"Boom!! Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—"
Suddenly, the walls around the corridor exploded. Seeing things take a turn for the worse, Zhao Tianyi quickly dragged Chen Jie, whose leg was broken, and rolled into one of the patient rooms. The roof was blasted open by a surge of demonic energy, which tore through the entire five-story medical building from the third floor, spiraling up into the clouds before folding back down. The black-and-red aura gathered visibly around Zhao Tianyi, especially at the spot where his heart had been gouged open, drilling fiercely into him.
As the black-and-red demonic aura poured into him, Zhao Tianyi's body began to swell like a balloon. His organs mutated and evolved at an incredible speed, growing larger, rougher, and more grotesque and terrifying!
"Boom—boom—"
When Zhao Tianyi's body grew to five or six meters tall, An Tianqi, who was chanting a spell, bit the tip of his tongue hard and spat out a stream of blood that instantly shot into Zhao Tianyi's body. Dancing wildly and chanting a bizarre incantation, Zhao Tianyi floated into the air. Suddenly, six more arms sprouted from his sides, joining his original two, and his face twisted into a blue-skinned, fanged monstrosity with three faces and eight arms—he had transformed into the terrifying eight-armed demon god: the Octo-Fiend!
Now possessed by the Octo-Fiend, Zhao Tianyi's massive body trembled, and an overwhelming aura of dreadshade surged around him. At the same time, red-and-black evil energy streamed continuously from all eight arms.
Rushing forward, Xiao Yuan realized Zhao Tianyi was now possessed by the demon god and beyond saving. He quickly stopped, sliced his hands in front of him, and set up a defensive barrier. Under An Tianqi's control, Zhao Tianyi, now the Octo-Fiend, opened his bloody maw—"Whoosh!"—and spat a blast of flame at Xiao Yuan. An Tianqi knew his main target was Xiao Yuan; only after dealing with him could he finish off the others!
The blast of flame crashed down from above, scorching hot and fierce enough to set the corridor walls ablaze. Xiao Yuan was startled; he clapped his hands together and a white lotus radiating holy light bloomed from his chest, rising into the air like a dream. The Octo-Fiend's demonic fire struck the lotus and was instantly extinguished, as if absorbed by the flower.
"Hmph—" An Tianqi snorted coldly, shaking his hands. The Octo-Fiend roared, its voice echoing like a drum. Its body spun, and all eight arms shook at once, unleashing a torrent of flames, sand, lightning, and hail that tore through the sky, sweeping toward Xiao Yuan with earth-shattering force!
Xiao Yuan frowned, spreading his hands as the white lotus descended from the sky. The holy light enveloped him, and no matter how violently the Octo-Fiend attacked, it couldn't harm him. Still, under the relentless assault, the white glow gradually began to fade.
Xiao Yuan knew that if this kept up, his defenses would surely be broken, and he'd face utter disaster. With fierce resolve, he bit both index fingers and his tongue, spraying three arcs of blood into the air. Pressing his left hand over his heart, he pushed his Supreme True Qi to the limit and chanted: "Nine Nether Lotus, shine upon all beings! Heaven and earth, grant me nirvana! Body and spirit united, ten thousand rays of golden light! Hundred thousand heavenly soldiers, spirits of eight directions, bestow me true divinity! San Taizi, descend into my body—grant!"
Finishing the incantation, Xiao Yuan surged his True Qi to his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood. His right hand formed a sword gesture, swiftly drawing a talisman in midair with his blood. He slapped it to his chest and shouted, "I summon the spirit of San Taizi—descend!"
Boom! A dazzling golden light crashed down from the heavens, overwhelming in its force. It enveloped Xiao Yuan, lifting him into the air as his body rapidly grew. In a blink, he transformed into a seven or eight-meter-tall divine figure—majestic and handsome, with eight arms, dressed in lotus-leaf armor, feet planted on flaming wind-fire wheels. His red-tasseled spear grew longer and thicker, and with a flick of the wheels, he hovered midair. Pointing his spear and flashing the Vajra Demon-Subduing Ring, he shouted at the Octo-Fiend, "Evil beast, meet your end!" His voice roared like a tiger and a dragon, radiant with divine power.
This look, this aura—who else could it be but San Taizi Nezha, the divine general among heavenly warriors? And it was his golden-bodied, three-headed, eight-armed form!
The Octo-Fiend roared at the San Taizi spirit possessing Xiao Yuan, then charged first, its eight fearsome arms now wielding eight smoke-wreathed demonic weapons. It swung, hacked, stabbed, and slashed like a monstrous spider, attacking viciously!
San Taizi swept his red-tasseled spear, weapons clashing in a blur. In an instant, he sent the Octo-Fiend flying backward, then shouted, "Evil beast, you dare run wild? Taste my Vajra Demon-Subduing Ring—go!"
With that, he hurled the golden Vajra Demon-Subduing Ring at the Octo-Fiend. The ring expanded midair, trapping the fiend's massive body and spinning rapidly, tightening its hold. The Octo-Fiend was spun so fast it lost all sense of direction.
San Taizi snorted coldly, lunged forward, and thrust his spear—"Pfft!"—piercing straight into the Octo-Fiend's heart!
(Irrelevant meta line skipped per guidelines.)
"Awooo—Awooo—" The Octo-Fiend howled in agony, dark demonic blood spurting from its heart and turning into black-red mist, which was quickly absorbed by the spinning Vajra Demon-Subduing Ring.
Soon, the Octo-Fiend whimpered and struggled, its body immobilized by the ring. San Taizi, riding his wind-fire wheels, soared into the sky and shouted, "Seal!"
Boom! Golden light erupted as the Vajra Demon-Subduing Ring absorbed the Octo-Fiend. San Taizi trembled, shot skyward, and vanished in a flash of lightning and thunder, leaving the world restored to normal and no trace of him left.
A mangled corpse fell from midair—it was Zhao Tianyi, who'd been possessed by the Octo-Fiend. His chest was torn open, heart pulverized, body swollen and purple as if drowned. His reckless ambition had led to this cruel fate; destiny can be merciless.
A figure spat a jet of blood and collapsed—it was An Tianqi, who'd controlled the Octo-Fiend using his Infernal Purgatory Demon Qi, summoning it from within. He'd thought victory assured, but Xiao Yuan, possessed by San Taizi, broke his spell. Unable to endure, An Tianqi fainted on the spot.
The lingering black-red demonic haze dissipated, sunlight returned. Xiao Yuan staggered, legs shaking, nearly fainting. Summoning his spirit and channeling San Taizi had drained most of his strength and True Qi. If not for his urge to finish off An Tianqi, he'd have collapsed.
Forcing himself upright, Xiao Yuan approached the unconscious An Tianqi, intent on burning him with a Spiritfire Spell. The old villain was too dangerous to leave alive. Xiao Yuan's killing intent surged—he was about to cast the spell when a red beam suddenly descended from above, snatching An Tianqi into the air and out through the medical building's shattered roof, vanishing in an instant.
"What?! Damn!" Xiao Yuan gasped, looking up to see An Tianqi enveloped in the red light, whisked away through the medical building's broken roof and gone in a flash. Xiao Yuan realized this mysterious rescuer must have been watching all along, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.