Suddenly, countless white feathers flashed like a violent storm, striking innumerable sparks against the other figure’s body.

But the next moment, a foot shot out at a bizarre speed and slammed into Yang An’s side. A terrifying force washed over him, sending him flying once more. He didn’t stop until he was six hundred meters away.

Countless White Feathers fanned out behind him like sharp blades, each one glowing with a dark red light, much like a peacock displaying its tail. Yet, they couldn’t break through the creature’s defenses.

The ugly man, on the other hand, gave Yang An the distinct impression that it grew stronger the more they fought.

In the short time since its appearance, both its combat power and the defensive strength of the Curse Seals on its body had been growing at an unnatural rate.

’This is wrong!’

’Is it the Power of Rules?’

After three exchanges, Yang An finally realized something.

Only the Power of Rules could explain how this creature’s combat power had increased in such a short time.

Even though he was now considering abandoning his undercover identity, he was still in the Ten Thousand Buddha State and couldn’t recklessly use his Light Magic.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t just be facing this creature, but the real Hai Shu.

’This is tricky. Very tricky!’

Every clash might be significantly boosting its combat power. The Power of Rules was bizarre and unpredictable, making it the hardest thing to anticipate. Because of this, Yang An came up with a plan.

And that was... to run!

’Don’t fight it. Just drag things out. When the backlash from its power kicks in and it’s at its weakest, that will be the easiest time to take it down.’

This method was applicable to almost any enemy, but this was the first time Yang An had thought of using it in actual combat. In the past, he had always relied on his own raw power to crush his opponents.

’Having a powerful backer really is something else,’ he thought. ’To think it could force me into a corner like this.’

SWISH!

The two of them disappeared at the same time again, colliding once more. But just as they were about to touch, a flicker of light and shadow enveloped Yang An, and he abruptly reappeared a thousand meters away.

The terrifying Power struck empty air, and the resulting shockwave instantly pierced through a mountain.

Seeing Yang An flee without a fight, the faceless ugly man was clearly caught off guard. It stood stunned for a moment before reacting.

The next second, its figure vanished, giving chase after Yang An.

At the same time, Yang An took something out of his Meat Burial Talisman.

It was a chain, forged from many interlocking Demon’s Fangs, and it emitted the foul stench unique to Demon Fiends. It was a Magical Artifact that Qing Xin had given him before, called the Demon Fang Chain.

The chain instantly vanished from Yang An’s hand, transforming into a streak of white light that shot out like a bullet from a gun, instantly hitting the pursuer.

The chain made of sharp teeth instantly unfurled over its body. The teeth stabbed violently toward its flesh, but when they landed on the black Buddhist Mantras, they shattered one by one, also unable to break through their defense.

The Magical Artifact only lasted for less than the blink of an eye before it suddenly disintegrated into countless specks of white ash.

Yang An hadn’t expected the Magical Artifact to be of much use anyway. He just wanted to give it a try and hinder its pursuit.

Although the effect wasn’t great, in that single instant, he had once again increased the distance between them by another two thousand meters.

As long as he maintained this distance and wasn’t caught, the price for the creature’s power would erupt. When that backlash occurred, it would be the perfect time for Yang An to counterattack.

But what Yang An never expected was that, even though he had created some distance, as he continuously used the Light and Shadow Escape Technique, giant phantom Buddhas suddenly appeared out of the void in all directions, spanning a range of several thousand meters.

The phantom Buddhas had their palms pressed together. In an instant, countless black Buddhist Mantras unfurled, blotting out the sky and sun, and completely sealing his path forward.

BANG!

The Light and Shadow Escape Technique was actually unable to jump beyond the range of the black Buddhist Mantras. Yang An threw a punch at the black wall that was like a barrier before him, but his power only caused ripples on its surface. After a muffled explosion, his power was dispersed and absorbed without a trace.

’I can’t get out!’

SWISH!

He was only blocked for an instant, but his pursuer had already closed too much of the distance.

Yang An saw with his own eyes how the ripples from his power striking the barrier eventually dissipated into the void and gathered within the ugly man’s body, causing the blackness on its skin to grow even deeper.

’So that’s how it is! Fighting it makes it stronger! It absorbs my power!’

Yang An immediately activated the Light and Shadow Escape Technique, dodging a blow from behind.

The ugly man’s punch landed on the barrier, yet it caused no reaction. It seemed the barrier only affected Yang An; only the power he exerted would be channeled away and ultimately absorbed by the creature.

At this moment, seeing that the entire area of several thousand meters was shrouded by the sky-blotting Buddhist Mantras, the face of Hai Shu on the back of the ugly man’s head seemed to reveal a strange smile, as if mocking Yang An’s inescapable fate.

Even though its last attack had missed, the ugly man’s movements became less urgent. It had him cornered, like a fish in a barrel.

Yang An’s breathing grew ragged. He hadn’t expected this creature to have such a method. But then, he calmed down.

It was more accurate to say he was fighting Hai Shu, not this creature. As a Bodhisattva of the Great Virtue Temple, it wasn’t surprising that Hai Shu could display any kind of power.

’So, besides Light Magic, do I have any way to guarantee I can deal with this thing?’

When fighting this creature, the most important thing was not to trade blows frequently. Otherwise, all that power would be absorbed and used by it, increasing its combat strength.

In other words, unless he could kill it in a single strike, if he dragged this out while trapped, he would only fall into an increasingly disadvantageous and dangerous situation.

’So, do I have a move that can guarantee a one-hit kill?’

’Of course, I do.’

’I’ve been saving it for so long, I didn’t want to use it.’

Yang An slowly narrowed his eyes, staring directly at the ugly creature, and at the face on the back of its head.

SWISH!

The ugly creature disappeared once again, reappearing above Yang An. Countless ethereal connections manifested from its body, linking it to the entire black barrier.

It pressed its palms together, as if it were the one and only God within this barrier space.

"Seal of Que Ling!"

This was the first time Yang An had heard the creature’s voice, but the sound was a kind of Buddhist chant coming from the face on the back of its head.

In that instant, it was as if the entire world began to press in on Yang An, crushing the space around him layer by layer with irresistible force.

It seemed as if the barrier space hadn’t changed at all, but in reality, in a single moment, the space would shrink infinitely, and Yang An would be turned into a bloody pulp.

Enduring the merciless crushing pressure from the world itself, Yang An’s whole body trembled violently.

But he wasn’t trembling out of fear.

On the contrary, he was trembling with excitement.

His eyes instantly filled with bloodshot veins. His already-swollen body expanded even further, and dense blue veins popped out all over his skin. In the span of a single breath, his flesh and blood vessels began bursting all over.

"You forced my hand!"

Nine Forces Shocking Dragon!

OMMMM!

Yang An concentrated all the power he had long been accumulating into a single punch. It was as if rivers and seas were endlessly pouring out from within his body, instantly submerging everything in silence.

Facing a power that seemed like the entire world, this punch even let out a tremendous dragon’s roar, while simultaneously erupting in a dazzling light.

But everything unfolded in a calm, slow-motion silence, a paradox of sound and stillness.

The Power of this punch easily crushed the ugly creature’s body and all its flesh and blood, then continued, unstoppable, soaring toward the sky and striking the black barrier.

The next moment, all the giant phantom Buddhas in every direction shattered at the same time.

An invisible yet seemingly tangible, primordial dragon shattered all the clouds in the sky.

A fierce wind abruptly rose.