The Fire Lotus was blindingly fast!
A streak of cyan and white light tore across the sky, closing the distance to Protector Wu in an instant until it was a mere ten meters away! Protector Wu tried to dodge, but before he could retreat any significant distance, the Fire Lotus detonated!
BOOM!!!
An immense, crystalline fire lotus bloomed in the sky, its size comparable to a football field from Zhou Changqing's past life, or perhaps even larger! A violent heatwave spread out alongside a sweeping sea of fire, and the dazzling light nearly illuminated the entirety of Wu Tan City!
The Heaven Swallowing Python was blasted hundreds of meters back by the shockwave. Fortunately, its magical beast physique was incredibly durable, and it had retreated in time, so it wasn't seriously injured. After braking sharply to dissipate the force, the python immediately turned and opened its maw. Seven-colored energy rapidly converged, forming an orb of light within its mouth.
Just then, a battered figure shot out from the dissipating fire lotus, fleeing into the distance. It was Protector Wu!
"Yao Chen! Medusa! Just you wait! The Hall of Souls will not let you go! I will repay the enmity of this day a hundredfold in the future!"
Screeching threats, Protector Wu fled with all his might, not pausing for a second.
Yao Lao's heart sank. He never expected this rat from the Hall of Souls to be so tenacious. To take a direct hit from a two-colored Fire Lotus and still have the strength to escape! If this rat escaped and reported back to the Hall of Souls, it would be an absolute catastrophe for them! But his spiritual strength was severely depleted, and his power was rapidly fading. It was practically impossible for him to catch up. Was he really going to let this damned creature escape? Yao Lao was filled with bitter unwillingness.
"Trying to leave?! Did you ask for my permission!"
Suddenly, a furious shout echoed from the distance, resounding across the battlefield! It instantly drew everyone's gaze. They saw that, at some unknown point, Zhou Changqing had appeared in the distance, blocking Protector Wu's escape route.
And that wasn't all! Zhou Changqing's entire body was seething with Dou Qi. Arcs of brilliant golden lightning crackled across his skin as he poured his lightning-attribute Dou Qi into the index finger of his right hand, which he pointed toward the heavens, as if it cost him nothing. After being channeled into his finger, the Dou Qi condensed into an extremely refined beam of lightning that shot from his fingertip straight into the clouds! At the same time, the lightning-attribute energy in the surrounding world surged violently, gathering toward the beam.
Watching the fleeing Protector Wu, Zhou Changqing knew this was the moment he had been waiting for. The last of his Dou Qi was now completely drained, and the beam of lightning detached from his fingertip, retracting upward into the sky.
"Resplendent Thunder Finger!"
The next moment, the lightning in Zhou Changqing's pupils flared, and he thrust his finger violently toward Protector Wu!
VMMM!
In that instant, the winds and clouds roiled as the heavens thundered! The clouds above churned rapidly! Then, an impossibly massive finger, its whorls larger than a man, tore mercilessly through the clouds and appeared. It seemed like a pillar holding up the sky, formed entirely from a slurry of pure lightning! The lines on the giant finger were clearly visible, its surface inscribed with profound lightning runes. It radiated a terrifying and tyrannical aura, like the finger of a Thunder God, imbued with a divine might capable of annihilating all things!
After ripping through the clouds, the giant finger descended upon Protector Wu with the speed of a lightning strike! The entire process seemed to take a long time, but from Zhou Changqing's shout to the finger's descent, only a moment had passed!
Caught completely off guard, Protector Wu had no chance to evade and was struck by the colossal thunder finger!
DONG!
A deep, soul-shaking chime, like that of a great bell, rang out! Merciless lightning ravaged Protector Wu's body, dissolving the black mist that shrouded him! The force, powerful enough to shatter mountains, crashed down on him without quarter! Ripples in space spread out from the point of impact, creating intense fluctuations!
In a flash, the giant thunder finger pressed down on Protector Wu, grinding him straight toward the earth!
"Excellent!" Yao Lao was overjoyed at the sight! He recognized the Dou Technique Zhou Changqing was using. He never thought that at such a critical moment, Zhou Changqing would pull off something like this. It was a wonderful surprise! Yao Lao even felt a surge of relief, grateful that he had given Xiao Yan this Di-rank, middle-class Dou Technique when the boy had asked for one as a return gift for the Heavenly Flame.
"AAAGH! You damned little bastard!!!"
Already severely wounded by the Fire Lotus, Protector Wu was injured again. The pain wracking his body and the sensation of his flesh being torn apart made him roar in agony. In the blink of an eye, he was less than a hundred meters from the ground! Seeing he was about to be crushed into the earth, Protector Wu roared as the black mist on his hands thickened. He dug his ten fingers viciously into the whorls of the thunder finger!
"Break for me!"
The black mist spread rapidly from the openings made by his fingers, covering the giant finger. Then, Protector Wu gave a powerful wrench! Under his terrifying Dou Zong strength, the colossal thunder finger cracked and shattered, dissolving into specks of lightning.
"Hah... hah... hah..." Protector Wu gasped for breath, feeling his injuries worsen yet again. He shot a venomous glare at Zhou Changqing, swearing to himself that when he returned, he would use the secret arts of the Hall of Souls to torture this little beast!
However, just as he looked away to continue his escape, a heart-rending pain erupted from his back! It turned out that while Protector Wu was being struck by the thunder finger, the orb of light in the Heaven Swallowing Python's mouth had been condensing and compressing to its absolute limit!
With a resonant "VMMM!", a dazzling seven-colored beam of light shot out from the orb, instantly blasting Protector Wu just as he had regained his footing! The powerful energy engulfed him completely, passing through his body to slam into the earth below! Under the beam's destructive power, the earth and rock at that spot vaporized, leaving a cylindrical crater a hundred meters deep!
When the intense light faded, the place where Protector Wu had been was empty!
While Zhou Changqing and Medusa were unleashing their ultimate moves, Yao Lao, the wily old veteran, had not been standing by idly. He had already used the opportunity to sneak closer to Protector Wu. By the time the seven-colored beam dissipated, Yao Lao was less than a hundred meters away.
Well-acquainted with the methods of the Hall of Souls, Yao Lao didn't hesitate. His remaining spiritual strength swept out from Xiao Yan's body, blanketing an area of several hundred meters. His eyes lit up. The corners of his mouth turned up in a smirk, his eyes blazing with killing intent.
"Found you!"
In a flash, he appeared at the bottom of the crater. He opened his palm and curled his fingers forward, unleashing his spiritual strength to permeate the area! Following his action, a fragmented, transparent, human-shaped phantom instantly appeared!
The phantom struggled wildly, screaming in terror, "No! Stop! Yao Chen, you dare! I have a Soul Lamp in the Hall of Souls! If I die, the Hall will surely send people to investigate!"
Hearing this, Yao Lao paused. His expression shifted before twisting into a sneer. "A minor Earth-rank Protector like you is worthy of such treatment?"
Of course, he said that, but he had already retracted his killing intent. His spiritual strength wove into a net, capturing Protector Wu's weakened soul and drawing it into his palm.