Bai Ningbing and the others were trapped within the domain of the River of Blades and Swords, unable to break free for the time being. When Huang Shi Shang Ren spotted this golden opportunity, how could he possibly let it slip?
He had been pursuing them the entire way, accumulating a belly full of fury. Now that he had finally caught sight of his prey, he immediately swooped in for the kill.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Towering waves surged through the River of Time.
Countless streaks of sword qi and blade light shot out amid the spray, firing toward the Shadow Sect immortals.
Huang Shi Shang Ren was no exception, receiving his share of "attention" from the sword qi and blade light. But relying on his defensive measures, he was far more composed than the Shadow Sect immortals below.
Immortal Killer Move — Sun-Moon Divine Shuttle.
From his vantage point high above, Huang Shi Shang Ren thrust both palms forward. Countless pointed little shuttles poured down like a torrential downpour, raining upon Ying Wu Xie and the others.
"Enemy!" Bai Ningbing shouted a warning.
The Sun-Moon Divine Shuttle's assault was terrifying, its fire dragons fierce. Bai Ningbing and the others fought desperately to defend, beaten so hard they couldn't even lift their heads.
Roar!
This enraged the Ancient Year Monkey. It let out a thunderous roar, its hind legs surging with power as its entire body abruptly tore free from the river water, lunging high into the sky.
The Sun-Moon Divine Shuttle struck its body, punching small bloody holes. But for a creature as massive as the Ancient Year Monkey, these were nothing more than minor wounds.
Its enormous monkey paw whipped up a howling gale as it clawed toward Huang Shi Shang Ren.
Sensing the terrifying pressure, Huang Shi Shang Ren's eyelids twitched, a look of shock crossing his face.
"This Ancient Year Monkey is actually the real deal — not a transformation by Fang Yuan?!"
"They actually have an Eighth Transformation powerhouse like the Ancient Year Monkey under their control?"
Huang Shi Shang Ren was neither a strength-path nor a transformation-path Gu Master, and was not skilled in close combat. Even as an Eighth Transformation powerhouse of the Heavenly Court, he had no choice but to retreat before the Ancient Year Monkey's claw strike.
His speed was exceptional — in a flash, he had dodged far out of range.
Here, the Time Dao marks were quite dense, perfectly suited for him to fight.
The Ancient Year Monkey's lunge missed, and it dropped back into the river water. But almost immediately, it roared furiously once more, leaping powerfully into the air again, charging toward Huang Shi Shang Ren.
A sharp gleam flashed in Huang Shi Shang Ren's eyes.
He saw the accumulated wounds covering the Ancient Year Monkey's body and realized it was no longer in peak condition. Come to think of it, for Fang Yuan and the others to have made it here, the Ancient Year Monkey must have exerted tremendous effort — its combat strength had likely dropped by thirty to forty percent.
"In that case!" Huang Shi Shang Ren's fighting spirit grew ever more resolute.
He took a deep breath and abruptly activated another Immortal Killer Move.
Instantly, a block of yellowish earth appeared above his head. The stone rotated slowly, causing the flow of time around Huang Shi Shang Ren to decelerate as well.
Then, from the stone, countless streams of brownish dust suddenly flowed downward, descending like streaks of light and adhering to the Ancient Year Monkey's body.
Under the influence of the brownish dust, the flow of time upon the Ancient Year Monkey's body dropped rapidly. Its speed grew slower and slower, and its leap through the air was greatly prolonged.
Seeing this, Huang Shi Shang Ren let out a turbid breath, a look of delight appearing on his face.
He had confidence in this technique of his. The more dust that clung to it, the slower time would flow for the Ancient Year Beast.
If this continued, the situation would soon be completely under Huang Shi Shang Ren's control.
But right at that moment!
BOOM.
A massive wave of water surged upward, heading straight for Huang Shi Shang Ren.
From within the pale waves of the River of Time, an intensely brilliant blade light blasted forth.
The blade light struck Huang Shi Shang Ren dead center. His body shuddered violently, and he immediately spat out a mouthful of fresh blood!
Huang Shi Shang Ren's injury caused the entire cloud of dust to waver. The Ancient Year Monkey seized the opportunity to struggle free within it.
Huang Shi Shang Ren quickly held his breath and intensified his immortal technique, thickening the dust cloud once more to keep the Ancient Year Monkey firmly suppressed.
Atop the Ancient Year Monkey, Bai Ningbing and the others each unleashed their abilities, projecting frost, searing flames, and sonic waves, but unfortunately none of them could budge the rolling dust cloud.
Within the River of Time, time-path beings received enormous enhancements. Bai Ningbing and the others were already far inferior to Huang Shi Shang Ren in cultivation, and with the suppression of the Time Dao marks upon them, their combat strength was laughably insufficient.
At the critical moment, Ying Wu Xie kept a composed expression and was about to deploy his never-failing killer move, Pull Soul Into Dream.
"Hm?" But at this moment, Ying Wu Xie hit a wall.
Ying Wu Xie actually could not sense Huang Shi Shang Ren's presence.
"The Pull Soul Into Dream killer move requires sensing the target before it can be activated. Otherwise, with no target, it simply cannot be used. Has Huang Shi Shang Ren already developed a way to block my Soul Dao perception?"
"Oh? So the defensive killer move bestowed by Fairy Zi Wei has activated... Heh." Huang Shi Shang Ren sneered inwardly.
The moment Ying Wu Xie attempted to activate Pull Soul Into Dream, Huang Shi Shang Ren had sensed it on his end.
The Pull Soul Into Dream killer move was indeed powerful, but it had its flaws — it was far from a perfect technique.
This time, since Fairy Zi Wei had dispatched Huang Shi Shang Ren alone to pursue Fang Yuan and the others, she naturally had to guard against the Pull Soul Into Dream killer move. After all, the Heavenly Court had suffered no small amount of hardship at the hands of this technique.
A fall in the pit, a gain in your wit — and this was none other than the Heavenly Court's Fairy Zi Wei.
Huang Shi Shang Ren had come fully prepared, leaving Pull Soul Into Dream no avenue for activation.
"This is bad!" Every last one of Ying Wu Xie and the others changed expression, heavy pressure surging from within their hearts.
They could not reverse the tide of defeat. At a time like this, their only hope lay with Fang Yuan.
But where was Fang Yuan?
Huang Shi Shang Ren pondered this very question.
He had originally believed this Ancient Year Beast was merely a transformation of Fang Yuan's, used to put on a brave front. Only after engaging it did he realize it was the genuine article — a true Ancient Year Monkey.