We can find a way to sneak her out!"
"However, the immediate priority is to locate where Elder Sister is being held."