Second Elder! Help!

The Twelfth Elder's hands flashed through a series of seals, and the phantom of a three-headed, six-armed Blood-Killing Demon God coalesced behind him!

The phantom threw back its head and roared. Its six massive arms swung together, slamming down at Yun Qing with the terrifying force to crush mountains and rivers and devour heaven and earth!

Space shattered inch by inch in their wake!

"ROAR!"

The other black-clad figures charged as well. Twenty-four pitch-black chains shuddered violently, transforming into twenty-four demonic dragons of killing intent, their scales and horns bristling as they sealed off every route of retreat for Yun Qing!

Above, the Blood-Killing Demon God's six arms struck together, blotting out the sky and sun.

Below, demonic dragons of killing intent attacked from every direction, cutting off heaven and earth.

Every single attack could tear an ordinary Immortal Lord apart! How much less could Yun Qing withstand them, having only just entered the Immortal King Realm?

A savage grin of certain victory spread across the Twelfth Elder's face.

So what if Yun Qing was a monstrous prodigy? He was only nineteen. Given enough time to grow, even the Twelfth Elder might struggle to glimpse his back, let alone catch up. Unfortunately...

He would die here today!

Yun Qing's black robes snapped in the wind, and chaotic light flared at the tip of the Silent Abyss Spear.

His figure abruptly dissolved into countless phantoms, weaving through the gaps in the lethal onslaught.

Chaos Shadow Transformation-illusion and reality giving rise to each other!

"Arrogant brat!" the Twelfth Elder thundered. "He's stalling! Lock onto his real body!"

"Too late."

Yun Qing's voice came from the edge of the formation. His breathing was slightly hurried, but a peculiar smile appeared on his face.

He reached into his sleeve with his right hand and took something out.

It was a... hideously ugly rag doll.

Barely the size of a palm, it was stitched from a jumble of fabric scraps in garish colors that assaulted the eyes. Its stitches wandered crookedly, and its embroidered features looked like a demon's scrawl: one eye higher than the other, its nose askew on its cheek, and its mouth stretching all the way to its ears. The whole face exuded a bizarre blend of absurdity and... shabbiness. A crooked "Yuan" was embroidered on its chest.

Even tossed into a beggars' den in the mortal world, this thing probably would have gone unclaimed.

To pull out such an ugly doll amid this blood moon, demon god, and certain death...

The scene was so bizarre it was suffocating.

"Brat, what tricks are you still trying to pull with death at your doorstep?" a late-stage Immortal Lord in black robes shouted. His bone saber slashed out a ghastly white blade of light. Whatever the trick was, he would cut it down first!

Yet Yun Qing did not even glance at the blade of light. He simply tossed the atrociously ugly doll onto the ground, tilted his head back, and shouted:

"Second Elder! Help! There are so many of them bullying me all by myself!"

His voice was pitiful and aggrieved, utterly at odds with his usual composure, as though he truly were a child calling for a parent after being bullied mercilessly.

The Twelfth Elder: "..."

The black-robed figures: "..."

Even the roaring Blood-Killing Demon God phantom seemed to freeze for an instant.

"Enough of your cheap theatrics!" The unease in the Twelfth Elder's heart intensified. He drove all six arms of the Blood-Killing Demon God phantom forward, determined to crush the ugly doll along with Yun Qing!

But-

At the very instant it touched the ground.

Hum!

A vast, piercing aura abruptly erupted from it!

The ugly doll's ridiculous body swelled in the wind, twisting and changing shape. Its fabric became a cloud-patterned Daoist robe, and its crooked features rearranged themselves, transforming into a dashing, unrestrained old man with lightly frosted hair and beard!

It was none other than the Yun Clan's Second Elder-Yun Yuan!

"Aaah... yawn."

Having just appeared, Yun Yuan had not even fully opened his eyes. He utterly ruined the atmosphere with a long yawn, followed by an exaggerated stretch, muttering indistinctly:

"That nap was... wonderfully comfortable. What blind fool is making such a racket? Qing, didn't I tell you this Puppet of mine costs a fortune? Don't go using it unless your life's truly on the line... hmm?"

Before he finished speaking, he saw six mountain-sized demonic arms crashing down over his head! The gaping, blood-red maws of twenty-four demonic dragons of killing intent were mere inches away, while poisonous mist and curse-light descended from all across the sky!

Yun Yuan's expression instantly shifted from sleepy bewilderment to utter...

Impatience.

"Tsk."

He clicked his tongue and frowned, as though he were facing not an attack that could destroy heaven and earth, but a swarm of buzzing flies disturbing his peace.

Casually lifting his right foot, he gave the ground a gentle stomp.

"Disperse."

He spoke that single word with breezy indifference.

Majestic power as vast as a sea of stars thundered outward from him!

The three-headed, six-armed demon god struck an invisible wall and shattered inch by inch, dissolving into blood-colored motes that filled the sky.

The twenty-four demonic dragons of killing intent wailed miserably. Their enormous bodies melted and crumbled, reverting to dull chains that clattered to the ground.

The poisonous mist, curse-light, blades of light... every attack vanished like smoke the instant the word "disperse" left his lips!

The entire valley fell deathly silent.

All that remained were churning blood-colored mists, twenty-eight dumbstruck black-robed figures, and the Twelfth Elder at the formation's core, his face as white as paper.

The Immortal Venerable Realm!

Only an Immortal Venerable could speak and have the world obey, settling heaven and earth with a single word!

"S-Second Elder..." The Twelfth Elder's lips trembled, his voice dry and strained. "How could you be here?! I clearly sent people..."

Yun Yuan picked at his ear, undisguised contempt and mockery spreading across his face. Those eyes that always held a smile were now clear and sharp as cold stars.

"You thought that little trick of luring the tiger away from its mountain could keep me occupied?"

He turned and irritably flicked Yun Qing on the forehead.

"You little brat! Didn't we agree you would only use this Sumeru Puppet Transformation at a critical moment? You barely even got started! I gave you this to save your life, not to let you show off and spare yourself some effort! You made me ruin a whole batch of first-rate pills!"

He pointed at the dim chains around them, then at the Twelfth Elder and his companions, looking heartbroken.

"Look at this! This? This was enough to force you to use the Puppet?! Where's your Immortal King Realm strength? What about your chaos Dao embryo's divine abilities? Are your double pupils just for decoration? And all those protective treasures? You just had to call me in! Let me tell you, when I was your age..."

"When you were my age, the Third Elder was still chasing you all over the mountain and beating you because you stole the Drunken Immortal Carp she'd raised for eight hundred years and roasted it," Yun Qing muttered, delivering a perfectly aimed finishing blow.

Yun Yuan's old face flushed, and embarrassment turned to anger. "Shut up! I was helping her digest it!... No, wait! Don't change the subject, you little brat!"

"Honestly, if I'd known you were such a wastrel, I might as well have fed the materials for that Puppet to a dog!"

Despite his words, he could not conceal the concern for Yun Qing in his eyes, or the relief he felt upon seeing him safe.

Having finished scolding the "wastrel," Yun Yuan finally turned back around. With both hands tucked into his sleeves, he regarded the ashen-faced Twelfth Elder with leisurely composure.

Yun Qing rubbed his forehead and leaned out from behind Yun Yuan. Looking at the Twelfth Elder and the others, he flashed a smile that could only be called "nasty."

"Everyone, you didn't really think... that I, Yun Qing, came charging into this dragon's pool and tiger's den, attending your little gathering with nothing but a lone blade, on some hotheaded impulse, did you?"

He paused, his smile growing even brighter.

"Do I look stupid to you?"