THUD!

At the moment the two attacks collided, a shockwave, nearly invisible to the naked eye, burst forth. It was as if a storm had suddenly erupted, making everyone's chests feel unbearably tight. Their eyes ached, and they could no longer look directly at the area of impact. Immediately after, they felt an unbelievably violent blast wave sweep out in every direction.

BANG! BANG!

Within the battlefield, in a radius of at least twenty meters, the ground began to fracture at an alarming rate. Even the specially paved earth of the Tiger Leopard Hall headquarters couldn't withstand the energy of the collision. The buildings even further away shook more violently, sprouting a web of fissures. Stone fragments that broke off and fell were instantly pulverized into dust upon contact with the shockwave.

"Hiss…"

Seeing this, everyone present gasped, their faces filled with shock and horror. This terrifying collision and its aftermath left them completely dumbfounded.

"ROAR!"

PFFT! PFFT! PFFT...

At the center of the impact, two incredibly powerful forces were locked in a frenzied struggle. However, in the standoff between the sinister, dark Demonic Qi and the silver thread, an unexpected development occurred: the latter seemed to be gaining a slight upper hand. It was clear that the contingency Chen Fei had left on his master was beginning to take effect. The True Qi of the Meditation Sutra had always been the natural enemy of such heretical powers, possessing a suppressive effect.

Therefore, no matter how formidable, strange, or astonishing the demonic technique Luo Zun employed was, it was still far from enough. He was facing a combination of the Spiritual Energy of the Meditation Sutra and a True Qi that was nearing the Innate Late Stage Peak. This disadvantage enraged Luo Zun to his core.

He let out a furious roar, his gaze fixed on the silver threads that were gradually gaining the advantage. His complexion had turned a deathly shade of blue-green. His eyes, burning with ferocious hatred, glared at Ming Daochuan. His withered, elderly body trembled violently as he bellowed, "For me… EXPLODE!"

BOOM! RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE...

Following his roar, the Demonic Qi vortex that had been locked in a stalemate abruptly pulsed, then contracted before exploding in an instant. An utterly chilling explosive force, carried by the violent Demonic Qi, swept outward. Everyone present lost their composure, their faces paling in an instant.

"The old bastard is insane!" even Chen Fei muttered, his expression turning grim. This kind of tactic was a classic case of injuring the enemy by a thousand at the cost of harming oneself by eight hundred.

WHOOSH!

TSSSSSS...

Just as everyone was reeling in shock, unable to believe that the master of the Tiger Leopard Hall had been pushed to the point of trading injury for injury and life for life, Elder Ming Daocuan, still at the heart of the battlefield, had a sharp glint flicker in his eyes. The Spiritual Energy surging from the back of his neck intensified, and the True Qi erupting from his body grew even more terrifying. With a flick of his wrist and fingers, he forcefully raised his hand, and the sound of something slicing through the air at high speed resonated sharply.

"Luo Zun, don't you dare underestimate me," he said coldly. "Kill!"

A frigid shout echoed in everyone's ears. With that single word, a fierce killing intent surged forth.

SQUELCH!

RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE...

Suddenly, the silvery thread, like the Grim Reaper's soul-reaping chain, emitted a dreadful gleam. It slashed through the air, cleaving the explosive wave of Demonic Qi in two. Not only that, but even the dissipating remnants of Demonic Qi could not escape; they were devoured by some mysterious, wondrous power and gradually vanished.

"How is this possible?!" Luo Zun roared, his face turning deathly pale.

Clearly, he had never imagined—nor did he want to imagine—that he would still lose. Even after going to such lengths, using his strongest, ultimate technique, the Black Demon Blood Technique, and even resorting to a move that damaged himself so severely, he, Luo Zun, was still being crushed by his opponent.

This was something he, a figure whose very name made the entire Martial Forest quake with dread, couldn't accept. He was notorious and had even been "honored" by countless people with the title "deranged." How could the formidable Luo Zun accept this?

"Die!"

As Luo Zun roared in desperation, Elder Ming Daocuan attacked again with cold indifference. A nearly invisible line appeared in everyone's vision. It cut through the air, transforming into a thread of death that shot toward the astonished and horrified Luo Zun. The sight of it sent a chill down everyone's spine, turning their faces white as it swept toward his body.

In Luo Zun's eyes, a hint of fear finally emerged. From that cold gleam, he sensed Ming Daochuan's killing intent.

"I surrender!" he shrieked, his aged voice suddenly becoming piercing and shrill. He didn't want to die.

But in the face of his desperate cries, Ming Daochuan remained cold and unmoved. At his age, he wasn't about to make the mistake of showing foolish compassion. Besides, his opponent had shown no mercy when trying to kill him earlier. If he let this chance slip by, he might never get another one this perfect. Luo Zun was no fool.

TSSSSSS.

And so, he showed no mercy. With a thought, he flicked his wrist, and the silver thread, radiating an aura of death, viciously sliced into Luo Zun's body. An arc of blood sprayed into the air, filling everyone's vision.

"NO!"

PFFT!

The moment the deathly thread struck Luo Zun's body, a shrill scream tore through the air, followed by the sound of gushing blood. The last-ditch Demonic Qi defense Luo Zun had erected was instantly destroyed. The massive impact sent his body flying backward like a kite with its string cut.

As his blood splattered across the ground, his body skidded for more than ten meters, leaving a long, crimson trail before finally slamming into the outer wall of Zhou Ye's three-story building. And there, in the spot where Luo Zun had been standing, lay… a severed arm. The onlookers' eyes widened in shock.

Luo… Luo… Luo Zun… he was actually defeated!?

BANG!

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE...

The small building's wall, now covered in cracks, looked as if it was about to collapse.

Meanwhile, Luo Zun's body lay in a bloody heap at the base of a massive pillar. His flesh was mangled, as if it had been shredded by the terrifying silver light, with bone visible through deep lacerations. Loose rubble was piled on top of him, partially burying him. His already chaotic aura grew even more faint and disordered. He was gravely injured, on the verge of death.

The thunderous sounds of battle gradually subsided, but the crowd remained shrouded in a deathly silence.

Gazes filled with disbelief and horror fell upon the blood-soaked, aged figure that resembled a corpse. This was especially true for the members of the Tiger Leopard Hall, whose faces were ashen. None of them could have imagined that the man who had been invincible in their hearts, Lord Luo Zun, had been defeated. Not only that, he had been beaten into such a tragic, gruesome state.

After all, Lord Luo Zun was a great Later Stage of Innate Realm expert! He was even approaching the Innate Late Stage Grand Perfection! So how could this be possible!?

"No, no, this… no…" The sole surviving Innate Middle Stage Expert from the Tiger Leopard Hall, Zhou Ye, was so frightened his face turned sheet-white. His legs gave out from under him, and his gaze trembled. Because if even Lord Luo Zun died, how could he, a mere Innate Middle Stage expert, possibly escape?

At that moment, Ming Daochuan was already walking toward Luo Zun, who lay amidst the rubble. He murmured coldly, "It's all over."

"Over? No, I'm afraid not. You can't kill him."

Just as Ming Daochuan was about to deliver the final, fatal blow to the man who deserved it, a cold, sneering voice filled with disappointment suddenly echoed. Everyone shuddered, feeling as if the very air around them had grown colder. A stooped, black-robed elder, wreathed in a faint black mist, slowly emerged from a dark corner into everyone's view.

Instantly, everyone on the battlefield—be it the members of the Tiger Leopard Hall, Yama, Ruan Jing, Wang Dashan, or even Chen Fei and Ming Daochuan—paled the moment their eyes fell upon the black-robed figure. They could all sense that this person was terrifying.

Only the critically injured Luo Zun, on the brink of death, showed a flicker of joy in his fading consciousness upon hearing the voice. "Cough, cough… save… save me, Hundred Ghosts Elder…" he rasped.

At his words, Ming Daochuan and the others' expressions shifted dramatically. Luo Zun… knew him?

"Who are you?" Ming Daochuan asked, his eyes filled with immense caution.

"Who am I?" The one Luo Zun called 'Hundred Ghosts Elder' paused. His sinister eyes, hidden within the dark hood, slowly swept over Ming Daochuan. He suddenly chuckled, an eerie, grating sound. "My apologies, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Hundred Ghosts, from the Black Demon Palace."

The moment he said those three words, "Black Demon Palace," Ming Daochuan's face changed drastically.

"What did he say!? He's from… the Black Demon Palace?"

"Gods, why is someone from one of the Three Supreme Martial Arts Halls here? This…"

Wang Dashan, Ruan Jing, Yama, and the others wore looks of pure horror. The Black Demon Palace was no ordinary organization. It was one of the legendary Three Supreme Martial Arts Halls, on par with the Ling Xiao Palace.

But why would one of their members appear here? Hadn't they vanished from the Martial Forest long, long ago?

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.