"Hmm?"
"Who are you?"
Wu Ti eyed Xu Chuan, who had suddenly appeared, with extreme vigilance, a sense of foreboding washing over him.
Anyone capable of so effortlessly blocking and annihilating his attack was certainly no ordinary person!
Seeing this, Leng Wu Shuang's heart also flickered with a sliver of hope.
Although she couldn't discern Xu Chuan's exact cultivation level, the sheer power of that one decisive strike told her that Xu Chuan's cultivation was at least on par with Wu Ti's, perhaps even stronger.
With this person intervening, their chances of survival had significantly increased.
"Brother Xu, you…?"
He Chen, standing nearby, was utterly astonished to see Xu Chuan shatter the Celestial Demon Wu Ti's attack with a single slash.
Such a powerful martial artist had chatted with him all the way, yet He Chen hadn't detected it.
However, it did explain why Xu Chuan had maintained such an expression of utter calm since the demons appeared.
He hadn't shown any panic whatsoever at the emergence of the demonic forces.
In fact, by staying near Xu Chuan, He Chen had unconsciously been influenced by the aura Xu Chuan exuded, becoming considerably more composed and not joining the panicked flight of the others.
"Everything is under my control!" Xu Chuan turned his head and smiled at He Chen.
From the very beginning, he hadn't taken Wu Ti seriously.
The only reason he had waited this long was to observe the spectacle.
As for why Xu Chuan had allowed Wu Ti to devour humans?
In a word: What concern is it of mine?
The current Xu Chuan was no longer the saintly figure he once was.
After so many years of transmigration, having witnessed countless lives and deaths, his reverence for life had long since vanished.
While the moral compass of his past life remained, his actions were now primarily driven by whim.
If I wish to save, I save!
If I don't, no one can force me!
To concern himself with everything would simply be too exhausting for Xu Chuan.
"Human, this has nothing to do with you. Retreat now, and I shall spare your life!"
Even though he couldn't discern Xu Chuan's cultivation, Wu Ti remained defiant.
He intended to provoke Xu Chuan with words, hoping to lure him away so he could act unhindered.
With Xu Chuan present, there were too many uncertainties, and he risked failure.
"Are you threatening me?" Xu Chuan asked with a half-smile, not forgetting to grasp his blade, Bu Wang, once more.
For some inexplicable reason, seeing that smile, Wu Ti's heart tightened as if facing a great danger.
"Hmph!"
"If you don't leave now, don't blame me for killing you as well!"
Wu Ti let out an angry snort, clearly displeased by the pressure Xu Chuan exerted.
The prolonged years of his seal had muddled his mind.
Despite the alarm bells ringing in his heart, he still couldn't bear to abandon the 'blood food' in the valley.
"Then try me!" Xu Chuan maintained his nonchalant smile.
"You refuse the offered toast and insist on a punishing drink. It seems I'll be acquiring another morsel of sustenance today!"
"Let me show you my true power, Wu Ti, human!"
Wu Ti roared in fury, demonic energy surging wildly from his entire being, filling the space around him with an aura of unparalleled terror.
Immediately, a colossal black palm, capable of eclipsing the sky, materialized above. The moment it appeared, the heavens and earth changed color, and winds and clouds converged.
Leng Wu Shuang, observing from a distance, turned ashen, her shock palpable.
She had never imagined Wu Ti to be so terrifyingly powerful!
Previously, she had assumed that single arrow was Wu Ti's ultimate attack, but now, the oppressive aura emanating from that sky-obscuring palm shattered that notion completely.
"How is this possible, so powerful?"
She murmured in despair.
At that moment, Wu Ti's attack descended.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
A world-shattering palm strike plummeted directly towards Xu Chuan.
Its momentum seemed intent on destroying everything.
The valley was enveloped by this immense pressure, and everyone present wore expressions of terror.
He Chen was also gripped by fear, but he forced himself to suppress it and shouted towards Xu Chuan, "Brother Xu, be careful!"
Xu Chuan nodded, indicating he understood, but made no move to resist immediately.
Wu Ti, at the center of the colossal palm, saw this and mistakenly believed his attack had intimidated Xu Chuan, a triumphant smirk creeping onto his face.
He then berated himself for his earlier foolishness, for allowing himself to be startled by this human.
Simultaneously, he secretly vowed to torment Xu Chuan thoroughly later, ensuring he would not die easily!
Just as the colossal palm was about to crush Xu Chuan, he finally moved.
He slowly raised Bu Wang, his blade, in his hand.
"Slash!"
With a seemingly effortless utterance, a colossal blade materialized in the sky, even larger than the sky-obscuring palm Wu Ti had unleashed.
Then, the blade descended, slashing towards Wu Ti with the speed of lightning and the force of thunder.
Carrying an aura of invincibility, capable of shattering anything, it was set to annihilate all in its path!
Boom!
In the mere instant of contact, Wu Ti's sky-obscuring palm was cleaved in two, then shattered, dissolving into its most primal demonic energy and dissipating into the heavens and earth.
But it wasn't over. After obliterating the colossal palm, the blade's momentum remained undiminished, striking directly towards Wu Ti's true form.
Wu Ti's face instantly turned to one of utter horror.
He couldn't comprehend how his most powerful attack had been so swiftly broken.
Not only that, but it hadn't even managed to impede the giant blade.
However, he had no time to ponder this now.
For Xu Chuan's blade was upon him.
The terrifying strike landed squarely on Wu Ti's true form.
"Pfft!"
A mouthful of dark purple blood erupted from his mouth, spraying several meters.
With a single stroke, Wu Ti was gravely wounded, his body nearly cleaved in two.
Had he not been of the Celestial Demon race, with a body existing between the corporeal and the ethereal, this strike might have meant his demise.
But even so, he was severely injured.
Years of arduous cultivation had turned to dust with this one slash.
Wu Ti struggled to coalesce his body completely, gazing at Xu Chuan with an expression of profound dread.
"Tong Tian Realm, you are a Tong Tian Realm powerhouse of the human race!"
Wu Ti let out a hoarse roar that reverberated throughout the entire valley.
He could never have imagined that this small merchant caravan not only harbored a Reincarnation Realm martial artist but also a hidden Tong Tian Realm expert.
Moreover, this Tong Tian Realm human was among the stronger ones within that cultivation tier.
Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to be reduced to a near-death state with a single sword strike.
"What? A Tong Tian Realm powerhouse?"
Upon hearing Wu Ti's words, He Chen's jaw dropped.
The moment Xu Chuan had intervened, he had speculated about how powerful Xu Chuan might be, even entertaining the thought of him being a ninth-level Reincarnation Realm cultivator.
But he had never dared to imagine Xu Chuan as a Tong Tian Realm expert.
In this borderland of the Southern Region, Tong Tian Realm powerhouses were exceptionally rare. Each one was typically the sect leader or an esteemed elder of a major sect.
They were virtually never seen in the open.
Yet today, not only had he encountered one, but it was also such a young Tong Tian Realm expert, completely overturning his previous understanding of powerhouses.
Leng Wu Shuang's eyes also widened as she gazed at this Tong Tian Realm cultivator, who appeared even younger than herself, her shock immense.
How could such a prodigy exist, to have achieved the Tong Tian Realm at such a tender age?
After all, her own cultivation of the third level of the Reincarnation Realm was already considered top-tier talent in this border region of the Southern Domain.
But compared to Xu Chuan, she felt utterly insignificant.