Chapter Twenty-Three: The Rune Sect Invokes the Gods!

Yang Nan saw that the blood-colored bone ring possessed an extremely heavy aura of malevolence; any ordinary magic treasure would be tainted upon contact, clearly indicating its immense power. However, with the Profound Dark Yin-Sha Banner in his hand, why would he fear such a trinket? Two Profound Dark Yin Spirits surged forth, one to the left and one to the right, their black fog and blood-colored clouds churning and intertwining in mid-air.

"Suppress!" Zeng Lian’s expression grew stern. With a flick of his fingers, he traced a sign, and spiritual light erupted before Yang Nan. A massive character for "Suppress" materialized, encircling him. The talismanic seal acted like countless iron chains, binding Yang Nan tightly. A immense pulling force bore down from all directions, yet Yang Nan smiled indifferently. His Yin-Corrosion Dharma Soldiers burst into a tangle of fine black threads, shielding his entire body. The black serpents opened their maws, biting into the "Suppress" character piece by piece, protecting Yang Nan within; the talismanic seal was slowly devoured by the magic soldiers.

"Might!"

Zeng Lian flicked his wrist, and a talisman radiating a vast, imposing aura unfurled in the wind. It felt as if a mountain peak had been pressed upon everyone's heart, leaving them struggling for breath.

"A petty trick, and you dare bring it out to make a fool of yourself?"

Yang Nan laughed coldly, driving the three thousand black serpents to consume the suppression talisman entirely. He cared nothing for this "Might" talisman; it was merely a form of mental pressure. As fellow Grandmasters, how could Zeng Lian’s intimidation tactic frighten Yang Nan, who had walked through the trials of the Condensed Mountain stage?

"Soldier!"

Zeng Lian scattered a large number of paper dolls, which transformed into a host of Yin-soldiers brandishing blades and spears, lunging fiercely at Yang Nan!

"Transform, Three Thousand Nether Soldiers!"

The three thousand black serpents, like threads, mist, sharp arrows, and driving rain, swept through everything like a gale shattering dry branches, hacking the Yin-soldiers into pieces until they fell from the sky as scraps of paper!

The Talisman Sect possessed two main branches: Incantations and Summoning. Zeng Lian’s mastery of incantations was not yet profound; how could he withstand Yang Nan’s King-tier divine soldiers?

Zeng Lian was startled, his face changing instantly. He realized now that Yang Nan was not to be trifled with, but having already engaged, he was trapped on the back of a tiger—if Yang Nan did not die, then they were doomed!

"Thunder!" He spat out three golden talismans in rapid succession, linked head-to-tail. The golden talismans stirred the thunder of the firmament. In an instant, the clouds churned, electric serpents darted wildly, and an aura of majesty enveloped the sky. With a flash of purple light, three bolts of lightning as thick as barrels crashed down from the heavens.

The three purple-flashing bolts struck Yang Nan, instantly reducing him to ash. Zeng Lian felt a surge of joy; the power of the True Thunder Talisman was matchless, and even a Grandmaster could not survive it. Yet, before he could revel for long, Yang Nan’s figure appeared in the air nearby, bowing to Zeng Lian with a smile: "Fellow Daoist, your talismans are truly sharp. I have learned much."

The Yang Nan who had been struck by lightning transformed into a fluttering talisman, drifting down from the sky like countless falling butterflies.

"A Substitute Talisman?" Zeng Lian recognized at a glance that the opponent was also using talisman arts, and a rare one at that. Substitute Talismans were difficult to craft, requiring superior materials to create a physical likeness indistinguishable from the original; unless one’s magic power far exceeded the caster’s, one could never tell the fake from the real.

"Good technique, Fellow Daoist. Now, receive this God-Summoning Talisman!"

Zeng Lian sneered coldly. His Natal Golden Talisman flew into the sky, emitting a clear whistle. A golden light descended from the heavens, and a grotesque-looking divine general appeared above him. The general’s face was hideous, like a demon king just sprung from the Asura realm of hell, his entire body radiating a terrifying and tyrannical aura!

After summoning this divine general, a look of confidence surged onto Zeng Lian’s face.

***

"A Grandmaster-level Divine General?" Yang Nan was astonished to see this six-headed, six-armed, six-tailed monstrosity. When the Talisman Sect summoned deities, they mostly invoked monsters worshiped by their lineage through the ages—ancient demons, creatures from the Demon Realm, or, more often, the founding ancestors of the sect. Once refined and enshrined on an altar, they could be commanded.

One must know, the strength of a divine general summoned by a Talisman Sect disciple was only one-seventh of its true form on the mountain!

However, the essence of the summoned general was fused with the spiritual veins of the Talisman Sect’s Spirit Mountain; their magic power was immense and they were immortal—truly formidable. Even if one killed the manifestation, the main body on the Spirit Mountain remained unharmed, and after a period of rest, it could recover its strength!

"Gale Demon Ancestor, annihilate this enemy!" Zeng Lian pointed a finger. The divine general roared, whipping up a pillar of wind as it lunged at Yang Nan. The air churned like a storm, with gale-force winds whipping about as the general’s six arms reached out to grab him.

"Slash!" Yang Nan swung his magic soldiers, manifesting them into the form of a giant weapon. A cold, crescent-moon gleam flashed as he struck down at the general. The black serpent magic soldier was caught firmly by the general’s six arms. Yang Nan was shocked and channeled his power to break free, but the black serpents struggled in vain, unable to move an inch.

"What a powerful Gale Demon Ancestor! This must be one of the seven great divine generals of the Heaven Talisman Sect. If he is this strong at one-seventh power, would his true form not be at the level of a Venerable?" Seeing the spiritual light rolling around the general, Yang Nan sensed danger. After catching the magic weapon, the general turned and lashed out with its six long, whip-like tails, which cracked down toward Yang Nan!

These whip-tails descended like a spiderweb covering the sky, the momentum fierce and malicious. If Yang Nan were struck even once, he would suffer greatly!

"Enter!" Yang Nan’s gaze sharpened; in an instant, his spirit and soul became perfectly still. His lithe body shrank bizarrely, turning into a tiny point of light that plunged straight into the mouth of the black serpent. The black serpent magic soldier seemed to come alive; its stiff body instantly transformed into a powerful, fleshy form!

Bolstered by his master’s soul and magic power, the black serpent’s ferocity increased, its brute strength surging. With a violent twist, it finally broke free from the six-headed general’s grasp, turned, and bit down, tearing off one of the general’s heads.

The Gale Demon Ancestor suffered a heavy blow and flew into a rage. With hands clawing and tails whipping, it tore off countless serpent scales in an instant. The black serpent was left bloody and mangled. Realizing that he was no match for the general’s power in a direct clash, Yang Nan broke through the shadow of the whips and fled to a distance to catch his breath.

Zeng Lian sneered, "A mere soldier-sect disciple, and you dare to show off? Today, I will let the Gale Demon Ancestor devour your soul, so you may never be reincarnated!"

Yang Nan leaped out from the serpent’s mouth, knowing he could not defeat the Talisman Sect’s divine general. His only remaining option was to use the Heaven-Transcending Rainbow Boat. As Zeng Lian commanded the Gale Demon Ancestor to reach out with its giant hands, a brilliant, magnificent rainbow boat suddenly appeared in the void. It struck the general like a streak of light with such tremendous force that the Gale Demon Ancestor was sent flying dozens of yards away.

Having taken this impact, the Gale Demon Ancestor’s magic power was greatly depleted, yet it rampaged all the more, lunging repeatedly at the boat. Ni Cai, inside the vessel, saw how formidable the monster was and could only repeatedly drive the boat to ram into it.

Protected by various arrays, the Heaven-Transcending Rainbow Boat managed to hold its own against the monster for the time being.

Yang Nan caught his breath, realizing that these Talisman Sect disciples, when aided by their altars, were far from the weaklings he had encountered at the foot of Kunlun Mountain. "If it comes to this, I must eliminate this divine general, or victory will be impossible!" Yang Nan’s eyes turned cold. The two magic pearls within his two spiritual orifices resonated; a dragon and a serpent coiled around each other, instantly forming the shape of a massive pair of shears!

The Azure Dragon represented Magic, and the Black Serpent represented Soldiers. During his cultivation, Yang Nan had been ingenious; fused by the Undying Yin Wheel, he had intertwined these two incompatible arts to create a unique supernatural ability—the Dragon-Serpent Shears!

With the Five-Spirit God-Sealing Map, after hundreds of test runs, Yang Nan had finally succeeded in mastering this devastating move!

This was Yang Nan’s ultimate trump card!

Yang Nan sacrificed his full magic power. Spiritual light erupted from the dragon and serpent; two brilliant rays of light flashed and vanished, instantly snipping toward the Gale Demon Ancestor. The two rainbows crossed, the dragon and serpent entwined with boundless power. With one snip, they cleaved the Gale Demon Ancestor in two!

No matter how tyrannical a Grandmaster might be, they could not withstand this mysterious, fused move of soldiers and magic!

"My divine general!" Zeng Lian shrieked in pain, his face twisted. He cast over a dozen lightning bolts at the serpent. Yang Nan directed the Dragon-Serpent Shears, instantly shredding the remains of the Gale Demon Ancestor and swallowing them whole, before turning to fly toward Zeng Lian through the thunder.

The power of these talismanic lightning bolts was not even one-ten-thousandth of true heavenly thunder. After Yang Nan merged with his soldiers, his physical body was incomparably strong; even if Zeng Lian bombarded him a dozen more times, it would not damage him.

Although the Gale Demon Ancestor had only possessed one-seventh of its true power, it was a potent supplement; as the dragon and serpent writhed, they grew several times larger in an instant!

Seeing how formidable the magic treasure was, Zeng Lian knew he could no longer resist and attempted to flee. How could Yang Nan let him go? The Dragon-Serpent Shears separated instantly; the black serpent transformed into a giant net, and the azure dragon became icy threads. Like a net cast over the sky, they entangled Zeng Lian and ground him into a pulp of flesh and blood!

Zeng Lian’s soul leaped into mid-air, stunned and bewildered. The black serpent’s giant maw opened wide and swallowed him whole.

With Zeng Lian dead, the remaining Heaven Talisman Sect disciples cried out in grief, "Uncle Master!" and prepared to fight Chi Yang to the death. With a cold shout, Chi Yang turned his sword into a giant bird wreathed in roaring flames, and after a short battle, burned them all to ash.

The Elder of the Heaven Demon Sect, who had been fiercely battling the two Profound Dark Yin Spirits, was terrified to see Zeng Lian die a miserable death and attempted to flee. Yang Nan pointed a finger, and the dragon and serpent reformed into shears, hovering over him.

The Dragon-Serpent Shears radiated several yards of spiritual light, clearly extremely powerful. The Heaven Demon Sect Elder dared not face them head-on; the black clouds beneath him dissipated as he fled toward the sky. Yang Nan laughed coldly, and the dragon and serpent repeated their trick, transforming into two giant nets to trap him before grinding him down!

Sensing the danger, the Demon Sect Elder silently recited an incantation, and his body exploded into a spray of blood that shot toward the horizon.

This spray of blood was fast and fierce. Caught off guard, Yang Nan had to prioritize protecting his own physical body. To pursue the Elder, he would need the Heaven-Origin Clear Void in his hands!

"Blood-Rain Escape Technique!" Yang Nan had heard Ai Muyun mention this demonic art that sacrificed one’s cultivation to escape. Since he could not catch up, he let him go. With the two leaders dead or fled, how could the remaining Heaven Demon Sect disciples withstand Chi Yang’s magic sword? Before long, they were all cut down by Old Crab and the other demon soldiers.

Old Crab, having slaughtered these human cultivators, happily led the minor demons to gather the flesh and souls, chewing on them with gusto.

Yang Nan did not allow his demon subordinates to harm innocent people, but he did not forbid them from consuming the flesh of enemies. Thus, Old Crab and the other demon soldiers were all battle-hungry, wishing their young master would fight every day so they might feast on a high-quality corpse or two...