It was midnight, and the moonlight shone as if it had washed the sky clean.
A faint cloud drifted by, obscuring half the moon. It cast a shadow over the glistening golden tiles on the roofs of Golden Wind Hall, dimming their luster.
The dayti hustle and bustle had subsided into silence. The worshippers who had burned incense to the gods had gone ho to rest. Only from a hall in the rear courtyard did the faint sound of moaning escape.
Inside the hall, the Golden Wind Divine King, clad in half-plate armor, was enjoying a private ga with Consort Yun, who was dressed in gossar-thin gauze.
Consort Yun’s shoulders were bare and her hair was in disarray, yet she maintained a graceful and dignified expression, as if engaged in a solemn and sacred ritual.
"My dear Consort Yun, let bestow upon you another wisp of my Golden Thread Divine Light to help you solidify your Divinity."
The words had barely left the Golden Wind Divine King’s mouth when his expression changed abruptly. He shot back, landing on the floor beside the bed, instantly encased in a full suit of armor.
Consort Yun also sensed the disturbance in the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi outside. A dangerous glint flashed in her eyes. "They’re here?"
Thirty-six wooden stakes, inconspicuous in the dark of night yet radiating an oppressive Spiritual Qi, suddenly plunged from the sky.
"SWOOSH!"
A Dragon-locking Light Curtain materialized in an instant, enveloping the entire Golden Wind Hall.
The Golden Wind Divine King’s face fell. "A Restriction!"
The next mont, Dragon-Binding Ropes snaked in from the periphery, whipping about wildly within Golden Wind Hall.
"Rise!"
With a furious shout from the Golden Wind Divine King, the Divine Statue in Golden Wind Hall erupted in a brilliant glow. A beam of golden light instantly illuminated the hall as if it were day, forcing back the thirty-six Dragon-Binding Iron Chains.
As the thirty-six Dragon-Binding Ropes montarily retreated, a swath of Taiyi Wind and Fire descended from the heavens. It ford a vast, blazing cloud above Golden Wind Hall, then transford into fiery tornadoes that spiraled down toward the buildings below.
"AHH!"
"Who dares trespass?!"
"Kill them!"
Cries rose from the buildings of the hall. So mortal followers cried out and scattered, but nurous Mages and Ghosts shot out from among them, brandishing weapons or unleashing Magical Power to fend off the Wind and Fire.
Six lanterns inside Golden Wind Hall suddenly emitted an eerie glow. Six Spiritual Attacks took the form of six sharp arrows, instantly piercing the Wind and Fire and shooting toward a certain spot in midair.
"Nice!"
A teasing cheer rang out as Taoist Yan Song revealed his form. With a re flicker of his Divine Thought, he shattered the six arrows. But then he felt them reform into a net of six chains that enveloped him, trying to drag him down.
Taoist Yan Song let out a low chuckle. Instead of resisting, he allowed the chains to pull him down into Golden Wind Hall.
The Golden Wind Divine King abruptly appeared in midair above the main hall. He looked at Taoist Yan Song, who was also capable of flight, and his eyes narrowed. In a sharp voice, he demanded, "And who might you be?"
"The man who’s here to kill you!"
The harsh reply ca as another figure descended from the heavens, his Yanyue Saber seeming to cleave the very clouds apart.
The clouds parted, allowing moonlight to spill down. Bathed in the glow of the surrounding flas, the flat of the blade glinted with a brilliant silver light. This light streaked into an afterimage as the saber descended, gone in the blink of an eye.
By the ti the Golden Wind Divine King registered the glint of the blade, its edge was already upon him.
"Sever!"
The Golden Wind Divine King’s pupils shrank. He had only just realized his opponents had another supre master on their side, one with over five hundred years of Dao Practice.
But the Golden Wind Divine King was no pushover. He clapped his hands together, and a curtain of golden light materialized before him.
"CLANG!"
A trendous boom echoed throughout Golden Wind Hall. A shockwave pulsed outward, striking the Dragon-locking Light Curtain and causing a faint ripple to spread across its surface.
Taoist Yi Hong’s long saber swept around, circling his body before hacking into the Golden Wind Divine King’s ribs and sending him flying.
The Golden Wind Divine King steadied himself, only to feel a chill seize his Divine Soul. His surroundings had suddenly transford into a grim, cold ice valley. Frost covered everything, and grotesque rocks jutted out from the ground. It was like an Ice Hell.
’You want to trap in an Illusion Realm?’ The Golden Wind Divine King’s Divine Soul stirred. His golden-infused Spiritual Power shattered the Yin Qi enveloping his body, dispelling the Illusion Technique known as Mingling Prison.
Taoist Jing Feng stepped into Golden Wind Hall and nodded. "A Fierce Ghost several hundred years old is impressive indeed!"
"CRACK-BOOM!"
A Thunderbolt descended from the sky, striking down upon the Golden Wind Divine King’s head, only to be deflected by his Protective Golden Light.
Taoist Ming Yu appeared beside Taoist Jing Feng and remarked, "His Protective Golden Light is ford from absorbed Incense and Candle Telekinesis. It carries a hint of Incense Divinity, which makes it more resistant to Thunderbolts.
"However, he is ultimately a Yin Ghost Body. And because he doesn’t observe the proper precepts, he is tainted by Evil Qi. This makes his Divinity impure—it’s contaminated with Yin Qi, rendering it scattered and unstable. What a waste of the people’s pious hearts."
Gu Zhao and Yunyang walked in behind the four Taoists.
"He looks exactly like the Divine Statue," Gu Zhao remarked with a tsk-tsk. "He really made a statue of himself for people to worship. It’s a good thing you’re already dead. If you were alive, doing that would shorten your lifespan!"
The Golden Wind Divine King before them was suspended in midair. He had a well-proportioned build, with the broad back of an ape and the narrow waist of a wasp. He wore a Heaven-Reaching Crown, was clad in Golden Lock Armor, and had Cloud Pattern Shoes on his feet. He was handso and valiant, with a magnificent and imposing air.
Add to that the wisps of golden light emanating from his Protective True Qi, and who wouldn’t call him the very picture of a hero?
The Golden Wind Divine King’s face darkened. He glanced from Taoist Yan Song to Taoist Yi Hong, a cold sneer twisting his lips. "No wonder you dare to defy my Divine Power. So you have two experts on your side. However..."
"I’ve been waiting for you!" the Golden Wind Divine King roared. "Activate the array!"
The Golden Wind Divine King flipped his palm over, and a Lamp appeared in his hand. The wick within it abruptly ignited.
The next mont, the one hundred thirty-two lanterns within Golden Wind Hall began to glow in unison. An endless tide of vengeful souls surged forth. A total of one thousand three hundred twenty Fierce Ghosts let out wretched shrieks before lting into the light, which began to corrode the intruders’ minds.
"My love!"
At the Golden Wind Divine King’s call, Consort Yun appeared at his side. She held a Small Banner, and with a gentle shake, streams of golden light shot out from it toward the six intruders in the courtyard.
At the sa ti, besides the dozens of Mages and Fierce Ghosts already surrounding them, eighteen more Ghosts shimring with golden light let out piercing shrieks. Each one radiated over a century of Magical Dao Practice as they flew into the main hall to attack the group.
’They actually have two experts,’ the Golden Wind Divine King thought, ’that’s beyond my expectations.’ He decided to hold nothing back. The trap arrays scattered throughout Golden Wind Hall, his personal Magical Artifact—the Golden Wind Divine Banner—and his eighteen expert Guardians were all deployed at once, aiming for a single, decisive victory.
"Now this is my kind of style!" Yunyang drew his sword in a backhanded grip. He executed Cyan Dragon Erges from the Water, and Lü Zu’s Dharma Aspect materialized behind him. His longsword pointed straight at an oncoming Golden Wind Guardian. "If we’re gonna fight, let’s fight! Enough with the damn chatter!"
A vast, lodious, yet sorrowfully winding flute lody drifted into Golden Wind Hall. It clashed with the ghostly wails and shrieks, seeping into the ears of the Golden Wind Sect’s followers and eroding their will to fight.
Gu Zhao smiled faintly and produced the Array Control Wooden Token. As he channeled his Magical Power into it, thunderclouds began to flash in the sky above, shimring with five-colored light—cyan, red, white, black, and yellow.
"The Five Thunders Dragon-Catching Array," Gu Zhao announced. "Golden Wind Divine King, I await your instruction."
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