Chapter Twenty-Two: Over-Exploded

The Fiend's final strike was already descending upon Han Tianyue and the others. At this moment, they possessed virtually no capacity to resist, and the Spirit-Devouring Beast lay fallen on the ground from the Fiend's previous blow.

Closer, ever closer—the Fiend's fatal strike loomed directly above their heads.

"Crown Prince, farewell." Once again, the figure of Crown Prince Mao appeared before Han Tianyue's eyes. Turning around, she smiled at him. "The Crown Prince is smiling, the Crown Prince is smiling," Han Tianyue murmured, reaching out his hand—

Mao Xuanzi gazed coldly at the Fiend's fatal blow. "It seems I shall ultimately be unable to settle the score with Bo."

Fang Zhe's mind raced with a flurry of thoughts: first Crown Prince Mao, then the woman in white, followed by the current Spirit-Devouring Beast, Han Tianyue, Mao Xuanzi, Lei Cong, and finally, Feng Shang. "This is truly the end."

Lei Cong laughed coldly. "I never expected that the time I fought with the utmost seriousness would also be my last."

As the final fatal strike descended, Han Tianyue, Mao Xuanzi, Fang Zhe, and Lei Cong closed their eyes to embrace death. *Boom!* Death was not as agonizing as they had imagined; it swept past their bodies like a gust of wind, followed immediately by a profound, deathly silence.

"This..." The Fiend let out a cry of astonishment.

Following the deafening roar, Han Tianyue, Mao Xuanzi, Fang Zhe, and Lei Cong opened their eyes. To their utter bewilderment, they were still alive, though they had no idea what had happened. Just as Han Tianyue stood frozen in confusion, the voice of the old man echoed within his soul: "Good thing I woke up in time, otherwise you brat would have been dead long ago. I never expected this Fiend God to appear here. If it were the old days, I would have beaten him to a pulp."

The Fiend was startled by the preceding spectacle, never imagining that Han Tianyue harbored such immense power within him. A single strike had instantly shattered the Wrath of the Slaughter God he had condensed. Yet, regardless of how formidable Han Tianyue might be, the Fiend's sole remaining thought was to eradicate him before his wings were fully grown, completely removing future troubles.

"Erupt, Blade of the Fiend God!" At that instant, a gigantic blade brimming with malevolent intent materialized mid-air before them.

Upon seeing the Blade of the Fiend God, the old man hurriedly said, "Brat, this time we can only break through this crisis by borrowing your body and power."

"Do it, do it, do it!" Ignoring whether the old man might seize the opportunity to usurp his body, Han Tianyue's only priority was to eliminate the Fiend first.

The old man emerged from the depths of Han Tianyue's soul and attached himself to his body. Han Tianyue's physique began to expand, and his hair turned snowy white. Though his face still retained Han Tianyue's features, he was entirely a different person.

The Fiend glanced at Han Tianyue, surprised that his opponent could unleash such formidable power. "I must annihilate this brat today without fail!"

Meanwhile, Mao Xuanzi, Fang Zhe, and Lei Cong were rendered speechless, their minds entirely blank. They seemed both able and unable to witness the unfolding events; their souls were gripped by terror, and their minds and bodies completely frozen in the previous moment.

Controlling Han Tianyue's body, the old man thought to himself, *This brat's body possesses the ice attribute alongside a trace of death aura. Since that is the case, I shall help him fuse the two.* To prevent the Fiend from discerning the truth, the old man channeled Han Tianyue's ice and death auras, calling out in Han Tianyue's voice, "Behold, Wuji Death Ice Blade!" Suddenly, a massive ice blade teeming with deathly energy materialized in Han Tianyue's hand.

A colossal Blade of the Fiend God, paired with an equally massive Wuji Death Ice Blade, hovered across the skies above the Purple Bamboo Forest and the Daughter Kingdom. Instantly, the heavens and clouds underwent a drastic transformation. As the two gigantic blades clashed, a region spanning tens of thousands of li shuddered violently.

The moment the Fiend's Blade of the Fiend God made contact with the Wuji Death Ice Blade, the Fiend was instantly repelled.

Using Han Tianyue's voice, the old man spoke again, "Let me show you another move: Myriad Calamities Ice Hell!"

In an instant, the surroundings transformed into a vast ice hell. Deathly aura surged within the ice-forged purgatory, converging toward the Fiend, who found himself trapped inextricably within the Myriad Calamities Ice Hell.

"And another: Bursting Ice Orb!"

A tiny black ice orb was expelled from his mouth. The old man thrust Han Tianyue's hand toward the Fiend. Upon contact with the Fiend, the minuscule black ice orb detonated violently. The entire Daughter Kingdom and Purple Bamboo Forest were instantly flooded with countless strands of deathly malice and splashing gales of frost.

The Fiend was gravely injured, yet not dead. He shot Han Tianyue a vicious glare before transforming into a wisp of malevolent aura and vanishing into the void.

Watching the fleeing Fiend, Han Tianyue anxiously shouted, "Old man, quickly, pursue him!"

The old man shook his head and said, "He has already escaped to the firmament. Because your body utilized power beyond its limits today, from this day onward, your physique will frequently experience intermittent losses of ability. During these periods, you will possess zero combat capability. You must exercise much greater caution henceforth."

Retreating from Han Tianyue's body back into the depths of his soul, the old man added as a final remark, "Following today's battle, your body will inevitably shrink back to the age of six or seven. This form must be maintained for approximately three months. I am far too weak now and must enter a much more prolonged slumber."

As the old man vanished, Han Tianyue returned to his own consciousness, immediately followed by the rapid contraction of his body until he transformed into a little boy of seven or eight years old.

Because their souls had been paralyzed by terror, Mao Xuanzi, Fang Zhe, and Lei Cong had no recollection of what had just transpired. When everything finally settled, they snapped back to their senses, lowered their heads to look at the little boy bundled inside Han Tianyue's oversized garments, and cried out in shock, "Where is Han Tianyue?"

Mao Xuanzi stepped forward and scrutinized the little boy. Astonished, he muttered, "Why does he look so much like Han Tianyue when he was a child?"

Since he was now a child, his previous clothes were far too large. Han Tianyue had no choice but to hide inside his garments and call out, "I am Han Tianyue!"

Gazing at the shrunken Han Tianyue, everyone exclaimed in disbelief, "How did you become so small?"

Han Tianyue explained, "Didn't you see it just now? I exerted all my strength for a final showdown with the Fiend. Although I drove him away, utilizing my ultimate power caused me to end up like this."

Lei Cong stepped forward and hoisted the miniature Han Tianyue up by his clothes, leaving Han Tianyue's bare backside exposed to everyone. Han Tianyue immediately covered his groin and cried out, "What are you doing?!"

Lei Cong laughed. "How can someone so tiny still be shy?"

Lei Cong set Han Tianyue down.

Han Tianyue scrambled back into his oversized clothes and protested, "I am an eighteen-year-old man! For you all to look at me like that, how can I possibly show my face?"

Hearing this, everyone exchanged amused glances.

At that very moment, Feng Shang sprinted back, shouting everyone's names. Miraculously, he had returned in less than half a day. Everyone unanimously turned their gaze toward the returning Feng Shang.

Feng Shang approached the group, handed the Rayang Flower to Fang Zhe, and abruptly revealed a Swift Tiger standing fiercely behind him.

Everyone glared furiously at the Swift Tiger.

Feng Shang hurriedly stepped forward to explain, "Everyone, do not be afraid. From today onward, it is my pet!"

The story went like this: Feng Shang had been sprinting desperately toward the Duoxi region when he was targeted by this Swift Tiger. Initially terrified of the beast, Feng Shang found that its speed was so astonishing it quickly outpaced him and blocked his path ahead. Panicked and clueless, Feng Shang turned and fled, only for the Swift Tiger to reappear before him in the blink of an eye with lightning speed.

"You beast, is there no end to this?!" Realizing he could not outrun the Swift Tiger, Feng Shang hardened his expression. "If you come any closer, don't blame me for being unpolite!" He prepared himself for a desperate struggle.

As the Swift Tiger lunged at him, Feng Shang, driven by a surge of unaccountable courage, unleashed a dual whirlpool that blew the beast far away. Watching the distant, flying tiger, Feng Shang resumed his journey at an unimaginably frantic pace. Yet, despite such speed, he was eventually overtaken once again. The Swift Tiger glared at him menacingly, causing Feng Shang to cower slightly.

"Tornado!" A whirlwind swept forth, instantly sucking the Swift Tiger high into the air. Trapped aloft, the tiger panicked and began to wail. Hearing its cries, a wave of pity washed over Feng Shang. Furthermore, reflecting on how Fang Zhe, Mao Xuanzi, and Lei Cong all possessed pets, he figured that if he subjugated this Swift Tiger, his future escape speed would be even greater. Thus, Feng Shang asked, "Tell me, little kitty, would you be willing to be my pet?"

Naturally, the Swift Tiger refused. In response, Feng Shang accelerated the speed of his tornado. Left with no alternative, the Swift Tiger finally yielded and agreed to become his pet, receiving the moniker "Little Kitty." With the Swift Tiger's assistance, Feng Shang's travel time was halved, enabling his swift return. Looking back at the beast, Feng Shang exclaimed, "Little Kitty is so fast! I love you so much!" and planted a kiss on the tiger's forehead. Although the Swift Tiger fiercely resisted being called "Little Kitty," it was helpless against Feng Shang's tornado and had to behave obediently. As a spiritual beast, it possessed its own intelligence and thoughts. Though incapable of human speech like the beast clans, it muttered in its heart, *One day, I will escape from your demonic clutches!* In ancient times, spiritual beasts did not exist in the mortal realm; when exactly these creatures began haunting the mortal world remained an unverified mystery.

Setting aside these matters for the moment, Feng Shang looked around inquiringly upon his return, noticing the absence of Han Tianyue. He asked curiously, "Where is Han Tianyue?"

Hiding inside his oversized clothes, Han Tianyue replied, "Can't you see I'm right here?"

Catching sight of the shrunken Han Tianyue, Feng Shang rushed forward, hoisted the stark-naked Han Tianyue into the air, and smothered him in kisses and hugs while crying out, "So cute! Han Tianyue, I love you like this!"

Han Tianyue was nearly suffocated in Feng Shang's embrace. When he finally managed to gasp for breath, he realized his delicate private parts were fully exposed to everyone. His face flushed beet-red with anger as he snapped, "Let go of me right now!"

Feng Shang obediently set him down.

Crawling back into his clothes, Han Tianyue lamented, "What should I do? I don't have any clothes that fit this size."

Feng Shang stepped forward and said, "It's fine! When I was that size, I went around bare-bottomed anyway."

Han Tianyue shot Feng Shang a ferocious glare.

Over on the other side, Fang Zhe fed the Rayang Flower to Guan Tian. Soon, Guan Tian began to show signs of life, coughing repeatedly as Han Tianyue, bundled up in his clothes, waddled over.

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