Chapter 1769: Wolong and Fengchu

"The young lady actually possesses such advanced array abilities?" Sun En had previously dismissed Wang Youjun's comment about her being an array master, but now a hint of admiration appeared in his eyes.

Just then, Wang Youjun said, "Cult Master, should your subordinate capture that young lady to prevent her from causing trouble?"

Sun En smiled faintly. "Do you think a mere young lady can destroy my spells?"

Wang Youjun's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly lowered his head. "This subordinate wouldn't dare!"

"The game is over!" Sun En then conjured another talisman, wreathed in purple lightning. It ascended into the air, drawing all the thunderstorms in the nearby stone forest to fly towards it.

The talisman grew larger and larger, and dark clouds gathered around it, as if it were a lightning tribulation in itself.

Even from a distance, Xie Daoyun felt a sense of oppression. She quickly called out a warning, "Sister Yun, be careful! This must be the 'High Firmament Divine Talisman' they mentioned earlier!"

Yun Jianyue also noticed the strange phenomenon in the sky. However, before she could react, a bolt of lightning suddenly struck directly towards her.

Remembering the dreadful state of those in the stone forest earlier, Yun Jianyue dared not block it directly and quickly dodged backward.

Her speed was incredibly swift. Despite the sudden appearance of the lightning, it failed to strike her.

Wang Youjun watched with secret admiration. If it had been him, he probably wouldn't have dodged it so easily. Although he had Shape-shifting Talismans, they were one-time consumables, and he had only managed to save three over many years, so he wouldn't use them unless absolutely necessary.

Admiration aside, he knew she was doomed.

Sure enough, as she dodged, the "High Firmament Divine Talisman" suddenly unleashed dozens of lightning bolts that interwove to form a vast net, covering a hundred-zhang radius around her and leaving her with nowhere to escape.

Xie Daoyun watched in despair. In her haste, she could only quickly apply some speed and recovery arrays to Yun Jianyue, but she knew it would likely be useless. There was simply no time to escape this inescapable net.

Just then, a palace lantern suddenly rose, its soft light forming a protective shield that blocked the lightning outside, allowing Yun Jianyue to break through the lightning net.

Without a moment's hesitation, Yun Jianyue flashed directly to the "High Firmament Divine Talisman" in mid-air and slashed fiercely at it with her New Moon Wheel. She couldn't give her opponent a third chance to discharge lightning.

However, at that moment, a terrifying fist aura appeared beside her. Even though she immediately brought her blade back to defend herself, her entire body trembled violently, and she was sent flying hundreds of zhang away.

Xie Daoyun quickly formed hand seals, and a blue magic array appeared behind Yun Jianyue. A gentle force caught her, preventing further injury.

Even so, Yun Jianyue's qi and blood churned within her, and a trace of blood inevitably spilled from the corner of her mouth.

She looked up at the sky and saw Sun En standing next to the "High Firmament Divine Talisman." His entire body was nearly twice as large as before, his hair flying wildly, resembling a demon god.

"How is this possible?" Yun Jianyue looked bewildered. The aura emanating from him at this moment was completely different from before, as if... as if he were another person entirely.

Wang Youjun's jaw almost dropped in astonishment. He had never imagined this woman could push Cult Master Sun to such an extent, forcing him to use the "Heaven's Heart Great Merit Talisman." This talisman allowed him to summon the heroic spirits of peerless experts from the Divine Firmament Sect's history to possess him, granting him all their abilities. This perfectly compensated for the weakness of talisman masters who were not skilled in close combat.

For so many years, he had only seen Sun En use the "Northern Emperor Demon-Subduing Talisman" and the "High Firmament Divine Talisman," which were enough to suppress any enemy. He had never used the "Heaven's Heart Great Merit Talisman" until now; he never thought he would be forced to deploy it.

At this moment, he felt that his immediate surrender earlier had been the right choice. This woman had pushed her limits, yet her efforts were ultimately futile.

By then, Sun En had flown in front of Yun Jianyue, looking at her with an indifferent expression. "To be able to force this Master to exert my full power, you should consider it something to be proud of."

As he spoke, he raised his hand to take her life. At that moment, Xie Daoyun spread her arms and stood in front of Yun Jianyue. "You cannot kill her!"

Seeing the delicate figure standing in front of her, Yun Jianyue was momentarily distracted. Aside from Zu An, she never imagined that one day she would be protected by a young girl.

She quickly said, "Don't worry about me. Take my palace lantern and escape from this stone forest. I can still buy you some time!"

Little did she know, Xie Daoyun remained motionless, still stubbornly standing in front of her.

"Oh, why can't I kill her?" Sun En looked at the scene before him, momentarily lost in thought. He seemed to recall the past, when he too had once stood in front of a friend in his youth. It was just a pity that friend had betrayed him to save their own life...

Xie Daoyun was terrified, yet her mind was exceptionally clear. "Because we saved you! As the Cult Master of a sect, a great hero of this world, you shouldn't repay kindness with enmity like this, putting her to death merely because she didn't kneel."

"You saved me?" Sun En sneered, looking at Wang Youjun in the distance. "Wasn't it my subordinate who saved me?"

Wang Youjun immediately put on a devout expression. "It was my duty, my duty."

Xie Daoyun retorted, "It's because we helped him break the outer array. Otherwise, how could he have gotten here?"

A faint smile appeared on Sun En's face. "But that was your achievement. What does it have to do with your companion?"

Xie Daoyun held her head high. "If it weren't for her, I would have died days ago, and naturally, I wouldn't have had the chance to break the array, so you wouldn't have been saved either."

"Interesting," Sun En said, withdrawing his hand. "Very well. I just sensed the aura of the great tomb in Zhichuan. I am currently in need of capable people. If you work for this Master from now on, I will spare your lives."

"We still need to find our friends, so I'm afraid we don't have time to work for you," Yun Jianyue said through gritted teeth. "Since you acknowledge that we helped you, we ask for no reward. Just let us leave."

"Exactly," Xie Daoyun echoed. "We originally agreed to help Elder Wang precisely because we were looking for our friends." If they stayed by this man's side, they would never have a chance to find Big Brother Zu An, and might even endanger him.

"Quite the arrogant disposition. You two are very much like me when I was young." Sun En wasn't angry. "Very well, Elder Wang, please help them find their friend."

Wang Youjun's expression shifted. He had never imagined Sun En would appreciate these two women so much.

However, he didn't dare to refuse and immediately replied, "Yes, Cult Master."

After that, he asked Xie Daoyun for the appearance and name of the person she was looking for.

Xie Daoyun and Yun Jianyue exchanged glances, both seeing the joy in each other's eyes, and quickly described Zu An's appearance.

Soon, Wang Youjun's brush flew, and a handsome young man appeared in the drawing.

Sun En was a little surprised. "What a handsome young man! Is he your lover?"

Xie Daoyun's face flushed slightly. "No, he's just my elder brother."

Sun En smiled, not exposing her.

Yun Jianyue secretly snorted. *This Sun En is so unperceptive. Why couldn't he be my lover?*

Then, Wang Youjun conjured the yellow talisman with a red glow, muttering incantations. After sacrificing a few souls from the painting, the yellow talisman shot out a red light, pointing into the distance.

He observed for a moment and then named a place. Sun En was surprised. "Oh, it's not far from Zhichuan. You can come with me then."

Xie Daoyun and Yun Jianyue were still a bit hesitant. Sun En spoke again, "How do your friends' abilities compare to yours?"

Xie Daoyun answered, a little embarrassed, "They're all much stronger than me. I'm the weakest."

Wang Youjun glanced sideways. *Who exactly are these people? How can each of them be so powerful?*

Sun En nodded. "Then it's no mistake. When the great tomb of Zhichuan opens, all capable people under heaven will surely flock there upon hearing the news. You will definitely meet your companions in Zhichuan."

Xie Daoyun hesitated, worried that leading Sun En there would endanger Zu An.

Yun Jianyue, however, agreed immediately, while secretly transmitting a message to explain, "They have a flying boat here, which will make travel much faster. If we relied on ourselves, it would take forever to get there."

"But..."

"Don't worry," Yun Jianyue interrupted. "Your Big Brother Zu is even more powerful than you imagine. If we join forces with him and Ice Stone Woman, we won't need to fear this Sun En."

Seeing her so confident, Xie Daoyun nodded, agreeing with her assessment.

Meanwhile, Zu An and his group arrived near Zhichuan and followed the instructions of the female ghost Xiao Ying to find her hometown.

Having been away from her hometown for too long, some of her memories had become a bit blurry.

Zu An and the others weren't in a hurry to rush her. Instead, they helped her make inquiries in the vicinity.

In the shadows in the distance, two black-robed figures silently observed everything. One was as fat as a ball, and the other was as thin as a monkey.

The thin one, in a doubtful tone, said, "They don't look that strong. Why did all the ghosts the Ghost King sent before fail?"

"It only proves those ghosts were useless," the fat one snorted, his voice full of disdain.

The thin one shook his head. "Although those guys aren't as good as us, their strength isn't weak. Yet, not even their souls managed to escape. There must be something wrong."

The fat one grunted, "There's some truth to what you say. Perhaps that woman's strength has fully recovered."

"Exactly. We can't take risks. We need a foolproof plan," said the thin one.

"You've always been full of ideas. Have you thought of a good plan?" the fat one asked in a muffled voice.

"Of course," the thin one said, his tone full of confidence. "I observed carefully along the way. Jing Teng's strength is unpredictable. The beautiful woman next to her seems to have a high cultivation level, and the lantern in her hand has a certain restrictive effect on us. That buck-toothed, wretched-looking fellow is also quite accomplished in earth-type abilities. Only that pretty boy hasn't made a move from beginning to end."

"Could he be the strongest? The strongest usually make their move last, like our boss, the Ghost King," the fat one asked doubtfully.

"Strong, my foot! There's not a single trace of elemental energy fluctuation on him," the thin one snorted. "I noticed that both Jing Teng and that charming young woman seem very concerned about him. Clearly, it's because he's handsome; women are such shallow creatures."

The fat one nodded in deep agreement.

The thin one said, "Since that's the case, we'll quietly abduct that pretty boy. Not only can we torture him for information, but we can also make Jing Teng and the woman with the lantern lose their composure while trying to rescue him, thus falling into our well-designed trap."

The fat one couldn't help but give a thumbs up. "Fengchu, you truly are brilliant! No wonder even the Ghost King often praises your wisdom!"

The thin one laughed heartily. "Wolong, you're not bad yourself."