Daoist Competition-Chapter 924 - 202: Hidden Moves Amid Blossoming Intrigue

The voice of the divine statue roared like thunder, echoing across the heavens, imbued with immense majesty.

Gongyang Sheng immediately knelt down, crawled a few steps on the cloud, and bowed his head, sobbing, "Disciple is incompetent, disturbing Ancestor Master, but our Lie Xuan Sect is now on the brink of destruction, facing the catastrophe of collapse. The disciple has no choice but to request Ancestor Master to take action, to rescue us from distress, and eliminate our great enemy!"

After speaking, he kowtowed repeatedly.

The divine statue emitted a long nasal sound, saying, "Our sect has nine elders; why is it that only you are here, and the other elders have not come to welcome me?"

Gongyang Sheng wept bitterly, pointing at Zhang Yan, "It’s not that disciples are disrespectful to Ancestor Master, but that it’s impossible, except for me, the others... the others were all killed by him!"

The divine statue’s fierce gaze swept sharply towards Zhang Yan.

Zhang Yan’s expression remained unchanged outwardly, but his heart was secretly alert. The situation Gongyang Sheng created was unexpected for him.

With his eye power, Zhang Yan couldn’t discern the depths of the divine statue, clearly indicating it was no ordinary entity and not easy to deal with.

But now, having obtained the Dharma Treasure, his purpose was achieved, and he could withdraw at any time. Unless necessary, he saw no need to linger and fight.

The divine statue stared at Zhang Yan for a moment and then said sternly to Gongyang Sheng, "Step back and watch as I deal with this great enemy."

Gongyang Sheng felt relieved, bowed again, and retreated to the side.

His demeanor was both genuine and deceptive; genuinely seeking the divine statue’s help for survival, but whether he was sincerely respectful, that was questionable.

This divine statue could be said to be the Yiya Upper Master, yet not.

Over hundreds of years, after countless Lie Xuan Sect disciples’ devout worship and ritual sacrificial refinement, a True Recognition had already formed within the statue.

However, it only knew that it was the Yiya Upper Master, the ancestor of the Lie Xuan Sect, but it didn’t know it was a false creation fabricated by the disciples of the Lie Xuan Sect.

If it could be refined for another several hundred years, after cultivating a True Spirit and combining with a remnant Divine Soul left by the Yiya Upper Master, completing the Divine Soul, it might barely be considered living by borrowing the body.

Yet even so, it was still not the original.

Presently, due to the great enemy at the front, Gongyang Sheng, having no choice, prematurely merged the remnant soul of the ancestor with the True Recognition due to insufficient refinement, making this divine statue merely a half-destroyed True Artifact, completely cutting off the future path.

However, in Gongyang Sheng’s view, except for himself, other elders were dead, and even the Lie Xuan Sect couldn’t be saved. What chance was there to continue refining this treasure? It was better to dissolve the sealing early, seek a way to survive and escape. With the aid of this treasure, there was at least some dependence in his remaining years.

The divine statue looked at Zhang Yan and loudly rebuked, "No matter which sect’s disciple you are, slaughtering the elders of our sect is an unforgivable crime. Surrender your life now!"

He clenched his hand, and suddenly lightning flashed in the void, with a booming Gang Thunder crashing down from the sky.

Zhang Yan stepped back, quickly executed the "Little All Heaven Moving Technique," and his figure flickered slightly where he was, moving a thousand feet away.

At this moment, he glanced back and saw the Gang Thunder falling from the sky, striking obliquely on Luqi Mountain with an earth-shattering impact, shattering rocks and sending vegetation flying. Even half of the mountain peak was blown off.

He was slightly taken aback, having never expected the divine statue to be so formidable.

Although this Wing Cliff Ancestor Master’s divine statue only used Gang Thunder to confront him, wielding it as a treasure was enough to be considered overwhelmingly powerful, exhibiting a might at least ten times greater than the elders of the Lie Xuan Sect!

The divine statue, seeing Zhang Yan escape to a distance in the blink of an eye, sneered and said, "Moving Technique? You dare to flaunt it before me!"

His massive body trembled slightly, and suddenly a Golden Bridge of Transition appeared at his feet. With a step forward, his enormous body flashed swiftly, already blocking Zhang Yan’s path.

Then he pointed downward, and a gust of wind howled, raging and sweeping across, instantly altering the wind and cloud within a radius of tens of miles, all enveloped in a stormy gale.

Zhang Yan’s eyes narrowed. He wouldn’t wait for death and raised his hand, unleashing several Purple Cloud Divine Thunders. Yet when they struck the statue, they only produced a booming sound without causing any damage, as if it felt nothing.

The divine statue let out a few cold laughs, stood motionless at the spot, and its body began to shrink continuously, soon becoming the size of an ordinary person.

He raised his palm vertically and started chanting spells. His voice was grand, resounding through the sky, filling the ears.

In just a moment, rings of dazzling brilliance shot out like silver stars, blazing like torches, radiating from his body, illuminating every detail of his face. Eventually, a light like a rising sun soared from his back, covering the sky and earth, enveloping the entire area.