Chapter 1480: East Wind Blossoms a Thousand Trees at Night

"What is this?" The Demon Emperor's eyes narrowed. He had dominated the world for countless years; there was nothing he hadn't seen.

Yet, he had truly never witnessed a sight like this.

The object in his opponent's hand appeared to be a magical artifact. It was clearly neither a divine nor an immortal-tier weapon, not even a heaven-tier one, yet the Demon Emperor felt a chilling killing intent emanating from it—an intensity that surpassed many renowned magical treasures.

Not only him, but even Yan Xuehen and the other two women stared at him with wide, beautiful eyes. They had fought alongside him for so long, yet had never seen him use this weapon.

An unreadable light flickered in Zu An's eyes as he slowly intoned: "Namo Gatling Bodhisattva, six pure depleted uranium rounds, three thousand six hundred rotations per breath, with great mercy and compassion, save all beings."

The Demon Emperor and the women, including Yan Xuehen, were puzzled. Given that their world had Taoist sects, it naturally also had monks, so they knew what a Bodhisattva was. However, they couldn't fathom how the object before them was connected to one.

They, of course, had no idea this was an internet meme Zu An had encountered in his previous life. He knew that if the Gatling gun was for saving lives and healing wounds, then only the miraculous Maxim gun could compare.

Previously, Zu An had been limited by the scarcity of high-tier weapons he had encountered in this world, meaning he couldn't conjure enough to inflict significant damage on the Demon Emperor.

The moment the phrase "insufficient firepower" crossed his mind, images of those from battlefields in his previous life naturally surfaced.

However, that was a world of technology, while this was a cultivation civilization. Zu An wasn't sure if he could successfully conjure it, but he decided to try anyway. To his surprise, it actually materialized.

Gripping the Gatling gun, Zu An immediately felt his posture straighten. "Demon Emperor," he said, "you were quite arrogant just now."

Hearing his flippant tone, the Demon Emperor's face darkened. "Do you truly believe a mere black, grimy fire poker can make you my equal?"

"Fire poker?" A peculiar expression crossed Zu An's face. "Then let's see how this fire poker tastes."

Without further ado, he aimed directly at the Demon Emperor and pulled the trigger.

Blue flames erupted from the dark muzzles, accompanied by a harsh, roaring din, as countless bullets poured forth.

The Demon Emperor's expression had been dismissive just moments before, but in that instant, his face abruptly changed.

What was being shot at him?

Arrows?

No, they were much smaller, almost like mere arrowheads.

Moreover, their speed was astonishing, so rapid that even he barely managed to react.

Each projectile's power was comparable to a sharp sword qi strike.

As it was his first encounter with such an attack, he dared not meet it head-on. He quickly employed his exquisite footwork to dodge.

Unfortunately, the Gatling gun inherently focused on suppressive fire. The crisscrossing network of bullets was far denser than the dozen or so heaven-tier weapons Zu An had previously conjured.

No matter how he dodged, some bullets ultimately proved impossible to evade.

In desperation, golden wings suddenly materialized behind him. The feathers on them transformed into streams of golden sword qi. As his wings folded, these golden sword qi intercepted every incoming bullet.

Zu An secretly admired him. The Demon Emperor was truly formidable; despite the Gatling's high rate of fire and the dense barrage of bullets, he managed to block every single one.

At this moment, Yan Xuehen and the others were even more astonished than Zu An. While the Demon Emperor's power was certainly formidable, and his golden sword qi were indeed potent, they were, after all, only being used defensively.

The sight before them was Zu An pressing the Demon Emperor in a fight. If news of this spread, wouldn't it utterly astound the entire world?

Furthermore, this peculiar weapon in his hand seemed capable of inflicting immense casualties on armies. Unless military formations had pre-established defensive arrays, facing this thing would be like being mowed down.

The Demon Emperor was utterly frustrated at this moment. He had initially chosen not to teleport away immediately, wishing to test the weapon's power. Now, however, it was too late to escape by spatial transposition.

While his spatial transposition usually took an extremely short time, the firing rate of these projectiles had an even shorter interval!

Each projectile fired possessed considerable power. Naturally, for true peak masters, they weren't lethal.

After all, they could casually destroy a mountaintop with a single strike, so the power of these projectiles was still somewhat insufficient.

However, the sheer density of these projectiles was overwhelming. He believed he could withstand a hundred or so with his own defense without much trouble, but this thing unleashed thousands in a single breath!

If he slackened even slightly, he risked being instantly riddled with holes. After all, compared to various offensive techniques, cultivators' defenses were notably weaker. This was typically not an issue, as they possessed numerous methods to evade or block, and would never be foolish enough to directly withstand attacks with their bodies.

Who would have thought such intense suppressive fire existed in the world? Thus, he could only defensively endure it, feeling utterly frustrated.

The golden sword qi formed from his feathers were considerably more powerful than a single projectile, but they were inferior in both quantity and frequency. This forced him into a disadvantageous exchange, where one sword qi was traded for one or several projectiles.

If these projectiles were infinite, he might even be exhausted to death here, despite his cultivation being far superior to his opponent's.

However, he showed no panic. He didn't believe that projectiles of such immense power could be infinite.

As expected, after a short while, the originally black barrel of the gun in Zu An's hand turned red-hot, then suddenly burst with a loud bang, having exploded from within.

Given Zu An's current physical resilience, such an explosion couldn't harm him.

He secretly lamented. This conjured Gatling gun indeed had less durability than a genuine one; it shouldn't have broken so quickly.

At this moment, a wave of dizziness swept through his mind, startling him. He had only been firing bullets, yet he felt as though his body had been completely drained.

A chill ran down his spine. It seemed that casting the "Divine Pattern Weapon Chart" was not without cost; it must have consumed his internal vital energy. Fortunately, he cultivated several divine martial arts, ensuring a continuous flow of vital energy. An ordinary Grandmaster, after conjuring so many heaven-tier weapons and then the Gatling, would likely have been completely drained.

Just then, a figure flashed beside him. Clearly, the Demon Emperor was unwilling to give him another chance.

At this moment, the three women—Yan, Yun, and Yu—let out sharp cries. They had been closely observing Zu An and, sensing his potential weakness, preemptively moved to protect him.

The Changxin Palace Lantern was immediately summoned. The New Moon Wheel transformed into a crescent, not attacking directly but emitting tranquil moonlight. This light combined with the Changxin Palace Lantern to significantly enhance their control abilities.

Yu Yanluo's eyes glowed with the highest level of brownish-yellow light. With the Holy Spirit Orb and the Nine Transformations of Dragon and Snake at her disposal, using this power no longer risked her body collapsing.

Yan Xuehen, meanwhile, shimmered with runic brilliance, enveloped in endless wind and snow as she charged forward.

After numerous life-and-death crises, the three women's coordination had become utterly seamless.

The Demon Emperor's body showed faint signs of petrification, and under the combined illumination of the Changxin Palace Lantern and moonlight, his movements slowed considerably.

Combined with Yan Xuehen's sudden explosive strike, even though the Demon Emperor's cultivation was far superior to theirs, their complementary strengths meant that his full-power attack yielded no advantage.

Naturally, the three women were violently repelled by the terrifying qi blast, their vital energy churning wildly within them. It would be impossible for them to block a second strike.

Fortunately, Zu An had recovered his breath by then and pulled the three women back, retreating.

The Demon Emperor sneered, "Can you outrun me?"

Not one of them could match his speed individually, let alone all of them together.

But the next second, his eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. Zu An waved his hand, and a golden war chariot suddenly materialized before him.

After they quickly boarded the chariot, it instantly sped away, ascending high into the sky.

"Isn't that the Golden Crow clan's golden war chariot?" For a moment, the Demon Emperor doubted his own perception. As his lifespan was nearing its end and his succession was imminent, he had already passed the golden war chariot, along with the Sun-Shooting Bow, to his son.

Could Zu An have stolen his son's chariot, and his son hadn't dared to tell him?

However, he quickly shook his head. While the chariot strongly resembled the Golden Crow clan's golden war chariot, closer inspection revealed differences. His own golden war chariot was pulled by six *chi* (hornless dragons), whereas this one was pulled by six true dragons, seemingly indicating a higher rank.

What Zu An had conjured this time was the chariot of Xi He, which he had previously seen. It was, naturally, more advanced than the one belonging to the Demon Emperor and his son.

The chariot's speed was sufficient to keep the Demon Emperor from catching up for a while. Zu An pondered that now that the Demon Emperor was on guard, it would likely be difficult to harm him again with the Gatling. Perhaps a "Dongfeng Express"?

"East wind at night sets off a thousand trees of blossoms, blowing them down like a rain of stars!"