Rumble!!!
In the dead of night, a deafening roar echoed throughout Linfu County!
More than a dozen streams of brilliant light, of varying colors, shot up into the sky from the Chenghuang Pavilion. The immense power and divine might instantly swept across more than half the county town!
The magnificent Chenghuang Pavilion was instantly reduced to ruins by the terrifying power fluctuations.
At this moment, the Chenghuang of Linfu County exerted his full strength, activating the parts of the formation he could still control, shielding himself and the three people behind him, Zhang Qingyang.
Before them, a group of Nine Xuan Sect disciples stood with solemn expressions, blocking Zhou Wentao and his companions, as well as the five deities.
Eight inner disciples activated a combined attack technique, continuously channeling power into Lin Yubai. The sect's prodigy then managed to fend off Zhou Wentao, who was at the early stage of the third realm, and several guards in the mid-to-late stage of the second realm.
Above them, Jiang Yunzhou and the Chenghuang of Liyang City, along with other deities, confronted each other. Divine might permeated the air, and powerful auras intertwined, as if even the void were subtly distorted.
"Give up, you have no chance of winning."
The Chenghuang of Liyang City spoke with a cold expression.
Even without mentioning Zhou Wentao and the others, their side had five deities in the third realm, while the Nine Xuan Sect had only one at the peak of the third realm, and the disciples, using a combined attack technique, could temporarily contend with an early third-realm cultivator.
If a battle were to commence, in his eyes, these people would have no hope of victory.
"Five third-realm cultivators... the pressure is indeed a bit immense!"
Jiang Yunzhou sighed, then his gaze sharpened, and the aura around him immediately changed.
In an instant, he seemed to transform into a different person, enveloped in divine light, his demeanor distinctly altered.
The previous casualness was gone, and he now appeared like an emotionless deity, exuding an aura of solemn majesty.
"Attack!"
The Chenghuang of Liyang City whispered, and two Mountain God deities behind him attacked simultaneously.
The two deities transformed into divine light and surged forward. Their powerful divine force manifested as formidable divine abilities, and they were about to descend together.
But at that moment, astonishing light erupted from Jiang Yunzhou's eyes. The divine power surging from within him transformed into rolling clouds and mist, instantly enveloping the five deities.
With a great shout, he lifted a dense expanse of mist and rapidly ascended towards the heavens. Before him appeared his destined artifact, a pure white jade pendant entwined with clouds.
The jade pendant was carved with nine flood dragons, all swallowing clouds and mist over mountains and rivers, their bodies shrouded in mist as they soared.
At this moment, the jade pendant shone brilliantly. More than a dozen dao patterns emerged, and the flood dragons on it seemed to come alive, as if wriggling on the pendant.
The five deities broke through the mist and stood high in the sky, radiating brilliant divine might. With every movement, they unleashed powerful divine abilities.
Jiang Yunzhou remained unfazed, the light in his eyes brighter than ever.
Once a prodigy of the Nine Xuan Sect, he had been ambushed by villains, forcing him to reluctantly cultivate the divine path. For decades, he had remained within the sect, never venturing out.
He had once fallen into despair, even contemplating abandoning his cultivation and living a simple life as a mortal.
For decades, not only had there been no news of him from the outside world, but even within the sect, fewer and fewer people remembered that there was once an inner disciple prodigy whose fame had once resounded throughout Lingyang Prefecture.
If nothing had gone wrong, as this prodigy matured, he would have succeeded the Nine Xuan Sect's sect master, becoming a truly renowned figure.
"Yun Qi!"
Jiang Yunzhou shouted in a deep voice, his aura reaching its peak!
As his voice rose, the divine mist began to churn violently. Then, cloud dragons surged into the sky, using their massive bodies to block the incoming divine abilities.
A total of nine flood dragons condensed from mist soared above the golden, radiant clouds. With the nine streams of light emanating from Jiang Yunzhou's destined artifact, they merged into the heads of each cloud dragon.
Instantly, surges of incomparably powerful auras echoed throughout the night sky.
"Competing in numbers?"
Jiang Yunzhou's voice, devoid of emotion, rang out as he looked coldly at the five deities before him.
Nine cloud dragons soared around him, each emitting a fluctuation not inferior to that of the third realm, and even within the early stages, they were among the stronger ones.
As a disciple of the Cloud Peak of the Nine Xuan Sect, he feared group battles the least!
Even though he had now embarked on the divine path, he would not dishonor his heritage!
"How is this possible!"
The Chenghuang of Liyang City's expression finally changed.
He stared at the scene before him in shock, unable to comprehend how the other party could support the realm of nine cloud dragons solely through his own Dao principles!
Yes, Jiang Yunzhou's own Dao principles had endowed each of the nine cloud dragons with a realm comparable to the early stage of the third realm!
To outsiders, this was almost an impossible feat, hard to believe that anyone in this world could achieve such a level!
It was impossible to imagine how profound and powerful this person's realm would be if his Dao principles were to merge.
Rumble!!!
In just a few breaths, successive roars echoed in the sky. The terrifying power and immense divine might stirred the wind and clouds in the sky above more than half of Linfu County.
Jiang Yunzhou, single-handedly controlling nine early third-realm cloud dragons, fought the five deities to a standstill, even gaining a slight advantage!
"A former prodigy... that dazzling star, it seems, has never truly fallen!"
Zhou Wentao looked up at the sky, sighed, and then slowly withdrew his gaze.
As the person second only to the Prefect in the Prefectural Government, he naturally knew Jiang Yunzhou.
He had even witnessed firsthand the peak of his brilliance, when he had made the geniuses of Lingyang Prefecture gasp for breath, with only a select few able to contend with him.
He had thought that this rising star had fallen, but he never expected that after decades, the other party had reached such a stage.
If he hadn't switched to the divine path, he would likely have successfully formed a Golden Core by now...
A hundred-year Golden Core would be enough to bring glory to the Nine Xuan Sect for centuries to come, and even give birth to a young powerful figure.
After withdrawing his gaze, Zhou Wentao turned his attention to the group before him. These inner disciples of the Nine Xuan Sect, while not as dazzling as Jiang Yunzhou, were nonetheless true geniuses in the eyes of ordinary sects and powers.
Especially Lin Yubai at the forefront, who was currently the inner sect prodigy. Under the combined attack technique of the eight fellow disciples, he now exuded an extremely powerful aura.
Without a doubt, Lin Yubai now possessed the strength to contend with an early third-realm cultivator, and even had a considerable chance of winning.
However, it was a great pity that their side did not have just one third-realm cultivator.
An old man sighed and, putting on an act, stepped forward to say, "I alone can suppress you all, so resist less."
This person's cultivation at the mid-stage of the third realm indeed qualified him as a formidable figure. Many sects with orderly inheritances could not even produce a cultivator of this realm.
Generally, sects that had been passed down for hundreds of years only had one or two early third-realm cultivators holding the fort.
However, before this person's voice had even fallen, a chilling sensation erupted in his heart, and a sense of mortal peril suddenly enveloped him.
Without a second thought, the old man shot up into the sky. A beam of sword light flashed through the place where he had just stood!