Chapter 133: The Vajra Warrior

“Senior Brother Yin, once the bow is drawn, there is no turning back! If we don’t deal with him, all our efforts will be in vain.”

Daoist Pu ignored Yin Chunxin’s command and instead shouted at him, swiftly pulling down the azure banner from the roof ridge and gripping it firmly in his hand.

The blue mist filling the courtyard gradually dissipated, and from within it leapt out a verdant qilin, which Daoist Pu mounted without hesitation.

“Damn it, are they all this simple-minded?” Yin Chunxin lowered his gaze, watching the blue mist fade away. Within it, the figures of Fan Xianyue and Cui Ya had already become visible.

Yin Chunxin drew out a yellow banner and waved it several times toward the courtyard.

Suddenly, the ground in the courtyard collapsed, and a soil-yellow tortoise shell spread out from the four corners of the earth, replacing the blue mist to firmly trap Fan Xianyue and Cui Ya beneath it.

Yet Yin Chunxin was not satisfied. He tossed the yellow banner onto the tortoise shell at the center, upon which tortoise shell patterns radiated from the banner like living veins.

Although blue light surged from Fan Xianyue’s body, cracking the soil-yellow shell in several places, the tortoise shell patterns quickly mended the fissures.

Only after witnessing this did Yin Chunxin relax. He lifted his gaze toward Daoist Pu, who was locked in combat with a pale man clad in dark iron scale armor, as Junior Brother Si also joined the fray.

The pale man saw Daoist Pu riding the blue qilin formed from mist charging toward him and attempted to repeat his previous trick, stepping onto the void and preparing to execute the Daoist step “Bu Gang Ta Dou.”

Suddenly, the blue mist surged.

The pale man immediately lost the sense of the countless stars in the night sky above him, and without the stars’ guidance, he could not perform the aerial Daoist step “Bu Gang Ta Dou.”

“Prepare to die!”

A furious shout rang out. Daoist Pu, previously in front of him, had somehow appeared behind him astride the blue qilin, his long sword poised to decapitate.

Crack.

Bamboo leaves fluttered slowly down through the blue mist. Daoist Pu’s sword did not sever the pale man’s head but instead struck a sudden appearance of green bamboo within the mist.

“Unfortunate for you, I am most skilled in the Wood Path of the Five Elements.” The pale man, his neck and cheeks wrapped in bandages, slowly turned to face Daoist Pu with a lazy gaze.

“And what if you’re skilled in the Wood Path! This is my Azure Qilin Mist Formation, even if you have...”

Before Daoist Pu could finish, the bamboo leaves accelerating suddenly transformed into sharp blades, rapidly stabbing toward Daoist Pu.

*Page 2*

Thrust.

The bamboo leaves pierced like a thousand blades through Daoist Pu’s body, leaving him riddled with wounds.

“I am also skilled in the Metal Path.”

The pale man lifted his eyes lazily at Daoist Pu, whose form had dissolved into a cloud of blue mist, and casually flicked a green bamboo stalk beside him.

“Didn’t expect you to be adept in talisman arts as well.”

With the bamboo stalk, the pale man jabbed leftward, piercing a yellow talisman hidden within the mist. The torn yellow talisman suddenly manifested into a yellow-turbaned warrior with a face like red jade and a beard like black velvet.

The yellow-turbaned warrior radiated golden rings shining with sun-like brilliance, its iron armor covered in frost that swallowed the moon’s reflection. Standing a full ten feet tall, it struck the pale man’s chest with a mighty punch.

Despite wearing dark iron scale armor, the pale man staggered several steps back, the armor dented deeply by the blow.

“This isn’t right. How do you have such advanced talismans? The punch of this yellow-turbaned warrior carries the force of a thousand pounds.” The smile faded from the pale man’s face as a heavy expression crept into his eyes.

He felt an ominous premonition, much like the one he had on Sangyu Island—things were slipping beyond his control once more.

“This is a life-saving talisman bestowed by our master. I hope it won’t be wasted on you.”

The figure of Junior Brother Si slowly materialized beside the blue mist, his eye twitching as he looked at the yellow-turbaned warrior before the pale man, his face contorted in pain.

Such talismans were beyond his ability to craft; they were precious life-saving talismans left by their master.

“Junior Brother Pu, I will claim one more item from him shortly. You have no objections, I hope?” Junior Brother Si calmly asked Daoist Pu, who had also appeared from the mist beside him.

Daoist Pu, mounted on the blue qilin with his sword lowered, laughed: “Senior Brother Si, your cultivation is in talisman arts. There shouldn’t be anything on him you need.”

“Junior Brother Pu, if you’re pretending to be ignorant now, it’s pointless,” Junior Brother Si’s eyes grew cold as he looked at Daoist Pu.

Daoist Pu snorted coldly: “Our master taught you the talisman arts but taught me nothing. Even this Azure Qilin treasure banner in my hand, without Senior Brother Yin’s approval, I wouldn’t have been able to take it!”

“Junior Brother Pu, I’m using this life-saving celestial official talisman. Surely it needs a replacement?” Junior Brother Si, feeling the pressure of the surrounding blue mist, shifted his tone, “Very well, I only want his vital essence for talisman carving, and the useless jade bracelet he wears wrapped around the Dragon-Phoenix Red Banner outside—how about that?”

“Thank you, Senior Brother Si,” Daoist Pu laughed heartily.

*Page 3*

Compared to the leisurely exchange between these two Daoists, the pale man’s situation appeared grim. The yellow-turbaned warrior’s every blow felt as if weighted with a thousand pounds, causing the blue mist to ripple violently. The pale man dodged helplessly without any counterattack.

Watching this, Daoist Pu sighed: “Once this is over, I’ll ask Master for one of these celestial official talismans. With such a yellow-turbaned warrior, who needs to lift a finger ourselves?”

“How can he still keep dodging?”

Junior Brother Si did not share Daoist Pu’s relaxed demeanor. His frown deepened with each passing moment. The yellow-turbaned warrior summoned by the celestial official talisman was limited by time and would not last indefinitely.

Yet why did it take so long to subdue a mere Captain Nanxi? Even if this Captain Nanxi had some lightning techniques, it shouldn’t take so long to capture him.

Suddenly, the pale man stood frozen.

“No strength left to run, huh!” Daoist Pu laughed loudly.

Junior Brother Si’s face grew serious as he stared at the yellow-turbaned warrior standing before the pale man. As the warrior prepared to strike a crushing blow:

Whoosh.

The pale man exhaled softly, and the yellow-turbaned warrior dissolved into a wisp of golden light.

Daoist Pu’s eyes widened as he stammered: “Senior Brother Si... what... what kind of Daoist skill is that? How can a mere breath make your yellow-turbaned warrior vanish?”

“It’s not vanished; its time limit has expired,” Junior Brother Si said gravely.

The pale man turned back to the two Daoists conversing amid the blue mist and calmly said: “Every formation has its endurance limits.”

Where the yellow-turbaned warrior had struck, no blue mist gathered, and the blue qilin Daoist Pu rode was riddled with cracks.

“Who exactly are you?” Junior Brother Si asked, his expression grave.

The pale man tilted his head with a light laugh: “I am no monster. It wouldn’t harm you to know my true name. You may call me Shen Zhongzhu, but as for my Daoist title, you are not yet worthy to know it.”