This enemy was clearly more powerful than the Hundred Flowers Ancient Sage.
A Saint King who stood at the pinnacle of the Jiuhua Realm!
"Who are you, and where is the War Demon Saint Lord of the War Demon Holy Land!"
The immensely powerful figure spoke as he rumbled towards them, his formidable aura like that of a celestial king, his presence as imposing as a prison. Space seemed as fragile as tofu under his grasp, shattering at the slightest touch, offering no resistance.
"Who are you!" The Grand Elder of Zhenmo let out a roar like an old lion, forcefully circulating his power to intervene. However, before he could even approach the massive hand, he was easily sent flying. His saintly energy vibrated uncontrollably, his internal organs felt as though they had shifted out of place, and blood gushed from his mouth.
Had that massive hand not been focused on Lan Xueyi, who was controlling the Wuzhou Sacred River, and not targeted the Grand Elder of Zhenmo, the Grand Elder would likely have been pulverized into dust with a single exchange.
"Seeking death!"
Just then.
A faint, cold snort came from the side. Ling Fan flicked his finger, as if controlling the ultimate principles of martial arts, achieving great results with little effort, deflecting immense force with minimal strength. He actually shattered that incomparably powerful hand.
Ling Fan flashed forward, positioning himself in front of Xueyi.
"Oh? When did Wuzhou produce a strong individual like you, capable of withstanding my strike? I shall spare you the death penalty for your insolence due to your considerable cultivation. Kneel and submit to me, Tian Ao Saint King, and I will forgive your transgression. Otherwise, I shall turn you all to dust immediately."
The powerful figure standing in the center of the Jiuhua Sacred River, so imposing that the river itself ceased its flow, spoke with a hint of surprise.
Yet, he remained unfazed, his voice filled with authority. Without asking any questions, he intended to subdue Ling Fan, an act of unparalleled dominance.
However, if he was domineering, Ling Fan was even more so. He spoke coldly, "What are you? Merely a mere clone. For your words alone, I shall destroy your true body and raze your sect to the ground."
"Do you know who I am, to dare speak to me, Tian Ao Saint King, in such a manner? You are utterly arrogant and ignorant. Even with just a clone, I am more than enough to annihilate you a thousand times over. Since you refuse to submit, then die."
Tian Ao Saint King's hair flew wildly, like a god or a demon. He took a step forward, forcefully pushing his way into the Wuzhou Sacred River with an utterly brutal posture. Instantly, the Wuzhou Sacred River trembled slightly, as if unable to bear his power.
Boom!
"Ao Tian Sacred Sword Art, Sword Sweeping Heavenly Soul Slash!"
With a low cry, Tian Ao Saint King casually unleashed a terrifyingly boundless sword energy. The origin point of the entire Wuzhou Sacred River was instantly cut into pieces, with endless sword qi filling every inch of space, densely slashing towards Ling Fan.
Any single sword qi could kill beings below the seventh stage of the Manifestation Realm.
And these tens of millions of sword qi, when combined, could even slay peak Saints of the eighth stage of the Manifestation Realm.
This strike immediately displayed the overwhelmingly dominant and formidable strength of Tian Ao Saint King.
However, as these countless streams of sword qi impacted the area within six feet of Ling Fan, a semi-ovoid shield diffused from within Ling Fan. It was like the projection of a world around him. No matter how the sword qi washed over it, Ling Fan stood firm within it, unmoving. He casually clenched his fist, and instantly, the power of heaven and earth was amplified, with myriad sounds roaring. With a single punch, all the sword qi was annihilated.
"What kind of martial art is this!"
No matter how knowledgeable Tian Ao Saint King was, having immersed himself in the Jiuhua Sacred River for hundreds of years and understanding almost all the sacred arts of the Jiuhua Realm, seeing Ling Fan's protective shield and this fist that seemed to grasp heaven and earth completely surpassed his common understanding.
"I have a strong feeling that if I can refine you and seize this ability, I might be able to take a crucial step and surpass the Saint Realm!"
Tian Ao Saint King seemed to have discovered a monumental secret, his state of mind fluctuating, his eyes filled with greed.
"Ao Tian Sacred Sword Art, Eternal River Sword Dragon Break!"
He did not hesitate to employ his most powerful technique. With a single swing of his sword, the void was torn apart. A vast, majestic river of swords descended. Endless sword qi, like the sands of the Ganges, boundless and immeasurable, instantly formed a colossal sword dragon tens of thousands of feet long. An overwhelming power erupted, charging towards him.
"A mere firefly's light dares to compete with the sun and moon!"
Ling Fan sneered. He had now opened up his own heaven and earth. In terms of hierarchy, he was a hundred thousand miles above Tian Ao Saint King. No matter how dominant, how powerful, or how exquisite Tian Ao Saint King's swordsmanship was, in his eyes, it was filled with flaws and utterly clumsy.
Ling Fan still simply clenched his fist, but it condensed the power of heaven and earth. With a single punch, all sounds ceased. That colossal, ten-thousand-foot sword dragon was silently obliterated.
The eyes of Tian Ao Saint King's clone showed a look of horror. Clearly, he had not anticipated that the young man before him possessed such earth-shattering, ghost-crying, god-weeping formidable strength. However, it was too late for him to escape. He was blasted into pieces by the fist light that crushed everything.
A Saint King of the ninth stage of the Manifestation Realm, even just a clone, contained an immense amount of vital essence and fragments of saintly rules. Ling Fan did not waste it after blasting the clone apart. He reached out and grasped, and all the power that exploded from the Tian Ao Saint King's clone instantly collapsed, transforming into a ball of light. Ling Fan then struck it into Xueyi's body.
Xueyi was already close to communicating with the Wuzhou Sacred River, her strength having soared to the sixth stage of the Manifestation Realm. Now, with such immense power injected into her, her cultivation immediately broke through an invisible barrier, completely advancing to the seventh stage of the Manifestation Realm. She only stopped when she was close to the peak of the seventh stage of the Manifestation Realm. As her cultivation and strength grew, her control over the Wuzhou Sacred River increased, bringing her almost to complete mastery.
...
Upstream of the Jiuhua Sacred River, infinitely close to the origin point of the sacred path of the Jiuhua Realm.
At the very moment Tian Ao Saint King's clone was shattered.
Suddenly, one of the figures suppressing the Sacred River stood up abruptly. His body was tall and mighty, his eyebrows like swords, and his features majestic. As he stood up, a sharp sword intent, as if wanting to tear through the heavens and destroy all things, erupted.
"Tian Ao Saint King, what happened? Didn't you dispatch a powerful clone to the tributary of the Wuzhou Sacred River to investigate the situation? Have you found out the cause?"
Beside him, a powerful individual no less imposing than Tian Ao Saint spoke in a deep voice.
"The clone I sent was annihilated!"
This tall figure who suddenly stood up was Tian Ao Saint King, one of the supreme figures of the Jiuhua Realm, wielding immense power and influence. A casual stomp of his foot could bring disaster to countless minor forces in the Jiuhua Realm.