Chương 202: Chapter 91: Golden-Armored Sentinels and Sanguine Skeletons

Outside the One-Line Gorge, the spectating cultivators from various sects stood frozen, their eyes wide with sheer disbelief. The spectacular clash of spells and martial prowess they had witnessed today far exceeded their wildest expectations! Reyn's sudden, meteoric rise and his terrifying display of power had shaken them to their very core.

However, as those ninety-nine Golden-Armored Sentinels materialized in a blinding flash of light, the scales of victory in the minds of the crowd tipped once more toward Wei Qubing. Yet, amidst the gasps of awe and dread, one man stood apart, shaking his head with a bitter, wry smile. A look of intense struggle flickered across Ge Yucheng's face. He hesitated, his mind warring with itself as he weighed the consequences. After a tense moment, a look of absolute resolve settled deep within his eyes.

His lips twitched slightly, transmitting a silent, secret message through a thread of Divine Sense. Immediately after, he lowered his head, his expression instantly smoothing over to conceal any trace of abnormality from the surrounding crowd. At that exact moment, Reyn's brow twitched almost imperceptibly. A flicker of surprise crossed his dark eyes before his expression smoothed back into a calm, unreadable mask. He raised his gaze, sweeping it over the ninety-nine Golden-Armored Sentinels standing before him.

A strange, mocking smile played at the corners of his lips as he spoke.

"Is this the ultimate trump card you have prepared to take my life, Fellow Daoist?" Wei Qubing's lips curled into a sinister, twisted smile. The blood-red hue in his pupils deepened, burning with a manic intensity. He replied in a soft, chilling whisper:"Indeed it is. But do not worry, Fellow Daoist. Once I have slaughtered you, I will personally extract your Primordial Soul. I shall bring it back to my sect and commission a master artifact refiner to seal it inside a magic treasure.

That way, you and I will have plenty of opportunities to converse in the future." His voice was flat and devoid of emotion, yet the venomous malice laced within his words was cold enough to freeze a man's blood in his veins.

"Of course, if you throw down all your Mu Jade Swords right now and crush your Trial Stone to flee this realm, you might still escape with your life. However, your magic treasure is currently locked in a fierce struggle, devouring the artifact spirit of my Eight-Treasure Exquisite Demon-Suppressing Pagoda. Even though your artifact holds the upper hand, completing the process will take time. During this interval, you cannot possibly retrieve it."

"In other words, if you choose to flee, you must abandon everything you have fought for. If you stay, death is your only destination. It is an agonizing choice. I wonder, what will you decide, Fellow Daoist?" Reyn did not show even a shred of panic upon hearing this. He merely reached out, casually flicking a speck of dust from his azure robes. A look of deep contemplation settled on his face as he weighed his options. After a brief silence, he spoke in a calm, indifferent tone.

"I have no desire to forge an irreconcilable blood feud with your Three Thousand Dao Sect. Therefore, I shall spare your life today."

"Hand over two Mu Jade Swords, and I will cease to trouble you. I will let you leave this place in peace." Wei Qubing stared at him in stunned silence. A moment later, he burst into a wild, mocking laughter, doubling over as if he had just heard the most hilarious joke in the world. Yet, deep within his eyes, there was only a freezing, murderous intent, completely devoid of any warmth.

"Amusing! Truly amusing! If you were not my enemy, you might have been someone worth befriending. Unfortunately, reality dictates otherwise."

"Furthermore, I am highly curious. What makes you think you are in any position to spare me? Have you truly failed to grasp the reality of your current situation?"

"Heh. I originally intended to let you live a little longer just to savor the look of despair on your face. But you are far too boring, and you have completely exhausted my patience. Since that is the case, you may prepare to die!" With those words, he let out a sharp, cold bark:"Kill!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!" The ninety-nine Golden-Armored Sentinels roared in unison, unleashing a torrent of pure, unadulterated killing intent. In the blink of an eye, the overwhelming aura of slaughter rising above them coalesced, transforming into a massive, eight-zhang-long pale sword forged entirely from raw, murderous energy. Boom! Boom! Boom! The ninety-nine Golden-Armored Sentinels advanced in perfect, terrifying unison.

Each synchronized step slammed against the earth with a deafening rumble, vibrating through the ground and striking the chests of the spectating cultivators like a physical blow. Their faces paled instantly, and they scrambled backward dozens of zhang before they could catch their breath, their eyes filled with absolute terror. Reyn shook his head slightly, a silent, wry smile forming in his mind. Wei Qubing was utterly convinced of his absolute superiority and believed he held the power of life and death.

Naturally, such a man would never abandon his murderous intent over a mere warning. Since a clash was unavoidable, Reyn would simply face it head-on! What of the Three Thousand Dao Sect? Even if he forged a deep, irreconcilable enmity with them, as long as he demonstrated sufficiently overwhelming power and limitless potential, they would still hesitate to strike out of sheer dread! Moreover, they were currently within the Mu Family's Trial Realm.

Since the Mu Family permitted cultivators from various provinces to fight to the death for these treasures, they must have anticipated such a scenario. If the Mu Family could not guarantee a fair and just competitive environment, this Trial Realm would lose its fundamental purpose. Therefore, Reyn was certain the Mu Family would intervene if things went too far.

Under such constraints, the Three Thousand Dao Sect would never dare to openly defy the Mu Family's authority by secretly retaliating against Reyn or his clan! As long as he could secure a brief window of peace to complete his Foundation Establishment, his power would undergo an explosive, astronomical growth. At that point, no one would dare harbor any designs against him! With these thoughts falling into place, Reyn felt his mind clear, his Dao heart becoming perfectly unburdened.

A surge of boundless, untamed arrogance erupted from his deep, pitch-black eyes! Since you have chosen to humiliate yourself, I shall grind you beneath my heel and depart this place in the most spectacular, high-profile manner possible! The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"If you wish to slaughter me, you had best show me you have the strength to back up your words. You are not the only one who knows how to summon puppets, Fellow Daoist. I happen to dabble in this art as well." With a sharp slap to a storage bag at his waist, a crimson light flared. A hundred Sanguine Skeletons materialized before him in an instant.

Crimson flames flickered wildly within their hollow eye sockets as they glared at the ninety-nine Golden-Armored Sentinels, unleashing a synchronized, bloodcurdling roar! A wave of bone-chilling, deathly energy erupted from the hundred skeletons, summoning howling gusts of ghostly wind that transformed the battlefield into a nightmarish, spectral domain in an instant. Wei Qubing's face fell instantly. His blood-red pupils contracted violently as his gaze locked onto the hundred Sanguine Skeletons.

It took him several deep breaths to regain his composure. He sneered, his voice dripping with icy disdain:"Your endless array of hidden cards is indeed surprising. I never expected you to possess such deep attainment in ghost-path cultivation! However, if you think a mere hundred Foundation Establishment stage blood skeletons can withstand my Golden-Armored Sentinels, you are being incredibly naive!" The strength of these hundred Sanguine Skeletons was not uniform.

The strongest among them were the eight skeletons originally subjugated by the Shura Secret Bone, whose cultivation barely reached the Late Foundation Establishment stage. Among the remaining ninety-two, roughly thirty were at the Mid-Foundation Establishment stage, while the rest possessed power at the peak of the Early Foundation Establishment stage. Combined, their collective might was incredibly formidable, easily rivaling a Golden Core cultivator!

Yet, if they were to face the ninety-nine Golden-Armored Sentinels with only this level of strength, defeat still seemed absolutely inevitable! Although the average individual strength of the Blood Skeletons was superior to that of the ordinary Golden-Armored Sentinels, the presence of that Golden-Armored—a terrifying entity possessing the cultivation of the Golden Core stage—was more than enough to completely bridge and erase this disparity in power.

Furthermore, these golden sentinels were, by their very nature, tireless and unfeeling puppets. Their metallic bodies were intricately engraved with a profound slaughter battle array. When they fought in unison, the collective power they unleashed would surge exponentially, multiplying their combat effectiveness by several tiers. Calculating it this way, the hundred Blood Skeletons were indeed at an absolute disadvantage, possessing not even a shred of a chance at victory!

Reyn's eyes flickered with a cold, calculating light as his gaze fell upon Wei Qubing. A trace of mocking derision played at the corners of his lips. He spoke in a calm, indifferent tone, "If my fellow Daoist believes that these Blood Skeletons are too weak to entertain you, then this humble one shall provide them with a commander of their own. I wonder what you think of this, Fellow Daoist?" As the last syllable left his lips, he extended his hand and slapped his storage bag once more.

Instantly, a brilliant streak of orange light erupted into the air. Out of the blinding glow emerged the Shura Secret Bone, standing a towering six zhang tall like an ancient bone demon resurrected from the depths of the underworld. The moment its massive feet touched the ground, it threw its head back and unleashed a deafening, wrathful roar that shook the very foundations of the chamber!

While it was still sealed within the dark confines of the storage bag, Reyn had already utilized his Primordial Soul to transmit the situation to it. Consequently, the Shura Secret Bone was currently in a state of absolute, explosive fury! It simply could not comprehend or tolerate the fact that someone actually dared to use a mere numbers game—a pathetic human-wave tactic—to oppose its great, revered master.

To its developing mind, this was a blatant, unmitigated provocation and an insult directed at itself, the second-greatest skeleton king in existence! If it did not grind every single one of these golden puppets into worthless, glittering dust, it would never be able to wash away this intolerable humiliation! Thus, at this very moment, the rapidly evolving consciousness of the Shura Secret Bone was entirely consumed by an endless, violent intent to kill!

Following its thunderous roar, the crimson soul-fires flickering within the hollow eye sockets of the hundred Blood Skeletons flared up violently, expanding several times over. Sensing the maddened, murderous intent radiating from their skeletal sovereign, the entire horde of Blood Skeletons was thrown into a state of utter, frenzied rage.

Wisps of pitch-black, malevolent gas began to seep out from the bones of the hundred Blood Skeletons, rising into the air and coalescing into a churning, violently boiling dark cloud above them. A tyrannical, freezing, and fiercely savage aura erupted from the dark mass. Simultaneously, the rolling black cloud began to condense, rapidly shaping itself into a colossal, pitch-black skull nearly ten zhang in size.

Its massive, hollow jaws parted, emitting a series of eerie, mocking "jie-jie" cackles that echoed chillingly through the space. Roar! Without even waiting for Reyn to issue the command to attack, the Shura Secret Bone let out another savage roar. It took the lead, swinging its massive skeletal legs forward as it charged headlong toward the oncoming hundred Golden-Armored Sentinels. Behind it, the hundred Blood Skeletons followed in a tight, chaotic swarm, forming a terrifying, blood-red wave of bone and fury.

Although their disorganized, clattering footsteps lacked the disciplined, rhythmic thunder of the Golden-Armored Sentinels, the sheer, unbridled madness of their murderous intent was far more terrifying, striking a deep, instinctual dread into the hearts of any onlookers!

If the ninety-nine Golden-Armored Sentinels could be compared to a highly disciplined, perfectly synchronized imperial army, then the hundred Blood Skeletons led by the Shura Secret Bone were like a lawless band of street thugs—chaotic, disorganized, and completely devoid of any tactical formation! Yet, both sides possessed an equally towering momentum and a bloodthirsty aura.

They clashed with a ruthless, uncompromising determination, as if neither would stop until the other was completely annihilated from the face of the earth! Boom! The first to collide were not the physical bodies, but the manifestations of their collective wills in the air above. The massive sword of slaughter condensed by the Golden-Armored Sentinels clashed violently with the pitch-black skull formed by the Blood Skeletons.

Neither of these entities possessed a physical form, being composed entirely of the combined Qi and aura of their respective factions, yet the destructive power unleashed by their collision was absolutely staggering! Even without a physical wielder, the giant sword of slaughter reared high into the air before hacking down toward the black skull.

The violent, tearing sound of the wind screaming in its wake left no room for doubt: the sheer force of this single strike was enough to instantly obliterate any Foundation Establishment cultivator, and even an ordinary Golden Core Sovereign would likely choose to avoid its direct path. However, the pitch-black skull merely let out another mocking "jie-jie" laugh. Making no attempt to dodge, it opened its cavernous maw wide and lunged forward, attempting to swallow the giant sword of slaughter whole! Puff!

The giant sword of slaughter sliced into the black skull with the unstoppable force of a splitting bamboo, but the skull did not seem to suffer any substantial damage. Instead, it instantly dissolved into a dense cloud of black mist, completely enveloping the massive sword. At the same time, countless threads of black, corrosive energy condensed from the mist, burrowing frantically into the body of the slaughter sword. Bang!

A violent burst of slaughter Qi erupted from the surface of the giant sword, instantly shattering and dispersing the encroaching black threads. Seizing the moment, the sword reared back and slashed downward with immense force, carving a massive tear through the black mist and instantly escaping from its suffocating grasp.

Once the giant sword of slaughter broke free, the churning black mist quickly reconstituted itself back into the shape of the massive skull, its hollow jaws opening as it continued to emit its eerie, mocking "jie-jie" laughter. Simultaneously, down on the ground, the army of Golden-Armored Sentinels and the horde of Blood Skeletons collided with earth-shattering force. The face of the Golden-Armored was ancient and resolute, its gaze as sharp as a honed blade.

Opposing it, the Shura Secret Bone roared repeatedly like an ancient bone demon, its murderous aura filling the heavens. While still ten zhang apart, both leaders let out a low growl in unison. Their massive figures leaped high into the air, hurtling toward each other as they launched their most ferocious, bone-shattering strikes!