At this moment, Old Toad Ancestor's expression was twisted with rage, his teeth clenched.
Beneath Treasure Distribution Rock, he had been utterly humiliated. How could he possibly let the matter rest?
At the same time, Old Toad Ancestor had been watching from the shadows and had long since learned of Linglong Ancestor and the others' intentions, as well as Jie Yin and the other two's intervention.
Therefore, after leaving earlier, he had not returned directly to the Celestial Court. Instead, he had lurked within the chaos, quietly waiting for this great battle to erupt.
This time, not only did he want revenge against Chen Ku and to reclaim his dignity, he also wanted to see whether he could pick up any spoils.
When he had seen Linglong Ancestor and the other five great quasi-saints make their move earlier, Old Toad Ancestor had been filled with excitement.
However, when he secretly witnessed Chen Ku confront Corpse Puppet Daoist head-on without falling at a disadvantage, even forcefully seizing that quasi-saint puppet, Old Toad Ancestor was stunned.
For a moment, Old Toad Ancestor was deeply shocked!
"This brat's strength is truly terrifyingly powerful."
"Could it be that he had already severed a corpse, and was merely deliberately suppressing himself earlier, pretending to possess the cultivation of a Grand Luo Golden Immortal?"
Old Toad Ancestor could not help muttering to himself.
Indeed!
Chen Ku's strength had completely surpassed the scope of a Grand Luo Golden Immortal.
This made Old Toad Ancestor suspect that perhaps this brat had been putting on an act all along.
Thinking of the Western cultivators' "shameless and despicable" style of conduct, such a possibility truly seemed plausible.
With that thought, it also seemed reasonable that Chen Ku had previously blocked his attack without suffering so much as a scratch.
After a long while, Old Toad Ancestor could only sigh inwardly.
"These Western creatures truly are black-hearted."
But immediately afterward, Old Toad Ancestor revealed a sinister smile.
"Heh heh, this is good too!"
"The stronger Chen Ku is, the more evenly he can fight Corpse Puppet Daoist."
"When the two of them are both grievously wounded, my opportunity will arrive."
Harboring the thought of letting the snipe and clam fight while the fisherman profited, Old Toad Ancestor continued watching the battle in the field.
In the field!
Having lost a quasi-saint-level puppet, Corpse Puppet Daoist was naturally maddened with hatred.
After a long while, he came back to his senses and grew even more enraged!
"Ah... brat, you are courting death!"
Corpse Puppet Daoist roared. His hair whipped wildly about, his Daoist robe snapped in the wind, and violent astral winds surged forth, shattering endless stars.
Then, he leaped into the air and unleashed all manner of divine abilities and great arts, launching an unceasing barrage at Chen Ku.
Seeing this, Chen Ku sighed helplessly.
"Ah... this old ghost really refuses to let up!"
"Suffering... who did I even provoke..."
With every utterance of suffering, the mana within him grew stronger by a fraction.
Though he said so, Chen Ku's movements did not hesitate in the slightest.
Six Roots Pure Bamboo in hand, he charged forward to meet the attack.
Since he had already revealed this natal companion spiritual treasure, there was no need to keep concealing it.
The spiritual treasure crashed down with overwhelming force, sweeping across millions of miles of void.
Rumble!
Heavenly sound exploded, and tribulation light nearly drowned out everything.
In an instant, every divine ability and great art of Corpse Puppet Daoist turned to nothingness beneath the divine might of Six Roots Pure Bamboo, ceasing to exist.
Not only that, Corpse Puppet Daoist's body stiffened, and a fleeting blank, bewildered look appeared in his eyes.
Six Roots Pure Bamboo could seal a person's six senses, leaving them at another's mercy. Such a powerful effect could not be overlooked.
Corpse Puppet Daoist was greatly alarmed and had no time to think!
He abruptly flipped his palm, and a pitch-black divine seal Dao tome appeared.
Myriad Puppets Dao Tome!
This was Corpse Puppet Daoist's natal spiritual treasure, ranked as a mid-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure.
Legend had it that each time Corpse Puppet Daoist refined a puppet, he could condense a strand of corpse puppet power and integrate it into the Myriad Puppets Dao Tome.
One could well imagine that its power was formidable.
"Kill!"
Corpse Puppet Daoist shouted as he immediately raised the Myriad Puppets Dao Tome in his hand.
In an instant, divine inscriptions intertwined throughout the sky, and Dao power surged.
Black light blotted out everything. The Myriad Puppets Dao Tome seemed to cover the heavens and earth, vast beyond compare, as it descended toward Chen Ku with tyrannical force.
Endless sinister and evil aura poured down, carrying a bizarre effect that suppressed the circulation of mana.
Chen Ku's expression shifted slightly as he felt his internal mana stagnate for an instant.
And in that brief blink of an eye, the Myriad Puppets Dao Tome had already reached above Chen Ku's head.
If this strike landed, even he would likely suffer severe injuries.
However, Chen Ku became even more domineering at this moment.
"Humph, a mere mid-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure is not worth mentioning!"
Before his words had faded, Chen Ku shot into the air and threw a punch.
With this move, the tyrannical power of his physical body poured forth, his blood and qi boiling violently and triggering bursts of shattering sounds throughout the void.
Boom!
Under that strike, the divine radiance of the Myriad Puppets Dao Tome suddenly dimmed. It flew backward like a streak of light before returning to Corpse Puppet Daoist's hand.
Corpse Puppet Daoist stood dumbfounded, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably!
He had resisted a spiritual treasure with his bare hands?!
Was this even a human?!
Chen Ku's strength once again left Corpse Puppet Daoist horrified to the point that his soul nearly fled his body.
Yet after withstanding the might of a spiritual treasure, Chen Ku's momentum only grew fiercer.
Cold lightning burst from his eyes. With his feet striding across the cosmos, he continued charging at Corpse Puppet Daoist with savage ferocity.
He struck with one palm, causing the void to sink, and directly stamped it onto Corpse Puppet Daoist's body.
The latter spat out blood in great mouthfuls as his body was sent retreating violently.
To Corpse Puppet Daoist's senses, the being before him was not an ordinary cultivator at all, but more like an unstoppable primordial ferocious beast.
The force of Chen Ku's physical collision alone was already impossible for Corpse Puppet Daoist to withstand.
At this moment, Chen Ku's thoughts were also churning.
Heh heh, so this is what they call breaking ten thousand techniques with one force?
Before absolute strength, all those flashy divine abilities and Dao arts are nothing but empty tricks.
No wonder the Witch Clan was so powerful, becoming one of the overlords between heaven and earth.
Chen Ku clicked his tongue inwardly, unable to suppress his amazement.
Only in a true battle like this had he come to understand the immense benefits brought by a powerful physical body.
No matter how many Dao arts you possessed, he could simply crush them all with sheer force.
Just as Chen Ku pressed forward step by step while Corpse Puppet Daoist retreated again and again—
In the shadows, Old Toad Ancestor's expression also changed greatly.
This battle was nearing its end. It was time for him to make his move.
He naturally believed that although Chen Ku appeared overwhelmingly powerful, the battle had reached this point, and his consumption must have been astonishing.
As long as he acted, whether Chen Ku or Corpse Puppet Daoist, both would already be spent forces incapable of stirring up any more trouble.
He concealed his form and aura as he silently made his way toward the battlefield between Chen Ku and Corpse Puppet Daoist.
He waited quietly for the crucial moment, when he would kill both of them with a single strike, seize every opportunity they possessed, and flee at once.
By then, even Jie Yin and Zhun Ti would likely be left staring helplessly, unable to do anything.
However, Old Toad Ancestor did not know—
At the exact moment he began moving and approached the battlefield—
Chen Ku's expression shifted slightly.
In the unseen currents of fate, the great divine ability Ziwei Astrology began operating on its own once more.
Its ability to seek fortune and avoid disaster allowed Chen Ku to keenly perceive that an ill-intentioned aura was drawing near.
"Another powerful enemy?!"
Chen Ku frowned.
Since that was the case, he could no longer continue hiding his strength.
After all, although he could fight Corpse Puppet Daoist without falling at any disadvantage—
If another quasi-saint expert arrived, the situation would likely no longer be so favorable.
Chen Ku's mind stirred at once.
In an instant, ten thousand acres of auspicious clouds erupted above his head, vast and boundless. Divine radiance intertwined and illuminated the heavens.
And within those towering auspicious clouds, an incomparably powerful figure with an oppressive aura slowly took shape at a visible pace.
Before you continue