Moonlight, Master and Disciple

"Fall!"

A cold voice rang out. As the Ice Ghost behind him pointed a finger, mockery spread across the Foundation Establishment elder's face.

"A genius, a seed of the Dao—until you reach Foundation Establishment, you're nothing but a fleeting instant."

He did not know how Xu Yuan had concealed his cultivation right under his nose, and the dragon transformation had genuinely surprised him.

But that was all.

The Foundation Establishment elder closed his hand, ready to crush Xu Yuan. Just then, his eyes flicked downward. Two wooden dragons burst from the earth on either side of his feet and lunged at him.

"Hmph!"

With a cold snort, the elder had the Ice Ghost behind him point again. Both wooden dragons, along with the ground beneath them, turned to ice.

In that instant, a crack rang out. The ice imprisoning Xu Yuan shattered.

A strange pressure surged forward, making even the Foundation Establishment elder falter for a moment.

In that sliver of time, far less than a breath, Xu Yuan finally reached him. His lightning-wreathed claw shot straight for the elder's throat.

Clang!

There was no spray of torn flesh. When Xu Yuan's killing blow—a strike strong enough to slay a Qi Refining Perfected beast—landed, only that despair-inducing sound came back.

Once spiritual energy saturated the entire body, a spiritual body took shape. It was a chasm those in Qi Refining could scarcely cross.

Thin streams of blood ran down the elder's neck. Then he turned his head.

"Interesting!"

Greed and fury mingled in his voice. He raised a hand and thrust it toward Xu Yuan's chest. Bang! Xu Yuan's right hand, held up in defense, froze into an ice sculpture and shattered. Then he flew back like a kite with its string cut and slammed into the earth.

Cold spread