The head master has a new female apprentice

Chapter 335 Big Dog, are you going to abandon us? (6k)

When Nangong Xuan turned his head, he was stunned for a moment, seemingly not quite able to react.

But soon, his pupils suddenly contracted.

The circle that should have been filled with their own cultivators was now completely empty!
"What happened?!" Nangong Xuan looked around in shock and anger. "Where is everyone? Where did they all go?!"

It was only then that the five noticed the corpses lying haphazardly on the ground, each one retaining its posture from when it was alive, as if they had been frozen in time at some moment.

What's even more terrifying is that they have absolutely no recollection of when these people died!
"Ok?"

Only then did they notice that seven zhang away, a figure wearing a comical chicken-head mask was leisurely watching the battle with his arms crossed, mimicking their previous posture.

The man even stood on tiptoe, peering around like a common street urchin watching a spectacle.

"It's you!" Nangong Xuan stared at the chicken-head mask, then immediately realized what was happening, his hair and beard standing on end. "You killed Nangong Ye?!"

Seeing that the five people had noticed him, the masked man put his index finger to the chicken's beak in a shushing gesture: "Shh—keep your voice down, don't disturb them!"

"Damn it—"

The veins on Nangong Xuan's forehead bulged, and his white beard moved without wind. This was not just contempt, but an insult that treated them as nothing!

The auras of the five perfected Nascent Soul cultivators erupted simultaneously, instantly crushing the entire Blood Maple Forest into dust.

"court death!"

Nangong Xuan shouted sharply, but a hint of seriousness flashed in his eyes.

A few days ago, Nangong Ye was instantly killed, without even having time to send out a distress call.

Nangong Xiao also suffered a setback due to unforeseen circumstances.

Having learned from their two previous mistakes, they dared not be careless in the slightest.

"Give it your all, don't hold back! This man is also the proof of our Nangong family's strength to all the families in the capital!"

Nangong Xuan gave the order, and seventy-two Blood Fiend Swords emerged one after another from his sleeves, their blades wreathed in dark red fiendish energy, forming the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiend Array in the air.

"Fellow Daoist, it is your good fortune to die under the Nangong family's clan-protecting sword formation!"

With a change of technique, Nangong Xuanjian unleashed seventy-two blood-red sword lights that simultaneously locked onto Zhou Qing's major acupoints.

Almost simultaneously, the Soul-Devouring Whip at Nangong Sha's waist suddenly came to life, splitting into thousands of small, pitch-black snakes.

These snakes, their eyes glowing green and each carrying a deadly poison that corrodes the primordial spirit, slithered closer from the shadows on the ground.

Nangong Sha chuckled and made a hand seal: "While you're at it, also taste the flavor of ten thousand snakes devouring your soul!"

Nangong Yan patted the purple-gold gourd at his waist, and nine fire dragons roared out.

These fire dragons are not ordinary fire, but rather refined from the earth's core flames over a hundred years, causing even the air to distort and burn wherever they go.

Nangong Han remained silent, but three hundred and sixty Ice Soul Needles flew out from his sleeve.

The fine, hair-like ice needles split apart as they flew, instantly transforming into a sky full of cold stars.

Nangong Jue wielded his ghost-head broadsword, creating an impenetrable net of blades.

Where the blade passed, it left a ravine several feet deep in the ground.

What's even more terrifying is that these blade auras can overlap, and by the seventh strike, their power is already sixty-four times that of the first strike!
Faced with this earth-shattering combined attack, Zhou Qing shook his head in disappointment: "The reason I didn't make a move immediately was because I wanted to experience your artistic conception."

The voice behind the chicken-head mask carried a hint of helplessness, "How about we skip the preliminaries and get straight to the point?"

He actually took a step forward and opened his arms: "I hope you will unleash your full power without reservation, the kind that contains the ultimate killing intent, and smash it hard on me. I mean it!"

Faced with Zhou Qing's words, Nangong Xuan was furious but laughed coldly.

"You think you're worthy to try our skills? Let's see if you can survive the combined attack of the five of us brothers first!"

"boom--"

Before Nangong Xuan could finish speaking, the sword formation composed of seventy-two Blood Fiend Swords launched the first attack, with blood-red sword energy pouring down like a torrential rain.

Each sword light carried a mournful ghostly howl, formed from the resentment of the blood sacrifice.

Under the sword formation, even space itself showed fine black cracks.

Zhou Qing neither dodged nor evaded; his eyes, hidden beneath the chicken-head mask, suddenly gleamed with golden light. He extended his right index finger and lightly drew a line in the air—

"Ding!"

The crisp sound of a sword echoed through the sky.

An incredible scene unfolded: all the attacking Blood Fiend Swords suddenly stopped three feet in front of him, their blades trembling violently, as if they had encountered their natural nemesis.

"what?!"

Nangong Xuan's expression changed drastically as he realized he had lost control of the sword formation.

Meanwhile, thousands of Soul-Devouring Black Snakes had already climbed onto Zhou Qing's boots.

But just as they bared their fangs, Zhou Qing lightly stomped his left foot.

A golden ripple spread across the ground, and all the black snakes froze instantly before turning into wisps of black smoke and dissipating.

"This is impossible!" Nangong Sha stared in horror at the Soul-Devouring Whip that had been broken into several pieces in his hand.

Nine fire dragons seized the opportunity to surround Zhou Qing, and the scorching fire waves melted the ground into glass.

Nangong Yan grinned maliciously and made a hand seal: "Burn me to ashes!"

However, Zhou Qing simply raised his left hand, and a tiny vortex appeared in his palm.

The nine fire dragons were sucked into the vortex like noodles, and condensed into a dancing fire lotus in his palm.

The fire lotus then entered the sea of ​​consciousness and was absorbed by the red flower.

"Geochemical inflammation? Both its purity and temperature are too low."

Zhou Qing lightly twirled his fingertips, and the fire lotus in his palm suddenly solidified by three-tenths. More refined Dao patterns than those of Nangong Yan appeared on the lotus petals. "Here you go."

"Not good!" Nangong Yan hastily summoned his Purple-Gold Gourd to defend himself, but the fire lotus suddenly expanded the moment it touched the gourd—

"boom!"

The nine fire dragons retaliated, blasting Nangong Yan back hundreds of feet. His chest was charred black, and cracks appeared on his natal magic treasure, the Purple Gold Gourd.

As for the countless ice needles and overlapping blade energy, they all disintegrated and backfired under the casual sweep of the Tetanus Broken Sword.

Nangong Han's Ice Soul Needle flipped back, freezing him into an ice sculpture.

Nangong Jue's sixty-four layers of sword energy took bizarre turns, slicing the net of blades he himself had laid out into pieces.

Dealing with them is much easier than dealing with Tu Qianyue and his nine companions in the Sea of ​​No Light.

After all, one side consisted of pampered family cultivators, while the other was a desperate fugitive who lived on the edge of death.

“Now,” Zhou Qing patted off non-existent dust, “can you now demonstrate your artistic conception?”

The five elders turned pale, only now truly realizing the terror of the person before them.

"We can no longer hold back, or we may all perish today. At that time, the Nangong family will become a laughing stock in the entire capital!"

After Nangong Xuan finished speaking, he suddenly formed an ancient hand seal.

"Boom——"

The world suddenly changed, and everyone was instantly surrounded by an endless sea of ​​blood.

Countless skeletons floated in the viscous blood waves, and these bones automatically piled up to form a nine-zhang throne.

Nangong Xuan sat upright on it, with a million wronged souls roaring behind him. They were all the remnants of cultivators who had died at the hands of the Nangong family in the past.

"The Blood Sea Floating Pagoda Realm has buried three cultivators of the same level before, and today you are added to the list!" Nangong Xuan's voice echoed with the power of the Great Dao.

"That's more like it." Zhou Qing nodded in satisfaction, and actually took the initiative to walk on the blood waves, each step causing strange golden ripples to spread across the sea.

Behind him, a huge image of Buddha appeared, and wherever he went, wronged souls were liberated.

As for the other four, they also displayed their artistic conceptions.

Nine Nether Soul Devouring Realm, Heaven-Burning and Sea-Boiling Realm, Absolute Zero, and Ten Thousand Blade Storm.

The five layers of artistic conception overlapped, directly surrounding Zhou Qing.

In the distance, Luo Lingling watched this scene with a worried expression. She could have easily intervened to restrain one of them.

However, ever since the battle at the Sea of ​​No Light, she had curiously asked Xiao Aqing what the realm of enlightenment she had comprehended when she broke through to the Nascent Soul stage.

Under the moonlight, Zhou Qing used his spiritual power as a brush to draw mysterious trajectories in the air: "Senior sister, have you ever seen a locksmith make a key? My artistic conception is probably something like that."

She burst out laughing, thinking it was just another joke from her junior brother.

It wasn't until after one battle after another, when he watched as Xiao Aqing broke through the opponent's cage in a short time with an extremely domineering aura, that he finally understood.

Xiao Aqing's artistic conception is like using an iron wire to pry open the most complex lock in the world.

Moreover, the growth of his artistic conception requires more different "locks".

The more domineering and perfect the artistic conception, the more it helps him perfect this "key".

Therefore, if I go to help him now, I will only be hindering him.

……

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield.

"puff!"

The Black Scale Spear pierced through the chest of the Savage Vajra, and when the spear tip emerged from his back, it still carried a fragment of his beating heart.

The barbarian king's single eye was filled with disbelief. He slammed his spiked club into the bloody mud with a "bang," and the splattered blood landed on Zhao Hanyue's pale face.

“Madman. This madman…” Zhao Hanyue’s hand holding the sword trembled slightly, and he and Mo Lanxin took several steps back in unison.

Looking at the increasingly fierce Ghost Hound and glancing at the corpses of Nascent Soul cultivators scattered in the distance, they had already begun to consider retreating.

Ghost Mastiff leaned on his spear, panting heavily, his gaze sweeping across another battlefield.

"Who is that person wearing the chicken-head mask? Could he be an enemy of the Nangong family?"

"It seems that the other party saved my life by accident. That's good. What should have been a certain death has now turned into a chance for survival."

"My body has reached its limit. I might as well take this opportunity to leave. Only by living can I have the chance to do more. As for these two ungrateful bastards in front of me, they can't escape!"

Thinking of this, a glint flashed in the Ghost Mastiff's eyes, and it suddenly retreated more than ten feet.

He then clasped his hands in a fist salute towards the battlefield and shouted, "Thank you so much for your righteous rescue, senior! This ghost mastiff will surely repay this kindness in the future!"

Just as he turned to leave, a clear shout suddenly rang out: "Wait!"

Not far away, a figure wearing a bull's head mask leaped lightly down from the treetop.

A disheveled old hen perched on the man's shoulder, and he held a spiritual chain in his hand. The other end of the chain was tied to Lan Caiwei, whose face was ashen.

Ghost Mastiff turned around abruptly, and when he saw the bound Lan Caiwei and the strange bull-headed masked man, he was stunned.

"Big Dog," a chuckled voice came from behind the bull-head mask, "aren't you being incredibly ungrateful to just abandon the two of us like this?"

Upon hearing the words "big dog," Ghost Mastiff's pupils immediately contracted.

Only his master and the second young lady knew his nickname.

The word "獒" in the mortal world refers to a fierce, large dog. Back then, my master always liked to jokingly call him "Big Dog".

Until the second daughter was taken back to the mountain by her master, her master treated her extremely well, always smiling and wanting to give her all his love.

But the girl didn't appreciate it at all, and kept calling him "Master" all day long.

Not only was his master not angry, but in order to maintain his kind and approachable persona, he gradually stopped calling him that.

But the second junior sister remembered it and would still call him that from time to time, until the third brother became a disciple.
"Need any help?" The deep male voice under the bull-head mask suddenly turned into a familiar female voice.

The ghost mastiff was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter.

He wielded his black-scaled spear, creating a crimson arc of light, then turned to face Zhao Hanyue and Mo Lanxin again, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"No need. Who am I? I'm Ghost Hound! Your role model since childhood!" He pointed his spear at the two men, his voice booming, "These two mere bastards are mine!"

With a roar, the Ghost Mastiff charged forward again, its momentum even stronger than before.

Zhao Hanyue and Mo Lanxin were ashen-faced as they looked at Lan Caiwei, who was tied to the ground and filled with despair. Their last shred of hope vanished. Luo Lingling stood guard to one side, while the old hen fluttered restlessly on her shoulder.

While keeping an eye on Zhao Hanyue and his companion to prevent their escape, she would occasionally glance worriedly at the battlefield where Zhou Qing was.

And so, after only a short while, a strange change occurred!

The corpses on the ground that Zhou Qing had killed and sealed their primordial spirits on now floated into the air at the same time, all entering the five intertwined realms of intent.

“This is…” Luo Lingling instinctively hugged the old hen tightly.

The intertwined artistic conception began to surge violently, and then exploded with a bang.

About half an incense stick later, the strange phenomena in the sky suddenly disappeared.

Zhou Qing's figure stood suspended in mid-air.

Luo Lingling only caught a fleeting glimpse of him quickly putting a spirit-gathering array and a mirror-shaped magical artifact into his sleeve, and then she noticed nothing else.

But what we see before us speaks for itself—Xiao Aqing has won!

Seeing this scene, Zhao Hanyue and Mo Lanxin were utterly devastated.

He single-handedly fought against five Great Perfection Nascent Soul Realm experts and successfully turned the tables, so his opponents' combat strength is probably the strongest below the Spirit Severing Realm.

Just as the two were distracted, a blood-red spear light shot out like lightning!
"puff!"

The black-scaled spear pierced Zhao Hanyue's right shoulder, pinning him to an ancient maple tree.

The tree bark was instantly stained red with blood. Zhao Hanyue's face contorted in pain, but he gritted his teeth and did not scream.

Just as Mo Lanxin was about to make a move, the butt of the gun suddenly swept horizontally and slammed heavily into her chest.

The sound of her ribs breaking was clearly audible. She spat out a mouthful of blood and staggered to her knees.

"Don't rush," Ghost Mastiff drew his spear, pressing the tip against Mo Lanxin's throat, "We'll settle our scores one by one."

"clang--"

"Zheng——"

Zhao Hanyue's broadsword and Mo Lanxin's broken-string zither fell to the ground at the same time.

The two had no desire to struggle any longer, so they simply threw away their weapons and slumped down in the blood and mud, letting the blood gush out of their wounds.

The setting sun cast long shadows of them, which, when reflected on the blood-red maple leaves, created a poignant and serene scene.

They...resigned themselves to their fate!

“Ao, for the sake of our past relationship…” Zhao Hanyue raised his head, veins bulging on his neck, “how about we leave with dignity?”

Mo Lanxin coughed up a mouthful of blood: "We dare not ask for forgiveness. But we cannot let our families be harmed. We only beg that Xuan Yin Pavilion and Ba Dao Sect be spared."

Ghost Mastiff watched them quietly, as scenes from the past twenty years kept flashing before its eyes.

Then, his gaze turned to a spot not far away.

As Lan Caiwei struggled to get up, Luo Lingling waved her hand and released the spiritual energy chains binding her.

The proud woman staggered over and bowed deeply to the demon mastiff amidst the blood and mud.

“Ao, you should know my personality. Once I’ve done something, I’ve never regretted it. You want to live, and so do we. It’s just that we were unlucky this time.”

She suddenly knelt down, her forehead pressed against the blood-stained mud.

"Considering that we all come from the same hometown and have never revealed the Taiqing Sect behind you to the Nangong family, please spare your family members; they are innocent."

Looking at the three of them in their disheveled state, Ghost Mastiff was filled with mixed emotions.

He still couldn't understand how his best friend, who had promised to travel all over the fourth-level cultivation country with him, had ended up like this.

After a brief silence, the bloodshot in his eyes gradually faded, and his eyes regained their usual clarity.

"Alright!" he said in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, gratitude flashed in the eyes of the three.

They knew that Ghost Mastiff was a man of his word and never went back on his word.

"Thank you!" The three bowed deeply once again.

Then they sat cross-legged and smiled at each other.

“Gentlemen,” Zhao Hanyue suddenly grinned, revealing his bloodstained teeth.

He then looked at Lan Caiwei and Mo Lanxin, as well as the corpse of Man Jingang and Xiang Chuan's head not far away, a hint of relief flashing in his eyes.

"On the road to the underworld, let's fight side by side again, but this time I want to be the captain!"

Mo Lanxin laughed out loud, but coughed up a mouthful of blood: "You idiot, you want to be the captain?"

She extended her bloodied finger, trembling. "The usual. Rock-paper-scissors to decide the winner."

Lan Caiwei simply smiled silently.

Then, all three of them simultaneously raised their hands and slapped their own crowns!
"Oh!"

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

The three bodies slowly collapsed, and even their primordial spirits dissipated on their own.

Seeing this, Ghost Mastiff slowly closed its eyes.

Luo Lingling stepped forward and took out several specially made talismans to carefully examine the three people.

After confirming their deaths, she collected the three people's storage bags and handed them to Ghost Hound.

Ghost Mastiff sighed and shook his head.

With a flick of his finger, the spiritual fire gently enveloped the bodies, setting them ablaze.

This was the last bit of dignity he gave them!

After doing all this, Ghost Mastiff first gave Luo Lingling a complicated look, and then solemnly bowed to the chicken-head masked man who fell from the sky.

"This junior, Ghost Mastiff, thanks you for saving my life, senior!"

As the ghost mastiff bowed, Zhou Qing slowly removed his mask.

"Senior Brother, I'm getting a little embarrassed by how you address me as 'Senior'—"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Ghost Mastiff suddenly looked up, and when it saw Zhou Qing's face, its eyes were filled with disbelief.

"You...you...how could it be you—"

The last time he saw Zhou Qing was in Qingmu City.

At that time, Zhou Qing was only at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm. In just a few decades, he was able to fight against five opponents and kill a Great Perfection of the Divine Transformation realm.
Zhou Qing chuckled and stepped forward, saying, "The commotion here is too great. Let's leave for now. Senior Brother, you need to hurry up and heal your injuries."

After Zhou Qing finished speaking, he took out the flying boat.

Ghost Mastiff boarded the flying boat in a daze, and even long after leaving the Blood Maple Forest, he was still in shock.

No, is this just a hallucination I had before I died?
……

A few days later, news that shocked the entire capital spread like wildfire.

All six Nascent Soul Realm Great Perfection experts from the Nangong family stationed in the capital have perished!

Since Nangong Xiao was killed by the rogue cultivator Gui Ao, various forces have been closely monitoring the situation.

After all, it had been a long time since anyone dared to challenge the prestige of the Spirit Slayer Clan.

Then Elder Nangong Ye was killed in public by the man with the chicken-head mask, pushing the matter to the forefront of public attention.

According to information leaked from within the Nangong family, Nangong Xuan and his group were dispatched to annihilate the Ghost Mastiff, but unexpectedly suffered a complete defeat.

None of the twenty Nascent Soul cultivators who accompanied them survived.

With his cultivation level at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, it was absolutely impossible for the Ghost Hound to accomplish such a feat.

Then there's only one possibility: it was done by that mysterious person wearing the chicken head mask.

Immediately, countless people speculated about which force had secretly sent the other party.

What is the purpose of doing this?
Could it be that they are testing the Nangong family's strength?
The royal family's response was also extremely swift.

On the very day the news of the fall of six Great Perfection experts from the Nangong family spread, the current emperor, Xuanyuan Hao, summoned the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers for an emergency meeting.

The following morning, an imperial edict bearing the dragon-patterned jade seal was posted throughout the imperial city:
[By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: A madman has attacked and killed cultivators from the Nangong family, a blatant disregard for imperial authority.]

[The Heavenly Evolution Division, Divine Machine Guard, and Dark Guard are hereby ordered to fully cooperate in the investigation and ascertain the identity of the man in the chicken-head mask, providing the Nangong family with an explanation!]

The imperial edict caused an uproar throughout the capital.

In the teahouses and taverns, the monks were discussing the matter animatedly.

"I heard that the royal family is preparing to use the 'Zhou Tian Xing Pan' (a celestial compass).

"I'm really curious what that chicken-head masked man looks like. His fighting power is too formidable; he's practically a role model for us all!"

"This is going to be good. It's been so many years since we've seen the Spirit Slayer Clan suffer such a huge loss..."

However, to everyone's surprise, less than three days after the issuance of this forceful edict, the palace urgently issued a new edict:

[Investigation has confirmed that the man in the chicken-head mask killed nine leaders of the Robbery Cloud Bandits in the Sea of ​​No Light, among whom the chief leader, Tu Qianyue, was the mastermind behind the murder of the thirteenth prince.]

Considering his contributions to the nation, the imperial family will no longer interfere in this matter; the Nangong family will handle it themselves.

This sudden turn of events took everyone by surprise.

"What? The royal family has actually withdrawn its support for the Nangong family?"

"I heard that the Duobao Chamber of Commerce provided irrefutable evidence, and the other party is suspected to be a level three formation master."

"Look! The star officials of the Celestial Evolution Bureau are starting to remove the celestial compass!"

……

On the Imperial City Square, the giant star chart that was originally suspended in mid-air is slowly being retracted.

Twelve cultivators dressed in star-patterned robes formed hand seals and resealed the national treasure.

Many more people flocked to the Duobao Chamber of Commerce to verify the information.

When it was confirmed that the man in the chicken-head mask was not only a peak Nascent Soul cultivator capable of fighting nine opponents single-handedly, but also a rare level-three array master, the entire city was in an uproar.

"No wonder all six Great Perfection cultivators of the Nangong family failed."

"It's already difficult to distinguish between cultivators of the same level, yet this person managed to kill nine of them in a row!"

"What's even more terrifying is that he's also proficient in formations."

……

It should be noted that since Master Wu and Master Su perished in the Vast Ocean Ruins, the entire Holy Martial Dynasty has only one third-level array master left on the surface: Lin Daochen.

How can one not be shocked by the sudden appearance of such a mysterious figure whose combat prowess and array formation skills have reached a state of perfection?
In the inner courtyard of the Duobao Chamber of Commerce, Jin Mantang lay pale-faced on a jade couch in a quiet room.

He had leisurely returned three days ago aboard the Cloud Whale, and upon arriving in the capital, he heard about the Nangong family.

In particular, the battle in the sky above the inner city that others captured with the image stone confirmed to him that the man in the chicken-head mask was none other than the Chicken Prince who had saved his life in the Sea of ​​No Light.

“Something must be done…” Jin Mantang immediately found the chairman and begged him to use the Soul Searching Technique on him.

Only in this way can the chairman prove that what he said is true.

Then, the chairman would step in and, considering that Zou Lun, this black sheep, had been eliminated, persuade the royal family to rescind the imperial decree to assist the Nangong family.

"Young Master Chicken, why did you have to offend the Nangong family? When you come to collect those top-grade spirit stones next time, I will definitely persuade you to join the Chamber of Commerce."

"With your status as a level three formation master, and the protection of the guild leader, even the Nangong family wouldn't dare to do anything to you!"

Jin Mantang muttered to himself, then weakly drifted off to sleep...

Almost simultaneously, a figure in white stopped and looked at the bustling capital city before him.

He gently closed his eyes, then slowly stretched out his arms, greedily inhaling the air, and then murmured softly, "I have returned—"

(End of this chapter)