Chapter 336: Bai Xiaoyao: Is This Really My Senior Brother?
Manager Ji had long since discarded the notion of not killing the Demon Sect's Holy Saint.
Rationality? What rationality?
As long as he could obtain the Ancient Phoenix Essence, all problems would cease to exist!
With just a wisp of Ancient Phoenix Essence, he had cultivated to his current level. If he could refine the entire Ancient Phoenix Essence, he would have the potential of a Netherking—perhaps even reaching the peak Tribulation Crossing Real like the current Netherking one day.
Even if that mighty Netherking had once made a pact with the Buddhist sect of the human race, would he truly act against a fellow Netherkin for such a trivial agreement?
Besides, the Netherking had already sent orders—the plan would commence in just a few days… If it succeeded, there would be no need for their Netherkin race to continue playing nice with those bald-headed monks.
With this reasoning settled in his mind, Manager Ji was fully committed to his decision.
Nothing else mattered anymore.
It didn't matter what had happened before, nor why the Demon Sect's Holy Saint possessed the legendary Ancient Phoenix Essence. These were questions to consider only after the dust had settled.
As for the hidden object he originally sought in Xiaofeng Mountain… If he refined the Ancient Phoenix Essence, would he not naturally gain insight into the secrets of the ancient phoenix bloodline?
Even if he couldn't find it, the Ancient Phoenix Essence alone was enough to suppress the backlash of his internal corruption.
Thick, inky-black nether energy surged around his body as he stepped out from the void.
His blood-red eyes locked onto his target without hesitation.
Yet, what greeted him was Luo Wusheng, standing in midair with his arms crossed, looking down at him with an indifferent gaze.
Behind the young man stood two breathtakingly beautiful girls—one awake, one unconscious.
"Escape?"
Luo Wusheng let out a light chuckle, his voice dripping with mockery, as if he held nothing in the world in regard.
"Why would I try to escape?"
His laughter carried a natural sense of disdain, as though the mighty Netherkin before him was nothing more than an ant he could crush with a flick of his fingers.
"Did you think I would escape from someone like you?" He smirked. "A little chick who doesn't even realize its death is imminent?"
The utter scorn in his voice was absolute.
His eyes reflected not a monstrous Netherkin whose power could shake the heavens, but a mere insect beneath his feet.
This demeanor was reminiscent of his earlier arrogance in the outside world, yet somehow, it felt different—as though something fundamental had changed.
Manager Ji's advancing foot hesitated mid-step.
But only for a moment.
Then, with firm resolve, he planted his foot forward.
There was no turning back now.
Hesitating any longer would only cause his state to decline further, especially after losing the Ancient Phoenix Essence.
Though the space they stood in was strangely different from the Antediluvian Nether Eye space that he remembered… Though this Demon Sect's Holy Saint seemed increasingly bizarre…
He had to act.
Especially since the boy's arrogant posture and taunting words ignited a burning fury within him.
(Bluffing… He's bluffing!)
(He's just a mere Golden Core! There's no way he can be my match!)
At most, the boy's trump card was that single devastating slash he had used earlier. But Manager Ji's current condition could last for at least the next two incense sticks worth of time—enduring that attack would not be a problem.
—Wait!
Where was his Artifact?!
A flicker of clarity broke through the haze in Manager Ji's mind.
"You still don't seem to understand your situation."
Luo Wusheng tilted his chin slightly, his tone casual, completely devoid of the tension of an impending battle.
"How about I give you a little more time?" he mused. "Why don't you show me your true Netherkin form?"
"As you are now… you're unworthy of the two roasting racks I prepared for you."
Snap!
With a crisp snap of his fingers, the sound echoed through the silent void.
Before Manager Ji's eyes, the space behind Luo Wusheng rippled unnaturally.
From within those ripples—
A multitude of sword-shaped phantoms began to take form.
At first, Manager Ji didn't think much of it…
But as sword after sword manifested, their auras growing increasingly terrifying—especially when the thirty-sixth sword, a blood-red shadow, radiated power no weaker than the enchanted saber from before—he began to waver.
This strike… would not be easy to withstand.
Yet, as mentioned earlier, he had no way out. And even now, the power his opponent had revealed wasn't enough to make him feel true fear.
Layer upon layer of nether energy surged, and the pitch-black, ominous form of his monstrous Origin Form expanded within the void.
"I did underestimate you… So you had this hidden up your sleeve," Manager Ji admitted, his tone dark. "But if you think this alone will be enough to defeat me, then that's simply—"
Boom!
A thunderclap interrupted his words.
Purple lightning illuminated the sky as ferocious bolts crackled forth from the Demon Sect's Holy Saint's right hand.
The lightning coiled around the thirty-six swords behind him, engulfing them entirely in electric arcs.
Under this storm of lightning, the swords transformed, their forms obscured, becoming pure thunderblades.
"Enough. Your monologue is too dull—I have no patience to listen."
Luo Wusheng's extended hand rose slightly, and the most terrifying of the thirty-six sword phantoms fell into his grip.
The moment he grasped it, the sword solidified, but its true blood-red form remained hidden beneath the blinding brilliance of the lightning.
"Now that the fireworks are over, let's bring this to an end."
In the next instant, the remaining thirty-five thunderblades shot forth like streaks of lightning, surging toward the monstrous chicken Netherkin.
And as soon as they fell, thirty-five identical thunderblades immediately manifested behind the young man once more.
A look of utter disbelief surged within the bloodshot eyes of Manager Ji.
It could not believe—could not comprehend—just how terrifying the Demon Sect's Holy Saint's trump card truly was.
Nor could it fathom—
Why had he dared to attack so decisively?!
(How could he?! Doesn't he care that the two human women behind him, both mere Foundation Establishment cultivators, might die from the spell's shockwaves?!)
The answer came swiftly.
Blocking the first wave with a vast surge of nether energy, Manager Ji could only watch as the residual force of their battle rushed toward the two women—
—only for a flash of golden light to shimmer, dispersing all traces of destruction into nothingness.
…
Bathed in this radiant golden glow, Bai Xiaoyao steadied the small girl beside her—the one with closed eyes and an unchanging expression, whose forehead bore a faintly flickering sword mark.
From such close proximity, watching a battle of this magnitude—one that reached the level of a high-stage Nascent Soul cultivator—made her eyes sting slightly.
Yet, at the same time, countless insights surfaced in her heart.
But that was not the reason she forced herself to keep her eyes open.
(Although Senior Brother did warn me that using that technique might cause some changes in his personality…)
(But this… this is beyond 'some changes,' isn't it?!)
Staring at the scene before her—her senior brother casually flexing a single finger, commanding a hundred thunderous sword shadows to rain down upon the enormous chicken Netherkin, all while taunting it with lines like "Struggle all you want" and "Would you like to dance as well?"—Bai Xiaoyao fell into deep contemplation.
—Was this really her senior brother?
The thought barely formed in her mind before another memory surfaced—
The image of her senior brother, just before the chicken Netherkin fully revealed itself, casually destroying a small sack from his storage bag before ruffling his own hair and telling her,
"Wait for me here."
Her delicate face flushed slightly, and she quickly shook her head to clear away her chaotic thoughts.
Her silky hair swayed with her movements, repeatedly brushing against the face of the unconscious Lu Yuliu beside her.
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