35: Chapter 35 Half-step Core Formation? That's it? It's not even as good as Xiao Wan's cooking.

Above the Hehuan Sect, the Ziyang Sect flying ship, which had been overbearing just moments ago, was now trembling violently in the air like a pheasant with broken wings.

Following Wang Yang's raised middle finger and his flat yet majestic command to "Get down here."

Buzz—!

The Absolute Domain, spanning fifteen kilometers, responded instantly.

"Wh... what's going on?!"

At the bow of the ship, Xiao Chenyi, who was still striking a pose, saw his expression change drastically.

He discovered to his horror that the spiritual energy within his body was circulating sluggishly, and the Top-grade Flying Ship beneath his feet, which usually covered a thousand miles a day, had now lost all buoyancy.

"No! Impossible!"

"Aaaaaah—!!"

Amidst a chorus of shrill screams.

The luxuriously decorated purple flying ship, along with over a dozen Righteous Path Disciples on board, plummeted straight down from the clouds like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

Rumble!!

With a deafening crash, dust billowed everywhere.

The flying ship smashed heavily onto the open ground in front of the Hehuan Sect's mountain gate.

Fortunately, these people had decent cultivation; though their spiritual energy was suppressed, they at least didn't turn into meat paste upon impact.

"Ouch... my back..."

"Senior Brother... help..."

The dust cleared.

Xiao Chenyi crawled out of the wreckage, covered in grime. His exquisite Purple-Gold Crown was crooked, his once-pristine Daoist robe was torn with several large holes, and his face was smeared with black soot, making him look like a beggar who had just emerged from a coal kiln.

"Despicable! Shameless! Vulgar!!"

Xiao Chenyi trembled with rage, pointing at Wang Yang, who stood on the steps, and cursed loudly:

"Is this the methods of your Demonic Sect? To actually set up such a sinister Sky-Blocking Formation in front of your mountain gate! To sneak attack us members of the Righteous Path!"

In his view, if it weren't for a sneak attack, how could a powerhouse like him, at the Half-Step Core Formation stage, fall flat on his face?

This was definitely a trap!

"Sneak attack?"

Wang Yang picked his ear, looking at him as if he were an idiot:

"I shouted so loudly for you to get down here, and you call that a sneak attack?"

"It's clearly your own flying skills that aren't up to par, yet you blame the road for being uneven?"

"You—!" Xiao Chenyi was choked with rage.

He slapped his Storage Pouch, summoning a longsword wreathed in purple flames. The Spiritual Pressure of a Half-Step Core Formation stage cultivator erupted, shaking away the surrounding dust.

"Sharp-tongued brat! If I don't tear you into ten thousand pieces today, my surname isn't Xiao!"

"Die!!"

Xiao Chenyi let out a furious roar, just about to rush forward and fight to the death.

Clang—!

A cold blade light, like the waning moon in the sky, carrying a bone-chilling coldness, instantly blocked his path.

"You want to touch my husband?"

Ye Qingcheng held the water-severing blade, her red dress fluttering as she stood before Xiao Chenyi.

Her gaze was cold, and a contemptuous curve formed at the corner of her mouth:

"Get past me first."

Xiao Chenyi was forced to stop, his gaze landing on Ye Qingcheng's face.

In the next second, his pupils shrank violently, as if he had seen something unbelievable.

"It's you?!"

Xiao Chenyi pointed at Ye Qingcheng, his face showing shock and bewilderment, which then transformed into deep mockery and delight:

"I wondered who it was; turns out it's the crippled Saintess from Tianshui Holy Land—Ye Qingcheng!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, I heard your Meridians were all severed, you became a waste, and were kicked out of the Holy Land. I didn't expect you to degrade yourself so much as to come to this backwater place to be a... cauldron for a Demonic Path leader?"

As he spoke the word "cauldron," a flash of lecherousness crossed Xiao Chenyi's eyes:

"Since you've already fallen into the Demonic Path, then I must uphold justice for Heaven! It's perfect; I'll capture you and take you back. I'm sure the new Saintess of Tianshui Holy Land would be very pleased to see your current miserable state!"

Ye Qingcheng listened to these malicious words, but her expression didn't ripple in the slightest.

In the past, she might have been angry or pained.

But now...

She looked back at Wang Yang, who was sitting in a grand armchair cracking melon seeds, and felt only warmth and security in her heart.

"A waste?"

Ye Qingcheng turned back, her gaze toward Xiao Chenyi filled with pity:

"Is the vision of a Righteous Path Prodigy limited only to this level?"

"Very well, today I shall use you as a Whetstone to test the... Divine-Grade Dao bestowed upon me by my husband!"

Before her voice had even faded.

Clang— Clang— Clang—

Behind her, Su Qingge sat cross-legged, her delicate hands playing the zither.

Nine Heavens Phoenix Cry Score—Opening Stance!

The zither music was like war drums, stirring and surging.

Visible waves of green sound were precisely buffing Ye Qingcheng.

Ye Qingcheng felt the spiritual energy boiling within her, her Aura rising step by step, instantly breaking through the shackles of the Foundation Establishment Late Stage and approaching the False Core realm!

Meanwhile, Xiao Chenyi felt as if countless sharp needles were stabbing into his mind; he felt restless, and the Ziyang Spiritual Energy that usually flowed smoothly within him actually began to lag!

"This zither music... there's something strange about it!"

Xiao Chenyi was pale with shock.

But Ye Qingcheng didn't give him a chance to think.

"Taiyin True Water—Water-Severing Flow!"

Ye Qingcheng took a step forward, her long blade slashing down.

There was no earth-shattering explosion.

This strike was as quiet as water, yet as heavy as mercury.

The moisture in the air instantly condensed, turning into a deep blue water-curtain Saber Qi, carrying a chill that seemed capable of freezing the Soul as it drifted lightly through the Void Realm.

"Playing tricks! Behold my Ziyang Blazing Fire Sword!"

Xiao Chenyi roared, his longsword erupting with dazzling purple flames, attempting to evaporate the water curtain.

However.

The moment the flames touched that deep blue Saber Qi.

Sizzle—

It was like a red-hot iron being thrown into a ten-thousand-year-old ice pond.

Those overbearing Ziyang blazing fires were instantly extinguished!

Not even a wisp of smoke came out!

"What?!"

Xiao Chenyi's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

This was the Ziyang Sect's ultimate sect-protecting technique!

Spiritual fire of a Half-Step Core Formation!

How could it be directly doused by a Foundation Establishment Stage water-system Spell?

Before he could react.

That water-curtain Saber Qi had already slammed into his protective spiritual shield without any resistance.

Crack!

The shield, a top-grade Spiritual Artifact, shattered upon impact.

Bang!

Xiao Chenyi was sent flying like he’d been hit by a high-speed train, coughing up blood as he was thrown dozens of meters back, smashing heavily into the crater created by the flying ship earlier.

One move!

Crushed!

"This... this is Half-Step Core Formation?"

Ye Qingcheng stood with her blade sheathed, looking at her hand in disbelief, then at the distant Xiao Chenyi, who looked like a dead dog.

She knew the Taiyin True Water Manual was a Divine-Grade Cultivation Technique and was very strong.

But she hadn't expected it to be this ridiculously powerful!

Challenging those of a higher level was as easy as drinking water; she even felt like she hadn't used her full strength in that strike just now.

"No... impossible..."

In the wreckage, Xiao Chenyi crawled out with disheveled hair, his mouth full of blood, his eyes filled with terror and doubt about his life.

"My Ziyang Fire... my shield..."

"You are clearly only at the seventh layer of Foundation Establishment..."

"Demonic Technique! This is definitely a Demonic Technique!!"

He refused to believe that he, a true Disciple of a great sect, was actually one-shotted by a "waste"!

In the distance, Wang Yang put down the melon seeds in his hand and shook his head, saying with some disappointment:

"Is this what they call a Righteous Path Prodigy?"

"Tsk tsk tsk."

"Why does it feel... like he's not even as tough as the braised pig's trotters my Xiao Wan makes?"

Hearing this, Lin Xiaowan, who was currently in the excitement phase of her Foundation Establishment, immediately puffed out her chest and added a finishing blow with pride:

"Exactly! My pig's trotters are very chewy! He's way too brittle!"

Pfft—!

Xiao Chenyi's anger attacked his heart, causing him to spray a mouthful of blood three feet high. His eyes rolled back, and he fainted from pure rage.

...

Thank you to all the lords and ladies for reading!

Thanks to: [Lazy Bug Not Getting Up], [More and More Electricity], [Feather Talk Flying Immortal] for the gifted rewards!