Everything happened without warning.
All who watched were dumbstruck, their faces blank with shock.
Ksitigarbha was hurled back ten thousand miles and slammed heavily into the earth.
Even the Great Mountain trembled, teetering on the verge of collapse.
Nearby, Jieyin and Zhunti were also slow to react.
The two merely stared at the scene in a daze, even forgetting to intervene and shield Ksitigarbha.
At last, some of the powerful cultivators came to their senses.
"It was Sage Houtu!"
"Sage Houtu struck back."
"Haha, I was wondering why Sage Houtu hadn't said a word before. So she remained silent only to astound everyone the moment she spoke!"
"Tsk, this Ksitigarbha took a blow from Sage Houtu head-on and survived. He can certainly take a beating."
Exclamations rang out endlessly as everyone talked over one another.
Without a doubt, that utterly cold voice earlier had belonged to Sage Houtu.
Understanding dawned on everyone at once.
No wonder Houtu had shown no reaction when Jieyin and Zhunti spouted their brazen boasts, even making to send Ksitigarbha into the Underworld.
She had been waiting for this crucial moment to strike without hesitation.
A single blow was enough to strike terror into all three men from the Western World.
Houtu's methods were forceful indeed.
Even Gu Changqing, standing nearby, raised an eyebrow.
He knew Houtu could not possibly resign herself to fate and allow a disciple of the Western World into the Underworld.
But Gu Changqing had not expected her to respond with such violent, overwhelming force.
It seemed that being suppressed within the Underworld had left Houtu seething with boundless anger.
And today, the trio from the Western World had delivered themselves to her doorstep, asking for suffering.
Gu Changqing gave a smile of inscrutable meaning, his laugh particularly grating in such an