32: crazy

The cold wind rustled, whipping up a sky-filling haze of dust.

The four people in the standoff were divided, one on the left and three on the right, clearly demarcated.

Shen Lian gently waved his Folding Fan, facing such formidable enemies with a calm and lighthearted demeanor, fully displaying his free-spirited and rebellious nature.

After a long while, Zhuang Jinghao asked, "Who on earth are you?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the gently waving Folding Fan snapped shut, and the surrounding air instantly solidified.

"Shen Lian, a name that will give you the honor of experiencing what true despair is."

Boom~

A dense Killing Intent burst forth and permeated the air; the air itself could not withstand this Aura Pressure, exploding with a deafening roar.

Xu Tianchuan's eyes turned cold. "Shen Lian? The same Shen Lian who is regarded as trash by everyone in the Heavenly Feather Sect!"

"Hahaha—"

Shen Lian tossed the Folding Fan in his hand, and it quickly disappeared behind his cloak.

"Then let me allow you to get to know me again—am I really that incompetent trash you speak of!"

As soon as the words fell, Shen Lian took the initiative, striking out with his palm to close the distance.

"Arrogant!"

Fu Hanqing stepped forward to block him.

"Then let me see what tricks you have up your sleeve!"

With his own Folding Fan snapped shut, Fu Hanqing struck out with his palm to meet the attack.

Boom—

The moment their palms met, the ground cracked three feet deep, and shockwaves rippled outwards, shaking the stone chains on the Demonic Beast statue back and forth.

"Hmph~"

"Ha~"

Bang—

After exerting their strength, both men retreated a dozen steps.

After steadying himself, Fu Hanqing was shocked. "A mere Void Refining Realm cultivator, yet you can take a palm strike from me, a Primordial Chaos Realm Third Layer expert, without exploding?"

Shen Lian curled his lips. "That only means that you truly are an absolute piece of trash!"

Stomping his foot, Shen Lian morphed into six afterimages, rushing toward Fu Hanqing from every direction.

"Damn it!"

Fu Hanqing was furious. As his hands flipped, a vast silver light condensed into a Seal of the galaxy, which he slammed forward.

"Try this Move of mine: Azure Moon Star Palm."

"A broken technique, a useless Move!"

Shen Lian maneuvered his body, using agile footwork to keenly dodge the incoming palm power, and instantly teleported in front of him.

"What?"

In the instant Fu Hanqing was shocked, he saw Shen Lian raise his fist and hold up a middle finger in front of his eyes, the mockery clear as day.

"Void Concealment: Six Paths Instant Annihilation."

Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang—

With frantic fists and angry palms, every Move was heavy, and every punch landed on flesh. He gave Fu Hanqing no time to react at all, unleashing everything onto him.

After a combo, Shen Lian leaped up and delivered a knee strike.

"Ugh~"

Accompanied by a groan, Fu Hanqing's body lost control, and he stumbled back over a hundred steps.

"What?"

"Let me handle this."

Seeing that Fu Hanqing was beaten with no power to parry, Zhuang Jinghao was shocked, and Xu Tianchuan suddenly took over the battle, smashing a fist toward Shen Lian.

Bang~

With a dull roar, it once again caused the stone statue to shake violently.

Shen Lian received the Move and dispersed the force, retreating ten steps and standing firmly on the spot.

"Enough, brat. This match is not something you can interfere with. I, this seat, will now send you..."

But the next moment, Xu Tianchuan couldn't speak anymore.

Shen Lian pressed close, the corners of his mouth curling into a strange arc.

"You!"

Bang—

"Ah~"

With a dull impact and a scream, Xu Tianchuan flew backward.

Only Shen Lian remained, posing with his palms pushed forward, fully displaying the demeanor of a Grandmaster.

Once Xu Tianchuan steadied himself, he immediately demanded, "What kind of Cultivation Technique is this?"

"Stronger when facing the strong, the Myriad Laws Heaven-Steel, meaning: Five Absolutes Heaven Extinguishing Force."

Seeing this scene from the netherworld chariot, Shen Chuyun's eyes lit up, and her expression immediately became extremely excited.

Looking at that tall, straight back blocking in front of her, her eyes turned red, and she couldn't help but shed a tear.

"You've returned, finally returned. After over five hundred years of guarding, I have finally waited for your awakening..."

For a moment, Shen Chuyun was filled with mixed emotions. She wanted to get off the carriage to help Shen Lian, but unfortunately, in her current condition, she was unable to Move.

On the battlefield, there was a deathly silence.

Shen Lian's Moves had completely intimidated the three people opposite him.

Neither side made another Move, and everyone began a new round of calculations in their hearts.

"Damn it, the Seal on the beast cave consumed too much. My current cultivation base is less than twenty percent of its Peak. But even so, it shouldn't be the case that I can't even handle a small Void Refining Realm cultivator."

"It seems as expected, the three of them have consumed too much, and their cultivation base is far from what it used to be. The probing just now has made their attributes clear, but my current cultivation is too low. If I drag it out, I will definitely be at a disadvantage over time."

After a brief silence, Fu Hanqing was the first to speak. "Little friend, we do not wish to make things difficult for you. As long as you are willing to leave, this matter can end here."

Shen Lian laughed disdainfully. "You? You are worthy of negotiating terms with me? If you are willing to kneel and kowtow, perhaps I might consider leaving your corpses intact."

Xu Tianchuan was furious. "You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. Brat, do you really think we are this easy to bully!"

"Then bring out your signature skills; don't leave this world with regrets!"

The three of them were immediately enraged upon hearing this.

Zhuang Jinghao, who had not yet made a Move, spoke up. "Since you have such disregard for your own life, little friend, it is a waste of such shocking cultivation."

"Hahaha—"

The response to him was endless cold laughter.

"If you cherish your life so much, why seek the Dao? The meaning of cultivation is to constantly challenge oneself; why bother caring about life and death!"

Flipping his hand to strike a palm, a contrary gale swept up, rushing straight toward Zhuang Jinghao's vital points.

"Absurd!"

Zhuang Jinghao dispersed the incoming contrary gale, roared in anger, and immediately raised his hand to gather Qi, blocking the second palm strike that Shen Lian suddenly launched.

The moment their palms crossed, the ground within a radius of several dozen miles cracked inch by inch.

"Seeking the Dao through cultivation is not for the sake of killing."

"Then tell me, are you standing here for the sake of self-cultivation? This statement is truly hypocritical to the point of being despicable!"

"Presumptuous!"

In just a few words, Zhuang Jinghao's defenses were instantly shattered by Shen Lian's sharp rhetoric.

With an angry roar, he exerted force and instantly forced Shen Lian back.

Shen Lian retreated to the front of the netherworld chariot, steadied himself, and instantly dispersed the lingering palm force on his body. He stepped forward half a step, his sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, standing proudly with an extraordinary posture.

Behind him, Shen Chuyun silently watched Shen Lian's back. She wanted to say something, but feared distracting him, leaving her in a dilemma.

"Is this your strength in the Primordial Chaos Realm? It is truly disappointing!"

Once spoken, it was again the ultimate mockery.

"If this is the extent of your strength, then I can only say that the current Primordial Continent is truly in decline!"

Zhuang Jinghao clenched his fists, and the veins on his forehead instantly bulged.

On the left and right, Xu Tianchuan and Fu Hanqing also stood tall again.

The two sides once again formed a three-on-one posture.

This time, the three of them—Zhuang Jinghao and the others—did not dare to take Shen Lian lightly in the slightest, determined to eliminate him completely in one go, absolutely refusing to give Shen Lian any chance to catch his breath.

Even though their spiritual power and physical stamina were severely depleted, they could still handle a mere Void Refining Realm cultivator.

And how could Shen Lian not know the huge gap in cultivation between himself and his opponents?

If not for the fact that he had swallowed a Level 7 Demonic Beast essence core to strengthen his Physique, coupled with his rich combat experience, allowing him to quickly discern and judge the trajectory of his opponents' Moves, he would definitely not have been able to withstand even a single Move, even though the three of them had lost more than eighty percent of their Peak strength.

But the more this was the case, the more Shen Lian felt the thrill of fighting for his life, and the more he wanted to win this battle.

The intense Killing Intent became increasingly manic in the cold, stern wind.

After a brief silence.

"Hmph."

With a cold snort, Shen Lian leaped out to attack once more.

"Heh."

With three cold laughs, Zhuang Jinghao and the other two also responded with counterattacks.

Both sides knew that any more words were superfluous; only when one side fell could this battle come to an end.

Bang bang bang bang bang—

The instant the two sides made close contact, fists and palms crossed in the Void Realm, turning into overlapping light and shadows, causing the surrounding air to twist and roar, making the heavens and earth shake ceaselessly.

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of Moves were exchanged, so fast that one couldn't even see where the figures of either side were.

After the dangerous close-quarters combat, Shen Lian's figure staggered back to the front of the beast cave Seal, a streak of blood already spilling from the corner of his mouth.

On the other hand, Zhuang Jinghao and the other two, from the moment they adjusted their mindset and decided to kill Shen Lian, no longer held back in the slightest.

As their palms flipped, they concentrated all their spiritual power into a single point, forcing Shen Lian to take heavy hits from the Primordial Chaos Realm experts with a crushing offensive like Mount Tai pressing down.

However, even so, after the exchange, the three of them were greatly shocked.

With an attack frequency of hundreds of Moves in an instant, Shen Lian parried every Move he saw, fully neutralizing the offensive; not a single palm or punch had actually struck his vital points.

"What a Shen Lian. We truly underestimated you. If it were one-on-one, in our current states, any one of us might not necessarily be able to suppress you."

"With Void Refining Realm strength, to be able to entangle with us to this extent, you are the first person I have ever seen in my life."

"However, your ability ends here. One more Move, and I will send you to the Yellow Springs!"

As the words fell, the three of them drove all their spiritual power, intending to deliver the final, fatal blow to Shen Lian.

"With this, you want to kill me, Shen Lian? It is far from enough!"

Unexpectedly, Shen Lian shouted sharply, slowly wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked up at the Void Realm.

He saw that above the nine heavens, thunderclouds were dense, as if the entire sky were shrouded in thick, dark clouds.

In these dense thunderclouds, lightning flashed from time to time, like a coiling Dragon dancing, making one sigh in admiration.

"It is time."

He curled his lips slightly and suddenly made an unexpected Move.

"What are you doing!"

"Stop!"

"Stop, are you crazy!"

Seeing this scene, the three of them had their pupils dilate in shock.

They saw Shen Lian raise his hand to gather all his spiritual power, slamming it toward the beast cave Seal behind him.

"No~~"

In an instant, the three of them shouted in unison, wanting to step forward to stop him, but in the end, they were one step too late.

Boom—

With a loud noise, the Zhou Tian Demon-Suppressing Array, which had only just been perfected, began to collapse instantly.

"Only like this is there the thrill of a life-and-death struggle! Hahahaha—"

The crazy laughter made everyone shudder.

Zhuang Jinghao and the other two looked at Shen Lian in despair; in such a manic state, only two words appeared in their minds.

"Madman!"