Zhang Kui Asks the Way in Investiture of the Gods

Currently reading: Chapter 81 Nine Dragons Burning Demons, latest chapters available here.

The terrifying suction force of the Winged Immortal caused the entire Skull Mountain to groan and crumble. Huge rocks detached from the main body, as if seized by an invisible giant hand, and poured into the bottomless bird's beak as a torrent.

Zhang Kui and Nezha were surrounded by flashes of spiritual light, pushing their magical power to the limit, like rocks in a torrent, firmly fixing their figures.

Ma Yuan, the mastermind behind the formation, was extremely anxious. He knew better than anyone that the Profound Yin Myriad Beasts Slaughtering Immortal Formation was deeply connected to the Skull Mountain's earth veins, and that if one was damaged, the other would be damaged as well.

The Winged Immortal's reckless and frenzied devouring was not only destroying his cave dwelling, but also shaking the foundation of his magical treasures and even his path to immortality. The karmic backlash from the damaged earth veins was far beyond what a Xuanxian could bear.

"Fellow Daoist, please calm down!" Seeing another mountain peak uprooted and the earth's yin energy leaking out like a burst dam, Ma Yuan could no longer care about anything else and shouted, "I hope you will temporarily stop your supernatural powers. Leave these two to me to kill. Fellow Daoist, you can go and heal your wounds first."

The word "healing" was like a spark thrown into an oil depot, instantly igniting the last vestiges of Yu Yixian's reason and overwhelming humiliation. "I will do it myself," he roared, his golden pupils filled with crazed bloodshot veins. "If you say another word, don't blame me for swallowing you whole."

Ma Yuan's face turned pale, and he trembled with anger, but he dared not say another word. This hairy beast had completely gone mad.

Zhang Kui kept thinking about how to defend against the enemy. Ma Yuan's reaction and Yu Yixian's increasingly unstable aura allowed him to seize the fleeting opportunity.

The scene from the original Investiture of the Gods where the Taoist Ran Deng outwitted the Winged Immortal with 108 prayer beads flashed through Zhang Kui's mind instantly. He immediately transmitted his voice to Nezha, speaking as fast as the wind: "Nezha! Do you have any powerful treasure that can defeat an enemy in one blow?"

Nezha was struggling against the suction force when he heard this and was taken aback. He quickly replied, "I do have the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover, but I haven't fully refined this treasure yet. It's quite difficult to use, and it would be as hard as climbing to heaven to cover this hairy beast."

"Why protect him?" Zhang Kui's lips curled into a cold smile. "What if it originates from within his body?"

"From the inside out?" Nezha was taken aback at first, then realized, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Brilliant! Let's do it that way!"

In the blink of an eye, Nezha quietly took something out of the leopard skin pouch at his waist.

A bell-shaped magical artifact, shimmering with golden light and entwined with dragon patterns, is none other than the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover, the treasure of the Golden Light Cave on Qianyuan Mountain.

He secretly made a hand seal, completely concealing the precious light and attaching it to a cracked boulder.

The next moment, the boulder was swallowed whole by the Winged Immortal, mixed in with countless broken stones and logs.

Zhang Kui stared intently at Yu Yixian's reaction, his five-stage golden core spinning at an unprecedented speed. He frantically absorbed the chaotic spiritual energy around him, transforming it into pure mana. He had to buy Nezha enough time to cast his spell.

"Ma Yuan!"

Zhang Kui suddenly shouted, his voice still clear in the howling wind, "If you don't stop it now, the Skull Mountain's ley lines will be destroyed. If I'm not mistaken, your Profound Yin Beast Gathering Banner is already symbiotic with the ley lines. If the ley lines collapse, the banner will be destroyed. Can you withstand the backlash and the overwhelming karmic retribution?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Yuan's expression changed drastically. He subconsciously looked at the long banners that were swaying precariously under the suction force, their spiritual light now appearing chaotic. Zhang Kui's words struck at the deepest fear in his heart.

Although Yu Yixian was furious, she had not lost her senses. Hearing Zhang Kui's provocation and seeing Ma Yuan's changing expression, she couldn't help but spare a bit of her attention to warily scan Ma Yuan. As a result, the power of her devouring was interrupted for a very short time.

The Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover had already entered its belly.

Nezha nodded almost imperceptibly to Zhang Kui. He formed a complex hand seal and chanted incantations, the supreme incantation to activate the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover.

Zhang Kui understood immediately, and took a sudden step forward, ignoring the blood streaming down his shoulder. He thrust the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Blade in front of him and pressed his hands firmly against the ground. He channeled all his Five Elements power to forcefully regulate and stabilize the violently turbulent earth's energy beneath his feet, helping Nezha regain his footing while also creating a relatively stable environment for him to cast spells.

"Fellow Daoist, stop! The earth's veins must not be damaged!" Ma Yuan disregarded everything else and transformed into a streak of blood-red light, rushing straight towards Yu Yixian.

At this moment, Yu Yixian felt a strange sensation in her abdomen. Seeing that Ma Yuan dared to disobey her, she roared in fury, "You're courting death!" A powerful demonic aura pressed down on Ma Yuan like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing down, startling him so much that he stopped his momentum.

The time has come!

We arrived in a quarter of an hour.

Zhang Kui keenly noticed that the suction force momentarily froze due to Yu Yixian's distracted reprimand.

"Nezha!"

"Open!" Nezha's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he suddenly pressed down with a hand seal.

"Nine Dragons Divine Fire, burn the heavens and destroy the earth! By imperial decree!"

"Aww!"

A deep, thunderous dragon roar emanated from the Winged Immortal's belly, carrying a world-destroying power. The next moment, his enormous roc form suddenly froze, his abdomen rapidly expanding at a visible speed, his skin instantly turning crimson and transparent, as if molten lava was surging within it.

"Ughhh! What the hell is this thing?"

The Winged Immortal let out a heart-wrenching scream, and its devouring power abruptly ceased. Its giant beak opened involuntarily, no longer spewing forth suction, but rather scorching air currents and sporadic showers of fire.

"boom!"

Nine fire dragons, formed entirely from Samadhi True Fire, burst forth from her body. These fire dragons had distinct scales and armor, and their eyes were filled with a destructive will. As soon as they appeared, they tightly wrapped around Yu Yixian's torso, neck, and wings, tearing and burning them frantically.

The Samadhi True Fire is formed from essence, qi, and spirit, and can burn anything. The Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover emits nine layers of true fire, making its power devastating.

The black-gold feathers of the Winged Immortal, comparable to a spiritual treasure, rapidly charred and melted in the sea of ​​fire, revealing the charred flesh and stark white bones beneath. Thick smoke billowed, and the stench of burning filled the air. The once majestic Golden-Winged Roc was now a firebird struggling and crying out in the flames.

This astonishing reversal left Ma Yuan dumbfounded. He watched helplessly as the Winged Immortal, whose strength far surpassed his own, was burned beyond recognition in an instant, and a chill ran down his spine—that seemingly innocent child actually possessed such a terrifying treasure.

The Winged Immortal's massive body writhed wildly in the air, attempting to extinguish the flames originating from within his body using his demonic power. However, the Samadhi True Fire clung to him like a leech, and with the Nine Dragons raging, the more he channeled his magic power, the more ferocious the fire became, as if his immense demonic power had become the best fuel for its spread.

Take advantage of his illness and kill him.

Zhang Kui and Nezha exchanged a glance, both seeing a deadly intent in each other's eyes.

Zhang Kui took a deep breath, suppressing his churning blood and injuries, and reached out to pull out the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Blade that was stuck in the ground. The blade hummed, and dark golden light flowed erratically.

"Golden Immortals possess remarkable vitality, let alone a primordial species like the Golden-Winged Roc. Even with such severe injuries, it may still have the power to launch a desperate counterattack. We must deliver a fatal blow and not give it any chance to breathe."

"Nezha!"

Zhang Kui shouted in a low voice, "Keep Ma Yuan in check and don't let him interfere. Leave this bastard to me."

"rest assured!"

Nezha knew this was a crucial moment. Without hesitation, he stepped onto his Wind and Fire Wheels, wielded his Fire-Tipped Spear, and his Hun Tian Ling fluttered in the wind. His sharp gaze instantly locked onto Ma Yuan, who was somewhat bewildered by the sudden change before him. "Ugly monster, your opponent is me."

Zhang Kui said no more. With a flicker of his body, he used the Five Elements Escape Technique, transforming into a faint, five-colored stream of light that circled and danced around the struggling Feathered Immortal, searching for the best angle and opportunity to attack.

"The base of the left wing is charred black, and flames are spewing out from the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover on the neck; this is the weak point." A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he locked onto his target.

"Size as you wish, increase!" He poured all his supernatural power into his arms and the Dragon Sparrow Blade.

In an instant, the muscles in Zhang Kui's arm holding the knife bulged, and the veins coiled like dragons. The powerful blood of the Wu tribe merged with the supreme divine power of subduing dragons and tigers, causing the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Blade to emit an extremely excited clang.

"cut!"

Seizing the moment when Yu Yixian froze in pain, Zhang Kui moved, his Dragon Sparrow Blade striking the charred and damaged base of Yu Yixian's left wing.

"Pfft—sizzle!"

With a teeth-grinding tearing sound, Zhang Kui's all-out strike pierced through the base of Yu Yixian's wing without any resistance. The blade's energy frantically destroyed the meridians and bones along its path, and charred feathers mixed with blood and flesh, burning with flames, sprayed out.

The Winged Immortal let out a desperate cry, and its magical power surged wildly towards its wound.

But Zhang Kui's attack did not end there. At the moment when the blade energy pierced the deepest part, five-colored light burst forth from his eyes. He pointed his left hand like a sword and slashed at the huge wound that had been opened by the Dragon Sparrow Blade and was burning with Samadhi True Fire.

The Great Five Elements Annihilation Divine Light!

A multicolored divine light, following the wound, precisely pierced into Yu Yixian's body. The divine light entered her body without conflicting with the raging Nine Dragons Divine Fire; instead, it acted as a fuse, instantly igniting the already chaotic Yin and Yang energies and the immense demonic power within Yu Yixian's body.

"No……"

Amidst Yu Yixian's roars filled with resentment and fear, his flesh, bones, and meridians disintegrated and dissipated at a visible speed under the power of the reversal of the five elements and the collapse of yin and yang.

In just a few breaths, the once sky-covering golden-winged roc completely disintegrated in mid-air, like a sand dune blown away by the wind, leaving not even a speck of ashes behind.

In the world, only the Winged Immortal's primordial spirit, trapped within the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Shield, was still struggling to survive with the help of the demon core.

Zhang Kui stood in mid-air, slightly panting, the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Blade in his hand humming softly. Blood was still seeping from the wound on his shoulder, but his eyes remained sharp as he slowly turned to his only remaining enemy—Ma Yuan.