Chapter 1005: 104
The power of the Witch Soul Upheaval Array was mysteriously siphoned off a portion, causing the Great Witch Servant’s attack to greatly diminish in strength. Upon collision with the crazy old man, he only managed to knock the other party flying.
"Hahaha, is this your killer move? It’s good enough to bluff children."
The crazy old man laughed heartily, yet his eyes were ice cold. At this point, with both sides at a standoff, he only hated that his own strength was too weak, preventing him from taking revenge with his own hands on behalf of Brother Shi!
"You’re enough to kill."
The Great Witch Servant refused to show weakness, yet an extremely bad premonition rose in his heart. Because the power of the Array was clearly being drawn by the stone door—what on earth had happened?
He frantically urged the Witch Ancestor’s blood that he had not easily condensed, attempting to pull back the power, but the suction from the other side of the stone door was even stronger, and the power of the battle array was uncontrollably draining away.
Bang, bang, bang.
The crazy old man fought with increasing vigor.
At this moment, everyone could see that something was amiss and they all looked in the direction where the power was being drained. A ring of glowing spirals had formed, precisely at the entrance of the Witch Queen’s temple.
"Someone’s here!"
The second Great Witch Servant exclaimed.
Although the sound of intense fighting was incessant, the heroes at the scene had extraordinary senses; no slight movement could escape their awareness, let alone footsteps. It was just that because of the Array’s shielding, they couldn’t make out any figures.
No outsiders have ever been in the Witch Queen’s temple, and all the Witch Heavenly Guards had rushed outside. So who could it be? A flash of lightning entered the minds of the four Great Witch Servants at the same time.
The footsteps drew nearer, clearly ringing in everyone’s ears, and at last, people saw the one who walked out of the glowing spiral, and they stood dumbfounded.
"It’s actually him..."
"Kirin!"
"The sixth Great Witch Servant!"
In a wave of murmurs, the people on the scene wore strange expressions.
Because the crazy old man had colluded with Yan Zhenning and for the sake of Kirin had fallen into danger, and also, according to some disciples from top-tier forces, as early as in Mist Rain Town, Kirin had a close relationship with the Yan family and even fought valiantly for Yan Yuchai against numerous geniuses.
Now many people were spreading rumors that Kirin was also one of the Outer Heaven Demons.
At this moment, as he walked out from behind the stone door, what awaited him was no longer gratitude and reverence from the Witch Queen’s temple. On the contrary, as a suspect, he would be detained and put on trial until the day the truth was unveiled.
"Kirin, what are you doing out here? Get back!"
The third Great Witch Servant shouted, his hand lashing out swiftly, palm shadows turbulent, blocking Shi Xiaole from all sides.
With this palm, he had used fifty percent of his strength, enough to seriously injure an ordinary Heaven Realm Martial Emperor. There was, of course, no need for such measures against Shi Xiaole, but the third Great Witch Servant intentionally did this to possibly influence the crazy old man.
"You tell me to go back, and I should just go back? Who do you think you are?"
As the palm shadow approached, Shi Xiaole raised his hand and the siphoned battle array’s power formed a barrier of light, blocking it in front of him.
Boom!
The force scattered, and Shi Xiaole stood in place, unscathed.
"What?"
"It’s really him, he can actually control the Witch Soul Upheaval Array. What exactly is going on?"
The scene fell silent for a moment, then bursts of exclamations arose.
None present were fools, from the moment Shi Xiaole appeared, some had noticed the clues, yet still couldn’t believe it. Wasn’t it known that through generations, only the Great Witch Servant could comprehend and control the Witch Soul Upheaval Array, not even the four Great Witch Servants?
But the scene just now had shattered this convention.
The third Great Witch Servant’s face looked unbearably grim. Hadn’t he harbored doubts? But he had still clung to a stroke of hope. Could this be the opportunity that Kirin had received behind the stone door?
Everyone else was dumbstruck.
Just as the crazy old man was about to be subdued, at this critical moment, the long-absent Kirin reappeared and took control of the Witch Queen’s temple’s Array. Even more bizarre was that his control seemed to be even stronger than that of the Great Witch Servant.
Could the situation change?
"Kirin, you collude with the Outer Heaven Demons, with treacherous intentions, double-dealing, and now you even disrespect your superiors. I will punish you in the name of the Witch Queen, kneel down!"
The Great Witch Servant was also shocked by Shi Xiaole’s control over the array, but upon reflection, he understood.
The other party had also condensed the Witch Ancestor’s blood, and its purity could only be higher than his own. Perhaps he had acquired the diagram of the Witch Soul Upheaval Array behind the stone door.
But even so, the other party was still not a concern. A cold smile in his heart, the Great Witch Servant boldly activated the Witch Heart Destruction Great Method. An arcane spiritual force that only the crazy old man could sense suddenly originated from within Shi Xiaole.
The crazy old man didn’t have the time to stop it, nor was he able to, when he saw that Shi Xiaole looked as usual and said blandly, "What Outer Heaven Demons? I don’t understand what you’re talking about."
"Impossible!"
The Great Witch Servant’s face finally underwent a great change, continuously using the Witch Heart Destruction Great Method, to no avail.
He then realized that the marks he had implanted into Shi Xiaole’s spiritual sea, were like ink droplets into a pond—they’d been fine undisturbed, but once activated, they were immediately diluted, let alone turning the other party into a puppet, he couldn’t even influence him.
"This kid..."
The four Great Witch Servants looked at each other, their expressions filled with utter disbelief.
"Hahaha, it seems your grand method is utterly useless, a trifle unworthy of the public eye."
The crazed old man burst into laughter towards the ashen-faced Great Witch Servant, swinging his staff repeatedly to produce a barrage of images. With the power of the Witch Soul Upheaval Array greatly diminished, he could now barely resist.
Shi Xiaole walked out from the stone door and, upon recognizing Uncle Wang, felt both gratitude and guilt, but it was also at that moment when he finally noticed the other’s empty left shoulder, dripping with fresh blood where an arm should have been.
In an instant, hot blood surged to his head. How could he not understand that the other had fallen into the trap and had an arm severed, all in an attempt to rescue him!
Fury swelling in his heart, Shi Xiaole spoke coldly, "I command all the Witch Heavenly Guards present to cease immediately!"
The statement sounded utterly nonsensical; many Witch Heavenly Guards scoffed subconsciously. The so-called Sixth Witch Servant was nothing more than a title granted to appease the Kirin; did he really think he had become someone important?
"I think you may have forgotten the oath I took before entering the stone gate."
Shi Xiaole said indifferently.
Like thunderbolts on a clear day, the reminder caused many to recall, and their expressions changed drastically.
Indeed, to lure the Kirin into the stone door, everyone had sworn under the command of the five great Witch Servants to honor him as their leader and obey his commands once the Kirin safely returned.
However, the confidants of the five great Witch Servants had already explained the reason behind it, so nobody took it seriously. Now, not only had the Kirin returned safely, but it also seemed that the Great Witch Servant’s measures had proven ineffective.
All at once, the expressions of the Witch Heavenly Guards on the scene twisted, as ugly as if they had eaten ten pounds of excrement.
Violate an oath?
That was sworn with the heart of martial arts; who would dare to break it?
In their hesitation, the Witch Heavenly Guards who formed the battle array inevitably slowed their assault, affording Uncle Wang a tremendous breather.
The five great Witch Servants were both furious and frustrated, yet they were powerless. Some things, even they dared not touch. But were they to let this young man manipulate them?
It was Min Yunshu who responded the quickest, immediately piecing together something and laughing coldly, "Kirin, you’ve deceived the Great Witch Servant and the rest with your tricks. But alas, there’s a flaw in every plan. Men, seize him, and vindicate the temple of the Witch Queen!"
The Witch Heavenly Guard might be unable to take action, but that didn’t mean the Ancestral Temple couldn’t.
In Min Yunshu’s eyes, Shi Xiaole’s close ties with the royal side posed a threat to the Ancestral Temple. He wished nothing more than to promptly eliminate him without any hesitation.
The others weren’t foolish either; they quickly understood the implications.
"Shi Kirin, your audacity knows no bounds, conspiring with the Outer Heaven Demons against the temple of the Witch Queen. Even death is not enough for you, forfeit your life!"
The quickest to act was a middle-aged man in white from the Ancestral Temple.
This man swung a black iron whip adorned with rows of three-inch-long iron spikes on its surface, the tips emitting a strange orange glow, clearly mixed with a terrible poison.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The sound of the wind was fierce as the whip’s shadow suddenly spread to both sides, forming a fan of immense reach, its edges composed of countless spiked tips, stirring ferociously as it struck towards Shi Xiaole.
An Earth Realm Martial Emperor, this was an Earth Realm Martial Emperor, and in terms of strength, he was even above Min Tianliang, ranking as a strong contestant amongst the second-tier Earth Realm Martial Emperors.
No one could deny the brilliance of Kirin, hence no one could refuse the pleasure that came with stepping over Kirin. The middle-aged man in white was one such person.
Of course, he also didn’t dare to be the slightest bit careless; hence, he held back in his attack in case Kirin broke through again, allowing himself a quick retreat.
"Stop!"
With a thunderous roar, a palm shadow furiously struck out, and the one who made the move was none other than Pan Eunuch from the royal side.
Both in terms of position and identity, Pan Eunuch should neither have intervened nor stopped the man in white, as doing so could lead him into unrecoverable peril. Yet he did not hesitate for a moment.
"The one who should stop is you."
In mid-air, another punch intercepted the palm shadow, and with a collision, a destructive aftermath surged in all directions, their voices only emerging at this moment before being immediately drowned out by the loud explosion.
The interceptor was another gaunt middle-aged man from the Ancestral Temple. His name was Min Yuntian, a cousin of Min Yunshu, ranking within the top five experts in the Ancestral Temple.
This short delay allowed the middle-aged man in white’s whip shadow to successfully attack Shi Xiaole, its violent and sharp aura cutting through everything like a blade reflecting the lives of many, sparing nothing and no one.
"This is the consequence of overestimating oneself, well-deserved."
The chest of the Third Witch Servant heaved as he watched the scene, feeling an indescribable satisfaction. He didn’t believe that in just half a year, Shi Xiaole could elevate himself to the next level and catch this powerful attack.
"Kirin, did you think you had us in your grasp? Foolish."
Both the Second Witch Servant and the Fourth Witch Servant wore faces full of mockery.
And the other Witch Heavenly Guards were even more thrilled.
For besides the man in white, other experts from the Ancestral Temple were ready to strike, lying in wait. With such a force arrayed against him, even if Kirin had three heads and six arms he was bound to die. Aside from death, there was no other path.
"Whoever harms him will pay with their life!"
This was the crazed old man’s shout, urgent and anxious, yet even with the power of the Witch Soul Upheaval Array reduced by half, it still wasn’t something he could break through.
As the lethal aura approached, the calmest person on the field turned out to be Shi Xiaole.
The numerous whip shadows intersected in his pitch-black eyes, drawing countless lines, which eventually condensed into a single thread.
Shi Xiaole drew his sword from its scabbard.
