The demonized Young Master Miao had seen his speed and offensive power surge by more than a single tier. Yet no matter how much he improved, every trick in his arsenal remained well within Jiang Chen's grasp.
Jiang Chen's Golden Cicada bloodline rendered Young Master Miao's Demonic Cloud Blood Fiend completely ineffective, and his Divine-Demonic Golden Body made the man's close-range attacks equally meaningless.
Thus, facing Young Master Miao in this berserk state, Jiang Chen felt remarkably little pressure.
That said, Jiang Chen's martial insight was nothing short of extraordinary.
When Young Master Miao condensed his entire body into a mass of demonic clouds and began launching blood-fiend lunges, Jiang Chen had already grown wary. The instant he noticed the trajectory of the attack, understanding flashed through his mind and he barked a warning: "You two — watch out!"
Even as he shouted, Jiang Chen rapidly formed a series of hand seals, summoning waves of Origin Magnetic force that he placed between Young Master Miao and the pair of Elder Kongyun and Silver Sand Guest.
The binding power of the Origin Magnetic force was not yet enough to fully restrain Young Master Miao, but it could at least slow him down to some degree.
Elder Kongyun and Silver Sand Guest, alerted by Jiang Chen's warning, realized with a jolt that Young Master Miao's true target was them.
Fortunately, both were long-established Imperial Realm experts. Despite the shock, they did not completely lose their composure. Deploying their movement techniques, they retreated toward the perimeter in rapid succession.
In terms of speed, Silver Sand Guest was roughly on par with Elder Kongyun, and both had been evenly matched with the pre-demonization Young Master Miao. But after the transformation, Young Master Miao's speed had at least doubled. The advantage was now glaringly obvious.
Had the Origin Magnetic force not interfered with the lunge, the surprise attack would almost certainly have claimed them both. A single brush with that Demonic Cloud Blood Fiend would have allowed the blood malice to seep in, and within moments they would be demonized — reduced to Young Master Miao's puppets.
Jiang Chen understood the man's scheme perfectly.
This fellow clearly intended to demonize Elder Kongyun and Silver Sand Guest, turning the one-versus-three situation into a three-versus-one — but on the other side.
Jiang Chen did not fear being outnumbered three to one, but he had no wish to see the demonic faction's ranks swell. Especially here in the Bengyun Mountain Range — one more demonic bloodline meant one more threat.
"You two, pull back a bit. His demonized state won't last long. The transformation burns his own bloodline to fuel the fight — a thousand killed, eight hundred wounded on his own side."
Jiang Chen understood Young Master Miao's methods well. The man was not of demonic bloodline to begin with; he had merely obtained a few demonic cultivation techniques and forced himself into this demonized form. Without a native demonic bloodline, sustaining a demonic art required burning his own life force. That burning of bloodline power could spike his combat strength dramatically in the short term, but it clearly could not be maintained for long. Moreover, the aftermath would be severe — after a demonized bout, recovery would be out of the question for days.
That said, if a demonic art were cultivated to a high degree of purity, it would gradually transform one's bloodline and flesh, fully merging it into a true demonic lineage and turning the practitioner into a powerful demon.
Clearly, Young Master Miao had not reached that level. At his third-tier Imperial Realm cultivation, if he had, he could have dispatched Silver Sand Guest and Elder Kongyun with ease.
At Jiang Chen's urging, Elder Kongyun retreated to a safe distance and called out: "Brother Silver Sand, let us provide him with backup!"
But Silver Sand Guest shook his head: "Brother Kongyun, the man is already demonized. If we hold back out of fear, how can he possibly bring him down alone? Besides, when you look at the bigger picture, the mastermind behind all this is the Cuihua Pavilion Master. Young Master Miao is merely a lackey! If we can't even subdue a lackey, what hope do we have of surviving once the Cuihua Pavilion Master's scheme comes to fruition?"
Silver Sand Guest saw the situation from a broader perspective. His words gave Elder Kongyun a sobering chill.
"Brother Kongyun, the exit is already sealed. Either we suffer the same fate as Old Granny Golden Needle, or we fight to the bitter end and claw our way out of this alive!"
Jiang Chen saw that Young Master Miao still refused to give up, relentlessly trying to attack Silver Sand Guest and Elder Kongyun, and his anger flared.
He drove the Origin Magnetic Gold Mountain to its absolute limit. Violent Origin Magnetic force surged downward like the waters of a golden galaxy. With a guiding hand seal, Jiang Chen shot two streaks of golden light toward Silver Sand Guest and Elder Kongyun.
Both men watched in alarm as the golden beams shot toward them.
"Don't worry — I'm laying a protective layer on you!"
Elder Kongyun hesitated. Silver Sand Guest, however, nodded without reservation: "Fine. Much obliged for your righteous help, sir."
The golden light enveloped Silver Sand Guest's body, forming a series of strange patterns that soon solidified into a golden defensive shell resembling a suit of armor.
Seeing that Silver Sand Guest was unharmed, Elder Kongyun stopped hesitating and allowed the golden light to coat his own body as well.
Jiang Chen had used the Origin Magnetic force to affix an Origin Magnetic Dao Armor onto the two of them.
The power of this armor was nothing ordinary. Though it could not rival the Emperor's Descent Armor Talisman, it possessed at least a third of that talisman's defensive might.