One Sword!

"Taotie?!!!"

Cao Ding'an cried out, his expression changing drastically in an instant.

Cao Ya was equally aghast, but he quickly frowned and realized:

"No! It can't be Taotie!"

As he spoke, he weighed the sealed case in his hand and looked at his still-sleeping son.

"To Taotie, no one is more important than this brat. Its first target should have been this brat!"

"That's right, you're right!" Cao Ding'an reacted swiftly and affirmed:

"Taotie wouldn't dare make any major moves in the Azure Dragon Star System, or it wouldn't have needed to send the Chaotic Star Sea to do its bidding. It would be even less likely to kill the peerless prodigies of the Azure Dragon Star System merely to vent its anger..."

At that point, what remained unspoken was obvious.

Clearly, someone wanted to borrow Taotie's name to kill Li Qingshan!

Grandfather and grandson looked up into the distance, staring solemnly at the rift tearing through space.

Crossing the stars in the flesh and traversing a Hyperspace Channel—this was a genuine God-Phase Realm expert!

They did not try to rescue him, because the coming battle was simply not one they could take part in.

Besides, it was already too late.

Under their tense gazes,

A sharp glint emerged from the rift.

Long Spear!

The entire spear shaft was wreathed in black flames, its tip stabbing straight at Li Qingshan!

In an instant,

Gravity warped! Light warped! Space warped!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Space shattered like a mirror, cracking into countless fine fissures.

The spear tip resembled a roaring evil dragon, smashing through layer upon layer of fragments as it opened its jaws to bite.

An ambush from the Hyperspace Channel was impossible to guard against, and the opponent's spear was unimaginably fast!

This strike could not be evaded!

In that instant, both Cao Ya and Cao Ding'an were tense to the extreme.

In their reflected pupils, Li Qingshan truly did not dodge. Dazzling starlight spilled from his body, weaving in a flash into a hundred-zhang...

One hundred and eight zhang?!!!

Seeing the height of the Dharma Aspect clearly, both pairs of eyes widened at once.

Boom!

A heaven-shaking blast rang out, and visible ripples trembled through the void.

The Star Avatar took the Long Spear's strike head-on, flying backward into the shattered Star Belt.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

One shattered stellar core after another turned to powder.

"This..."

The Cao Family grandfather and grandson looked at each other, their heads full of question marks.

Li Qingshan had indeed suffered a loss in that ambush, unable to respond in time.

But...

The Star Avatar was completely unscathed!

A Sixth-Order Dharma Aspect had taken a seventh-order God-Phase Realm ambush head-on without a scratch!

And the Dharma Aspect, which should only have reached one hundred zhang, had somehow become one hundred and eight zhang?

In the distant void, the rift closed. A black figure held a Long Spear, his entire body concealed within warped gravity.

"One hundred and eight zhang?"

First Master Xiao frowned, feeling as though he had missed something.

But it was no longer important.

He had witnessed the Chaotic Star Sea's failure. Originally, he had intended to lie low and wait for another opportunity.

But Li Qingshan had grown too quickly—so quickly it had exceeded all expectations and caught him off guard!

A hundred-zhang... no, a one-hundred-and-eight-zhang Dharma Aspect.

In barely fifty years, Li Qingshan had surpassed Feng Boyong in both foundation and potential!

He simply did not dare wait any longer!

Moreover, with Taotie here to take the blame, this was the best chance to act—and also the last!

"Li Qingshan, Taotie's majesty cannot be violated!"

First Master Xiao gazed at the still-crumbling Star Belt, his threatening voice resounding through the starry sky.

"Your Dharma Aspect is only a few zhang taller. Do you really think you can escape alive from a God-Phase Realm expert?"

"Just a few zhang?"

A soft laugh rang out, turning into an explosive roar in the blink of an eye.

"You don't understand Dharma Aspects at all!"

The Star Avatar burst from the billowing dust, carrying countless rays of starlight as it crossed the void and smashed down with a fist.

"You're courting death!"

First Master Xiao's gaze turned cold. He shook the spear shaft and pierced through the void.

In an instant, the fist collided with the spear tip!

Boom!

Space seemed solid as it cracked into countless fine fissures before exploding apart in an instant.

A black figure flew backward amid a spatial storm.

This time, it was First Master Xiao who was sent flying.

"How is that possible?!"

First Master Xiao's eyes widened as he stared at the cracks on the spear tip in disbelief.

"I let you ambush me once, and you really thought you were something?"

Li Qingshan shouted coldly, pursuing him into the shattered Star Belt.

After a Dharma Aspect reached ninety-nine zhang, every additional zhang was a tribulation!

Who dared describe those final nine zhang with the words "just a few"!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions rang out in succession, shaking the starry sky.

Cao Ya and Cao Ding'an strained their eyes to the utmost, yet still could not catch the battling figures. They could only stare blankly at the brilliant Star Belt that kept bursting apart.

The entire void resembled an ocean rippling with waves, while each explosion was like a blossom of spray erupting from its surface.

At the heart of the explosions,

Among strip after strip of Star Belts, the Star Avatar pursued from behind, forcing First Master Xiao to turn his spear again and again to meet its attacks.

With every clash, another crack appeared on the Long Spear, while the Dharma Aspect's fist remained completely unscathed!

"Monster! What kind of Dharma Aspect is this?!"

First Master Xiao's wrist trembled, and the shock in his eyes could not be concealed.

A God Phase was formed when a Dharma Aspect Collapsed Into Body, engraving the principles of the Dao upon the flesh.

It was a complete process of transformation, a leap of life itself!

Yet Li Qingshan's Dharma Aspect utterly defied common sense, capable of confronting his God Phase head-on!

If not for the various peculiarities of his God Phase, he would already have fallen on the spot!

At this moment, First Master Xiao was like an adult being chased by a brat.

Except this "brat" was several times bigger than him!

The slightest carelessness could leave him battered and broken!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The pursuit continued—collision after collision, explosion after explosion—as Star Belts across the sky turned to dust.

Finally,

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Long Spear in his hand shattered inch by inch.

First Master Xiao's expression hardened. Without further hesitation, he swiped his right hand before him, tearing open a spatial rift and crashing fiercely into it.

Li Qingshan pursued close behind, frowning as he grabbed the edges of the rift with both hands and pulled hard.

In an instant, the Dharma Aspect's starlight blazed brilliantly, forcibly tearing the rift wider.

The light twisted into lines of every color, like a spinning kaleidoscope.

Hyperspace Channel!

"He can actually tear open a Hyperspace Channel through brute force alone?"

First Master Xiao, shrouded in darkness, slowly turned around and drifted backward without haste.

"Li Qingshan, I admit that I underestimated you before. But you offended Taotie, and sooner or later, you will pay the price."

"Of course..."

First Master Xiao paused slightly. His laughter layered upon itself as it carried toward the channel entrance.

"Ha ha ha! You can try coming in too. Perhaps you might even manage to keep me here?"

Li Qingshan stood outside the channel, his brows gradually drawing together.

Try?

Of course he could not try!

Though he had been chasing the other man down the entire time, that was only because his one-hundred-and-eight-zhang Dharma Aspect had overwhelmed him with raw force.

A Dharma Aspect was only a Dharma Aspect. There was still an essential gap between it and a God Phase. Otherwise, he would not have allowed the other man to escape. And now...

Li Qingshan's gaze shifted slightly. His brow suddenly relaxed as he asked curiously:

"Are you really from Taotie?"

First Master Xiao was startled by the abrupt change in attitude, then immediately nodded and said viciously:

"Of course! Li Qingshan, I will wait for you at Taotie..."

"Forget it if you won't say. Actually, I've already guessed."

Li Qingshan shook his head, no longer interested, and looked past the black figure behind him.

"I really am from Taotie!"

First Master Xiao hurriedly argued, but Li Qingshan had no intention of paying attention. His gaze remained fixed behind him.

Behind him?

First Master Xiao frowned and slowly turned his head.

A longsword crashed into his sight!