"Wolong, what exactly are you playing at?"
Seeing Wolong's giant avatar catch his golden arrow, the black-clothed man's eyes widened, and he spoke, "Stop this trickery. If you have the guts, fight me head-on."
"Fight you?"
Hearing the black-clothed man's words, Wolong threw the golden arrow back. As the black-clothed man grabbed it, his arm aching intensely, Wolong's giant avatar let out a thunderous laugh, "In this labyrinth, I am the heavens. You wish to fight the heavens?"
"Very well, since you are so defiant, I shall punish you, mortal."
As the words fell, a fireball appeared in Wolong's hand, which he then hurled towards the black-clothed man.
Seeing the massive fireball hurtling towards him, the black-clothed man's expression changed. He quickly drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and shot it at the fireball.
The power of the golden arrow was immense. The moment it struck the flames, the fireball exploded. However, the consequence was that the large fireball transformed into countless smaller ones that rained down, scattering throughout the labyrinth. Soon, the maze was engulfed in a sea of fire.
"Wolong... what is this?"
Witnessing Wolong seemingly transform into a deity, a trace of terror flickered in the black-clothed man's once placid eyes.
He knew he had to escape this perilous situation quickly, otherwise, he would eventually be worn down and killed by Wolong.
Thus, a second before the inferno consumed him, the black-clothed man leaped, using the walls of the labyrinth as a springboard to launch himself dozens of meters into the air, intending to jump out of the maze.
"Mortal, you wish to escape the heavens' control?"
Just as the black-clothed man was about to clear the labyrinth, Wolong suddenly punched down towards him. The colossal fist, capable of eclipsing the sun, descended, sending the black-clothed man into a panic. He then fell heavily backward.
However, just as he was about to plunge into the inferno, the black-clothed man twisted his body, hastily pulling a golden arrow from his quiver and embedding it into the stone wall of the labyrinth. Grasping the arrow, he halted his descent.
"Not bad. Your will to survive is quite tenacious."
Looking at the black-clothed man hanging from the labyrinth wall, Wolong's giant avatar let out a hearty laugh and said, "They say water and fire are merciless. Since the great fire did not consume you, I shall drown you with water."
"Mortal, have you ever witnessed what it means for the great river to descend from the heavens?"
Wolong's giant avatar cast a contemptuous glance at the black-clothed man, then waved his hand. Suddenly, a great river appeared in the sky, and its waters poured down.
The river from the heavens covered the labyrinth in less than two seconds, and the water level continued to rise. Within five seconds, it was two meters deep, and then it deepened further, soon submerging the black-clothed man up to his neck.
"Wolong, I'll fight you to the death!"
The black-clothed man knew that if he did nothing, he would soon be drowned in the labyrinth. As the water reached his chin, he quickly pulled out the golden arrow stuck in the wall, then, using all his strength, he leaped, once again reaching Wolong's height and swiftly shooting an arrow towards him.
"Fire didn't kill you, water didn't drown you. It seems you're quite resilient."
Seeing the black-clothed man leap up again and shoot an arrow at him, Wolong caught the golden arrow and laughed, "Since you struggle so much, I can only summon celestial meteorites to eliminate you, you nefarious wretch."
With that, Wolong waved his hand, and then, thousands of meteorites descended from above the black-clothed man, hurtling towards him.
"This..."
The black-clothed man's face contorted with shock. He dodged frantically, but still, a meteorite struck his chest. He spat out a mouthful of blood and then fell heavily, finally landing at the bottom of the labyrinth and being submerged by the water.
However, at that very moment, a crack appeared in the labyrinth wall, revealing light.
As the light shone through the fissure, not only did the thick mist in the labyrinth dissipate, but the water also vanished.
And at that moment, the labyrinth returned to its normal state.
The black-clothed man looked at the meteorites that had injured him and found they were all small pebbles.
He then looked at Wolong and discovered that Wolong had disappeared long ago.
"What a pity..."
As the black-clothed man realized Wolong was gone, Wolong had already arrived in the urban area of Nanling, a hint of regret on his face.
"It's a shame I didn't master the Eight Arrays formation completely, otherwise, I could have trapped that scoundrel."
That's right, what Wolong had used was the Eight Arrays formation, created by Zhuge Wuhou. After the Battle of Yiling, Lu Xun led a hundred thousand troops to pursue Liu Bei, and it was Zhuge Liang who used the Eight Arrays formation to block Lu Xun's vast army.
Wolong had learned the Eight Arrays formation from an ancient book back then but had never truly used it. This was merely an attempt, and he regretted that he couldn't trap his opponent.
However, Wolong knew that to unleash the true power of formations like the Eight Arrays, one needed to study them further. After a brief sigh, he put the matter aside.
Upon entering the city, Wolong hitched a ride and headed directly to Emperor Villa Garden.
Wolong knocked on the door, and soon, Yu Fei came to open it.
Seeing Wolong, whom she had never met before, Yu Fei's face showed a hint of wariness. She asked, "Who are you?"
"Xiao Fei, he's not a stranger. He's my junior brother, Wolong."
After Yu Fei finished speaking, Shen Lang walked over, smiling.
"Junior brother?"
Hearing Shen Lang's words, Yu Fei was slightly surprised.
"Yes, my junior brother."
Shen Lang pinched Yu Fei's cheek and smiled, "He grew up with me. He's not a bad person. Relax."
Afterward, Shen Lang introduced Wolong, "Wolong, this is Yu Fei, Yu Xiao's sister."
"So that's how it is..."
Wolong said with a smile upon hearing this and then entered the villa.
Seeing Wolong enter, Yu Xiao and Yu Fei greeted Shen Lang and then returned to their rooms, realizing that Shen Lang and Wolong had much to discuss.
"Not bad. Mid-stage Heavenly Realm."
After Wolong sat down, Shen Lang smiled and said, "Mid-stage Heavenly Realm, coupled with the Ming Hong Saber you carry, you have the strength to contend even with peak Heavenly Realm experts."
"Haha, compared to you, senior brother, I'm still a bit lacking. You're already at the peak Heavenly Realm."
Wolong also discerned Shen Lang's cultivation and said with genuine admiration.
Then, Wolong took out nine flying daggers from his scabbard and handed them to Shen Lang. "Senior brother, the old man asked me to bring these down the mountain for you. He said you will face a tribulation of death soon, and these nine flying daggers will help you overcome it."
"Tribulation of death?"
Hearing Wolong's words, Shen Lang instinctively scoffed, but then, remembering the shot that attacked him at the Nongjia mountain villa, his expression changed.
Could the old man's tribulation of death refer to this?