嘶——

The spectating crowd subconsciously sucked in a breath of cold air.

If the arc of sword light swept out by the steel armor still had some trace, then they completely couldn't understand the actions of Daoist Ximenzi just now—he didn't use any mana, just a light slash to grind away the sword light.

Is this the legendary "one sword breaks all spells"?

Truly terrifying!

Gongyang Han pursed his lips, staring at the young Daoist, his heart filled with unwillingness.

He originally thought that even if he wasn't the strongest among his peers, he should still stand at the very top, looking down upon the masses.

He never expected that this Daoist Ximenzi, who popped out of nowhere, was clearly about the same age as him, but his strength had reached a realm that he couldn't even comprehend.

"Evil Wind God Slash!"

"Crimson Flame Holy Split!"

"Cloud Wave Divine Blade!"

Miss Chai unleashed rays of multicolored sword light like rattling off dishes from a menu.

But Li Ang didn't dodge or evade; he simply waved his ancient sword, one sword breaking all spells.

"Heh, not bad."

Miss Chai planted Frostmourne on the ground, her voice low and hoarse, "But can you break through my Scourge army?"

With a wave of her hand, she roared at Li Ang, "Army of the King! Charge!"

The densely packed monster legion below the pyramid seemed to receive some kind of command, and they all shrieked and roared, charging toward Li Ang.

The sound of pounding footsteps echoed through the underground palace.

Faced with the mighty army, Li Ang's expression remained calm. His right hand held the hilt of the sword, the blade held level, while his left hand supported the tip of the sword with two fingers.

"I have a sword that can move mountains, fill seas, and pluck the moon. I invite you all to witness it."

Li Ang said loudly,

Supporting the sword with two fingers, he slowly thrust it forward.

This action naturally didn't apply any mana, and essentially had no effect.

But in the eyes of the onlookers, any monster touched by Daoist Ximenzi's sword tip would immediately swell up until it exploded.

The mighty monster army hadn't even reached Li Ang before they were detonated one by one from left to right, like a string of firecrackers.

After the last explosion, the entire underground palace was filled with a dense, pungent smell of blood that pierced the brain.

This... this...

Li Yushan and the others were shrouded in a sky of blood mist, feeling a faint dampness on their skin, and for a moment, they didn't know what to do.

Li Ang, who used his divine mark to detonate all the fake monsters, calmly and indifferently lowered his sword, slowly exhaling a breath of stale air.

"Young Master, Young Master, what's wrong, Young Master!"

A shrill cry from the corner of the underground palace attracted everyone's attention. Li Yushan and Yu Qingqiu turned their heads to look.

They discovered that the White Lotus Sect members hiding in the corner seemed to have been pointed at by Daoist Ximenzi's sword tip.

Their bodies were slowly swelling up.

The White Lotus Sect members with relatively low cultivation bases showed the most obvious swelling trend.

In just a few seconds, they had become like inflated balloons.

The White Lotus Sect members with relatively high cultivation bases could still resist the swelling trend for a short time.

However, their faces were pale.

Their waists, abdomens, heads, arms, and faces showed exaggerated, water-injected swelling.

"Young Master, Young Master, are you alright?!"

Song Jie's face also had strange swelling, but he didn't care at all, his face full of anxiety and despair as he looked at Gongyang Han beside him.

At this moment, the White Lotus Young Master's face was ashen, his legs rooted to the ground, his whole body trembling, his teeth chattering.

He could feel something growing and spreading inside his body.

Expanding muscles, stretching bones, poisoning blood, corroding sanity.

Was it Daoist Ximenzi's sword...

Or was he already poisoned by the mycelium in the tunnel?

Gongyang Han desperately thought, surrounded by the crackling sound of the White Lotus Sect members exploding, his spotless white robe stained red with blood.

"Oh?"

Li Ang, as if he hadn't noticed that his sword's power would affect the distant White Lotus Sect members, smiled slightly awkwardly. "Sorry, I didn't realize you guys were hit too."

"You... you..."

The white-browed elder, swollen all over, his eyes tearing apart, took a difficult step and pointed a finger at Li Ang from afar, as if to ask for a solution.

"This poor Daoist's sword technique is called Jian Nian San (Sword Twenty-Three),"

Li Ang said leisurely, "It is to induce the collision of heaven and earth spiritual energy with the target's mana, thereby causing the target's mana to lose control, the body to swell, and eventually explode.

"This move is too dangerous and cruel, harmful to heavenly harmony,

"And there is no way to remedy it.

"Even this poor Daoist only dares to use it on demons who harm lives.

"But since you are all heinous members of the White Lotus Sect, then this poor Daoist has no psychological burden.

"Please go in peace,

"This poor Daoist will chant the *Supreme Salvation Sutra of the Jade Clarity* for you..."

Of course, all of this was nonsense.

Back in the tunnel, these White Lotus Sect members had already been infected by the mycelium.

The current symptoms were just Li Ang driving his divine power to detonate the mycelium.

"I... I'll fight... you."

The white-browed elder's face was ferocious. Ignoring the severe pain coming from his limbs and bones, he forcibly activated his mana, and blazing red flames ignited all over his body.

"Daoist, be careful! This is the White Lotus Sect's Red Lotus Karmic Fire, which specializes in burning souls. Once you're contaminated, you can't escape even if you cut off your limbs!"

Li Yushan and the others in the distance hoped that the White Lotus Sect members would die, and upon seeing this, they hurriedly spoke out to remind him.

Thump, thump, thump!

The white-browed elder, burning with Red Lotus Karmic Fire, stepped on the dilapidated bricks of the underground palace and rushed forward.

The mycelium had long since corroded and hollowed out his internal organs. Although the karmic fire burned away the mycelium, the existing injuries were enough to kill him a hundred or a thousand times over.

The one charging toward Daoist Ximenzi now was less of a living person with self-will, and more of a remnant body with strong obsessions.

"Karmic fire, huh?"

Li Ang nodded, and with a flick of his toe, he kicked up a millstone-sized boulder from the ground toward the white-browed elder.

Boom!

The seemingly withered fist easily pierced through the boulder.

The white-browed elder's gaunt and ferocious face, illuminated by the karmic fire, was almost demonic.

Boom!

Another boulder flew over.

The white-browed elder charged straight at the young Daoist, not dodging or evading, and punched through the stone.

He could feel his life burning away rapidly, but as long as he could protect the Young Master, what did it matter?

The Azure Sky is dead, the Yellow Sky shall rise! The White Lotus blooms, the King of Light descends!

An iron fist shattered the third boulder flying over.

However, his pupils failed to reflect the figure of Daoist Ximenzi standing in place.

Where is he...

The white-browed elder subconsciously looked up at the sky, and saw, in the fragments of the stone he had just shattered and were still flying in the air, a Daoist figure slowly emerging.

Li Ang, who had been using the [Phase Boots]' effect to hide in the stones, calmly exited the phase state,

Holding the hilt of the sword, he casually thrust the blade into the white-browed elder's eye socket.