Crisis (3)

At this moment, Zhang Tie had no distractions. His entire mind was immersed in circulating his cultivation technique, frantically absorbing the vast energy from the spirit beast's blood.

Before long, Zhang Tie's blood and qi had reached perfection throughout his body, and he began throwing everything he had into breaking through the solid barrier of the Meridian Casting Realm.

Outside his body, the crisp sounds of Adamantine Talismans shattering rang out without end. Within his body, surging waves of blood and qi crashed again and again against that dam-like barrier, as though it were an impassable chasm!

Every failed attempt left Zhang Tie's body seeming as if it would be torn apart by the violent energy.

Yet under the Undying Pearl's miraculous power, his nearly collapsing body always swiftly recovered, allowing him to launch another assault. Again and again. Once, twice, three times...

"Ha ha ha, brat, feel the terror that's about to descend!" The white-haired old man laughed maniacally as he condensed an enormous, dazzling sword light and sent it hurtling toward the final three layers of Adamantine Talismans.

Just as the sword light was about to touch the barrier, an ocean-like torrent of violent energy came crashing in alongside a deafening explosion.

In an instant, the sword light was swept away and vanished amidst the violent tidal wave of energy. Caught completely off guard, both the white-haired old man and Elder Su were blasted dozens of yards away before they barely managed to steady themselves.

When they looked closely, they saw a naked man standing where he had been.

He stood over six feet tall, his powerful muscles twisting around his body like tangled tree roots. His entire body emitted a dark yellow glow, giving off an overwhelmingly explosive sense of strength.

The man raised a hand and recalled his Storage Pouch, took out an Outer Sect disciple's uniform, and quickly put it on. Then he lifted his head and fixed the two men with an icy gaze.

The white-haired old man and Elder Su exchanged a glance, each seeing solemnity in the other's eyes.

At that moment, the white-haired old man struck first. With a sweep of his spirit sword, he unleashed an incomparably fierce sword qi. Like lightning tearing through the darkness, it bore the force to destroy heaven and earth as it shot straight toward Zhang Tie.

The air tore apart wherever the sword qi passed, letting out a shrill, piercing scream.

Zhang Tie showed no fear. With a flash of his body, he brazenly took the fierce sword qi head-on with his bare flesh. Bang! The sword qi left a shallow white mark on his body, but he seemed not to feel it at all, his momentum still soaring.

Zhang Tie stomped down with one leg and shot toward the old man like a towering mountain. Seeing this, Elder Su rapidly formed hand seals with both hands and muttered an incantation. Thick black mist immediately surged from his palms, transforming into a savage, terrifying mist python that lunged at Zhang Tie with bared fangs and claws.

The mist python twisted its body, carrying rolling waves of frigid yin energy as though it sought to devour everything in the world. Zhang Tie's eyes widened in fury. The muscles across his body instantly tensed as he threw a fierce punch directly at it.

Fist wind and mist collided violently, producing a muffled boom like thunder that echoed endlessly through the Mine Cave. Under the overwhelming impact, the mist python instantly dispersed into nothingness.

But Zhang Tie's assault did not slow in the slightest. Swift as the wind, he instantly closed in before the white-haired old man.

The old man's face changed drastically. In his haste, he thrust his sword at Zhang Tie. Zhang Tie did not dodge at all. His fists rained down like a storm, every strike carrying the power to destroy heaven and earth, battering the old man back step by step.

"Brat, don't be so arrogant!" Elder Su roared, a ruthless glint flashing through his eyes. He suddenly threw out a seal. It blazed with light and transformed into a mountain-like phantom that crashed down viciously upon Zhang Tie.

The phantom carried a pressure as heavy as a mountain, as if it intended to grind Zhang Tie to pieces within this Mine Cave.

Zhang Tie slammed a heavy punch against the white-haired old man's sword and used the recoil to retreat swiftly. At that moment, the mountain phantom crashed down upon the spot where Zhang Tie had just stood. A massive pit over six feet deep and several yards wide instantly appeared in the ground, scattering broken stones and sending dust flying.

Zhang Tie's eyes suddenly turned bloodshot as the power of his blood and qi surged madly through him like a raging inferno. Veins bulged across his body, his muscles swelled, and he looked like an enraged war god.

With a deafening roar, his figure vanished from where he stood once more.

The white-haired old man had only just summoned a small silver shield when an incomparably powerful impact smashed into it.

The old man's body instantly flew backward like a kite with its string cut. With a bang, he was embedded deeply into the Mine Cave wall.

The white-haired old man spat out a mouthful of blood. His entire aura immediately withered, clearly having suffered serious injuries from that blow.

"Die!" At that moment, Elder Su roared and sent a small golden sword shooting like a meteor toward Zhang Tie's back. Zhang Tie did everything he could to shift away from his heart, but he was ultimately a step too slow. The golden sword light pierced straight through his back in an instant.

Seeing this, the old man embedded in the wall and Elder Su finally let out a breath of relief. But at that moment, Zhang Tie's body merely paused slightly before he instantly appeared before the white-haired old man again. His iron fist came crashing down like a mountain, striking the man squarely on the head.

With a bang, the old man's head burst like a watermelon, red and white matter splattering across the wall.

After smashing the white-haired old man's head apart, Zhang Tie did not pause in the slightest. He turned and charged toward Elder Su once more.

"Impossible!" Elder Su cried out in alarm, his face filled with disbelief. Yet his hands did not slow at all. A red umbrella instantly opened before him and began spinning at high speed.

With a thunderous boom, Zhang Tie's iron fist crashed against the umbrella like a meteor, shaking Elder Su back again and again.

Yet Zhang Tie pressed forward step by step, punch after punch. The unceasing waves of immense force left Elder Su unable even to keep his Spiritual Qi flowing. No one knew how many punches he threw before cracks gradually appeared across the umbrella. Finally, it exploded with a bang.

Elder Su spat out a mouthful of blood. Before he could make another move, Zhang Tie had already rushed in front of him. He changed his fist into a claw and plunged it into Elder Su's heart. With a hard squeeze, a muffled bang rang out. Elder Su's eyes widened as he slowly fell, never to move again.

Zhang Tie bent down and swiftly collected both men's Storage Pouches, along with all the fragments of their magical artifacts. Then he forcibly squeezed out a trace of spiritual power and activated the Greater Fireball Technique, burning their corpses to ashes while thoroughly destroying the surrounding traces of battle.

After finishing all this, he did not dare linger for even a moment and hurried toward the cave entrance.

Upon reaching the square, Zhang Tie did not hesitate. He walked straight out and took the Teleportation Array back to the Outer Sect.

Before long, Zhang Tie returned to his residence. Thinking back on that heart-stopping battle, he remembered the excruciating pain that had flooded his mind when the golden sword light pierced through his heart. He had thought he was surely dead.

But the Undying Pearl had suddenly emitted a green glow, instantly restoring his heart. The Undying Pearl had also completely reverted into a ball of green light.

Zhang Tie knew full well that he could no longer remain in the sect. Apart from the white-haired old man and Elder Su, there had to be elders stationed at the Spirit Stone Mining Area who knew something of the matter. Otherwise, with such enormous battle fluctuations, how could no one have come to investigate?

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