Chapter 1662: Transformation Reveals Divine Power

With his peak Nascent Soul cultivation, mere sound waves wouldn't be fatal to him. However, whether Wang Ruyan could withstand even one of his punches was debatable.

A tremendous rumble echoed. High in the sky, a crimson fire cloud churned violently, unleashing a deafening roar that shook the very foundations. A crimson fire pillar, a hundred zhang in diameter, shot forth, seemingly tearing the void itself, and hurtled directly towards Wang Ruyan.

Wang Ruyan was greatly startled; it was the first time an enemy had approached her so closely during a fight since she had formed her Nascent Soul.

Before she could even react, the Crimson Kylin Bell in True Monarch Lihuo's hand erupted with a dazzling red light. An incredibly bizarre beast roar rang out, and Wang Ruyan's eyes became vacant as she momentarily fell into an illusion.

True Monarch Lihuo was instantly delighted. He clenched his hands into fists, their surfaces wrapped in crimson flames that radiated an astonishingly high temperature.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he prepared to smash his fist towards Wang Ruyan's head.

Just then, a resonant, bell-like male voice suddenly rang out: "Damn it!"

The void above True Monarch Lihuo's head rippled, and a gleaming golden Buddhist bead, covered in profound Buddhist runes, suddenly appeared above him. It was precisely the Spirit-Locking Bead.

After a loud Buddhist chant resonated, the Spirit-Locking Bead rapidly expanded and instantly enveloped True Monarch Lihuo's body.

To his horror, True Monarch Lihuo discovered he couldn't mobilize even a trace of spiritual power, and the spiritual light of the Crimson Kylin Bell in his hand flickered and dimmed.

"Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon!" A loud male voice echoed from above, and a golden flood dragon, over a hundred zhang long, descended from the sky, crashing towards True Monarch Lihuo.

At that very moment, a combined roar of a tiger and cry of a dragon rang out. A gleaming golden pagoda suddenly appeared above the golden flood dragon's head. Its surface was carved with various beast patterns that seemed alive, constantly moving across the pagoda and emitting diverse sounds.

This was the Hundred Beasts Pagoda, Zhao Junyue's Natal Magic Treasure, which had incorporated the essence souls of five fourth-tier demonic beasts. It could transform and attack, capable of exerting seventy percent of the original beasts' strength.

The golden pagoda then erupted with blinding golden light and rapidly expanded. A green flood dragon over a hundred zhang long, an entirely red rhinoceros, a golden centipede over a hundred zhang long, a lightning eagle over ten zhang large, and a five-zhang large green giant eagle — these five fourth-tier demonic beasts swarmed forward and tore the golden flood dragon to shreds.

Wang Xin flew over, his body enveloped in a golden Buddhist light. He had been hiding in the shadows, planning a sneak attack, and was surprised that Zhao Junyue's magic treasure could summon five fourth-tier demonic beasts.

The five fourth-tier demonic beasts then turned their attention to Wang Xin and Wang Ruyan. True Monarch Lihuo's face flushed crimson, and veins bulged on his arms, clearly visible beneath his skin.

The Spirit-Locking Bead emitted rings of golden Buddhist light, firmly trapping True Monarch Lihuo. Without his spiritual power, he was little more than a mortal with slightly enhanced physical strength.

The void behind him suddenly lit up with specks of blue light, then blurred, revealing Wang Changsheng's figure.

Wang Changsheng's clothes were tattered, revealing numerous burn marks and charred skin. His eyebrows were gone, and most of his hair was burned away, leaving him looking extremely disheveled.

He wore Sea-Splitting Gauntlets on his hands, and his eyes burned with murderous intent.

That True Monarch Lihuo possessed two complete sets of magic treasures and a flying magic treasure capable of instant teleportation indicated he was no ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator. The more extraordinary the enemy, the less Wang Changsheng could allow him to survive. At this juncture, there was nothing left to say; it was a matter of life or death.

Wang Changsheng's aura surged, while Wang Ruyi's aura quickly waned. As long as they remained within a hundred li of each other, they could unleash their joint attack secret technique.

In less than three breaths, Wang Changsheng's aura became infinitely close to the Soul Transformation stage. A large expanse of blue electric arcs erupted from his right fist, and with a piercing whoosh, he smashed it towards True Monarch Lihuo's head.

With a dull thud, True Monarch Lihuo's head burst open like a watermelon, splattering Wang Changsheng with red and white matter.

Wang Changsheng breathed a sigh of relief, a hint of delight in his eyes. With True Monarch Lihuo eliminated, he could now free his hands to deal with Zhao Junyue.

However, his smile quickly faded. True Monarch Lihuo's corpse blurred and transformed into a shimmering silver talisman covered in profound runes.

With a muffled *whoosh*, the talisman spontaneously ignited without a breeze and burned into ashes.

"A Calamity-Substitution Talisman!" Wang Changsheng frowned and exclaimed. Treasures capable of substituting for calamity were exceedingly rare. Though he had cultivated for hundreds of years, he had only read about such talismans in ancient texts; this was his first time seeing one in person.

He had never imagined his opponent would possess a Calamity-Substitution Talisman.

The presence of complete sets of magic treasures, a Calamity-Substitution Talisman, and body cultivation all indicated to Wang Changsheng that his opponent was far from an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator. He might even be a descendant of an ancient Soul Transformation stage expert from the Sky-Blue Realm.

A dazzling fire light flared beside Zhao Junyue, and True Monarch Lihuo reappeared, his face noticeably pale.

"A sneak attack! How despicable!" True Monarch Lihuo cursed. He had sparred with many fellow disciples, and none had ever resorted to a sneak attack against him.

True Monarch Lihuo cursed Wang Changsheng for ambushing him, yet he himself had ambushed Wang Ruyan.

As Wang Changsheng prepared to unleash other techniques, an angry dragon roar reverberated. A hundred-zhang-long green flood dragon descended from the sky, its enormous claws swiping towards Wang Changsheng's crown.

"If it were your true form, I'd show you some respect," Wang Changsheng sneered. "But something conjured from an essence soul? What can it possibly do to me?" The Sea-Splitting Gauntlets on his hands erupted with dazzling blue light as he smashed both fists towards the green flood dragon.

*Rumble!* A painful dragon roar erupted as the green flood dragon's body suddenly burst open, vanishing into specks of green light. A long crack appeared on the surface of the Hundred Beasts Pagoda, and Zhao Junyue spat out a mouthful of blood, her face visibly pale.

"Dual cultivation of magic and body!" Zhao Junyue murmured in disbelief, her eyes fixed on the Sea-Splitting Gauntlets in Wang Changsheng's hands. "This person is also a dual cultivator!"

Without a Spirit Treasure, Wang Changsheng couldn't possibly have destroyed the green flood dragon conjured by the Hundred Beasts Pagoda so quickly.

The difference between a true form and an essence soul conjuration was immense; their defensive capabilities were simply not on the same level.

Wang Changsheng moved both fists, unleashing a barrage of dense blue fist shadows that hurtled towards the four fourth-tier demonic beasts conjured from essence souls. With his spiritual power infinitely close to the Soul Transformation stage and the Spirit Treasure Sea-Splitting Gauntlets, the four conjured beasts were utterly defenseless.

*Rumble!* A series of massive roars followed as the four fourth-tier demonic beasts successively burst apart. Over a dozen cracks appeared on the surface of the Hundred Beasts Pagoda, and its spiritual light grew dim.

Zhao Junyue spat out a large mouthful of blood, her face utterly drained of color.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan stood together, a surge of blue light emanating from their bodies as a white mist materialized out of thin air, enveloping them both.

Specks of blue light emerged in the void, coalescing into a blue river over a hundred zhang long.

Following a rapid *pipa* melody, a misty green sound wave shot forth and merged into the blue river. The river churned violently, transforming into a gigantic blue hand several hundred zhang in size, which, carrying an aura of world-destroying power, swatted towards True Monarch Lihuo and Zhao Junyue.

This was a joint attack technique, and wielded by Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan with the aid of Spirit Treasures, its power was only amplified.

Wherever the blue gigantic hand passed, the void trembled violently, emitting tremendous roars as if on the verge of collapse.

True Monarch Lihuo and Zhao Junyue were greatly startled. Daring not to meet the attack head-on, they prepared to dodge.

A beast roar that shook the heavens and earth suddenly erupted. The void twisted, and a golden misty sound wave descended from the sky, enveloping them.

It was the Lion's Roar. This was Wang Changsheng's first time commanding his avatar, and also Wang Xin's debut in battle.