Chapter 1 Seeing the Face

The three Sovereigns were stunned when they saw the face, feeling an immense familiarity, as if they had seen it somewhere before.

Vinnie, the Yuanshi Tianzun, was the first to recognize it, her cold, beautiful face revealing obvious shock.

One of the giant demons also recalled the face's owner, having seen it in the files before. It was none other than Yuanshi Tianzun, who had returned to the Lingjing Xingzhe several months ago.

How could the dead Yuanshi Tianzun appear here? Chrome's scarlet demonic eyes scrutinized him for a few seconds before a rough, booming voice stated, "Disguised as Yuanshi Tianzun? Are you unwilling to reveal your true identity in front of us? I'm very curious who you are!"

"Let's find out!" The three-headed hellhound beside him opened its inventory and grabbed a delicate and eerie chitinous mask, placing it on its middle head.

This item corresponded to the abyss banshee, Siqila. She could cause the target to mutate by calling out their true name or Lingjing Xingzhe ID, but required Level 8 to control.

The dog head wearing the mask looked at Zhang Yuanqing and uttered an ethereal call, "Yuanshi Tianzun!"

Zhang Yuanqing, not far away, underwent no changes. Seeing this, Vinnie and Brent withdrew their gazes, dispelling the shock in their hearts, and seized the time to circulate the lightning-attribute spiritual power within their bodies, extinguishing the mutating cells and curbing the body's aberration.

She also felt no joy at the arrival of "Yuanshi Tianzun," believing that he was likely a high-level member of the Order faction who had come here to seize the Eye of the Sky. He was not a savior, but an enemy.

"You want to make me mutate? Items won't do it. Wait until you reach Level 8." Zhang Yuanqing took out the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon statue from his inventory and held it in his right palm. His left hand then brushed across his face. "Perhaps you'll be more familiar with this appearance."

His face rippled like water, transforming into a handsome and refined face.

"Jumang!" Vinnie and Brent's pupils shrank abruptly.

The giant demon's expression was similar. They needed to recall Yuanshi Tianzun's appearance, but Jumang was etched in their minds, a source of gnashing teeth and lingering resentment.

"He's Jumang!"

Zhang Yuanqing didn't give them time to think, activating the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon's spirit-transforming skill. The statue's eyes moved, coming to life and transforming into a golden dragon, ten meters in length, coiling behind its master. The dragon's head rose, staring coldly at the three. The aura emitted by the golden dragon made the three Sovereigns feel a chill in their hearts.

This was what was called the "King of Soldiers Returns," finding his girlfriend seriously injured, and in a fit of rage, summoning the divine dragon to wreak havoc!

Zhang Yuanqing raised his hand, snapped his fingers, and said in a deep voice, "Go, Divine Dragon."

He wanted to take this opportunity to verify the item's strength. All that responded to him was a series of loud snores.

Zhang Yuanqing's expression stiffened. He turned his head and saw the mighty golden dragon lying on the ground, fast asleep.

He suddenly understood the meaning of the note: "It's very lazy." Damn it, how embarrassing. The king of soldiers had become a clown.

Zhang Yuanqing remained calm, averting his gaze from the three Sovereigns' shocked expressions, and quickly activated the Lieyang Zhanshen mode. A sun-like mark, as if painted with gold lacquer, appeared on his forehead. His short hair stood on end, entwined with golden light. His skin reflected a golden luster, and his pupils turned into molten gold, flickering slightly.

The thick purple mist in the air was instantly purified, and the boiling lightning-attribute spiritual power became sluggish. Vinnie, as an Level 8 Sovereign, keenly perceived that the external lightning-attribute spiritual power was being suppressed, making it more difficult to mobilize.

"Lieyang Zhanshen..." The three Sovereigns' expressions changed drastically. They finally realized the true identity of the person before them. He really was Yuanshi Tianzun!

Jumang was a Wood Demon, not a Night Watcher.

"So, Yuanshi Tianzun disguised himself as Jumang. Jumang is Yuanshi Tianzun..." Vinnie Brent stared blankly at the young Sun Wanderer.

No wonder Jumang could freely use Yuanshi Tianzun's relics. No wonder, at the Free Alliance gathering, Fu Qingyang, the Demon Eye Heavenly King, and the Palace Master of Zhisha had unconditional trust and cooperation with him. So, he was Yuanshi Tianzun.

Zhang Yuanqing grabbed the Xing Shen Ju Mie Dao. He didn't use Sun Ascension because he wanted to amplify his advantages. A Daoist priest’s Sovereign-level items were enough to make even Level 8 Sovereigns envious.

While Sun Ascension in conjunction with Lieyang Zhanshen was powerful, it would also limit his item usage.

Zhang Yuanqing activated the short knife's soul-seizing skill, grabbing towards Chrome's demonic, illusory afterimage. The short knife suddenly slashed down. Lacking physical domain skills, Chrome's demon couldn't resist.

His soul suffered a heavy blow, causing him to howl in pain, his eyes bloodshot and filled with excruciating pain. Against an enemy at the Sovereign stage, the Xing Shen Ju Mie Dao's damage wasn't that effective. It couldn't directly kill half of the opponent's body, but it could still inflict significant damage.

Zhang Yuanqing bent his knees and shot towards Chrome's demon like a cannonball amidst the sound of the ground cracking. In the process, the Zilei Dun, Zilei Chui, and Leibao Pao reflected like magnets, adhering to his body, and then melting like liquid, becoming a set of Zijin armor covering his body.

This time, he could finally use this Sovereign-level set without restraint.

*Whoosh whoosh whoosh* Seeing this, the three-headed hellhound immediately shot out pale beams from its six eyes. At the same time, deep purple poisonous smoke spewed out from its three bloody mouths, transforming into a poisonous dragon in the sky, crashing towards the enemy to buy time for its teammate.

The pale beams struck large patches of ashen stone on the enemy's chest, but quickly dissipated. The poisonous dragon crashed into the enemy, failing to even contaminate the armor. The three-headed hellhound's eyes narrowed slightly, and its heart trembled. Petrification and demonic poison smoke were the core skills of the Master Poisoner. Its position, even if a bronze-level Sun Wanderer suffered a double blow from petrification and poisonous smoke, would be somewhat affected.

If petrification and poisonous smoke were completely immune, then aberration would likely be ineffective. In that case, it could only resort to melee combat.

While thinking this, the three-headed hellhound opened its inventory and took out a bead entwined with green wind, throwing it at Chrome's demon's feet.

*Ooo* A high-speed airflow rose from the ground, forming a transparent wind wall.

Zhang Yuanqing didn't slow down at all. The short knife in his hand shone with white light, shaking out. *Whoosh!* The short knife created a shrill whistling sound in the air, instantly breaking through the barrier of the wind wall and piercing the target's chest! *Zhan Xing!*

Ignoring physical defenses, Chrome's demon, whose head was aching and consciousness disordered, roared in pain and quickly regained consciousness. Immediately, he saw a purple-golden figure flying towards him.

*Bang!* The knee struck the knife hilt, and the short knife directly pierced Chrome's demon, pinning him to the wall in the distance. Cracks appeared in the building's protective array.

Chrome's demon staggered backward, abruptly stopping his steps. Ignoring the blood spurting from his chest, he clenched his left fist and hooked it back, his right palm like a knife, stabbing towards the armor's chest.

The young man wearing the Zijin armor didn't dodge or evade. Sparks flew from his chest. His head tilted slightly after taking a punch. The next second, a rain of fists struck Chrome's demon's chest, causing the steel-hard, dark red muscles to visibly cave in, causing Chrome's demon to stagger backward, his muscles weak and powerless from the resonating frequency.

After quickly delivering a set of Wing Chun punches, Zhang Yuanqing grabbed Chrome's demon's face, a black hole-like cannon mouth splitting open in his palm, and purple lightning quickly gathering.

*Boom!* Amidst the thunderous explosion, a blue-purple lightning ball exploded in his palm, Chrome's demon's goat horns bursting open like watermelons, bones and blood splashing like raindrops.

The tall demon's body suddenly collapsed. The indomitable will and pill suppressed the giant demon's attributes. After he became a Sun Wanderer and possessed the body of the sun, it finally underwent a qualitative leap, achieving its greatest release.

The three-headed hellhound pounced from the side, using flexible footwork to dodge Vinnie's lightning strikes. It suddenly leaped up, each head splitting open its large mouth, revealing its maw dripping with saliva, biting towards Zhang Yuanqing's head.

Zhang Yuanqing twisted his waist, delivering a heavy punch to the ground, knocking the two-meter-long hellhound to the ground. Immediately, he leaped onto it, pinning it beneath him!

Purple light lit up in the room, and a gnarled, tree-like bolt of lightning struck Zhang Yuanqing.

The bodies of the man and the dog stiffened simultaneously. The three-headed hellhound's subsequent resistance failed to materialize.

This was the price of the Leibao Pao. Each time it fired, the user would suffer a lightning strike.

Zhang Yuanqing relied on the Zijin set's defense to offset most of the damage, and was the first to break free from the stiff, paralyzed state. He raised his right fist and punched down, smashing the middle head of the three-headed hellhound. Combined with the slight power of the Leigu Weng Jin Chui, three punches shattered the copper-headed, iron-boned head into powder and paste.

The other two heads of the three-headed hellhound frantically tore at Zhang Yuanqing's thigh and left arm, tearing through the Zijin armor and tearing off chunks of flesh.

Deep purple toxins contaminated the flesh and blood of the wound, but were burned away by the bright and clear golden light.

At this time, Chrome's demon, whose head had just been blown apart, suddenly rose, the empty neck wriggling with flesh, growing a second head.

Each giant demon had three lives. This came from the three-headed hellhound's characteristics and was passive. The active was the bite force and the enhancement of the poisonous smoke.

The three-headed hellhound's poisonous smoke was the most intense of the nine forms. As for the bite force, it was enough to break through the Zijin set's defense, which was proof.

Chrome's demon flapped its wings and transformed into an afterimage, sweeping towards Zhang Yuanqing, who was fighting the hellhound.

At a critical moment, Vinnie Brent's lithe figure cut in, her palm squeezing out a lightning ball, and slammed it hard against Chrome's demon.

With a loud bang, electric plasma burst forth. Chrome's demon took a few steps back, his body covered in electric arcs, paralyzed and stiff.

Vinnie Brent was thrown out. Taking advantage of the opportunity created by Vinnie, Zhang Yuanqing grabbed a slender bamboo strip and smacked it against the three-headed hellhound.

The latter suddenly stiffened, its ferocious expression becoming peaceful, and a trace of confusion flashed through its evil vertical pupils.

"Where am I? Why am I fighting?" While the opponent entered a state of wuwei and selflessness, Zhang Yuanqing clenched his fist and smashed down with all his might.

*Bang bang bang*, Zhang Yuanqing's fists fell like rain. Under the powerful resonating ability, the hellhound's second head was turned into powder and blood.

Zhang Yuanqing's fists continued to smash towards the last head. After three punches, with a bang, the hellhound's last head and Zhang Yuanqing's right arm exploded into pieces together.

The hellhound's body completely withered and lay limply on the ground. Zhang Yuanqing felt as if his whole body was stepping on an engine, his head, internal organs, and muscle cells trembling, ready to collapse at any moment.

He was in the resonating aftermath, his whole person in a daze.

Suddenly, a large shadow enveloped him. Chrome's demon, with its membranous wings spread, appeared at his side, its keratinous, sharp right palm like a knife, sweeping towards Zhang Yuanqing's neck.

Vinnie's expression changed slightly, and she forcibly gathered spiritual power to squeeze out an explosive spiritual power lightning ball, swinging her arm and smashing it towards Chrome's demon.

Her state wasn't very good, and coupled with the Lieyang Zhanshen's domain, the lightning-attribute spiritual power in the area became less active.

The lightning summoned by Vinnie couldn't threaten Chrome's demon, so she could only urge the spiritual power in her body to condense a lightning ball.

Chrome's demon flapped its membranous wings, fanning out a ball of blue flames, colliding head-on with the lightning ball.

The fire and lightning annihilated each other at the same time. Seeing that the sharp palm knife was about to chop off Zhang Yuanqing's head, a golden light swept over, like a complete left arm wrapped around it. It was the golden five-clawed dragon, its dragon eyes slightly lit up.

*Buzz!* The palm knife was bounced away by a golden light barrier.

*Stomp stomp stomp* Vinnie Brent's body sizzled with electric current, turning into electric light and pouncing.

With one kick, she kicked away the four-foot-long lightning blade condensed by Chrome's demon, slashing wildly in the air. There was a sizzling electric current everywhere.

Chrome's demon hastily dodged a few knives and then dodged the lightning blade, a cannon punch hammering towards Vinnie Brent, the latter's body turned into a stream of electricity.

"Phew, finally saved the master, it was not in vain that I kept summoning it, well, the defense is very strong, but it's just like the little Lingtong that my uncle used when he was a child, it can malfunction several times while taking a shit." Zhang Yuanqing sighed in relief while complaining.

In Lieyang Zhanshen mode, Yin corpses and spirit servants couldn't be used, and the Illusionist's strength was currently stuck at the peak saint, posing no threat to the Sovereign. In other words, 80% of his former methods couldn't be used, which made him very uncomfortable.

He had almost had his head chopped off just now.

Chrome's demon saw the hollow eyes of Yuanshi Tianzun regain their brilliance, and took out a green belt to put on, the green light immediately rose, and the broken arm was instantly regenerated, and then wrapped in purple and gold liquid.

A few traces of despair filled his heart, he opened the inventory and took out a half-human high black iron box, the surface of the box was engraved with the nine sons of the gods, "Then let's die together!" Chrome Demon grinned, suddenly tearing off his left arm and chanting a magic spell.

His broken arm fell to the ground, turning into a round array covered with strange runes, the severed shoulder sprayed blood to depict the illusory runes into blood red, injecting spirituality *clang clang*

The lid of the black iron box shook, something inside was colliding with the box lid, Zhang Yuanqing and Vinnie both smelled a dangerous aura.

The blood-red circle shattered inch by inch, and the black iron box returned to calm. Zhang Yuanqing shook his left arm, the golden dragon wrapped around it, its fangs and claws charging up in the air, spitting out golden flames towards Chrome's demon.

Under the rising sun, Chrome's demon couldn't activate spiritual power to use skills, and hurriedly swooped to dodge the golden flames, and the flames instantly ignited when they touched the membranous wings.

Zhang Yuanqing put on the Craftsman's Ring and fought close, sometimes punching hard, sometimes scratching with steel fingernails, leaving behind wounds and creating bleeding effects, while the golden dragon continued to spray dragon breath above his head to burn the master and the enemy. Under the double attack, Chrome's demon struggled to support himself for a few minutes, his body suddenly stiffened, his dark red muscles undulating and trembling, and finally exploded into powder.

Zhang Yuanqing fell down with a thud, quickly releasing the Zijin set, feeling that his brain had been shaken into pulp.

The five-clawed golden dragon twisted its body and turned its head to look at Vinnie: Brent, and a mouthful of dragon breath spat past.

"This is a teammate!" Zhang Yuanqing shouted and hurriedly issued a stop attacking order.

"This thing is not very smart", the five-clawed golden dragon looked at its master with clear eyes.

It hesitated for 0.5 seconds between killing the enemy and obeying the order and sleeping, and decisively chose the latter, flying to the master's side and coiling around him, putting its head on its body and snoring.

Zhang Yuanqing rested for a while, waiting for the resonance to disappear, and looked at Vinnie Brent and smiled: "Vinnie, your level has dropped! Two level 7 giant demons almost made you overturn."

He put his hands on his knees and got up, walked to Vinnie's side and used the purification skill.

Vinnie's aberration quickly receded, her eyes returning to light brown, looking at him with complicated emotions, "Yuanshi Tianzun, I didn't expect you to be by my side."

Zhang Yuanqing's heart moved, "Do you still want to buy a King Cat speaker?"

This sentence instantly made Vinnie's fair face turn into the color of pig liver, and she only felt that the righteousness and seriousness of the lightning mage had left her.

"For the sake of the demon lord helping me, I won't bully his woman."

Zhang Yuanqing turned to the black iron box to check the item's attributes. This was a high-quality Sovereign-level item. A giant demon could sacrifice flesh and blood to summon a powerful demon. Based on the aura just now, the demon corresponded to level 8 mid-to-late stage, a very powerful item, no wonder it was regarded as a bottom-of-the-box item.

It was a pity that only giant demons could use it, the professional restriction was too great, so he should keep it first, and after returning to China, he would ask Lian Sanyue to melt it. Zhang Yuanqing put the black iron box into the inventory.

"Vinnie, how are the casualties in New Covenant County?" Hearing this, Vinnie Brent's embarrassment disappeared, her emotions became dull, and she smiled bitterly, "It is still impossible to count, you can go out and see for yourself."