179: Turning one's hand to create clouds, absolutely crushing.

One black and one white, two forces that were diametrically opposed yet originated from the same source collided violently in the air, and then, miraculously, fused together.

Rumble!

A terrifying Aura, far exceeding that of an ordinary Refining Void Mid-Stage, surged into the sky.

Joining forces...

They had actually forcibly raised their cultivation to the level of a Late Stage Void Refining Stage!

"Break for me!"

The Black and White Elders had ferocious expressions as they controlled the fused Yin and Yang Evil Qi, transforming it into a black and white giant hand that blotted out the sky, ruthlessly slapping down toward the Grandmist Dharmic Image.

They knew very well that this was a battle of life and death; there could be no holding back.

As long as they could crush this Dharmic Image and break this Formation, with their escape techniques, fleeing to safety would not be difficult.

"Late Stage Void Refining Stage?"

Facing this seemingly world-destroying blow, the expression on Chen Xu's face did not fluctuate in the slightest. In fact, it even carried a trace of mockery.

"If it were a true Late Stage Void Refining Stage, this seat might have had to be three parts cautious. But this empty shell forcibly propped up by secret techniques..."

Chen Xu slowly raised his right hand, and in his palm, purple-gold light instantly condensed into a vortex.

"Are you worthy of calling yourselves masters in front of this old man?"

He pressed his hand remotely toward the black and white giant hand.

"Universe in the Palm!"

When this palm was pressed out, there was no earth-shattering explosion. Instead, there was only a suffocating silence.

The Black and White Elders discovered with horror that their prized Yin and Yang Evil Qi giant hand, the moment it touched Chen Xu's palm, was like snow meeting the scorching sun.

Not only did it dissolve inch by inch, but even more eerily, the surrounding space was collapsing inward at a terrifying speed.

The plaza space, originally thousands of feet wide, felt as if it were being fiercely clenched at this moment.

"What is happening?! My spiritual energy... My spiritual energy is out of control!"

The Black Fiend roared in terror. He felt as if the spiritual energy in his body was being siphoned away by a pump, uncontrollably surging toward that purple-gold vortex.

"This is rule suppression! How could this be the Power of Rules that an Early Void Refining Stage could master?!"

White Fiend was also filled with despair. He frantically waved his mourning stick, attempting to sever that suction force. But the mourning stick hit the void as if it had fallen into a quagmire; it was soft and powerless.

Under the blessing of the Grandmist Dharmic Image, Chen Xu's "Universe in the Palm" had long since been reborn.

This was not just a Divine Ability; it was a Domain that possessed absolute control over this small world. In this Formation space, Chen Xu was the heavens!

"Kneel!"

Chen Xu gave a cold shout. The giant purple-gold palm that blotted out the sky descended with a boom.

This was not a simple slap. It carried the weight of the entire space. It was as if a divine mountain were being smashed onto two ants.

"Puff!"

"Puff!"

Two muffled sounds rang out almost simultaneously.

The Black and White Elders, who had been aggressive and arrogant just a moment ago, were now like two kites with broken strings, slapped directly into the ground by that terrifying force.

The incredibly hard plaza floor cracked inch by inch like tofu, sinking into a massive palm-print crater.

"Ah!!!"

A shrill scream came from the bottom of the pit.

The Black and White Elders were covered in blood, their hair disheveled. The protective Magic Treasures on their bodies had already shattered completely under that one palm.

The Black Fiend's black robe had turned into tattered rags, and the mask on his face had shattered into pieces, revealing an ugly face full of flesh that was twisted and distorted.

White Fiend was even worse off; the mourning stick that never left his hand had snapped in two, and his chest had collapsed inward significantly, clearly with all his ribs broken.

"Im... Impossible..."

The Black Fiend struggled, trying to crawl up, but he discovered with horror that the force pressing down on his body not only did not disappear but continued to strengthen.

It felt as if countless mountains were pressing down on him layer by layer, making even moving a finger a luxury.

"Void Refining... Late Stage... This is definitely the combat power of a Late Stage Void Refining Stage..."

White Fiend's mouth was bubbling with blood, his eyes unfocused, filled with despair and regret.

They could not understand how an ant from the Lower Realm who had Ascended not long ago could be this strong. This was not a battle; this was a one-sided slaughter!

Chen Xu floated slowly to the edge of the pit, looking down from above at these two Holy Land Elders who were like dead dogs.

Although the Grandmist Dharmic Image behind him had faded, that suffocating pressure still enveloped the entire scene.

"Tianyu Holy Land?"

Chen Xu sneered, his eyes full of disdain. "You two pieces of rotten garlic think you can learn to kill and seize treasures?"

"I originally wanted to keep you as whetstones for my clansmen who just came up to practice with."

"Unfortunately, you are too weak."

These words pierced deeply into the hearts of The Black and White Elders. Humiliation! Naked humiliation!

As dignified Elders of the Holy Land's Law Enforcement Hall, the fearsome Black and White Fiends were actually despised for being too weak, not even qualified to be sparring partners?

"Chen Xu! You... don't get cocky!"

The Black Fiend used his last bit of strength to roar hoarsely. "If you dare to touch us, Tianyu Holy Land will never let you go! Once the Soul Lamp is extinguished, the Holy Land will surely know. When the Integration Stage Great Expert arrives in person, this broken city of yours will be razed to the ground!!"

"Integration Stage Great Expert?"

Chen Xu narrowed his eyes slightly, not intimidated by this threat.

"Perfect. My Tianxuan City's City Protection Grand Formation has just finished upgrading, and it is just lacking some decent experts to offer as a sacrifice to the flag."

"As for you..."

Chen Xu slowly raised his hand, and in his palm, the immortal slaying sword tip began to spin round and round. The Qi of slaughter soared into the sky.

"Since you are here, then don't leave."

Feeling the Qi of slaughter on that sword tip, both of their bodies trembled.

"No! Spare us! Senior Chen, please spare our lives!!"

"We can swear a Heart Demon oath to be your slaves! Just spare our lives!"

At this moment, what Holy Land dignity, what expert backbone—in the face of the fear of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, all were not worth mentioning.

But Chen Xu sneered, "Slaves? You are not worthy."

With that, Chen Xu waved his hand! The immortal slaying sword tip shot toward the two of them!

The Black Fiend's roar came to an abrupt end. That streak of scarlet sword light penetrated his glabella without any resistance.

Immediately after, the immortal slaying sword tip did not stop, tracing a strange arc in the air, instantly piercing through the White Fiend who had already been scared stiff nearby.

The vitality in the eyes of the two corpses quickly dissipated. The expressions of terror, regret, and disbelief on their faces were frozen forever.

Chen Xu flicked his large sleeve, and the immortal slaying sword tip let out a light chime, returning to his palm while carrying two storage rings.

As for the two corpses, he didn't even glance at them, flicking a wisp of purple-gold Grandmist True Fire from his fingertip.

"Whoosh—"

The flames instantly engulfed the corpses, and within a few breaths, they were burned into a pile of ashes, scattering with the wind.

At this time, the trap Formation shrouding the plaza slowly dissipated. The sounds and light that had been isolated by the Formation poured back in, but the entire plaza was silent.

Not far away, the group of Chen clansmen led by Chen Daochu were all like people who had been hit by a freezing spell, staring blankly at the figure in the green robe standing with his hands behind his back in the center of the arena.

The impact of that scene just now was simply too great for them.

"This is... Void Refining Stage?"

Chen Daochu swallowed a mouthful of saliva, feeling his throat extremely dry.

He had originally thought that since he had reached the Nascent Soul Stage, he could be considered an expert even in the Spirit Realm. But now it seemed that his meager cultivation was not even worthy of carrying his father's shoes.

Chen Xu turned around, the coldness on his face already retracted, once again wearing that calm and breezy expression.

"Dao Chu, what's wrong? Were you scared?"

Chen Daochu suddenly came to his senses, hurriedly stepped forward, bowed and saluted, his tone carrying a trace of trembling: "Father's Divine Might is peerless. This child... this child has just never seen such a scene, so I was a bit uncomposed."

He glanced at the two piles of black ash left on the ground, hesitated for a moment, and then asked: "Father, were those two just now... really the Elders of Tianyu Holy Land?"

These Holy Land Elders were killed just like that, like slaughtering chickens?

"So what if they are?"

Chen Xu smiled faintly, casually tossing the two storage rings to Chen Daochu: "In the Cultivation World, no matter how big the name is, it cannot stop blades. As long as your fists are hard enough, the so-called Holy Land is just a slightly larger Sect."

He looked around at the young clansmen with pale faces, his voice suddenly raised a few notches.

"Did you all see clearly?"

"Here, there is no law, no morality, only the strong eating the weak!"

"You may have been the proud sons of heaven in the Lower Realm, local powerhouses, but in the Spirit Realm, if you don't work hard to Cultivate, this is the outcome! Being crushed to death like ants, not even leaving behind ashes!"

These words were like a tolling bell, striking hard at the heart of every Chen clansman.

The slight slackness that had arisen because they had come to the Spirit Realm with abundant Spiritual Qi vanished instantly at this moment. In its place was a deep sense of crisis and an extreme desire for power.

"We will obey the Patriarch's teachings! We will definitely work hard to Cultivate and will never lose face for the Chen Family!"

Everyone shouted in unison, their voices shaking the clouds.

Chen Xu nodded with satisfaction and pointed to the ground: "Clean this place up; don't dirty our territory."

"In addition, there should be many good things in those two storage rings. Dao Chu, you see to the distribution so that the clansmen's strength can be improved as soon as possible."

"Yes!"

Chen Daochu tightly gripped the two storage rings that still carried body heat, a flash of ruthlessness in his eyes.

His father had already propped up a sky for them; if they still wanted to hide behind like parasites, then they were too useless.

...

Meanwhile, Tianyu Holy Land.

As a top force governing dozens of large territories, Tianyu Holy Land had strict hierarchies, and each hall performed its own duties.

Deep within the Holy Land, there was a great hall shrouded in shadows all year round—the Soul Hall.

Here, the life-bound Soul Lamps of all Cultivators above the Soul Transformation Stage in the Holy Land were enshrined.

If the Soul Lamp is not extinguished, the person does not die.

The person responsible for guarding the Soul Hall was a Nascent Soul Stage attendant Disciple.

On weekdays, this was an idle job; he only needed to wipe away dust every day and check the brightness of the Soul Lamps.

"Yawn—"

This Disciple let out a big yawn, leaning against the pillar in boredom, playing with a jade pendant in his hand.

"These days are really boring. When will it be my turn to rotate out so I can make some extra money..."

While he muttered, he habitually looked up and swept his eyes over the rows of Soul Lamps that twinkled like stars.

This one glance, however, made his whole body freeze instantly.

On the row at the very top, representing the Void Refining Stage Elders, there were two Soul Lamps placed side by side.

The flames, which should have been burning with a ghostly blue hue, suddenly shattered simultaneously.

Turning into countless crystalline fragments scattered across the floor, those flames that symbolized life were completely extinguished.

The deacon Disciple widened his eyes and rubbed them vigorously, thinking he had seen it wrong.

"This... this is impossible..."

He walked forward trembling and picked up a fragment of the lamp base.

On it, the character "Black" was clearly engraved, while on another fragment, the character "White" was engraved.

The Law Enforcement Hall, The Black and White Elders!

"Something happened! Something big has happened!!!"

...

Inside the main hall of the General Affairs Hall.

Hall Master Liu Jing was leisurely sipping a pot of ten-thousand-year-old Spiritual Tea.

He was in a good mood.

Counting the time, The Black and White Elders should have already arrived at Zhenyuan City.

They might have even entered the Beiming Wilderness and captured that damned murderer.

As long as he got back the tai xu realm stone, he could not only make up for the losses caused by the destruction of the Lin Family.

He could even make a huge profit.

"Once the item is in my hands, I want to see how Chen Qiao from the Mineral Hall can still show off in front of me."

Liu Jing hummed a little tune, his fingers tapping gently on the tabletop.

Just then, the hall door was kicked open with a "bang."

"Hall Master! It's bad! Something terrible has happened!"

That Soul Hall deacon stumbled in and knelt on the ground with a thud, his whole body trembling like chaff.

Liu Jing frowned, putting down the teacup in his hand heavily, splashing boiling hot tea all over the table.

"What are you panicking about! Has the sky fallen? You have no manners!"

He scolded with a cold face, "Speak up if you have something to say, spit it out!"

The deacon raised his head, his face pale, and his lips trembling as he said, "Soul... over at the Soul Hall... The Soul Lamps of the two Elders, Black and White... have shattered!"

"What?"

Liu Jing froze for a moment, as if he hadn't heard clearly, or rather, his brain instinctively refused to process this information.

"Whose Soul Lamps did you say shattered?"

"The Black and White Elders... those two Elders from the Law Enforcement Hall... they are all dead!"

"Clatter!"

Liu Jing stood up abruptly, his movement so violent that he knocked over the desk in front of him.

The priceless Spiritual Tea pot fell to the ground and shattered into powder.

He stared at the deacon on the ground, grabbed him by the collar, and lifted him up.

"You're talking nonsense! What are you blabbering about?!"

Liu Jing roared, spittle spraying all over the other person's face, "Those are two Refining Void Mid-Stage experts! And together, they could even fight a Late Stage expert!"

"How long have they been out? How could they be dead? Who could kill them?!"

"It... it is absolutely true, Hall Master! The fragments are still in this Disciple's hands..."

The deacon tremblingly opened his palm, revealing several fragments of the Soul Lamps with the names engraved on them.

Seeing those familiar fragments, Liu Jing felt his vision go dark.

Dead? Really dead? How could this be possible?

In such a desolate place like the Beiming Wilderness, aside from those uncivilized beasts, where could there be an existence capable of instantly killing two Refining Void Mid-Stage experts?

"This is bad!"

This was the only thought in Liu Jing's mind.

The Black and White Elders were invited out by him privately; ostensibly to investigate the Lin Family extermination case, but in reality, to help him accumulate wealth.

Now both of them were dead. This was the biggest loss for the Holy Land in nearly a hundred years!

If this blame were pinned on him, his time as the General Affairs Hall Master would be over.

He might even be sent to the Cliff of Repentance to face the wall for a hundred years!

"Block the news! Quickly! Block the news!"

Liu Jing jumped up abruptly, pacing around the hall like a trapped beast, "This matter must absolutely not be known by those above... No, with such a huge commotion from the shattering of the Soul Lamps, it can't be hidden..."

Before he could come up with a countermeasure, a vast, boundless, and terrifying Aura, heavy with majesty, suddenly descended over the General Affairs Hall.

"Boom—" The entire main hall trembled violently, and the roof beams emitted a creaking sound from the unbearable pressure.

A cold and grand voice, like the thunder of the Nine Heavens, exploded directly inside the main hall.

"Liu Jing, come out."

Hearing this voice, Liu Jing's already pale face instantly turned deathly white.

His knees went weak, and this time, he truly knelt.

"Vice... Vice Holy Master..."

In the void outside the main hall, a figure stood out of thin air.

It was a middle-aged man who looked to be only thirty or forty years old, wearing a black python robe.

His face was resolute, and he possessed an awe-inspiring presence without even being angry.

There was no spiritual energy fluctuation around him, but just by standing there, the surrounding space seemed to be surrendering and bowing to him.

The Vice Holy Master of Tianyu Holy Land, a Body Integration Stage Late Stage Peak Great Expert—Gu Qingfeng.

"Greetings, Vice Holy Master!"

All the Disciples and deacons inside and outside the General Affairs Hall were now kneeling on the ground. They didn't dare to raise their heads or even breathe loudly.

Gu Qingfeng's gaze was cold, piercing through the roof of the main hall and landing directly on Liu Jing, who was slumped on the ground.

"Liu Jing, why did the two Elders of the Law Enforcement Hall, Black and White, suddenly fall?"

"I recall that they did not accept any Sect missions."

Gu Qingfeng's voice was flat, with no discernible joy or anger. But every word felt like a heavy hammer striking Liu Jing's heart.

Liu Jing scrambled out of the hall, kneeling on the clouds at Gu Qingfeng's feet.

"Rep... Reporting to the Vice Holy Master!"

Liu Jing's brain spun rapidly, desperately organizing his words: "Your subordinate... your subordinate also just learned of the tragic news."

"A few days ago, the Lin Family, an affiliated Family of our Holy Land, was exterminated. As it was a serious matter, I was worried that someone was targeting the Holy Land, so I requested the two Elders, Black and White, to go and investigate..."

He dared not tell the whole truth, only avoiding the important and dwelling on the trivial.

"Investigate?"

Gu Qingfeng snorted coldly, and the surrounding temperature plummeted. Tiny ice crystals even began to float in the air.

"Does investigating the extermination case of an affiliated Family require the lives of two Void Refining Elders? Liu Jing, do you take me for a fool?"

"This subordinate would not dare! This subordinate would not dare even if I died ten thousand deaths!"

Liu Jing kowtowed frantically, cracking the ground.

"Hmph!"

Gu Qingfeng flicked his large sleeve, and an invisible wave of energy sent Liu Jing flying dozens of zhang, crashing heavily into a stone pillar in the distance.

"Pfft!"

Liu Jing spat out a mouthful of blood, but dared not show any resentment, scrambling to get up and kneel properly again.

"Regardless of why they went, since they are Elders of our Holy Land, they represent the face of the Holy Land."

A trace of chilling killing intent flashed in Gu Qingfeng's eyes: "To die outside is to slap me in the face, to slap the Holy Land in the face!"

"The fall of two Void Refining Elders is an unprecedented disgrace in a hundred years!"

"Liu Jing, I will give you a chance to redeem yourself."

Gu Qingfeng looked down at him from above: "You are fully responsible for investigating this matter."

"No matter who the murderer is, no matter where he is hiding, I want to see him alive or see his corpse! If you cannot find out..."

He paused, his tone grim: "Then you don't need to be the General Affairs Hall Master anymore; go guard the Ten Thousand Demon Cave."

Hearing the words "Ten Thousand Demon Cave," Liu Jing trembled all over, his eyes filled with extreme terror.

"Yes! This subordinate obeys! This subordinate will definitely get to the bottom of this, tear the murderer into ten thousand pieces, and uphold the Divine Might of our Holy Land!"

Gu Qingfeng gave him a deep look, his figure gradually faded, and finally disappeared into the void. The suffocating pressure dissipated with him.

Liu Jing slumped on the ground, gasping for air, as if he had just walked through the gates of hell.

"Damn it... damn it all!!"

When he came to his senses, Liu Jing punched the ground, his eyes full of resentment and anxiety.

The Vice Holy Master's words were already very clear. If this matter wasn't handled well, his fate would be worse than death.

But... where to investigate? The Black and White Elders were dead, and they didn't even manage to send out a distress signal, which meant the opponent's strength absolutely crushed them.

Although he, Liu Jing, had some tricks, he was only a relatively weak Body Integration Stage Cultivator.

"Someone come here!" Liu Jing crawled up from the ground, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and roared with a ferocious expression.

"Here!" Several trusted deacons quickly stepped forward.

"Immediately activate the remote communication grand Formation and contact that Zhao Wuji in Zhenyuan City!"

Liu Jing gritted his teeth: "I want to know which direction The Black and White Elders went after leaving Zhenyuan City! What exactly happened in between!"

"Yes!"

...

Half an hour later. Inside the secret chamber of the General Affairs Hall, light and shadow flickered. The blurry figure of Zhenyuan City Lord Zhao Wuji appeared within the communication Formation.

"Liu... Hall Master Liu..."

Zhao Wuji clearly already knew the news; he was currently also full of panic, fearing he would be implicated.

"Cut the crap!" Liu Jing had no mood for pleasantries with him right now and went straight to the point: "Where did The Black and White Elders go last? I want the exact location!"

"Replying to the Hall Master..." Zhao Wuji swallowed his saliva and reported cautiously: "After investigating the ruins of the Lin Family, the two Elders performed a Time Regression technique and seemed to have locked onto the murderer's trail."

"Then... then they went all the way north and entered the depths of the Beiming Wilderness."

"The Beiming Wilderness?" Liu Jing's brows knitted tightly together, and his heart sank abruptly.

"Are you sure they entered the depths of the wilderness?"

"Absolutely true! This subordinate watched them go in with my own eyes, and... and the scouts I sent reported that there were extremely strong spatial fluctuations and the aftermath of a battle in the depths of the wilderness, but that location... was too deep, and the scouts dared not get close."

"Useless!" Liu Jing cursed and cut off the communication directly.

The secret chamber fell into a deathly silence. Liu Jing paced back and forth anxiously with his hands behind his back.

The Beiming Wilderness was vast and boundless, filled with poisonous miasma, and Divine Sense was hindered. Moreover, the space there was extremely unstable, making precise positioning impossible.

The Black and White Elders dying inside was like throwing a stone into the ocean. Trying to find a murderer capable of instantly killing two Void Refining experts in such a large place was no different from looking for a needle in a haystack.

More importantly, he dared not rashly send a large force in. There were high-level Demon Kings in the depths of the wilderness; if he happened to anger those beasts and trigger a large-scale beast tide, it would only make matters worse.

"What to do... what to do..." Liu Jing was sweating profusely with anxiety, pulling at his own hair.

Just at this moment, the door of the secret chamber was gently pushed open.