One Palm Sends Dongwang Gong Flying; A Flick of the Finger Destroys an Innate Spiritual Treasure; The Immortals Are Stunned (Continued)

He no longer asked who Ao Chen was. Instead, he immediately branded him a thug acting on someone else's orders, his words subtly directing suspicion toward Eastern Emperor Taiyi, who was watching the spectacle!

Beside him, West Queen Mother's expression was equally grave. Her delicate hands clenched tight, Lunar Immortal Light swirling around her as she stared coldly at Ao Chen.

At his words, Ao Chen only gave a cold laugh. Ignoring the shocked, fearful, and curious looks all around him, he walked toward the high platform one unhurried step at a time. Each step seemed to land on everyone's heartbeat. His voice was bone-chillingly cold, as if it came from the Nine Abyss:

"My name is Ao Chen, an envoy of the East Sea Dragon Palace. I came here today at your invitation for one reason only: to deliver a gift."

He paused. His gaze was like two sharp swords imbued with the power of Star Nirvana, piercing East King Duke and West Queen Mother's minds as he spoke, each word clear enough to carry across the entire Yingzhou Immortal Island:

"I wonder whether you two, East King Duke and West Queen Mother, like this 'grand gift'?"

At those words, everyone understood!

What kind of gift delivery was this? He had come to wreck the place and settle a score—and his target was the Immortal Court!

East King Duke was so furious that his three corpses nearly leaped from his body. His face turned from green to purple, then from purple to white!

He was even more convinced that Ao Chen was a pawn sent by Eastern Emperor Taiyi to deliberately cause trouble! Otherwise, how could he dare to be so brazen?

If he did not kill Ao Chen today, what would become of the Immortal Court's authority? How could he rule over the myriad immortals in the future?

"This is intolerable! You whelp! You've gone too far! You're asking for death!"

East King Duke was utterly enraged. He no longer cared about the bigger picture or the consequences! All reason had been swept away by his fury and his resolve to defend his dignity!

With a furious roar, he unleashed the full, terrifying pressure of an early-stage Quasi-Sage. The Dragon Head Staff in his hand erupted with ten thousand feet of Pure Yang Immortal Light, transforming into a massive, savage Pure Yang Immortal Dragon.

Its roar shook the heavens. With terrifying force enough to burn mountains and seas, it charged at Ao Chen as if to incinerate the Eight Wilds!

The Pure Yang Immortal Dragon had been formed by East King Duke using his Pure Yang Origin in combination with the Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure that was the Dragon Head Staff. Its power was vast and boundless.

It opened its jaws, spewing endless scorching flames of pure yang. Wherever they passed, the void warped and twisted as if the entire world were about to become a sea of fire!

Its claws tore through space, wielding the terrifying power to cleanse all wickedness and destroy every obstacle!

Faced with this terrifying attack, which carried a Quasi-Sage's fury and the Pure Yang Law, Ao Chen's expression did not stir in the slightest. The immortal dragon bearing down on him seemed no more than a faint breeze, not even worthy of making him stop.

He did not so much as pause. Still composed, he continued toward the high platform at an unhurried pace, as if the path ahead were not blocked by a Quasi-Sage's enraged strike, but paved with flowers.

Only when the Pure Yang Immortal Dragon was about to reach him, its ten thousand feet of immortal light nearly swallowing him and its scorching flames already washing over him—at the very instant they were about to melt an ordinary Grand Unity Golden Immortal—did Ao Chen finally move.

Just as casually as before, with the same effortless calm.

He still did not summon a single treasure. He had not even fully roused the power of the Star River Universe within him. He simply raised his right hand and extended one finger.

That finger was as clear as jade, spotless and seemingly frail. It carried no earth-shaking force, yet appeared to contain an indescribable Dao resonance, as if it were the firmest and most fundamental thing in all creation.

Ao Chen lightly tapped the roaring Pure Yang Immortal Dragon, a creature powerful enough to incinerate a Grand Unity Golden Immortal with ease.

The tap seemed incredibly slow, yet in the perception of everyone watching, it was impossibly fast.

It seemed to disregard the distance of space and the passage of time, landing with pinpoint accuracy on the Pure Yang Immortal Dragon's enormous head—on the core of the staff head formed from the Dragon Head Staff!

There was no earth-shattering collision, no terrifying surge of annihilated laws, not even the slightest spill of energy.

Only an almost inaudible "pop," like a tiny bubble bursting without a sound.

The next moment, under East King Duke's gaze as it shifted from fury to shock, then from shock to terror, and beneath the eyes of all the watching immortals and gods, whose hearts seemed ready to stop!

The mighty Pure Yang Immortal Dragon, which had seemed ready to incinerate the Eight Wilds and cleanse all creation, crumbled like a punctured balloon, beginning at the point Ao Chen had touched with his fingertip!

The ten thousand feet of Pure Yang Immortal Light faded rapidly like a receding tide. The dragon's roar, which had shaken heaven and earth, became a short, mournful wail. Its enormous body shattered inch by inch like a sand sculpture, then vanished completely into nothingness as countless specks of light!

The Dragon Head Staff in East King Duke's hand—the Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure that symbolized his status as Head of Male Immortals—let out an overloaded hum. Its light flickered wildly as the Pure Yang Dao resonance within it was completely suppressed and shattered!

It flew from his grasp, hurtled back, and slammed hard into East King Duke's own chest!

Pfft!

East King Duke felt as though he had been struck by the Chaos Divine Mountain. An irresistible, incomprehensible force surged through the Dragon Head Staff and into his body, instantly scattering all the protective immortal light he had hastily gathered!

His Quasi-Sage body shook violently. His internal organs felt as if they had been crushed and displaced by that force. A mouthful of golden blood, rich with his origin essence and carrying the aura of shattered laws, burst uncontrollably from his mouth, staining the white jade platform before him!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

He staggered back dozens of steps. Each one left a deep footprint, its edges webbed with cracks, on the Immortal Court's sturdy high platform, carved with immortal Dao runes.

In the end, he still could not steady himself. He collapsed awkwardly onto the ground, his face turning as white as paper, like a dead man's, his aura sinking to its weakest point!

With one finger—just one finger—and without even using a treasure, he had effortlessly broken the strongest attack of the dignified Quasi-Sage Great Power and lord of the Immortal Court.

Silence!

Deathly silence!

The entire Yingzhou Immortal Island, the site of the Ten Thousand Immortals Pay Homage gathering, fell utterly quiet! One could hear a pin drop!

All the immortals and gods, regardless of cultivation or breadth of knowledge, stood as if under a Paralysis Spell, turned to stone.

They stared blankly at East King Duke, sprawled on the high platform, then at the young man in a blue robe who was still walking toward them from below. Their minds were utterly blank, filled only with endless chill!

What... what had just happened? What had they witnessed?

A Quasi-Sage! That was a Quasi-Sage! One of the most powerful beings in the Primordial World, second only to Dao Ancestor Hongjun!

And now... now he had been defeated with such casual ease by a Dragon Race member who seemed to have only the aura of a Heavenly Immortal?

This was more than absurd. It was an upheaval, a merciless mockery of the entire cultivation system of the Primordial World, an utter crushing of everything they believed!

"Gulp..."

Someone struggled to swallow. The sound rang out with jarring clarity across the silent plaza, breaking the suffocating stillness.

Then came wave after wave of stifled cries and sharp intakes of breath!

"Impossible! This absolutely can't be!"

"This must be some extremely powerful illusion! That great power can't possibly be a Heavenly Immortal. He must be an ancient hidden monster from the Dragon Race. Otherwise, this goes against the Heavenly Dao!"

"No wonder he dared to be so arrogant! No wonder he dared to publicly kill someone who had come to provoke the Immortal Court! With power this terrifying, it's only natural that East King Duke was defeated."

In a corner, the face of Eastern Emperor Taiyi, which had been wearing a schadenfreude-filled smile, had gone completely rigid!

In its place was unprecedented gravity, deep wariness, and even a hint of fear he himself was unwilling to admit!

He stared fixedly at Ao Chen. The Chaos Bell in his hand hummed, protecting its master of its own accord as ten thousand streams of Xuanhuang Qi descended from it, as if it sensed an unprecedented threat!

At last, he understood that his earlier instinct had been right! This Dragon Race member really did possess the strength to threaten him! He might even be far stronger than Taiyi had imagined!

"A Heavenly Immortal defeating a Quasi-Sage? Such combat strength is unheard of! Who exactly is he, and why can't I see through his cultivation?"

Eastern Emperor Taiyi's thoughts churned like a stormy sea. His face darkened.

"Could it be that he hasn't hidden his cultivation at all? Could he really have accomplished all this as a Heavenly Immortal?"

The moment this thought arose, even the haughty Eastern Emperor of the Demon Race, who thought so highly of himself, was startled!

If that were true, the Dao Ao Chen had chosen would be beyond measure! Its strangeness sent a chill through even him, a Quasi-Sage!

Demon Master Kunpeng was trembling with fear. He wished he could immediately use his innate divine ability, transform into a Kun Fish, and dive into the deep sea of the Northern Darkness, never to emerge again!

He was now immensely grateful that he had fled quickly at Buzhou Mountain! Given the strength Ao Chen had just displayed, Kunpeng might not even have had a chance to escape!

The Three Pure Ones also wore different expressions, but the shock in their eyes was identical—and even more intense than before.

For the first time, a distinct ripple appeared in Supreme Clarity Laozi's placid eyes.

Primordial Lord of Heaven furrowed his brow, feeling an instinctive aversion and a powerful sense of threat.

The light in Upper Clarity Tongtian's eyes grew ever brighter, brimming with undisguised fighting spirit!

On the high platform, West Queen Mother's gaze was cold, her eyes filled with wariness and shock.

She understood East King Duke's strength better than anyone. Though he had only just entered the Quasi-Sage realm, the power of the Dragon Head Staff combined with his Pure Yang Origin meant that even an ordinary late-stage Quasi-Sage could hardly have wounded him so effortlessly!

Just then, East King Duke, who had been badly wounded by that single finger and left sitting on the ground, finally recovered from his shock, humiliation, and pain!

He jerked his head up and looked at Ao Chen as he approached. His eyes brimmed with mad hatred, unwillingness, and a trace of murderous intent bordering on hysteria!

At last, he understood how terribly he had misjudged the situation!

The Dragon Race member before him was no Heavenly Immortal! Nor was he a Grand Unity Golden Immortal!

"You... you weren't a pawn of the Demon Race..." East King Duke rasped, his voice thick with boundless regret and resentment.

At last, he realized that he had been mistaken from the very beginning!

Ao Chen had not been sent by anyone. He had come for East King Duke and the Immortal Court. He had come to wreck the place!

"Realizing that now? Too late."

Ao Chen stopped before East King Duke and looked down at him, his expression indifferent, as if he were looking at a corpse.

"East King Duke, you call yourself Head of Male Immortals, yet you are unworthy of the title. You're narrow-minded, you bully the weak, suppress the Dragon Race, and let your subordinates extort and rob others, corrupting the fortune of the immortal Dao!"

"Today, I'll carry out Heaven's will and win justice for the Dragon Race! I'll send you... on your way!"

Before his words had even faded, Ao Chen raised his right hand once more!

This time, it was no longer a finger. His hand expanded to cover the entire high platform, as if it had gathered the power of billions of stars!

Dao resonance flowed over his palm, laws thundered, and the phantom of the Star River Universe rose and sank in its center, bearing an overwhelming force that crushed all things!

If this palm fell, East King Duke—the Head of Male Immortals appointed by the Dao Ancestor himself and lord of the Immortal Court—might truly be Form and Spirit Annihilated before the myriad immortals and the Three Pure Ones!

"Stop!"