Chapter 48: The Might of the Divine Arrow!

"What a terrifying talisman!" Yang Nan felt a tightness in his chest as he witnessed this horrifying and bizarre spectacle. How was this scene any different from the day his master, Buxu, effortlessly crushed the six grandmasters at the foot of Mount Kunlun?

A Venerable pitted against a Grandmaster was like a robust adult facing an infant; the gap in their strength was simply incomparable!

Having failed to seize the moment to flee earlier, he had already missed the prime opportunity for escape. With matters at this juncture, the only remaining option was to fight it out head-on!

"Netherlight Soul-Fixing!" The magical weapon in Yang Nan's hand transformed into a black serpent, its two horizontal slit pupils opening with a chilling glare to project two beams of nether-world darkness directly at the long-bearded Daoist!

The old Daoist was extremely vigilant. With a flick of his hand, he dodged the two beams of netherlight from the serpent's eyes and let out a soft cry: "Sever!"

Suddenly, Yang Nan's serpent-gaze seemed to strike a wall of talismans, unable to pierce through any further. This Netherlight Soul-Fixing technique had once been capable of immobilizing Blue Star Venerable, who had just advanced to the Venerable realm, yet it had not the slightest effect on a Venerable of the caliber of Perfected Talisman Master's avatar!

The long-bearded Daoist smiled coldly, fixed his gaze upon Yang Nan, and pointed a finger: "Suppress!"

A gigantic character for "Suppression" flew out from the long-bearded Daoist's fingertip, streaking towards Yang Nan like lightning and sparks. The shimmering talisman contained a terrifying aura. Nicai, who possessed a profound understanding of the Talisman Sect's Dao, cried out anxiously, "Ah Nan, retreat quickly! This suppression talisman can seal your divine soul and physical body. Since your magical power is inferior to his, you'll be left like a dead man at his mercy!"

From afar, the suppression talisman emitted an irresistible suction force. A chill crept up Yang Nan's heart, and he leaped up to flee. Nicai unleashed a thunder-essence lightning net to block the talisman's path, but with a loud crash, the suppression talisman tore right through the lightning net, continuing to pursue Yang Nan relentlessly.

"Halt!" Master Miaofu let out a sharp cry, and the space surrounding Yang Nan compressed rapidly, as if he had been driven into a dead end! Had it not been for the newly acquired dual forces of Yin and Yang resisting with all their might, he would have been paralyzed instantly!

*There's no escaping; this ghostly talisman is simply too fast!*

"Dragon-Serpent Shears!" Yang Nan's divine soul surged as the Undying Yin-Yang Wheel simultaneously activated the black serpent and the thunder pearl. The two rays of brilliance violently intertwined in mid-air, transforming into a massive pair of dragon-serpent shears that viciously chopped down toward the suppression talisman!

One Yin, one Yang, the two energies intertwined, truly indestructible. With a single cut, the suppression talisman was shredded into powder!

The long-bearded Daoist withdrew his hand, wearing a look of astonishment, and softly murmured, "The Undying Yin-Yang Sword? Could it be that another Kunlun Yang-path expert is lurking in the shadows?"

Seeing that this eccentric old Daoist was neither fully human nor fully real, and possessed immensely formidable magical power—truly the supreme treasure of the Heavenly Talisman Sect—Yang Nan hastily shouted to Nicai, "Brother Ni, quickly release the thunder-essence lightning net to trap him!"

This Master Miaofu was truly terrifying, and every talisman he cast possessed immense power. Aside from the Undying Yin-Yang Sword, none of Yang Nan's methods had the slightest effect on him!

If this Venerable-level avatar were allowed to use any more ghostly talismans, Yang Nan and the others would lose their lives here today. Nicai instantly snapped to attention and repeatedly urged the Yang Thunder Pond. Purple light flared brilliantly atop the Undying Thunder Boat, and three wide lightning nets surged toward the long-bearded Daoist from the upper, middle, and lower paths respectively. Spewing out three such lightning nets at once was already the absolute limit of the Undying Thunder Boat!

Even so, the three thunder-essence lightning nets enveloped the heavens and earth, and wherever they passed, the fighting demon soldiers were instantly reduced to fine dust. The destructive might was terrifying to the extreme!

The majesty of thunder was astonishing and awe-inspiring, yet the long-bearded Daoist remained utterly fearless. With a slight vibration of his palms, he shouted three times in succession: "Halt, halt, halt!"

In an instant, all three lightning nets were frozen in place by him. However, the force of heaven and earth was immense; even with the magical power of a Venerable, the long-bearded Daoist could only struggle desperately to resist the momentum of the lightning nets, leaving him with no spare capacity to attack Yang Nan and his companions.

"No way! He can even block the thunder-essence lightning net? Is he even human?" Nicai wide-eyed in disbelief, muttering to himself as he stared at the overwhelmingly imposing avatar of Master Miaofu.

This was the lightning power of heaven and earth itself! Demons and ghosts would die the moment they touched it. No matter how powerful Daoist talismans were, how could they possibly block this?

***

That old Daoist's divine abilities were truly heaven-defying and earth-shattering!

A cold smile crept onto the corner of Yang Nan's mouth as he said, "Whether he can block it or not, he's a dead man now!"

The black serpent magical weapon and the thunder pearl intertwined with each other, transforming into a black-and-purple crescent moon. With an icy expression, Yang Nan nocked the Supreme Golden Arrow, drew the bow fully like a crescent moon, and locked his gaze firmly upon the long-bearded Daoist!

Drawing the curved bow, shooting the crescent moon, a single arrow fixes the firmament!

An aura that vowed to pierce through heaven and earth erupted from Yang Nan's body!

Seeming to sense something, the long-bearded Daoist abruptly turned his head back, his eyes filled with absolute shock!

"Strike!" Yang Nan roared fiercely, and the Supreme Golden Arrow streaked across the sky like a beam of light, piercing with pinpoint accuracy straight into the chest of the long-bearded Daoist!

This Supreme Golden Arrow was equivalent to a massive inner demon; the damage it inflicted upon practitioners of the Dao was far greater than ordinary magical treasures!

Bang!

A patch of golden light suddenly flashed across the long-bearded Daoist's face, and a pale golden hue from the Supreme Golden Arrow rapidly spread across his body. Countless thoughts roared and wreaked havoc within him. Faint golden light emanated from the long-bearded Daoist, making him look like a genuine immortal descended to the mortal realm!

Seeing this from afar, the four Ceng family members cried out in alarm, "The Supreme Golden Body? What kind of monstrosity is this?"

While this Supreme Golden Body granted an indestructible golden physique when used upon oneself, it was terrifyingly destructive when used to harm enemies. Even with a Venerable-level cultivation, the long-bearded Daoist could not withstand the endless, chaotic thoughts raging within him. For a moment, his divine soul fell into complete turmoil, and he could no longer control the three immobilization talismans. The three thunder-essence lightning nets broke free, trapping the long-bearded Daoist in their midst like a heavenly net of inescapable doom.

"Grand Patriarch, watch out!" Knowing that disaster was imminent, the four Ceng members hurriedly tossed out several talismans, attempting to shatter the lightning net. But they were merely at the early stage of Grandmaster; how could they possibly possess the magical power of Master Miaofu? The talismans they cast were all swallowed whole by the thunder-essence lightning net without exception.

"Old Crab, take the personal guards and fall back!"

Strike while the iron is hot! With a cold laugh, Yang Nan summoned the Qian-Gang Thunder Arrow into his hand once more. This arrow, imbued with the purest thunder-essence power and fully charged by the thunder pearl, instantly blazed like a streak of purple light!

Thunder slays and annihilates souls! Subduing evil and vanquishing demons!

"Explode for me!" The Qian-Gang Thunder Arrow in Yang Nan's hand surged forward with the momentum of a long rainbow, tracing a graceful arc to strike the long-bearded Daoist's chest a second time. This Qian-Gang Jade Thunder Arrow was originally the item in heaven and earth most capable of containing lightning power. When driven to its utmost by Yang Nan with the power of the thunder pearl, it had reached the brink of explosion!

Boom, boom, boom!

The Qian-Gang Thunder Arrow instantly detonated against the long-bearded Daoist's chest, bursting into a brilliant cluster of purple lightning. The three thunder-essence lightning nets were triggered by this violent lightning force, instantly transforming into countless electric arcs that blasted outward in all directions. Countless rays of purple light lit up the heavens and earth, and earth-shattering thunderclaps echoed through the clouds!

Endless awe-inspiring lightning erupted. Thousands of talisman soldiers didn't even have time to grunt before they were instantly reduced to fine dust. Old Crab, ever loyal, had long ago wisely ordered his personal guards to retreat. Even so, hundreds of demon soldiers were instantly blown into flying ash by the raging purple thunder.

Violent lightning raged across the skies above Tianfang City, the purple light illuminating the entire city. Scattered bolts of heavenly thunder came crashing down, instantly reducing dozens of buildings within the city to ashes!

***

This awe-inspiring and terrifying strike not only inflicted heavy injuries upon the long-bearded Daoist, but the four Ceng family grandmasters didn't even have time to put up a defense before their divine souls were completely obliterated.

"What terrifying might!" Nicai gazed at the tens of thousands of bolts of heavenly thunder raging wildly across the sky, a chill rising deep within his heart. Such violent heavenly thunder was truly no less formidable than the Heavenly Gang Thunder Net above the nine heavens!

Yang Nan gave a gentle wave of his hand, and the Supreme Golden Arrow spun as it flew back out from the heavenly thunder. Aside from its golden glow being slightly dimmed, it was undamaged. The Qian-Gang Thunder Arrow, however, was completely destroyed. Nevertheless, the devastation unleashed by that single thunder arrow left Yang Nan secretly clicking his tongue in amazement.

If Master Miaofu still refused to die after facing such might, then Yang Nan and his companions would be the ones to die!

Master Miaofu's avatar was, after all, a supreme expert of the Venerable realm! How could Yang Nan not know how formidable a Venerable's magical power was?

Before achieving the Grandmaster realm, all of his spells and divine abilities were merely children's toys in front of Buxu, which showed that a Venerable and a Grandmaster were simply worlds apart!

The immense power of those two divine arrows far exceeded Yang Nan's expectations.

"That Venerable isn't dead yet!" Nicai screamed in alarm. As the lightning faded away, the long-bearded Daoist in the sky still stood proudly in mid-air. Although his protective spiritual talismans had all been destroyed by the lightning, he was still not dead! However, the long-bearded Daoist's once immortal and ethereal demeanor had long since turned into tattered beggar-like rags. Had his magical power not been as vast as the sea, he would have been utterly annihilated in body and soul by Yang Nan's two divine arrows long ago!

"Junior! How dare you humiliate me so!" The long-bearded Daoist's eyes bulged with fury as he roared: "Heaven, Earth, Human, Ghost, Deity!"

With a fierce grab of his palms, he whipped out five talismans that swept toward Yang Nan like five colorful rainbows.

This simultaneous release of five talismans was by no means as weak as Grandmaster Zeng Yan's attacks. Heaven and earth were both enveloped within them, and once the five talismans merged, all life would be instantly extinguished!

*A Venerable's avatar is truly terrifying! He still isn't dead after such a bombardment?* A chilling coldness flared in Yang Nan's heart. At this moment, the vow-power of the Supreme Golden Arrow had dissipated, and the lightning power of the Undying Thunder Boat had yet to be replenished. Yang Nan had no choice but to fight him to the death using his natal magical weapon.

"Ah Nan, let's retreat quickly! This Venerable is not someone we can defeat." Seeing that things were going poorly, Chiyang anxiously called out to Yang Nan.

"No! If I do not exterminate the Heavenly Talisman Sect, I swear I will not retreat!"

Yang Nan shook his head resolutely. In truth, having witnessed the formidable power of the long-bearded Daoist's talismans, he knew that attempting to flee offered no chance of survival!

Rather than running away and being annihilated, it was better to fight to the death to the very end!

"Shear him apart!" The magical weapon in Yang Nan's hand transformed into a black serpent, while the thunder pearl instantly transformed into a thunder dragon. The dragon and serpent tightly intertwined with each other. A flash of divine light sparked in Yang Nan's eyes, and the massive dragon-serpent shears slashed down toward the long-bearded Daoist like a bolt of lightning!

The dragon-serpent shears swept straight down, carrying the sharp energies of Yin and Yang, and the five rainbows were extinguished instantly upon contact!

*So easy?* Yang Nan was slightly stunned in his heart, immediately realizing that although this old Daoist possessed the strength of a Venerable, his true body had been shattered by the two divine arrows, leaving his might far inferior to before. Otherwise, no matter how powerful a Grandmaster-level dragon-serpent shears might be, how could it possibly sever a Venerable's talismans?