Huo Ling, who was outside controlling the Hanhai Spirit Pearl, relied on the support of the Sealing Thunder Crystals he carried to contend with the Blood Pearls of Ten Thousand Spirits. The blue light screen and the blood mist continuously canceled each other out.

'Crack'

A crisp sound suddenly rang out from the Blood Pearls of Ten Thousand Spirits, a fine crack began to appear on the pearl, and then, the crack kept expanding, quickly covering the entire Blood Pearls of Ten Thousand Spirits.

'Clang'

The moment the cracks covered the entire Blood Pearls of Ten Thousand Spirits, the bead also turned into shards scattered across the sky. Following that, a figure was blasted out by a burst of blood light from the Blood Pearl in front of a surprised Huo Ling, and that figure was none other than Zhu Bufan.

With his hands spread wide, Zhu Bufan dissipated the entire force of the blow. Normally, this tremendous force might have torn Zhu Bufan to pieces, but with the power of the mysterious blood-colored soul shadow, Zhu Bufan could effortlessly resolve the impact.

"You're alright?" Seeing that Zhu Bufan was unharmed except for his shredded shirt, Huo Ling was once again surprised. He had been somewhat desperate when he saw Zhu Bufan being drawn into the space of the Blood Pearl, thinking about shattering the Blood Pearl to rescue Zhu Bufan. However, not even Huo Ling knew if that would really work to save Zhu Bufan and Emperor Yan. But now, Zhu Bufan had burst out from the space of the Blood Pearl by himself—how could Huo Ling not be astounded?

It was also a good thing that Huo Ling was not adept at sensing the fluctuations of Soul Power, otherwise he would have been frightened by the surging Soul Power emanating from Zhu Bufan. Although he couldn't sense the tremendous increase in Zhu Bufan's strength, Huo Ling still keenly felt that Zhu Bufan's demeanor was completely different from usual.

"I'm fine, but Emperor Yan is still in that space!" Zhu Bufan's heart nearly leaped out of his chest as he looked at the shattered pieces of the Blood Pearl scattered all over the sky.

Despite his urgency, Zhu Bufan was powerless at the moment, and he believed that Emperor Yan would definitely be able to escape from that world. As Zhu Bufan grew anxious and Huo Ling was a bit perplexed by Zhu Bufan's suddenly changed demeanor, a figure appeared silently above the two men.

This figure was cloaked in a gray robe, with the large garment and hat completely covering him. Judging by his silhouette, he could roughly be identified as a male. The mysterious man exuded an air of mystery all over his body. With a wave of his hand, several shattered pieces of the Blood Pearls of Ten Thousand Spirits landed in the mysterious man's palm.

"Ah, I originally sensed the birth of a treasure and intended to take a look, but to think you all would actually destroy it, such a waste indeed." After glancing at the shards of the Blood Pearls of Ten Thousand Spirits in his hand, the mysterious figure addressed Zhu Bufan and Huo Ling with a tone tinged with anger, unable to hide his profound regret.

"Hmph! Whether it's a waste or not, I don't know! All I know is that you, who have suddenly appeared without even a name, are not qualified to lecture me!" Zhu Bufan was already in terrible spirits since Emperor Yan had not yet appeared, and upon this mysterious person's sudden arrival and direct chastising tone towards him and Huo Ling, Zhu Bufan became infuriated.

"Heh, it's rare for someone to speak to me in such a tone, you can call me Mr. Kou. And also, young man, try not to be too impulsive when you speak." With a stretch of his hand, a giant hand formed of Spiritual Energy reached out to grab Zhu Bufan.

"Humph!" With a cold snort, facing the giant hand Mr. Kou had sent towards him, Zhu Bufan punched directly at it, and with a 'crack', countless cracks appeared in the void before him with this punch, rapidly spreading across the spiritual energy palm, which then shattered like broken glass and turned into myriad fragments.

"Hm?" The mysterious techniques employed by Zhu Bufan, and the ease with which he neutralized the attack, elicited a puzzled sound of surprise from Mr. Kou.

With a clench of his right fist, Mr. Kou suddenly threw several punches across the distance at Zhu Bufan. The heavy force of the punches twisted the surrounding air, and the cyan-colored Spiritual Energy fists grew stronger with each blow.

Mr. Kou's initial three heavy moves forced Zhu Bufan to concentrate and counter. With a barrage of palms, Zhu Bufan struck numerous cracks in the space ahead, and all of Mr. Kou's attacks shattered upon contact with these eerie cracks, even though they were just fists condensed from Spiritual Energy.

"What kind of attack is this?" Seeing that his three heavy punches were so effortlessly neutralized by Zhu Bufan, Mr. Kou couldn't help but ask out loud, and by this point, he had also realized that he could not see through Zhu Bufan's Cultivation.

"Try it out for yourself and you'll know." With a Fire Lotus sprouting beneath his feet, Zhu Bufan shot towards Mr. Kou like a cannonball. In response to Zhu Bufan's poor attempt at 'Stepping in the air,' Mr. Kou merely shifted slightly and withdrew hundreds of meters away, a clear indication of the gap between the true Earth Rank Stepping in the air and Zhu Bufan's Fake Stepping.

"Where do you think you're going?" Mr. Kou's two probing attacks had stoked the fire in Zhu Bufan's belly. Coupled with Emperor Yan's absence and the surge in strength from borrowing the power of the blood-colored soul shadow, Zhu Bufan resolutely blasted several Unlimited Qiankun palms at Mr. Kou.

Supported by tremendous power, Zhu Bufan transformed Unlimited Qiankun into numerous Spiritual Energy giant palms, slamming down towards Mr. Kou. The gale that stung his face caused Mr. Kou's complexion to change dramatically as he quickly gathered his Primordial Qi to counter Zhu Bufan's Unlimited Qiankun.

'Boom Boom Boom'

The Poison Fire-infused giant palms collided with the pale cyan giant fists in mid-air, unleashing bursts of gales. Huo Ling had been astounded by Zhu Bufan's ease in breaking Mr. Kou's grasp, and even now, she had yet to regain her senses from the shock of his displayed power.

"Annihilate!"

With a cold shout, Zhu Bufan, once again, unleashed that bizarre technique that pulverized everything. He flashed swiftly to Mr. Kou's side and hurled a punch directly at him.

With that punch, large cracks began to appear in the surrounding void, and even though Mr. Kou managed to dodge Zhu Bufan's attack in time, his robe was still 'stuck' by the cracks.

'Swoosh', Mr. Kou quickly discarded the robe that had been 'stuck' with the cracks, only to see that, just moments after being thrown off, it was rapidly covered by the cracks and then turned into dust and fragments. The speed was so fast that it chilled Mr. Kou to the bone, while Zhu Bufan finally got a clear view of Mr. Kou.

Mr. Kou had a typically burly physique, his nearly two-meter stature exuding a considerable sense of oppression. A bronze mask concealed his features, revealing only a pair of eyes that twinkled with sharp light.

"Your attacks are unique; they can pulverize everything, tangible and intangible. Even I dare not take them on, and furthermore, your cultivation and strength are utterly mismatched. Though I'm not sure how you managed such a rampant increase in power, the side effects must be substantial, right?"

Despite being pressured into a quite embarrassing state by Zhu Bufan, and even losing his robe, Mr. Kou showed no sign of anger. On the contrary, he spoke in a playful tone, "Although the power was enhanced through crooked ways, reaching such a level is quite remarkable. Worthy of someone who possesses the Martial King Pattern. Anyway, I was only attracted here by the aura of the Blood Pearl. Now that the Blood Pearl has been destroyed, I no longer have a stake in this. So, goodbye."

"You think you can escape?"

"Don't worry; we'll meet again, I believe."

After saying that, Mr. Kou stepped into the air and left, and Zhu Bufan, who didn't possess the Earth Rank technique of Stepping in the Air, naturally couldn't catch up. Soon after, Mr. Kou's figure disappeared from Zhu Bufan's sight.

"Damn it!" Seeing Mr. Kou leave, Zhu Bufan grunted in anger. Despite his anger, Zhu Bufan didn't lose his reason and pursue. Ignoring the fact that Zhu Bufan, whose rank was artificially achieved through external power—a 'Fake Earth Rank' Cultivator—might not be able to defeat Mr. Kou, the true Earth Rank, he was constrained by the time limit of his Soul Power. With less than three minutes of Soul Power usage time left, he likely would fall due to the disappearance of his power before even catching up.

After stepping back onto the ground on the Fire Lotus, Zhu Bufan felt a breeze mixed with a faint fragrance. Before he could react to what the breeze implied, Huo Ling's stunning visage appeared before Zhu Bufan's eyes.

At this moment, the usual indifference and calmness were gone from Huo Ling's eyes; instead, they were filled with curiosity and fanaticism. She asked Zhu Bufan nervously, "Zhu Bufan, what's really going on with your cultivation? How come it has increased so quickly? Tell me, tell me now!"

Seeing Huo Ling resembling a curious baby, Zhu Bufan couldn't help but give a bitter smile. Where was the previously indifferent and tranquil Huo Ling? She was completely like a little girl whose deepest curiosities had been piqued. If anyone else had asked Zhu Bufan this question, he probably would've brushed them off or ignored them, but he couldn't bring himself to refuse or even consider not answering when it came to Huo Ling.

"That Mr. Kou mentioned it earlier, right? It's by using a Secret Technique to forcibly raise my cultivation. But the duration is very short, and I'm afraid the repercussions will be severe," Zhu Bufan said with a bitter smile as he looked into Huo Ling's eyes.

"Don't lie to me. What kind of Secret Technique allows a Cultivator who's only in the Body Refining Realm to spar with an Earth Rank Cultivator? If there were such Secret Techniques, the Divine Demon Continent would have gone mad for it!" After hearing Zhu Bufan's explanation, Huo Ling looked at him skeptically, clearly unconvinced by his words.

"What he's saying is true, you know. It's just that this Secret Technique is only suitable for him to use. Actually, he didn't enhance his cultivation; he simply borrowed the power of the Blood-colored Soul Shadow behind him. To put it plainly, from the start, it was not this fool fighting, but rather the Blood-colored Soul Shadow. His role was to control how the Soul Power was released, nothing more."

As Zhu Bufan wondered how to explain, Emperor Yan's familiar voice came from behind him. Hearing Emperor Yan's voice, Zhu Bufan turned his head with a look of surprise. Yet, when Zhu Bufan and Huo Ling saw Emperor Yan, they were dumbfounded by her posture.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.