Bishop's Might

Li Yuan's voice echoed through the cavern littered with corpses, calm as a proclamation, yet more impactful than any roar.

On the high platform, the Netherworld Cult Bishop's ashen eyes turned completely cold, like ice that had never melted. The strength Li Yuan displayed, and the domineering aura with which he treated hundreds of cultists as if they were nothing, had surpassed the realm of "trouble" and become a threat that had to be crushed personally.

"Arrogant!"

The Bishop's hoarse voice was like a cold wind whistling through bone crevices. He waited no longer, slamming the bone staff inlaid with a giant skull to the ground!

"THUD!"

A muffled, heavy sound, like the tolling of hell's funeral bell. From the point where the bone staff struck, a visible wave of gray-black ripples spread rapidly. Wherever it passed, even the churning blood pool momentarily calmed!

A pressure of curse power, far vaster, purer, and more chilling than all the cultists combined, descended like a tangible mountain, crashing down on Li Yuan! The air crackled with the sound of freezing, and even the crimson-gold Burning Qi Field around Li Yuan flickered, its range shrinking by half a foot!

Li Yuan's pupils contracted slightly. His qi and blood instinctively accelerated, and the dark-gold Crimson Sun in his qi sea let out a low hum, resisting the invisible pressure. The dark red earth beneath his feet was instantly covered by a thick layer of frost emitting a chilling aura, a stark contrast to the lava footprints he had left earlier.

"It is your honor to die by my Bishop's 'Netherworld Ghost Hand'."

The Bishop's icy words fell as he raised his empty left hand, making a grasping motion towards Li Yuan's direction!

"WOOOOOOO--!"

A piercing ghost cry suddenly sounded! The dense, sinister energy in the cavern converged madly, instantly forming a colossal, gray-black ghost hand above Li Yuan's head, composed entirely of pure curse power!

This ghost hand had ferocious fingers and sharp claws. At its palm was a constantly rotating vortex of darkness that devoured light, exuding a soul-chilling cold and a terrifying suction force that could tear everything apart! The moment the ghost hand formed, the temperature in the entire cavern plummeted, and even the edges of the distant blood pool began to form black ice shards!

The giant hand descended with the might to crush everything, grasping down at Li Yuan! Its speed seemed slow, but it sealed off all his escape routes. The dark vortex in its palm generated a powerful pulling force, intending to drag his body and soul into the endless Netherworld!

Li Yuan's eyes sharpened, knowing this was a truly life-or-death moment! This Bishop's strength far surpassed the previous deacons; he was likely at the late stage of the Aperture Opening Realm, and his curse power was pure and bizarre!

He let out a low roar, no longer holding back!

"Crimson Sun Battle Body, activate!"

"BOOOOOOM!!!"

An even more violent and scorching aura surged skyward! His physique expanded again, muscles bulging like coiled dragons, stretching his bronze skin until it shone, turning a deep, dark red! Beneath his skin, crimson-gold patterns flowed intensely like living magma, emitting light and heat that was impossible to look at directly! Flames of crimson-gold spewed from his eyes!

[Crimson Sun Battle Body] fully activated!

He stomped his feet, shattering the frost covering the ground and sinking deeply into the scorching earth, stabilizing his body against the ghost hand's suction. Facing the sky-obscuring ghost hand that was grasping down, he advanced instead of retreating, clenching his right fist. The dark-gold Crimson Sun within him spun at an unprecedented speed, and vast Crimson Sun Qi and Blood surged into his right arm like a hundred rivers returning to the sea!

The tip of his fist condensed dark red light to its extreme. The surrounding air warped from the high temperature, crackling loudly!

"Lava... Collapse!"

Li Yuan roared, combining the exertion techniques from the newly comprehended Crimson Sun True Scripture with his own berserk strength, and threw a punch upwards!

This was no simple straight punch. The moment it was thrown, the muscle fibers of his entire right arm seemed to have completed countless high-frequency vibrations and bursts, twisting all his power into one, concentrated at the tip of his fist!

A dark red fist aura, condensed to the point of being tangible, as if lava was surging within, shot out! Wherever the fist aura passed, space seemed to be burned through, leaving a brief vacuum trail and emitting a piercing sonic boom!

The next instant!

The dark red fist aura and the gray-black ghost hand collided violently in mid-air!

"RUMBLE--!!!"

Like nine heavens' thunder exploding underground!

A violent energy shockwave spread out in a ring indiscriminately! Dozens of Netherworld Cultists near the center of the collision were torn to shreds by this power before they could even scream! The blood pool was churned into monstrous waves, splattering viscous blood mixed with bone fragments and flesh everywhere!

Crimson Sun and Netherworld, extreme yang and extreme yin, two completely opposite and mutually restraining forces engaged in the most intense and brutal annihilation and confrontation!

The dark vortex in the ghost hand's palm spun madly, attempting to devour and obliterate the scorching fist aura. Meanwhile, the dark red fist aura, like a meteorite thrown into the icy sea, erupted with heat that burned everything, continuously scorching and purifying the chilling curse power that formed the ghost hand!

Screeeech--!!!

The ear-piercing sound of energy annihilation continued endlessly! Gray-black and dark red lights intertwined, tangled, and eroded each other, casting the entire cavern in a bizarre, flickering light!

On the high platform, Li Yuanhong was forced to retreat repeatedly by the shockwave, barely stabilizing himself by circulating his qi and blood, his face filled with shock. He stared intently at the center of the energy collision, finding it hard to believe that Li Yuan could directly confront the Bishop's enraged strike!

The Netherworld Cult Bishop's ashen eyes also narrowed slightly. He could feel that the Netherworld Ghost Hand he had condensed was being rapidly worn down by the extreme yang fist aura! The opponent's power was not only scorching and domineering but also possessed a peculiar "Refinement" characteristic, as if it could burn his pure curse power as fuel!

"Break!"

Li Yuan let out another roar, thrusting his right fist forward fiercely!

The dark red fist aura's light intensified, like a red-hot iron drill, piercing straight through the palm of the Netherworld Ghost Hand!

"BANG!!"

The colossal Netherworld Ghost Hand began to crack from the palm, inch by inch! It dissolved into a sky full of scattered gray-black airflow, which was then swept away by the residual heat of the fist aura!

Li Yuan maintained his punching stance, breathing slightly heavily. The Crimson Sun Battle Body around him glowed, and dark red steam rose from his body. The frost beneath his feet had long since disappeared, replaced by a shallow melted pit.

He raised his head, his crimson-gold pupils piercing through the gradually calming energy turbulence, locking onto the Netherworld Cult Bishop on the high platform once more. His voice carried a trace of the heat and hoarseness after the battle:

"Nothing more than that."