Li Jiusheng's second brother had been at the Grandmaster Realm, yet he could not even withstand a single move from Li Jiusheng. It was clear just how powerful Li Jiusheng was.
He unleashed the [Grass and Wood Sword Technique], turning water into a sword. With a flick of his finger, surging sword energy shot forth, beheading an Outer Domain Grandmaster in an instant.
After killing the second brother, Li Jiusheng came to the third floor and found the eldest brother cautiously collecting the Anomaly Diagram.
He had not noticed a thing. Beneath the coverage of Li Jiusheng's domain, all five of his senses and his spiritual perception had become useless. Thinking that nothing had happened, he stared intently at the Anomaly Diagram, brimming with excitement.
"This trip to the Old Land has truly paid off. My brothers and I infiltrated the major sects and concealed ourselves, reaping tremendous gains. Better yet, just as we were preparing to leave, we found an invaluable treasure like this Anomaly Diagram. It has been well worth the journey. Once we return to the Return to Ruins and use these resources to cultivate in seclusion for ten-odd years, reaching the Great Grandmaster Realm will be certain. Then, if I comprehend this Anomaly Diagram and succeed, even the Ancestor Realm may not be out of reach." The eldest black-clad man was still indulging in his boundless ambitions. He carefully removed the Anomaly Diagram and examined it closely, immediately sensing its limitless wonders, endless transformations, and unfathomable depths. Merely gazing at it for a few moments drained most of his inspiration, making him afraid to look any longer.
"Thank you for helping me find the Anomaly Diagram." Suddenly, a voice sounded behind him. The eldest black-clad man instantly became alert, swiftly turning around with an angry glare. His Grandmaster domain exploded outward with a boom, his aura surging as he growled, "Who is it?"
"Old bastard, it's you." When he saw Li Jiusheng, the eldest black-clad man was stunned. He had not expected it to be Li Jiusheng. Hadn't his second brother gone to kill him?
Wait...
The eldest black-clad man thought of something terrifying and hurriedly asked, "Where is my second brother?"
"He just set foot on the road to the underworld. If you go after him now, you might still catch up," Li Jiusheng said.
"You're courting death!" The eldest black-clad man felt his mind explode. His eyes filled with bloodshot veins. That was his younger brother, born of the same mother, whom he had never been separated from since birth. How could he not be enraged? How could he not go mad?
Boom!
The eldest black-clad man's domain bore down. The muscles throughout his body swelled in an instant, his face bloating as his frame crackled. Within a few breaths, as though inflated like a balloon, he transformed into a gorilla over five meters tall. Thick black bristles like steel needles covered his body, savage and violent as he lunged at Li Jiusheng.
Li Jiusheng watched in surprise. What kind of cultivation technique was this?
Atavism?
Beast transformation?
Or was this eldest black-clad man a Demonic Beast to begin with?
In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Li Jiusheng's mind. Facing the eldest black-clad man rushing toward him, he merely raised one hand and gave a gentle grasp, catching the beast-transformed fist. Immense power erupted as he gave it a slight shake. The force of a hundred dragon elephants surged forth and burst through the man's body. This was Li Jiusheng's first attack since completing his cultivation, and fearing it would not be enough, he held nothing back.
With a crack, the eldest black-clad man's arm snapped instantly. The force continued to spread, moving from his arm to his collarbone, then his breastbone, then his spine...
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Wherever the force passed, the eldest black-clad man's bones fractured inch by inch. Before the power of a hundred dragon elephants, the gorilla he had transformed into could not withstand it at all.
The excruciating pain cleared the eldest black-clad man's eyes. Screaming, he fell onto the floor, his entire body trembling. The thick black hair like steel needles rapidly receded, and his body reverted to its previous size.
"Impossible!"
"This is absolutely impossible!"
"How can an old bastard like you possess such terrifying strength?"
"You're at the Grandmaster Realm? No, no one in the Grandmaster Realm possesses such terrifying power. Are you a Great Grandmaster?"
The black-clad man could not believe it. The intense pain left him drenched in sweat, the flesh on his face twisted as he stared in terror and regret at Li Jiusheng, who remained immaculate in black robes, like a Daoist and as light as a breeze.
He knew he had fallen this time.
Their previous successes had made the brothers overly confident. They had not investigated Li Jiusheng's peculiarities closely, always treating him as an ordinary old man.
"When we arrived, you already knew?" The eldest black-clad man clutched his arm, where the bones had been pulverized, and retreated several steps as he gritted out the question.
Li Jiusheng nodded. "I knew the moment you arrived."
The eldest black-clad man gave a bitter laugh. Just as he had suspected, he and his brother had been acting beneath someone else's nose the entire time, with no privacy whatsoever.
"Since you discovered us, why didn't you kill us?" the eldest black-clad man asked resentfully.
"If I killed you, who would help me find the Anomaly Diagram?" Li Jiusheng said calmly.
"You..." The eldest black-clad man was furious. With a pfft, he spat out a mouthful of blood toward Li Jiusheng while he himself shot toward the window in an instant. With a fierce leap, he jumped straight out.
Escape!
The eldest black-clad man no longer wanted to avenge his second brother. All he wanted now was to flee. Only by escaping would he have a chance to speak of revenge.
Li Jiusheng's strength had utterly crushed any desire he had to fight. His Totem Dharma Body had been shattered in an instant. The eldest black-clad man knew that even if ten of him joined forces, they would not be a match for that old bastard.
Only escape offered a sliver of survival.
After leaping down from the Scripture Repository Pavilion, the eldest black-clad man repeatedly used secret techniques to stimulate his injured body and unleash its tremendous potential. He pushed his speed to the limit and raced toward the mountain gate.
As he ran, he kept looking back, wanting to see whether the old bastard had caught up.
Yet what entered his sight was Li Jiusheng standing motionless beside the third-floor window of the Scripture Repository Pavilion. Facing the fleeing eldest black-clad man, he merely raised a hand, held two fingers together like a sword, and lightly slashed.
[Grass and Wood Sword Technique]
In an instant, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth gathered. Aura and accumulation intertwined, and all the principles he had comprehended during this time condensed into this single sword strike as it slashed out fiercely.
Clang!
Morning mist lingered through the wilderness, while distant mountains layered upon one another like dark painted brows. The spiritual energy amid the mountains and fields whistled as it formed a sharp sword dozens of li long, which cleaved straight down.
This sword seemed capable of splitting apart the overlapping mountain ranges. Its might was overwhelming, making the eldest black-clad man's eyes nearly split open. It was simply too terrifying. He hurriedly dodged, but no matter where he ran, the sword energy followed.
Pfft!
This sword strike made the eldest black-clad man's entire body jerk violently. Anxiety, terror, and fear in his eyes turned into blankness and dissolution.
His body slowly fell, limp as a noodle. The next instant, blood poured out and dyed the wilderness red.
Li Jiusheng walked over at an unhurried pace. The spiritual energy around him still carried the second brother's body. With a casual strike, he opened a huge pit in this area far from the Scripture Repository Pavilion. Li Jiusheng threw both brothers' corpses into it and buried them on the spot, keeping only their Storage magical treasures.
"In your next life, don't be thieves again."
"And keep your eyes open."
Li Jiusheng took the storage pouch and turned back toward the Scripture Repository Pavilion.
He intended to properly investigate just how many sects the two brothers had stolen secret techniques from.
Before you continue