Dong Chengyue and her two companions arrived quickly, matching Shen Lang’s estimated timeframe.
The path Lu Qianqiu had pointed out to Shen Lang was just one of many branching trails. Without anyone else witnessing their route, it was no easy task for an ordinary powerhouse to figure out which path they took. Furthermore, this specific route was the most arduous. Restrictions littered the entire way, making every step a struggle even for Emperor Martial Realm experts.
However, their pursuers were Emperor Martial Realm Late Stage powerhouses of the Demon God Hall. If they lacked even this much capability, Shen Lang would have been thoroughly disappointed.
Less than an hour after breaking the seal, Dong Chengyue’s group caught up to them before Shen Lang’s party could even reach the second herb garden. The first to arrive, however, was Zheng Tianfeng. Usually a man of few words, he had now descended into a state of absolute madness!
Shen Lang and his four companions were still strolling leisurely along the mountain path when a ferocious aura suddenly erupted from behind them. The vast, unfathomable pressure of an Emperor Martial Realm Late Stage powerhouse engulfed the group. It felt as if an Ancient Fierce Beast had broken free from its cage and lunged right at them.
The suffocating pressure crashed down like a tidal wave!
"Little beast, you cannot escape!"
Zheng Tianfeng’s furious roar echoed through the valley like rumbling thunder long before he even came into view.
Shen Lang spread his arms, blocking Yuan Bupu and the others who tried to rush forward to protect him. "Step back. I have my own plans."
"Yes!"
Although Yuan Bupu and the rest worried for him, they knew he never fought a battle without certainty. Besides, with their mere King Martial Realm Cultivation, they could never stop an Emperor Martial Realm Late Stage expert like Zheng Tianfeng, even if they laid down their lives. The four retreated in unison, their expressions grim.
Right at that moment, a towering wave of Vengeful Qi Burst forth. It was even more terrifying than Zheng Tianfeng’s aura. An ear-piercing shriek that could shatter metal and stone erupted from deep underground!
The next second, countless rocks and grains of sand blasted in all directions as Duanmu Xie burst out from the earth. Without a shred of hesitation, he hoisted the massive Corpse Emperor’s Copper Coffin and slammed it ruthlessly onto the ground, burying its bottom half directly into the soil.
Placing one hand on the edge of the giant coffin, Duanmu Xie stood exactly three hundred meters in front of Shen Lang, forming an impenetrable shield. He glared proudly at Zheng Tianfeng, who was charging up the mountain at breakneck speed.
"With me, Duanmu Xie, standing here, who dares to harm Mr. Shen!"
Standing over thirty feet tall and clad in Battle Armor, Duanmu Xie looked incredibly majestic with pitch-black Corpse Qi churning fiercely around his body. He stood like an impregnable fortress, exuding a Momentum capable of holding off an entire army single-handedly!
Zheng Tianfeng was likely driven mad with rage after seeing his good friend Ren Xudong tormented so miserably by Shen Lang. Blinded by fury, he did not even wait for Dong Chengyue and Qin Mengxue to catch up. Despite facing Duanmu Xie, whose Momentum was clearly superior to his own, Zheng Tianfeng attacked!
ZZZZZT!
Zheng Tianfeng crossed his arms and swiftly pulled them apart, conjuring a violent storm of lightning between his palms. Two massive, faintly glowing Flying Wheels materialized out of thin air. They hovered side by side in front of him and began to spin at a terrifying speed. The frantic rotation whipped up raging gales and volatile air currents. Sand and stones flew in all directions as Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi converged frantically toward him, creating an absolutely horrifying scene!
This was Zheng Tianfeng’s signature Magical Treasure, known as the Sun and Moon Heaven and Earth Wheel.
Separated into a Sun Wheel and a Moon Wheel, it was forged from Ancient Star Iron. The weapon condensed the essence of the sun and moon, drawing upon their Energy. Once unleashed, it possessed the power to shatter mountains and destroy peaks. In the past, Zheng Tianfeng usually only deployed one wheel against his enemies. But to deal with Duanmu Xie, he summoned both right from the start, putting his madness on full display.
"Damn Zombie, get out of my way or I will slaughter you too!" Zheng Tianfeng roared.
Duanmu Xie let out a bizarre laugh. "You reckless fool. You cannot even defeat me, yet you dare challenge Mr. Shen? Since you are courting death, I do not mind sending you on your way!"
The moment he spoke, the Corpse Qi surrounding his body converged into the shape of a Black Dragon. It coiled around him, spinning rapidly as his might climbed exponentially!
Zheng Tianfeng flew into a rage. "Then I will obliterate you first, Zombie, and slaughter that little beast right after!"
With that, he slammed his palms together. A vast, surging wave of Spiritual Power poured from his hands directly into the Sun and Moon Heaven and Earth Wheel. The floating weapons instantly expanded several times over, growing over thirty feet tall! Like two high-speed tires, they rolled toward Duanmu Xie from the left and right.
Wherever they passed, they churned the space like wheels rolling over water, violently stirring up visible air currents and ferocious winds. For a moment, an overwhelming Evil Qi—as imposing as an army of thousands charging into battle—erupted from the two Flying Wheels. It felt as if they would mercilessly crush everything in their path into fine dust. Their Momentum was utterly unstoppable!
ROAR!
Duanmu Xie let out a piercing shriek, and the Corpse Qi enveloping him surged once more. The black dragon-like Corpse Qi suddenly churned violently, looking like endless streams of Netherworld Earth Fire boiling over. Within a radius of a thousand meters, sinister winds howled, turning the area into a ghastly realm.
BAM!
Acting like a giant suction cup, Duanmu Xie’s right hand instantly yanked the half-buried Corpse Emperor’s Copper Coffin straight out of the ground. The already gigantic coffin swelled several times in size as well. Without missing a beat, he aimed the other end of the Corpse Emperor’s Copper Coffin directly at Zheng Tianfeng’s Sun and Moon Heaven and Earth Wheel and smashed it forward!
Facing the monstrous might of the enemy’s attack, Duanmu Xie refused to yield an inch, meeting brute force with brute force in a frenzied clash. Even before the Corpse Emperor’s Copper Coffin and the Sun and Moon Heaven and Earth Wheel collided, deafening rumbles echoed through the narrow valley, creating a scene of Earth Split and Mountain Collapse. Countless rocks tumbled down from the tremors, and showers of gravel and dirt exploded outward toward both sides.
This astonishing display made Shen Lang’s eyes narrow slightly from the rear.
BOOM!
In merely a split second, the Sun and Moon Heaven and Earth Wheel slammed into the Corpse Emperor’s Copper Coffin! The collision rang out like heaven-shaking thunder, forcing Monk Bu Se and the other three in the distance to cover their ears. Unimaginable ripples of Powerful Qi swept in every direction, sending thick plumes of smoke and dust shooting into the sky. Within the billowing dirt, the silhouettes of Duanmu Xie and Zheng Tianfeng became thoroughly obscured.
"Hahahaha! You foolish junior, you brought this upon yourself!"
Duanmu Xie, who clearly held the upper hand, laughed maniacally. Pressing his advantage, he drove the Corpse Emperor’s Copper Coffin downward to suppress Zheng Tianfeng.
This head-on, brute-force fighting style infuriated Zheng Tianfeng. But after suffering a significant loss in their very first clash, he realized that the Zombie standing before him was not someone to be trifled with. Duanmu Xie’s tactics left him with absolutely no room to dodge within the narrow valley, forcing him to meet the attacks head-on. Worse still, that brief exchange made it abundantly clear that Duanmu Xie’s Cultivation was higher than his own, and the Zombie’s physical resilience completely eclipsed his.
"It is too late to retreat now," Zheng Tianfeng thought. "If I can just stall him for another ten moves or so, Dong Chengyue and Qin Mengxue will arrive. By then... it will be the end for this Zombie and that little beast!"
After taking a beating, Zheng Tianfeng finally forced himself to calm down. A look of sheer brutality flashed across his face. Gripping a Flying Wheel in each hand, he maneuvered forward using a bizarre Step Technique to meet Duanmu Xie’s assault. The two were on the verge of a second head-on collision!
By now, Dong Chengyue and Qin Mengxue were rapidly closing the distance from behind. Though their physical bodies had yet to arrive, their Divine Thoughts had already locked onto the battlefield.
Sensing their probing Divine Thoughts, the previously silent Shen Lang curled his lips into a cold sneer. Furthermore, at some unknown point in time, a blood-red ring had already appeared in his right hand.
The Ten Thousand Beasts Circle!
Just as the two ferocious powers of Zheng Tianfeng and Duanmu Xie were about to clash head-on... a ruthless glint flashed through Shen Lang’s eyes, and he hurled the Ten Thousand Beasts Circle forward with tremendous force!
"Cripple him!"
The current Ten Thousand Beasts Circle housed all the Beast Souls from the Twelve All Heaven Beast Array. The moment Shen Lang threw it, it transformed into a stampede of ten thousand invincible beasts. Its overwhelming might even eclipsed the violent Energy explosion triggered by the clash between Duanmu Xie and Zheng Tianfeng.
"Hehehe!"
Duanmu Xie, who had been fully prepared, instantly sank straight into the earth. But right before he disappeared, he viciously slammed his palm against the dirt. A monstrous surge of Corpse Qi darted across the ground like a shadow, tightly wrapping around Zheng Tianfeng’s legs at the most critical moment.
His coordination with Shen Lang was absolutely flawless!
Zheng Tianfeng’s Cultivation was already a notch lower than Duanmu Xie’s. Having just been blasted back and injured in their frontal exchange, he was still frantically channeling his internal Spiritual Power to purge the invasive Corpse Qi from his body. Now, with his legs suddenly bound by even more Corpse Qi, a deep sense of dread washed over him.
Under normal circumstances, how could a mere binding technique like this ever subdue him? But Duanmu Xie had suddenly switched from being the vanguard to playing support, pouring everything into pinning him down. Meanwhile, a heart-shattering aura was bearing down on him from the front!
Zheng Tianfeng did not even need to use his Divine Thought. Simply relying on the innate danger intuition of an Emperor Martial Realm Peak expert, he knew that a lethal threat was approaching. Behind the endless veil of flying sand and debris in front of him, it sounded as if a limitless horde of Fierce Beasts were roaring in unison, surging forward like a torrential flood. The monstrous, bloodthirsty aura felt as though it wanted to devour and bury everything in existence.
"Those are the Beast Souls from the Twelve All Heaven Beast Array!"
At that moment, a sliver of realization struck Zheng Tianfeng’s mind. Other than the endless Beast Souls from the Twelve All Heaven Beast Array, what else could possibly produce such an earth-shattering aura of so many Fierce Beasts?
"Oh no!"
Willing it in his mind, Zheng Tianfeng channeled every ounce of his strength into his legs and violently jerked outward, desperately trying to shatter Duanmu Xie’s restraints.
However, despite his quick reaction, Duanmu Xie was fully committed to dragging him down and refused to let him break free so easily. Moreover, Shen Lang’s timing was simply too impeccable. The Ten Thousand Beasts Circle was no longer what it used to be. Its speed had far surpassed what a panicked Emperor Martial Realm expert could ever hope to counter.
Just as the thought crossed Zheng Tianfeng’s mind, a streak of blood-red lightning flashed before his eyes. The Ten Thousand Beasts Circle arrived, Breaking the Sky. Carrying a momentum that could pierce the heavens and strike the highest clouds, it slammed viciously into his chest with a shrill whistle.
PFFT!