The old man’s long white hair trailed all the way to the floor. He was as thin as a skeleton, looking as if a gust of wind could blow him over, yet his sharp eyes were piercingly bright. At this moment, he was staring coldly at the group.
Everyone felt their breath catch, unable to breathe properly.
Though no one knew who the old man was, Shen Daoxing felt a powerful sense of danger the moment he laid eyes on him.
In an instant, the great hall fell deathly silent; no one spoke a word.
It was then that Tao Ying plucked up her courage, took a step forward, and asked tentatively, "Excuse me, sir, but may I ask who you are? What is it you—"
However, before she could finish her question, Tao Ying let out a cry and was sent hurtling backward. No one had seen the old man move at all.
BANG!
She slammed hard against the wall behind her, a trickle of blood leaking from the corner of her mouth.
Then, the next moment...
The skeletal old man stretched out his hand and made a light grasping motion.
The Chi Yi in Xin’s hands was abruptly pulled into the sky, where he hung suspended as if being strangled. His face turned crimson as his limbs thrashed wildly in the air.
"Chi Yi, I told you to sacrifice all of them to the Celestial Demon, yet you dared to betray me! You ungrateful traitor!"
The skeletal old man’s voice, devoid of all emotion, echoed slowly.
Hearing this, a chilling realization dawned on everyone.
Shen Daoxing’s face grew grim.
’Obviously, the old man before them was no benevolent figure. He wanted to sacrifice them to a Celestial Demon. The strange occurrences on Demon Mountain were likely his doing.’
’And judging by what he’d just said, our entire group has been under his watch all along.’
’No!’
’It was probably this man who’d made us inexplicably appear in the Red Land Demon Realm in the first place.’
SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!
A sharp cry rang out.
Just then, the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat suddenly darted out.
Chi Yi and the Great Wilderness were two of the East Continent’s Four Great Fierce Beasts. Having been around for over a thousand years, they knew each other well. They had even fought once, a battle that ended with Chi Yi’s crushing defeat. Since then, he had become the Great Wilderness’s junior.
Now that its junior was in peril, the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat, as the senior, could not simply stand by and watch.
In the blink of an eye, a gray aura began to coalesce in the hall.
The Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat’s small head suddenly swelled, its maw gaping open to reveal sharp teeth as it lunged at the skeletal old man.
"Insolent! A mere beast dares to act so brazenly!"
The skeletal old man’s voice rang out, cold and detached.
He merely took a single, slow step forward.
BANG!
A deafening crash echoed out. The Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat seemed to smash into an invisible wall, its wide-open maw distorting upon impact.
The next moment, its body was flung backward, crashing heavily against the far wall.
It let out a pained whimper, its body shrinking back to its original size before it fell in a limp heap in the corner.
But Shen Daoxing hadn’t been idle during that brief opening. His figure blurred, vanishing from his spot only to reappear before Elder Taiyin an instant later.
CRACKLE!
Black arcs of lightning crackled to life.
Shen Daoxing thrust his fist forward.
Seeing this, Elder Taiyin didn’t even try to dodge. He merely shot Shen Daoxing a sideways glance and gave his sleeve a gentle flick.
BOOM!
Shen Daoxing’s punch landed, but it felt like his fist had sunk into a boundless ocean, meeting no resistance at all.
Then, the next moment...
A withered hand emerged from Elder Taiyin’s sleeve. He brought two fingers together and flicked them gently at Shen Daoxing.
Suddenly, Shen Daoxing was sent flying backward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
CRASH!
With a tremendous crash, he broke through the wall behind him and became embedded in the mountainside itself.
Shen Daoxing felt the vital energy in his body surge like a tempest, churning uncontrollably through his organs.
He gasped, spitting out a large mouthful of blood.
’So strong!’
’Overwhelmingly strong!’
’This is definitely a master of the Refining Dust realm!’
’He’s probably even stronger than Elder Yuan Hua of the Celestial Profound Sacred Land.’
’If my body hadn’t just been tempered by the Venerable Supreme’s Essence Blood, that single strike would have killed me instantly.’
’But even so, my insides are a wreck, my organs thrown into disarray. More than ten of my bones are fractured, and they glow with a faint, black-gold light.’
For a moment, everyone froze. They stared in terror at the skeletal old man who looked like he could be blown over by the wind, and they all took a simultaneous, involuntary step back.
And yet, despite the overwhelming odds, Chu Guifeng, Ma Wan, and Tao Ying raised their weapons.
Although they knew they were no match for him, they couldn’t just sit back and wait to be killed.
They were ready to fight to the death.
However, Elder Taiyin didn’t spare them a single glance, merely lifting his foot and slowly taking a step forward.
CRACK!
It was the sound of something shattering.
Chu Guifeng, Ma Wan, Tao Ying, and the others watched as the ground beneath their feet slowly cracked open, revealing a churning pool of lava below, which pulsed with waves of intense heat.
"There. The time has come to sacrifice you to the Lord Celestial Demon. All of you can go down now!"
Elder Taiyin’s indifferent voice echoed slowly, his gaze sweeping over Chu Guifeng, Ma Wan, and Tao Ying as if they were a colony of ants.
He then thrust out his palm and pressed it downward. Instantly, everyone felt an immense pressure, as if a mountain were crushing them.
The next moment...
Everyone inside the hall, including Elder Mu and Xin, screamed as they plummeted into the pool of lava below.
ROAR!
A terrifying, deafening roar erupted, one that seemed to shake their very souls.
From the molten rock below, a monstrous, giant face slowly emerged. It roared, its great maw opening wide, and in one swift motion, it swallowed them all.
At that exact moment, Shen Daoxing was pulling himself free from the mountain wall, only to witness the horrifying giant face swallow everyone whole.
’Xin! Elder Mu...’
Shen Daoxing froze. For a moment, he was utterly still. Then, he slowly lifted his head, and his eyes, when they met Elder Taiyin’s, were filled with an abyssal darkness.
Suddenly, the seven-colored Profound Platform within Shen Daoxing’s body began to spin.
A clear, resonant dragon’s cry echoed across the heavens.
Then, a brilliant light erupted. Seven-colored rays shot out from Shen Daoxing’s body, transforming into astonishing Wandering Dragons of Spiritual Power that soared into the sky.
At the same time.
CRACKLE!
Black arcs of lightning flashed.
In an instant, a vast web of black lightning ignited, blanketing Shen Daoxing’s entire body. Countless black arcs shot out with his every move, making him resemble a thunder-wielding War God.
CRACKLE!
A streak of black lightning flashed across the ground.
And Shen Daoxing vanished.
The next moment, he was behind Elder Taiyin, his arm raised high. Profound arcs of lightning pulsed around it, seeming to warp the very space as he suddenly brought it crashing down.
At the same time, a pure white light suddenly flared in the sky, and from within it, a small jade seal materialized.
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