Xu Pingfeng’s formation was restrained in power, concealing rather than revealing.
By contrast, the Dharma Aspect of Agaruka Bodhisattva brought about obvious supernatural phenomena.
On the left stood a Dharma Aspect sixty feet tall, as if cast from pure gold, its muscles knotted with strength, twelve pairs of arms fanned out behind its back, a blazing ring of fire burning above its head.
It seemed to be the incarnation of power and flame. The moment it appeared, the temperature high in the sky soared, as if summertime’s scorching heat had arrived. Its swelling aura surged out in waves, sweeping in all directions.
On the right sat a faintly golden Dharma Aspect, cross-legged and bowing its head with eyes lowered, hands pressed together in prayer. It symbolised the weight of a mountain, and the air around it had solidified completely, not even the slightest breeze could pass.
Splash…
The roar of waves sounded once more. This time, the illusory black tides reached a thousand feet high, like a colossal wall stretching up to the heavens.
By comparison, the Jianzheng in snow-white robes appeared small and insignificant, like an ant.
Meanwhile, the horns on Baidi’s head crackled with arcs of electricity, and a blazing white ball of lightning took shape between them, gathering ever more energy.
The Jianzheng again used the same technique. His right hand reached behind him, plunged into the black tide, and slowly drew out a black longsword.
Xu Pingfeng vanished without warning, ‘blinking’ with teleportation to the Jianzheng’s side, and made exactly the same gesture, his left hand reaching into the black waves, pulling out a black long sabre.
Master and disciple stood shoulder to shoulder, drawing sabre and sword together, slashing them toward each other with all their might.
Boom!
Above the sea of clouds, the thunder of ten thousand waves echoed.
Xu Pingfeng, after defending against a single strike from the Jianzheng, did not linger in combat. He immediately used a teleportation technique to withdraw.
His figure flickered, reappearing hundreds of feet away atop the clouds. Yet, Xu Pingfeng failed to escape: the Jianzheng was still by his side, as if he had brought the Jianzheng with him during the teleportation.
The old, white-haired Jianzheng reached out expressionlessly, grabbing toward Xu Pingfeng’s throat.
Buzz!
The circle under Xu Pingfeng’s feet activated, the glyphs for ‘water, marsh, earth’ lighting up. A shield arose in front of him, inner layer grey-yellow, outer layer pitch-black, electricity crackling on its surface.
At the same time, from the pouch at his waist, streams of light leapt forth: a weighty bronze bell, a yellow brass mirror, a black iron shield, a seven-ring flame-wreathed hoop…
Eight top-grade protective magic artefacts in all.
Bang! The bronze bell shattered.
Bang! The mirror shattered.
Bang! The iron shield shattered.
Bang! The seven-ringed hoop exploded.
The Jianzheng’s hand seemed to be an unrivalled divine weapon, destroying all of the traitorous disciple’s prized artefacts one after another.
Yet Xu Pingfeng showed no panic. Taking advantage of the momentary delay provided by his artefacts, he stamped his foot.
As the teleportation spell ignited, Agaruka Bodhisattva barred his way. Clenching his fist, every muscle from shoulder to waist bulged with surging divine power.
He punched forward.
At the same time, the Immovable Lord Dharma Aspect above Agaruka Bodhisattva’s head formed a hand seal at lightning speed with its pressed palms.
The distortion in space around them immediately smoothed out, becoming frozen in place.
The Jianzheng’s teleportation formation could no longer function. He raised his palm and, with little effort, blocked Agaruka Bodhisattva’s punch.
Buzz!
The dark-golden fist struck a shield of interlocking hexagons. The force of the first-rank Bodhisattva’s strike instantly engulfed its front, shaking the barrier violently and setting it buzzing.
The hexagonal barrier frantically dissipated the force, before shattering and scattering. The Jianzheng swiftly slid backwards.
Crackle, crackle, amid the crackling arcs, the blazing white thunder ball Baidi had generated between his horns seized the chance and shot out.
The sea of clouds trembled, arcs of lightning flashing and vanishing in an instant. How fast was a bolt of lightning?
Unable to teleport and in the process of sliding back, the Jianzheng had no way to dodge. He pressed both palms downward, capturing the thunder ball precisely between them.
The force of the thunder ball pushed the Jianzheng back even further.
Seizing the opportunity, Baidi and Agaruka Bodhisattva moved in synchrony, attempting to deliver a heavy blow to the Master of Heaven’s Secrets with their formidable close-quarters might, hoping to widen the gap.
Formation after formation unfolded under Xu Pingfeng’s feet, enveloping the Jianzheng.
Restraining, attacking, disrupting… These formations would usually be useless against the Jianzheng, but combined with the strike of the thunder ball, they achieved unexpected results.
Baidi and Agaruka approached the Jianzheng from either side.
Baidi’s jaws gaped, baring fangs, about to devour the Jianzheng. Agaruka Bodhisattva twisted his waist and swung his arm, every muscle exploding with power.
At this moment, the Jianzheng’s eyes flashed with sharp light.
Bang! By force, he crushed the thunder ball in his hands. His smoke-blackened right hand clapped his waist and drew out something with a sudden motion.
Crack! Crack!
Two crisp cracks rang out. Baidi was flung away, snowy scale splintering, blood spraying. Agaruka Bodhisattva staggered back, a shallow whip mark appearing in its dark-golden form.
In the Jianzheng’s grip was now a herdsman’s whip.
Great Warlock Sarun Agu’s treasure, the foremost divine artefact of the Church of the Warlock God. It had another name: the God-beater Whip.
When executing Zhende, Sarun Agu and the Jianzheng had wagered in the Stargazing Tower, with the Disc of Heaven’s Secrets and the God-beater Whip as stakes, on whether Xu Qi’an would live or die.
Since Xu Qi’an had survived, naturally Sarun Agu had lost.
“This worn-out whip is of little use, but it seems handy for giving the pair of you lowly bastards a beating.”
The Jianzheng sneered, snapping his wrist.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The whip became an afterimage, striking Xu Pingfeng, Agaruka Bodhisattva and Baidi again, ignoring all distance.
Behind Xu Pingfeng, a white-robed phantom was whipped free, his primordial spirit.
Baidi’s primordial spirit, a blurry black shadow, almost fled its body, but was forced back inside.
Only Agaruka Bodhisattva was immune to the God-beater Whip’s effect. With the Immovable Lord Dharma Aspect sealing its hands, he remained steady as a mountain.
The Jianzheng ignored Baidi and Agaruka Bodhisattva, whipping directly at Xu Pingfeng’s primordial spirit.
Once separated from the body, the primordial spirit was undoubtedly vulnerable. Except for Warlocks and Daoists, any system’s cultivator had a fragile spirit.
The whip was a shadow streaking towards Xu Pingfeng’s primordial spirit, a single lash would scatter his three souls.
But at that moment, thick, mud-like liquid began seeping from the phantom Arcanist’s form.
These foul, evil-scented fluids rapidly coated Xu Pingfeng’s spirit, shrouding him in protection.
Crack!
The whip struck the muddy fluid. Xu Pingfeng and the liquid shook violently, almost scattering apart.
After one lash, the Jianzheng stopped, glancing down at the whip in his hand.
It was now tainted with sticky, black liquid, and its spiritual power was gone.
Meanwhile, the black fluid encasing Xu Pingfeng’s body detached, writhing and twisting into humanoid shape. It assumed the form of a man, with human features, but every inch of him streaming with thick, filthy liquid, save for the two eyes, which were truly human.
The Human Sect Daoist Leader, Heilian!
The two chief culprits who had brought ruin upon the Great Feng had now both arrived.
“The corruption trait specifically suppresses divine weapons and artefacts. Even the Sovereign Sword could not overcome it. Teacher, perhaps you should try your Disc of Heaven’s Secrets instead?”
Xu Pingfeng’s spirit returned to his body. He stood with his hands behind his back, beaming.
“Oh, I forgot, the Disc of Heaven’s Secrets is your last reserve, isn’t it, teacher? You wouldn’t use it lightly.”
The Jianzheng let go. The herdsman’s whip turned to light and faded away.
He then flipped his right hand over. Two objects appeared in his palm: an ancient scholar’s cap, and a plain, unadorned carving knife.
The Jianzheng calmly donned the cap, gripped the knife, and smiled lightly at the four enemies.
“If I were to summon the Confucian Sage, would any of you have a hope of surviving today?”
Baidi’s azure eyes studied the Jianzheng, his deep voice resounding:
“Summoning a Beyond-rank being, you will inevitably suffer Heavenly backlash. Even with a first-rank body, the price will be immense. I wager you wouldn’t dare…”
But before he could finish, all three men and beast saw a page appear in the Jianzheng’s hand, burning swiftly to ash.
So decisive… Xu Pingfeng’s pupils shrank. He retreated with teleportation formations, activating artefacts to shield himself as he fled.
Agaruka Bodhisattva stayed utterly motionless. With the Immovable Lord Dharma Aspect sealing its hands, unmoving was the strongest defence.
As a second-rank, Heilian retreated even more determinedly than Xu Pingfeng.
Baidi crouched, his head to his front paws, a low growl in his throat. On his head, one horn gathered thunder, the other brewing black light.
The Jianzheng sneered:
“Just frightening you.”
The three men and beast showed shock and composure relaxed, but in that instant, he suddenly adjusted his cap and called out in a high voice:
“I SUMMON! THE CONFUCIAN SAGE!”
Above the sea of clouds, beneath the heavenly firmament, a pair of indifferent, emotionless eyes slowly opened.
Comments for this chapter. You will need a GitHub account. Please follow all terms and conditions of GitHub issues and maintain etiquette in the comments. Cookies are required for this functionality.
If you want to talk with other readers about Nightwatchers (or other cultivation type books) you can join our cultivation groupreading discord server!
I also have a Kofi, which for legal reasons is definitely for supporting my digital art only (promise!): ko-fi.com/yanxin ... plus I guess server space isn't free, and I don't want to put ads/trackers... ever, so thank you if you do!