The sound of the bells grew increasingly urgent, and the crisp ringing seemed to become more piercing in everyone’s ears. Liu Dashao even felt a strong sensation of dizziness in his head. He quickly glanced at the people around him and noticed that their expressions and eyes appeared to be affected. Realizing something was wrong, Liu Dashao immediately looked toward James and the others at the entrance of the heavenly palace. At that moment, he suddenly understood—it was then that he saw those people rapidly stuffing something into their ears.
At this time, Jia Zhuangyuan also seemed to sense something amiss. He raised his whip with both hands, crossed it over his chest, and began loudly chanting the incantation of the treasure hunters.
Liu Dashao quickly used the index fingers of both hands to plug his ears. The sound of the bells instantly became much quieter, and the dizziness in his head eased significantly. He immediately shouted to those around him, “Everyone, cover your ears!”
Prompted by Liu Dashao’s warning, everyone hurriedly used whatever they could—objects or fingers—to block their ears. Finally, they could calmly witness this magical confrontation.
Just then, inside the arena, the magical duel between Haton and Jia Zhuangyuan, though lacking the dramatic spectacle of physical combat, had clearly entered a critical phase. Haton, wearing his clown mask, remained expressionless, and the sound of the bells continued to ring like a storm. Jia Zhuangyuan’s lips kept moving as he chanted the incantation, and the colorful magical symbols on his whip continued to shimmer with light. However, his expression appeared increasingly strained.
Suddenly, Haton abruptly stopped shaking the bell. The ringing ceased instantly. As everyone was puzzled, unexpectedly, the bell in Haton’s hand emitted a blinding golden glow. In an instant, the bell expanded rapidly, transforming into a golden pagoda over a meter tall and as thick as a person. From behind the clown mask came a ghostly voice: “Dare to oppose the gods? Then receive the punishment you deserve!”
As he spoke, the bell—now more accurately described as a golden pagoda—flew into the air from Haton’s hand and came crashing down toward Jia Zhuangyuan. Liu Dashao immediately shouted in alarm, “Senior, watch out!”
At that moment, Jia Zhuangyuan seemed to sense the imminent danger. He let out a loud cry, raised his whip high above his head with both hands, and shouted, “Ancestors, protect me!”
As Liu Dashao cried out, “Don’t try to be a hero!” the golden pagoda descended from the sky and struck the whip that Jia Zhuangyuan held high. Jia staggered, spat out blood, and dropped to his knees on the ground.
The golden pagoda radiated brilliant light and continued to press downward. It looked as if Jia Zhuangyuan would soon be completely engulfed. Everyone watching was horrified, helpless, and unable to intervene. Liu Dashao closed his eyes in anguish, unable to bear watching Jia Zhuangyuan being crushed beneath the golden pagoda.
Just then, a miracle suddenly occurred. At the very moment when Jia Zhuangyuan seemed about to be completely enveloped by the golden light, a beam of brilliant white light shot into the sky, forcefully pushing the golden pagoda upward. In an instant, the golden light and the white light silently clashed midair, locked in a stalemate about a meter above the ground, neither able to gain an inch more.
At this moment, Jia Zhuangyuan had slumped sideways onto the ground, eyes closed, motionless. Everyone saw that the white light emanated from the treasure hunter’s token hanging around his neck.
At this point, Liu Dashao couldn’t help but shout urgently, “We concede this round! Haton, withdraw your magical artifact!”
Haton, still wearing the clown mask and white gloves, stood silently in place, showing no reaction, as if he hadn’t heard Liu Dashao at all.
Seeing that Haton made no move to withdraw his artifact, Fan Debiao became visibly agitated and shouted furiously, “You bastard! African monkey! Didn’t you hear that we’ve already surrendered? Why won’t you withdraw your artifact!”
At that moment, James from the opposing side suddenly sneered, “It’s useless! Once Haton’s artifact is activated, it must be offered a living sacrifice to be withdrawn. Otherwise, even his own soul cannot return. His soul has already been given to his god, and only with a living sacrifice will his god release his soul.”
Everyone’s hearts sank. With a furious roar, Fan Debiao rushed toward Jia Zhuangyuan in the arena, apparently trying to forcibly pull him from beneath the golden pagoda.
Everyone shouted in unison, “Don’t go!”
But it was too late. Fan Debiao had already reached a spot less than a meter away from Jia Zhuangyuan. But then something strange happened—just as Fan Debiao touched the boundary of the golden and white light, he was suddenly thrown into the air without warning and landed heavily several meters away. Pain contorted his face as he groaned and gasped on the ground. It seemed that the two clashing beams of light emitted some strange force that prevented anyone from approaching.
Liu Dashao quickly ran to Fan Debiao’s side and helped him up. It was clear that rescuing Jia Zhuangyuan would be extremely difficult. The two magical beams possessed some mysterious power that made approaching impossible. Was it really necessary, as James had said, for the person trapped beneath the artifact to sacrifice his life to end this?
James seemed indifferent to whether Haton could return, but everyone was deeply anxious about Jia Zhuangyuan’s life. After sustaining serious injuries, if Haton’s artifact wasn’t withdrawn, Jia would eventually succumb to his wounds. Everyone was at a loss.
Suddenly, James sneered again, “It seems Haton and Old Master Jia are locked in a stalemate that will take some time to resolve. But in my opinion, we’ve already won. Master Liu, waiting doesn’t suit the American lifestyle of racing against time to accelerate civilization’s progress. How about James and I proceed with the remaining supernatural duel right now?”
As he spoke, he removed his glasses, took off his suit jacket, and a commando-style figure stepped behind him, pulling out a black robe and draping it over James’s shoulders. James fixed Liu Dashao with a fierce glare, while Liu Dashao silently met his gaze with calm eyes.
They locked eyes for more than a minute. The group noticed James’s eyes gradually turning red, his face darkening, and his figure subtly undergoing a strange transformation. First, his waist began to arch, his arms stretching outward, and the black robe around him seemed to inflate as if filled with gas.
Seeing his transformation, the group felt uneasy. Fan Debiao muttered under his breath, “What the hell is this old man up to? Could he be trying to turn into a bird?”
Suddenly, a strange sound came faintly from outside the hall. Liu Dashao glanced instinctively toward the sound but noticed nothing unusual. He quickly turned his attention back to James, who now exuded a distinctly eerie aura.
At that moment, James suddenly let out a strange, low cry. He swiftly pulled the black robe over his face and arms, completely wrapping himself in it. Everyone was stunned. Just as Fan Debiao had said, what was this old man up to?
The black robe continued to tremble, and the eerie aura made Liu Dashao increasingly uneasy. He had a strong feeling that something devilish was hidden within that robe. A strange sound came again from outside the palace. Before anyone could react, the black robe suddenly burst open with a loud “pop,” revealing something that made everyone’s skin crawl. Emerging from the robe was no human face or form—it was a massive black-purple bat. The creature that appeared before them stood over 1.5 meters tall, its body pitch black, its head dark purple, with blood-red eyes glaring maliciously at the group. Its mouth, resembling a mix of a rat’s and a fox’s, opened wide to reveal long, sharp, crimson fangs as it hissed, “I, Lord Jordani, noble vampire count, shall drain your blood, you lowly creatures, and condemn you to eternal torment!”
Liu Dashao couldn’t help but exclaim inwardly, “My God! James is actually a member of the most mysterious Western vampire race!”
This was terrifying!
At that moment, Jia Zhuangyuan suddenly shouted fiercely, “You claim to be a vampire count? Then you should know that the first law of the vampire race is to ‘remain hidden,’ to live in secrecy, never revealing yourselves. How dare you openly violate the most sacred law of the vampire race? Do you realize that by doing so, you will face the most severe punishment from your kind and bring destruction upon your entire clan by all vampire families?”
James threw his head back in a maniacal laugh. “Foolish, lowly humans! Do you think you’ll live to reveal my identity? Besides, the vampire race is divided into the Sabbat and the Camarilla. We Sabbat do not follow the Camarilla’s laws of secrecy. We worship fear and slaughter. To us Sabbat, you humans are nothing but the lowest creatures, fit only to be used and slaughtered at will.”
Upon hearing James’s words, Liu Dashao roared in anger, clapped his hands together, and a powerful surge of white energy instantly coursed through his body. Glaring fiercely at the arrogant James, he declared, “You are nothing but a blood-sucking bat, a demon at best in China. I, Liu Dashao, have been a Taoist practitioner for over a decade. From the moment I entered the Taoist path, I swore before my ancestors’ tablets to eliminate demons and monsters as my life’s mission. Today, I shall destroy you, this demon, on Chinese soil, to warn the dark forces of the West not to challenge the might of China. Whoever dares to threaten China shall be hunted down, no matter how far they flee!”
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