Chapter Twenty-Eight: Fleeing for Their Lives

Fortunately, the sleeves of the Taoist robe were wide. When Hua Sheng suddenly pulled his arm back, the Howling Heavenly Dog bit at empty air.

The fierce assault by the dog made Hua Sheng break out in a cold sweat. If it had bitten him, at best he would have lost a chunk of flesh; at worst, his arm would have broken outright.

Because of the divine power bestowed by the Ruyi Jingu Bang, the dog’s bite on the robe triggered the original celestial spell embroidered on it, releasing a burst of flames that singed the dog’s nose. Though it was not serious, it caused the dog to sneeze.

The Howling Heavenly Dog loosened its grip slightly, and Hua Sheng quickly yanked his sleeve free from the beast’s jaws.

This struggle made Hua Sheng even more anxious. He hurriedly used the Golden Cudgel to keep the dog, which was three times the size of a bull, at bay. But the Howling Heavenly Dog had once battled the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong, and was not afraid of the Ruyi Jingu Bang. It pressed on relentlessly.

Hua Sheng’s magical power was far inferior to Sun Wukong’s, so the divine force of the cudgel was diminished. The dog, utterly unrestrained, snapped its jaws at the cudgel.

“Go! Go!” Hua Sheng shouted as he retreated. The Howling Heavenly Dog advanced step by step. After a few steps back, Hua Sheng could no longer bear it and shouted, “Hey! Supreme Junior Lord, you’re just watching the show—aren’t you going to lend a hand?”

“You’ve made such a mess, how am I supposed to help you?” The Supreme Junior Lord appeared somewhat bewildered and reluctant to assist Hua Sheng.

“If you keep just standing there, brother here is about to become dog food! Remember to summon my soul on my next anniversary!” Hua Sheng cried out.

Upon hearing this, the Supreme Junior Lord stirred from his inaction. Just as he hesitated to intervene, the ox-faced jailer appeared, leading a group of donkey-faced and horse-faced prison guards ascending from another rocky platform below, seemingly intent on capturing them.

The Supreme Junior Lord quickly had an idea. With a hand seal, he conjured two iron claws the size of arms, which he threw onto the stone slab, anchoring firmly beneath it. From the other hand, he produced a looped iron chain, swung it, and flung it over the Howling Heavenly Dog’s neck, trapping it perfectly.

Then he shouted, “Hua Sheng! Run to me!”

Hua Sheng heard and immediately flew toward the Supreme Junior Lord. The Howling Heavenly Dog pursued relentlessly, lunging.

The Supreme Junior Lord shouted, “By the urgent law, restrain!”

The thick iron chain tightened instantly, and with the dog’s leap, the ox-faced jailer and his men’s stone slab was overturned.

The jailers and guards fell along with the broken stone slabs.

“Apologies! The damage to public property was caused by this dog; don’t blame me!” The Supreme Junior Lord shouted as he ran away, the Howling Heavenly Dog dragging the chain behind and chasing after him.

Taking advantage of the Howling Heavenly Dog being lured away, Bai Fa Mie Ying glanced at the Chaos Sky Ribbon hanging at Hua Sheng’s waist. She stretched out her hand, and the ribbon flew from his waist into her sleeve.

Hua Sheng had just dodged the dog and had no time to relax before Erlang Shen’s three-pointed spear appeared before him.

Instinctively, he raised his golden cudgel to block, but sparks flew as the cudgel met the spear. Hua Sheng felt a numbness in his tiger’s mouth, and the stone slab beneath his feet cracked with a palm-wide fissure.

Not only that, but Erlang Shen’s divine power seemed boundless. How could Hua Sheng withstand it? Even exerting all his strength, the spear still slashed toward his face. Given its massive size, one blow could cleave him in two.

As the blade neared his face, Hua Sheng felt despair surge within.

This is it! Getting caught is one thing, but losing my life is another! Even disfigurement would be too high a price.

Seeing no place to dodge, he was about to close his eyes and accept fate when a clear, crisp “ding” echoed by his ear, and the spear’s force suddenly lessened by eighty percent.

He opened his eyes and saw Bai Fa Mie Ying standing behind him, single-handedly holding the Purple Flame Snake Spear tightly against Erlang Shen’s three-pointed spear.

Bai Fa Mie Ying squinted coldly and said, “Old as I am, can I still eat?”

Erlang Shen was furious and shouted thunderously, “How dare you desperate lovers duel me! Aren’t you afraid of never returning!”

“Hua Sheng, run! Leave this to me!” Mie Ying spat through clenched teeth.

Hua Sheng could not abandon her. He anxiously replied, “How can I leave a delicate girl to face a warrior like Erlang Shen? If we get caught today, so be it—we face it together.”

“You truly are a fool. No wonder Xiao Qi went dumb after following you!” Mie Ying retorted.

With a flick of her white hair, Mie Ying braced the base of the fiery spear with one palm and lifted it, causing a clang as the three divine weapons dispersed instantly.

Seizing the momentum, Hua Sheng leapt up and swung the Golden Cudgel toward Erlang Shen’s left shoulder.

Mie Ying thrust the flaming spear repeatedly toward Erlang Shen’s right side.

Within the prison, golden and fiery red lights flashed alternately as the two “greenhorns” coordinated seamlessly with cudgel and spear.

Erlang Shen pushed back Hua Sheng, who was met by Mie Ying. After repelling Mie Ying, Hua Sheng charged again.

The clashing of weapons rang out as the two young warriors forced the mighty Erlang Shen to retreat several steps.

After dozens of exchanges, with the combined assault of the Golden Cudgel and the fiery spear, Erlang Shen could not gain the upper hand.

But the seasoned warrior grew bolder with the prolonged fight.

After over ten more rounds, Hua Sheng and Mie Ying began to falter. Hua Sheng’s robe was soaked with sweat.

Suddenly, Mie Ying flicked her hand, releasing myriad streams of profound ice. Erlang Shen swept his spear horizontally, shattering the ice into fine shards.

Unexpectedly, Mie Ying reversed her spear forward, and the ice shards hissed, transforming into a white mist that blocked sight between them.

“Hua Sheng, strike from above!”

Hua Sheng understood immediately and swung the Golden Cudgel through the mist with a heavy blow.

Then, from behind, Mie Ying threw the fiery spear into the air, shouting, “Sisters, appear!”

She turned, transforming into the bespectacled Ninth Sister with braided hair.

Just as the mist before Erlang Shen began to disperse, the Ninth Sister pointed two fingers at him; several black feathers shot from her hands. While Erlang Shen was busy blocking Hua Sheng’s cudgel, the feathers swiftly flew into his eyes.

Erlang Shen cursed, covering his eyes and retreating hastily. Then he opened the Heavenly Eye on his forehead.

Mie Ying, as the Ninth Sister, flipped midair and changed into the Sixth Sister with long hair and purple eyes. She spread her hands and invoked, “Light Control Technique! By the urgent law!”

The bright indoor light suddenly gathered into her palms, as if all surrounding light was sucked away.

Mie Ying, as Sixth Sister, clapped her hands, plunging the entire prison into utter darkness.

“Darkness? Such petty tricks won’t fool me!” Erlang Shen roared. His Heavenly Eye emitted a golden beam toward Mie Ying.

“Just what I’ve been waiting for!” Sixth Sister smiled wickedly and spread her palms.

All the absorbed light condensed into a powerful beam, piercing Erlang Shen’s Heavenly Eye like a sword.

Blinded by the intense light, Erlang Shen hastily closed his third eye.

Seeing Erlang Shen’s eyes all closed, Mie Ying spun around and transformed into the Second Sister with short green hair.

“Hey!”

Second Sister punched the stone slab beneath Erlang Shen’s feet, cracking it instantly, scattering chunks in midair.

Blinded and losing balance, Erlang Shen guarded his chest with the three-pointed spear, sweeping it left and right.

Second Sister spun again, and a lotus fragrance wafted as the Third Sister with dark red twin buns appeared.

“Here come the Wind-Fire Wheels!”

Two flaming Wind-Fire Wheels shot from behind her like bullets. With a clang and sparks, they deflected Erlang Shen’s three-pointed spear.

At that moment, the portal before Erlang Shen burst open, leaving him completely unguarded!

Third Sister shot upward like an arrow, transforming into the white-haired Fourth Sister midair and catching the Purple Flame Snake Spear she had tossed earlier.

“Hua Sheng! Now’s the time!”

At her shout, Hua Sheng immediately understood. The Golden Cudgel and Flaming Spear seemed to merge, unleashing a mighty force straight into Erlang Shen’s chest.

With the sound of metal shattering, Erlang Shen staggered backward ten steps unexpectedly.

His golden iron armor chestplate cracked into more than a dozen fragments that fluttered down like snowflakes.

Erlang Shen was momentarily thrown off balance but quickly regained his stance, composed once more, and muttered, “The Academy of Magical Arts is truly formidable—ferocious to the extreme!”

He then stabbed the three-pointed spear beside him into the ground, formed hand seals, and chanted. A square Vajra Shield descended from the sky, trapping Hua Sheng and Mie Ying before they could react.

Mie Ying immediately thrust her spear at the shield, but it remained unmoved.

“Damn, it’s Erlang Shen’s Eight-Nine Profound Skill!” she exclaimed.

Realizing the danger, Hua Sheng smashed the stone slab beneath his feet to escape, but beneath it was still the shield, imprisoning them both.

Erlang Shen laughed heartily, “With your mere cultivation levels, you two kids are far too inexperienced to challenge me.”

Just as Hua Sheng lamented his poor judgment, the Howling Heavenly Dog suddenly emerged from the stone slab above. On its back lay the Supreme Junior Lord.

The Supreme Junior Lord clung to the dog’s neck, refusing to let go despite its struggles.

He squeezed the dog’s belly with his legs, shouting, “Good dog, good dog! Be obedient! Listen to me!”

Perhaps choked by the grip, the dog soon gasped for breath. Losing footing, both dog and Supreme Junior Lord tumbled toward the Vajra Shield.

With a crisp crack, the dog’s tooth struck the shield, breaking off half a fang.

The dog howled in pain and began rolling like a bull, its massive body pressing down on the Supreme Junior Lord.

The Supreme Junior Lord’s face was flattened against the shield, shouting to Hua Sheng inside, “I’m getting squashed! I’m gonna be sick! Help... help!”

His face was plastered with drool. Hua Sheng looked up at him on the shield, almost forgetting they were trapped, and said, “You’ve drooled all over your face! Disgusting!”

Hua Sheng was about to say more when Bai Fa Mie Ying called from behind, “You useless idol! Struggling to cross the river yourself, why don’t you help us break out of this shield?”

At the spot where the dog’s tooth had struck the shield, a fingernail-sized crack had appeared. Mie Ying had already inserted the spear and twisted the handle, widening the crack with a sharp snap.

“What are you staring at? Smash it!” she commanded.

Hua Sheng did not delay, thrusting his cudgel at the crack. With a dull thud and a crack, the fissure widened on both sides.

Seeing a chance, they shouted together, “By the urgent law!”

With all their strength, they stabbed, and with a loud shattering sound, the Vajra Shield broke apart. Amidst golden radiance, Hua Sheng and Mie Ying sprang free.

Erlang Shen, seeing them escape, wielded his three-pointed spear and charged fiercely after them.

Having finally shaken off the Howling Heavenly Dog, the Supreme Junior Lord wiped the drool from his face with his robe and shouted, “True Lord of the Clear Source Way, sorry for the disturbance today. Farewell! No escort!”

He then grabbed Hua Sheng’s arm and yelled, “Run!”

Hua Sheng wiped his own face and replied, “Lower your voice! You just spat all over me!”

The three—Hua Sheng, Mie Ying, and the Supreme Junior Lord—stood and leapt toward the long corridor they had entered from below.