The four demons and the four puppets joined in battle.
The former were clearly superior in battle ferocity. As vessels of a demon god’s consciousness, they were superior to puppets whose full potentials were yet untapped.
When Jiang Chen controlled four puppets in tandem, he could only deploy initial empyrean realm fighting ability. This put the puppets at a disadvantage against the four demons.
Still, he had his own unique strength in the Nine Labyrinth Formation. Activating meant taking control of this entire space.
Xiahou Zong was too drunken with gratification to realize the danger he was in, and Jiang Chen found no reason to remind his opponent. Instead, he continued to set up the field with magnetic storms. The Earth Bodhisattva Orb was delegated to a subterranean offense, while the Heavenly Chalice Sword Formation was ready to attack both land and air.
By preparing a three-pronged attack, he was going to wipe Xiahou Zong off the face of this world. He could not allow a reincarnated god to escape. Once Xiahou Zong’s memories awakened once more, he would only create more trouble.
A man who does not slay a serpent is sure to be afflicted by it.
Even though the four puppets appeared to be at a disadvantage right now, Jiang Chen had no problem with the way things were going. He was after results, not appearances. Moreover, the puppets weren’t so badly off that they were going to lose in the next instant.
When Jiang Chen was finished setting up, he could join the fray himself. What was there to fear about the four demon gods then? In the Nine Labyrinth Formation, anything that failed to break out could only be a sitting duck.
Increasing numbers of magnetic storms were sent into the formation.
“Magnetic soldiers, golden monster, go!”
Hand seal after hand seal heralded the swelling of energies from his magnetic golden mountain. Its soldiers and horrors, rushed into battle with reckless abandon.
The magnetic soldiers were far from powerful, but they were exceedingly numerous. Like a swarm of ants, they could annoy the demons, if not harm them.
The Earth Bodhisattva Orb had finished locking down the earth’s surface. Even if Xiahou Zong escaped via tunneling, he would fall under the influence of the orb and die by its earthen pulse.
In the air, innumerable magnetic storms reigned supreme. The Heavenly Chalice Formation backed them up as a formation strong enough to slay gods. If Jiang Chen was able to attain a level of legendary perfection with it, he would be able to kill opponents far above his level.
The multi-layered arrangement used the majority of the methods and resources at his disposal.
However, the outside world couldn’t exactly tell what was remarkable about it. Only a few experts as strong as the first prime were able to guess at the truth. But even she found it difficult to ascertain Jiang Chen’s intentions before seeing them for herself.
On the surface, it seemed that the four demons were winning. The four puppets could fend off their attacks from time to time, but had almost no room to respond in kind.
Xiahou Zong cackled when he saw Jiang Chen’s magnetic soldiers. “Do you think these puny pawns will stand against my demon gods? Ridiculous!”
A faint smile played at the corner of Jiang Chen’s mouth. “Your doom is nigh, Xiahou Zong, but you barely know it yourself. Let me rip the last bit of your delusion to shreds!”
Crowing loudly, he produced the Holy Dragon Bow. The bow was a treasure of the ancient Primosanct Sect, a famous sect that found itself among the top ten sects of its own era.
As such, it was much more powerful than the ten sacred lands of the divine nations. The sacred lands had been founded by scions of various ancient sects to preserve their heritages, but the Primosanct Sect had been one of the largest ancient sects.
The differences between the two were obvious.
As the crowning treasure of the Primosanct Sect, the Holy Dragon Bow’s ancient aura was immediately identifiable. It stunned and dazzled everyone who beheld it.
“This is…” the first prime was astonished. She was experienced enough in appraisal to instantly perceive the ancient aura.
“This is an ancient relic, not a replica. It’s a bona fide treasure of an ancient sect!” Her expressions became incredibly vivid.
Duke Xiaoyao colored rapidly as well. “Monster, monster! Where did this monster come from?” he muttered. “That bow is an ancient relic. It must’ve been some important sect’s prized treasure. The aura of antiquity upon it is unthinkably intense!”
“What should we do, Patriarch?”
“What can we do? This match must come to a natural conclusion. We can’t intercede. We can only hope for a spontaneous awakening from Xiahou Zong himself!”
Things had become rather odd on the battlefield.
Xiahou Zong frowned when he saw Jiang Chen take out his bow and arrow. “Do you think those pathetic arrows will be enough to deal with my summoned demons, kid?”
“Your demons are an insignificant trick. My target is you, Xiahou Zong!” Jiang Chen drew his bow to full as he said this. It pointed at Xiahou Zong from afar, beginning to lock onto its mark.
Xiahou Zong’s eyes grew cold and he cursed to himself. He was at his weakest after the summons. If he were attacked by arrows now, he could very well risk getting hit.
He gathered flames around himself without hesitation, forming the Scorching Sun Shield once more. At the same time, he began to consider the very real possibility of whether he might call back one of the demons to defend himself?
The tempest demon was the most appropriate one for that purpose. Alas, as soon as he was about to act on his notion, a stream of magnetic storms poured out of spontaneous fissures in space.
The fabric of existence within the labyrinth formation became extremely chaotic. A terrifying restrictive force swept across it, slowing down everything it touched. Demon and puppet alike were affected by the wave.
The advantage of the magnetic soldiers and golden monsters were on full display now. Since they were from the magnetic mountain, they were completely unaffected by its storms. In fact, it visibly improved their combat capabilities.
Just as how two groups of warriors on a riverbank would inevitably be affected by rising waters, so too were the puppets and demons. Because of this, the battlefield changed drastically.
With a loud laugh, Jiang Chen vanished into thin air before Xiahou Zong’s eyes.
The latter felt his heart twinge and his scalp tingle. A hitherto unexperienced sense of danger filled his entire being. There was absolutely something wrong here.
“Today is your doomsday, Xiahou Zong.”
“This arena will be your grave.”
“Surrender your life, Xiahou Zong.”
“Stand and die, Xiahou Zong!”
Countless images of Jiang Chen appeared everywhere, each taking aim at Xiahou Zong with his own bow.
Xiahou Zong’s hairs stood on end. He glanced all around him, his consciousness expanding to maximize his sensory capabilities. Alas, he could only perceive the endless tempest all around him; his enemy’s infinite copies seemed to be unaffected by the harsh weather.
His brain turned into mush from all the chaos. Despite his confusion, there was a clear, lingering thought. The instincts of a reincarnated god told him that he needed to be calm, be calm!
His basic desire to live and survive prompted him to think of a solution.
“Right, my demons!” Xiahou Zong attempted to call back his demons for a defensive maneuver. It no longer seemed realistic for him to defeat his opponent. If his demons were by his side, self-preservation should be no problem.
“You’re out of time, Xiahou Zong!” It was as if Jiang Chen could see right through him. The cool voice of Xiahou Zong’s adversary rang through the air once more.
Whoosh!
An arrow broke through the air.
Xiahou Zong made a face, then cried out, “Scorching Sun Shield, to me!”
The arrow smashed into the fiery shield in a blast of golden light. The collision caused the missile to return to its true form – a single fire lotus. Jiang Chen had used a fire lotus to trick his opponent.
Xiahou Zong was stunned. “Another stupid trick!”
He grit his teeth, absolutely fuming. He’d never been so humiliated since first making his way out into the world. He’d always been the one to crush his opposition and play with his food. To be on the receiving end of that was entirely brand new.
However, he couldn’t do much despite being at his wit’s end. He was heavily mired in trouble already, and would only sink in deeper if he didn’t break free.
“That kid locked down and controls this patch of space. Was the thing he was holding a formation diagram? Is this a spatial ability?” The knowledge of a reincarnated god helped Xiahou Zong come to the truth.
He shivered once he realized what kind of predicament he was really in. In the world of martial dao, all kinds of abilities and attributes had their unique advantages.
Spatial abilities were especially difficult to handle. They weren’t particularly damaging by themselves, but they allowed the user to completely dominate his enemy. Someone under the shackles of such an ability could only perish in the lengthy throes of despair.
Spatial abilities were far from the most destructive, but they crushed people’s hopes like no other. The struggle before death was much scarier than the actual end.
“No, I have to get out. I can’t be cornered like this! That bastard Shao Yuan is trying to destroy me!” Xiahou Zong’s heart frosted over with apprehension for perhaps the first time in his life.
