Blood Eye Protector was utterly annihilated, body and soul alike, without leaving behind even a speck of dust.
The golden torrent continued plowing across the earth. Wherever it passed, the ground collapsed, houses and city walls—every scrap of matter—vaporized.
Even the thick black fog blanketing the entire city was forcibly blown apart by the lingering force of that punch!
Moonlight spilled down, illuminating the mountain of corpses and sea of blood filling the city.
It also illuminated the battered figure atop the ruins, only half of its body remaining, yet still blazing with golden flames.
Xiong Yue, whom Blood Eye Protector had knocked unconscious with a single palm strike earlier, slowly came to at that very moment.
He shook his muddled head and opened his eyes, just in time to see the golden torrent annihilate Blood Eye Protector and smash through the city walls.
His mouth fell open, but not a single word came out.
Not far away, Centurion Zhao, Patrolman Li, and the other Demon Subduing Division personnel bound by Painted Skin Ghost's Human Skin Ribbons also stared wide-eyed, forgetting even to struggle.
They had witnessed everything, from Wang Lang having half his body shattered to that heaven-destroying, earth-obliterating punch.
Was that... power a Spirit Condensation Realm cultivator could unleash?
Wei Qing's chest rose and fell sharply, the shock in her eyes impossible to conceal.
She had believed she was doomed to die today. Though she did not regret following Wang Lang deep into this perilous place, she still had regrets in her heart.
But that punch...
That punch had overturned everything she knew.
And the most horrified of all was Painted Skin Ghost.
For the first time, an emotion called fear appeared on her breathtaking human-skin face.
Blood Eye Protector was dead, dead cleanly and completely.
She had only witnessed an attack of that caliber once before, a hundred years ago.
It had been when a venerable of the Kunlun God Sect fought the State-Protecting Marquis of the Limitless Dynasty.
Both had been at the late stage of the Profound Connection Realm, and the aftershock of their clash had flattened dozens of mountain peaks.
But those were late-stage Profound Connection Realm experts!
Existences standing at the pinnacle of this world!
This brat... was clearly only in the Spirit Condensation Realm!
After throwing that punch, Wang Lang seemed to have exhausted every last ounce of strength. His ruined body slowly toppled backward.
Yet that very body, mangled as it was, had just delivered an attack comparable to one from the late stage of the Profound Connection Realm.
Monster.
That was the only word in Painted Skin Ghost's mind.
But she quickly forced herself to calm down.
Blood Eye Protector was dead, but the mission had not yet failed.
The Mask of Immortality fragment was about to be drawn out. As long as she obtained the fragment...
She glanced at Wei Qing and made her decision in an instant.
To prevent further complications, it would be best if every living person died.
Painted Skin Ghost no longer held back. Ghostly qi surged skyward around her as the exquisite human skin on her back split open, spewing out countless pale ribbons.
The ribbons wove and twisted through the air, wrapping around her body and transforming into a stunning giant seven zhang tall.
The giant was sewn entirely from human skin, blood beading from its seams. A smile hung on its face, eerie and horrifying.
The beautiful giant raised a massive palm sewn together from countless human hands and slapped it toward Wei Qing.
The palm looked slow, yet it sealed off every possible route of evasion.
Wei Qing gritted her teeth. Her Black Tortoise Dharma Idol, tortoise and serpent entwined, prepared to take the blow head-on.
The Black Tortoise Dharma Idol shook violently, cracks blooming across its surface.
Wei Qing let out a muffled groan, blood spilling from the corner of her mouth.
After the prolonged battle, she had long since become an arrow at the end of its flight.
If not for the Black Tortoise Dharma Idol's extraordinary defense, an ordinary Spirit Condensation Realm cultivator would have been crushed to pulp by that palm.
Just then, Painted Skin Ghost's other massive hand came clawing down at Wei Qing's head.
At that critical moment!
"Vanquisher Wei, do not panic! Wang is here to assist you!"
A voice exploded from behind the ghost.
Painted Skin Ghost's body abruptly froze, her claw hanging in midair.
Ghost and human alike snapped their heads around.
At the edge of the deep crater in the ruins, Wang Lang had somehow risen to his feet.
Not only had he stood up, the missing left half of his body had completely regenerated.
The new skin was somewhat pale, but the muscles were full and the bones intact, no different from his right half.
If not for the complete absence of the left half of his robes, exposing the intact body beneath,
No one could have imagined that only moments ago, he had been a man with merely half a body left.
Xiong Yue rubbed his eyes.
Centurion Zhao sucked in a cold breath.
Patrolman Li muttered, "As expected... of Young Master Wang..."
Delight flashed through Wei Qing's eyes, only to be replaced by even deeper confusion.
Wang Lang's regenerative ability had surpassed the scope of every healing secret art she knew.
And Painted Skin Ghost...
The terror on the human-skin giant's sewn face could no longer be concealed.
"M-monster! What exactly are you?"
Wang Lang raised a brow at her words.
Being called a monster by an unorthodox demon who performed blood sacrifices... the feeling was rather subtle.
He lowered his head to inspect his regenerated left arm, then clenched his fist.
Just now, he really had nearly died.
Intentional Blast Punch had exhausted every shred of accumulated fine intent. After that punch, he had not even possessed the strength to stand.
But the Ageless and Undying trait possessed conceptual immortality.
Forget being blasted into a ruined body—even if he were reduced to a pile of flesh, he could revive.
Still, it was fortunate he had not been slapped into minced meat, or his revival would have been difficult to explain.
Regenerating half his body like this could still be brushed off with an excuse such as a secret art.
"Young Master Wang, this..." Wei Qing landed beside him, her gaze complicated.
At the request of our many readers, we now offer VIP membership with ad-free viewing.
"It is merely a little family secret art, nothing worth mentioning."
Wang Lang glossed over it lightly, his gaze locking onto Painted Skin Ghost.
"Vanquisher Wei, the urgent matter is to deal with this final scourge."
Wei Qing took a deep breath, suppressing the stormy waves in her heart, and nodded heavily. "All right!"
The auras of both of them locked onto Painted Skin Ghost at once.
The giant Painted Skin Ghost had become did not attack first.
She was hesitating—not over how to attack, but over... whether to flee.
Blood Eye Protector was dead. Even if she obtained the Mask of Immortality fragment, she would still have to face punishment from the venerables of the sect upon returning.
Besides, that brat who had risen from the dead was far too bizarre...
Ever since the other party first stepped into Black Stone City, something about him had felt wrong to her.
Then there was the absurd ability to endure beatings he had displayed in his battle against Blood Eye Protector.
And the more he fought, the more spirited he became...
Thinking back now, this brat was absolutely no ordinary human Spirit Condensation Realm cultivator!
From the corner of her eye, Painted Skin Ghost glanced toward the Star Gazing Platform. The nine blood-red pillars of light still shot into the heavens,
The dim light at their center was growing clearer and clearer, but it was still just short of completion!
Damn Mask of Immortality fragment, why had it not been fully drawn out yet?!
If that human brat could unleash the might of that previous punch again...
She could not beat him.
She had to flee at once!
Failure of the mission would bring punishment, but if she remained here and he truly threw another punch, she feared not even her soul would remain.
She could not return to the sect either.
Countless thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant, and she made her decision.
She would go to the Endless Sea.
The moment the thought settled, Painted Skin Ghost suddenly let out a shrill screech, her massive arms whipping through the air.
Countless fragments of human skin shot toward Wang Lang and Wei Qing like flying knives.
At the same time, she rapidly retreated. Her enormous body abruptly scattered into thousands of cyan ribbons that streaked in every direction!
She was actually fleeing outright!
"What a swift escape technique!"
Wei Qing frowned, sweeping her gaze around the area, but she could no longer sense that demoness's aura.
Wang Lang did not pursue her either.
Though he had recovered, to kill her completely, he would likely need to accumulate fine intent again or slowly wear her down in battle.
And with her wholly focused on escaping, he truly could not catch her.
The two instead found Centurion Zhao and the others, tearing away the ribbons binding them.
Those restraints, seemingly so tough, snapped apart with a single tug in Wang Lang's hands.
Wang Lang then went over to Xiong Yue and helped him up. "Brother Xiong, are you all right?"
Xiong Yue's face was pale. Clutching his chest, he gave a bitter smile. "I-I am all right. My head is still spinning..."
He looked at Wang Lang, his eyes incomparably complicated.
"Brother Wang, no, Senior Wang! That punch just now... are you truly in the Spirit Condensation Realm?"
Wang Lang smiled without answering.
Wei Qing approached, holding a talisman that glimmered faintly in her hand.
"The black fog over Black Stone City has dispersed. I have already used a communication talisman to contact the Central Province Demon Subduing Division's main headquarters and have them come deal with the aftermath."
Hearing this, everyone relaxed slightly before falling silent again.
Deal with the aftermath.
What aftermath was there to deal with?
Of the city's inhabitants, not even one in ten remained. Corpses lay piled like mountains, blood flowing into pools.
This frontier city that had once housed tens of thousands was now a living hell.
Wang Lang looked around at the corpses scattered everywhere—elderly people, women, strong men, frail children.
They silently accused the calamity that had befallen them.
As everyone mourned, another change erupted at the Star Gazing Platform!
The nine blood-red pillars of light suddenly contracted inward, merging into one!
The entire Black Stone City shook violently, countless cracks splitting open across the ground,
Dark-red vapor billowed from underground like lava, gathering toward the pillar of light.
At the center of the pillar, that dim point of light finally broke free of its restraints and slowly rose.
It was a palm-sized stone fragment with irregular edges.
It radiated an indescribably majestic aura.
Immortal, ancient, and carrying a lofty superiority of some higher order.
"The Mask of Immortality... fragment."
Wang Lang narrowed his eyes, recalling Blood Eye Protector's earlier words.
This was what the Kunlun God Sect had plotted for in Black Stone City, what they were willing to blood-sacrifice tens of thousands of living beings to seize?
Wang Lang stared at the fragment, a slight furrow between his brows.
From it, he sensed an aura that was both familiar and unfamiliar, much like...
Much like the terrifying serpent eye he had seen in the Ten Thousand Souls Tomb.
The fragment floated at the center of the pillar, slowly rotating.
As everyone considered how to handle it, another change arose where Blood Eye Protector had been annihilated!
A point of black light appeared, then rapidly expanded into the phantom image of a black vertical eye three zhang high.
The vertical eye slowly opened. There was no pupil within, only endless, profound darkness.
"Interesting, interesting..."
A deep, distant voice came from the void, as if it had passed through countless realms.
"You, with merely Spirit Condensation Realm cultivation, actually slew a protector of my sect..."
Beneath the vertical eye, a faint yet heart-palpitating sense of being watched descended.
Wang Lang stared at the black vertical eye and could not help tugging at the corner of his mouth.
He had only one thought: Seriously... there is another boss?
Before you continue