The white-robed swordsman's hand stopped.
He raised his head and looked toward the cave entrance.
He released no pressure, stirred no spiritual energy, and did not even change his expression. He simply looked over, lifting his head for a casual glance, paying the newcomer no mind at all.
But that single glance was enough.
Zhou Xuan's Dantian abruptly contracted, and the scant spiritual energy left in his meridians nearly stopped circulating. Every bone and every inch of muscle in his body recoiled, the bone-piercing chill forcing him to instinctively curl inward.
This was not pressure.
It was a purely physical reaction to the gap between their cultivation levels.
The white-robed swordsman withdrew his fingers and rose to his feet.
He gave Zhou Xuan a slight nod, composed and unhurried, with even a hint of appreciation.
"That strike that killed Zhao Ji was clean and decisive, without dragging through mud and water. You're a man who can accomplish great things."
His voice was level, stating a fact he considered perfectly self-evident.
Zhou Xuan did not answer.
His mind raced to assess the man's strength.
What he saw through the Supreme One Divine Eye made his scalp prickle. The spiritual energy circulating around the white-robed swordsman showed almost no fluctuations. The surface was perfectly calm, while the depths beneath it were utterly unfathomable. His aura at the level of Law was restrained to the utmost; only an occasional wisp escaping his fingertips revealed the tip of the iceberg.
Peak Spirit Transformation.
At least Peak Spirit Transformation.
Possibly even higher.
"You're dismantling the Extreme Bone Sect's formation foundation?"
Zhou Xuan's voice was dry and hoarse, every word coarse and gritty.
The white-robed swordsman looked down at the formation pattern hovering above his palm and smiled. "The foundation of the Extreme Bone Sect's sect-guarding