The head-on collision unleashed a devastating shockwave that hurled both combatants back dozens of zhang before they could halt their momentum. But Lei Dong seemed to be driven back an extra eight zhang; he opened his mouth and spat a mouthful of blood, his face ghostly pale. Yet Wang Hui fared no better, blood erupting from him as well, his expression contorted with a fierce grimace. In this exchange, Wang Hui appeared to have a slight edge, but he was already severely wounded. Now, with injury compounding injury, the damage to his spirit was even more profound than Lei Dong’s.

However, a strange fearlessness seemed to have taken hold of both men. The churning in their viscera, the collision of their spirits—these only served to ignite a ferocious savagery within them. Lei Dong’s blood grew hotter still. He stomped heavily mid-air, black energy erupting from his body as he charged toward Wang Hui. Wang Hui, unwilling to yield, exploded forward too, wrapped in a shroud of white flames.

The Three Ghost Guards and Shadow Tiger, bound to Lei Dong through the blood sacrifice, shared a single thread of life and thought. Sensing their master fighting desperately, they charged forward in unison. Even drawing away a fraction of the pressure or absorbing even half a blow for him would be worthwhile.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Lei Dong and Wang Hui clashed violently in the void, every punch delivered with maximum force. All feints, all tactical maneuvers to lure the enemy out, were discarded. What remained was only the brutal impact of fist against fist, a desire to settle the matter through sheer, unadulterated power. From the moment a cultivator steps onto the first layer of Qi Refining, their physical constitution is inherently set apart from that of a mortal. Layer by layer, as the zhenqi rises, the body itself is tempered, constantly purified and remolded, growing ever stronger. In terms of cultivation level, Lei Dong was a tier lower than Wang Hui; even activating the Tianmo Bian, his strength only peaked at the sixth layer. Wang Hui, utilizing the Demon Burst Pill, had directly elevated himself to the power of the seventh layer. Consequently, Lei Dong fought with extreme strain. At the same time, he marveled that the Demon Burst Pill he had consumed was no simple item; it nearly matched the potency of the first stage of the Tianmo Bian.

Fortunately, Lei Dong was not fighting alone. The Three Ghost Guards and Shadow Tiger assisted from the flanks, harassing, striking sneakily, or absorbing a punch or kick meant for Lei Dong. In the end, the two sides fought to a standstill, locked in a deadly embrace. Both Lei Dong and Wang Hui experienced an exhilarating rush of battle fervor.

Fists faster, power greater.

Waves of powerful energy shuddered outward in all directions. The reverberations of their impacts echoed ceaselessly throughout the Heart Demon Great Hall, stirring the emotions of the onlookers. Even Dongfang Fu and Tantai Bingyun had to concede: at this moment, Lei Dong and Wang Hui were extraordinary, truly remarkable. If they were in the fray, they could not exhibit such spirit. Of course, if they had cultivated the Tianmo Bian themselves, or consumed a Demon Burst Pill, they would certainly be in no way inferior to the pair currently fighting.

The extremely belligerent young monk, Jie Chen, watched with wide eyes, utterly mesmerized. Excitement burned in his gaze, as if he were the one battling fiercely, not Lei Dong or Wang Hui.

However, burning power in such a manner was not a sustainable strategy. In total, they had perhaps the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn before their energy would be depleted. If Lei Dong failed to kill his opponent before his own strength ran out, the outcome would likely be dire.

Boom, boom.

Both men, desperate for victory, simultaneously intensified their assaults, making the brutal clashes even more savage. While exhilarated, Lei Dong felt as if his bones were on the verge of shattering, his internal organs completely displaced. But Lei Dong knew that at this stage of sheer confrontation, the only course of action was to keep fighting. To Lei Dong’s surprise, the high-grade spirit stone he had swallowed seemed to be exerting a considerable effect. As the other energies in his body were nearly consumed, the Tianmo Bian cultivation method finally locked onto the high-grade spirit stone as it sought power. A continuous stream of energy surged into Lei Dong’s limbs and through every part of his body.

Wang Hui, meanwhile, was experiencing a complete surge of exhaustion, feeling that the burning of his power had reached its absolute limit. He was in a worse state than Lei Dong, simply because this was his first time using the Demon Burst Pill. Furthermore, it was a drug; no matter how expertly extracted and refined, it would always carry harsher side effects than power derived from a pure cultivation method. As his strength waned, the frenzied state induced by the drug slightly calmed. He knew that if he continued fighting like this, he would be the one finished.

In desperation, he quickly swallowed several small Huiying Huanling Dan pills, borrowing the pure energy within the medicine.

“Aaaah—”

Wang Hui shrieked, utilizing the energy from the Huanling Dan to burn his white flames to their absolute peak. Perhaps his body could no longer bear such immense strain, as blood began to seep from his seven orifices [Update from Da Motou Ba]. But his aura simultaneously swelled to its zenith, unleashing a shockwave that sent the Ghost Guards and Shadow Tiger tumbling back violently. The Ghost Guards and Shadow Tiger were already at their limits; under this severe impact, the three Ghost Guards became so transparent they were nearly invisible and could fight no more, coalescing into a single mass floating in the air. The Shadow Tiger collapsed onto the ground, howling miserably, unable to rise several times, its eyes filled with rage and helplessness. They had intercepted numerous attacks on Lei Dong’s behalf during this chaotic brawl.

At this moment, Wang Hui swung both fists simultaneously, the two streams of white flame merging into one destructive force aimed at Lei Dong.

The instant Wang Hui surged, the arrogance instilled by the Tianmo Bian flared in Lei Dong, making him refuse to be outdone. Likewise, he ignited his surrounding black flames to their maximum intensity, mimicking Wang Hui by blasting out with both fists, the resulting shockwave far more powerful than their initial collision. The resulting energy blast was like a hurricane, sweeping up shards of broken earth and debris, whipping them around the hall, stinging the skin as they struck.

Simultaneously, both men were flung backward like cannonballs. Despite their desperate efforts, they could not check their momentum. Wang Hui slammed hard into a broken main support pillar. The sheer force shook the massive column—requiring several people to embrace—causing it to tremble and nearly collapse. The hall itself shuddered faintly, showering dust accumulated over years. As he slid down the pillar, one could see an indentation several cun thick imprinted on the wood where his back had struck.

Lei Dong suffered no less. Since he hit no obstacle, he flew farther, crashing directly into the wall of the Heart Demon Hall. Near that wall was a massive cavity. Perhaps the wall structure was already weakened. Lei Dong’s back struck with a deafening sound, shattering a section, and he stumbled, nearly tumbling out. Lei Dong managed to grip the ground, and when he looked back, his face changed drastically in horror.

It was the endless void, utter darkness. The fallen chunks of wall material floated away swiftly, disappearing from sight. Through the hole, it seemed as if the Heart Demon Hall was suspended in the boundless black sky. Lei Dong did not know where they were, but he knew that falling from here meant the absolute end of his life.

At this point, Lei Dong felt as if every meridian and bone in his body had snapped. He spat out a mouthful of blood, in which fragmented pieces of flesh were clearly visible. Overwhelming exhaustion washed over him; he knew the aftereffects of the Tianmo Bian were beginning to manifest. All the power in his body felt as if it had been sucked dry. No—it seemed a residual amount of power remained from the high-grade spirit stone, which was now slowly infusing its cool, pure lingqi into his internal organs and meridians bit by bit.

Drawing upon this meager supply, Lei Dong slowly got to his feet and gazed into the distance. Wang Hui, too, struggled upright, his legs trembling violently, the medicine from the Demon Burst Pill having also lost its efficacy; the few remaining Huiying Huanling Dan pills gave him just enough strength.

Their sole objective now was to kill the other; nothing else mattered. They moved forward almost simultaneously, step by step. A distance of a hundred zhang should have taken mere breaths. But this small distance felt like their personal nightmare. It took them a full stick of incense time before they finally met in the very center of the Heart Demon Hall.

They continued to swing their fists, smashing them toward the other. But compared to their earlier head-on collisions, this was like children playing house.

The punches were weak, their forms so fragile a slight breeze could topple them.

Thud. They struck each other’s faces, falling backward simultaneously. Wang Hui suddenly remembered something, and with an undignified cackle, he used a sliver of residual strength to retrieve a cyan-blue bead from his storage bracelet: “I almost forgot, I still have a Lei Sha Bomb. Lei Dong, you’re finished.”

Lei Dong weakly lifted his head to look, his voice faint: “Brother Wang, if only you had remembered sooner. Now we are too close. You think you can blast me to death without killing yourself?”

“Uh…” Wang Hui was momentarily stunned. Indeed, the distance between them was barely half a zhang. If he threw that Lei Sha Bomb, it would certainly result in mutual annihilation.

“Actually, Brother Wang and I have no real feud, why fight to the death over a point of pride? In my life, I never yield to anyone, but regarding Brother Wang, I…” Lei Dong’s eyes darted around, and he began speaking with a wry smile: “How about we toss it between Tantai Bingyun and the young monk? That little monk and Tantai Bingyun both look displeasing to the eye.” Secretly, he glanced toward one of the nearby cultivators currently undergoing their heart demon trial—it seemed he had killed one. This bolstered his confidence.

Hearing Lei Dong utter such words at this final moment, Tantai Bingyun was unperturbed, but the young monk Jie Chen was enraged enough to spew smoke from his orifices. He couldn't help but yell: “Lei Dong, I realize now you truly are a bastard—despicable, shameless, vile!”

Wang Hui was moved by Lei Dong’s suggestion. He gestured tentatively, looking troubled: “If it’s ten zhang away, I wonder if it will reach?”