Hu Mazi walked over, following his gaze, “Waiting for a bigger fish?”
“The Eighth Palace wouldn’t send just these weaklings.” Chen Ping sheathed his sword, then abruptly turned, pointing his blade at a patch of empty space, “Had enough of watching?”
The air rippled, and a figure wearing a bronze mask slowly emerged.
Unlike the earlier black-clad men, this one had eight jade tokens hanging from their waist, each carved with a different ferocious beast.
“Temple Patrol Envoy?” Mad Immortal’s pupils shrank, whispering to Chen Ping, “Brother, this is real trouble.”
The masked figure didn’t attack immediately, instead glancing at the three dead grey-robed elders, their voice raspy like grinding metal, “Impressive Myriad Illusions Heavenly Art. Who taught you that illusion technique?”
Chen Ping didn’t answer, instead retorting, “None of your bloody business?”
The air froze. A terrifying pressure erupted from the masked figure, the eight jade tokens glowing simultaneously, “So it is you.”
“I didn’t expect, as a mere patrol envoy of the Eighth Palace, to encounter an enemy of our Temple. You’re Chen Ping, aren’t you? The one who destroyed our Ninth and Tenth Palaces?”
“Correct, that’s your granddad, me!” Chen Ping nodded.
Since it had come to this, Chen Ping decided to go all in, boldly admitting it.
The masked figure slowly drew a bone whip from their waist, “I’ll extract your soul and hang it on the Temple’s soul lamp to burn for a century.”
Hu Mazi stepped forward, but Chen Ping stopped him, “You can’t handle this.” He whispered, “Take everyone and retreat, don’t engage.”
Chen Ping wasn’t sure of the patrol envoy’s strength, but it was likely higher than Huo Zhao, the Eighth Palace Master.
And he didn’t know if other Temple members were nearby, so he could only urge Hu Mazi and the others to retreat first.
If he wasn’t a match, he could still find a chance to escape.
If he couldn’t win, running wasn’t a problem.
The masked figure sneered, “No one’s leaving.”
The bone whip suddenly extended a hundred zhang, coiling like a living thing towards Hu Mazi’s neck.
But the whip’s shadow was severed mid-air by a golden sword light.
Chen Ping, now standing in mid-air, had a massive golden dragon phantom behind him, “Your opponent is me.”
The masked figure finally grew serious, “Golden dragon? You’re from the Dragon Clan?” They ripped off their mask, revealing a face covered in writhing curse runes, “Then you absolutely cannot live!”
The curse runes squirmed like worms, quickly covering their entire body.
Their form began to warp, sprouting scales and bone spikes, transforming into a half-human, half-serpent monster.
The eight jade tokens merged into their body, forming grotesque bone armour at their joints.
“Divine Serpent Transformation!” Mad Immortal cried out, “Brother, be careful! This is an ancient divine technique of the God Clan!”
The serpent-transformed envoy let out a sky-shaking roar, the sound waves shattering rocks for ten li around.
Their claws slashed out, five black streaks tearing through space towards Chen Ping’s throat.
Chen Ping didn’t dodge, his Dragon-Slaying Sword splitting into thousands, raining down like a storm.
“Get out of here…”
Chen Ping roared!
The aura of this Temple patrol envoy made even Chen Ping feel a sense of danger, so he had to make everyone leave first!
“Brother, I’m not leaving, we’ll help you!”
Gadfly and Mad Immortal wanted to assist Chen Ping!
“My son-in-law, I’m not leaving either!” Bai Yi refused to go.
“Chen Ping, I’m definitely not leaving!” Hu Mazi declared.
“Damn it, get the hell out! If you stay, you’ll just be a burden!” Chen Ping could only curse.
But he was telling the truth, if they stayed, he’d have to divert energy to protect them.
Even if he wasn’t a match, he could still escape!
If worst came to worst, he’d let the Crimson Cloud Demon Lord possess him, and wiping out this patrol envoy should be no issue!
But if the others stayed and were captured by the envoy, Chen Ping would be caught in a bind!
Hearing this, everyone froze, until Hu Mazi waved his hand, “Retreat, don’t be a burden to Chen Ping.”
The group began to withdraw, and Xie Zhong, leading Flying Tiger City’s soldiers, narrowly escaped disaster, finally able to catch their breath.
But their losses were heavy, with less than a third of their forces remaining.
