Translator: CinderTL
In the nick of time, Yuan Anping reacted instinctively, raising his right arm to block the blow.
Clang!
The great halberd slashed across his arm, leaving a deep gash but failing to sever it.
Yuan Anping staggered backward, black smoke billowing from the wound. Crimson Mist lingered in the gash, preventing the dark miasma from healing it.
"Hmph! Such a young whelp, yet so lacking in martial ethics!" Yuan Anping growled, his anger flaring.
Lu Wang glanced at Xu Sanyan, who stood poised with the halberd, and curled his lip in disdain. He found such underhanded tactics utterly contemptible.
Yuan Anping clenched his right fist, a cloud of smoke swirling around his arm. Sizzling sounds crackled within the miasma as the lingering Crimson Mist was completely neutralized.
"Come on, let's see what you've got!" Yuan Anping grinned confidently, absorbing the black miasma that had been swirling behind him. His body swelled dramatically, the once-slender frame transforming into a mass of bulging muscles that strained his robes to their limits.
Close-quarters combat was, in fact, his specialty!
"Attack!"
Lu Wang, his patience exhausted, flicked his spear. The crimson tassel erupted into a blazing inferno, the fiery tendrils surging toward Yuan Anping's heart like a dragon bathing in flames.
Clang!
A muffled thud echoed as the spear ground to a halt, unable to advance another inch. Lu Wang's eyes blazed with disbelief.
A pair of pitch-black hands had seized the spear, rendering it utterly immobile despite his desperate efforts.
"How is this possible?!"
Lu Wang had unwavering confidence in his spear technique. He refused to believe that anyone could capture his spear with bare hands!
"Argh!"
His face contorted in fury as crimson flames erupted around him. The spear trembled violently, like a captured dragon struggling against its bonds.
"Punishment!"
A soft exclamation pierced the air. Mo Xianxian's jade-like fingers flicked lightly, and Yuan Anping suddenly felt countless blades slicing into his flesh. Fine cuts erupted across his body, agonizing but not fatal.
"Hmph!"
Yuan Anping glared sideways at Mo Xianxian, fury flashing in his eyes. What an ungrateful woman!
I fed and sheltered her, and now she's colluding with outsiders to attack me?
Then I'll kill you first!
The thought flashed through his mind as he released the spear. Before he could charge at Mo Xianxian, a dark, descending slash fell from behind.
At that moment, the others launched their attacks in unison. Jingyi, clad in monastic robes, radiated golden light, transforming him into a Buddha-like figure.
"Vajra Finger!"
Suddenly, a golden finger materialized in the void, radiating a blinding light like the rising sun, and shot directly toward Yuan Anping.
Tu Wanshan's eyes flashed with a glint as he raised his great saber and unleashed a single, swift slash, holding back his full power.
Huan Xi'er channeled his fist, a fierce wind swirling around it, and threw a punch. A massive, phantom fist pierced through the air, closing the distance in an instant.
Surrounded by enemies on all sides, Yuan Anping remained calm. No matter what, his cultivation level still surpassed everyone else present.
Boom!
In a flash, Yuan Anping's figure vanished, evading all attacks in a single motion. Jingyi's Vajra Finger and Xu Sanyan's great halberd both missed their target.
Like a falling meteor, Yuan Anping descended with a howling wind, hurtling toward Huan Xi'er at breakneck speed, his eyes utterly serene.
"Watch out!" Mo Xianxian cried out in alarm. Hiding in the distance, she had a clear view of the entire battlefield. Seeing Yuan Anping charge toward Huan Xi'er, her heart raced with panic.
Luo Changtian's fate served as a stark reminder: Huan Xi'er's strength couldn't possibly exceed Luo Changtian's.
In other words, Huan Xi'er might not be able to withstand Yuan Anping's strike!
The urgency in Mo Xianxian's eyes was unmistakable. Her mind raced, leaving no time for careful consideration. She frantically channeled all her spiritual power, her face draining to a deathly pallor.
Pfft!
The violently surging qi and blood left a metallic tang in her throat, and she spat out a mouthful of blood. Ignoring the pain, her delicate features twisted into a ferocious grimace as she pointed two fingers at Yuan Anping and roared,
"Burial!"
In that instant, Yuan Anping felt a wave of mortal danger wash over him. An unseen force seemed to lock onto him, sending a chill down his spine. What kind of mystical art is this? he wondered, his heart pounding.
Has the World of Immortal Cultivation truly advanced to this extent? he thought, his mind reeling. Unheard-of mystical arts are emerging one after another. And she's merely at the Dao Seeking Realm, yet she can threaten me!
Yuan Anping hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth. Better to sever one finger than break all ten. I'll kill one of them first!
"Die!"
His palm slashed toward Huan Xi'er's chest like a blade. Xu Sanyan, Jingyi, and the others were too late to intervene, forced to watch helplessly.
Huan Xi'er stared at Yuan Anping's face, now inches away, his heart pounding with terror. Only now, facing him directly, did he truly understand the overwhelming pressure emanating from the man.
This strike was nearly impossible to withstand.
Huan Xi'er's heart hardened with resolve. He refused to die!
He had to return and show his mother that he wasn't foolish anymore!
"Ahhh!!"
Huan Xi'er frantically channeled every ounce of his spiritual power, conjuring layer upon layer of luminous shields before him, hoping to block Yuan Anping's attack.
Crack, crack, crack...
The shields shattered one after another, more than a dozen layers collapsing without slowing the strike in the slightest. Against such overwhelming power, Huan Xi'er's efforts seemed utterly futile.
The hand blade pierced through his outer robe, tore through his skin, and shattered his sternum...
Despair flooded Huan Xi'er's eyes as he watched the hand plunge toward his heart. Just one more inch, and he would share Luo Changtian's fate: death by a shattered heart.
Bang!
Suddenly, Yuan Anping's pupils constricted. His hand had been stopped...
It felt as though he had struck an impossibly resilient rock, unable to advance even a millimeter further!
But how could this be?
With the sternum pierced, the heart lay just beyond. How could that area be so impenetrable?
Boom!
A formidable aura erupted from Huan Xi'er, unleashing a violent shockwave that blasted outward in all directions. Yuan Anping recoiled in alarm, retreating to steady himself. He stared at Huan Xi'er with a mixture of shock and suspicion.
What's going on?
Why are these people acting so strangely?
My cultivation level feels like a sham. Anyone can threaten me.
First, that Sword Cultivator, who used his Dao Seeking Realm cultivation to forcibly destroy one of my ghost beasts. Then, that brat with the heavenly earth treasure, who managed to fight me hand-to-hand for a hundred rounds without losing ground.
And then there's my 'Madam,' who used some unknown mystical arts to instill fear in my heart. And now this person...
Is my heart as hard as iron?
Yuan Anping took a deep breath, struggling to calm his inner turmoil. He glanced at the two fruits hovering above him, resolving to obtain them at any cost.
When he looked back at Huan Xi'er, his gaze had changed, his entire demeanor utterly different from before.
The original Huan Xi'er had radiated youthful vitality, his appearance instantly recognizable as that of a young man.
But now...
He was unnervingly calm, his eyes as still as stagnant water. Though his face remained youthful, his presence carried the gravitas of an old man.
And those eyes...
Mo Xianxian spat out a mouthful of blood. This didn't seem like the Huan Xi'er she knew.
(End of the Chapter)
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