Starting from the imperial palace guards, his clones spread all over the world.

Chapter 686 I Want to Be Your Friend

The dust of black feathers drifted down slowly, like a black snowfall, shrouding the broken hall in an eerie atmosphere.

But the witch spirit disappeared.

It didn't just disappear; it seemed to evaporate completely.

Her petite figure, the tattered rags covering her, and the chilling aura emanating from her vanished without a trace.

All that remained were the ravaged main hall and the broken pillars, their outlines barely visible in the bronze candlelight, a scene of deathly stillness.

Feng Wu turned her stiff neck with difficulty, causing the congealed red bloodstains on her cheeks to move.

She and Suiyan in the corner struggled to search every shadow in the hall with their eyes—the cracks in the pillars, the damp and sticky corners of the walls, even the mountain of rubble…

No!

Not even a trace of its presence could be detected!
Just moments before, her omnipresent, malevolent killing intent had been pressing down on every wisp of air.

Feng Wu's heart sank to freezing point.

This concealed method is no longer martial arts, but a ghostly witchcraft that is close to nothingness!
The standing figure in the yellow robe had a face as still as an ancient well, its expression gleaming with an eerie light in the dim firelight.

The vibrant fire eye on the forehead of his mask was slowly turning, as if trying to capture the faint traces of air that only he could see.

Without a word, that unwavering composure weighed heavily on the hearts of every survivor.

"Hehe...hehehehehe—!"

Laughter suddenly erupted!

But this laughter was no longer the high-pitched, playful laugh unique to witch spirits; instead, it was filled with a rugged, masculine quality.

What's chilling is that the source of this laughter was—

Suiyan lay on the ground!
Feng Wu looked on in shock.

Suiyan's massive, rough body, as solid as a rock, slumped against the broken wall. It should have been a painful posture, but instead, an extremely twisted and distorted smile bloomed on his face!

The muscles twisted into bizarre arcs, the eyes rolled wildly upwards, and the corners of the mouth stretched almost to the ears. The face of a burly giant, as if cast from steel, was now forcibly sculpted into the cruel, shrill puppet that was the signature of the Witch Spirit!

"Great and wise teacher, what brilliant methods you have!"

As Suiyan opened and closed his mouth, a cold, sharp female voice, like rusty iron wire scraping glass, was forced out of the rough, gritty voice of a burly man, piercing and coiling around everyone's ear canals!

Extremely strange!

"Witch Spirit, I admire you! It's a pity my king isn't in the capital, otherwise... Hmph! How could you run rampant here!"

This tone is exactly the same as Wu Ling's:
"You've proven yourself ruthless today! It seems I can no longer stop the Great Teacher of Wisdom. But one day, my king will repay you tenfold!"

Feng Wu felt as if ice crystals had formed in her very bones!
She suddenly realized that the witch spirit was using the Gu worms to control Suiyan's body and make him speak!
Just like before, she manipulated that third-rank martial artist to talk to them!
What shocked Feng Wu even more was that Wu Ling's words revealed a naked intention to retreat!
A dignified second-rank expert, who just easily suppressed her and the severely injured Suiyan like dust!
After only one lightning-fast exchange with Liang Jin... they backed down?!
The suspended powder slowly settled in the dim light and shadow, and Liang Jin's face was as still as water.

Behind his mask, the corners of his mouth seemed to curve slightly upwards, and his voice was clear and gentle, like the morning dew at dawn.
"The Grand Preceptor of the Witch Spirit is joking."

"Just now, the Imperial Preceptor simply held back and did not use his full strength."

In the brief exchange just now, Liang Jin only threw one punch, yet he broke through two of Wu Ling's moves.

On the surface, Liang Jin had the upper hand, but this punch did not cause any real damage to Wu Ling, nor did it mean that Wu Ling would definitely lose.

Both sides were merely testing each other, and after testing the waters, Wu Ling chose to retreat, leaving behind Bei Yi's body.

"It seems that the Imperial Advisor is not entirely loyal to that Demon Lord Wuxu..."

Liang Jin nodded slightly in a certain direction in the void, as if there were something in the void:

"The Imperial Advisor still has room for maneuver. Since a rift has already formed, why not become friends with me?"

A moment of cold, echoing silence.

Suiyan's facial muscles twitched and twitched violently! The superimposed, strange double sound tore through the silence once more:

"Heh! I serve my king with all my heart not as a slave, but to accumulate immense power to avenge my grievances!"

Those violent, upward-rolling, uncontrollably rolling eyes stared intently at Liang Jin:

"What grudge do we have against each other?! There's absolutely no need for us to fight to the death. So, Master Bei Yi, whom you wanted, is yours."

"And I'll also give you the little toys I caught this time... to add to the fun!"

Suiyan's head twisted abruptly, his gaze, a mixture of witch spirit and mockery, fixed on Fengwu, whose body was ice-cold beside him:

"This maiden is the newly chosen saintess of the Wuli Altar. If you can obtain her frozen flower branch for your pleasure and have her first night, you can steal a wisp of the Xuanfeng True Flame."

Feng Wu's eyes burned with fury, and the surging blood and qi in her body almost aggravated her shattered meridians once again.

But her anger was not directed at Suiyan, but at the witch spirit that controlled his flesh and blood to speak.

The spirits of witches are like invisible snakes and scorpions, spitting their poison from every crack!

The sorcerer's demonic voice mingled with the deep roar of the fire spirit:

"And you are the only person I have ever seen who possesses two divine powers simultaneously yet has not suffered a blood boil or a body collapse!"

"If you dare to take the plunge, you might become a unique individual throughout history, possessing three divine powers!"

At this point, the shaman-controlled Suiyan suddenly burst into a maniacal laugh that was extremely sharp and malicious!

The entire, collapsing hall was violently shaken!
Liang Jin's tone remained calm:

"The Witch Spirit Grand Preceptor has been so good to me, I absolutely must make you my friend today."

The red eyes on his mask moved slowly, as if searching for something.

Suiyan continued to laugh:

“If my king fails, I will have no place to stand in the Southern Continent. At that time, I will have no choice but to go north and rely on the Great Teacher of Wisdom to take me in.”

"If our king succeeds, when he leads his troops on a northern expedition, he will inevitably have to contend with the Great Teacher of Virtue."

"So naturally we have to give the Great Teacher a deposit first, so that no matter what happens in the future, at least the two sides won't become mortal enemies."

Second-rank martial artists will not fight to the death unless absolutely necessary.

Wu Ling's overtures were clearly paving the way for his own future.

Liang Jin slightly cupped his hands in greeting:

“The words of the Grand Master Wuling are reasonable. I’m determined to be your friend.”

Suiyan laughed:

“Great wise teacher, please take your things and leave Nanzhou.”

"If fate allows, we will meet again in the future."

After saying that, Suiyan's body suddenly convulsed.

The smile on his face vanished instantly, his eyes rolled back, his head lolled to the side, and he completely lost consciousness.

The hall fell into a deathly silence, as if the spirit of the witch had completely departed.

But Liang Jin did not immediately go to get what he wanted.

The fiery eyes on his mask suddenly stopped, as if they had locked onto a target.

"Witch Spirit Grand Master, I've said it before, today I must become your friend!"

Boom! !
The hard stone bricks under Liang Jin's feet suddenly collapsed inch by inch, exploding into a cloud of dust!
Using this powerful burst of force, he propelled his body like a cannonball straight into the sky, crashing into the heavy dome above the palace.

"boom!!!!"

The explosion was deafening!
He smashed a huge hole in the dome, and moonlight and gunpowder smoke mingled and burst forth from the gaping hole!
The masked figure with the leaping red eyes has vanished into thin air!
Fengwu was left standing there, stunned and desperate, amidst the chaotic smoke and shattered moonlight.

What is he going to do? !

Feng Wu was puzzled, but she immediately prepared to use her internal energy to heal her injuries.

She had to bring back everything that happened tonight, no matter what.

The emergence of a master like the Great Sage Teacher in Nanzhou will surely change the power dynamics here.

next moment--

The battle in the sky was accompanied by thunder that resounded throughout the earth!
The terrifying sounds of battle tore through the clouds and poured down from the sky!

That was a battle of forces beyond human imagination clashing in the night sky!

"Boom boom boom——!!!"

The aftershocks of the battle high in the air crashed against the dome of the main hall, and dirt and gravel rained down like a storm!

Huge, menacing cracks instantly spread across every inch of the wall, and then accelerated their spread and collapse amidst the heart-shaking tremors!
This sturdy palace sounded like a dying beast howling in despair.

"Om..."

Feng Wu was so shocked that her mind went completely blank!
All I could see was despair!
The massive boulder crashed down, crushing the throne in the palace and relentlessly grinding towards the corner where she and Suiyan were!
The entire hall, supported by the dragon's backbone, emitted a squeezing, sawing sound—a sign that it was about to collapse!

escape!!!!

Feng Wu was utterly horrified, her mind screaming wildly!
She wanted to escape, but her severely injured body made it difficult to even move her fingers. She could only watch helplessly as the dust and waves crashed over her face.
She seemed so small at that moment.

Second-rank martial artists were once considered gods among some ignorant tribes in this wild land.

During the terrifying battle between these two second-rank martial artists, Feng Wu deeply felt her own powerlessness and weakness, like that of an ordinary mortal.

at this time.

A deafening, terrified female voice suddenly pierced the air—

"Great and wise teacher! I have already shown you goodwill and let you pass! What more do you want?!"

The clear, deep sound in the air, as steady as a snow-capped mountain peak, was abruptly cut off:

"I hereby declare that today, you and I are friends, and this friendship is something we must have!!!"

The next moment, a terrifying force pressed down from the sky.

Immediately following was an indescribable, earth-shattering thud as an object of immense weight was crushed to the ground by overwhelming force!
"boom!!!!!"

The entire dome of the grand hall, already on the verge of collapse, was struck by this irresistible "falling impact"—

It collapsed!
The entire dome shattered and vanished completely!
The massive rock, carrying muddy water, crashed down and pierced through the entire top of the palace!
The vast, lush canopy was transformed into a torrential, overwhelming torrent of rubble!
The sky collapsed and the earth crumbled!
Fortunately, Feng Wu and Sui Yan were leaning against the corner of the wall, which prevented them from being hit directly.

But the falling stones and dust almost destroyed everything inside the hall.

Then, a heavy object slammed to the ground, causing the entire earth to tremble.

"Boom——!!!"

After the loud bang, all sounds seemed to vanish abruptly.

The world is silent!
Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, Feng Wu, half-buried in the corner, opened her eyes wide in terror.

She saw it...

That shattered central throne area, a place where rubble was piled up like a mass grave!
A tall, menacing figure stood amidst the swaying smoke and moonlight!
It was a tall and strong monster, every inch of its skin covered with scales of varying sizes, pure black in color, with edges perfectly curved like dragon armor. The moonlight reflected on them was like a flash of cold, Styx starlight!
Dark red and gold vertical pupils, like flames from a desolate ancient battlefield, floated in the dark cave! Two sharp dragon horns, as if pulled from the lava of a volcano, grew from the top of his head!
A dragon's tail grew from its back! Like a steel whip, it could turn any exposed stone in the ruins into dust!

His arms were bulging with muscles, and his hands had transformed into a pair of sharp, terrifying dragon claws that reflected a dark red light, as if they could tear everything apart.

This hideous monster is practically a demon god crawled out of the netherworld!

A terrifying aura, like that of a prehistoric beast, swept across the entire area!
Even more terrifying, the dragon claws of this horrifying demon pressed deeply into the ground, creating a huge, deep crater in the solid bluestone foundation.

Beneath the dragon's claws, there was a person being held down—the Witch Spirit!
At this point, the witch spirit was clearly seriously injured, with blood constantly gushing from its mouth and nose.

She was as fragile as a rag doll under the giant dragon's claws, her petite body twisting and struggling, but unable to break free.

A dignified second-rank expert, who had previously appeared invincible, has been defeated in the blink of an eye!

Frail and writhing in pain, she was unable to move at the bottom of the deep pit created by the giant claws that resembled those of a demon god, looking utterly pathetic!

This scene left Feng Wu speechless for a long time.

Layers of despair and gloom enveloped Feng Wu like cold iron shackles, making her body ice cold, her blood run backward, and her throat feel choked by an invisible force!

This... how...

Is that possible?!

The owl warriors in the city were shocked by the collapse of the palace and hurriedly urged their giant owls to rush to the ruins to rescue their royal advisor.

But when the giant owls sensed the terrifying aura emanating from the demonic monster, they were terrified as if they had encountered their natural enemy. Ignoring the knight's shouts, they screamed and desperately flapped their wings, daring not to approach. "Caw—woo-wah!"

They fled at their maximum speed, heading straight for the dark night sky outside the city!

The Jade-Faced Fire Monkey squatted on a boulder some distance away, licking its sharp claws with a mixture of restlessness and curiosity.

At the bottom of the pit, beneath the dragon's claws.

Beneath the witch's mask, her red lips trembled slightly as she spoke, both surprised and furious:
"Great Teacher...you actually...can wield divine power to such an extent?! To allow divine power to erode the physical body...to such a terrifying degree!"

"Why... does my witchcraft have no effect on you at all?!"

“Even my king… cannot be like you…”

The towering figure, like an ancient demon, did not respond to these words.

His vertical pupils were like swirling starlight, shining so brightly in the darkness they were almost scorching!

However, those eyes weren't looking at the witch spirit; instead, they seemed to be... scrutinizing themselves.

A dull sound came from his throat:
"The physical growth is better than expected."

He shifted his limbs slightly, and the dragon scales on his back rubbed and collided with each other like the dull thud of armor colliding.

"His body had grown even bigger, and the two horns on his head had also grown longer."

"As expected, it has become even more refined."

"The effect of Zhenyuan's Dragon-Slaying Lock on tempering the body is indeed extraordinary."

Clear and resonant words flowed from the structure of that monster's throat.

The voice was actually—

Liang Jin!

Feng Wu's eyes widened, and the hairs on her body stood on end.

The demonic monster before me is actually Liang Jin?!
Absurd! Horrifying! Trembling! Bewildered!
She simply couldn't reconcile the image of that frail man who could barely walk and needed to be carried with the terrifying presence before her.

She couldn't help but recall how she had somewhat looked down on Liang Jin along the way and hadn't treated him with enough courtesy.

In the wild and untamed lands of the South, the strong reign supreme.

Feng Wu's disrespect towards the powerful is a grave sin in itself!
She was afraid.

All of a sudden!
Her pride as a saint and heir to divine power shattered in an instant.

Smoke and dust filled the air here, inside the large pit.

The witch spirit struggled incessantly in the gap where Liang Jinhua's giant claws loosened, almost collapsing!

The dust and bloodstains quickly shattered even her indomitable dignity.

"Cough...cough! Great and wise teacher!"

"I meant well and had no excessive hostility. Why... why must you be so ruthless?!"

The witch forced her head up! Her red lips, visible beneath the blood-stained mask, trembled slightly.
"Especially as I said! My blood feud remains unresolved! I will neither die nor surrender!"

Her voice was hoarse, like the scraping of a saw blade, but her constant coughing added a touch of desolation.

"If you want to crush me here... come on!!! I can still bite off a piece of your flesh!"

Liang Jin looked down at her, observing her worm-like movements within the deep pit.

The red and gold in those vertical eyes shimmered with light.

“Witch Spirit Grand Master, I truly never intended to kill you.”

His ferocious, enormous dragon face, which exuded a certain powerful beauty and was covered in bio-engineered scales, lowered slightly.
"I just wanted to be your friend."

The witch spirit stood frozen in place, completely bewildered.

The corner of his mouth, visible beneath the bark mask, twitched slightly, aggravating the wound and causing blood to seep out.

She thought she was hallucinating, or that she was falling into a deeper, hellish hallucination.

"make friends?"

The absurdity made her tremble:
"You used methods that ripped the ground apart, tore my house apart, injured my flesh and blood, and nearly destroyed my very foundation?! Is this how you make friends?!"

Liang Jin's heavy, iron-hoop-like dragon claws slowly rose to the front of the witch spirit's head, the sharp, black fingernails gently touching the center of the witch spirit's almost entirely cracked bark mask:
"nature."

The domineering voice carried a clear hint of persistence:

"If I, Liang Jin, want to be your friend, no one can refuse."

The jagged muscles on his knuckles emitted a sharp, grinding sound as he strained to hold his breath!

Its meaning is obvious—

"including you!"

After saying that, Liang Jin slowly withdrew the dragon claw that was holding down the witch spirit.

The immense pressure on the shaman's crushed ribs disappeared as the dragon claws withdrew.

Like gravity flipping—

boom! !

The witch's vision went completely black, her energy channels were blocked, and the sudden disappearance of the heavy pressure caused her internal injuries to explode wildly again!
"puff!"

A mouthful of foul blood, mixed with tendons and fragments of internal organs, gushed out!

My bones felt like they were falling apart, about to rot into mud and become limp!
She struggled to sit up, still shaken, and laboriously lifted her head:

"You won't kill me?"

The monstrous figure, standing like a mountain in the gray sea, silent and godlike, surprisingly offered a bottle of healing potion:
"Witch Spirit Grand Master, I genuinely want to be your friend, so why would I kill you?"

"But since you intend to avoid me, you can't appreciate my sincerity."

"Therefore, I have no other choice but to resort to this tactic."

Upon hearing this, Wu Ling was so angry that her blood surged and she almost vomited blood again.

Why resort to such a desperate measure?

After severely injuring her, he then kept saying he wanted to be friends.
There's no such thing as making friends like this in the world!
"I dare not trouble my esteemed teacher with his generous gifts..."

Her voice was choked with coughing.

Shame outweighs all fear!
She reached deep into the hem of her tattered feather dress at her waist and pulled out several amber-colored, wriggling Gu worms.

Those strange, six-legged worms actually burrowed under her skin!
The jade-faced fire monkey in the distance narrowed its pupils slightly and shifted its position uneasily.

After counting the breaths.

"Cough cough..."

The witch's flesh was a bloody mess, with bones exposed on her shoulders, and thin strands of dark green light shone from beneath the surface of her muscles.

A small layer of newly formed silk membrane instantly enveloped her flesh and blood, causing her injuries to heal rapidly.

This is clearly a disgusting yet incredibly powerful form of witchcraft!

This was the first time Liang Jin had ever seen such a bizarre healing method.

He didn't say a word, but simply put the jade bottle away gently.

The next moment, his enormous dragon body visibly began to collapse slightly, like a funnel!
The sharp, keratinous spines retracted into its robust physique, while the dark scales covering its body flowed into its skin like water.

In just a few blinks, Liang Jin returned to human form.

But at this moment, he was completely naked—the yellow robe he had worn earlier had been torn during the transformation.

His sculpted, muscle-bound body was also exposed to Wu Ling and Feng Wu's eyes.

But Liang Jin didn't care at all. He calmly took out a new yellow robe from his inventory and put it on, without bothering to hide it from Feng Wu and Wu Ling who were present.

Feng Wu quickly closed her eyes, and though she tried to look up, she only dared to glance at it before quickly looking away.

The witch spirit, who had just swallowed the Bloodthirsty Gu and stabilized her most serious injury, stared intently at Liang Jin as he changed into his yellow robe!

But beneath the mask, her eyes held a mixture of hatred and anger, as well as a surge of fear.

Even though she was at the second rank, she couldn't figure out how Liang Jin had transformed from being completely naked into wearing a yellow robe!
After a moment, Wu Ling stabilized her injuries and looked at Liang Jin:
"Do you perhaps want me to submit to you? If so, I advise you to give up on that idea as soon as possible!"

"I have pledged my allegiance to my king and will never betray him!"

During the exchange just now, Wu Ling sensed that Liang Jin had not reached the second rank, but his overall strength was terrifying.

In particular, he possesses two divine powers and has profound boxing skills.

What Wu Ling couldn't understand the most was that her witchcraft had no effect on him at all.

This left Wu Ling with no will to resist and fight again, but she was unwilling to give in.

Liang Jin smiled and said:
"I admire the knowledge of the Grand Preceptor Wuling and sincerely wish to befriend him."

The witch's strength was indeed not as good as expected.

Although she was a second-rank martial artist, her skills in fist, foot, sword and saber were not top-notch, inferior to Bei Huan, and perhaps even inferior to Tu Xie Wang.

However, her witchcraft, sorcery, and poison techniques were developed in a different way, and her overall strength was definitely greater than that of the Demon Slayer King.

However, Liang Jin's [Si Face] can break witchcraft, his [Immune to All Poisons] characteristic makes him unafraid of poison, and his strong physique can resist most Gu techniques—this allows him to perfectly counter the area that witch spirits excel at.

Furthermore, it is said that the Southern Continent is wild and barren, but it is unexpected that the top experts in the Southern Continent are also relatively "poor".

Despite being a second-rank imperial advisor, Wu Ling didn't even possess a single piece of purple soul jade.

It should be noted that Zhen Lei, the leader of the Four Great Constables whom Liang Jin had fought before and a third-rank martial artist from the Central Plains, possessed a purple soul jade.

This made it relatively easy for Liang Jin to win.

Wu Ling slowly stood up. Liang Jin reached out to help her, but she snorted coldly and rudely pushed him away.

“Great teacher, I am not a magnanimous person.”

"If you don't kill me today, you'll regret it tomorrow."

Liang Jin didn't take it to heart and smiled slightly:
"I hit it off immediately with the Grand Preceptor of Wuling, and I have treated him with sincerity. Why would the Grand Preceptor say such a thing?"

"I have offered my heart to the bright moon, so please, Imperial Preceptor, do not disappoint me."

Wu Ling snorted coldly and said nothing more.

The heavy air currents made even the moonlight seem sluggish.

She dragged her fractured leg, which was not yet fully healed, step by step, to the center of the hall, where the rubble was scattered, and stood before the throne.

She waved her hand and used her immense inner strength to lift the boulder, revealing three corpses buried beneath the rubble.

The three corpses had long been crushed into a pulpy mess by the boulders that fell from the height, so that even the bones, flesh, limbs, and heads were indistinguishable!

She raised her eyes and gave a sharp, cold laugh at Liang Jin's voice:

"What the Great Teacher seeks is probably the secret of this Void Demon, isn't it?"

"Your so-called friends... isn't that all there is to it?!"

Wu Ling wasn't stupid; she knew perfectly well that "making friends" was just an excuse.

Liang Jin chased Bei Yi's corpse all the way here, surely intending to use her knowledge to achieve his goal.

If it weren't for the fact that Wu Ling had previously shown Liang Jin a lot of goodwill by leaving herself a way out, she wouldn't have been able to achieve this.

Otherwise, at this point, why would Liang Jin leave himself any semblance of dignity to cover up his shame?

They've probably already started the torture!

Liang Jin suddenly stopped adjusting his cuffs!
His dark eyes, tinged with a hint of approval, flickered slightly in the moonlight before turning serious.

He smiled faintly and cupped his hands slightly in greeting:

"Please, Imperial Preceptor, do not hesitate to offer your guidance!"

(End of this chapter)