In the golden-masked man's left pupil, a three-petaled golden flower bloomed.
A beam of golden light shot out from his eye.
It pierced through the two clashing palm shadows in the air and struck the Buddha phantom above.
At once, a golden eye seal with three petals appeared at the center of the Buddha image—exactly where Li Changfeng stood.
Yet Li Changfeng did not notice the mark surrounding him.
He only saw the golden light in the masked man's left eye growing brighter and brighter. He could not tell what technique the enemy had used.
Then gradually—
He felt his strength rapidly draining away.
His spiritual power was not being absorbed.
Instead, it felt as if he himself was weakening.
The powerful body he once possessed was fading.
The vast ocean of spiritual energy within him shrank rapidly into a mere lake.
Below him, the massive Buddha palm pressed closer and closer.
He no longer had the strength to resist.
BOOM!
The Buddha palm from below shattered the upper Buddha phantom and blasted into the sky.
Within the collapsing rainbow-colored Buddha figure, a man fell like a kite with its string cut.
The golden-masked man withdrew the light from his eye and slowly walked toward the fallen figure.
On the ground lay an old man with white hair.
His right arm had been severed. Blood soaked the grass beneath him.
"You… that was… the Evil Eye…?"
Li Changfeng spoke weakly, his voice barely audible.
"Heh, correct."
The masked man chuckled.
"To be defeated by my ocular technique—consider it an honorable death."
"What… exactly… did your Evil Eye… do to me…?"
The golden-masked man raised his right hand.
The purple-gold ring on his finger transformed into a long purple-gold blade.
"For someone who's about to die," he said coldly,
"those details are no longer important."
He swung the blade down toward Li Changfeng's head.
Suddenly—
A stone wall burst from the ground, shielding Li Changfeng.
CLANG!
The blade slammed into the stone.
Behind the wall, Li Changfeng vanished through an earth-escape technique, reappearing near the outer edge of the Sacred Wood Forest surrounding the divine tree.
The masked man looked up into the night sky.
Three figures descended slowly over the forest.
Under the moonlight stood three Lin Masters of the Giant Wood Kingdom—one old man and two youths.
The two young men wore dark-green hunting attire and stood protectively beside the elder.
The old man wore a gray cloak over a white robe. Around his neck hung a Yin-Yang talisman necklace, with the character "Lin (临)" inscribed at its center.
The masked man withdrew his blade from the stone wall and laughed.
"So the Ninth Lin of Giant Wood has arrived. What an honor."
The old man with the talisman was Li Shentong, the Ninth Lin.
Seeing the severely wounded Li Changfeng beside him, shock flashed across his face before sorrow replaced it.
He quickly cast a spell to stop the bleeding from Changfeng's severed arm.
Now aged and frail, Li Changfeng struggled to speak.
"Father… he… he is the Evil King…
Beware… the Evil Eye…"
"The Evil King?!"
Li Shentong immediately issued orders.
"Qingkong! Take Changfeng away and get him treated. Summon the Qingluo Guards for reinforcement."
"Wanli! Stay and face the enemy with me."
"Yes!"
One of the young men quickly carried Li Changfeng away, vanishing into the night.
Li Shentong then clasped his hands politely toward the masked man.
"May I ask which descendant of the Evil King you are?"
The masked man laughed.
"What? Does the Ninth Lin believe I am unworthy of being the Evil King?"
"Not at all. Your strength is indeed extraordinary," Li Shentong said calmly.
"But the Evil King died a hundred years ago. It is impossible for him to return… unless…"
"Unless what?"
"Unless you remove your mask and let this old man see your face."
"Otherwise, I will never believe that you are Wan Tian, the Evil King."
"Hahaha."
"If you wish to remove my mask," the man said,
"you will have to do it yourself."
"Very well."
Li Shentong conjured a Golden Staff into his hand.
Through spiritual transmission, he spoke to his guard:
"Wanli, go check on the divine tree and guard the perimeter."
"Yes!"
The young guard bowed and flew toward the tree trunk.
The golden-masked man watched him leave.
The purple-gold blade in his hand suddenly transformed into a long whip engulfed in green flames.
"Allow me to begin."
Before his words finished—
CRACK!
The flaming whip lashed toward Li Shentong.
Li Shentong swung his Golden Staff.
PA!
The tip of the staff struck the whip, scattering green flames everywhere.
The masked man immediately followed with a palm strike that tore through the flames and shot toward Li Shentong.
Li Shentong dodged swiftly and swept his staff horizontally.
The staff suddenly extended over ten meters, smashing toward the masked man.
Just as the attack seemed unavoidable—
The whip instantly transformed into a shield.
CLANG!
The powerful strike slammed against the shield.
The masked man reached out to grab the staff—
But Li Shentong instantly retracted it.
The shield in the masked man's hand transformed again—
This time into a Golden Staff identical to Li Shentong's.
He thrust forward.
The staff suddenly lengthened and shot toward Li Shentong.
Li Shentong countered with his own staff.
CLANG!
The two staffs collided in midair.
"Divine Weapon: Heavenly Demon…" Li Shentong muttered.
"So you even inherited the Evil King's sacred weapon."
The staff flashed with purple light and turned back into the ring.
The masked man smiled.
"So, Ninth Lin… do you still doubt that I am the Evil King?"
"If you truly inherited his power," Li Shentong said gravely,
"then what exactly do you intend to do with this world?"
The masked man raised his head.
"What use is this world to me?"
"What I seek is to break through this realm and ascend to godhood."
"The lives and deaths of this world mean nothing to me."
"If I wish for life, there will be life."
"If I wish for death, there will be death."
Suddenly—
His left eye blazed with golden light.
A beam shot toward Li Shentong.
Li Shentong immediately enlarged his Golden Staff into a towering pillar, blocking the beam.
"Heh. As expected of the Ninth Lin."
"But what about this?"
A second beam shot toward the young guard near the divine tree.
The guard was struck instantly.
Behind him appeared the three-petaled golden eye seal.
Even as he tried to flee, the mark locked onto him.
Before his eyes, his body rapidly aged—
From youth to middle age in seconds.
Suddenly—
Four massive stone walls erupted from the ground, blocking the golden light.
A huge stone slab fell from above, sealing the masked man inside the stone prison.
"Thank you, Ninth Lin!"
The now middle-aged guard shouted from behind the divine tree.
BOOM!
One wall shattered with a palm print.
The masked man walked out calmly.
"So the mighty Ninth Lin only knows how to hide like a turtle?" he mocked.
"No need for provocations," Li Shentong replied calmly.
"This old man will personally test your abilities."
He removed his gray cloak and opened his robe.
His body began to transform.
His aged flesh rejuvenated.
Muscles expanded. His body grew larger.
Golden fur sprouted across his skin.
Within moments—
The Ninth Lin transformed into a giant golden ape over two meters tall.
He let out a thunderous roar that shook the forest.
Grabbing the enormous Golden Staff, he leapt into the air and smashed it downward.
"…Ape Transformation?" the masked man murmured.
"Thousand-Hand Buddha!"
Countless palm shadows erupted from his hands while a beam of golden light shot from his eye.
The giant staff shattered the palm shadows and crashed down.
The beam from the Evil Eye was blocked by the staff.
With no way to dodge—
The masked man transformed his ring into a staff and raised it to block.
BOOM!!
The golden ape's strike slammed down.
Dust exploded into the air.
The masked man was smashed into the ground, barely holding up a thin staff with both hands.
Li Shentong returned to human form.
Without giving the enemy time to recover, he formed a seal.
"Sacred Art — Immovable King: Suppression!"
Three glowing mantras appeared in the air.
Three massive black stone tablets descended and embedded themselves around the masked man.
Then—
A colossal bronze statue of the King of the Underworld descended from the sky.
The golden staff vanished the moment it touched the statue.
The statue sat heavily upon the masked man.
Its face twisted in wrath.
Lightning flickered across the inscriptions on the three tablets.
The runes read:
"Fengdu Nine Hells — Karma binds the soul!"
"Mount Tai Suppression — Earth veins sealed!"
"Thunder-Fire Purgatory — Eternal annihilation!"
Red flames rose behind the statue.
The Underworld King chanted the incantations as the masked man screamed beneath it.
His aura weakened rapidly.
Seeing the enemy suppressed, Li Shentong finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Suddenly—
"Ninth Lin, watch your back!!"
Wanli shouted in terror.
Too late.
A blazing hand pierced through Li Shentong's chest from behind.
Blood spilled from his mouth.
He slowly turned his head.
Behind him stood a man wearing a white Asura mask—the same one who had arrived earlier with the golden-masked man.
"You… are from the Wuli Clan…"
"Forbidden Art — Transplantation of Life!"
Wanli slammed both hands onto the roots of the divine tree and formed seals.
Li Shentong's body instantly transformed into a wooden figure and appeared beside Wanli.
But the hole in his chest remained.
Blood soaked the ground.
Grasping the Yin-Yang talisman at his chest, he whispered weakly:
"Quick… summon the… Tenth Lin…"
The white-masked man did not pursue.
He believed that strike had already ended the Ninth Lin's life.
He turned toward the suppression array.
The flames behind the Underworld statue began to fade.
The lightning runes on the stone tablets dimmed.
Cracks appeared across the statue and tablets.
The cracks spread rapidly—
Until they shattered like glass.
The white-masked man pulled the golden-masked man from the rubble.
His black cloak was torn and burned.
His body was covered with wounds.
Blood coughed from beneath the mask.
He looked extremely weak.
"As expected of the Ninth Lin," he said hoarsely.
"If not for you, I might truly have died here tonight."
He patted the white-masked man's shoulder.
Then—
His right eye flashed with golden light.
A three-petaled golden eye seal appeared behind him.
His wounds began healing at a visible speed.
Within moments—
They were completely restored.
His aura returned to its previous peak.