Chapter 2561: Saving with Life

Zu An couldn't help but laugh, dumbfounded. He had thought Gonggong would finally be able to stand on the moral high ground and completely silence his opponent. But he never expected Gonggong to have no interest in reason, directly stating his intention to fight, leaving no room for rebuttal.

As expected, the Eastern Emperor Taiyi's eyelids twitched. He said coldly, "If you want to fight, that's fine. But I have other matters today. We can have a proper fight another day."

Gonggong scoffed, "Are you foolish, or am I? Who's waiting for another day? We fight now!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the waves beneath his feet transformed into countless torrents, attacking the Eastern Emperor Taiyi from all directions.

The Eastern Emperor Taiyi snorted coldly. A colossal golden bell, radiating profound dao patterns, suddenly appeared around him, blocking all the water arrows. "You can't even break through my defense. How do you intend to fight me?"

"We'll only know if I can beat you once we fight," Gonggong laughed heartily. A long staff appeared in his hand, and he charged directly at his opponent.

The long staff gleamed with golden light. Zu An couldn't help but glance at it, finding it somewhat familiar. Could it be Sun Wukong's Ruyi Jingu Bang from later times?

Gonggong's figure flickered incessantly around the Eastern Emperor Taiyi. In a flash, countless shadows of Gonggong and the golden staff filled the sky, striking the Eastern Emperor Bell from various directions. The resulting deafening chimes caused the surrounding onlookers' blood to churn, forcing them to retreat hundreds of miles before they felt slightly better.

"My lord, I've recovered now..." the Wushan Goddess whispered, her face slightly flushed.

Only then did Zu An realize he was still holding her in his arms. He felt greatly embarrassed and quickly let her go. "I'm so sorry, I was too focused on the battle just now..."

He also had a moment of daze, as if he could still recall the sensation in his hands from a moment ago. Her body was truly soft.

The Wushan Goddess's heart was also racing. She didn't dare to look at him and could only find a topic to distract herself. "My lord, who do you think will win?"

Zu An watched the two figures fighting in the sky. "Gonggong is clearly testing the Eastern Emperor Bell's defenses from every angle, trying to find a weak point. However, after all this time, he hasn't found anything. It seems the Eastern Emperor Bell truly lives up to its reputation as the greatest defensive treasure in all creation. The Eastern Emperor Taiyi is already in an unbeatable position; Gonggong will probably be able to achieve at most a draw."

The Wushan Goddess said softly, "Gonggong, as an Ancestral Witch, possesses formidable divine powers that should not be underestimated. He might not necessarily lose."

At this point, a change occurred in the battle, which was still hundreds of miles away. Although the Eastern Emperor Taiyi hadn't suffered a single scratch, to those unaware of the truth, it appeared as if he was constantly being beaten without being able to retaliate.

How could he, the dignified Eastern Emperor, allow such a blemish on his reputation?

A ball of fierce flames suddenly erupted from his body, and he quickly transformed into a gigantic fiery bird, swooping around. Wherever it flew, the entire sky seemed to ignite.

Gonggong's illusions were swallowed by the fiery bird in an instant. However, the Eastern Emperor Taiyi showed no joy; instead, he looked down at the ground with a solemn expression.

A colossal serpent suddenly rose from the ground. It wasn't a true flesh-and-blood creature but appeared to be composed of water elements, directly reaching ten thousand zhang in length. It was clearly Gonggong's transformation.

The giant serpent bit at the fiery bird, which, not to be outdone, let out a clear cry and quickly engaged in a fierce struggle with the serpent. The clash of their laws and dao patterns truly caused the heavens and earth to change color.

However, Gonggong still seemed to be at a slight disadvantage. Faint illusions of the Eastern Emperor Bell were visible around the fiery bird, giving it a significant advantage every time they clashed.

"Lord Gonggong, I'll help you!" Xingtian, clearly noticing this, charged forward with his massive body, wielding his great axe and shield.

"Get lost! This is between him and me!" Gonggong's furious roar echoed. He was clearly annoyed by being at a disadvantage, and he certainly didn't need this junior, who had no sense, coming to help.

Even if he won a two-on-one fight, it would be a discredit to him!

Xingtian's expression became incredibly awkward. For a moment, he didn't know whether to advance or retreat.

Zu An had already flown to his side. "Don't worry too much about it. He's just being proud for a moment. Leave the rest to me."

He then drew his Sun-Shooting Bow, aiming at the fiery bird in the sky.

Xingtian quickly tried to dissuade him. "The Ancestral Witches will scold you for this too!"

"I'm not part of the Witch clan, so I don't have to listen to your Ancestral Witches." A faint coldness touched Zu An's lips. This was a rare opportunity. If the Eastern Emperor Taiyi were allowed to leave, Zu An's future troubles would be immense. He couldn't always count on Gonggong and Xingtian to coincidentally appear and help him.

"You brat, what are you doing?" Gonggong also noticed what was happening on their side, the giant serpent speaking in human tongue.

"I'm just stretching my muscles, don't overthink it." The Sun-Shooting Bow in Zu An's hand was already fully drawn, but he still hadn't released the arrow.

Seeing that Zu An truly wasn't attacking, Gonggong found it hard to say anything more. Moreover, with the Eastern Emperor Taiyi pressing his attack, Gonggong could only focus on dealing with his opponent first.

The Eastern Emperor Taiyi, however, was not in a good mood. He wasn't afraid of an arrow even if it was shot, as he had the Eastern Emperor Bell.

But now, the Sun-Shooting Bow was constantly aimed at him without firing, forcing him to remain vigilant and guard against a potential attack.

The Vermillion Bow and White Arrows in the opponent's hand were divine artifacts. If he were to be caught off guard by a successful sneak attack, he could truly be in trouble.

Such a distraction put him at a disadvantage when fighting Gonggong.

Gonggong's strength was already no less than his own, and his greatest advantage was the Eastern Emperor Bell.

But now, he constantly had to use the Eastern Emperor Bell to guard against the Sun-Shooting Bow, which naturally meant he couldn't fully focus on Gonggong. Soon, the tide of battle began to turn, and he found himself in dangerous situations several times.

He was both angered and anxious, rushing over several times to try and kill Zu An first. But Gonggong wouldn't give him the chance, persistently entangling him.

Rage value from the Eastern Emperor Taiyi: 888,888,888...

Witnessing this, the Wushan Goddess couldn't help but smile, her eyes sparkling with admiration as she looked at Zu An.

Indeed, the most effective deterrent was the state of being poised to shoot but not yet firing. This man's ingenuity was truly exceptional; he had thought of such a method.

Although Zu An appeared to be merely threatening, he was indeed concentrating fully, trying to find a weakness in the Eastern Emperor Taiyi to deliver a fatal blow.

Suddenly, an alarm blared in his heart, and two exclamations of "Watch out!" came from nearby.

A streak of golden light flashed by. He had never seen such a fast attack.

Normally, he might have had a chance to barely dodge it, but at that moment, his entire focus was on the Eastern Emperor Taiyi, leaving him no time to react.

Fortunately, Xingtian was nearby. With a roar like a tiger, he stood before Zu An like a mountain, raising his great shield to defend against the golden light.

To everyone's surprise, the golden light sliced through a corner of his shield and continued its trajectory without a pause.

Blood splattered like rain across the sky, and Xingtian's massive head shot upwards.

The Wushan Goddess transformed into a cloud of mist, enveloping Zu An and transporting him to a distance.

However, the golden light still grazed a corner of the mist.

The Wushan Goddess grunted, and the mist reformed into her human shape.

Feeling her about to fall, Zu An quickly caught her. He saw that her face was incredibly pale, and blood seeped from the corner of her mouth, indicating she had been severely wounded by the recent attack.

He quickly looked toward the distant culprit. The golden light had gradually transformed into the shape of a middle-aged man. He wore a Mian crown with twelve jade tassels, true solar flames encircled his body, and a map of the celestial constellations floated behind him. As he moved through space, golden flame-flowers automatically bloomed in his wake.

He was undeniably handsome, but his somewhat sinister eyes and aquiline nose gave him an air of cold detachment.

"It's a pity you managed to cling to your life in that situation just now," a chilling voice remarked. He stood high in the sky, looking down as if at an ant, though his indifferent gaze now held a trace of profound hatred.

Zu An's heart sank. With the opponent's imperial attire, coupled with the true solar flames similar to those of the Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Prince Jinwu, his identity was not difficult to guess.

The next Heavenly Emperor, one of the supreme gods, Di Jun!