A Battle of Wounds for Life

With a wave of his hand, the wind and clouds changed color as an enormous azure hand hundreds of zhang wide condensed into form.

With a single slap, he sent the snake's tail flying. Its mournful hiss rang out, but he did not stop. His hand pressed downward, and the azure giant hand followed suit.

Wherever the giant hand passed, mountain peaks tilted, Giant Stones shattered, trees snapped, and the giant python wailed.

The Ancient Heaven Demon Python, comparable to a Five-Turn Dou Zun and perhaps even stronger in battle, was directly suppressed by Xiao Xuan like a little snake, utterly incapable of resistance.

After suppressing the Ancient Heaven Demon Python, he continued onward at top speed. Half a day later, he finally arrived at a strange place.

It was said to be another ancient battlefield. Too many experts had fallen here, leaving behind powerful baleful energy. Even ferocious beasts dared not approach.

"Roar..."

Suddenly, an earth-shaking roar rang out.

In the distance, an endless tide of enormous ferocious beasts stretched from heaven to earth. Their roars rose one after another, and their bloody, baleful aura shot straight into the clouds.

Xiao Xuan took a step forward. A towering aura erupted from his body, his face cold and stern, his long hair flying in the wind. Even the savage beast tide was intimidated, stopping in its tracks.

Roaring and howling, their crimson beast eyes fixed on him, they charged toward him.

"Kill!

Yin Yang Void Breaker!"

Xiao Xuan's eyes were icy as he waved his hand, unleashing a violent stream of Dou Qi. It surged forth mightily, and wherever it passed, the ferocious beasts were torn apart and exploded into blooming sprays of blood.

In an instant, he cleared a passage a thousand zhang long.

Yet ferocious beasts flooded in from all directions, covering the heavens and earth, fearless of death and pain.

Xiao Xuan struck repeatedly, clearing a vast empty stretch with every attack.

Though he was only a Nine-Turn Dou Zun, his foundation was formidable, and he possessed no shortage of Heavenly Rank Dou Techniques. His combat power could be imagined—he was directly comparable to a One-Star Dou Saint. No ferocious beast could withstand even one move from him.

Like a hot knife through tofu, the dense beast tide could not hinder Xiao Xuan for even a moment as he raced through it at astonishing speed.

If anyone looked down from the sky, they would discover that although the beasts were countless, not a single one before him could stop him. The beast tide was rapidly carved open.

His long hair flew without becoming disheveled, and though his robes fluttered, they remained free of wrinkles. The more dangerous it became, the calmer he was.

With another palm strike, violent Dou Qi cleared another empty stretch, but he sensed a trace of resistance.

Then, at a certain moment, it was as though he had pierced through the mist. Everything before him suddenly opened up, and not a single ferocious beast remained on the clearing.

Having repelled the beast tide, he was now less than a thousand zhang from the Bodhi Ancient Tree. In almost the blink of an eye, he entered within a hundred zhang of it.

Viewing the Bodhi Ancient Tree up close was an even more shocking sight. Its trunk was several thousand zhang tall, like a heavenly pillar connecting heaven and earth.

An incomparably ancient aura permeated the trunk. The Bodhi Ancient Tree's canopy was vast, and when spread out, it could cover half a city.

Sunlight spilled down from the sky, shining upon the Ancient Tree. It faintly possessed a crystalline quality, while an immense vitality powerful enough to shock Xiao Xuan bloomed from within it.

"As expected of an Ancient Tree that has existed for who knows how long."

As he drew closer, the overwhelming canopy enveloped him. By this point, Xiao Xuan gradually sensed an extremely concealed chill, as though it were slowly seeping into his bones.

Xiao Xuan raised his head and fixed his gaze upon the enormous Bodhi Ancient Tree.

About a hundred zhang up its trunk was a cluster of bright radiance. It resembled an energy heart roughly a zhang in size, faintly emitting strong, forceful thumps.

"Bodhi Heart!"

His gaze locked onto that radiance hidden within the massive tree. Even Xiao Xuan, with all his experience, felt his heart pound fiercely several times in spite of itself.

Then countless branches tangled together and descended from the canopy. When they touched the ground, they slowly split apart, and five expressionless figures stepped out.

As these five figures emerged, the space throughout this region began to ripple violently, and a terrifying pressure suddenly spread out!

"Half-Saints? Just five Half-Saint experts, and you think you can stop me?

Yin Yang Return to Ruins!"

Xiao Xuan opened his mouth, his voice somewhat hoarse. After fighting for so long, even with combat power comparable to a Dou Saint, he was beginning to feel exhausted.

Sound waves spread outward, carrying the force to pierce metal and shatter stone.

The wings behind his back stirred lightly. The Void exploded with a thunderous boom, and a blurred afterimage streaked across the sky.

"Boom!"

A fist shot forth, detonating a massive roar through the air. Wherever it passed, space shattered. Even a Half-Saint expert could not block it and was sent flying straight backward.

Only then did the other four Half-Saints react. Surging Dou Qi burst forth, ravaging the Void like blades and tearing crack after crack through it.

"Bang!"

Sharp winds spread out from within, stirring violent gusts that made it impossible to look straight at them.

"Divine Fist of Earth, kill!"

His blow landed squarely on a Half-Saint. Its body cracked open, yet not a single drop of blood seeped out. Clearly, this Half-Saint had long decayed over the endless years, becoming a dried corpse.

Four overwhelmingly powerful auras appeared behind him, rapidly closing in. Looking at the Half-Saint Puppet before him, he steeled his heart and chose to trade wounds for life.

Without expression, he took a punch head-on while simultaneously smashing his own fist into the other's head. With a bang, it burst like a watermelon. Without its head, the Half-Saint Puppet could no longer move.

"Bang..."

He, too, was sent flying, blood spilling from his mouth.

Then, bracing himself, he instantly appeared before another Half-Saint's hollow face. He clenched his fist, gathered strength, and used his momentum to smash down viciously.

"Bang..."

The Half-Saint could not dodge in time and could only cross its arms before itself. A layer of Dou Qi shielding appeared instantly, but it was directly slain!

He let out a long breath. The battle had come quickly and ended quickly. With all his strength, he reduced the remaining three puppets to dust one by one, scattering them everywhere.

And he had paid a grievous price as well.

Dragging his heavily wounded body forward, he drifted onward. Ten zhang... five zhang... three zhang... one zhang...

...eight chi... four chi... one chi...

The Bodhi Heart was within reach!

Xiao Xuan was smiling, but the smile on his face became increasingly twisted. There was even a strange gleam in his eyes, making him entirely unlike his usual self.

"Ah!"

A burst of agony suddenly surged up from the depths of his soul. Pain! Pain that reached his soul itself! It was so painful that Xiao Xuan could not help clutching his head and crying out.

Dou Qi, soul power, Heavenly Flames... everything erupted wildly from his body.

Waves of force rolled out layer after layer, and fierce energy scattered freely like blades. The ripples they stirred actually shattered the Void.

In that instant, this entire world shattered like a mirror. Only when the illusory world broke apart did the true world reveal itself.