The Weak Taotie

Mu En's remnant soul said nothing more. It merely gave Xuan Zi a deep look before its figure gradually turned illusory, transforming into a wisp of golden light that merged into Xuan Zi's body.

Xuan Zi felt a vast power surge from within him, as though something had awakened deep within his bloodline.

It was the Taotie Bloodline.

Mu En's remnant soul had stirred the dormant Taotie Bloodline within Xuan Zi's martial soul!

The earth-yellow body of the Godly Taotie Bull began to expand. Its limbs grew thicker, its head more ferocious, and golden patterns emerged upon its pair of long horns.

The martial soul Godly Taotie Bull temporarily evolved into Taotie!

At the same time, the Golden Tree erupted with another burst of golden light, connecting with Xuan Zi.

Drawing upon the Golden Tree's power, Mu En's remnant soul completely fused with Xuan Zi!

The next moment!

An enormous Taotie that blotted out the sky appeared above the battlefield!

Its size surpassed that of the Godly Taotie Bull from before by more than a hundredfold.

Its entire body was covered in dark golden scales, radiating a suffocating pressure.

Controlling Taotie's colossal body, Xuan Zi extended a giant hand that covered the sky and seized Xiong Jun, who was still in midair, in his grasp!

Xiong Jun's several-dozen-meter-tall body was like a toy in Taotie's massive palm. No matter how he struggled, he could not break free in the slightest.

"What kind of monster is this?!"

Xiong Jun roared in terror, his dark golden claws desperately clawing at Taotie's fingers, yet unable to leave even a single mark.

Xuan Zi ignored him and extended his other giant hand toward the fleeing King of Ten Thousand Demons.

A tremendous suction force erupted from his palm. It was so powerful that even King of Ten Thousand Demons's enormous roots, which were buried in the earth, could not resist it.

King of Ten Thousand Demons's branches frantically gripped the ground, but he was still uprooted like a weed and sucked into Taotie's palm.

"No!"

King of Ten Thousand Demons let out a terrified shriek. His branches flailed wildly, but it was useless.

The two Ferocious Beasts were held in the enormous Taotie's hands, as though they could be crushed to death at any moment.

As for Scarlet King—

Having served as a babysitter for years, he was highly experienced when it came to potential danger.

The instant the dragon's shadow appeared, he sensed the danger.

Without a word, he retreated at top speed, swiftly disengaged from the fight, and plunged into the soul beast horde, vanishing amid the densely packed beast tide.

Fortunately for him, Song Yunzhi was concerned about the severely wounded Lin Huiqun and did not pursue him. Otherwise, Scarlet King likely would not have escaped so quickly.

At that moment, Song Yunzhi held the blood-covered Lin Huiqun in her arms, her eyes reddened as she flew back toward the city wall.

In the sky, the enormous Taotie held Xiong Jun in one hand and King of Ten Thousand Demons in the other. Its sky-covering shadow fell over the earth, shrouding the entire battlefield in darkness.

Cheers shook the heavens from Shrek City's walls.

"Di Tian, are you finally willing to come out and talk now?"

In Taotie's form, Xuan Zi called out toward the soul beast horde. His voice exploded across the heavens like rolling thunder.

As he spoke, several bolts of golden lightning even appeared from thin air, slithering around Taotie's enormous body.

"Hmph!"

A furious shout rang out from behind the soul beast horde, reaching every person present with crystal clarity.

Those with weaker cultivation immediately clutched their ears in pain.

Patches of black mist streaked with purple Soul Power appeared from nowhere, spreading through the sky above the battlefield.

Within the mist, a figure slowly emerged.

With his hands behind his back, Di Tian appeared high in the sky.

His figure seemed tiny before Taotie's sky-covering body, yet his aura was like a mountain pressing down upon everyone's heads.

His aura was so powerful that it even surpassed the Taotie formed by the fusion of Xuan Zi and Mu En's martial souls!

Of course, if the true Taotie had descended, the ancient Ferocious Beast's might would not have been so easily suppressed by Di Tian.

But the "Taotie" before Di Tian was merely the product of a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

Even though its strength had reached the Quasi-God Realm, it was still no match for Di Tian, who had already attained the true God Level!

"You dare profane my uncle!"

Di Tian coldly stared at the Martial Soul Fusion Skill before him, which looked exactly like his uncle Taotie. Suppressing the fury in his heart, he spoke each word slowly and heavily.

If possible, he truly did not wish to strike at his uncle Taotie, even if it merely resembled him.

After all, Taotie was one of the elders he respected most deeply in his memories, one of the Dragon God's most powerful subordinates.

Yet now, a human had used a martial soul to imitate his uncle's appearance and stood against him in that form!

"Di Tian, you've finally stopped hiding like a turtle!"

Completely unaware of the complicated emotions in Di Tian's eyes, Xuan Zi felt the unprecedented strength within him and shouted confidently:

"Take the soul beasts of your Star Dou Great Forest and leave now, and I'll pretend nothing happened today!"

As he spoke, thunder rumbled around him. Golden lightning continuously exploded around Taotie's body, creating a terrifying spectacle.

"Nothing happened?"

Di Tian was so enraged that he laughed, though his laughter was filled with icy coldness.

"You humans have treated soul beasts as expendable materials for millions of years. It is time for that to be reversed."

"So there's no room for negotiation!"

Xuan Zi's expression changed, and he stopped wasting words.

He controlled the enormous Taotie and abruptly clenched both hands, intending to crush Xiong Jun and King of Ten Thousand Demons to death on the spot.

But in the next second, his expression turned even uglier.

Even with his current immense power, he still could not harm either of them in the slightest!

This was precisely because the divine skill Di Tian had bestowed was taking effect once more.

Under the effects of Heavenly Timing, Xiong Jun and King of Ten Thousand Demons's states were firmly locked in place.

Unless the disparity in strength was enough to directly shatter the rules of the divine skill, no attack could inflict any substantial harm upon them.

Xuan Zi's brows knotted together, but he did not feel embarrassed.

He raised his hand and hurled the two Ferocious Beasts far away from Shrek.

The two figures traced arcs through the air before smashing heavily into the distant plains, kicking up dust that filled the sky.

Then he turned around to face Di Tian.

Taotie's massive hands came together, palms facing each other, before slowly spreading apart.

A pitch-black sphere resembling a black hole appeared between its palms.

The sphere was entirely black. Even the light around it was twisted and devoured, and it radiated a terrifying aura that made hearts tremble.

"Di Tian! Die!"

Xuan Zi shouted sharply and thrust both hands forward.

The black hole erupted with a terrifying pulling force. An invisible power spread outward from its core, dragging everything around it toward the center.

At the same time, golden chains shot out from the black hole, coiling toward Di Tian!

In an instant, heaven and earth changed color. The whole world darkened, with only the area around the black sphere emitting light.

Facing this incomparably fierce attack, Di Tian gave a scornful laugh.

If it had been his former self, then aside from the Dragon God Claw, every other technique he possessed would likely have fallen to this move.

But now, this move appeared incomparably weak before him.