433: Chapter 433 was intercepted.

"What are you doing? What are you doing? You've ruined my appearance!"

Zhou Yan kicked the door open and rushed out cursing. However, he didn't hold back his strength when he kicked. He hadn't expected the door to be built with a mortise and tenon structure; with one kick, half the carriage was smashed, and Zhou Yan's foot slipped, nearly making him fall.

"Oh, for heaven's sake..."

After stumbling for a moment, Zhou Yan forcibly stabilized himself. He pursed his lips awkwardly, placed one hand on his hip, and pointed at the group of people before him who looked like Daoist priests, questioning them.

"What are you looking at? If you have something to say, say it! Why are you just standing there!"

The people from the Dao Sect had imagined all sorts of ways for the other party to make an appearance, but seeing this scene now, they were all dumbfounded. The original atmosphere was instantly shattered, and the entire scene became stiff.

However, the leader was clearly no ordinary person. He quickly calmed down and bowed deeply once more.

"Disciple Zheng Zhengzao, entrusted by the Sect Leader, has come on behalf of the entire Dao Sect to welcome back our Old Ancestor. We respectfully welcome the Old Ancestor back to the Sect!"

Although his words were appropriate and his movements very respectful, the undisguised malice was already overflowing.

Zhou Yan looked to the side; Ke Bi was lying on the ground, his entire body charred black.

"You did this?"

Zheng Zhengzao looked up, revealing a somewhat gentle smile.

"How could I? Attacking the Shadow Guards is equivalent to rebellion."

"The reason Lord Ke Bi is like this is simply because he accidentally fell while riding his Flying Sword. It has nothing to do with us."

[Zheng Zhengzao]

[Realm: Soul Transformation Early Stage (Old Method)]

[Vitality: 430k/430k]

[Mana: 970k/990k]

[Affiliation: Dao Sect (False), Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom]

Looking at the panel, Zhou Yan was slightly surprised; this Daoist's stats were much better than he had imagined.

Because he had obtained the Azure Chapter, Zhou Yan had gained a certain understanding of the orthodox Old Method.

Unlike the new method, where significant changes only occur after raising one's life level, the changes in the Old Method manifest at every Realm.

Since he had such a panel at the Soul Transformation Early Stage, then by the time he reached the Late Stage or Perfection, his stats would likely rival an ordinary Nascent Soul.

Relying on the Power of Law mastered by a Soul Transformation Cultivator of the Old Method—though not as exquisite as the new method—it was still more than enough to beat a group of Nascent Souls who could only control Laws within their own Domains.

It's just that... he's not enough to face me!

With the Six Desires Heaven fully activated and double speed turned on, Zhou Yan rapidly assaulted Zheng Zhengzao's Sea of Consciousness.

Although the Power of Law within the man's body was still instinctively protecting its master, Zhou Yan was already quite professional when it came to Law attrition.

Since his stats were currently superior, there was no need for delicate maneuvers. He simply crushed him with Power of Law; even if it was a two-for-one or three-for-one trade, he could grind down the opponent's Power of Law at the fastest speed. This was the raw power of superior stats.

Everything happened incredibly fast—so fast that before either side could react, Zheng Zhengzao collapsed onto the ground, drenched in sweat.

Seeing their Sect elder in such a state, the Disciples instinctively drew their longswords or summoned their Magic Treasures, while some wanted to step forward to support him.

But an even more massive force suppressed the entire field.

In their eyes, Zhou Yan—who just moments ago seemed incredibly ridiculous and somewhat flippant—had now become terrifyingly formidable.

Some saw a deity sitting high in the Nine Heavens, others saw a Dominator of the underworld, and a few individuals even saw a massive flying ball of ramen.

Including Zheng Zhengzao, all the Dao Sect Disciples were deterred by this terrifying power, too frightened to move. Even the Shadow Guards standing nearby had trembling hands as they gripped their blades.

Thinking back on the dirty work they had done for most of their lives, this was the first time they had seen such terrifying intimidation. Was this the power of a Void Refining Venerable!

Of course not.

Zhou Yan was simply utilizing the effect of the contrast. While everyone's minds were unstable, he applied some suggestions from the Six Desires Heaven and simultaneously activated the minor special effects of the Golden Eyes of Delusion Breaking, which he hadn't used in a long time.

Because time was limited, Zhou Yan frantically broadcasted the effects within the radius, causing the Shadow Guards who were close behind him to suffer collateral damage as well.

Since their strength was already weaker than Zhou Yan's, and they were under the suggestions of the Six Desires Heaven, plus this sudden 'slideshow' broadcast, they were all easily influenced by the Six Desires Heaven.

This made Zhou Yan lament once again that the ancient environment was indeed better; so far, not a single one could actually fight.

Thud, thud—the sounds of flesh being pierced rang out. Zheng Zhengzao, who had been slumped on the ground looking weak, was instantly turned into a pincushion, pinned to the spot.

And what pinned him were water spikes condensed from the blood within his own body.

Zhou Yan walked slowly down from the carriage with his hands behind his back. With every step, a cluster of bloody water transformed into a step beneath his feet, and the source of the blood was naturally Zheng Zhengzao.

He had to admit, although Old Method Cultivators didn't have a dao body, their recovery power was decent. Despite such a massive amount of blood loss, the opponent's health bar was still quite healthy.

If a dao body were to lose its balance and produce this much blood, the person would likely be half-dead.

Then again, a dao body wouldn't bleed from this level of injury in the first place.

"I was wondering who was being so arrogant; turns out it's just a traitor. I will go to the Dao Sect, but only after I've visited the Imperial Court."

"Since you've called me Old Ancestor, I won't let you leave empty-handed. I'll help you root out a traitor; take him back to your current Sect Leader."

Zhou Yan struck with a palm, shattering all of the man's Meridians and his Three Dantians, then used the Law of Consumption to refine the opponent's power out of him.

After this series of operations, even if he was at the Soul Transformation stage, it would be impossible for him to have any combat strength in the short term.

"This man is colluding with demons. Interrogate him yourselves when you get back, and while you're at it, give my regards to your Sect Leader."

Seeing this, how could the Dao Sect Disciples dare to stay any longer?

They hurriedly picked up Zheng Zhengzao, but just as they were about to leave, they stopped.

Then they jogged back, respectfully performed a Disciple's salute, and then, their faces returning to expressions of terror, they quickly departed on their Magic Treasures.

"They're pretty damn polite."

Zhou Yan turned to look at the Shadow Guards, who still hadn't recovered, and pointed at Ke Bi.

"Is your boss okay? He looks a bit well-done."

The nearby Shadow Guards suddenly realized that their boss had just fallen from his sword. The explosion of that Magic Treasure was quite powerful; although he wasn't heavily injured, he was currently in a wretched state.

Zhou Yan didn't bother much with Ke Bi's affairs. He simply used wood-element magic to reconstruct the carriage and treated the startled Yao Beasts before sitting back inside, ordering them to continue driving.

As soon as he entered the carriage, Zhou Yan reactivated the Formations. Once everything was done, he slumped onto the couch.

"I'm exhausted. The Old Method really does have something to it."

Using Law to grind away the opponent's Law was naturally nothing; using brute force wasn't a delicate task at all.

But using the Six Desires Heaven to probe for information was troublesome.

Although the Old Method didn't have the 'unified primordial' effect of the dao body, it seemed to have some kind of 'dual integrity of nature and life' buff, making the Mental Energy exceptionally stable.

Even though the environment was so conducive to the Six Desires Heaven, it still cost him a great deal of effort.

No wonder their mana bars were so long; they really didn't cultivate for nothing.

By flipping through the memories, Zhou Yan gained a general understanding of this place and was also somewhat amused by the situation just now.

Ke Bi really had fallen on his own.

Although Zheng Zhengzao had come with ulterior motives, he had only interfered with the other's Flying Sword to force him to brake; he hadn't done anything truly aggressive.

At most, to show off his strength, he had specifically used the Power of Law for the interference.

The quality of the opponent's Flying Sword was actually okay, but the craftsmanship was crude. Perhaps some Formation was set up incorrectly, and when interfered with by the Power of Law, it collapsed on the spot, sending him plunging toward the ground.

Ke Bi fell quite hard, and that wasn't all—the Flying Sword exploded on the spot, injuring him.

This Magic Treasure was at the third rank. Even though Ke Bi was considered a standout among Old Method Core Formation Cultivators, he couldn't quite withstand such a hit.

It was also fortunate that its craftsmanship was subpar; if the craftsmanship had been any better, the explosion wouldn't have been so light.

After that, the Yao Beasts were startled by the sound of the explosion, causing the jolting that made Zhou Yan's 'carriage flip'.

The Shadow Guards had also gotten into a physical scuffle with the Dao Sect people because of the explosion.

It was just that because the Dao Sect's lineup this time was too powerful, the guards were suppressed in no time, which was why Zhou Yan hadn't seen it when he came out.

Seeing this situation, Zhou Yan was both amused and annoyed. As for Zheng Zhengzao's purpose and some secrets... Zhou Yan's smile faded, turning cold once again.

"The visitors are ill-intentioned yet again. This world seems even more chaotic than I thought, but I'm used to it."