Chapter 144 - 117: Night Parade of Hundred Demons

Chapter 144: Chapter 117: Night Parade of Hundred Demons

At the sight, the Old Temple Priest could no longer afford to hesitate. He leaped up from his meditation cushion, his expression turning incredibly grim.

He knew this was a sign that a monumental disaster was about to strike.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he rushed into the inner chamber and took down the long-dust-covered Magic Sword from its rack.

When he emerged, the usual affability on his aged face was gone, replaced by the grim and resolute stillness of a mountain.

"Master!"

Ge Kun had also sensed that something was wrong and had rushed to the main hall. But the moment he crossed the threshold and saw his master’s grave expression, as if facing a formidable foe, his heart sank.

Just then, several dark figures slipped into the City God Temple without a sound.

The leader of the group wore a wide, black cloak, his hood pulled so low that his face was completely obscured.

The most unsettling part was that his lower body was shrouded in a gray mist. As he moved, his feet hovered a few inches off the ground, as if treading on air.

Their objective was perfectly clear. They crossed the front courtyard and made a beeline for the main hall.

Their undisguised, chilling killing intent was so potent it made the incense in the hall flicker and sway.

"What curs dare trespass on the sacred grounds of the City God!"

The Old Temple Priest roared. With a flick of his Magic Sword, the hundreds of years of Incense and Candle Power accumulated within the main hall were instantly mobilized, forming a visible golden wave of energy that slashed viciously toward the spectral man at the fore.

This strike gathered the Divine Power of the entire temple—enough to slay demons and exorcise devils!

The cloaked man, however, merely raised a hand in contempt and gave a casual wave.

A viscous gray mist materialized from thin air. Like a great net, it effortlessly swallowed and dissipated the golden wave of energy.

"The old fool has some fight in him. But it’s useless. Today is the day you so-called champions of the righteous path meet your end."

As he spoke, the gray mist suddenly condensed into a hideous ghostly hand that shot directly toward the Old Temple Priest and his disciple, Ge Kun.

Before the hand even reached them, its bone-chilling, sinister aura was already so intense that Ge Kun felt his entire body freeze, making it nearly impossible to breathe.

He bit the tip of his tongue, forcing a sharp intake of breath, and flung out several talismans.

"Decree!"

The talismans erupted in flames and struck the ghostly hand, but they vanished without a trace, like stones cast into the sea, failing to cause even the slightest ripple.

Just as the ghostly hand was about to crush the master and disciple, a flash of grim resolve appeared in the Old Temple Priest’s eyes.

He violently shoved Ge Kun backward, taking the brunt of the ghostly hand’s crushing force with his own back.

PFFT!

A spray of fresh blood erupted from his mouth. The Old Temple Priest staggered, his face instantly turning ashen.

"Go! Warn the others!" he roared hoarsely, using every last ounce of his strength.

"Master!"

Ge Kun’s eyes went crimson as hot tears streamed down his face.

He knew his master had resolved to die, sacrificing his own life to buy him time.

Not daring to disobey, he turned to run.

"Thinking of leaving?" the cloaked man sneered. "It won’t be that easy."

The ghostly hand shot out again, lunging straight for the center of Ge Kun’s back.

In that hair’s-breadth moment, the Old Temple Priest’s final, furious roar echoed from behind him.

"Divine Light Decree!"

The Old Temple Priest’s body suddenly erupted in brilliant golden light. Without a hint of hesitation, he was burning his own Soul to forcibly activate his ultimate trump card: the Temple Protection Secret Technique!

A thick pillar of golden light shot toward the heavens, instantly shattering the gray ghostly hand. It tore through the roof of the main hall, a sharp sword piercing the firmament!

For a brief moment, the golden light illuminated a corner of the night sky over the Sea Guardian Guard.

"You old bastard, you’re courting death!"

The cloaked man clearly hadn’t expected the old Daoist to be so unyielding. He let out a roar of shocked fury and finally got serious.

The surging gray mist transformed into countless venomous snakes that swarmed the Old Temple Priest from all directions.

The Old Temple Priest was now a spent force. The power he’d gained by burning his Soul was fading fast.

He managed to parry for a few more exchanges with his Magic Sword before a serpent of mist sent him flying. He crashed heavily against the base of the City God Statue, another violent spray of blood bursting from his lips.

His body aged at a visible rate. His skin slackened, his hair turned brittle and white, as if decades of his life had been drained away in an instant.

A figure flashed before him, and a hand as withered as a dead branch pressed down on the top of his skull.

The cloaked man finally revealed his true face. It was a visage like withered tree bark, with deeply sunken eye sockets. His eyes were filled with an icy, deathly stillness, making him look not quite human.

"Did you think your little warning would work?" the Withered and Flourishing Daoist sneered, his voice sharp and piercing. "Don’t forget, it’s New Year’s Eve. Everyone outside is setting off fireworks. Who would notice a little flash of light like that?"

"Old bastard, kneel and beg for mercy right now, and I... I’ll deign to let you live."

The Old Temple Priest lifted his head. There was not a hint of submission or fear in his clouded eyes—only icy contempt.

He looked at the Withered and Flourishing Daoist and, with great effort, pulled the corners of his mouth into a barely audible sneer.

His eyes seemed to say, ’You? Worthy?’

The killing intent in the Withered and Flourishing Daoist’s eyes instantly boiled over.

"You’re courting death!"

His palm slammed down with sudden force.

The Old Temple Priest’s body went rigid, and the last spark of light in his eyes was extinguished forever.

Then, like a weathered statue, his body crumbled inch by inch, turning to a puff of fine ash that dissipated into the air.

At almost the exact same moment.

BOOM!

The City God Statue in the center of the main hall—the very statue that had protected the Sea Guardian Guard for centuries—let out one final, mournful cry before exploding, shattering into a pile of rubble.

...

Ge Kun, who had just burst through the temple gates, felt his heart seize violently, as if gripped by an invisible hand, the pain so sharp he couldn’t breathe.

He instinctively looked back, just in time to see the heaven-piercing pillar of golden light tragically fade into the night sky.