BOOM!
The aftershocks from the clash between the Thunderwood Sword and the Demon Qi Intention Pearl once again spilled out from the spatial confinement of the Eight Gates Golden Lock Array.
For one thing, the Eight Gates Golden Lock Array was a Thunder Array formed by a single person; in terms of spatial confinement, it was indeed inferior to the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Array that Gu Zhao had set up with numerous senior Daoists.
For another, this Mo He Divine Monarch’s Dao Practice Magical Power was truly profound. Among the opponents Daluo Palace had eliminated, he was second only to the Cloud Celestial Palace Master of Shanzhou, Yun Fei’ang, and was even a cut above the Ink Flood Dragon.
Thus, the Eight Gates Golden Lock Array could not completely contain the aftershocks from the Magical Combat between Gu Zhao and Mo He Divine Monarch.
To be honest, if Gu Zhao had relied solely on the Eight Gates Golden Lock Array to face his enemy, he might not have been able to stop this Mo He Divine Monarch.
But the situation was different because Gu Zhao was personally taking action as well!
With his Dao Practice higher than his opponent’s, the support of an Array, and his own cultivation of Taoist Skills that suppressed demonic entities, if Gu Zhao still couldn’t keep his opponent here, his three years of transmigration would have been for nothing.
With a mere thought from Gu Zhao, the Eight Gates Banner Thunder Talismans flickered, the Five-Colored Thunderclouds rumbled, and countless bolts of Thunderbolt transformed into a sea of lightning, completely submerging the Array Space.
Gu Zhao entered the Array alone, a Silver Spear flashing with Thunderbolt in his hand, his entire body covered in a suit of Thunder Armor.
Even Taoist Zhi Qing had broken through to five hundred years of Dao Practice. The Celestial Book Thunder Talisman technique Gu Zhao had learned from him was progressing just as rapidly, and when he used it, he was even more formidable than his master.
From Mo He Divine Monarch’s perspective, the sky and ground had become a sea of lightning. The person before him seemed like a Thunder God, and he felt as if he had fallen into a world composed of nothing but Thunderbolt.
The majesty of the celestial thunder from the nine heavens seemed to strike fear into him as if from a natural predator, causing both his innate Demon Power and the Demon Technique he cultivated to tremble. It made his heart pound with dread.
Mo He Divine Monarch’s eyes hardened. His Soul Banner once again swept through the sea of lightning, and the Intention Pearl shot toward the Long Spear.
He himself, however, changed direction, and the area around his chest, abdomen, and jaw suddenly bulged.
The next moment.
"CROAK—"
A frog’s croak echoed as a sonic wave, infused with demon power and demon energy, blasted toward the section of the Array Space in front of him.
"Toad Skill?" Gu Zhao voiced his surprise.
But Mo He Divine Monarch’s Toad Skill was far more powerful than Ouyang Feng’s.
Shockwaves blasted out one after another. The violet-gold Thunderbolt shattered within the sonic waves, scattering into fragments of golden light, which were then annihilated one by one until they vanished into nothingness.
Then, the sonic wave crashed into a Banner blocking its path.
"Celestial Thunder looms, Divine Thunder booms, Dragon Thunder becomes water, Water Thunder’s waves churn, Community Order Thunder God, lightning strikes across the land."
The Thunder Talisman on the Banner was a Five Thunders Talisman. It wasn’t just a single type, but one that encompassed all Five Elements.
As Gu Zhao recited the Spell, the Five Thunders Talisman on the Banner flickered with the light of the Five Elements Thunder. The entire Banner was almost completely enveloped in five-colored lightning as it met the Toad Skill head-on.
BOOM!
Another earth-shattering explosion rang out. The Banner shook violently, but it ultimately dissipated the sonic wave.
Mo He Divine Monarch recalled his Soul Banner and Intention Pearl. With a leap, he flew backward, transforming into a streak of demonic light and aiming to escape through the gap that had just been blasted open.
Seeing Gu Zhao, who had been staggered by the Array’s backlash and then blocked and repelled by the Intention Pearl, growing ever more distant, a vicious sneer crept onto Mo He Divine Monarch’s lips.
’He truly is worthy of being the one the Demon Ancestor specifically ordered to be killed.’
’Once I find the Heart Chakra and the Qi Map and my Demon Technique progresses further, I will come back and kill you!’
’And that Little Celestial Fox by your side... she will be mine...’
Before he could finish his thought, he saw Gu Zhao’s figure blur and vanish in an instant.
Mo He Divine Monarch’s eye twitched. He felt a majestic and imposing aura rise up behind him, carrying with it the terrifying power of a Thunderbolt that could destroy the heavens, sunder the earth, and reshape the mortal world.
"Moonlight Evasion?" Mo He Divine Monarch cried out in shock.
In the next instant, a Thunder Spear was already at the center of his back.
Mo He Divine Monarch’s face fell in terror. He had already recalled his Soul Banner and Intention Pearl, believing he was about to escape the Array. He had no time to cast a protective technique.
In that split second, Mo He Divine Monarch couldn’t even turn around. He could only channel his demon power and demon energy to protect himself.
SCHLICK—
Gu Zhao’s Long Spear pierced through Mo He Divine Monarch’s Protective Demon Qi and struck the center of his back.
As Thunderbolt entered his body, Mo He Divine Monarch let out a pained scream and tumbled back into the Array.
Gu Zhao shook his head. "The Eight Gates Golden Lock Array still needs to be strengthened. It can’t trap an expert of the same level."
Watching from afar, Ye Ruyan and Miaoyun Princess, whose Dao Practice was high enough, heard Gu Zhao’s mumbling amidst the Magical Combat and were left speechless.
In a Magical Combat between experts of the same level where the power gap was small, winning in a short time was an extremely difficult task. For example, Bai Fei of White Spirit Mountain had nearly a thousand years more Dao Practice than the Ink Flood Dragon, but in the battle at the Wanling River back then, she had only managed a slight victory.
Even so, although the Ink Flood Dragon was no match for Bai Fei, if it had wanted to flee, Bai Fei wouldn’t have been able to stop it.
Therefore, for Gu Zhao to have not only gained the upper hand but also heavily wounded his opponent and prevented his escape—all within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and despite not being significantly stronger—was already an incredible feat.
The Eight Gates Golden Lock Array sealed itself once more.
Gu Zhao, holding his Long Spear, followed Mo He Divine Monarch’s tumbling trajectory, the tip of his spear once again arriving at the center of his opponent’s back.
CLANG!
The Intention Pearl blocked the spear tip.
Mo He Divine Monarch was, after all, a Demon-possessed Great Demon with several thousand years of Dao Practice. He wasn’t so weak as to be killed by a single blow from Gu Zhao.
Gu Zhao held his spear horizontally across his chest, his gaze burning as he stared at Mo He Divine Monarch, ready for another ultimate move.
It had to be said, whether it was the Intention Pearl or that Toad Skill, Mo He Divine Monarch had nearly broken the Array and escaped several times, which kept Gu Zhao on high alert.
Although he had managed to land a blow with his spear, Gu Zhao judged that his opponent wasn’t seriously injured.
If he were to be careless and let his opponent escape, only to have him scheme from the shadows later, that would be a huge problem.
But one knows their own situation best. While Gu Zhao was wary of Mo He Divine Monarch, Mo He Divine Monarch knew that he had already played most of his trump cards.
As the saying goes, one’s morale is highest on the first charge, wanes on the second, and is exhausted by the third. It wasn’t just the ancients of Celestial Xia who understood this principle; these Great Demons who had cultivated for many years understood it as well.
That was why most people, upon being trapped, would immediately erupt with their full power in an attempt to break the array.
This was true for the Ink Flood Dragon, Yun Fei’ang, and now Mo He Divine Monarch.
If they failed to break out at the first opportunity, any subsequent attempt would become a contest of who had deeper reserves of Magical Power.
That was what the Ink Flood Dragon had thought at the time, and it had unfortunately been ground to death.
Yun Fei’ang, on the other hand, didn’t have that thought, so he died even faster.
Now, it was Mo He Divine Monarch’s turn.
Sensing the endless sea of lightning around him and looking at the Daluo Palace Master who seemed like a Thunder God reincarnate, the smile finally vanished from Mo He Divine Monarch’s face.
He recalled the Divine Sense message the Demon Ancestor had sent not long ago.
"Annihilate the Daluo Palace Master, execute the successor of the Taoist Realm, and under no circumstances allow the Immortal True Spirit of the Taoist Realm to descend to the mortal world!"
The next moment, the sea of lightning churned, and the clouds of thunder boomed.
Mo He Divine Monarch’s pupils contracted as he saw Gu Zhao leap forward, the tip of his Long Spear drawing ever closer.