"How could this be..."
"What body refining divine ability was that?"
"How could his Divine Body be so strong?!"
The Rhinoceros Great Demon's three dying questions surfaced in Sheng Xuan's mind as well.
The difference was—
What Sheng Xuan could not understand was why Xia Manggan's Divine Body was so powerful.
Earlier, in the Red Dragon Mountain Range, he had learned that three disciples from the Black-White Academy would be taking the Yinglong Guard assessment with them, one of whom was the recently famous Xia Manggan.
Sheng Xuan had immediately been tempted.
A member of the imperial clan, a Formal Disciple of the Black-White Academy.
Either identity meant that Xia Manggan's wealth would surpass that of ordinary people, even the Wanxiang Great Demons of the Yushan Great Wilderness Marsh.
And there were also Jiu Lian and Luo Qing, whose exceptional bearing made it obvious at a glance that they came from great clans.
With such juicy prey delivered right before them, how could they possibly let it go?
To ensure a single killing blow and leave no future trouble, he had even taken the initiative to join forces with Lie Longqi, whose strength was likewise not to be underestimated among this group of Wanxiang Daoists.
With Lie Longqi, a master archer, launching a long-range ambush, he would fire a concealed arrow at the moment Xia Manggan relaxed after slaying the great demon and pierce his head through.
Then the four senior siblings of the Heavenly Saint Sect would use the Lesser Teleportation Dao Talisman to instantly appear at Xia Manggan's side.
Even if Xia Manggan cultivated the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map and had reached the ninth level of Purple Mansion Perfection, comparable to an ordinary Myriad Phenomena God-Demon—
Once his head, a vital point, was pierced through, his control over his body would become exceedingly weak.
At that point, no matter how strong his soul was or how formidable his soul secret arts were, they would be useless.
Xia Manggan could only watch as the four of them instantly annihilated all his Divine Power before killing him completely.
As for the remaining two female disciples of the Black-White Academy, they were merely Early Wanxiang Stage cultivators of the Qi Refining Path.
With such weak strength, he was confident he could destroy them with a flip of his hand.
He merely had to be a little careful not to let the two women escape using protective treasures.
Strictly speaking, their plan was already exceedingly perfect.
Even if it were used to assassinate a Primordial Spirit Daoist, there would almost be no possibility of failure.
Yet after calculating every possibility, they had failed to account for one thing...
The most crucial arrow—the fatal strike that determined whether this plan would succeed—had not even damaged a single hair on their target!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The three young Wanxiang Daoists of the Heavenly Saint Sect had yet to break free from the Divine Sense illusion created by the Soul Bewilderment Technique when their bodies were all crushed apart, dying instantly.
Ignoring the red-and-white blood staining his fingertips, Xia Manggan formed a sword finger with his index and middle fingers and stabbed downward at Sheng Xuan again.
He was still using the great divine abilities Law of Heaven and Earth and Three Heads and Six Arms. Even just two of his fingers were much taller than Sheng Xuan's entire body.
"Break!"
Still affected by the Soul Bewilderment Technique and only barely able to mobilize his Origin Force, Sheng Xuan hurriedly took out a Dao talisman and activated it.
Whoosh~~~
A semicircular barrier resembling a Kong ward instantly enveloped his entire body.
Xia Manggan's sword fingers struck the barrier, causing only faint ripples to spread across it. It did not shatter at once.
"A Protective Dao Talisman refined by an Immortal?" Xia Manggan sneered as a Thunder Bead glittering with black-and-white light suddenly appeared in his hand.
This was the Bipolar Magnetic Light Thunder Fire Bead that Immortal Hanshan had specially bestowed upon him when he bid farewell to his master. It was a one-use protective and offensive treasure that masters bestowed upon important Black-White Academy disciples before they ventured out.
Immortal Hanshan knew that Xia Manggan needed to earn Essence Liquid to purchase a Second Primordial Spirit Vessel.
Coming to the Yushan Great Wilderness Marsh, he would inevitably seek out Primordial Spirit Great Demons to battle.
Thus, his master had prepared three for him this time.
Sheng Xuan's status was far from ordinary, and Immortal Lianshan had warned him beforehand that this man was the current Saint Son of the Heavenly Saint Sect and its future sect master.
Therefore, Xia Manggan was also wary that Sheng Xuan might possess some extraordinary offensive treasure capable of injuring him.
So he immediately retreated and hurled out the Bipolar Magnetic Light Thunder Fire Bead without hesitation.
Boom~~~
Black-and-white bipolar magnetic light exploded against the semicircular golden barrier.
Its terrifying power nearly instantly reduced everything within a hundred-foot radius to dust.
However, the Protective Dao Talisman Sheng Xuan had used was clearly no ordinary item.
Even beneath the explosion of the Bipolar Magnetic Light Thunder Fire Bead, a thin layer of radiance still remained. It had not completely shattered.
Sheng Xuan let out a breath of relief and hurriedly took out a Lesser Teleportation Dao Talisman, crushing it in an attempt to flee first.
Yet after crushing the talisman, the familiar spatial fluctuations of the past did not appear. Instead, a massive grinding disc resembling a Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram emerged in the void overhead.
"Rumble rumble rumble~~~~"
The golden barrier, already at the end of its strength, was immediately ground into countless streamers beneath the massive grinding disc.
Then, carrying an immense and majestic force capable of crushing the heavens, it bore down on Sheng Xuan.
"No! I am the Saint Son of the Heavenly Saint Sect! The current sect master is my father—you cannot kill me!" Sheng Xuan screamed in terror.
He still had other means.
But Xia Manggan's Divine Sense secret art had struck him alone. The fact that he could barely remain conscious already showed the strength of his Dao Heart and soul.
Now, under the effects of the Soul Bewilderment Technique, his thoughts moved incomparably slowly, while the massive grinding disc's crushing attack seemed slow but was actually swift.
With no other choice, he had no choice but to shout out his identity, hoping Xia Manggan would have some reservations.
But—
"Forget that you are merely the son of the Heavenly Saint Sect Master. Even if your Laozi dared to try killing me, he would still die and his sect would be destroyed!" Xia Manggan sneered. "Go peacefully."
Bang!
Sheng Xuan's body was crushed beneath the Black-White Grinding Disc formed by the Wuji Ring.
His Divine Body, comparable to an Early Wanxiang Stage Fiendgod, was instantly reduced to nothingness.
Whoosh.
Xia Manggan used his Divine Sense to retrieve the Storage Magical Treasure that had fallen to the ground.
Then, with a flicker of his figure, he teleported through the void.
"Jiu Lian, Luo Qing. You two clean up the demon treasures on this mountain. I'm going to kill a little fish that slipped through the net."
His clear voice echoed through the mountains, jolting Jiu Lian and Luo Qing out of their stunned daze.
It had been too fast.
Far too fast.
Everything that had just happened, from Xia Manggan being ambushed by the concealed arrow to Sheng Xuan and the other three appearing, then being killed in turn by Xia Manggan—
It would take a long time to describe with words, but in truth, it had all happened in an instant.
Jiu Lian and Luo Qing had only felt the situation change too quickly for their eyes to follow. By the time Xia Manggan's parting words jolted them awake—
On this demon mountain, which could be considered the strongest within a radius of hundreds of thousands of li, the only living beings left were the two of them.
"Senior Sister?" Luo Qing looked at Jiu Lian.
"...Let's start cleaning up." Jiu Lian looked at the demon corpses strewn across the mountain, as well as the various magical treasures, armor, and weapons scattered everywhere.
For some reason—
She suddenly felt that Xia Manggan had not been persuaded by the reasons she had given earlier.
The only reason Xia Manggan had agreed to travel with the two of them was that he simply wanted two "helpers" to clean up the battlefield and gather the spoils.
First update.
Before you continue