Longevity, starting from being a chicken raising servant Chapter 2323: 175: Audience (Part 2)
Previously on Longevity, starting from being a chicken raising servant...
Lightning-fast, his silhouette darted forward, hurtling directly at the Arhats striving to shatter the Realm Membrane overhead!
Fury boiled in the Long-Armed Arhat upon spotting this:
“How dare you look down on me!”
He chased right after, his elongated arms extending with blinding speed!
Meanwhile, inside the Formation Barrier, the skinny elder observing the spectacle gave a chilly huff.
Lifting his hand just a bit, he unveiled a Compass clutched in his grip, where streams of light raced across its surface, displaying the forms of multiple monks beyond the barrier—including the Long-Armed Arhat.
With a pointed finger at the Long-Armed Arhat's image on the Compass, the skinny elder's features shriveled up even further.
Suddenly, the Long-Armed Arhat in hot pursuit of the ochre-robed young man jolted as though zapped by thunder, his form locking up in place!
“Patriarch!”
Murmurs of shock rippled through the onlookers.
The skinny elder's face stayed impassive. Despite his severe wounds, he stood merely one step from mid-stage Crossing Tribulation. Incapable of direct combat, he excelled in a host of arcane methods.
The Wanxiang Sect's reputation was no empty boast.
The ochre-robed youth, ever vigilant and sharp-eyed, caught the shift in the Long-Armed Arhat even as he sped onward. He whipped around in an instant, brandishing his Purple Thunder Bamboo Sword and unleashing a blazing azure-purple blade beam!
Right before the blade beam could cleave into the Long-Armed Arhat's forehead, a mighty monk materialized out of nowhere, parrying the blow and clamping down on the azure-purple beam with unyielding force.
The blade beam hummed and vibrated wildly, yet it failed to slip from the monk's iron hold.
A slight frown creased the ochre-robed youth's forehead; he refused to hang around, delivering his strike before pulling back swiftly.
The mighty monk prepared to give chase, but from within the barrier, the skinny elder shot a piercing stare and jabbed once more at the matching image of the mighty monk on the Compass.
The monk's frame seized up immediately, allowing the ochre-robed youth to flee far away!
Still, the skinny elder staggered unsteadily, his visage now looking completely haggard and worn-out!
“Patriarch!”
Concern etched the faces of the fellow cultivators near the elder.
The skinny elder lifted his hand to silence the voices behind him, his gaze locked unblinkingly on the wildly surging barrier up high and the ochre-robed youth charging toward the Sky Dome to block their path.
In a hurried murmur to the figure at his side, he asked:
“Are you certain he will show up?”
Next to him, Hui Yunzi in his moon-white robes paused briefly, then his eyes hardened with resolve:
“I believe he will!”
“Excellent!”
Determination etched the skinny elder's features. Grinding his teeth, he uttered in a grave tone:
“Then we must endure until that moment!”
The cultivators around him echoed his words together, their morale surging. They unleashed diverse spells to strike back via the barrier, but the power disparity was too vast to make real waves.
Extending his Spiritual Sense outward, the skinny elder picked up the clamor of clashes echoing from spots across the realm, filling his chest with dread and turmoil.
“As Hui Yunzi mentioned, True Man Taiyi has already picked up on certain clues… The Supreme True Buddha's monks invading the realm has sparked an odd reaction from the Cloud Sky Sect, letting them push forward without hindrance!”
“Could it be they've truly forsaken us sects, treating the Cloud Sky Realm as the primary battlefield?”
This idea sank his spirits deeper.
If so, they served as prime lures to draw in these Supreme True Buddha monks at present. With the major prey not yet hooked, did this bait stand any chance of slipping away?
Or were they merely biding time for the big catch to devour the bait, awaiting the angler's pull?
Such notions shook his steadfast resolve.
He found himself pondering further.
If the Cloud Sky Sect clung to this strategy, could the youthful True Man Taiyi from the Wanxiang Sect in the Little Cang World truly make it here?
Dwelling on these matters.
His eyes remained glued to the Sky Dome's direction.
As long as the realm membrane at this node stayed intact, the Great Array's node could persist a bit longer.
Up in the skies, the monks who grasped the ochre-robed youth's aim scowled as they saw him overtake two foes, barreling straight at the ones hammering the Realm Membrane.
From the squad assailing the barrier underneath, the lone Bodhisattva barked in rage:
“Wisdom Magic, Wisdom Essence, why are you still hesitating? Seize him at once!”
He had held back from striking the Realm Membrane, planning to harvest the throng of cultivators and mortals here after the Formation fell, to convert them—a deed of utmost merit.
Shame and ire burned in the Long-Armed Arhat and the sturdy Arhat after the scolding; they surged after the ochre-robed youth without delay.
The youth's pace was remarkable; as the Longevity Sect's Patriarch, he commanded prowess in the Sword Dao. Though his might suffered a touch from weaving Spirit Plants into his Sword Dao, his endurance outshone others.
Like a flashing sword beam, he evaded the tandem hunt by the two Arhats with razor-thin margins, then veered sharply toward the trio of Arhats pounding the Realm Membrane above!
The Cloud Sky Realm ranked as a genuine Great Realm; its Realm Membrane was dense and resilient, bolstered by the Cloud Sky Sect's unique arts. Even with fissures forming from assaults inside and out, nothing short of Bodhisattva-level power could breach it readily.
Sensing the youth's advance, the three Arhats grew wary, dispatching one to head him off promptly.
This diversion was exactly what the youth sought. If these monks couldn't harm the Realm Membrane, the Formation below might just cling on, granting vital moments. Cloud Sky Sect reinforcements might yet arrive.
With one Arhat peeled away, the youth's sword beam form tweaked its trajectory subtly, leveraging its nimbleness to dodge while pressing the assault on the remaining two unfazed Arhats.