Li Guo panted heavily as he watched Jie Zun approach, and he let out a bitter laugh. "I didn’t expect to eventually be killed by your hand. If I had known, I would’ve taken the lead in hunting you down back then. You wouldn't have gotten away."
Jie Zun continued slowly walking toward Li Guo, step by step.
Li Guo’s eyes narrowed. "Before I die, can you at least tell me... exactly what are the Netherfiends? I'm quite curious."
Jie Zun clenched a fist and threw another punch.
Li Guo rolled his eyes. Still not going to answer? Then just forget it.
As the punch was thrown forward, white bones suddenly tore through the skin of Jie Zun’s arm, piercing outwards with enough force to cause his blow to miss his target.
He stared down at his arm, which had just been reduced to flesh hanging the bones that had just burst through the skin. Jie Zun clearly looked confused.
A skeleton appeared in the distance. Li Guo glanced over at it and grinned. "I knew that you wouldn't die so easily, Cheng Hongyuan."
Jie Zun also turned to look at the skeleton, only to be even more puzzled.
The skeleton was Cheng Hongyuan himself. Jie Zun’s punch had destroyed the man’s body, but at the last moment, Cheng Hongyuan had shedded his flesh and escaped as a mere skeleton.
Despite escaping in such a manner, half of his skeleton had been crushed, giving him a truly miserable appearance.
Fortunately, before his body had been destroyed, Cheng Hongyuan had managed to partially implant Bone Script into Jie Zun, which had caused his punch to miss.
Suddenly, a bone shot out from inside Jie Zun’s arm, and it thrust upwards, aiming straight at his face.
Jie Zun grabbed the bone, broke it, and then tossed it aside before raising his left arm and launching a vicious punch at Li Guo.
The man stopped playing dead and quickly dodged aside. He had already known that Cheng Hongyuan was still alive and had simply been testing his value. Having received an answer, Li Guo understood that his worth was far greater than he had ever imagined.
"Cheng Hongyuan, find a way to deal with him quickly, or else both of us are dead."
Cheng Hongyuan’s skeletal head turned to face Jie Zun, incessantly mumbling quietly.
Jie Zun suddenly vanished. When he reappeared, he was behind Cheng Hongyuan, lashing out with a kick. While being nothing more than mere bones, Cheng Hongyuan proved surprisingly agile and managed to dodge the kick. He spun around and released seventeen instant formations, as the Void Wall had been etched into his bones. The danger zones of multiple spirit treasures blasted towards Jie Zun, as Li Guo simultaneously used Codex 3 and Linear Insight.
Jie Zun was enveloped by the dual attacks. The red power that covered his body was suppressed by the danger zones as he was forced to endure the relentless onslaught.
When the bones in Jie Zun’s left arm pierced through his flesh, Cheng Hongyuan let out a sigh of relief. It was finally over.
While he had originally wanted to use Jie Zun against Li Guo, to Cheng Hongyuan’s great surprise, Jie Zun wanted to kill them both. Fortunately, with Jie Zun dealt with, Li Guo had also reached his limits.
Cheng Hongyuan glanced over at Li Guo and reached out. His eerie white bones were terrifying to behold.
Li Guo was already prepared, so when he saw Cheng Hongyuan’s skeletal hand grabbing for him, he stood firm and declared, "Heaven, Earth, and Man! Threefold Link."
The void froze as a strand of a spirit treasure’s danger zone dropped down from the starry sky above, connecting to Li Guo. As that happened, another strand rose up from underground, connecting to the sky and Li Guo’s body, forming a triangle.
Cheng Hongyuan immediately sensed that something was wrong, and he raced towards Li Guo.
The skeleton could not make it in time. The moment the triangle finished forming, Cheng Hongyuan felt overcome by a chill unlike anything he had ever felt before. "What is this?"
Li Guo smiled. “Congratulations. You’re the first person to witness my self-created Script Array.”
Cheng Hongyuan was in disbelief. “Self-created... Script Array?”
“The Yu family’s secret method is their Script Array. I didn’t need to learn it from them, as I was able to create my own.” Red blood vessels highlighted Li Guo’s eyes brightly. “Heaven, Earth, and Man: Threefold Link. This is my Script Array.”
Cheng Hongyuan stared hard at Li Guo. Suddenly, the man’s back was ripped open by a massive wound, and white bones erupted from his body. “Li Guo, don’t force me to kill you!”
“You’re already too late! My formation is complete! Even I can’t control it now.” Li Guo coughed up blood as the triangle expanded. Soon, both Cheng Hongyuan and Jie Zun were inside of it.
Cheng Hongyuan started to panic, and he even turned to flee. Li Guo was right; his Heaven, Earth, and Man: Threefold Link was completely uncontrollable. Not even killing Li Guo would eliminate his spirit treasure formation. Additionally, the fact that he had developed a Script Array on his own meant that his level of talent exceeded all expectations. He could not be allowed to die.
Li Guo let out a sadistic laugh of satisfaction. This was why he had taken the earlier risk of testing Cheng Hongyuan. Only by confirming his own value could Li Guo make the decision to use this particular spirit treasure formation. If Cheng Hongyuan had been willing to kill Li Guo, he would have never had the chance to use his Script Array.
“I’ve completely changed in the years since I was driven out of the West Domain by your three great clans! It’s such a pity that Baisha Tiancheng’s already died. His expression would’ve been wonderful to see when he witnessed this!
“Your three clans took direct action to force a once-pure, incredibly talented spirit treasure formation master into a scheming manipulator like me. Hahahahaha!”
Hearing Li Guo’s maniacal laughter, Cheng Hongyuan cursed the man as a lunatic. Run! I need to run now and escape from this formation!
The spirit treasure formation had not fully activated yet, which meant that there was still a chance for Cheng Hongyuan to escape.
Just as the skeleton was fleeing and Li Guo was laughing, a red light shot into the sky from the unfathomable depths below. It connected heaven and earth before spreading across the sky of the West Domain in waves of red ripples.
Li Guo’s laughter was abruptly cut off. He stared blankly at the ground in front of him, which was where Jie Zun had been overwhelmed by the two danger zones.
Cheng Hongyuan looked back at the same location. Jie Zun?
Jie Zun rose up from beneath the earth. At this moment, he radiated an unbearably oppressive aura, giving off the impression that he was a monster crawling out of the abyss. His eyes radiated a red so fierce that his pupils disappeared. His entire body was enveloped by the churning, twisted red energy. Any casual movement sent shockwaves through the void, chilling others to the bone.
The air took on a red tint, and the color started to spread across both the sky and the ground.
Everyone in Skyveil City saw the sky above them turn dark red. They lifted their hands to the cool currents that were sweeping through their fingers. The wind carried the metallic scent of blood.
What was happening?
Li Guo stared at Jie Zun in horror. He had never experienced a power like this. The power alone evoked an indescribable sense of dread, as if it had somehow emerged from the abyss of death itself.
Before this, there had been a similar feeling to Jie Zun’s power, but it had been greatly subdued. It had merely been comparable to the aura given off by Cheng Hongyuan’s white skeleton.
At this moment, Jie Zun’s strength had risen to more than double what it had been before, and the ominous feeling to his power had magnified endlessly, which was why Li Guo’s heart had dropped.
What on earth is this power?
Cheng Hongyuan stared at Jie Zun. At this moment, even he felt chilled.
What exactly has this man done? He’s a monster, plain and simple.