There was no violent collision; Pan Hu suddenly realized that what he had struck was not flesh and blood, but a wisp of ethereal air, vanishing like a grain of sand dropped into a lake—stirring only a faint ripple before disappearing. The anticipated sight of Nie Kong exploding into fragments failed to materialize.
Pan Hu’s eyes snapped wide, and his heart plummeted instantly into an icy abyss.
“Impossible!”
Pan Hu roared in terror, throwing his body backward in a frantic retreat.
A moment later, however, Pan Hu found himself rooted to the spot, the surrounding void seemingly solidified, preventing him from moving even an inch.
It was then that Nie Kong finally turned around at his leisure, a faint smile on his lips as he reached out to grasp Pan Hu’s arm.
Watching the five approaching fingers, Pan Hu’s heart clenched violently, and unconcealable dread flooded his eyes. He shrieked hysterically, “Nie Kong, you… you dare touch this elder? I am the chieftain of the ‘Pan Xing Clan,’ the direct grandson of the Great Venerable Pangu…”
“Pfft!”
Nie Kong hadn't expected Pan Hu to bellow such a line in this final moment, and he burst out laughing. It seemed that when cornered, a person’s intelligence took a nosedive. If the Great Venerable Pangu truly cared for his grandson, he wouldn't have left the body behind when he perished in this Underworld.
Laughter aside, Nie Kong’s hand did not pause; he seized Pan Hu by the neck.
“Brother Nie Kong, I was worried for nothing. I forgot you are now only half a step away from the Great Venerable level. Forget the current Pan Hu; even Pan Hu at his peak ten thousand years ago couldn't have succeeded with a sneak attack.”
Chi Lian strode up to Nie Kong’s side, his bell-like eyes then sweeping toward Pan Hu, and he guffawed, “Pan Hu, did you ever imagine you’d end up in such a predicament?” The sworn enemy of ten millennia had become mere fish on the cutting board, left entirely to his mercy. An immense sense of relief washed over Chi Lian’s chest.
“Half a step… Great Venerable!”
Pan Hu seemed not to hear Chi Lian’s mockery, murmuring those four words. The fear in his eyes as he looked at Nie Kong had now curdled into sheer despair.
“Big Brother, prepare yourself.” Nie Kong showed no hint of pity as he gestured to Chi Lian.
“Got it!”
Chi Lian nodded, retrieving the ‘Fire Feather Celestial Bamboo’ originating from the Great Venerable Zhu Yin from his robe.
A flash of crimson light illuminated Pan Hu’s vision, jolting him as if waking from a dream.
He seemed to have just remembered Chi Lian’s presence, and a look of desperate pleading entered his eyes. “Chi Lian, the sudden attack on the Xian Xing Clan and Chi Xing Clan back then was not my idea; it was the decision of my grandfather, the Great Venerable Pangu! I was forced into it! Can you spare me this once? I don’t want to die…”
Chi Lian merely sneered, his expression unwavering.
“Brother Chi Lian…”
Seeing Chi Lian unmoved, Pan Hu wept torrentially, but before the rest of his plea could escape his throat, Nie Kong tightened his grip. Chaotic Divine Power surged forth, instantly enveloping Pan Hu’s body, before blasting outward as searing ‘Chaos Heavenly Fire,’ utterly consuming him.
Pan Hu didn't even manage a scream; the consciousness within his soul melted from the heat radiating off the heavenly flames.
With Nie Kong’s greatly increased power, his refining speed had also surged. In just a few short moments, Pan Hu, an Eighth-Grade Spirit God, was transformed into a mass of pure, potent Divine Power.
The flames vanished. Nie Kong slapped his right hand onto the ‘Fire Feather Celestial Bamboo’ held in Chi Lian’s grasp. An instant later, the Divine Power that was Pan Hu permeated deep inside the bamboo shard.
“Boom!”
The shard vibrated intensely, and the surface patterns immediately diffused a dazzling, fiery crimson glow, illuminating the vast bodily space around them as if it were daylight.
Yet, this brilliance was fleeting, quickly receding. Chi Lian patted his forehead, looking slightly dejected. “Brother Nie Kong, Pan Hu’s power is still a bit insufficient. Knowing this, I should have waited until Pan Hu recovered to the Ninth-Grade Spirit God realm before asking for your assistance.”
“It’s no matter.”
Nie Kong swept his eyes around, flicking his right fingers lightly. Wisps of pale, hazy aura seeped into the surrounding darkness. After about ten seconds, fine, silvery-white threads materialized out of thin air, crisscrossing within this bodily space, forming a massive net that sealed every spatial wall.
Then, Nie Kong clenched his wide-open hand forcefully.
The giant net contracted, dragging countless fiery crimson auras toward the spot where Nie Kong and Chi Lian stood. The space itself trembled violently, like mountains collapsing and the earth splitting apart.
The fiery red energy spanning dozens of meters around them instantly coalesced before Nie Kong and Chi Lian, resembling a gigantic ball of flame. With a thought from Nie Kong, the white silk threads—which had enveloped the aura like a fishing net—ignited, beginning the purifying process of refining the dross.
Not long after, another mass of Divine Power was slapped into the ‘Fire Feather Celestial Bamboo.’
Looking at the dazzling red light on the shard, Nie Kong chuckled, “Big Brother, is this enough now?”
“Enough, more than enough!”
Chi Lian grinned broadly, bringing out the other half of the bamboo shard.
When the two halves met, the surface patterns immediately interlocked, and the brilliant, ethereal glow condensed into a palpable screen of light that enveloped Chi Lian.
Nie Kong smiled upon seeing this. One shard contained power no less than that of a Ninth-Grade Star God, along with Chi Lian’s own insights on the path toward becoming a Great Venerable. The other shard carried the insights of the Great Venerable Zhu Yin but lacked raw power—which Nie Kong had just endowed it with.
When the two shards possessed comparable power, they could fuse completely.
The cultivation paths of the Three Great Star Clans were broadly similar. If Chi Lian could fully comprehend Zhu Yin’s insights into the Great Venerable realm, he might achieve that rank within a few years. This was precisely why the Great Venerable Zhu Yin had asked Nie Kong to bring half the ‘Fire Feather Celestial Bamboo’ to Chi Lian.
“Om!”
With a soft chime, the light screen retracted, and the complete ‘Fire Feather Celestial Bamboo’ merged into Chi Lian’s body. The very next instant, Nie Kong felt the power contained within Chi Lian begin to escalate wildly. A terrifying aura swept outwards, forming a crimson storm within the space.
Crack! Crack…
The Divine Power contained within the spatial walls had been completely absorbed by Nie Kong. Now subjected to the impact of the storm, the walls continuously fractured, revealing long, narrow fissures from which sand and gravel tumbled down.
Chi Lian, however, was completely oblivious to these external changes, his internal power still erupting.
Sixth-Grade Star God, Seventh-Grade Star God…
His aura soared rapidly, and the storm grew more violent, causing the spatial walls to shatter faster and faster. However, any falling debris was instantly pulverized into dust by the sheer force of his aura before it could reach Chi Lian’s body.
Eighth-Grade Star God!
Ninth-Grade Star God!
Only then did the climb in his power abruptly halt. Chi Lian laughed excitedly, his gaze toward Nie Kong filled with undisguised gratitude. “Brother Nie Kong, I have recovered the vast majority of my strength, and it is all thanks to you! Without you, it would have taken me several more years at least.”
“Big Brother, there's no need for such thanks,” Nie Kong replied with a smile. “Let’s get out of here first.”
“Right you are.”
Instantly, two figures shot out of the pit in the center of the bodily space and hovered high in the air.
“Boom!”
The space beneath the seabed completely collapsed and dispersed. The surrounding seawater surged and churned, roaring downward, revealing a massive vortex spanning several thousand meters across.
… ……RO
For more novels, visit storyread.net.