21: Chapter 22 The Fruit-Stealing Thief (Part 2)

Seeing this, Ao Lie knew the time had come. He no longer hesitated, moved his thoughts in secret, and whispered,

"Xiao Hei, Shadow Servant, Tiger Overlord, hold back and contain them.

The rest of the common-grade and knight-grade Shadow Servants, reveal yourselves entirely, capture these immortal children, but do not take their lives!"

As his voice fell, streaks of pitch-black shadows instantly erupted from Ao Lie's body, dense and numerous, filling the entire courtyard of Wuzhuang Temple!

Two thousand common-grade Shadow Servants, each clad in Shadow armor with condensed auras, were all at the Heavenly Immortal Realm.

At this moment, they surged toward the ordinary immortal children like a tide.

Hundreds of knight-grade Shadow Servants, with even denser Shadow auras around them, revealed their Mystic Immortal Realm cultivation without reservation and dashed straight toward the slightly stronger immortal child leaders.

The Black Bear Spirit Xiao Hei, the Yellow Wind Monster Shadow Servant, and the Tiger Vanguard Tiger Overlord—three commander-grade Shadow figures—stood in the center of the courtyard.

With imposing auras, carrying the pressure of the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm, they did not attack with full force.

They merely contained Qingfeng and Mingyue, preventing the two from escaping or casting powerful Spells.

For a moment, shadows surged in the courtyard, and Evil Qi rose.

The Wuzhuang Temple immortal children, who had originally held the advantage, were instantly surrounded by Shadow Servants, so frightened that their faces turned pale and their bodies trembled.

"What... what are these things!"

"Such terrifying auras! Who exactly are these dark shadows!"

The immortal children were panicked, and the weapons in their hands nearly dropped.

They had never seen such bizarre servants and were completely unable to resist.

Seeing this, Monkey King and Pigsy immediately stopped fighting and retreated to Ao Lie's side. The two were already accustomed to Ao Lie's Shadow Servants; they just grinned and stopped attacking.

Monkey King laughed, "Brother White Dragon still has the methods; these little Daoists are simply not worth looking at!"

Pigsy also nodded repeatedly, "Good fellow, with so many shadow helpers, we're steady now!"

Ao Lie nodded indifferently, his tone calm, "They are just ordinary servants; capturing them is enough, no need to cause extra trouble."

On the battlefield, the Shadow Servants moved swiftly with tacit cooperation.

The common-grade Shadow Servants easily subdued the ordinary immortal children, and the knight-grade Shadow Servants quickly captured the immortal child leaders.

In just a moment, dozens of Wuzhuang Temple immortal children were all subdued, unable to move, lying on the ground with faces full of fear.

The reason the battle was almost one-sided was not only that the Shadow Servants had the same cultivation as the immortal children but were nearly immortal and indestructible.

It was also because the number of shadows completely crushed the immortal children!

This was not a match of equals; this was a mayfly trying to shake a tree!

Qingfeng and Mingyue were tightly contained by Xiao Hei, the Shadow Servant, and Tiger Overlord.

Feeling the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm pressure from the three commander-grade servants, they were so scared their bodies went limp.

No longer having their previous arrogance, their voices trembled, "Who... who are you people? How can you have such bizarre helpers!"

Ao Lie walked forward slowly, looking at Qingfeng and Mingyue with an indifferent tone.

"We have no ill intentions, it is just that my Senior Brother acted on impulse and destroyed the fruit tree, not intentionally. Now that you have been subdued, why persist in pressing us?"

As soon as his voice fell, he secretly activated the Shadow Monarch authority.

He unleashed the power of Shadow Extraction on these subdued immortal children.

Those ordinary, nameless immortal children, after being killed, were all converted into common-grade Shadow Servants and integrated into his command.

The original two thousand common-grade servants directly increased to two thousand five hundred, firmly capped at the Heavenly Immortal Realm limit;

And those medium-level immortal child leaders with names were converted into knight-grade and elite-grade Shadow Servants.

The knight-grade increased to nearly four hundred, capped at the Mystic Immortal Realm, and more than twenty new elite-grade ones were added, capped at the Golden Immortal Realm.

The shadow forces under his command instantly grew significantly!

At the same time, Ao Lie absorbed the Shadow Power of these immortal children, and his own Mystic Immortal Realm Peak cultivation surged again, showing faint signs of breaking through to the Golden Immortal Realm.

All the Shadow Servants under his command also received a simultaneous power boost, their strength greater than before.

After doing all this, Ao Lie waved his hand and dispersed most of the Shadow Servants.

Leaving only the three commander-grade figures—Xiao Hei, the Shadow Servant, and Tiger Overlord—to guard the surroundings, their movements secretive.

Tang Seng was panicked the whole time, only focused on chanting sutras, not noticing Ao Lie's small actions at all, assuming it was Ao Lie's helpers who had subdued the immortal children.

Monkey King clapped and cheered, "Brother White Dragon, these servants of yours are truly becoming more and more powerful; now we don't have to fear these little Daoists anymore!"

Pigsy also chuckled, "With these helpers here, even if that Temple Master returns, we don't have to be afraid!"

Ao Lie waved his hand and said indifferently.

"That Wuzhuang Temple Master, Zhen Yuanzi, is the Ancestor of Earth Immortals; his cultivation is unfathomable, and he is definitely not someone easy to deal with.

Even if we have subdued the immortal children, we cannot let our guard down."

As soon as his voice fell, dark clouds surged in the sky, and a gale blew fiercely.

An incomparably majestic pressure descended from the sky, shrouding the entire Wuzhuang Temple, causing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to become restless.

An old yet majestic voice resounded through the heavens and earth.

"How bold, you unruly monkey! You dare to destroy my Ginseng Fruit Tree and bully my immortal children; do you really think my Wuzhuang Temple has no one!"

Immediately after, a figure descended from the sky and landed in the center of the courtyard.

This person wore a Daoist robe, his face was old yet he was full of vigor, surrounded by Immortal Qi, with monstrous pressure.

It was precisely the Ancestor of Earth Immortals, the Master of Wuzhuang Temple, Zhen Yuanzi!

Zhen Yuanzi looked at the destroyed Ginseng Fruit Tree, then at the subdued Qingfeng, Mingyue, and the immortal children.

Fury churned in his eyes, his gaze locked onto Monkey King, and he shouted sternly.

"Unruly monkey, back when you caused Havoc in Heaven, I did not hold it against you.

Now you dare to destroy my Earthly Spiritual Root; today, I will certainly suppress all of you Master and disciples, and never let you escape for eternity!"

Seeing this, Monkey King gripped his Golden Cudgel, stepped forward, and held his head high.

"Old Daoist, the fruit tree was destroyed by my old Sun; if you want to kill or slice me, do as you please, but don't make things difficult for my Master and Junior Brothers!"

"What a show-off, you unruly monkey; today, none of you will escape!"

Zhen Yuanzi snorted coldly, raised his hand to cast the Universe in the Sleeve Divine Ability, and waved his wide Daoist robe.

Instantly, the heavens and earth changed color, and a powerful suction force swept toward the four Master and disciples!

Ao Lie's eyes narrowed, and he immediately ordered, "Xiao Hei, Shadow Servant, Tiger Overlord, block it with all your might!"

The three commander-grade Shadow Servants immediately rushed forward to resist Zhen Yuanzi's Divine Ability.

But Zhen Yuanzi's cultivation far exceeded the Taiyi Golden Immortal, having already reached the Peak of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal Realm, only one step away from the Quasi-Saint realm.

Even if the three commander-grade servants joined forces, they gradually fell into a disadvantage.

Ao Lie knew clearly in his heart that they were definitely not Zhen Yuanzi's match in a direct confrontation.

He immediately gave a wink to Monkey King and Pigsy and said in a deep voice.

"Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother, protect Master, and hold on for a moment; there is still a turning point in this matter!"

He knew that Guanyin Bodhisattva would definitely come later to revive the Ginseng Fruit Tree, so they only needed to stall for now.

And he, having already taken advantage of this conflict to strengthen his shadow forces, that was enough.

Zhen Yuanzi's Universe in the Sleeve Divine Ability became increasingly ferocious, and the Shadow Servants could gradually no longer resist.

The four Master and disciples were shrouded by the pressure, unable to move, and a direct confrontation with the Ancestor of Earth Immortals thus began.

And Ao Lie, standing in the midst of it, had calm and waveless eyes, already calculating the subsequent countermeasures in his heart, just waiting for the opportunity to arrive, resolve this crisis, and continue on the journey westward.