The towering middle-aged Rm (Roman) figure was carrying something strapped to his back: a coffin-like black container forged from some specialized alloy. Reading easily on your phone: $\alpha$. This nearly two-and-a-half-meter-tall, one-meter-wide metal case displayed several blinking indicator lights, suggesting complex machinery was active within. Gu Xichen's claws, imbued with destructive power, swept down erratically toward the enemy's head. Rm (Roman), passing less than two meters from Gu Xichen, was thrown into complete disarray. He spun around in a frantic retreat, a flash of brilliant blue light igniting in his eyes.

An invisible psychic shockwave slammed toward Gu Xichen. The beat of his heart instantly accelerated to a terrifying rate of six hundred times per minute. Fine threads of blood began to seep from his pores, turning Gu Xichen into an instant crimson figure. His Dao Fetus (Nascent Soul) frantically spewed forth pure energy, continuously boosting Gu Xichen’s physical functions. One surge of this energy transformed into a tough, resilient mental vibration that shot directly toward Gu Xichen’s head. The two mental assaults collided violently just outside the periphery of Gu Xichen’s brain.

With a muffled grunt, Gu Xichen saw stars flash before his eyes. He slashed wildly four or five times before staggering backward in a retreat.

The blue light in the Rm (Roman) man’s eyes dimmed. He let out a horrified cry. Gu Xichen’s successive claw strikes had heavily impacted the metal case behind him, showering sparks everywhere. As dark energy erupted from his claws, the Rm (Roman) man felt his body hit as if struck by a train. Unable to control himself, he too tumbled forward in a humiliating sprawl, thrown back over ten meters. Stars were also wildly flashing before this Rm (Roman) man's eyes; his psychic attack had been violently countered by Gu Xichen, and his brain had suffered a tremendous shock.

"Die!"

Just as he regained his footing, Gu Xichen ripped two egg-shaped grenades from his belt. With a sinister grin, he pulled the safety pins and hurled them with all his might.

Two blue spheres exploded amidst the blue flames currently swirling around the Rm (Roman) man. A massive electromagnetic radiation, accompanied by an ugly screeching sound, enveloped the caught-off-guard Rm (Roman). The specialized EMP bombs surged against the energy shield of the Rm (Roman) man's power armor. After a blinding burst of electric fire, the blue flames surrounding the Rm (Roman) man violently shrank until they were barely an inch thick.

The Rm (Roman) man cursed, stumbled forward a few steps, then turned back to launch another psychic assault at Gu Xichen. This time, the Rm (Roman) man poured nearly all his strength into it. A bright blue beam, resembling a high-energy laser, shot straight out from between his brows, aimed directly at Gu Xichen.

"Break!" Gu Xichen crossed his claws. The skin, muscle, veins, and meridians on his palms and fingers instantly became transparent, like white glazed jade. Wisps of ethereal, dreamlike white chill shot out from his finger bones, and gradually, even his bone structure began to take on a strange translucency.

The secret killing move, 'Snow Soul Divine Claw,' recorded in the supplemental text of the All-Encompassing Primordial Canon, was unleashed by Gu Xichen at full power. Ninety-nine percent of Gu Xichen's innate Gang Qi was concentrated on his claws. This pure Gang Qi circulated rapidly through the minute meridians and acupoints of his hands, following an arcane trajectory. The Gang Qi condensed at the tips of his claws instantly transformed into the 'Snow Soul True Gang,' specialized to pierce metal and shatter flesh.

His monstrous claws chopped down fiercely. Gu Xichen’s claws met the intensely bright blue psychic wave in a head-on clash.

Accompanied by an extremely high-frequency shattering sound, large plumes of almost substantial white ice mist jetted forth from Gu Xichen’s claws. The blue psychic wave was violently deflected sideways. The Rm (Roman) man was flung backward, roaring in horror; he had lost control of his all-or-nothing mental strike. The psychic wave pierced into the dense woods to Gu Xichen’s right. Over a dozen colossal trees, each almost a meter thick, began to rapidly disintegrate from their roots amidst a strange roaring sound. In the blink of an eye, all the trees simultaneously dissolved into fine sawdust scattering across the air.

A faint whistling sound emanated from Gu Xichen’s rigidly held claws. The Snow Soul True Gang condensed at his fingertips had been nearly pulverized by the Rm (Roman) man’s psychic impact. Large patches of minute white ice crystals could now be seen drifting away from Gu Xichen’s ten fingers.

The terrified middle-aged Rm (Roman) man glared at Gu Xichen. Having suffered successive heavy blows to his mind, he finally lost control over his internal injuries, and a torrent of golden blood erupted from his nostrils.

"Human! I will remember you!"

This middle-aged Rm (Roman) man dipped a finger into the golden blood spraying from his nose and, barely summoning some mental energy, traced a bizarre pattern in the air.

"By the glorious ancestors of the Holsom family, I, Gilt Holsom, swear I will personally sever your head!"

After giving the stiffly posed Gu Xichen one last fierce glare, Gilt Holsom turned and staggered forward, continuing his flight.

A sinister, low hiss escaped Gu Xichen’s lips. His heart rate had spiked to seven hundred beats per second. Gu Xichen channeled all the immense new power surging from his heart into his right arm. Disregarding the potential damage this exertion might inflict upon his right arm’s meridians, Gu Xichen subtly utilized the cultivation method of the Primordial Canon. In a rapid flurry of movement, he struck out with the 'Cloud Severing Palm'—another secret technique from the Canon’s supplement—eighteen times in succession!

His widely spread and solidified meridians trembled under the tremendous pressure. The veins in Gu Xichen’s right arm swelled high and thick; the skin of that arm was stretched so tightly it nearly shone through.

Eighteen continuous palm gusts, pale white with faint glimmers of phosphorescence, drifted out from Gu Xichen’s right hand, unpredictable like the thin clouds floating at the highest point of the morning sky.

The power of the Cloud Severing Palm was inherently yin and yielding; its gusts were erratic, like a predatory serpent, making them extremely difficult to evade. When mastered to the Great Accomplishment stage, each palm strike contained nine hundred layers of dark force, specializing in injuring internal organs and striking opponents through objects. Gu Xichen had primarily focused on the supremely powerful Snow Soul Divine Claw over the years, neglecting the Cloud Severing Palm. Nevertheless, each of his palm gusts still contained three hundred layers of dark force!

The eighteen gusts of palm wind carved serpentine, bizarre trajectories through the air like phantoms, finally landing squarely on the back of the rapidly fleeing Gilt Holsom. Five thousand four hundred layers of dark force erupted simultaneously. The energy shield on Gilt Holsom’s power armor dutifully weakened every single layer of dark force by seventy percent. The remaining thirty percent successfully pierced the metal case and violently penetrated Gilt Holsom’s body.

It was as if a celestial deity swung a world-splitting great hammer into Gilt Holsom's back with full force. Gilt Holsom shrieked, lifted a foot off the ground, and was thrown forward. With a terrible impact, Gilt Holsom slammed head-first into a massive tree trunk almost three meters in diameter. His magnificent, three-meter-tall body embedded itself a meter deep into the trunk. Gilt Holsom wailed several times before he managed to wrench himself free from the wood.

By now, Gilt Holsom's high, proud nose was completely flattened, yet the light blazing from his power armor had paradoxically intensified!

Following the successive barrage, the main power system within Gilt Holsom's energy armor had completely depleted its reserves, so the backup system immediately began channeling energy to the armor. A thick, meter-deep blue flame once again enveloped Gilt Holsom. Terrified, Gilt Holsom glanced back at the panting Gu Xichen standing rooted to the spot. He gritted his teeth and firmly pressed an inconspicuous button on the armor’s waistband.

A miniature syringe inside the armor pierced Gilt Holsom’s body. The specialized stimulant of the Rm (Roman) people diffused throughout Gilt Holsom’s entire system in a mere half-second.

With a stifled, upward howl, the dim blue light in Gilt Holsom’s eyes flared violently. A whirlwind kicked up at his feet, and he fled forward almost as if flying.

Gu Xichen grit his teeth, preparing to press his attack on Gilt Holsom, when a sharp, intense pain shot through the meridians, veins, and muscles surrounding his heart.

The energy pouring from his Dao Fetus had exceeded the physical limits his body could withstand. Having completely exhausted his internal Gang Qi, Gu Xichen had lost the strength for further combat.

Just as Gilt Holsom seemed about to escape, a muffled thunder-like roar echoed from the sky.

Eight heavily armed helicopters belonging to the Hell Angels Mercenary Corps sped from behind, skimming the treetops. The rocket pods slung beneath the short wings of the helicopters simultaneously let out shrill whistles. Large clouds of smoke and fire completely shrouded more than half of the aircraft bodies. All five hundred and seventy-six fifty-millimeter rockets from the sixteen pods were emptied in a mere eight seconds.

Each rocket trailed a long plume of flame through the air, and nearly every single one struck Gilt Holsom, who was glowing blue in the dense woods like a giant lightbulb.

It had to be admitted: Gilt Holsom, radiating light and standing three meters tall, was an absolutely perfect target!

Thunderous explosions erupted continuously. The energy shield on Gilt Holsom’s power armor, which had just recovered, rapidly dissolved under the haze of smoke and fire.

Gilt Holsom was blasted over three hundred meters away, spitting blood in great gulps, his skin charred black. If not for the alloy case behind him absorbing most of the force from the rocket explosions, Gilt Holsom would have been torn to shreds by now.

Having just injected the stimulant, Gilt Holsom had overdrawn his life essence, and his current mental power had reached its absolute peak.

Enraged yet paralyzed with terror, Gilt Holsom managed to twist around in mid-air. Blue light flickered in his eyes, and dozens of violent psychic shocks, bearing a faint blue trajectory, blasted toward the eight roaring heavy armed helicopters.

"Hah!"

A furious shout, like thunder tearing through the void, erupted as Banruo, wielding a golden Ruyi staff, leaped high from the cabin of one helicopter. He formed a half-White Lotus Lion Seal with his left hand and swept it forward fiercely; several psychic strikes aimed at his helicopter instantly vanished into nothingness.

From the other seven helicopters, other Hell Angels Mercenary Corps fighters who had reached the Innate Realm also burst out. They joined forces to shatter the counterattack Gilt Holsom had launched in haste.

Gu Xichen managed to gently harmonize the Gang Qi within his body. The Primordial Canon was truly miraculous; by planting his feet on the earth and drawing upon the terrestrial energy, continuous true energy began to generate. In just a few breaths, he had recovered thirty percent of his cultivation. Letting out a few strange, cackling laughs, Gu Xichen crouched low and shot forward like a meteor on fire toward the falling body of Gilt Holsom.

Before Banruo and the other seven fighters could even land, Gu Xichen, smiling broadly, reached Gilt Holsom first.

One final electromagnetic grenade completely shattered the last thin layer of Gilt Holsom’s energy shield. Gu Xichen brought his fist down hard onto the back of Gilt Holsom’s head.

With a dull thud, Gilt Holsom’s eyes rolled back, and he passed out.

An angry curse from the bearded Commander crackled through his headset: "Good work, boys! Damn it, Evil Dragon, Banruo, you bastards, hurry back here for support!"

The increasingly intense sounds of gunfire and artillery continued to echo from the dense forest ahead.