Chapter 51: Fierce Battle

"I advise you not to overestimate yourself, nephew. After all, among the current generation of Maoshan, you are the junior I admire most!" Despite the old priest's resistance, the shadow spoke lightly, but his expression betrayed no carelessness. He raised his head, and the blood-red glow in his eyes blazed like searchlights, casting a crimson aura over the entire subterranean chamber.

"Ha... Thunderbolt Fist!"

The old priest wasted no words. Veins bulged on his forehead as his fists struck out ferociously. Two bolts of lightning, like serpentine dragons, tore through the air and crashed violently onto the shadow.

"Rumble..."

"Excellent. Nephew, your Thunderbolt Fist is no weaker than your master’s in his heyday—perhaps even more domineering."

"Roar..."

The shadow bellowed, his body's magnetic field whirling like a giant magnet. The entire chamber shook; the strong men guarding the altar had their veins burst, and in an instant, were drained to shriveled husks.

"Father! Save me..."

Feeling the blood in his body surge wildly, the young man panicked, shouting for help at the top of his lungs.

"Shao Jian!"

Seeing the youth’s skin puff and bulge, the old priest’s face changed. He dispelled the lightning around him, pulled a purple talisman from his robe, and slapped it onto the youth.

"Go!"

Glancing at the shadow in the sky, the old priest’s expression flickered. He grabbed the youth and dashed toward the exit of the chamber.

"Hmph~ Trying to escape? How wishful!" The shadow looked down from above, watching the old priest and his son flee, unmoved. His figure turned into a streak of black lightning, chasing after them in a flash.

"Stay here, don’t move!" Seeing the shadow catching up behind, the old priest threw the youth aside, sending him flying out of harm’s way.

"Heaven’s spirits, earth’s spirits: thunder god, lend your power, manifest your awe, as swift as the law commands!"

The old priest formed seals with his hands, his footsteps tracing celestial patterns. Thunder roared from his body as he collided fiercely with the shadow.

"Sizzle, crackle..."

A burnt odor filled the air. The shadow was shrouded in a layer of dark green corpse aura, holding firm against the old priest.

"Uncle, thunder is the balance of yin and yang, the pivot of creation, the beginning and end of all things. It restrains creatures like you most. Unless you achieve the union of yin and yang, you remain under my control. Why not let this go—you take your own path, I’ll take mine. What do you say?"

The old priest’s hands alternated, thunder roaring deafeningly.

"You impudent child! With such paltry cultivation, you dare to be insolent? Today, I’ll show you the true power of my arts!"

The shadow grew furious at these words. When he ruled the world, this priest was but a toddler, and now dared to speak so brazenly.

"Ha... rumble... fizzle..."

The shadow’s crimson eyes narrowed; he opened his mouth and spat out a gray corpse aura like a laser. It cleaved through the entire mountain, splitting it in two. Wherever the aura touched, all was corroded to nothing.

"I warned you kindly, Uncle. If you won’t listen, don’t blame me for being ruthless!"

The old priest, battered and disheveled, dodged the sweeping corpse aura. He refused to show weakness, continuing to provoke.

"Ha... the vitality of yin and yang, creation unfolds!"

Before landing, the old priest pointed at the cracked ground, which immediately sprouted thick wooden stakes, pinning the shadow in midair.

Now!

Seizing the instant the shadow paused, the old priest surged with thunder, pressed his hands together, and conjured a tangible blade of purple lightning from his fingertips.

"Slash!"

The old priest leapt out of thin air, bringing the blazing blade down hard on the shadow’s neck. The shadow’s head tumbled to the ground.

"Phew! That was close..."

Landing, the old priest’s face was pale; his magic seemed drained to the last drop. He wiped the cold sweat from his brow and staggered, nearly collapsing.

He took a porcelain bottle from his robe and swallowed a pill. His complexion improved considerably.

"Is that all you’ve got?"

Just as the old priest believed it was over, a raspy voice echoed behind him.

"Regeneration!"

Seeing the shadow standing intact in midair, the old priest’s pupils contracted in terror, and he cried out involuntarily.

"With your meager cultivation, how could you comprehend my undying body? If you insist on courting death, I shall oblige!"

The shadow’s words had barely finished when a gale whipped up around him. Day and night seemed to vanish; a tremendous suction force rose out of nowhere.

"Rumble... crash... crash..."

The entire mountain was engulfed; boulders rolled, the peak quaked as if on the verge of collapse.

"Ha..."

Thunder surged from the old priest, holding back the suction force. Yet his eyes involuntarily flicked to the side, where the youth was being lifted skyward by the pull.

"Divine thunder descends!"

Seeing the youth about to fall into the shadow’s grasp, the old priest’s face changed. With a roar, he wrapped himself in thunder and shot upward, slamming hard into the shadow and breaking his spell.

The two clashed fiercely in midair; the thunderous battle echoed through the entire Teng Teng Town. Clouds roiled overhead, and the air was thick with ozone.

As time passed, the thunder robes on the old priest grew dimmer. He was now forced onto the defensive, pressed by the shadow. Li Yang could no longer sit still.

If the shadow won, all would have been for nothing—a wasted effort. The fate of the Angry Sunshine Chicken’s transformation was at stake. He could not hesitate; no matter how powerful or cultivated the Undying Bone Demon was, together with the old priest, they could still put up a fight. The path of cultivation is always forward, never retreating. Miss this chance, and another may never come. If the Angry Sunshine Chicken could transform successfully, what was a little risk?

"Fellow Daoist! Let me lend you a hand!"

With this thought, Li Yang mounted the Six-Winged Golden Centipede and soared into the sky.

"Cluck, cluck, cluck!"

The Angry Sunshine Chicken leapt from his arms, grew with the wind, and in an instant became a towering creature four or five meters tall. It crowed to the heavens, the crest atop its head blazing like a red sun, its radiance sweeping through the storm clouds above.

"Who dares disturb me?"

Seeing the purifying golden light and the talon in the sky, as sharp as a silver hook, the shadow’s face changed. He rose sharply, corpse aura spreading with a sinister hiss.

"Thank you, fellow Daoist, for your assistance!"

Seeing the shadow entangled by the colorful giant rooster, the old priest sighed in relief and clasped his hands in gratitude.

"No need for thanks, fellow Daoist. I sensed the evil here from afar and never expected such a great demon to appear in the world. To join forces with you to defeat this fiend is truly an honor!"

Li Yang replied with heroic pride and righteous spirit.

"You impudent child! Even you dare meddle in the affairs of Maoshan? You must have a death wish! A mere sorcerer of the left-hand path, with such feeble cultivation, how dare you boast!"

Infuriated by Li Yang’s bold words, the shadow’s crimson glow blazed. The dark green corpse aura surged, breaking through the Angry Sunshine Chicken’s purifying light and spreading across the sky.