“King Zhenwu!”

Within the turbulent flow of a pitch-black spatial rift, the towering King Zhenwu, several zhang tall, was slapped into a bloody pulp by a single strike from Lu Qing.

The sight made the hearts of the other Nascent Soul experts quail. Their scalps went numb, their limbs ice cold.

The demon clan Nascent Soul cultivators in particular stared in disbelief.

King Zhenwu—who had already half-stepped into the Fifth Tribulation and unleashed his Demon Ape True Body—had been reduced to paste by a single palm strike.

Just how terrifying was that young man’s strength?

“Ah!!”

Even smashed into meat paste, King Zhenwu did not immediately perish.

That lump of flesh writhed and squirmed desperately, trying to reshape his body.

At his level, as long as the Nascent Soul was not extinguished and vitality remained, no matter the severity of injury, there was always a chance of recovery.

But Lu Qing would never allow such an opportunity.

With a thought, he first swept away the golden giant staff, then seized the massive lump of flesh that was King Zhenwu and dragged it out of the chaotic void.

In just a few breaths, the spatial fissures torn open by his strike had already begun knitting themselves shut under the immense spatial laws of the Tianyuan Great World.

Though his mana was overwhelming and his fleshly body unmatched, he had not yet begun to truly comprehend the laws of space. If swept deep into the void, only a Void Flying Boat could possibly ferry him out.

“Hm?”

The moment he stepped free of the spatial turbulence, Lu Qing felt a surge of killing intent locking onto him.

Turning his head, he saw Elder Xing draw down the heavy black iron sword from his back, gripping it in both hands before him.

His face was set in grim severity, and a chilling aura poured from his body, eyes fixed upon Lu Qing.

From behind Elder Xing, a colossal sword shadow surfaced in the void, etched with countless mysterious runes, slowly condensing.

“Evil fiend, die! Heaven’s Execution Sword—cut!”

At the very moment Lu Qing looked over, Elder Xing’s sword intent peaked. His eyes bulged wide as he swung the iron sword in a mighty arc.

The enormous sword shadow tore free from the void, cleaving toward Lu Qing.

The instant it emerged, it locked entirely onto him and froze the surrounding space solid like iron.

Clearly, Elder Xing intended to bind Lu Qing in place, preventing him from relying on speed to evade.

At that same moment, Elder Xing’s voice exploded in the minds of all the surrounding Nascent Soul cultivators.

“Strike now! He’s still suppressing King Zhenwu—this is his weakest moment!”

The others instantly understood.

Two grand formations roared to life, their combined power descending upon Lu Qing like a crushing mountain.

The might of those two formations was even more terrifying than Elder Xing’s Heaven’s Execution Sword.

After all, more than twenty Nascent Soul experts—most having crossed the second or third tribulation—were linked within.

Individually, none could match Elder Xing, a peak Four-Tribulation powerhouse.

But twenty working as one, fused through the twin formations, could unleash a force far surpassing his.

From Elder Xing’s sword strike to the formations activating, all passed in less than a breath.

In the blink of an eye, Lu Qing was heavily suppressed, nearly immobilized.

That massive black sword shadow loomed overhead, the crushing force weighing down like ten thousand mountains.

Yet Lu Qing remained calm. No fear touched his face.

In fact, a trace of scorn flickered in his eyes.

“You think this paltry strength can suppress me? Wrong. You will never know what true power is!”

His voice thundered through every Nascent Soul expert’s mind.

Then, horror dawned upon them as an immense figure rose behind him.

In a single instant, the formations binding him shattered like glass.

A mountain-sized hand reached out, grasped the colossal sword shadow, and crushed it to fragments.

Then, with a flick of one finger, the giant Lu Qing sent forth a sword qi thicker than a mountain pillar. It bristled with the will to cut down heaven and earth, annihilating all before it, and it lanced toward Elder Xing.

“What?!”

Elder Xing’s eyes flew wide. His heart lurched harder than when Lu Qing suddenly transformed.

For within that sword qi, he sensed a familiar intent.

It was the same sword intent he had once felt from a treasured blade within the Holy Assembly’s vault—a blade said to have belonged to a great figure of the Heaven-Shattering Sword Sect.

“Heaven-Shattering Sword Qi! How can this fiend know the Heaven-Shattering Sword Qi!”

Shock filled Elder Xing.

But he had no time to ponder.

The sword qi Lu Qing had flicked out was condensed, murderous, and utterly focused.

Its power rivaled the very strike Elder Xing had just unleashed.

Even for him, failure to respond with full strength meant certain death.

And as he well knew, the Heaven-Shattering Sword Qi bore an intent of severing all things. Struck by it, even one’s Nascent Soul might not endure—complete annihilation was possible.

In that instant, under the looming crisis of death, Elder Xing rallied his strength. Black sword light surged as he swung his iron blade to intercept the oncoming Heaven-Shattering Sword Qi.

Meanwhile, Lu Qing, without sparing a glance at the result, stepped across space.

His giant body did not slow him.

In a flash he arrived before the twin formations woven by the human and demon Nascent Soul cultivators.

Their faces were slack with disbelief, unable to fathom the change before them.

Then they saw him casually crush the lump of flesh in his hand—snuffing out King Zhenwu completely.

Next, both of his vast palms slammed down upon them.

“Dodge!”

Panic seized them as the sky-darkening hands descended.

But faced with a body like an ancient god-demon, wreathed in a terrifying aura, their courage shattered.

Every Nascent Soul among the two races knew the truth—no resistance would avail them.

Not formations. Not unity.

Only escape remained.

If they could just flee beyond his reach, perhaps a sliver of life would remain.

But Lu Qing had already unveiled the True Witch’s Body. How could he allow prey to slip away now?

Before they could even move, his boundless palm force enveloped them.

Space froze under his grip, rooting them in place.

“No! Stop!”

Despair contorted their faces.

Boom! Boom!

Both titanic palms crashed down.

In an instant, the formations shattered. The twenty-plus Nascent Souls within were crushed along with them.

Then, from the void, an ancient cauldron’s phantom manifested, swallowing the bloody remains whole.

Lu Qing knew: the vitality of Nascent Souls was immense. Especially those who had crossed tribulations—their souls were resilient, not easily extinguished.

So he summoned the Li Huo Cauldron, filling the phantom with endless Nanming Bright Fire to refine them.

With his current strength, the flames he summoned were utterly devastating. With his grey, chaotic mana fueling the cauldron, even space itself might burn away.

Those shattered Nascent Souls stood no chance.

Agonized screams echoed within the cauldron for only a few breaths before silence fell.

All twenty were utterly refined to nothingness.

Only their treasures remained, which Lu Qing collected.

“Beast!”

A furious, grief-stricken roar rang out.

Lu Qing turned.

Elder Xing stood in midair, robes in tatters, his body scarred with sword wounds so deep they nearly cleaved him apart.

Beside him, King Zhenwu had reformed a body while Lu Qing refined the others—but his aura was pitifully weak, his arrogance long gone. Even the Demon Ape True Body could no longer be summoned.

Fear plastered his face as he looked upon the god-demon that was Lu Qing.

“Oh? Not bad. You survived a strike of mine.”

Surprise colored Lu Qing’s tone, his words rumbling like heavenly thunder.

“Fiend! How do you know the Heaven-Shattering Sword Sect’s secret sword qi? A villain like you would never be tolerated by them!” Elder Xing bellowed, hatred blazing in his eyes.

“You are not qualified to know.” Lu Qing’s voice was cold. “Your companions are dead. Now it’s your turn.”

“Fiend, don’t be arrogant! I’ve already sent images of this back to the Holy Assembly. You slew countless of our human and demon Nascent Soul experts, and even stole the Heaven-Shattering Sect’s secrets.

Any one of these crimes is unforgivable!

The humans, the demons, the Heaven-Shattering Sword Sect itself—none will let you live.

No matter where you flee—heaven, earth, or the Immortal Domain—you will not escape the hunt of our supreme experts. In all the Great Yuan Immortal Domain, you shall find no refuge!”

Elder Xing’s voice was like steel.

“Your nonsense grows tedious.”

Lu Qing dismissed his threats with disdain.

His fingers formed a sword and cleaved downward.

A Heaven-Shattering Sword Qi, vast as a mountain, ripped out, enveloping both Elder Xing and King Zhenwu.

“You blocked one strike. Let’s see you stop another.”

This sword qi rent the heavens, space itself tearing like cloth, a massive rift yawning toward them.

Their faces blanched with despair.

They knew they could never withstand it in their wounded states.

Even escape was impossible beneath the sword intent’s lock.

But Elder Xing’s eyes hardened with grim resolve.

“Fiend! Even if I die, you will suffer!”

A destructive aura erupted from him.

King Zhenwu’s face twisted in horror. “Xing Jian, you—”

His words were cut off by a deafening detonation.

Elder Xing’s body exploded, unleashing annihilating force.

King Zhenwu’s body was blasted apart once more.

A black void gaped open, devouring all in its path—both the shattered corpses and the space around them. It expanded rapidly toward Lu Qing.

“A Nascent Soul self-detonation?”

Lu Qing’s expression shifted as he retreated swiftly, shrinking back to his normal form as he moved.

With his body smaller, his speed soared, keeping him just ahead of the expanding void.

It spread dozens of li before finally halting, then slowly contracting.

Lu Qing stopped, watching calmly.

He knew—the Tianyuan Great World’s laws had reasserted themselves.

This black void was born of Elder Xing detonating his Nascent Soul, tearing at space itself. It could swallow all into the depths of the void.

But even such power had limits.

When its force waned, the world’s rules would mend the rift.

So Lu Qing waited.

The black void shrank, shrinking to the size of a fist, then vanished entirely.

Silence returned.

Before Lu Qing lay a scene of staggering devastation.

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