The Taoist priest's taunt deeply displeased Old Mo and me.
But before we could react, we heard our uncle's furious roar from behind:
"You damn cur, think you're so capable? This old Daoist will grant your wish!"
As his voice faded, Old Mo and I felt a powerful surge of energy from behind us.
Then, with a snap,
A bolt of electricity roared forth, striking the Taoist priest.
Lightning Incantation, Uncle's Lightning Incantation.
Currently, Uncle's mastery of it far surpassed Old Mo's.
Both in terms of power and cultivation level.
Seeing Uncle unleash his lightning, the nearby Taoist priest couldn't help but show a hint of fear.
He raised his weapon and cast a series of seals.
With several hums, a strange black seal coalesced before the Taoist priest.
It formed a shield, blocking in front of him.
But by then, Uncle's lightning bolt had already struck his black shield.
With a resounding clang of electrical discharge.
The arcing electricity began to jump erratically in all directions.
Several fierce ghosts nearby cried out in pain as they were electrocuted or rendered immobile.
The Taoist priest in the center also looked distressed.
Finally, with a scream of "Ah," he was sent flying backward, his left cheek scorched black by the lightning.
"Master is awesome!"
"Uncle, amazing!"
Old Mo and I exclaimed.
This Taoist priest was strong, yet he was dealt with by Uncle in one move.
Uncle is still Uncle. Even though my foundational cultivation was now comparable to Uncle's, in terms of raw power, I still fell short.
Uncle, however, scoffed:
"These Taoist priests are pathetic. You two go finish him off. Be careful though!"
"Yes, Master!"
"Don't worry, Uncle."
We acknowledged and turned to charge at the injured Taoist priest.
Uncle, meanwhile, turned to face the remaining fierce ghosts and corpse monsters.
Around us, the battle intensified.
More reinforcements arrived to aid us.
The man in the red robe was forced to dispatch more of the shadowy figures and corpse monsters from behind him.
At a glance, the black mist was filled with fighting.
Everywhere there were roars and screams, and the smell of blood.
Old Mo and I pressed our attack on the Taoist priest.
Injured by Uncle, the Taoist priest quickly got up, preparing to evade.
But how could we let him escape?
Old Mo hurled his black measuring tape, roaring:
"Demon Entanglement Technique; Lin Bing Dou Zhe Jie Zhen Lie Qian Xing, Chi!"
The measuring tape whizzed past like a vine, coiling up the Taoist priest's leg.
The Taoist priest, caught off guard.
With a clang, he fell to the ground, face-planting.
He frantically tried to break free.
But it was too late. I raised my long sword, leaping into the air:
"Taoist priest, you can die now!"
As I spoke, I swung my sword, gathering streams of Dao energy.
I cleaved down at the Taoist priest.
Bound by the measuring tape, the Taoist priest couldn't break free. Seeing my sword strike,
He cried out in terror, begging for help:
"Holy Son, save me! Holy Son, save me..."
But the Holy Son he called out to had already retreated fifty to sixty meters away.
He stood there, surrounded by a group of people, watching from afar with a cold expression.
With a swish!
Blood splattered, and the Taoist priest's cries abruptly ceased.
His head was shattered by my sword, and he died on the spot.
At the same time, I looked at the Black Demon Cult's Holy Son, fifty meters away, standing by the Taoist priest's corpse with a cold demeanor.
When killing, one must eradicate the roots.
The Holy Son, his face darkened, also looked at me.
Until the Taoist priest's soul emerged from his body, only to be cut down by my sword again.
With a bang, his soul scattered and vanished.
"You damnable thing!"
The Holy Son was enraged, his eyes spitting fire.
But he seemed to be suppressing it, not making a move against me.
He already knew that I had killed the Black Demon Cult's Saintess.
And had sworn to kill me.
Yet now, he endured it.
Looking at his expression and the current situation,
I could describe it in one word: chaos.
The entire area below Sharp Point Peak had erupted into a full-blown battle.
Hundreds of fierce ghosts and corpse slaves were locked in combat.
It appeared to be a stalemate, but it posed no significant threat to our side.
In fact, we held the advantage.
This gave me a strange sense of unease.
Because something felt odd to me.
The main reason was this:
These Taoist priests had actively attacked the mountain, yet it seemed they didn't truly intend to ascend.
They brought such a large contingent of demons and spirits but didn't commit to a full-scale assault.
After creating some commotion, they waited for us to descend, and then they didn't put us under full pressure.
They sent out as many demons and spirits as we had, engaging us in battle.
Their objective was clear: to stall and entangle us.
Why were these Taoist priests doing this?
Were they bored and simply wanted to send hundreds of ghost slaves and corpse monsters for us to fight for fun?
Highly unlikely. Refining a ghost slave and raising a corpse monster required cost.
These hundreds of ghost slaves and corpse monsters represented a considerable investment.
They wouldn't have been sent to die so casually.
If not, then they must have had a specific purpose.
And what was that purpose?
Did everything they were doing now already achieve their goal?
With this thought, I glanced around at Sharp Point Peak, now shrouded in black mist.
The enemy's target might not have been us at all.
At that realization, my heart sank heavily:
"Feint in the open, attack in the dark?"