137: The power of the Void Refinement Realm! I, Iron Bull, am not to be trifled with!

On the long street outside the restaurant, the originally bustling Central Province Market seemed to have been muted in an instant.

A faint purple ripple spread from the street corner. Everywhere it passed, the originally solid flagstone road actually began to sag slightly like softening wax. This physical suppression, caused by the Law Rank being too high, made all the surrounding low-level Cultivators feel difficulty breathing, and even the circulation of spiritual power within their bodies showed obvious sluggishness.

An old man wearing a deep purple cloud-patterned robe with a face as sharp as if it were chiseled by a blade slowly stepped into the entrance. His eyes carried no human emotion; only rings of purple electrical arcs leaped deep within his pupils.

Tianxu Sacred Land Deacon Elder — Lei Lingzi (Middle Stage Void Refinement).

Lei Lingzi did not look at the Saint slumped on the ground first. Instead, his nostrils twitched slightly, and his gaze locked onto the steaming pot of leopard meat in the center of the hall.

“In a city of my Tianxu Sacred Land, you killed a direct Disciple of my Sacred Land and even stewed the Sacred Land's mountain-protecting Spirit Beast.” Lei Lingzi's voice was calm, but the air in the hall emitted bursts of overwhelmed cracking sounds as he spoke. “Young man, do you truly think these Three Thousand Dao Provinces have no Laws, or do you think my ‘Purple Firmament Divine Thunder’ can no longer dissolve your brawn?”

...Gu Yang was in no hurry to get up. He slowly stuffed the last piece of leopard meat into his mouth and even stuck out his tongue to lick the oil stains off his fingers.

Such behavior, in front of a Void Refinement Stage powerhouse, was simply provocative to the extreme.

“Old man, I said just now, I’m clumsy with words and don't know those big principles.” Gu Yang slowly stood up. His originally two-meter-tall frame emitted a series of extremely fine bone-grinding sounds under the heavy pressure. The blood and qi of his Divine Demon Golden Body Second Turn Perfection did not shrink back upon sensing the other party's Law fluctuations that were strong enough to tear through the Void Realm. Instead, it was like a beast that had caught the scent of top-tier prey, beginning to roar frantically within his veins.

“This leopard meat is indeed not bad, it’s just a bit tough and takes some effort to chew.” Gu Yang cracked his neck. Beneath that simple and honest expression was a ferocity that could not be hidden. “If you think I didn't cook it well, I suggest you... jump into the pot yourself and serve as a side dish for this leopard meat.”

“You court death!”

Lei Lingzi's gaze instantly became cold as a knife. He did not use any complicated techniques, but simply pressed down against the void.

“Void Palm — Mountain Shaker!”

Buzz—!

The Spiritual Qi in the restaurant was instantly drained, and a giant purple mana palm condensed out of thin air above Gu Yang's head. The lines on the palm were clearly visible, each one containing destructive thunder Laws. This was the terrifying aspect of the Void Refinement Stage; they no longer simply mobilized Spiritual Qi, but directly used themselves as a medium to trigger the physical manifestation of the Laws of Heaven and Earth.

Boom!!

The giant palm fell extremely fast, and the floor beneath Gu Yang's feet turned to powder in that instant. He was forcibly pinned a meter deep into the ground by this terrifying Law power. The surrounding Black Gold Rock Pillars, which were said to be able to withstand an attack from the Late-stage Spirit Transformation, actually crumbled like dried crackers under the aftershock... “Saintess, should we... should we withdraw?”

On the flying boat outside the restaurant, Saintess Feng Ni's attendant's voice trembled. “Middle Stage Void Refinement! That is a powerhouse capable of dominating a region in the Three Thousand Dao Provinces. Even if that ‘Tie Niu’ has a strong Physical Body, being hit head-on by such a Law palm, there probably won't even be bone fragments left.”

Saintess Feng Ni stared intently at the dust-filled ruins, her slender fingers tightly clutching her skirt.

“No... wait a bit more,” she said softly, her beautiful eyes revealing a trace of expectation that even she found absurd. “That guy... isn't that easy to kill.”

The moment her voice fell, a muffled, heavy heartbeat that seemed to come from the depths of the earth's core suddenly echoed from within the ruins.

Thump!

This heartbeat actually drowned out the explosion of thunder around it.

“Old man, my dad said scrubbing needs a bit of force. This... your strength is too little, I'm not comfortable!”

Accompanied by a roar like an Ancient Desolate Dragon, a dark-gold fist suddenly pierced through the center of the mana palm.

Crack—

That giant palm condensed from Law power was actually smashed with a hideous crack by that fist! Gu Yang was shirtless, his muscles like writhing black-gold giant pythons. His originally jade-like skin now revealed a nearly frantic crimson.

Divine Demon Golden Body — Ultimate Resistance!

His foot stomped hard in the void, and his entire being was like a heavy counter-current cannonball, pushing through the remaining mana pressure to crash directly toward Lei Lingzi in the air.

Because Gu Yang's mass was so high, his flight path actually created a black vacuum path, as his speed and density completely exceeded the bearing limit of the surrounding Laws.

“Physical attack? Naive!”

Lei Lingzi snorted coldly, purple lightning exploded around him, instantly weaving into a three-foot-thick thunder shield in front of him.

“Purple Lightning Divine Gang!”

As a Void Refinement Stage Cultivator, he was most confident in this absolute defense that combined mana and Laws. In his view, a barbarian Body Cultivator who only knew how to crash with muscles would be instantly electrocuted into charcoal upon hitting the divine thunder.

However.

At the moment of impact, Gu Yang suddenly opened his left hand.

“Ultimate — Force Field Fold!”

The Divine Demon blood and qi inside Gu Yang's body formed an extremely small, high-mass gravitational point through a special meridian resonance in that instant.

Rumble!!

That punch did not hit the shield; instead, it directly "pressed" the thunder Laws of that area into a depression.

Under the terrified gazes of countless people, Lei Lingzi's proud Purple Lightning Divine Gang was actually crushed flat and then shattered by a savage and incomprehensible monstrous physical strength at the point of contact with Gu Yang's fist!

Gu Yang's punch landed heavily on Lei Lingzi's chest.

Bang!!

A dull thud sounded, like hitting leather.

Lei Lingzi was punched through the atmosphere, creating a circular white mist sonic boom, his body flying backward like a meteor, smashing through three entire streets of defense towers before finally crashing into a distant bell tower... “Is this... is this f*cking a Soul Transformation Stage Physical Body?!”

The surrounding prodigies who were watching from a distance now had faces as pale as paper.

A Soul Transformation Perfection Body Cultivator sent a Middle Stage Void Refinement Deacon Elder flying with one punch? Since when did the combat Rank of the Three Thousand Dao Provinces become so worthless?

Gu Yang landed from mid-air. His arms trembled slightly, and his skin was covered with fine purple electrical arcs. Those arcs were frantically destroying his cells, but they were immediately suppressed by the vast sea of blood and qi in his body and converted into nutrients.

【Divine Demon Golden Body Second Turn Perfection: Battle Damage 5%. Converting Thunder Law residue...】

Although he seemed to have the upper hand, Gu Yang knew very well that the punch had worked mostly because the opponent had underestimated him, and his "life-risking" physical mass impact had disrupted the opponent's Law rhythm.

If it really turned into a battle of attrition, once the opponent opened up the distance and used long-range Law attacks to kite him, he would also find it extremely troublesome.

“Er Gou, roll call! We've got the change, time to leave!”

Gu Yang turned to look at the ruins. Er Gou, who had been hiding in the shadows, was now biting the remaining spare Interspatial Bag of the Tian Xu Holy Son, and even conveniently snatched the Flowing Cloud Boots from the Holy Son's feet. Those boots were a Medium Grade Spiritual Artifact that could amplify speed.

“Awoo!” Er Gou moved extremely fast, its figure turning into a blur in the ruins, not even sparing the belts of the Law enforcement Disciples brought by Lei Lingzi.

“Vile beast! Die!!”

A terrifying aura that made the whole earth tremble erupted from the distant bell tower. Lei Lingzi rushed out with disheveled hair. The purple robe on his chest was shattered, revealing a dark-gold inner armor inside. It was precisely that inner armor that had blocked Gu Yang's killing blow.

At this moment, he was completely enraged.

“Ten Thousand Lightning Heart-Eater, Purple Firmament God-Slaying Formation — Activate!”

The sky darkened completely at this moment, and the gravity within a ten-mile radius doubled again under the pull of the Formation.

“Old man, I’m not playing with you anymore. I’m going home to drink soup!”

Gu Yang chuckled, not choosing to fight head-on. His goal had been achieved — the energy contained in that leopard meat had already begun to undergo a qualitative change within his bones.

More importantly, at the moment of the collision just now, he had sensed that extremely subtle frequency from Lei Lingzi that made even his Soul tremble.

That legendary “Extreme Dao fragment”... was in the direction of the city's black market!

“Off we go!”

Gu Yang suddenly widened his stance and struck the ground beneath his feet with a frantic series of punches.

“Heaven-Rending — Earth-Shaking Torrent!”

Boom boom boom boom!!

Dense explosions rang out in the restaurant ruins. Gu Yang did not attack Lei Lingzi, but used this high-frequency physical oscillation to forcibly interfere with the operation of the Formation in the ley lines. Then, under the cover of the violent shaking of the earth, he picked up Er Gou with one hand and turned into a dark-gold earth dragon. Following the Spiritual Vein conduits beneath the restaurant, he directly smashed through the thick Sea Soul Stone foundation and disappeared deep underground.

“Fellow Daoist Gu...”

Saintess Feng Ni watched from the flying boat, dumbfounded. This way of fighting was truly crude to the extreme, yet it possessed a kind of violent beauty that made one shudder.

“Go! Follow him! To the North City Black Market!”

...After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Sea Dragon City North.

The architectural style here was completely different from the grandeur of the city center; there were low, damp stone houses everywhere, covered in various eerie Formations. The air was filled with a pungent smell that mixed rotting corpses, low-quality Medicinal Pills, and a certain deep-sea fishy smell.

This was a lawless "no-man's land."

Gu Yang crawled out of a sewer and casually wiped the mud off his face. At this time, he had adjusted his facial muscles again, turning into a scar-faced, sinister-looking middle-aged man.

He looked at the giant gate built from countless white bones ahead — “Ultimate Black Market.”

“It’s inside.” Gu Yang looked down at his palm.

There, a Top-grade Spirit Crystal he had casually snatched in Sea Dragon City was now vibrating slightly with a certain frequency.

“Er Gou, do you smell it? That... fragrance that makes me want to chew on my own bones.”

Er Gou poked its head out from his chest, its nostrils twitching frantically, its eyes full of greed.

“That’s... the aura of the Ancient Ultimate. Big brother, if we eat that thing, will we be able to punch that Old Man Lei into dust?”

Gu Yang grinned, revealing a row of teeth that flashed with a cold light in the darkness.

“If I eat it, I’ll take you to the Central Province Imperial Capital... to eat that ‘True Dragon Feast’.”

The man and the dog then swaggered into this underground abyss full of death and opportunity.