A deafening boom echoed through the heavens as two figures, glowing with immense Battle Qi, clashed fiercely. The terrifying shockwave soared to the skies, shaking even the clouds above and causing them to disperse. Within a hundred yards around the two figures, no one dared to step forward. The ferocious impact of their Battle Qi was something even an ordinary Dou Zun expert would find hard to resist.
“Haha, magnificent!” Xiao Yan laughed heartily after exchanging a powerful blow with the Star-Plucking Old Ghost. The force of the impact sent him staggering back several steps, but his face was filled with a battle-hungry fervor. In their previous encounters, the significant gap in strength had prevented him from engaging the Star-Plucking Old Ghost head-on, forcing him to rely on agility to dodge and then use Battle Skills to attack. This all-out confrontation was a first for him.
In stark contrast, the Star-Plucking Old Ghost’s face grew increasingly grim. In front of so many Soul Temple experts, it was a grave embarrassment for a proud Heaven Venerable like him to be unable to quickly subdue a junior.
“You just try to wear me out. I want to see how many lives your Xingxuan Pavilion can afford to lose!” The Star-Plucking Old Ghost said in a sinister tone, taking a deep breath.
Xiao Yan’s gaze swept across the Star Realm, his heart sinking slightly. Though some elders of the Xingxuan Pavilion could still hold their own against the Soul Temple experts, the ordinary disciples were no match. Despite their numbers, they occasionally suffered casualties from sneak attacks by the Soul Temple warriors.
“Can’t keep wearing him down… need to end this old ghost quickly,” Xiao Yan pondered briefly before nodding slowly. He silently took out several pills to restore his Battle Qi and stuffed them into his mouth, though he didn’t swallow them immediately. After doing this, he turned a cold smile towards the Star-Plicking Old Ghost and began to rapidly circulate his Battle Qi along a strange path within his body.
As the Battle Qi flowed, a dark golden glow began to emanate from Xiao Yan’s right palm. Simultaneously, he lightly stepped through the air, advancing step by step towards the Star-Plucking Old Ghost.
Seeing Xiao Yan approach, a cruel smile appeared on the Star-Plucking Old Ghost’s face. Recognizing Xiao Yan’s intention to finish the fight quickly, he too prepared to do the same. With his keen eye, he could tell that Xiao Yan was using a Battle Skill, but he wasn’t concerned. The only thing about Xiao Yan that made him wary was the fire lotus formed by the fusion of four flames. Other than that, he didn’t consider Xiao Yan a threat, even though Xiao Yan’s combat power was now nearly equal to his own. He knew that this was due to Xiao Yan’s use of secret techniques, and once those techniques’ effects wore off, killing Xiao Yan would be a simple matter.
“Now, I’ll show you the true power of a Five Star Dou Zun!” The Star-Plucking Old Ghost’s grin widened as vast Battle Qi spewed from his palm, transforming into a peculiar, viscous substance. It then coalesced into a pitch-black saber, which radiated an eerie aura. The blade, covered in a layer of peculiar black crystals, created a small, thumb-sized rift in the air as it gently slid through space.
The Star-Plucking Old Ghost tightly gripped the saber and stared intently at Xiao Yan, who was approaching slowly. The saber quivered, leaving behind multiple afterimages before slashing down with great force.
“Shattered Star Slash!!”
As the Star-Plucking Old Ghost’s low roar echoed, the sky dimmed, and countless stars appeared behind him, converging into tiny streams of light that gathered on the saber. As these streams converged, the energy on the saber grew even more fearsome!
“Die!” The Star-Plucking Old Ghost grinned, slashing down with a single cut. Where his blade landed, the space before him crumbled, fragmenting into bits. Then, a nearly hundred-yard-long, sharp blade-light tore through the void, transforming into a lightning bolt and shooting towards Xiao Yan!
This powerful blade-light drew the attention of countless onlookers. Some, recognizing the move, showed surprise; the Shattered Star Blade was the Star-Plucking Old Ghost’s ultimate ace. Many powerful figures had fallen to this very blade. Since joining the Soul Temple, however, he rarely encountered opponents formidable enough to force him to use this move. Yet, here it was being used again…
“The Shattered Star Blade is among the pinnacle of Heavenly tier Battle Skills, with shocking power. Very few people, even at the same level, can block this move. Xiao Yan is in serious trouble…”
Outside the Xingxuan Pavilion, the observers couldn’t help but shake their heads, seeing the dire situation.
Facing the terrifying blade-light capable of cleaving the world, Xiao Yan’s eyes flickered slightly, and his advancing steps paused. The dark golden glow in his right hand grew more intense.
“Too late to run now!” Seeing Xiao Yan stop, the Star-Plucking Old Ghost sneered, thinking he was intimidated by the blade-light.
Ignoring the sneer, Xiao Yan’s gaze remained fixed on his right palm. There, after the dark golden light reached its peak, a deep, shimmering black ray appeared, trembling faintly.
As the black ray appeared, the golden light rapidly faded, while the black point grew larger, as if the golden light’s energy was being consumed by the blackness.
Feeling his Battle Qi rapidly draining, Xiao Yan swallowed the pills in his mouth and raised his head. The massive blade-light was now within several dozen meters, and its fierce wind caused small bloodstains on his skin.
“An honor to die under my Shattered Star Blade!” As the blade-light approached, the Star-Plucking Old Ghost laughed, believing even Xiao Yan’s speed couldn’t save him now. The annoying brat was finally going to meet his end.
Sighing, a faint smile spread across Xiao Yan’s face. He slammed his palm onto the void before him, and a stern voice boomed, “Great Heaven Creation Palm!”
Bang!
With a single palm strike, the space around them collapsed instantly, and a chilling black light circle rapidly spread from Xiao Yan’s palm, colliding fiercely with the sharp blade-light.
Screech!
To everyone’s surprise, there was no expected explosion. The blade-light seemed to plunge into a bottomless black hole, vanishing without a ripple. Even the spreading black light circle remained unaffected.
Gasps of disbelief filled the air. The Star-Plucking Old Ghost’s powerful attack was something few could withstand, yet the potent blade-light seemed to have no resistance against the bizarre black light circle.
“How is this possible?” The crowd was in a daze, repeating the same question.
The disappearance of the blade-light left the Star-Plucking Old Ghost in a daze. Realizing what he was seeing, his eyes widened in shock. “Great Heaven Creation Palm? A Heavenly tier Battle Skill? How did you get it?!”
The Great Heaven Creation Palm, a technique he had seen in the ancient ruins, was incredibly powerful. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought it would fall into Xiao Yan’s hands!
“It’s those three ribs!” The Star-Plucking Old Ghost quickly deduced that the Heavenly tier Battle Skill was likely engraved on the three ribs Xiao Yan had broken off from the skeleton. “That cunning bastard!”
Fuming with regret, the Star-Plucking Old Ghost retreated hastily, the expanding black light circle closing in on him.
“Trying to run?” Xiao Yan sneered, vibrating his palm. The black light circle surged forward, exuding an irresistible suction force.
Under this suction, the Star-Plucking Old Ghost’s retreat slowed, and he watched in horror as the black light circle closed in. The fear of death crawled into his heart, knowing that if he was sucked into the circle, even he would perish.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
At the brink of death, the Star-Plucking Old Ghost unleashed multiple powerful surges of Battle Qi, but they vanished without a trace when they hit the light circle. The endless absorption left him feeling utterly helpless.
“Die!” Xiao Yan’s eyes chilled, and the black light circle’s expansion accelerated.
“Lord Nine Heaven Venerable, save me!” Finally, in desperation, the Star-Plucking Old Ghost screamed, his wails echoing through the sky.
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