231: Shi Wanshan made a move

"Roar—!"

Ku Xuan suddenly raised his head and let out a hoarse roar that didn't sound human, filled with endless malice and accusations against the Heavenly Dao!

The Death Qi, which had been somewhat dim due to the decay of his Qi and blood, now erupted like oil poured on a fire, becoming even more violent and malevolent!

Death Qi boiled around Ku Xuan like a sea, and the withered scene of the entire valley instantly intensified. Plants turned to ash in an instant, and rocks silently disintegrated.

Even the Void Realm began to show unstable, pitch-black cracks like a spiderweb, as if this Heaven and Earth could not bear his extreme resentment and destructive will before his death!

"Let's... perish together!"

Before he finished speaking, under the horrified gaze of everyone, Senior Ku Xuan's shriveled body suddenly swelled up as if inflated. Death Qi surged wildly under his skin, emitting extremely unstable and Soul-shaking destructive fluctuations!

He was actually going to burn his last Saint Soul Origin, detonate his own Saint Origin, and launch the most thorough and insane self-destructive strike!

"Not good!"

Xiao Ruobai, Fang Hanyu, and Ling Xi's pupils constricted. They instantly felt the terrifying Qi that could obliterate everything firmly locking onto them. The surrounding space seemed to solidify, making them feel like they were trapped in a quagmire, unable to break free!

"No retreat, we must resist!"

Xiao Ruobai roared, his Golden War God Dharma Idol's eyes wide with fury, and his Battle Intent materialized into a golden wall, blocking in front!

Fang Hanyu plunged his Primordial Sword into the ground, and his Chaos Sword Domain contracted to its limit, becoming a gray original point, attempting to channel the destructive energy into nothingness.

Ling Xi formed hand seals, and her Devouring Vortex transformed into a deep black hole, bravely meeting the surging Death Qi.

"I'm going all out!"

Wang Xiaopang's face turned pale and his hands trembled with fear, but he astonishingly threw out a thick stack of Talismans—Diamond Body Protection, Mystic Turtle Suppressing Mountains, Void Realm Barrier... Spiritual light flashed, and layers of barriers instantly formed!

The Cultivators watching from afar were even more scared to the point of their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, retreating rapidly, fearing being swept into the aftermath of a Saint's self-detonation.

Just at this critical moment—

"Hmph!"

A low hum, yet one that seemed to shake mountains, rang out from an unknown place, clearly reaching everyone's ears!

Immediately after, a figure as towering as a mountain, enveloped in a blurry light and shadow, appeared without warning in the center of the valley as if teleporting, perfectly blocking between Xiao Ruobai's four and Ku Xuan!

The newcomer was tall and robust, like an iron tower, but his face and the Qi around him were shrouded by a strange power, making it impossible to see clearly or discern his Origin. Only a magnificent, vast, and heart-pounding terrifying power of Qi and blood surged forth!

He didn't even make any extra movements; he just simply threw a punch at the about-to-explode Ku Xuan!

At this moment, Ku Xuan's self-detonating Saint power had condensed to its Peak. His withered body had expanded to about ten feet, and the Death Qi around him surged like a tsunami, even corroding black holes in space. He was about to explode!

But the towering figure didn't even move his gaze.

He just slowly raised his right arm, and with an unremarkable, simple punch, he struck in the direction of Senior Ku Xuan!

Buzz—!

A visible, crimson-gold fist print materialized out of thin air. The edges of the fist print were entwined with shattered spatial fragments. Wherever it passed, Ku Xuan's Death Qi, which was capable of annihilating Kings, evaporated instantly like ice and snow meeting the scorching sun!

"No—!!!"

Ku Xuan finally showed an expression of extreme fear. He wanted to accelerate his self-detonation, wanted to flee, wanted to beg for mercy—

But under the lock of that fist print, he found that he couldn't even move a single finger!

His Saint Dao Law was forcibly suppressed, his Saint Soul seemed to be gripped by an invisible large hand, and he couldn't even transmit the thought of self-detonation!

Pfft!

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a muffled sound like torn cloth.

The crimson-gold fist print penetrated Ku Xuan's chest without any hindrance, pulverizing all the Saint power, Saint Soul, and even the wisp of Origin vitality that had lingered for thousands of years within him into dust!

His withered body froze in place, his pupils still holding extreme despair. The next second, he crumbled like weathered stone, leaving not even a speck of bone!

A Senior Saint who had lived for over five thousand years and personally suppressed three eras was obliterated by a single punch, without even the qualification to self-detonate, leaving no chance for Reincarnation!

Silence!

Deathly silence!

The Cultivators watching from afar were all dumbfounded, their minds blank!

One punch! Just one punch! And he lightly killed a Saint who was on the verge of death and fighting back?! What... what terrifying strength was this?!

"A Saint... a Saint! And one with such flourishing Qi and blood, at his Peak!"

An old Cultivator with white hair and beard trembled, almost unable to stand steady.

"The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi is no longer what it was in ancient times. Now the Saint path is difficult, and every current Saint is the cornerstone of a Sect's rise and fall. Our Sects exhaust all resources, yet it's hard to produce even one Saint!

Only top-tier forces like Holy Lands and Imperial Dynasties, with a Legacy of ten thousand years, could possibly possess such a Saint in their Peak state as their foundation! Who exactly is this person?"

"He... he protected those four troublemakers! Could it be... could he be the Dao Protector who has been hidden behind those four all along?!"

"Heavens! So there really is such a terrifying strong person behind them! No wonder they dared to be so reckless!"

Everyone's gaze towards the towering figure was filled with awe, fear, and intense curiosity! The background of the few people became even more mysterious and unfathomable!

Having narrowly escaped death, Xiao Ruobai and the other three were emotionally stirred, their gazes fixed on the mysterious figure, as tall as a mountain and overflowing with Qi and blood.

Xiao Ruobai's eyes were sharp, staring intently at the outline shrouded in blurry light and shadow.

Although his face was unclear and his Qi was deliberately concealed, that mountain-like steady and profound Qi and blood fluctuation, and the domineering, direct, and overwhelmingly powerful style of his attacks...

"It's Martial Uncle Shi!"

Xiao Ruobai understood instantly, a warm current mixed with shock surging in his heart.

He never expected that this Senior Martial Uncle, who usually seemed rough and often joked and bickered with his Revered Master on Qingyue Peak, possessed such terrifying strength!

And he had been silently following and protecting them, able to resolve even Saint-level crises with a single punch!

Meanwhile, Wang Xiaopang, witnessing this scene of a Saint being instantly killed by a punch, gasped with wide-open mouth, his small eyes bulging, and his chubby face deathly pale. That was an old Saint who had lived for five thousand years!

To be reduced to dust with a single punch, just how terrifying was that strength?!

But before he could recover from the shock of the Saint's protection, a strange, chilling sense of familiarity like a vine wrapped around his heart.

He instinctively leaned forward, squinting his eyes and staring intently at the towering figure's stance, his broad shoulders and back, the bulging curve of his arm muscles, and even that brutal force when he raised his hand, as if saying, "I can smash through a mountain with one punch"...

"Wait... wait! This figure... this domineering Qi and blood... and that unreasonable force when he beats people..."

Wang Xiaopang's small eyes widened, his chubby face turned slightly pale, and he instinctively touched his head. A phantom pain seemed to linger there, and along with it, the "humiliating memory" of being stripped naked instantly surged up!

He suddenly took a step back, his chubby face turning from deathly pale to purplish-blue, then to a deep red, his small eyes filled with incredulous horror.

"No... no way?! That... that damn 'black-hearted thief' who knocked Fat Master out, stripped me naked, and almost took my underwear... is actually a Saint? No way?!"

This thought, like a Nine Heavens thunderbolt, struck him, leaving him scorched outside and tender inside. He had sworn in his heart before that when he became strong, he would definitely find the guy who stripped him and get his revenge!

But now it seemed, let alone revenge, that person could crush him into a meat patty with a single finger!

"No, no!"

Wang Xiaopang violently shook his head, trying to dispel this absurd idea.

"What Saint would be so wicked? I must be overthinking it! What kind of status does a Saint have? How could he care about my paltry possessions? And personally ambush me? That's too demeaning!"

He tried hard to convince himself: "It must be a coincidence! There are plenty of Body Cultivators with towering figures and domineering Qi and blood in this world! They can't all be ambushing people, can they?

Yes! It must be like this! This Senior is so tall and brave! He is definitely not the same person as my 'black-hearted thief'..."

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