CHAPTER 48: CHAPTER 48: THE FINAL BLOW

When Chen Guan and Ji Nanhong arrived at the peak of the Fifth Mountain, the Great Black Celestial Demon God Statue was already on the brink of collapse.

By the time they reached the back of the crowd, Wang Lian had already driven Qin Ziyu away and was charging alone towards the Great Black Celestial Demon God Statue, which was half-squatting on the ground with black liquid oozing from its seven orifices, barely able to hold itself up.

Seeing that it was too late for him and Ji Nanhong to rush over, Chen Guan directly summoned Yanzhi and issued a command.

Before the Evil Adorable Rabbit even landed, it fiercely flung the Pig-killing Saber in its hand towards the Great Black Celestial Demon God Statue.

The Pig-killing Saber spun in the air like a wind fire wheel, rapidly flying towards the Third Eye of the Great Black Celestial Demon God.

Wang Lian was preparing to deliver the final blow, pluck the fruits of victory, and complete her last major task here, when suddenly a whistling sound by her head startled her, instinctively causing her to tilt her head.

In fact, even if she didn’t dodge, the Pig-killing Saber wouldn’t have hit her, it would have just flown past her head.

As Wang Lian tilted her head to the side, she realized something was amiss, but it was too late to do anything. She watched helplessly as a blood-red arc flew past her and fiercely embedded itself in the wounded Third Eye of the Great Black Celestial Demon God Statue.

Only then did Wang Lian see clearly, it was a broad and thick but very short knife, styled like a Pig-killing Saber, with a blade seemingly soaked in blood, deep red as if stained with fresh blood.

At this moment, the front half of the blood-red Pig-killing Saber was embedded in the position of the Third Eye of the Great Black Celestial Demon God Statue, while the exposed rear half of the blade and the hilt exuded a bloody aura.

Upon seeing the style of the knife, Wang Lian’s pupils sharply contracted. She recognized who the knife belonged to, but instead of turning to seek out its owner, she quickly lunged towards the Great Black Celestial Demon God Statue, gripped a Flying Saber in reverse in her hand, and stabbed towards the statue’s Third Eye.

Wang Lian knew she had to seize the final strike, or all her scheming would fail at the last minute, and she would be unable to obtain the complete content of the "Scripture of Epang," rendering all previous gains useless for cultivation.

As the kneeling Great Black Celestial Demon God Statue slowly collapsed, Wang Lian hoped her strike would arrive in time, hoping the statue still had one last breath to allow her to deliver this stab before dying.

Just as the Great Black Celestial Demon God Statue was about to fall completely, Wang Lian’s dagger was about to make contact.

But as her dagger was about to pierce, the body of the Great Black Celestial Demon God Statue suddenly shattered like tempered glass, transforming into countless black particles, swirling in the air like a black stellar ribbon, passing over the stunned Wang Lian and flying towards her back.

Wang Lian was paralyzed, frozen in place, her mind going blank for a moment.

She couldn’t accept that she had failed at such a close distance to success, leaving her momentarily unable to regain her composure.

The others realized what had happened; the Great Black Celestial Demon God Statue had been petified, a treasure of unmatched value, priceless and peerless.

Everyone’s gaze involuntarily followed the black particles, eager to see who had ultimately taken the Great Black Celestial Demon God Statue at the last moment.

The black particles converged towards a man, yet his appearance seemed somewhat unfamiliar to most, who did not recognize him.

Moreover, the man wore oversized sunglasses, obscuring his full features, but one could feel an air of composed and cool charisma, exuding a somewhat cold aura.

Particularly paired with the enormous Evil Adorable Rabbit beside him, it left a deep impression on the spectators.

"Who is this guy?" Most people were puzzled, even the Elite Team members who had seen Chen Guan in the Corpse Rot Forest didn’t recognize him.

Just like a rusted robot, Wang Lian awkwardly turned her neck to look around, and even when seeing Chen Guan, she failed to recognize him.

It was only because of the giant version of the Evil Adorable Rabbit standing beside Chen Guan that Wang Lian confirmed that he was the person she thought.

"Could this guy be my nemesis of destiny, or why else would every problem occur with him, ruining my great plans?" Wang Lian suffered in silence, resigning to attributing everything to mysticism.

Chen Guan was overwhelmed with joy, he hadn’t imagined that after slaying it, the Great Black Celestial Demon God Statue would become petified.

Before, when Wang Lian and her team killed four World-Defying Secret Spirits, no petification occurred, yet just one finishing blow from him resulted in petification of the Great Black Celestial Demon God Statue, such astounding luck!

If not for the sunglasses covering his face, it would have been impossible to hide the joy at the corners of his eyes.

The sunglasses were not Chen Guan’s choice, but rather given to him by Ji Nanhong, who insisted he wear them.

Earlier, Ji Nanhong had trimmed his eyebrows, initially very pleased with her handiwork, but after a little while, she rummaged through her bag and pulled out a glasses case, insisting he wear the sunglasses.

Fortunately, although they were women’s sunglasses, they were large enough to not appear out of place on Chen Guan.

Once the Great Black Celestial Demon God Statue’s particles merged entirely into Chen Guan’s body, the crowd then noticed Ji Nanhong standing beside the mysterious man, feeling somewhat disoriented.

They hadn’t recognized Ji Nanhong immediately, though normally in any setting, Ji Nanhong always stood out brilliantly, capturing attention with her presence.

Soon, they rationalized their oversight as being due to the overwhelming shock of the Great Black Celestial Demon God Statue’s petification, attributing their delayed recognition to it.

"Captain... it’s such a relief you’re alright..." Most Elite Team members expressed joy upon seeing Ji Nanhong.

Having spent a year together, there were naturally emotions formed, though some had fleeting looks of disappointment in their eyes.

Ji Nanhong nodded in acknowledgment without saying much, finally setting her gaze on Wang Lian.

Wang Lian was also staring at Chen Guan and Ji Nanhong; she wasn’t willing to give up so easily and wanted to reclaim the Great Black Celestial Demon God Statue.

"Qin Ziyu, you promised to help me get the Great Black Celestial Demon God Statue, now that it’s with him, what do you say?" Wang Lian turned to Qin Ziyu and said.

Qin Ziyu furrowed his brow slightly, his gaze settling on Chen Guan.

Chen Guan was busy reading the information on the Great Black Celestial Demon God Statue, overjoyed.

Great Black Celestial Demon God Statue (Unparalleled): Level 1 Spirit Pet.

Primordial Energy: 1.

Growth Rate: 2.0.

Lifebound Talent: Demon God Three Phases.

Secret Technique: Great Freedom Demon God Technique.

Secret Skill: Great Black Heaven Hand Seal.

Secret Treasure: Great Virtuous Trident.

Special: The divine format of the Great Black Celestial Demon God Statue has been tainted, its spiritual wisdom is obscured, and its body is parasitized by malevolent forces.