Danlong Ancient Mountain.

Silent Sea Forest.

In a colossal pit hundreds of meters in diameter, smoke and dust roiled as thunderous booms echoed. With each explosion, the edges of the pit crumbled and collapsed, causing it to grow ever larger.

Bolstered by the overwhelming strength of his Dragon Origin Power, Luo Xiu, a cultivator at the Core Formation Realm, fought the Half-step Earth Immortal Zhang Qiming in close combat. To a shocking degree, they were evenly matched.

BANG!

Another deafening explosion rang out. Their fists collided, sending both men flying backward to crash heavily upon the ground.

Zhang Qiming quickly scrambled to his feet, his eyes burning with fury as he glared at Luo Xiu. As one of the Upper Nine Deities, a master possessing the power of a Half-step Earth Immortal, being forced into such a pathetic state by a junior from the Core Formation Realm was an undeniable humiliation.

At this moment, the clothes on Zhang Qiming's upper body had been shredded to pieces. His originally old and frail frame, amplified by the Spirit Martial Markings, now looked tall and formidable. His muscles bulged as if they were about to explode, radiating a sense of ultimate power.

"Youngster, your power is indeed formidable, the likes of which I have rarely seen in my life. But even with this strength, this is the most you can do against me," he said. "Moreover, this power probably isn't your own. I presume it won't last long."

Several dozen meters away, Luo Xiu stood with an expressionless face. He spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, then reached out his hand. A golden sword sheath appeared in his grasp.

It was the Xuanyuan Sheath.

"This power is indeed not my own," Luo Xiu stated. "But that won't stop me from slaughtering you."

Zhang Qiming's gaze darkened slightly. "Heh, how arrogant! The Xuanyuan Emperor Sword, ranked first among the ten famous swords of the Hua Country, is said to be able to sunder the heavens and split the earth with a single strike! But now, the sword itself is missing, leaving behind a mere sheath. What do you think you can do to me with this broken thing?"

Luo Xiu wasted no more words. His figure flashed, his speed instantly reaching its peak as he charged forward, slashing with the sheath. He knew perfectly well that Zhang Qiming was apprehensive and was deliberately stalling with nonsense to exhaust his Dragon Origin Power.

Before the Sword Light of the sheath could arrive, a small golden pagoda had already shot through the air.

It was the River Demon Pagoda!

Zhang Qiming roared with fury. His aura surged, and the purple-gold Spirit Martial Markings covering his body flickered, absorbing the Heaven and Earth Energy with astonishing speed.

"You overestimate yourself! Since you insist on seeking death, I shall grant your wish!"

Luo Xiu's left eye could clearly see strands of energy rising from the ground throughout the entire pit, all of them converging on Zhang Qiming.

Absorbing Heaven and Earth Energy... is this the power of the Spirit Martial Markings?

As the thought crossed his mind, the River Demon Pagoda slammed into Zhang Qiming.

CLANG! A great sound, like the tolling of an ancient temple bell, echoed out. The River Demon Pagoda was violently knocked back, yet Zhang Qiming stood firm, as unmovable as a mountain.

Little Pouch cried out in alarm, "Big Brother, this old bastard is no simpleton! He's absorbed all the energy in this area!"

"Big Brother, be careful! I just got a new Big Brother, and I don't want to have to get another one so soon!"

Luo Xiu ignored it, brandishing the sheath for a ferocious slash.

"One Sword All Creation!"

A golden Sword Light tore through the air, instantly severing Zhang Qiming's head.

However, the moment his head flew from his shoulders, several purple-gold markings shot out like nimble tentacles. They caught the head and pulled it back to his neck, reattaching it perfectly.

"Kid, I forgot to tell you. In my True Body of Markings form, all the Heaven and Earth Energy is mine to command. You could say I am immortal and indestructible!"

"Look closely, kid! This is true power!" Zhang Qiming sneered, laughing uproariously as he suddenly threw a punch at Luo Xiu.

It was a simple, unadorned punch, yet it contained terrifying might. The ground cracked and shattered everywhere the force of the blow passed, leaving behind deep, abyss-like fissures.

Luo Xiu immediately floated backward, holding the sheath horizontally before him and shielding his body with Dragon Origin Power. Even so, he could barely withstand the blow.

"What's wrong? I threw one casual punch, and you're already in such a state?" Zhang Qiming mocked. His body then floated up, and he stood arrogantly in mid-air, gazing down upon Luo Xiu like a god surveying an ant.

"Youngster, you're new to Danlong Ancient Mountain, and I don't have a welcome gift for you. How about I give you the gift of despair, to fulfill my duties as a host? What do you say?"

As he spoke, Luo Xiu, still on the ground, saw the rocks and dust within the giant pit lift into the air. They began to liquefy, coalescing into all sorts of bizarre weapons in the void. At the same time, outside the pit, several hills tore themselves from the ground, rising into the air as if they had escaped gravity, ripped from the earth by an invisible, giant hand.

"Heaven and Earth All Creation!" Zhang Qiming roared, the sound waves vibrating through the sky.

The floating hills, along with the thousands of weapons forged from rock and sand, descended upon Luo Xiu like a torrential storm.

Luo Xiu, however, remained unfazed. Faced with such a large-scale Taoist Art, he knew dodging was futile. Besides, he disdained to dodge.

His entire aura pulsed as his Dragon Origin Power erupted with savage force.

"Luo Tian's Control over Xuanzhong."

"Second Form."

"Blazing Sun!"

In an instant, a whistling shriek tore through the sky as countless fists of flame shot forth. Empowered by Dragon Origin Power, the might of Luo Tian's Control over Xuanzhong had more than doubled. In a mere moment, the technique pulverized the descending hills and sand-weapons into fine dust.

A brief silence fell over the massive crater.

SWISH! A piercing sound suddenly cut through the billowing smoke. A beam of golden light shot out, instantly penetrating Zhang Qiming's chest.

Zhang Qiming's body shuddered and froze in the void. He looked down at his chest in utter disbelief.

Is this... Ghost Valley's... Unique Arts?

A sudden gust of wind scattered the lingering dust and smoke.

In the crater, Luo Xiu was half-kneeling on the ground, blood streaming from his nose and mouth. His body trembled, frozen in the pose of having just thrown a punch toward the sky.

That golden beam of light had erupted from his very own fist.

"Luo Tian's Control over Xuanzhong."

"Third Form."

"Hollow Heaven Fist."

Zhang Qiming coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face suddenly contorting into a mask of savagery.

"Even in death, this old man will drag you down with me!"

His eyes blazing with hatred, he thrust his hand out and made a grasping motion in Luo Xiu's direction. The next moment, the sand and stone at Luo Xiu's feet liquefied, then instantly solidified into several sharp spikes that pierced through his body.

Luo Xiu clenched his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain. A terrifying heat wave suddenly erupted from his body, turning the surrounding sand and stone into molten magma in an instant.

"Your ability to liquefy earth and sand is useless against me!"

"Primordial Ancient: Netherworld Dance!"

A dragon's roar suddenly ripped through the void. Simultaneously, an explosion like a volcanic eruption rocked the crater. Luo Xiu, treading on molten rock, rocketed into the sky.

The roiling magma fused with his Dragon Origin Power, transforming in mid-air into a colossal magma dragon that hurtled toward Zhang Qiming with world-destroying momentum.

This was Luo Xiu's final strike. If it failed, his Dragon Origin Power would be exhausted, leaving him at Zhang Qiming's mercy.

As if feeling its power was still insufficient, as the magma dragon charged, Luo Xiu threw several more punches. Using the energy control technique from the first form of Luo Tian's Control over Xuanzhong, he drove fist-strikes infused with the Indestructible Divine Flame directly into the magma dragon.

Seeing the magma dragon, reeking of the desolate aura of the primordial past, bearing down on him, Zhang Qiming finally sensed mortal danger. He threw caution to the wind, channeling all his remaining power to defend and counterattack while simultaneously trying to retreat and evade.

But just then, a small golden pagoda shot through the air and smashed into his back, knocking him directly into the path of the magma dragon.

"You old bastard, still trying to run? Get over there!"

"Big Brother, now's your chance! Finish him!"

BOOM—!

With a world-shaking explosion, a giant mushroom cloud of fire rose into the sky above the Silent Sea Forest of Danlong Ancient Mountain.

In that moment, even the light of the sun seemed to be devoured. The entire world seemed to be submerged in the desolation of a primordial age. The terrifying heat wave swept out in all directions, annihilating everything in its path.

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