“Go all out, the Sage Idol!”
Though Du Yu was terrified to the core, seeing the massive purple-golden hand in the sky descending relentlessly, he could only roar silently in desperation.
His hands suddenly formed a rapid seal, and with a crack, the top of his skull split open, revealing a half-foot-tall white Nascent Soul. The Nascent Soul, resembling Du Yu’s face, emerged with an anxious expression and immediately spat out a golden globule of essence blood toward the sky.
The moment the essence blood left its mouth, Du Yu’s handsome, youthful face below withered by a third, aging over a decade in an instant, his eyes turning dull and lifeless.
At the same time, the Nascent Soul shook its shoulders, releasing a radiant white glow, and blurred into a towering white figure over a hundred feet tall, standing above the white-robed youth.
The colossal figure was as vivid as a real person, though its face remained indistinct, save for three long wisps of beard. Clad in an illusory white Confucian robe and a scholar’s hat, it exuded an indescribable aura of pure yang energy.
Yet, the Confucian phantom stood motionless in the void, lifeless as a statue.
With a *pfft*, Du Yu below pointed fiercely into the air.
The golden essence blood exploded, transforming into a fist-sized golden rune that vanished into the Confucian phantom’s body.
A bizarre scene unfolded.
The white Confucian phantom’s face shimmered with crystalline light, morphing into a refined, solemn visage with tightly shut eyes—an expression of supreme dignity.
The terrifying spiritual pressure in the air rippled violently.
The purple-golden hand flexed slightly, now just twenty feet away from the white Confucian phantom. Under the overwhelming force pressing down, the phantom trembled, its form blurring as if on the verge of dissipating.
At that moment, the Confucian Sage Idol suddenly opened its eyes, revealing pure silver pupils. With a low hum, it flicked one sleeve upward while its other hand grasped at the void before it.
A milky-white mist surged from the sleeve, condensing midair into a massive white hand that clashed fiercely with the descending purple-golden palm.
Meanwhile, the other hand of the phantom stirred the surrounding spiritual energy, erupting in a blinding white light before revealing a five-colored brush in its grasp.
A deafening *boom* resounded as the white hand collided with the purple-golden one. The shockwave rippled outward, shaking the entire barrier.
Yet, the purple-golden hand merely paused for a moment before crushing the white hand effortlessly and continuing its downward sweep.
However, the brief delay allowed the Sage Idol to summon the two treasures circling above Du Yu. With a *whoosh*, they flashed before it, spinning rapidly and radiating a hazy glow.
The Sage Idol moved its arm, dipping the five-colored brush into an inkstone filled with an unknown silver liquid before swiftly withdrawing it and tapping the slowly unfurling jade book.
A strange incantation echoed as the jade book erupted in five-colored radiance, spewing forth fist-sized silver runes that coalesced midair into a colossal silver character—*”Confucian”*—spanning an acre in size.
The purple-golden hand flashed, its fingers hooking onto the giant character.
The character buzzed violently, drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy like a vortex, causing it to expand further.
Gold and silver lights clashed wildly in the sky, momentarily halting the purple-golden hand’s descent.
“Interesting. But with just this, you think you can block my strike? Impossible.” Han Li chuckled lightly at the sight.
As his voice faded, he extended a finger with effortless grace, sending a near-transparent spell into the void.
The purple-golden hand trembled, silver spiritual patterns condensing at its fingertips into intricate arrays that burst with dazzling golden light.
Five golden orbs appeared, swelling rapidly into massive spheres before merging into one.
A golden vortex materialized in the palm of the purple-golden hand, spinning violently with a thunderous roar.
The void distorted as a force twice as powerful as before surged downward.
Despite its profound nature and the absorbed spiritual energy, the silver *”Confucian”* character could no longer withstand the assault.
With a *bang*, it shattered into fragments.
The unleashed force crashed onto the Confucian phantom below, twisting the void around it before the phantom exploded into nothingness.
A shrill cry echoed as a white light, carrying a blurry miniature figure, shot downward and vanished into Du Yu’s body.
Du Yu’s previously lifeless eyes flickered back to awareness, but the moment he regained consciousness, he spat out several mouthfuls of essence blood, his aura plummeting drastically.
Clearly, the destruction of the Confucian phantom had severely wounded his Nascent Soul.
The purple-golden hand spread its fingers, enveloping Du Yu entirely.
Instantly, Du Yu felt the space around him constrict, immobilizing him completely. His face turned ashen, drained of all color.
Then, the descending hand halted abruptly, freezing midair.
The golden vortex dissipated, but the immense force remained, pinning Du Yu in place.
The outcome was undeniable.
Outside the barrier, Elder Gu and the others, though unable to sense the full extent of Han Li’s power due to the shield, were stunned to see Du Yu—even with his Sage Idol and treasures—utterly crushed by Han Li’s casual strike.
“Mahayana stage!”
The thought flashed simultaneously in the minds of the Tian Yuan City elders, their faces filled with disbelief.
The yellow-haired man and the ugly woman stood dumbfounded, their minds blank. Knowing Du Yu’s true strength, they couldn’t fathom this result.
As for Crab Daoist and Silvermoon, they remained unfazed.
Given Han Li’s Mahayana-level prowess, defeating a mere Body Integration cultivator in one strike was only natural.
Han Li’s gaze shifted slightly, barely sparing a glance for the immobilized Du Yu before focusing on the two treasures beside him.
The jade book and inkstone, now devoid of their master’s control, dimmed but still circled Du Yu’s body with remarkable sentience.
Without a word, Han Li beckoned lightly toward the treasures.
No visible force manifested, yet an invisible power yanked the two artifacts toward him.
With two soft *pops*, they shot into his grasp as glowing orbs, writhing and struggling to escape.
Han Li smirked, pressing them between his palms and rubbing them together.
The treasures let out mournful cries as their radiance faded, lying still in his hands.
“Since you dared to attack me, I’ll keep these for now. Come retrieve them when you reach the Mahayana stage.” Han Li spoke indifferently to Du Yu before tucking the treasures into his sleeve and vanishing in a blur.
The next moment, he reappeared beside Elder Gu and the others outside the barrier.
“Fellow Daoist Han… have you truly reached the Mahayana stage?” The silver-haired elder stared intently, his voice urgent.
The others fixed their gazes on Han Li, barely daring to blink.
Han Li smiled faintly. “Indeed, by luck, I broke through the bottleneck a few months ago and ascended to the Mahayana stage.”
With that, he released the suppressed aura of a Mahayana cultivator in full.
*Boom!*
A crushing spiritual pressure engulfed the hall, sending the Body Integration cultivators stumbling backward.
“What? Brother Han—no, Senior Han—has truly become a Mahayana cultivator! I—I apologize for any disrespect earlier. Please forgive this lowly one!” The silver-haired elder, though half-expecting it, still paled in shock, bowing deeply with a trembling voice.
Golden Zen Master, Silverlight Fairy, and the other elders, now convinced, straightened and bowed with mixed awe and joy.
Only the yellow-haired man and the ugly woman stood frozen, their faces blank.
But when Han Li’s cold gaze swept over them, they jolted awake, hastily bowing with none of their former arrogance.
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