Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Eight

Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Eight

Tang Jiu lay motionless on the ground, and the elders of Xianshan looked on in astonishment, truly noticing Shen Wang for the first time.

"How do you know so many spells?!" blurted out an elder from Penglai who had tried to take Shen Wang as a disciple.

No one knew better than them how much effort it took to master even a single art.

Even in the spirit-rich mountains of Xianshan, where cultivating one art required their utmost effort, Shen Wang's prowess in alchemy matched that of the Xianshan elders, and his formation skills even defeated the renowned master Tang Jiu.

For a moment, the elders felt a chill in their hearts.

Looking at Shen Wang's youthful face, they exchanged glances, their resolve to eliminate such a foe only strengthening: this enemy must not be allowed to grow any further!

Otherwise, not only would their lives be in danger, but the entire Xianshan might fall to his overwhelming power.

With their minds made up, the elders' aura surged, ready to strike with full force, and even their comrade Gu Manting felt the immense pressure.

Gu Manting was not alarmed but delighted: Now, Shen Wang would surely die!

However, Shen Wang, surrounded by the elders, remained calm. Squinting, he assessed them, already strategizing: "Five people, three at high-level Foundation Building, two at the initial stage of Bigu."

In the world of mysticism, Foundation Building was a formidable level, with the highest being high-level Foundation Building, and among the elders of Xianshan, there were two experts of the Bigu stage.

No wonder the mystic world was so suppressed.

Shen Wang, currently at mid-level Foundation Building, was technically outmatched by them, akin to using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

But unfortunately...

Shen Wang pulled out a stack of talismans, and the formation symbols under his feet began to flow anew, even more agile than when Tang Jiu had used them.

Unfortunately, their lack of real combat experience, coupled with facing Shen Wang, a master of defeating stronger opponents, was their downfall.

In the cultivation world, Shen Wang could hold his own against the unadulterated mighty, so what of these 'experts' now?

Before the elders could react, they were engulfed by the expanding formation, falling into the illusionary array prepared by Shen Wang, followed by a barrage of exploding talismans, catching them off guard.

The elders soon realized that they had been forcibly separated from their companions, cursing in frustration, "Damn that Shen Wang!"

"If I catch you, I'll flay and disembowel you!"

Trapped in the formation, the elders cursed while fending off strange beasts that emerged from nowhere and dodging exploding talismans, thrown into utter chaos.

As their anger peaked, Shen Wang suddenly appeared with a long sword, causing the elders to shift from fury to joy, "You dare to show yourself!"

Blinded by rage, they hurled their magical treasures at Shen Wang viciously, which would have been lethal had it truly been him.

Outside the formation, Shen Wang stood at a distance, unharmed and composed, deftly manipulating the glittering formation runes like puppet strings.

The elders, like puppets, were indistinguishably engaged with the 'Shen Wang' in the illusion, only to realize they were actually attacking their companions.

Tang Jiu, who had regained consciousness, watched Shen Wang masterfully control the formation, his eyes nearly popping out in shock, "You! This is my formation, how can you use it?"

"No, what have you done to the elders? Why are they fighting each other?"

"What sorcery is this?!"

Shen Wang turned to Tang Jiu with a smile, "Didn’t your teacher tell you not to use formations in front of someone with superior skills? Because they might take it from you."

Shen Wang spoke calmly, but Tang Jiu was rattled, "How is that possible? How can a formation be taken away?"

Understanding dawned on Shen Wang, realizing that the person who taught Tang Jiu wasn't very impressive either.

It was only slightly better than the mystic world, but just by a little bit.

Tang Jiu couldn't believe that his proudly mastered formation, which had even broken the predicament of Xianshan, seemed so feeble in Shen Wang's eyes, reminiscent of his days in the Tang family.

No matter how hard he tried, Shen Wang always overwhelmingly surpassed him on the path of talismanic arts.

While Shen Wang was deep in thought, a figure flew towards him from afar, calling out, "Shen Wang!"

It was Gu Dongting.

Shen Wang was startled, almost disrupting the formation runes and freeing the trapped elders. He quickly regained composure and asked unintentionally, "Why are you here?"

Seeing Shen Wang unharmed, Gu Dongting finally relaxed, "I saw you hadn't returned..."

Before finishing, he realized his slip of the tongue, pausing mid-sentence, then casually added, "Glad you're not hurt."

But Shen Wang had already sensed his unfinished words.

Shen Wang had been refining pills in a secluded chamber arranged by the special department these past few days, and with Gu Dongting’s unshakable status in the department, coupled with their well-known close relationship in the mystic world, just a word from him would make many willing to divulge Shen Wang's whereabouts.

Noticing Shen Wang’s peculiar look, Gu Dongting, usually composed, showed a rare hint of embarrassment, "What you're doing is undoubtedly provoking Xianshan, and I'm worried about your safety."

Always reserved and taciturn, it was the first time he so openly revealed his feelings, inevitably feeling a bit shy.

But recalling the bold teasing of another self in his memory, Gu Dongting shed his reservations, gazing at Shen Wang with bold and direct eyes, a faint blush of naivety tingeing the corners.

Shen Wang touched his nose, "Alright... then."

Feeling uneasy under Gu Dongting's gaze, Shen Wang forcibly changed the topic: "These people intended to attack me, and now I've trapped them in the formation. How should we deal with them?"

As his gaze shifted away from Shen Wang, Gu Dongting's gentleness vanished, leaving only a cold tone: "I'll take them back to the special department and deal with them according to the rules of the mystic world."

Shen Wang nodded, then with a mischievous smile while looking at Tang Jiu, who was immobilized by the backlash of the formation, said, "This guy is like a cockroach that can't be killed, annoyingly persistent..."

Gu Dongting turned his head to Shen Wang, silently waiting for what he would say next.

"I was just defending myself, so sparing his life should be enough, right?" Shen Wang stepped forward, asking with a smile.

Gu Dongting's eyes flashed: "Excessive defense is also acceptable."

Shen Wang certainly wanted to 'excessively defend' himself and kill Tang Jiu, but being the child of destiny, Tang Jiu couldn't be killed... Shen Wang stepped forward and injected a stream of spiritual energy into Tang Jiu under his horrified gaze.

Tang Jiu, unsure of Shen Wang's intentions, tried to maintain his composure, threatening, "Shen Wang! What are you doing! Murder is illegal, you can't..."

Before he could finish, he let out a piercing scream.

Tang Jiu felt as if every inch of his meridians were being sliced open, experiencing unbearable pain that spread inch by inch downward, finally reaching his dantian.

Overwhelmed by pain, Tang Jiu’s mind blurred, but he instinctively felt something was wrong. Through his tear-blurred eyes, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, as his spiritual energy began leaking out like air from a deflated balloon.

"What, what's happening!" Panic surged in Tang Jiu's heart. Not knowing what had happened, he sensed he had lost something vital, "What have you done to me!"

Meanwhile, the sky had turned unusually dark, as if thunderstorms were brewing invisibly.

Shen Wang looked up at the sky and said, "I didn’t do much, just shattered your Eight Extraordinary Meridians and poked a hole in your dantian."

Such an act of crippling someone’s cultivation was extremely vicious. Shen Wang, who reserved such harsh measures for his deadliest enemies, wouldn't normally resort to this, except for Tang Jiu, who couldn't be killed, and thus had to be dealt with in this manner.

Tang Jiu's pupils constricted, momentarily forgetting the intense pain as he clutched his abdomen where his spiritual energy was leaking, his face deathly pale: "Impossible! Impossible! I am the savior, the prophesied hero, I can't become a cripple..."

No matter how tightly he tried to cover his abdomen, strands of spiritual energy still seeped through his fingers. Tang Jiu's mind was in turmoil, his spiritual energy running wild within him, causing him to cough up blood in agony and scream incessantly.

Shen Wang looked down at the writhing Tang Jiu with a casual apology, "This is my first time crippling someone's cultivation. I might have been a bit heavy-handed, it might hurt a bit, sorry about that."

In such a situation, his light apology seemed particularly infuriating.

Shen Wang thought of his own ending in the original story, where he was painfully drained of every drop of blood and died. His body was taken to the Tang family's ancestral home, enclosed in a thousand-year-old locust wood coffin, with eighteen soul-sealing nails hammered into his body: his brow, chest, limbs, hands, and feet, cruelly trapping his soul within.

Amidst the excruciating pain of his soul being torn apart, Tang Jiu stood outside the coffin, lightly apologizing, "Sorry, Shen Wang, I accidentally took over your identity. Since you're already dead, I'll just use your body to repay my parents' kindness..."

But now, Tang Jiu was still alive. Shen Wang thought indifferently.

At that moment, a thunderbolt finally struck from the sky. Gu Dongting, startled, swiftly tackled Shen Wang to the ground, shielding him behind himself.

The next second, the thunderbolt struck right beside them.

Shen Wang immediately threw out five life-bound swords. The colorful Five Elements Sword appeared dim under the thunderbolt's glare. He pushed Gu Dongting away and quickly retreated several steps.

The thunderbolt followed his movements, striking down with nine consecutive bolts.

Gu Dongting was frantic, his eyes almost bursting with desperation, "Shen Wang!!!"

Shen Wang, however, burst into laughter. He looked up at the sky and shouted, "You're protecting this too? Seems like the heavens are blind!"

"Come on, let's see if it's my life that's tougher or yours!"

Daring to provoke the heavens at such a time! Gu Dongting's pupils shrank, disregarding everything else, and flew to Shen Wang's side, "Shen Wang!"

Shen Wang looked at him with a smile, "This is divine retribution, aren't you afraid?"

For the first time in many years, he was so intensely emotional, both anxious and angry, his face flushed with anger as he said, "What do you think?"

Shen Wang laughed again.

Since returning to the mystic world, Shen Wang had been restraining his temper, a stark change from his unrestrained and taboo-free style in the cultivation world. He almost thought modern society had smoothed his edges, protecting the young mystics like a mother hen.

But now, he finally revealed his arrogant and unrestrained true nature, his features carefree and handsome like a gem cleansed of dust, shining brilliantly and captivatingly.

"To hell with the child of destiny, to hell with the way of heaven."

Shen Wang gave the sky the middle finger.