Supreme Alchemist
Chapter 2496: 2486 Venerable Liaoran

Chapter 2496: Chapter 2486 Venerable Liaoran

Long Yan saw that Chu Meng unexpectedly closed her eyes again, and couldn’t help but feel a bit exasperated. How could this little girl have so little composure? Closing her eyes again, was she waiting for death? He must teach her a lesson after this is over.

“Open your eyes, or how else will you see our counterattack?”

Long Yan’s voice carried a hint of jest, but as Chu Meng opened her eyes, she witnessed a scene she had never seen since birth. A resplendent Star Dragon stood guard beside Long Yan and herself. The storm, as sharp as a blade, was unable to approach at all. The Star Dragon let out a roar, and the terrifying storm instantly calmed down.

“How is this possible?”

The old monk shouted with a snarling face. His Blood Wind was resolved just like that? That kid wasn’t turned into a pulp, and that little girl too? A feeling of rage surged in the old monk’s heart, and then above his head, a ferocious ghost face appeared.

“Watch my All Things Demon Transformation Skill!”

The old monk emitted terrifying roars from his throat like beasts howling. His golden kasaya was forcibly torn apart, leaving only a few strips of cloth covering his body. Then his whole body began to swell like a balloon. His once clear legs started to shorten, and the old monk standing on the ground now looked like a gorilla.

The Star Dragon slowly flew to the bottom of Long Yan’s feet. Indeed, this was the very Star Dragon that Long Qingtu used against him. Only after comprehending the strength of this move did Long Yan realize that Long Qingtu hadn’t even used one percent of his power before. This was just the third layer of the Star Breaking Demon Decree, so how powerful must the fourth and fifth layers be? Long Yan could barely imagine.

It was the sudden breakthrough of the previously dormant second layer that gave Long Yan the power to resist the violent wind. This powerful star power filled Long Yan with boundless energy. If he were to sink into the Sea of Consciousness now, he would find that the sun-like star had grown even more profound and his Sea of Consciousness had transformed into a sea of stars.

Yun Huang sat solemnly on top of the Nine Suns Cauldron. She couldn’t tell whether Long Yan’s transformation was good or bad. Although Long Yan was not the most talented owner of the Nine Suns Cauldron throughout the ages, he was certainly the strangest. But the stranger he was, the more likely he was to create miracles. Yun Huang always believed that.

With an angry roar from the old monk, his burly body shot up, charging towards Long Yan in the air. From his body erupted an overwhelming Demonic Qi. Long Yan’s eyes narrowed. The old monk’s body emitted Demonic Qi, which conflicted with his Buddhism. What was this old monk, a metallic cat?

As the long spear swung, the Star Dragon beneath him opened its mouth and released a silver-white starlight beam, hitting the approaching old monk directly. Stars are naturally righteous creations of heaven and earth; thus, the demonic energy dissolved upon contact with the starlight. The old monk’s enormous body was violently slammed onto the ground by the starlight.

The starlight slowly dissipated. The areas hit by the starlight on the old monk’s body were charred black. Long Yan’s brow furrowed as if something felt off. The starlight’s power shouldn’t be so weak, yet the old monk seemed unfazed, dusting himself off and standing up. Apart from the scorched area, he appeared unhurt.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Long Yan’s mind: the words of Release—the old monk had mentioned returning everything to him. The old monk’s remarkable resilience even surprised Long Yan. Such body strength was something he’d only seen in martial cultivation experts like the Old Madman. There was definitely something amiss with the old monk.

“Roar!”

As if having lost all reason, the old monk charged madly towards Long Yan, seemingly unaffected by the charred areas. Long Yan snorted coldly. The shape of a Magic Gun in his hand seemed almost imprinted in the air, and a Star Spear, shining with mottled silver light, appeared in the sky. As Long Yan thrust forward with one hand, the enormous Star Spear shot fiercely towards the old monk.

With a thunderous crash, the small Space was suddenly overwhelmed by dazzling starlight, so much so that even Chu Meng, in Long Yan’s arms, involuntarily closed her eyes. Once the intense starlight converged and exploded outwards ferociously.

As the starlight gradually dissipated, Long Yan’s strike had caused irregular tremors throughout the entire Space. With the breakdown of the Space, it could no longer hold and was beginning to collapse.

Long Yan guided the Star Dragon to gently land on the ground, laying Chu Meng down from his embrace.

“Quick, take the two of them and go.”

Chu Lu, already suffering from excessive blood loss, and Tian Luo Yi, overwhelmed by the frightful tremors, had both fainted. Chu Meng was spared thanks to Long Yan’s protection.

“What about you?”

Chu Meng’s eyes were a bit complicated, but she knew this was not the time for defiance. She hoisted both of them in her arms; after all, as a mercenary, this little strength was no issue for her.

“I have some matters to resolve. Don’t worry, I’ll make it out safely.”

Long Yan spoke, but his gaze was fixed intently on the old monk lying on the ground. Yet he saw that the old monk, now entirely charred, was getting up again, like an indestructible little cockroach.

“Mmm.”

Chu Meng acknowledged with a nod, without hesitation, sprinting towards the gate, aware that as the Space continued to crumble, the gate could be freely traversed.

“Roar!”

The old monk stood up and looked at Long Yan on the ground. But the latter dispersed the Star Dragon around him and pulled out a string of Buddha Beads from his arms. Yes, it was the string Long Yan had previously found in the Eastern Monk’s Room, belonging to the enlightened High Monk, which bore the bloodstains that Long Yan had washed away, revealing two words: Monk Liaoran.

This was no ordinary name; typically, such titles were reserved for leading monks. Long Yan had nearly forgotten it, but remembered the words of Release. That was when he thought of this string of Buddha Beads. Perhaps it was the key to subduing the old monk in front of him. Indeed, the old monk’s body was peculiar, but he was not invincible, which reminded Long Yan of the Demon Clan described in books.

This old monk was very likely a member of the Demon Clan, and as for why he possessed Buddhism, that would be up to the old monk to explain.

“Alas, this poor monk has truly sinned.”

Just as the string of Buddha Beads fell into the old monk’s—no, now the Venerable Liaoran’s—hands, Venerable Liaoran’s body gradually returned to its original form. Despite wearing only a few ragged strips of cloth, he exuded an aura of Buddhism.

“I never expected that even after my death, I couldn’t suppress the beast within me. Truly, retribution is cyclical. One must bear their own karma.”