In the distance.
The moment Zhou Changqing saw Xiao Yan appear and noted his changed appearance, a wave of relief washed over him. He quickly retrieved a healing pill from his storage ring and swallowed it.
He had known he might have to face Protector Wu today, so he had naturally come prepared. If he hadn't been certain of his chances, he would never have dragged Xiao Yan back to Wu Tan City ahead of schedule. This entire scenario had been within his calculations. With a Medusa far stronger than her original counterpart, plus Yao Lao, how could Protector Wu possibly win?
Even if the current Yao Lao had not yet recovered to the strength he possessed during the third assault on the Misty Cloud Sect in the original story, he wasn't far off. After all, during the second assault, Yao Lao had been able to possess Xiao Yan's body and force Yun Shan, who had just advanced to Dou Zong, to activate the sect's great protective array to augment his own power. This alone proved that Yao Lao currently possessed the true fighting strength of a Dou Zong. Two against one. The advantage was on their side!
Taking advantage of the lull as the three combatants exchanged threats, Zhou Changqing circulated his energy to absorb the medicinal power of the Recovery Pill, working to repair the wound that had pierced his right chest. This was the first time he had been so grievously injured since his transmigration. Fortunately, the tier-five Recovery Pill was remarkably effective. Nourished by its pure and gentle healing properties, the ghastly wound began to mend at a visible rate.
A short while later, Zhou Changqing's injuries were about seventy to eighty percent healed. He turned his attention back to the battlefield. By now, the battle between Yao Lao and the others had reached a fever pitch.
Terrifying shockwaves of energy continuously ravaged the surrounding sky, annihilating everything in their path, down to the last microbe in the air. The fighting was fierce, but overall, their side held the upper hand. Protector Wu was being suppressed by the combined might of Yao Lao and Medusa, forced onto the defensive and falling into a disadvantageous position.
Faced with their powerful and relentless attacks, which gave him no room to breathe, Protector Wu could only defend himself bitterly, unable to find a single opportunity to counterattack. He was even getting clipped by their assaults from time to time. Though they were minor injuries, an accumulation of such small wounds would be enough to decide the battle's outcome.
"Get off me!"
Growing increasingly cornered, Protector Wu knew he couldn't let this continue, or he would be worn down and killed. He let out a great roar! At the same time, an even thicker black mist surged from his body, sweeping toward Yao Lao and Medusa with a terrifying corrosive power.
Sensing the danger from this bizarre mist, both Yao Lao and Medusa's expressions hardened, and they immediately retreated.
After forcing them back, Protector Wu's eyes were filled with a savage light as he roared in fury, "Don't think you've already won! Even if I have to pay a price, I will capture you all today!"
"Nine Serene Hundred Soul Devourer!"
A shrill cry pierced the air as even more of the strange black mist erupted from Protector Wu's body. At the same moment, a green stone necklace hanging around his neck, hidden within the mist, suddenly flared with a green light. One after another, transparent, almost illusory human figures began to pour out from the green stone, materializing in the space around him.
Soul bodies!
All of these phantoms were soul bodies! In the span of a single breath, over a hundred souls had emerged from the green stone.
"Not good! Stop him!" Yao Lao instantly realized Protector Wu was about to use a secret art from the Hall of Souls. He shouted a warning and charged forward at his top speed, trying to intervene.
Medusa also understood that they couldn't let Protector Wu succeed, or the victory that was almost in their grasp might be thrown into uncertainty.
"Serpent Spirit Secret Art—Heaven Swallowing Transformation!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Medusa unleashed her trump card. Her entire body erupted in a blinding, seven-colored light. Within the radiance, which rivaled the sun in its brilliance, her figure vanished. In her place was a terrifying giant python, a hundred zhang in length.
The python's body was a lustrous white, its scales shimmering with a seven-colored sheen. Its pair of purple serpentine eyes were mysterious and bewitching, and its body radiated a terrifying aura that seemed to originate from the primordial wilderness. This was her true form—the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python!
The instant the Heaven Swallowing Python appeared, it dove toward Protector Wu. However, Protector Wu's secret art was simply too fast. By the time the two of them closed the distance, the hundred or so soul bodies had already been enveloped by the black mist surging from his body. A horrifying, skin-crawling chewing sound echoed from within the dark miasma.
"Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler!"
Just then, Yao Lao's attack arrived! A ruler-shaped slash of dense white flame shot forth from the Heavy Xuan Ruler in his hands, smashing into the black mist.
"Roar!"
Joining the ruler's attack was a brilliant seven-colored beam of light that shot from the Heaven Swallowing Python's mouth. The two attacks, both on the level of ultimate techniques, slammed into the black mist. Their immense power caused the mist to churn violently, annihilating nearly a third of it.
"Damn you! Yao Lao! Medusa! You will die for this!" A furious, pained roar filled with endless rage came from within the mist.
These were the souls he had spent years collecting across more than a dozen empires! Even though most were only at the Dou Wang level, with a scant few Dou Huangs and not a single Dou Zong, it had still cost him a great deal of time and effort. Most importantly, these souls were part of his mission quota, meant to be turned in. Now, to deal with these two, he had been forced to use up nearly his entire stock, a painful loss in itself. To have a third of them destroyed by his enemies sent him into a blind rage. If not for the inherent power of this secret art, far more than a third would have been lost.
Fortunately, after their two attacks, the secret art was complete. The dense black mist began to rapidly shrink and condense, finally transforming into a suit of black armor that clad Protector Wu's body. The armor was a dark, somber color, its surface covered in strange, unsettling patterns. At a glance, these patterns seemed to be composed of countless human faces, twisted in expressions of agony, creating a terrifying and sinister sight.
The moment the black armor formed, Protector Wu's aura skyrocketed, rising by a significant margin. However, his mood did not improve with his newfound strength. The power boost from the secret art this time was only about one and a half stars. This meant his strength had only risen from a four-star Dou Zong to a five-and-a-half-star. If that one-third of the souls hadn't been destroyed, he would have reached the level of a six-star Dou Zong! Their two attacks had cost him a full half-star of power.
One should not underestimate a half-star. At the Dou Zong level, even the slightest difference in strength could determine the victor.
Sensing the change in Protector Wu's aura, Yao Lao's face fell. He exchanged a glance with the Heaven Swallowing Python. They both knew that from this point on, they would have to use their ultimate trump cards to have any chance of winning this fight.
"Yao Lao! Medusa! Die for me!"
Protector Wu was well aware of this too. He shot toward them, the immense pressure of a five-star Dou Zong bearing down on them.
"Queen Medusa, please delay him for a moment. My technique requires some time," Yao Lao sent a telepathic message to the python.
The Heaven Swallowing Python gave a slight nod. Its aura erupted once more as it charged Protector Wu, its ferocious presence a testament to its ancient, exotic beast lineage.
Seeing this, Yao Lao dared not delay. He put away the Heavy Xuan Ruler, and with a flourish of his hands, the dense white Bone Chilling Flame and the verdant Green Lotus Core Flame appeared in his palms. He then brought his hands together in front of his chest. The two violent Heavenly Flames collided, erupting with a terrifying heat that seemed to warp the very space around them.
While Yao Lao was merging the flames, the Heaven Swallowing Python had already clashed with Protector Wu. Even with his enhanced strength, Protector Wu couldn't immediately overwhelm Medusa, who had also grown considerably stronger after assuming her true form.
The Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python was an ancient ancestor of all serpentine-type magical beasts, and its power was self-evident. Despite being just under the level of a two-star Dou Zong, it bridged a three-star gap, unleashing a combat strength only half a step weaker than Protector Wu's.
But a gap was still a gap. Under Protector Wu's powerful assault, the Heaven Swallowing Python sustained numerous injuries. Its seven-colored scales dimmed, and in many places, they had been blasted off, revealing bleeding flesh. It was a miserable sight.
"Die, die! Why won't you just die!" Protector Wu swiped with his claws, and a massive hand of black sludge tore a large patch of scales from the python's body. He followed up with a punch that sent it flying.
But the Heaven Swallowing Python ignored its wounds, forcefully righted itself, and lunged forward once more. This relentless assault frustrated Protector Wu, but there was nothing he could do.
"Queen Medusa, get clear!"
A moment later, Yao Lao's voice reached Medusa's ears. The python's body suddenly burst with immense power, its tail lashing out viciously at Protector Wu. Although he managed to block the strike with his black mist, the python used the opening to shoot away into the distance.
Protector Wu then saw him. Not far away, Yao Lao stood, holding a crystalline, green-and-white lotus of fire in his right hand.
"You disgusting rat. Let me give you a taste of my disciple's original creation," Yao Lao said with a grin. "The Angry Buddha Lotus Flame!"
"Go!"
With a flick of his wrist, he sent the fire lotus flying.