Chapter 273: The Protector Messenger

There are six paths in the cycle of reincarnation, with the Xiu Luo path being one of them, also known as the "Mo" path.

The Xiu Luo clan was originally created by Minghe Laozu, the lord of the Blood Sea. Back then, Minghe Laozu imitated Nuwa in creating humans, using his immense magical powers to form the Xiu Luo clan in an attempt to achieve sainthood.

Unfortunately, Heaven's Way did not recognize it at the time, so Minghe Laozu's creation of the Xiu Luo path turned out to be nothing more than a bunch of companions for himself.

On a side note, among the strongest Xiu Luo created by Minghe Laozu were the four great leaders, the four Xiu Luo generals, and the seventy-two Xiu Luo princesses.

Moreover, the Xiu Luo clan is notorious for their males being fierce and their females being extraordinarily beautiful.

Tsk, some things are better not dwelled upon.

Now, regarding the twelve Xiu Luo from the Hai Shen Cult who attacked today, their cultivation levels weren't particularly high.

As one female Xiu Luo shouted, "Come out and face your death!"

Li Changshou emerged from the hall, flicked his dust whisk, and stood there with an air of composure.

In the shadows, wisps of poisonous powder had already burrowed out of the ground, colorless and odorless, quietly wrapping around the twelve Xiu Luo.

Since he wasn't sure about the Xiu Luo clan's resistance to poison, Li Changshou had deliberately increased the dosage several times over.

To be extra cautious, Li Changshou considered that the Xiu Luo, living in the Blood Sea, might already be immune to all poisons, so he had thirty-six micro killing arrays ready to activate at any moment.

Having already survived his Jin Xian tribulation, these poisonous powders, poisonous pills, and even this batch of paper effigies were all outdated items for Li Changshou. No matter how many he used, he wouldn't feel any regret.

Things like intense battles or narrow escapes from death were basically impossible for Li Changshou.

Staying level-headed was his guiding principle.

Flee if the enemy is strong, strike if the enemy is weak—that was his fundamental approach.

He always resolved enemies with the most straightforward methods and included a one-click cremation service as his standard way of life!

Matters like dying from talking too much, bathing in lotus fragrance, or loudly announcing one's technique names—thankfully, none of that was likely to happen with him.

So, as the twelve Xiu Luo stepped over the ruins of the Hai Shen Temple's gate, the eight weaker ones behind suddenly collapsed forward in unison.

The four four-armed Xiu Luo only had time to glance back at their companions before slumping to the ground.

From the ground, four burly paper effigies emerged, gathering these half-dead bodies together for swift elimination.

Suddenly, Li Changshou's eyebrows twitched, and he looked down at the crack in the ground caused by the earlier blade strike.

The four paper effigies quickly retreated to the corners.

Fluctuations in Qian Kun space appeared below the crack, clearly indicating that an expert was secretly opening a teleportation portal.

Who could this expert be?

Li Changshou's first thought was Jin Chan Zi.

During the East Sea battle, he had clearly seen Jin Chan Zi skillfully using Qian Kun techniques, able to directly tear open space and escape into the void from the seabed.

But pointing out the Western Cult directly at this moment would be unwise.

Li Changshou remained perfectly calm, immediately ordering the divine envoys outside the temple to evacuate the mortals.

Even if the great temple here was destroyed, as long as it didn't increase his karmic burdens, it wouldn't be a loss for him.

From the crack came the noise of chains scraping against rock, and the earth began to tremble. Four massive figures, each wrapped in pitch-black chains, slowly flew up from the depths, like demons crawling from the earth.

These were four eight-armed Xiu Luo, each with an aura comparable to that of a human Jin Xian in the early stage!

Not only that, sixteen blood-red vortices appeared in the sky, from which streams of armored Xiu Luo warriors—both male and female—emerged, their cultivations ranging from Tian Xian to Zhen Xian levels.

Li Changshou took a closer look—indeed, the males were fierce and the females beautiful.

Cough, that wasn't important.

In an instant, hundreds of figures surrounded by blood light stood in the air above the Hai Shen Temple, with the sixteen blood-red vortices slowly rotating. Li Changshou's gaze, however, remained fixed on the four eight-armed Xiu Luo.

Li Changshou said calmly, "The Xiu Luo clan—aren't you worried about my future retribution?"

One silver-haired eight-armed Xiu Luo, his eyes filled with emptiness, replied in halting Primordial common tongue, "We... have nothing left to lose. Hai Shen, we'll borrow your life for a moment."

As his words fell, beams of blood light appeared in the air, as over a thousand weapons gathered Xiu Luo power, their energies locking onto the elderly immortal in front of the hall.

They were emotionless killing machines!

Born of slaughter, condensed from Blood Sea power, forged into Xiu Luo bodies, today they would slaughter the Hai Shen and restore the Xiu Luo clan's glory.

"Wait!"

Li Changshou suddenly shouted, flames erupting all over his body as it was instantly consumed by Sanmei Zhenyan, turning to ashes in the blink of an eye!

The hundreds of Xiu Luo in the air, poised to strike, and the four eight-armed Xiu Luo on the ground, ready to swing their chains, all froze in unison.

The group of Xiu Luo exchanged glances. Having fought in the Blood Sea for ages and slain countless fierce beasts and ghosts, they had never seen anything like this—someone burning themselves to death before the fight even began.

One female Xiu Luo in the air asked in the Xiu Luo language, "General, what should we do?"

The lead eight-armed Xiu Luo general replied, "This is just an incarnation. Go capture some humans and use their mortal blood to defile his statue, forcing his true self to appear."

"Yes!"

Immediately, several Xiu Luo turned in the air, preparing to dive toward Anshui City.

But a light laugh echoed, reaching the ears of all the Xiu Luo.

"Don't bother—surely you know this place only has my incarnation?"

As the voice spoke, Li Changshou's figure strolled out from the hall.

Though he hadn't understood the Xiu Luo language, he had a rough idea of what they meant, and he couldn't afford not to show himself.

His goal now was simply to buy time.

In Anshui City, his divine envoys and the mortal guards of the Hai Shen Temple were quickly evacuating the mortals around the temple.

Li Changshou had already considered all sorts of scenarios, and this emergency evacuation had been drilled many times before.

Though the mortals were startled by the Xiu Luo aura and mostly panicked, their escape was not slow, and no elderly or children were left behind.

While this paper effigy of Li Changshou distracted the Xiu Luo, in the outskirts of the Hai Shen Temple, arms were emerging from various tree shades, secretly planting immortal beans infused with immortal power.

In front of the great hall, Li Changshou continued to stall with the group of Xiu Luo: "Are you all content to be used as pawns like this? Listen to that dragon's roar in the distance—the Dragon Clan experts are already on their way to reinforce us."

The lead eight-armed Xiu Luo stepped forward, making the ground shake beneath his feet.

"Pawns... Better than being discarded!"

The Xiu Luo general's lifeless eyes suddenly flashed with ferocity as two of his massive arms bulged, sending a chain as thick as a bowl hurtling toward Li Changshou's incarnation like a serpent!

This strike was just a probe, not at full strength.

Li Changshou's eyebrows relaxed as he casually stepped forward a few paces, his dust whisk lightly waving to draw an irregular circle. Inside the circle, a red-and-blue Yin Yang diagram appeared, steadily blocking the chain.

The Yin Yang diagram spun gently, and the chain, carrying immense force, went limp and clattered uselessly onto the temple steps.

Li Changshou's paper effigy advanced slowly, a pure white lotus blooming and fading with each step.

After seven steps, he stood firmly in the air in front of the hall.

A breeze blew by, his bound white hair and the tips of his dust whisk swaying gently, his wide sleeves fluttering.

This elderly immortal hovered in place, facing the hundreds of Xiu Luo with a composed smile, speaking unhurriedly: "I offer you fellow Daoists two paths. Retreat now, and I won't hold you accountable for disturbing my peace. Insist on attacking today, and I will personally go to the Blood Sea another day to settle this with your Xiu Luo clan."

"War!"

One eight-armed Xiu Luo roared skyward, and the weapons in the hands of the Xiu Luo in the air flashed with light once more. Waves of terrifying blood fiend energy soared upward, darkening the skies over Anshui City!

"Are you sure you want war?"

Just as the four eight-armed Xiu Luo were about to move, Li Changshou chuckled lightly, feeling a surge of confidence.

Nothing more—the mortals had retreated far enough!

His laugh echoed through the heavens, and a rumbling sound came from beneath Anshui City's ground. A deep blue light pillar suddenly shot up from ten zhang outside the Hai Shen Temple walls!

At intervals of just three zhang, two more light pillars burst from the earth!

In an instant, three hundred and sixty-five light pillars encircled the Hai Shen Temple, trapping the hundreds of Xiu Luo inside like a prison!

Beyond the pillars, armored immortal soldiers materialized from the ground or emerged from below, wielding large shields and long bows, rising in ranks!

Hundreds, then thousands, then tens of thousands...

Thirty thousand in total!

In a flash, the shields formed walls and the arrows a forest!

The tide of battle had turned!

On the walls of the Hai Shen Temple's front courtyard, rows of pea shooters swayed their simple yet resilient bodies, preparing a volley of chaos!

At that moment, Li Changshou's figure still hovered calmly in front of the hall.

Golden light flashed in the hall as more elderly figures with identical faces—paper effigies—stepped out, their auras linking to form a subtle battle array!

"Daoist friend," the voices of the eighteen paper effigies blended together, "aren't you going to make a move?"

This was just part of the defensive forces of the main Hai Shen Temple.

Of course, it was nowhere near comparable to the defenses of Xiao Qiong Peak.

Even now, Li Changshou still hoped to avoid a full-scale war; he was simply advancing to force a retreat from these Xiu Luo.

The Xiu Luo in the air were no issue—they couldn't withstand a single volley from the immortal bean soldiers.

But if these four eight-armed Xiu Luo went berserk in Anshui City, the mortal casualties would be incalculable.

Karmic burdens and calamities were like inseparable partners!

And he alone couldn't control so many immortal bean soldiers; he could only give simple orders for them to fire in unison or block enemies, which wouldn't stop these four eight-armed Xiu Luo.

The Dragon Clan experts were probably ambushed—the Western Cult's schemes wouldn't leave such a big loophole.

Lure these four brutes to the back hall and use the Taiji Chart's power to eliminate them?

That seemed to be the only option now.

It was clear that these self-proclaimed "Mo" Xiu Luo were intimidated by the sheer number of bean soldiers; facing enemies a hundred times their own, most sensed the threat of death.

Even the four eight-armed Xiu Luo hesitated, wavering between advance and retreat.

No wonder—this display was truly intimidating.

They had no idea what other unseen forces might be coming.

In Li Changshou's mind, various contingency plans had already formed: how to retreat, how to lure the enemy, how to eliminate them, and how to suppress the battle's aftershocks here. The strategies were mostly in place.

However, what neither Li Changshou nor the Xiu Luo present knew was that in the corner of those sixteen blood-red vortices, two pairs of bright eyes were watching the scene at the Hai Shen Temple.

The owners of these eyes let out waves of "ooh ooh" exclamations.

These two sturdy figures were still at the edge of the Blood Sea in the You Ming Realm, squatting by a well swirling with blood light. The well showed the events at the Hai Shen Temple.

Behind them, Xiu Luo lay scattered everywhere, most already dead with horrific fist or foot marks on their bodies; a few were on their last breaths, coughing up blood.

The two sturdy figures muttered, "Wow, the Hai Shen is amazing."

"Impressive, I think we don't even need to step in—those eight-armed Xiu Luo are no match for the Hai Shen."

"We can't say that. If we don't help, how will we get close to the Hai Shen? Don't you want those delicious treats anymore? Running into this while out hunting is fate—understand? Today, us brothers have to show off in front of the Hai Shen!"

The two chuckled, then glanced at the tasteless roasted fierce beast meat in their hands and couldn't help but slurp.

After watching for a bit longer, the sturdy figure on the left suddenly laughed, "Ha! It's starting! Those old Xiu Luo are gathering their power! Time to move! One, two... smash them!"

The two moved in perfect sync, flinging several objects from their sides straight into the blood well!

This batch of special projectiles included, but was not limited to, a few large chunks of roasted meat, a greasy barbecue rack, and some unidentified object shaped like a head.

"Oh no! My head covering!"

Back at the Hai Shen Temple in Anshui City!

The four eight-armed Xiu Luo roared in unison, resolved to fight the Hai Shen.

Their eight massive feet stomped down, creating craters in the ground as their three-zhang-tall bodies leaped toward Li Changshou's eighteen incarnations!

Li Changshou responded instantly.

The eighteen incarnations took their stances, half retreating and half dodging left and right, as streams of immortal power rapidly gathered, transforming into various birds, beasts, insects, and fish that charged at the four massive figures.

Suddenly, strange whooshing sounds came from above, and wrinkles appeared in the Qian Kun space over the Hai Shen Temple!

Li Changshou quickly spotted four streaks of light falling, accurately striking the backs of the four eight-armed Xiu Luo!

The generals collapsed as if pressed down by giant hands, sending debris flying everywhere.

The entire temple foundation sank several inches, and the ground rumbled.

What was going on?

What did this mean?

When Li Changshou saw the four intact objects that had struck the eight-armed Xiu Luo, black lines appeared on his forehead.

They were two large roasted lamb legs, a greasy barbecue rack, and a lifelike "Niu Tou."

"Hai Shen, don't worry! I'm here to help!"

A shout rang out as a blood light shot from the corner vortex, landing almost instantly and taking form in front of one struggling eight-armed Xiu Luo!

The newcomer folded his arms, lifted a long, powerful leg, and casually stomped down, conjuring a ten-zhang earthen foot that pinned the eight-armed Xiu Luo into the ground, embedding its body in the earth.

The ground shook again, and the scene fell silent.

The other three eight-armed Xiu Luo jumped back dozens of zhang, as if they had seen a ghost.

The one who had effortlessly subdued the eight-armed Xiu Luo shook his horse head lightly, his meticulously groomed mane exuding confidence from top to bottom.

It was Ma Mian from the underworld.

Then, Ma Mian discreetly summoned the "Niu Tou head covering" from the ground and tossed it into the air.

Another blood light burst from the corner vortex, perfectly catching the head covering and landing with it already worn, jumping alongside Ma Mian to stand before Li Changshou and bowing with fists clasped.

"Underworld soul-hook messenger, Niu Tou!"

"Ma Mian!"

They chorused, "We come to pay our respects!"