Zhang Kui Asks the Way in Investiture of the Gods

Gao Lanying's appearance filled Zhang Kui with an indescribable joy. Their eyes met, and though it was only for a moment, it spoke volumes.

"Hey, Brother Zhang, do you know her? Who is she?" Nezha rode his Wind Fire Wheels forward, looking at the suddenly appearing, heroic woman with great curiosity.

Being called "Big Brother" by Nezha, the number one mischievous child in the Three Realms, filled Zhang Kui with a sense of accomplishment. Suppressing his excitement at the reunion, he introduced her as, "This is Gao Lanying, my wife."

Upon hearing this, Gao Lanying's face flushed red, and she subconsciously reached out her wrist and tightly grasped Zhang Kui's hand.

Zhang Kui felt the warmth of her palm and continued to say to Nezha, "By the way, Lan Ying should be considered your senior sister."

"Senior sister?" Nezha scratched his head, looking confused. "But I've never heard Master mention any of the other senior uncles or master's uncles taking in female disciples." He was quite familiar with the number of people in his sect.

"That's right, she's not a disciple of the Chan Sect," Zhang Kui explained. "Lan Ying is a disciple of the Wudang Holy Mother of the Jie Sect, and the Wudang Holy Mother is a Great Luo Golden Immortal who has attained enlightenment for a long time."

"Oh, I see, that explains it!" Nezha suddenly realized. He had heard of the name of the Holy Mother Wudang, one of the four direct disciples of the Jie Sect.

"Brother Zhang, let's deal with the immediate problem first." Gao Lanying snapped out of her excitement at the reunion.

With a flick of her jade hand, she summoned a treasure gourd. A flash of golden light appeared at the gourd's mouth, and forty-nine fine, hair-like golden needles, radiating a scorching pure yang aura, floated in front of her. The tips of the needles sparkled with golden flames, forcing back the surrounding netherworld evil energy that was trying to regroup.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Kui said, "That's right, Nezha, with such a formidable enemy yet to be eliminated, how can we afford to be distracted!"

Nezha rolled his eyes and muttered, "Adults are all like this. They always blame others when something goes wrong. Do you think I can't see that?"

Seeing that his Xuan Yin Gathering Beast Banner was being countered by Gao Lanying's divine light, and hearing Zhang Kui expose Gao Lanying's identity as a member of the Jie Sect, Ma Yuan suppressed his anger and tried to make connections: "As fellow disciples of the Jie Sect, why are you turning against me and attacking me? What is the meaning of this?"

"Fratricide?" Zhang Kui sneered upon hearing his clumsy words, directly exposing him, "Ma Yuan, aren't you ashamed to say such a thing! The Golden-Winged Roc you just commanded and refined into a banner spirit—Winged Immortal—wasn't it also one of the 'disciples of the Intercepting Sect' that you mentioned? You harmed your fellow disciples, refined their souls, and now you're thinking of fraternal bonds?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Lanying's eyebrows furrowed, and she shouted, "Ma Yuan, how could you so cruelly harm your fellow disciples? This is an outrage against heaven! Today, I, Gao Lanying, will avenge our sect and punish you! Prepare to die!"

Without another word, she pointed her slender finger, and the forty-nine golden needles transformed into a golden rain, carrying the pure yang power to pierce through metal and stone and burn away evil spirits, shooting towards Ma Yuan.

Where the golden needle passed, the air was scorched and distorted, emitting a sharp whistling sound.

"A good opportunity! Lan Ying's Sun Needle is extremely yang and strong, which is the nemesis of Ma Yuan's Netherworld Path and is enough to restrain him."

He immediately gave Nezha a wink. Nezha and he had been fighting side by side for so long that they had developed a good understanding. Nezha immediately understood and said, "Understood! Watch me burn all these wandering ghosts." Flames erupted from his Wind and Fire Wheels, and he charged towards the howling beast spirits with his Fire-Tipped Spear in hand.

Zhang Kui didn't slack off either, his figure flashing like a phantom across the ruins of Skull Mountain, specifically targeting those Xuan Yin Gathering Beast Banners whose spiritual light was dim and who had no one in charge.

"Collect!" Every time he appeared, the Dragon Sparrow Blade's blade energy would precisely sever the connection between the banner poles and the earth's veins, just like a skilled butcher dissecting an ox. Then, with a wave of his hand, he would use his magic power to quickly collect the banners that had lost their luster and returned to their original size into his storage bag.

These auxiliary banners are made of extraordinary materials, and with Ma Yuan's years of painstaking refinement, they contain pure Netherworld Qi and the essence of beast souls, making them excellent materials for refining weapons. How could we let them go?

Nezha's side was even more violent and direct, using Jade Purity Divine Thunder and Samadhi True Fire alternately to purify the beast souls into nothingness. Occasionally, when encountering a stubborn one, he would smash it with the Universe Ring, scattering its soul.

Thanks to Zhang Kui and Nezha's efficient cleanup, the remaining beast souls decreased at a visible rate, and Zhang Kui also collected most of the dozens of auxiliary banners.

The foundation of the Xuan Yin Myriad Beasts Slaughtering Immortals Formation was completely shaken, its domain area shrank drastically, and its power was reduced to less than one-tenth.

Ma Yuan was overwhelmed by Gao Lanying's elusive and deadly Sun Needles, which were specifically designed to break through protective auras. Several small, charred holes from the needles pierced his body, causing him excruciating pain. Seeing his painstakingly crafted banner being taken away and his beast soul being destroyed, he knew that all was lost and began to consider retreating.

"You forced me to do this!" A hint of madness and heartache flashed in Ma Yuan's eyes. He suddenly threw the main banner in his hand at Gao Lanying, while secretly performing an extremely vicious incantation.

The main banner shone brightly in the air, and the Netherworld Golden Roc Dharma Image on it let out an extremely shrill cry. It broke off from the banner and flew out, its size expanding again. With a resolute air, it crashed into Gao Lanying like a meteor.

Taking advantage of the chaos created by this desperate attack, Ma Yuan transformed into an almost imperceptible streak of blood-red light, accelerating to its maximum speed in the opposite direction of the explosion, fleeing for its life.

"Lan Ying, be careful!" Zhang Kui had been paying attention to the battle, and when he saw Ma Yuan throw out the main banner, the aura of the Golden Roc Dharma Image became extremely violent, and he immediately realized that something was wrong.

"Nezha, Ma Yuan is yours now." Zhang Kui shouted at Nezha without hesitation.

"Trying to slip away right under my nose? Dream on!"

Nezha, riding on his Wind and Fire Wheels, arrived first despite being behind. With a flick of his wrist, the Universe Ring transformed into a dazzling golden light, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, and struck Ma Yuan with perfect accuracy.

Ma Yuan staggered after being hit by the Qiankun Ring.

Nezha curled his lip, then formed a hand seal and pointed forward: "Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover, go!"

In an instant, nine fire dragons roared out from the void behind him, tearing through the sky and descending upon Ma Yuan like a net from heaven and earth.

"No……"

Ma Yuan only had time to let out a desperate roar before he was completely sealed inside the protective barrier. Nine fire dragons coiled around him within, and Ma Yuan continued to curse, but his voice quickly faded amidst the raging flames. His physical body, like snow meeting the scorching sun, rapidly turned black, and ultimately, even his struggling, escaped primordial spirit was refined, leaving him utterly destroyed.

Nezha raised his hand and withdrew the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover. Seeing that only a wisp of ashes remained on the spot, he clapped his hands in satisfaction and returned on his Wind and Fire Wheels.

Meanwhile, Zhang Kui unleashed the Five Elements Escape Technique to its fullest extent, appearing before Gao Lanying as if by teleportation.

"Brother Zhang!" Gao Lanying's heart tightened when she saw Zhang Kui rushing towards her.

"Don't move, I'm confident." Zhang Kui's tone was urgent but unquestionable, and the powerful Wu Clan blood energy within his body suddenly erupted.

"The Dharma form of Kuafu, manifest!"

In an instant, a gigantic phantom, hundreds of feet tall, with bulging muscles and an aura of ancient vastness, enveloped Zhang Kui and Gao Lanying. Zhang Kui transformed into his Dharma form, his massive arms pulling Gao Lanying tightly into his embrace, and he leaned his back against hers.

At the same time, he fully activated his golden core, and his pure magical power circulated continuously with the five internal organs and five elements, and he also laid out layers of five-element spiritual light shields outside the Kuafu Dharma Image.

"No!" Gao Lanying struggled in Zhang Kui's arms, tears welling up in her eyes instantly. She wanted to go out and bear it with him, but was held tightly by the Dharma image containing infinite power.

"Boom..."

The combined self-destruction of the main banner and the Netherworld Golden Roc Dharma Image was far more powerful than imagined, like a black sun exploding on Skull Mountain. The terrifying energy shockwave spread in a ring, and wherever it passed, the already damaged mountain collapsed, shattered, and vaporized like sandcastles. The earth was torn open with bottomless ravines, and the clouds in the sky were completely swept away.

The destructive nether energy and the violent fragments of yin and yang energies, like billions of sharp blades, frantically cut and eroded the Kuafu Dharma form that Zhang Kui had transformed into.

"Uh..." Zhang Kui groaned inside the Dharma Image, his face instantly turning ashen. Even though the Kuafu Dharma Image had amazing defensive power and was protected by the Golden Core's magic power, this self-destruction, comparable to a Golden Immortal's dying blow, was simply too terrifying.

The destructive energy pierced through layers of defense and slammed into his body. His internal organs felt displaced, and his meridians were torn apart with excruciating pain. He felt a sweet taste in his throat, and blood welled up in his mouth, but he forced it down.

The roar of the explosion lasted for several breaths before gradually subsiding.

As the dust settled, a true dead zone came into view. The area where Skull Mountain had once stood had become a huge, bottomless, charred sinkhole, its walls smooth as a mirror, still retaining wisps of ghostly energy.

Zhang Kui could no longer maintain the Kuafu Dharma Form. The hundred-foot phantom collapsed, and he fell back to the ground with Gao Lanying in his arms. He staggered and could no longer suppress his injuries. He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and his body swayed precariously.

"Brother Zhang!" Gao Lanying immediately reached out to support him. Seeing his pale face and the glaring blood at the corner of his mouth, tears streamed down her face like broken beads. "Are you alright?"

Zhang Kui waved his hand, then struggled to sit cross-legged, guiding the chaotic magical power within his body back to its proper place. The circulation of the five internal organs and the five energies accelerated, and he began to repair the damaged meridians and internal organs.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Zhang Kui slowly opened his eyes, exhaled a breath of turbid air tinged with the smell of blood, and his complexion regained a trace of rosiness. He looked at Gao Lanying, who was still teary-eyed, and gave her a reassuring smile, his voice a little hoarse, "Don't worry, Lanying, I'm fine. It's just a minor injury. I'll be fine after a few days of recuperation."

Seeing that his breathing had stabilized, Gao Lanying was slightly relieved, but still felt lingering fear. She threw herself into his arms, hugged him tightly, and choked out, "You scared me to death... Don't do that again..."

Feeling the trembling and worry of the woman in his arms, Zhang Kui felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He gently patted her back and said softly, "It's alright, it's alright now. I promise you, I'll be more careful from now on."

Just as the two were enjoying their tender moment, a flash of fire streaked across the sky, and Nezha appeared, riding on his Wind Fire Wheels.

With a smug smile on his face, he said, "Haha, Brother Zhang, I'm back!"

Zhang Kui gently patted Gao Lanying, gesturing for her to stand up, then looked at Nezha and asked, "Where's Ma Yuan? Didn't he escape?"

Nezha sniffed and said arrogantly, "Of course! With my help, it's a piece of cake. That guy was already injured, and he still wanted to run? He was caught by my Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover and turned into ashes."

Upon hearing the news that Ma Yuan had been completely annihilated, Zhang Kui was finally relieved.