Chapter 53: A Palm to Shatter and Slay

“…Could it be crossing the void with the body alone?”
Old Cao with the single eye stood frozen, lost in thought, his solitary eye filled with bewilderment and suspicion.

Xu Xuan soared dozens of meters into the air, spreading his arms like a great bird, practically flying across the sky!

Legend had it that when a martial cultivator refined their body to its utmost limit, they could traverse the heavens unaided, relying solely on physical prowess. Such a master could make even those cultivating immortality or sword arts tremble in awe and fear.

Elsewhere, Nie Han, who had been watching secretly, became so excited that he forgot himself, aggravating his injuries. With a muffled groan, he passed out…

Thus, he missed witnessing the even more astonishing spectacle that followed.

Xu Xuan felt his body lighten, soaring like an eagle until he reached the peak of his flight, preparing to glide downward.

In the very next moment, as he glided through the air, Xu Xuan made a move that left Old Cao even more astounded.

Boom!

His limbs shuddered in midair, scattering his vital energy, halting his downward glide.

Compared to what he'd shown earlier, this in itself was nothing special.

But then—

“Hah!” He let out a shout, his body and limbs forming a lattice of phantom images in the void.

Crack! Thud! Bang! Bang!

With fists, feet, body, limbs, and even his head, he unleashed a move of absolute strength and power, startling in its force.

This was the seventh transformation of the Dragon-Serpent Art—the Principle of Might!

As he plunged downward, he executed the moves of the seventh transformation at lightning speed.

Every strike reverberated through the void, the dull, soul-shaking sound helping to buffer the force of his descent.

At the crucial moment, Xu Xuan gathered his essence, energy, and spirit, pushing his movements to the climax of the Principle of Might.

“Whoosh—”

A human-shaped bird swept down from the sky, gliding straight toward Old Cao, his palm swelling with a ring of vital energy and a crimson aura.

In that instant, Xu Xuan’s essence, energy, and spirit reached an unprecedented peak. Using the momentum of his descent, he gathered all his life’s strength into one palm—the final explosive move of the Principle of Might, erupting like a flood.

Boom!

A sound like shattering iron and stone exploded beside his ears, a violent, compressed wind crashed down from above, striking the ground with a thunderous roar and sending dust billowing.

“What!”

Cao’s face turned pale, terror and panic overtaking him. His body sank rapidly, true martial power surging throughout him, but it was fractured and disordered. The garment that could withstand blades and arrows was reduced to powder by the wild blast.

Boom—

That shattering sound, like the collapse of mountains and earth, shook the area within a mile of their center.

The sound even penetrated the minds of unconscious disciples, as if thunder had struck the world.

“Magnificent… truly magnificent!”

In Xu Xuan’s mind, a remnant soul from his previous life voiced its first praise, but then, for some reason, it let out a long sigh and faded into darkness…

Amidst the swirling dust, Xu Xuan hung upside down, his palm locked against Old Cao’s arm, like a sculpture maintaining a mysterious stillness.

In the blink of an eye, Old Cao’s body sank completely into the earth, the ground beneath him opened into a two-meter-wide pit by the powerful energy.

Were it not witnessed firsthand, it would be hard to believe this was the power unleashed by a mere body-refining cultivator; even a typical immortal cultivator could not achieve such feats.

Bang—

A sudden backlash sent Xu Xuan flying again. Mid-air, he spat blood, collapsing against a rock wall, utterly exhausted.

At that moment, a fierce, numbing surge like an electric current coursed through his limbs and bones, making his body tremble.

This was the aftereffect of executing the Principle of Might.

Xu Xuan couldn’t help but smile wryly. Had he used every ounce of his strength, aligned with the right time and place, and unleashed the strongest blow in dire straits, yet still failed to defeat this man? Or was this the vast chasm between body-refining cultivators and immortal cultivators?

He lay weakly on the ground, staring at the unmoving Old Cao in the center of the pit.

“You…”

Old Cao’s face alternated between red and white, unmoving like a statue.

He could only glare at Xu Xuan with terror, hatred, and unwillingness in his eyes.

Boom!

His arm fractured inch by inch, flesh rupturing and flying apart.

Then, starting from his shoulder, half his body exploded into fragments.

That palm strike’s force was absolute and unstoppable—even steel would be reduced to powder.

Xu Xuan’s blow nearly shattered Old Cao’s entire body.

Thud!

After a moment, Old Cao’s mutilated corpse finally collapsed to the ground.

Hiss~

Xu Xuan drew a sharp breath, stunned by what he saw.

He had long known that from the seventh transformation onward, the Dragon-Serpent Art shifted from flexibility to unleashing formidable might.

But the power of the final move had far exceeded his expectations.

Of course, that world-shaking strike earlier surpassed his limits, harnessing chaotic force within his body, using the advantage of a high-altitude descent to amplify its strength.

If he tried again, Xu Xuan could never replicate such a feat.

Normally, the explosive move of the Principle of Might had only a fraction of that power, but even so, it could deliver a fatal blow to immortal cultivators of the first or second level.

Spit!

Xu Xuan coughed up more blood, the backlash from his final strike leaving him gravely wounded.

Thud!

He lay powerless on the ground, sighing, resigned to await rescue from the sect elders.

After a while, he reckoned the “Three Spirit Sparrows” should have arrived at the mountain gate. With the cultivation of a Spirit-Refining elder, true flight using treasures would bring them here in no time.

Xu Xuan simply lay there, quietly practicing his breathing technique to recover.

“I killed the most Blood Spirit Bandits. According to the rewards, I should get a Bone-Washing Pill, an introductory manual of immortal arts, and be admitted as an inner disciple…”

He mused to himself.

He had now reached the seventh level of body refinement; such rewards were little more than consolation.

Of course, Old Cao had been slain by him, and that reward was truly generous, enough to make ordinary immortal cultivators envious.

Yet what troubled him was that no one had witnessed him slay Old Cao. Even Nie Han of the Starfall Sword Sect had fainted at the crucial moment.

The only witness, Old Cao himself, was now dead.

“With my cultivation as a body-refining practitioner, who would believe I killed Old Cao? If so, it would surely expose the secret of my rapid advancement by two or three levels, drawing unwanted attention…”

Xu Xuan’s expression shifted as he weighed the situation.

Just then, a figure in the distance slowly stood up, looking dazed.

“What…”

Le Feng stood on the ground, bewildered. Aside from himself, everyone else lay motionless, dead or unconscious.

“Could it be that everyone died, leaving only me?”

His face went pale. Soon, he noticed the dust-filled pit in the center: Old Cao’s mangled corpse lay quietly in a pool of blood.

Who killed Old Cao?

Le Feng was terrified, scanning the surroundings. He was the only one standing.

“Wake up! Wake up!…”

He went to Yu Qin, Wan Fushan, and others, patting them.

Soon, several disciples gradually regained consciousness.

“Heavens, what kind of battle just took place? Old Cao died so horribly.”

An outer disciple’s face turned pale.

“Senior Brother Le is truly formidable. It must have been you who killed Old Cao.”

A few looked at him with reverence and awe.

“I…” Le Feng faltered, his face changing.

“Among everyone here, only two could have slain Old Cao. Nie Han obviously fainted, so it must be Senior Brother Le. What kind of magic or supernatural power could cause such an astonishing scene?”

Wan Fushan flattered him, though he had his doubts, eager to curry favor.

Le Feng felt uneasy, scanning the group, but decided not to explain—he hadn’t admitted anything, after all.

The reward for killing the chief Blood Bandit was too tempting.

Soon, everyone woke up, including Nie Han and several from the Starfall Sword Sect.

Even Xu Xuan was “roused” by Yang Xiaoqian and Yu Qin.

“How did Old Cao die?”

Nie Han’s gaze fell on the pit in the center, his expression shifting at the sight of Old Cao’s grisly corpse.

Le Feng relaxed—Old Cao hadn’t died by Nie Han’s hand.

But then Nie Han’s sharp gaze landed on Xu Xuan, whose body was like a pile of broken bones: “Before I fainted, I think I saw this junior brother…”

He actually addressed Xu Xuan as a fellow disciple, but Xu Xuan didn’t notice, and as Nie Han was about to reveal the truth, Xu Xuan’s heart skipped a beat.

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