Chapter 752: Gold Family's Four Protectors

The cultivator was anxious at this moment. Although he didn't recognize the divine general appearing in his perception, the principle that 'the stronger one is, the more apparent it becomes' was a fundamental tenet of this esoteric art. The manifestation of the golden-armored colossal god he saw first also suggested that it was likely stronger than the city god.

The cultivator changed his incantation, merging his spiritual sense into it to increase the deployment of his magical power. He aimed to summon the golden-armored colossal god first. As long as the other party accepted the invitation, it would, to some extent, establish an agreement and thus provide assistance.

"I summon the guardian deity to appear! I summon the guardian deity to appear!"

Ji Yuan remained within the Heavenly Secret Grotto-Heaven, but the little paper crane had already flown out. It was steadily approaching Lu Shan-jun, following the general direction Ji Yuan had provided.

The little paper crane was no longer entirely in its paper form, nor could only its head transform into a crane. Instead, its whole body had taken on the shape of a crane, albeit a miniature one, smaller than a palm. Yet, despite its tiny size, this white crane possessed all its features: a red crown, a long beak, crane claws, and white wings, all perfectly intact.

The little paper crane was not venturing out alone this time. It carried several Golden-Armored Warrior talismans hidden beneath its wings. Besides Jin Jia, it also brought Jin Yi, Jin Bing, and Jin Ding. Of course, Jin Jia was the most powerful and the only one to have truly developed self-awareness. Although the other Golden-Armored Warriors lacked true self-awareness, Ji Yuan had forcibly given them names, so they knew what they were called.

Grand Elder Ji Yuan's mission for the little paper crane was to go to Lu Shan-jun and await his message. If Bei Mu revealed no inside information, then a Xiezhi would naturally deal with Bei Mu when the time came.

Though the little paper crane's body was small and not notably powerful in terms of magical energy, it was proficient in spirit magic. It controlled spiritual winds to spread its wings, and a single flap could instantly traverse a considerable distance.

But at this moment, the little paper crane suddenly felt an itch beneath its wings. It hovered in the sky, and with a lift of both wings, the several rolled-up warrior talismans all fell out.

One of the warrior talismans immediately transformed into a burst of golden dust. In front of the little paper crane, it materialized into a Golden-Armored Warrior, appearing colossal and imposing from the paper crane's perspective.

At this moment, Jin Jia had also made some progress. It no longer plummeted when suspended in mid-air and could now hover. However, this improvement wasn't significant; its ability to fly merely prevented it from falling. To truly accelerate its movement in the air, it might still need to utilize its physical strength for several aerial bursts.

Aside from Jin Jia manifesting its true form, the other three warrior talismans shimmered with golden light but did not transform into warrior bodies, merely hovering in the air.

"Chirp?"

The little paper crane landed on Jin Jia's head and chirped inquiringly. Jin Jia tilted its head slightly, eyes gazing upwards, and spoke in a low voice.

"It seems someone is asking me and my brothers to come over..."

"Chirp!"

"Yes, I'll go."

Jin Jia replied in a deep voice, then slightly closed its eyes. The next moment, the little paper crane on its head flew up, and Jin Jia's form began to blur before the paper crane. Simultaneously, the little paper crane flew to the other three warrior talismans and quickly pecked each one with its beak.

As the crane's beak touched them, the three warrior talismans also transformed into three Golden-Armored Warriors. They too blurred, then vanished almost simultaneously with Jin Jia.

Hundreds of miles away, in a small mountain, the cultivator battling Lu Shan-jun and Bei Mu was already drenched in sweat. His four guardian deities could no longer sustain themselves. Even though he himself continuously unleashed various divine abilities and spells like wind, fire, thunder, and lightning, and borrowed the power of the mountain spirits, he was barely holding on. A significant portion of his magical power had poured into the divine summoning art, and this irreversible sensation suggested that the other party had already agreed to come, but simply hadn't arrived yet.

"Roar..."

A tiger-like roar erupted from Lu Shan-jun's mouth. The divine light on the white-glowing guardian deity blocking the cultivator's path trembled incessantly, then froze completely. Not only that, but the cultivator, who had been using the mountain's complex terrain to evade, also seemed to be under some kind of shock. His magical power felt somewhat stagnant, or rather, it wasn't the magical power itself that stagnated, but his primordial spirit that was assailed.

"I summon the guardian deity to appear! I summon the guardian deity to appear! Please appear quickly!"

'If you don't come soon, I'll be finished here!'

The cultivator's pupils constricted. A shadowy demonic claw suddenly burst out of the side of the mountain, less than three zhang away from him. In his current state, his protective spells would likely be pierced straight through...

However, at this very moment, the cultivator's heart suddenly stirred, signifying that the Self-Illuminating Marvelous Method had been completed.

'They're here!'

As the thought flashed through the cultivator's mind, a golden light appeared before his eyes.

"Boom..."

Simultaneously with the appearance of the golden light, the section of the mountain three zhang away suddenly shattered into a golden afterimage.

Bei Mu's figure gradually became clear beside Lu Shan-jun. His expression was grim as he stared at the golden light in the distant dust and the damaged mountain section from which debris constantly flew.

"Lu Wu, has he summoned something?"

Lu Shan-jun's expression also grew serious. Judging by the explosive power just now and Bei Mu's escape speed, this so-called guardian deity should be much more formidable than those white-glowing figures.

"Could it really be a great city god he summoned?"

"No, that's not right. There's no yin energy or the incense scent of sandalwood."

In the faint dust, the golden light slowly revealed the figure it represented. Due to the cultivator's poor state during the summoning, the Golden-Armored Warrior appeared somewhat unsteady. Now standing upright directly in front of the cultivator was a majestic divine general clad in golden helmet and armor, with yellow ribbons fluttering from front to back. Beside this general, three nearly identical majestic divine generals also slowly stood firm.

Each Golden-Armored Divine General was now two heads taller than an ordinary person and several times broader. Though they carried no weapons, they exuded an inherent majesty. Their four pairs of eyes, indifferent yet scornful, all looked towards the cultivator who had summoned them.

The cultivator was somewhat shocked at this moment. The aura feedback from these four temporarily summoned guardian deities was truly astonishing; standing before him, they felt like several towering mountains, bringing immense pressure. As soon as they appeared, the surrounding earth spirits almost instinctively drew close to them.

"Who are you?"

Jin Jia asked indifferently. When they were summoned, they knew the summoner's request was to "protect and dispel evil," but they didn't know who the summoner was.

"I am Kun Mu-cheng. I have cultivated on Mount Heng for many years. Today, while eating, I encountered a powerful demon that I could not defeat, so I requested you divine generals to temporarily serve as my guardians. May I ask your names, divine generals? And from where do you come?"

The four Golden-Armored Warriors looked down at Kun Mu-cheng. Then, with remarkably synchronized movements, they slowly turned to face Bei Mu and Lu Shan-jun, who were a short distance away.

"My name is Jin Jia." "My name is Jin Yi." "My name is Jin Bing." "My name is Jin Ding."

"We are guardians for the Grand Elder, our honored master."

The mannerisms, movements, and even the words of the four Golden-Armored Warriors were almost perfectly identical, save for the one-character difference in their names. They truly spoke in unison, so much so that even Kun Mu-cheng almost couldn't clearly hear what they were called.

As the Golden-Armored Warriors spoke, Bei Mu and Lu Shan-jun, from a distance, also watched them, seemingly evaluating the newly appeared guardian divine generals. However, both were in a state of agitation: Bei Mu's excitement was tinged with fear, while Lu Shan-jun's excitement was mixed with joy.

As an old member of the Heavenly Revelation Alliance, how could Bei Mu not recognize the Golden-Armored Divine Generals with such distinct features? The moment the Golden-Armored Warriors appeared, fear had already risen in his heart. He had heard of the Golden-Armored Divine Generals' power and never expected that four such formidable protectors would appear together.

Bei Mu strongly suppressed the urge to flee immediately, knowing this was undoubtedly Mister Ji's doing, indicating he had come to capture Lu Wu. He needed to keep Lu Wu stable.

As for Lu Shan-jun, it goes without saying that these were his master's Golden-Armored Warriors; how could he not recognize them? With the Golden-Armored Warriors appearing, he wondered if his master was nearby.

Both had their own calculations, which is why they strangely did not flee but instead deceived each other.

"Brother Lu, four new protectors have appeared. First those glittering silver ones, now these glittering golden ones. It seems this is the only trick he has up his sleeve."

Hearing Bei Mu say this, Lu Shan-jun also smiled.

"Indeed. We'll just defeat them again. It's a good chance to stretch our limbs."

"Brother Lu, your divine abilities are vast and your demonic aura fills the sky. Just like before, I'll go into hiding, and you attack!"

"That's exactly what I intended. Hahahaha..."

"Hahahaha..."

After these brief exchanges between the two sides, there was no more idle talk. Lu Shan-jun was the first to move. He conjured a demonic wind, transforming into an afterimage, and lunged forward, intending to truly gauge the Golden-Armored Warriors' strength.

"Roar..."

Lu Shan-jun's roar, infused with an eerie light in his eyes, carried an even greater deterrent effect. Even Bei Mu behind him felt as if his heart were being beaten like a drum, knowing that Lu Wu was now serious.

However, the four Golden-Armored Warriors were completely unresponsive, utterly devoid of any fear. Seeing the demon charge, Jin Jia was the first to meet it.

"Demon, prepare to die!"

With a simple punch, the surrounding airflow was instantly whipped up by Jin Jia's fist, resembling the gales of the Nine Heavens. In that same instant, Lu Shan-jun, who had charged forward intending to meet force with force, felt his pupils violently constrict.

'I can't take this head-on!'

In the nick of time, Lu Shan-jun dodged to one side, his claw raking across Jin Jia's arm, creating a streak of sparks. Then, as Jin Jia's other fist slammed downwards, he abruptly sprang away.

"Whoosh..."

"Whoosh... Boom..."

The ground shook. Jin Jia's first punch stirred up a fierce wind. Its second punch didn't even hit the ground, yet it left a large, cracked crater in the earth below. An impact wave sent dust and debris spraying everywhere. Both punches showed no signs of magical casting; they were purely raw power.

A faint sweat appeared on Lu Shan-jun's forehead. 'These are my master's guardians? I remember them being cut from paper, right? And weren't there six of them?'

Kun Mu-cheng, as the summoner, was equally stunned. What horrifying divine generals had he just summoned?

"Hehehe... Lu Wu, are you retreating already? Is that guardian so powerful it's left you speechless?"

Bei Mu's sinister voice rang in Lu Shan-jun's ear, deliberately sounding extremely harsh. There was also a faint, almost imperceptible demonic influence in it.

"Hmph, how could I possibly take them seriously!"

Hearing Lu Wu's angry words, Bei Mu secretly rejoiced.