The Situation in Tiannan!

Such a method was unheard of even in the myths and legends of Douluo Continent.

That seemingly most unremarkable old herb gatherer at the Qi Refining stage was actually a hidden peerless expert!

Tang San's face was filled with shock as well.

He finally understood why, when Qian Renxue had pointed her sword at him just now, that old man named Xiang Zhili had not shed a single drop of sweat.

He had not been merely pretending to be calm.

He genuinely did not care.

Like a giant dragon soaring above the nine heavens, he would never care about an ant waving its feelers before him.

Within Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong also drew a sharp breath, the fingers gripping her scepter trembling slightly.

"Not even spiritual detection could sense the slightest trace of him..."

"Just how many monsters are hidden in this cultivation world?"

Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo exchanged a glance, each seeing deep fear in the other's eyes.

Qian Renxue was a Soul Sage-level powerhouse. If even she could not detect the other's presence, then Xiang Zhili's strength had likely exceeded the bounds of their understanding.

On the screen, Qian Renxue stood frozen in place for half an incense stick's time.

Only after confirming that the faint, barely perceptible oppressive feeling had completely vanished did she let out a long breath.

Cold sweat had already soaked the hilt of her sword.

"This world absolutely cannot be judged by common sense..."

Qian Renxue murmured to herself, the pride in her heart shattered by what she had just witnessed.

Any decrepit old man gathering herbs in the forest could be a peerless expert who treated space as though it were nothing.

She put away her short sword and carefully proceeded along the narrow ravine path Xiang Zhili had indicated.

After passing through the long, dark ravine passage, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

Qian Renxue emerged from the ravine and stood at the edge of a towering cliff.

When she clearly saw the sight before her, she was once again left too stunned to speak.

This was the true face of the cultivation world.

Below the cliff stretched a vast, boundless plain.

Across the plain stood enormous cities rising from the ground, their walls flickering with the light of formations in every color.

In the sky, hundreds upon thousands of escape lights in different colors darted back and forth like a meteor shower.

There were even several enormous flying boats, each a thousand zhang long and resembling aerial fortresses, slowly sailing above the clouds.

The spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from the flying boats made even the people of Douluo, watching through the screen, feel their hearts quiver.

Qian Renxue took a deep breath and suppressed the turmoil in her heart.

Qian Renxue stood at the cliff's edge as the breeze swept through her golden hair.

The plain below was far too vast.

The spiritual energy fluctuations radiating from those flying boats made her understand just how deep this world's foundations were.

She lowered her head and looked at the custom-made Spirit Hall gown she wore.

This outfit was far too conspicuous. Walking among the crowds in it would be like carrying a living target on her back.

She rummaged through her storage soul tool and pulled out an ordinary gray cloak, draping it over herself.

Lowering its broad hood, she completely concealed her dazzling golden hair and stunningly beautiful face.

Qian Renxue did not choose to fly.

Xiang Zhili's bizarre movement technique of shrinking the earth into an inch, along with his ability to vanish into thin air, had given her an entirely new understanding of this world's dangers.

Who knew how many formation restrictions or passing peerless experts might be hidden in the sky?

She obediently set off on foot, following a rugged mountain path downhill.

Only after walking for more than two hours did she pass through the dense forest and arrive at a huge market town at the edge of the plain.

This market town had no walls. Hundreds upon thousands of stone houses and wooden sheds stood in a scattered yet orderly arrangement.

The streets, paved with bluestone, bustled with endless streams of people.

Cultivators dressed in all kinds of clothing lingered before the stalls, while the sounds of haggling never ceased.

Blending into the crowd, Qian Renxue silently entered the market town.

The stalls lining both sides of the street displayed all kinds of faintly glowing items.

"Hundred-year-old polygonatum, only two low-grade spirit stones!"

"Beginner protective talismans, essential for expeditions! Don't miss out as you pass by!"

"Top-quality red iron ore, excellent supplementary material for refining magical artifacts! Selling cheap!"

Qian Renxue walked on, silently observing from beneath her cloak.

She discovered that the currency used for trade here was a kind of glittering stone.

Moreover, even a casually displayed medicinal herb called "yellow essence" contained nearly as much energy as the finest herbs meticulously cultivated in Spirit Hall's medicinal gardens.

What shocked her most was that most of these stall owners were low-level Qi Refinement cultivators.

Century-old herbs that would have sparked fierce competition among soul masters on Douluo Continent were being tossed onto the ground and hawked like cabbages here.

Outside the light screen, the viewers of Douluo Continent were equally dazzled.

Heaven Dou Empire, Sunset Forest.

Poison Douluo Dugu Bo's eyes widened as he stared at the rare medicinal herbs scattered everywhere within the light screen. Even his breathing grew heavy.

The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, which he had always taken such pride in, looked so shabby compared to these street stalls that it made one want to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.

"Century-old herbs are merely the lowest-tier trade goods here?"

Dugu Bo swallowed, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Those poisonous herbs I guard like treasures every day probably wouldn't even be fit for firewood in their eyes."

Within Spirit Hall's Elders Hall.

Several worshippers watched the bustling marketplace, and all of them fell silent.

Demon-Conquering Douluo let out a sigh, his voice carrying deep helplessness.

"The resources circulating through some random market on the edge of a plain rival the total resources of our Spirit Hall for an entire year."

"The abundance of this world's resources is enough to drive anyone mad with envy."

On the screen, Qian Renxue made a round of the marketplace and roughly figured out the rules of the place.

She discovered that some shops run by mortals accepted gold and silver for transactions.

Thus, she entered a rather bustling open-air teahouse.

Qian Renxue found a seat in a corner and casually placed a small piece of broken silver on the table.

The waiter was unsurprised and eagerly brought over a pot of coarse tea along with several small plates of snacks.

Qian Renxue lifted her teacup and took a light sip.

At the same time, her spiritual sense quietly spread out as she listened to the conversations of the independent cultivators around her.

If one wanted to understand a world, teahouses and taverns were always the best sources of information.

"Have you heard? Covering Moon Sect has produced another single spiritual root genius recently."

"Covering Moon Sect has deep foundations. Our Yellow Maple Valley can't compare."

"Of Yue Kingdom's seven great sects, Covering Moon Sect sits firmly at the top."

Several Qi Refinement independent cultivators at the neighboring table were talking animatedly, spittle flying everywhere.

"What are Yue Kingdom's seven great sects worth?"

An independent cultivator with a face full of pockmarks curled his lip, raised his wine bowl, and took a swig, his tone carrying a hint of boastfulness.

"My cousin followed a merchant caravan to Martial Origin Kingdom years ago. That was a truly prosperous cultivation world—high-level cultivators were everywhere."

"Martial Origin Kingdom is nothing."

A dark-skinned man at the same table snorted contemptuously and rapped his knuckles against the table.

"Our entire Southern Heaven Region contains dozens upon dozens of countries, large and small."

"Yue Kingdom is nothing more than some remote backwater corner of Southern Heaven."

"I heard that in Southern Heaven's central region, there are super sects with inheritances stretching back tens of thousands of years."

"Nascent Soul old monsters are as numerous as hairs on an ox there, and there are even rumors of legendary Deity Transformation seniors living in seclusion and cultivating."

Hearing this.

Qian Renxue's fingers tightened slightly around her teacup.

Southern Heaven Region? Dozens of countries?

Yue Kingdom was merely a remote corner?

She recalled what Xiang Zhili had said: Yellow Maple Valley had more than ten thousand disciples.

And there were seven such sects in Yue Kingdom alone.

How many cultivators were there in the entire Southern Heaven Region?

This casual conversation spread through the heavenly screen.

Within Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong and the worshippers all fell silent.

Qian Daoliu stood in the shadows of the great hall and let out a long sigh.

"Beyond the heavens, there are greater heavens. This world is truly vast enough to drive one to despair."

Qian Daoliu watched the light screen, his eyes filled with complicated emotions.

Spirit Hall had worked for generations to unify Douluo Continent.

Yet now, it seemed that the entire territory of Douluo Continent combined might not even be as large as a single Yue Kingdom in the Southern Heaven Region.

Here, they fought and killed over a few soul bones. In the eyes of the powerhouses of that world, they were probably as laughable as a few ants fighting over scraps of food.

Just as Qian Renxue was secretly alarmed, a commotion suddenly broke out on the street outside the teahouse.

The bustling crowd quickly retreated to both sides of the street as if they had seen something terrifying, clearing a broad path.

A massive spiritual-pressure aura, carrying a trace of chilliness, spread over from the far end of the street.

Qian Renxue frowned slightly and looked outside through a gap in her cloak.

A young man in an ornate black robe approached with his hands clasped behind his back, surrounded by a group of guards.

His face was pale and his eye sockets deeply sunken. At a glance, it was clear that he cultivated some sinister technique.

Yet the aura he radiated was far more powerful than those Qi Refinement rogue cultivators around him.

"A Foundation Establishment senior!"

Someone in the teahouse cried out in alarm.

In an instant, every rogue cultivator in the teahouse rose to their feet.

They lowered their heads and stood respectfully beside their tables, not even daring to breathe too loudly.

The black-robed young man stopped at the entrance to the teahouse.

His gaze casually swept across the crowd.

In the end, those eyes tinged with evil settled on a corner.

They settled on Qian Renxue, still seated in her chair beneath a gray cloak.

Everyone in the teahouse had stood to greet him, yet she alone remained seated, appearing especially conspicuous.

"Interesting."

A mocking, amused smile curled across the black-robed young man's lips.

"Clearly a mortal, without even a trace of a spirit root in her body, yet her blood and vitality are so vigorous and pure."

He stepped forward, crossed the threshold, and headed straight toward Qian Renxue.

The black-robed young man's footsteps sounded especially piercing in the silent teahouse.

One step, then another.

With every step he took closer, the surrounding rogue cultivators lowered their heads further.

Some early Qi Refinement cultivators even had their legs go weak, their foreheads covered in cold sweat.

To people at the bottom like them, the pressure of a Foundation Establishment senior was like a mountain pressing down upon their heads.

Qian Renxue remained seated on the long bench, utterly motionless.

The gray cloak concealed her figure, making it impossible to see her expression.

But beneath the cloak, her right hand had quietly clenched into a fist.

Soul power surged through her meridians like a rushing river, ready to erupt at any moment.

The black-robed young man stopped beside the square table in front of her.

Looking down at this mysterious cloaked figure, the smile on his lips grew more pronounced.

"In this market, you are the first mortal who can remain seated so calmly upon seeing this young master."

He extended a hand so pale it was bloodless, its fingers long and knuckled, its nails an eerie bluish-black.

"Take off your cloak and let this young master see your true face."

His tone was calm, but it carried an unquestionable command.

The surrounding rogue cultivators secretly shook their heads.

Everyone knew that this black-robed young man was the young master of the Wang Clan, a renowned cultivation family in the area.

He cultivated an unorthodox technique that absorbed pure yin energy.

This mortal woman's blood and vitality were so pure. Now that he had his eye on her, her fate would surely be worse than death.

Qian Renxue's hand, holding the teacup, paused in midair.

She slowly raised her head.

From beneath the shadow of her cloak, a pair of cold phoenix eyes looked through the gap and met the black-robed young man's evil gaze.

There was no fear, no panic.

Only the displeasure of someone in a high position whose peace had been disturbed.

"Scram."

A crisp, pleasant voice came from beneath the hood.

Just one word.

Clean and decisive.

Yet it exploded like a thunderclap through the quiet teahouse.

Every independent cultivator who heard it sucked in a sharp breath.

She was insane!

This mortal woman was absolutely insane!

She actually dared to tell a Foundation Establishment senior to scram?

Even the guards standing behind the young man in black robes were stunned.

They seemed unable to believe their ears.

The smile on the black-robed youth's face instantly froze.

A flash of cruel killing intent flickered through his eyes.

"Good. Very good."

"This young master hasn't encountered prey with such spirit in a long time."

With a cold laugh, his pale hand shot forward, reaching directly for Qian Renxue's hood.

Faint black baleful aura coiled between his fingers.

If touched by that aura, even a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator would be instantly paralyzed and lose all ability to resist.

Outside the light screen.

Inside Spirit Hall's grand hall, the atmosphere had grown tense to the extreme.

Qian Daoliu abruptly clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking sharply.

"That brat who knows no bounds!"

He wished he could charge straight into the light screen and slap that evil cultivator dead for daring to lay hands on his granddaughter.

Bibi Dong's face was dark as water as well.

She knew Qian Renxue was no weakling.

But in that utterly unfamiliar world, once she made a move, who knew whether it would draw out some even more powerful old monster?

Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.

Though Emperor Xue Ye was still fuming, he could not help breaking into a cold sweat at the sight.

On the screen, facing the black-robed youth's grasping hand.

Qian Renxue did not retreat.

Since she had dared to say that word—"scram"—she had naturally prepared herself to act.

If she wanted to gain a foothold in this brutal world, endlessly backing down would only invite more trouble.

She had to display enough strength to make others fear her.

With a flick of her wrist, Qian Renxue swung the teacup in her hand directly at that pale palm.

At the same time, a sacred and pure golden soul power silently flowed from her fingertips into the teacup.

"Crack."

The instant the teacup came into contact with the black baleful aura, its fragile porcelain body shattered.

The black-robed youth looked utterly disdainful.

Using a teacup to block his baleful aura? It was like trying to stop a chariot with a mantis's arms.

But in the very instant after the cup shattered.

A blinding golden flame suddenly erupted from the broken shards.

The flame was not violent, yet it carried a sacred aura capable of purifying all evil in the world.

"Sizzle!"

The moment the golden flames touched the black baleful aura, it was like boiling water splashing onto lingering snow.

That sinister aura, feared by all who knew of it, was burned away in an instant, without even a wisp of smoke remaining.

"Ah!"

The black-robed youth let out a muffled groan of pain.

As though he had been electrocuted, he abruptly pulled back his right hand.

A scorched black mark had appeared across his pale palm.

The flesh had split and curled back, giving off a nauseating scorched smell.

The young man in black staggered back three or four steps, knocking over a wooden table behind him.

His face filled with horror as he stared at the gray-robed figure still seated where he was.

"Y-You... what kind of sorcery was that?!"

The surrounding independent cultivators were so shocked their eyes nearly popped out.

A mere mortal without spiritual roots.

And he had injured a Foundation Establishment senior's hand with nothing but a teacup?