Chapter 473 VS Dog 4

The Dog (戌) strikes again at high speed.

He erased his movement timeline and instantly appeared in front of me, using two large blades to painstakingly explore the correct method to kill me.

His simulation of the White Tiger's destructive power wasn't limited to attack and defense; it also enhanced his accuracy. I felt that this was likely his first formal battle against an opponent of the Great Impermanence level, and initially he seemed somewhat out of his depth. As time went on, this initial lack of understanding was gradually replaced by a strategy of "directly targeting vital points." This was evident in how increasingly difficult it became for me to dodge his attacks.

The Killing trait seemed to enhance his evasive abilities as well, or rather, everything related to combat seemed to strengthen him with the Killing trait. I wanted to try attacking him again with "Mutant Eclipse," but I couldn't find an opportunity to succeed. The previous attack was based on a surprise attack tactic, and under the circumstances of being on guard, hitting him a second time was a pipe dream.

He seemed to have quickly adapted to the effect of the "mutant eclipse" on the time-distorting gravity that hindered the cutting force.

He had clearly gauged my attack power based on his earlier injury. He no longer even bothered to parry my ordinary beam attacks with his greatsword; he simply parried my counter-attack. The orange-red beam struck his rock-solid armor like a fire hose hitting concrete—it only gave him a minor polishing.

In terms of both attack and defense, I am currently at a significant disadvantage. The reason the battle is still at a stalemate is solely because I possess immortality. The same applies to Xu Gou; he clearly has superhuman regeneration capabilities. The limit of what I've demonstrated so far is probably only enough to inflict minor injuries on him, or slightly increase the area of ​​damage to his armor.

Not only is his main body difficult to kill, but he's also encased in such a hard shell... Despite having this thought, I actually envy his armor. It's not just because of its high defensive capabilities, but also because of its aesthetic appeal. Who wouldn't like such mechanically powered armor? If I had to choose between "mechanically powered armor" and "an elemental body," I would definitely choose the latter, but mechanically powered armor also possesses an irreplaceable aesthetic.

I also harbor some curiosity about the true form beneath this armor. Is the current Dog (戌狗) male or female? Based on previous information, the Dog was likely resurrected by a female scientist with whom he had a past romantic relationship, and the necessary material for the resurrection was the female scientist's own body.

While it's possible that, like Ying Lingyun resurrecting the real Silver Moon, the body used as resurrection material would be reassembled into the original form of the resurrected person, it's also entirely plausible that the person could live on in the form of a resurrection vessel, much like being resurrected through possession.

The voice coming from the incantation was male, and the dog in the virtual realm also appeared as a male figure. However, both of these are manifestations of the other's spirituality and are difficult to use as evidence to determine the dog's current physical gender.

Another clash ensued, and the Dog's attack speed increased even further. But this time, what I sensed was not skill, but a hint of anxiety.

Even though I was the one at a disadvantage, he was the one who fell into a strange unease first. While attacking, he asked with extreme caution, "—What exactly are you planning?"

It seems he's already realized that I'm still holding back some cards.

Admittedly, if I were to use the Furnace Slag Impermanence Divine Sword, I could probably defeat him. The problem is that I can't unleash my true power in this battle, otherwise the "tracking down of the Peach Blossom Village Lord" plot will be severed.

On one hand, there's the primary objective; on the other, there's a victory that can't be achieved without putting in the necessary effort... It's a real dilemma. Both sides are important, and both are very appealing to me.

The scales in my heart are gradually tipping towards "immediate victory." I am indeed someone who sometimes only cares about what's in front of me. Perhaps the Dog also sensed that its probability of defeat was rising, and its fighting movements became increasingly urgent, as if it were racing against something to the death.

Among all the Void Realm Apostles, Xuanming and Shenzhao probably have the deepest understanding of the Divine Seal Fragments, but when it comes to the depth of their connection with the Divine Seal Fragments, no one can compare to Xu Gou. It is precisely because of this that he was able to unleash that cheat-like ultimate technique. Therefore, it seems I also have no choice but to use my own ultimate technique.

Just as I was about to summon the Unpredictable Sword of Slag, a sudden boom was heard, and a surprising change occurred in the distance.

It was as if the scenery there had been transformed into an image presented on stained glass, and then that "stained glass" was shattered from the other side, exploding into a huge, dark hole. A figure leaped out after the void shattered, standing in the air as if walking on flat ground.

This person was surrounded by unfamiliar magical energy fluctuations, but after a little observation, I could see that his magical energy fluctuations were disguised, and I quickly recognized his true identity.

The visitor was none other than Liu Shuying.

The Dog (戌狗) seemed to realize that the newcomers were hostile and immediately became alert, shouting, "Who goes there!?"

Although it's unknown whether Xu Gou had investigated the appearances of all the Great Impermanences of Luoshan, it's understandable that he doesn't recognize Liu Shuying. Perhaps to conceal his identity, Liu Shuying had altered his appearance, becoming more serious and aged than usual. For this Great Impermanence, who seemed multi-talented in the intelligence reports, this level of skill was certainly no problem.

However, that's not the problem. He forcibly invaded from the void outside, which would definitely require the use of unconventional magic. Now that he seems to be joining the battle, the fluctuations of his magic might be detected by the unseen Peach Blossom Village Lord.

Has Liu Shuying considered this? Or is the reason he only infiltrated now because he spent time dealing with that kind of matter?

Upon entering the battlefield, he unleashed his magical power and flew rapidly toward the direction of the Dog in a highly aggressive manner.

Upon seeing that the hostile Great Impermanence had suddenly multiplied into two, the Dog (戌狗) fled into the distance without hesitation. At the same time, the entire space within a radius of one hundred kilometers underwent drastic changes.

As if all space had turned into glass, at this moment, all the "glass," along with the scenery, shattered. The land, which had been transformed into an abyss by the Dog of the Dog, and the dust clouds that arose from it, vanished; in its place was the scorched earth landscape of the real world, which I had reduced to ashes.

The figure of the Dog also vanished, as if it had erased the reality of its presence here with a cutting force. I immediately tried to sense the Dog's location; some of the heat from our previous encounter had adhered to its body, which could be used as a thermal energy marker.

But this perception failed. It seemed that the Dog could sense that it might be being tracked. The connection between me and the thermal energy symbol was as if it had been severed by a cutting force, as if all ties between us had been temporarily cut off, making it impossible to be a factor in the tracking.

Even worse, if Xu Gou escapes, the appearance of Liu Shuying, this "unintrusive Great Impermanence," might be relayed to Xu Gou, who is very likely connected to the Lord of Taoyuan, thus triggering the Lord of Taoyuan's high alert.

Fortunately, the matter wasn't over yet. As Liu Shuying disappeared from the alternate dimension, he quickly suppressed his magical energy fluctuations and landed on the ground. Countless tiny rune strings seemed to flicker in his pupils. Then he closed his eyes and whispered, "I've figured it out... Is it there?"

After saying that, he disappeared from the spot, seemingly to track down the dog.

Did he use divination? Given that he was once renowned for his foresight and surpassed even the most skilled diviners in some aspects, it would be illogical if he didn't know divination. However, I didn't leave any thermal marks on him, so I have no idea where he went.

It seems I can only wait here for Liu Shuying's reply.

However, I wasn't without other things to do during this time.

I looked around. The terrifying heat generated by magical power still raged across this scorched earth, making it resemble the surface of an alien planet. A large amount of smoke and dust shrouded the area, not as massive as in the independent reality space, but still enough to blot out the sun, as if it had just been subjected to a nuclear weapon attack. This was all thanks to the Dog of the Dog that had initially descended like a space-based weapon.

The Great Completion level Wuchang whom I spared alive is still alive. Although he was a quick-completion cultivator, he is still a Great Completion, so he shouldn't have died in the shockwave just now. The ordinary victims who were tortured beyond recognition also did not die in the aftershocks of Xu Gou's appearance, because I still had the intention of temporarily saving them, and Xu Gou obviously did not have the intention of killing them, so they all survived inexplicably.

The two or three ordinary demon hunters I randomly spared earlier did not survive; Xu Gou seemed to harbor murderous intent towards both them and that Great Completion level demon hunter. Although I managed to save the latter through my willpower, I didn't pay much attention to the former, and only now do I realize they are all dead.

Forget it, the important thing is that Wuchang, who has reached the Great Completion stage, everything else is irrelevant... I thought to myself as I issued a command to the dust and smoke surrounding me.

"spread."

A sudden gust of wind, strong enough to blow a person away, appeared and swept away the dust and smoke in the vicinity.

I walked up to the Great Completion level Impermanence, who was covered in wounds and lying face down on the ground just like the "Preacher" from last time. So I kicked him over and gave him the command: "Wake up."

His current state of soul injury was insufficient to maintain consciousness, but under the influence of the power of words, he miraculously awoke, struggled to open his eyelids, and then saw me.

It was clear that he was in a very bad mental state. It took him a good five or six seconds before he seemed to realize his situation and who was in front of him, and then he showed a look of despair.

A bluish light emanated from all the wounds on his body; he was about to explode.

“Stop,” I said.

Thus, his self-destruction process was abruptly halted.

His expression froze completely.

"Well... next, I'll need you to tell me a few things," I said.

(End of this chapter)