Lin Changâsheng saw the fat man blocking the way, but didnât attack recklessly, since he needed to conceal his strength for now.
Heâd wait for the opportune moment to strike by surpriseâa deadly kill in one blow.
In the rear, the Purple Robe Daoist and Zhu Lieshan were already locked in fierce combat, both wielding Late Stage Divinity Transformation Cultivation. It was difficult to tell who would prevail.
But Lin Changâsheng could see that the Purple Robe Daoist held a slight edge over Zhu Lieshan. If things continued as they were, victory should be decided within half a day.
However, Zhu Lieshan couldnât afford to wait so long. "Sixth Brother, help me! Letâs take down this old Daoist first!"
Once theyâd captured this old Daoist, could the remaining disciples possibly flee?
The fat man thought this made sense, so he immediately leapt forward to aid Zhu Lieshan.
With the fat manâs entry, the Purple Robe Daoist was suddenly at a disadvantage, beaten back step by step by their combined assault.
"Everyone, move!"
The four disciples of Moon Worship Manor saw the fat man join Zhu Lieshan, so they quickly motioned for everyone to follow their lead and escape.
"You guys go ahead! Iâll catch up soon!"
Lin Changâsheng signaled for the group to leave; he couldnât stand by and watch the Purple Robe Daoist die trying to save them.
The others knew staying wouldnât help, so they immediately followed the four disciples of Moon Worship Manor and departed.
"Third Brother, those little bastards ran off!"
The fat man saw that the little ants from Immortal Relic Land had scurried away, and was instantly infuriated.
"They wonât get far. Hit him with everything youâve got and kill this old Daoist!"
As Zhu Lieshan finished speaking, primordial power surged around him, and his giant axe swung down with deadly force.
The axe spun in mid-air, conjuring a colossal shadowâone hundred feet tallâlike Pangu splitting Heaven and Earth. Its aura was overwhelming.
This attack was vastly stronger than his initial blow.
He hadnât unleashed it in the beginning, probably because Yu Lingfei and the other women werenât far off. A full-force blast might have killed them all with the aftershock, spoiling the fun. So heâd held back.
But now, with all the ants gone, Zhu Lieshan could go all out; if he crushed this Purple Robe Daoist, theyâd all be in the palm of his hand.
"HaaahâDouble Hammers, Smash Down!"
The fat man summoned two enormous Meteor Hammers, and with a loud yell, hurled them at the Purple Robe Daoist.
As primordial power surged into the hammers, what seemed ordinary tools transformed into flaming meteorites, bursting forth in a blaze of light and fury.
"This..."
Flanked from both sides, the Purple Robe Daoist frowned.
Though the fat man couldnât truly hurt himâafter all, he was only at the Middle Stage of Divinity Transformation while the Daoist was Late Stageâ
If he diverted his attention to fend off the fat man, Zhu Lieshanâs blow would surely be lethal.
Heâd lose even faster then.
But if he ignored the fat manâs attack, heâd be wounded for sure.
One serious injury would make escape impossible, too.
The Purple Robe Daoist was caught between two deadly choices.
At that very moment, with both Zhu Lieshan and the fat manâs eyes glued to the Daoist, Lin Changâsheng struck without hesitation.
He instantly summoned the Heaven-Opening Blade, swinging it straight at the fat man.
Because the fat man had carelessly exposed his back.
The blade aura was sharper than anything, surging fiercely forth.
By the time the fat man reacted, the blade was already three feet behind him.
It was much too late to dodge.
Splurtâ
Blood sprayed through the air. In a single swing, Lin Changâsheng sliced off the fat manâs headâdead on the spot.
Rumbleâ
In that same instant, the Purple Robe Daoist met their combined attacks. With deafening thunder, the ground shook violently, rocks blasted skyward and dust billowed everywhere.
When the chaos settled, where the Daoist had stood was a massive trenchâhundreds of feet long, thirty feet wide.
But the Purple Robe Daoist had survived, clutching the Meteor Double Hammers and looking battered, standing not far away.
The attack from the fat manâs Meteor Double Hammers was nothing to the Daoist.
With overwhelming primordial power, he simply caught them head-on.
The real threat was Zhu Lieshanâs horrifying Giant Axe blow. That, he dared not take directly, so he whipped out Floating Dust to tangle with the giant axe, dragging its path just enough so it missed him.
But even so, the Daoist was blasted away by the force of the axe, looking rather ragged.
His robes were pierced by flying stones, his hair a wild mess.
But that was preferableâthanks to Lin Changâsheng catching them off-guard and killing one instantly.
"Sixth Brotherâ!"
Zhu Lieshan saw the fat manâs head severed by Lin Changâsheng and his eyes widened with rage as he roared.
In his view, Lin Changâsheng had ambushed his Sixth Brother to claim the fatal strikeâdespicable!
"You bastard! Iâll take your life to honor my Sixth Brotherâs memory!"
Zhu Lieshan turned his fury on Lin Changâsheng, forgetting all about killing the Purple Robe Daoist or capturing women.
But what he didnât realize was, his own time was almost up.
"Watch out!"
The Purple Robe Daoist saw Zhu Lieshan charging at Lin Changâsheng, knowing Zhu Lieshan possessed Late Stage Divinity Transformation.
Lin Changâsheng was only at the Middle Stage, surely no match?
Maybe heâd be crushed in a single blow.
Yet the Daoist didnât know Lin Changâsheng actually had Late Stage Divinity Transformation Cultivation himself, holding back on purpose.
As the old Daoist shouted, he couldnât rush to help Lin Changâsheng, using Thousand Threads of Dust instead to bind the fat manâs Primordial Spiritâstopping it from fleeing to warn others.