The Empress's First Running Dog

Chapter 651 Please welcome the Old Celestial Master! (5k)

Outside the border city, the Liao people's army confronted the towering city walls, with powerful warriors locked in fierce combat in the center.

However, regardless of which side it was, most of the attention was still focused on Zhao Du'an and Po Yun.

"Definitely doomed?" The tall and handsome "First Warrior" paused, his pale golden eyes turning colder, but a smile played on his lips: "You think you can take me on?"

Zhao Du'an asked, "Isn't that enough?"

Po Yun chuckled:
"You really think you can challenge me just because you managed to kill a Celestial who advanced using a secret technique? You're far too naive."

He looked down at Zhao Du'an, raised his right arm, extended a finger, and pointed at him in an imperious tone:
"You have no idea how powerful my warriors are. However, I like arrogant people, because it's truly satisfying to kill an arrogant person... Ah!"

As Po Yun uttered the last word, his body suddenly expanded!
He was already over two meters tall, but now his joints were cracking and popping, his muscles were taut, and thick black smoke was spewing from his pores, coiling around his legs, arms, chest, and back...

Subsequently, this black aura was imprinted on the skin, forming dense patterns.

Po Yun's pupils shone even brighter. He carried no weapons; his fists and feet were his only weapons.

As the body swelled due to the stimulation of blood and qi, a terrifying aura also spread out.

"Eat my punch!"

With a long roar, he suddenly pulled his right arm back, his elbow tearing through the air, and with a sharp explosion, he threw a punch!
The fist appeared in front of Zhao Du'an's face the instant it was thrown.

So fast!

Zhao Du'an was startled, experiencing for the first time the terrifying power of the Liao warrior's bloodline and physical skills.

The punch was as fast as lightning, giving him almost no time to react. Po Yun seemed to appear in front of him in an instant, and he only had time to raise his Zhen Dao horizontally to protect his chest.

"boom!"

The fist slammed hard against the blade, and the ancient divine weapon let out a mournful cry as it could not bear the weight, the blade bending downwards.

In an instant, the force rebounded, and the powerful punch was transmitted completely to Zhao Du'an, as if he had been hit by a mountain or a ship at sea had collided with an iceberg.

The golden light on Zhao Du'an's body spread out in response to the shock, and he was also thrown back several feet like a cannonball by the force of the impact. He stomped his feet on the ground repeatedly to dissipate the force.

Once he had finally regained his footing, his blood surged, his face flushed slightly, his hands went numb, and he looked sternly at Po Yun, who was smiling at him.

At this moment, he finally understood the helplessness that Yu Xiu and Jin Jian had when facing Tuoba Wei in the La Garden.

monster!

After being granted power by the Great Laba Festival, the physical strength of the Liao people has surpassed that of humans; with a single punch or kick, they can split mountains and shatter rocks.

"Is that all you've got?" Po Yun said dismissively. "That's not enough to kill me... Ah!"

"boom!"

As he spoke, a second punch came flying in!

Every punch he threw seemed capable of hitting its target instantly.

This time, however, his fist missed its target. Zhao Du'an managed to dodge it, the fist grazing his head and shattering his hair ornament, his scattered black hair fluttering in the wind.

Zhao Du'an remained silent, a flash of bright light from his blade sweeping towards Po Yun's arm, but it was like a mud ox sinking into the sea, unable to advance an inch.

Po Yun laughed arrogantly, suddenly clapping his fists together and striking Zhao Du'an's temples, but with a "clang," he smashed into the surface of a suddenly expanding illusory golden bell.

Buddhist Golden Bell Protection!
On the city wall, Gongsun had stopped beating the drums and was instead watching the battle intently with the other generals.

However, Po Yun's power was like a bucket of cold water, splashed hard on everyone's hearts.

In their view, Zhao Du'an and Po Yun were locked in combat, exchanging more than ten blows in the blink of an eye.

But it was an overwhelming one-sided victory.

Po Yun didn't seem to use any sorcery; he simply used punches and kicks, striking repeatedly, to suppress his own commander.

Zhao Du'an could only rely on the protective glow and the Golden Bell Shield to protect himself, and occasionally he would strike back with his sword, but it was difficult to achieve any effect.

"This is bad! The enemy chieftain seems to be even stronger than the governor."

"That's the number one warrior of the Liao people?"

"Is that human being?"

"If this person attacks with all his might, he could probably smash the city gate apart..."

The generals looked grim, their earlier excitement and pride gone.

Gongsun bit her red lips tightly and remained silent. With her keen eyesight, she could naturally tell that their cultivation levels were probably similar on the surface.

However, there is a significant gap in their actual combat capabilities.

"This Cloud-Breaking Fruit is just as my husband guessed; it's comparable to a half-step Celestial Being... and might even be stronger! And the Commander-in-Chief has only recently entered the High-Grade realm..."

"Unless the Commander can replicate the methods he used to kill Prince Jing..."

Gongsun's thoughts were in turmoil, but even if she didn't know the details, she understood that such methods, even if they could be used, would inevitably come at a huge cost.

Looking at the other fighters, it can be said that each has their own strengths and weaknesses. Even those who have the advantage on their side, such as Zhao Shixiong, cannot spare the time to support Zhao Du'an.

"Shut up!"

Gongsun suddenly shouted, ordering the surrounding officers to speak ill of the situation; her eyes were sharp.
"With the Commander's wisdom and intelligence, how could he fight an unprepared battle? Anyone who undermines the morale of the army will be dealt with on behalf of the General!"

For a moment, everyone around fell silent, but then someone whispered:
"Look!"

……

Under the city wall.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Zhao Du'an's forehead, his internal energy in his dantian evaporated rapidly, and his blood and qi surged throughout his body, but his eyes remained unusually calm.

The combination of the Martial God's path and the Buddhist protective techniques ensured that even if he withstood the punches and kicks of a half-step Celestial, he would not be killed.

However, faced with the opponent's relentless attacks, he found it difficult to mount an effective counterattack.

"Is such a huge difference just half a step?"

Zhao Du'an couldn't help but recall his experiences of encountering half-step celestial beings several times along his journey.

He sighed inwardly:

I thought that once I achieved worldly fulfillment, I could close the distance between us, but now it seems it's still a long way off.

"Back then, that second warrior named Man Gu was probably much more powerless against Old Zhang than I am now, wasn't he?"

"At least I could still hold on, but he was crushed to death with a single finger..."

Zhao Du'an had other thoughts, but his hands kept moving. He faced terrifying pressure time and time again, squeezing out every bit of power in his body and pushing his control of Qi to its limit... However, he did not use the Dragon Soul.

Because from beginning to end, he never intended to use the Dragon Soul to resolve this battle.

At this moment, he seemed to have returned to the time when he went to Da Luo Island and faced the pressure from the Drunken Sword Immortal. Even though he knew he was no match for him, he still resolutely fought back, with the aim of using the Drunken Sword Immortal's hand to temper himself.

This moment was no exception. No one knew that while Zhao Du'an was desperately defending himself, one of his eye sockets had turned silver.

Pei Niannu arrived silently, but did not use any magic. Instead, she borrowed his body and began to fight Po Yun.

If Zhao Du'an's body were a game character, then at this moment, Pei Niannu had taken over the account and was beginning to personally teach Zhao Du'an how to tap into his own potential.

"what?"

At first, Po Yun was still immersed in the pleasure of beating up "Emperor Consort of the Great Yu", but slowly, he gradually realized that something was wrong.

Zhao Du'an on the other side was still on the defensive, like a ship about to capsize in a storm.

It is about to be swallowed by the sea.

But rather...

No matter how many times Po Yun attacked, the opponent remained firmly stuck on the verge of collapse.

Once is a coincidence, twice is, three times... four times...

"What's going on?" Po Yun's golden pupils revealed suspicion. "It feels like they've changed people..."

Little did he know that he was fighting against the first female sorcerer from six hundred years ago.

"We can't let this drag on any longer!"

After Po Yun sent Zhao Du'an flying with another punch, his eyes turned cold, revealing an inhuman indifference.
"Since this is all you've got, I might as well send you to your death."

As soon as he finished speaking, the black patterns all over his body turned scarlet, and he threw another punch.

however……

This time, the punch was extremely slow, completely lacking the lightning speed of before.

But in Zhao Du'an's perception, it was as if a mountain was pressing down, blocking all his space to hide.

"If you don't reveal your hand soon, you're in for a world of hurt!"

Pei Niannu's voice disappeared, and Zhao Du'an's silver eyes returned to normal. He regained perfect control over his body.

"Is that all? I haven't had enough yet..."

Zhao Du'an grumbled, then sighed softly, "Oh well..."

He raised his face as well, and simply stood still, resuming his sword-leaning posture, calmly calling out a name:
"Tuoba Weizhi!"

boom!
The moment the name was uttered, Tuoba Weizhi, who had been trying his best to endure it while fighting another expert of the Liao tribe nearby, suddenly perked up his ears under his hood.

With a single spinning kick, she sent the equally matched Liao expert flying into a cloud of blood mist.

The person had already blocked Zhao Du'an's way, expressionless, and also offered a slightly delicate fist to Po Yun.

At the same time, the wind lifted her black cloak, revealing her slightly dark skin, delicate eyebrows and eyes as black as ink, and long hair dancing in the wind.

"boom--"

The next moment, the two fists collided, and the entire battlefield seemed to fall silent for a moment.

The entire space seemed to tremble from the point where their fists collided, ripples spreading outwards, and a faint black spatial rift could be seen. "What?!"

Po Yun's arrogant smile froze, his pupils shrinking to a tiny dot as he felt the fist force that was equal to his own, or even... slightly stronger...

It was as if he had punched a mountain of iron.

"Crack, click, click..."

If one could see through the obstruction of flesh and blood, at this moment one could almost see that the bones of Poyun were beginning to crack inwards along the arm.

His burly body collapsed, returning to its normal height, and he flew high in a beautiful arc.

quiet!
The vast battlefield suddenly fell into dead silence.

The excited shouts of the Liao army came to an abrupt halt.

Gongsun and the others on the city wall were also dumbfounded, never expecting that the "maid" who followed the governor was so powerful.
Even Zhao Shixiong and the others who were fighting around them almost tacitly distanced themselves from their opponents and looked over in astonishment.

"Is this the priestess of the Wax Garden? So terrifying?"

Zhao Shixiong was shocked and almost dropped the Soul-Severing Blade in his hand.

Although they hadn't fought, he vaguely sensed that he was probably no match for this woman.

"Who is this? Zhao Du'an's henchman? But I've never seen him before?"

Qi Yuchun was equally astonished, and a sense of panic arose in his heart.

The enemy has hidden a powerful expert capable of defeating Poyun... Do we still have a chance of winning today?

The most shocked was Po Yun, who stumbled to the ground. Ignoring his numb arm, he stared intently at Tuoba Weizhi's expressionless face and exclaimed:
"Priest Tuoba!"

As the tribe's foremost warrior, he was one of the very few who knew the true face of the priest of Layuan.

However, he was unaware of how powerful the Tuoba priest was, and simply regarded him as a divine servant who was not skilled in combat.

Do not……

The key point is not whether the priest is powerful or not, but rather...

"Why?!"

Po Yun found it hard to understand. He remembered Bai Di's earlier report that thieves had kidnapped the priest.

Now it seems that the thief was undoubtedly the one surnamed Zhao, but... why would the priest of the family, the high priest who serves the gods, help the one surnamed Zhao and throw a punch at him?

It's not just him.

Within the Liao army, some of the tribesmen who heard him call out that name were even more bewildered and incredulous.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Tuoba Weizhi merely turned his head to look at Zhao Du'an behind him, and said with some guilt:

"I am a step late and have startled my master."

Master... his own priest has chosen someone with the surname Zhao as his master... Po Yun felt utterly absurd.

Zhao Du'an smiled slightly and said calmly, "It's alright."

Then, he looked at Po Yun with a smile and said:

"What did you say earlier? I didn't hear you clearly."

Po Yun's vision went almost completely black, but at that moment, Tuoba Weizhi turned around, bent her knees and lowered her waist, and the young priestess was surrounded by almost purple flames, rushing straight towards Po Yun.

Po Yun hastily accepted the challenge and engaged in combat with the girl.

What happened next was a replay of the previous scene, except this time, Tuoba Weizhi was the one launching a fierce attack, while the once invincible Poyun was now on the defensive in a sorry state.

Even among those who are halfway to the Celestial Realm, there are varying levels of skill!
However, it is obvious to anyone with eyes that if we simply compare strength, the two are almost the same, with not much difference between them.

However, Tuoba Weizhi seemed to have a "restraint" against Poyun. When Poyun fought back, illusory runes split open between his eyebrows several times, and he used evil god magic, but none of them had any effect on the priestess.

However, every move Tuoba Weizhi made seemed to be restraining and suppressing the power within Poyun's body.

Even if this suppression isn't severe, it's enough to determine the outcome of the game.

"Wow--"

When Poyun was once again knocked away by Tuoba Weizhi, he crashed into the army like a meteor, smashing down a group of Liao warriors.

He spat out a mouthful of blood, scrambled to his feet, his face contorted in a ferocious grimace. He glared at Tuoba Weizhi, who stood suspended in mid-air, veins bulging on his face, and roared:

"Set up the formation!!!"

At this moment, the tribesmen who had been in a daze suddenly woke up, and someone took the lead in shouting, "Charge!"

"Get into formation!"

"Get into formation!"

Amidst the increasingly loud shouts, all the Liao people knelt down simultaneously, raised their hands high, and chanted strange incantations.

A crack appeared between the brows of each member of the tribe, and a wisp of red cloud rose from it.

Countless red clouds gathered, and the sky was instantly dyed red, accompanied by lightning.

Tuoba Weizhi's attack faltered, and for the first time, a hint of panic appeared on her usually expressionless face.

"What happened?" Zhao Du'an asked.

Tuoba Weizhi turned his head and said:
"They are performing a ritual to the gods, trying to summon the gods to descend."

Zhao Du'an was taken aback for a moment, then said:

"Didn't they say that Da Laba wouldn't easily leave DJI? Even Song Zhi couldn't control it?"

Tuoba Weizhi explained:
"The true form of the gods will not leave, but what they summon through their rituals is not the true form..."

understood!

Zhao Du'an was no stranger to this common knowledge: whether it is a righteous god or an evil god, they can be summoned by believers.

He had seen similar things more than once.

However, Da Laba, this "man-made god," was indeed quite special, which made him overlook its "divine" nature.

The other gods have no physical form, but the man-made god Da Laba has a so-called "physical form".

At the same time, it does not mean that the Great Laba Festival cannot descend as a "split entity".

"Are they about to perform a ritual to summon the gods?"

At this moment, the others also gathered around. Yu Xiu looked up at the sky and murmured softly.

Jin Jian clutched her staff, her little face tense:
"what should we do?"

Han Zhao rode the gentle breeze over, looked up at the sky that had been dyed red, and quickly said:
“Once the Great Laba enters the territory of Yu Kingdom, it will be suppressed by the righteous gods. Moreover, these Liao people have not performed a blood sacrifice, but only made invocations. The evil god that descends in this way will not be very strong, and even the celestial beings may not have it…”

Zhao Shixiong, carrying the Soul-Severing Blade, also hurried over:
"If it's a pseudo-celestial being, then I and Priest Tuoba should be able to suppress it together."

Is it just suppression?
The crowd felt heavy-hearted. If the gods were to restrain their two strongest members, could the rest of them withstand the powerful Liao people led by Po Yun?

Han Zhao's expression changed, and he suddenly took out a six-sided die from his sleeve, pondering:
"If all else fails, I can try rolling the fate dice. If the dice roll 'lucky,' this area will turn from bad luck into good and everything will go smoothly..."

"do not want!"

Yu Xiu and Jin Jian's expressions changed drastically. They stopped him in unison, staring at the die as if facing a formidable enemy, as if afraid that the fourth brother might drop the ancient talisman on the ground if his hand trembled.

Yu Xiu gritted her teeth and said angrily:

"If you roll an 'inauspicious' number, won't this place become a place of great misfortune? Will the whole city suffer because of you?"

"I was just saying... and I've always had great luck when it comes to gambling..."

Han Zhao reluctantly put the dice back into his sleeve.

Zhao Du'an was also surprised by the two women's reactions; this thing seemed even more "terrifying" than he had expected.

……

On top of the city.

Gongsun and the others also saw the sky full of red clouds, and amidst the mysterious incantations, the giant Laba was about to emerge from the red clouds.

Everyone was enveloped in red light, and the world seemed to be stained with blood.

"Oops……"

Countless generals and soldiers felt despair. Was this city ultimately beyond their control?
"Don't panic. Since the commander has taken action, he must have a plan..." Gongsun was still trying to calm the troops.

The people around him remained silent, but their gazes unconsciously turned toward Zhao Du'an below the city.

"What should we do? Fight or defend?" Zhao Shixiong asked in a heavy tone.

"The evil god they summoned through their sacrifices should not exist for long. If we fight and defend, we still have a chance to make them retreat."

"Retreat?" Zhao Du'an withdrew his gaze from Hongyun and asked in surprise:
"I've gone to such great lengths today not to let the enemy retreat."

Everyone was stunned. Under these circumstances, what other tricks did the adult have up his sleeve?
"Have you forgotten?" Zhao Du'an said with a half-smile.

"It's not just us who came to Yunfu."

The next second, as if a prophecy had been fulfilled, everyone present was surprised to hear a faint, angry roar from the sky, as if from the giant Laba.

then……

On the southern horizon, a vast expanse of pure blue cloud spread in with terrifying speed.

Zhao Du'an smiled, leaning on his sword: "Please come in, Celestial Master."

Zhang Yanyi is here!

(End of this chapter)