Dust billowed, sand and stone flying everywhere, leaving behind a massive crater—a void so astonishingly large it nearly matched the one Jun Moxie had carved out earlier using the power of earth!
Xia Changtian, having self-destructed, was naturally reduced to ash, irrevocably dead, seemingly without even the trace of a Nascent Soul spirit left. Yet, Jun Moxie, who was at the epicenter of the blast, had vanished without a trace!
Could it be that this brat annihilated himself along with Xia Changtian? Gu Han and the others looked grim, their expressions a complex mixture of the strange and the unsettled. If these two truly perished together... then this situation had escalated to an unimaginable level!
The assembled members of the Three Great Holy Lands felt an almost perverse sense of relief; not a single person mourned Xia Changtian’s passing. Instead, they were praying—praying that Jun Moxie, their greatest foe of the past, would somehow survive. Even Mo Wudao, who had most vehemently wished for Jun Moxie’s demise, now offered a sincere, silent plea from the depths of his heart.
Jun Moxie, you absolutely must not die!
Right now, at this very moment, the Continent simply could not afford such a devastating loss of power...
More crucially, if Jun Moxie had been collateral damage for Xia Changtian, not only would they have to forget about the Heavenly Punishment lineage continuing to aid them against the alien armies, but these Mystic Beasts would instantly go mad, systematically and ruthlessly wiping out every last trace of the Three Great Holy Lands without question!
The assembled experts stared blankly at the scene, each one struck as if by a bolt of lightning.
A grand total of forty formidable experts, plus one Sovereign Saint realm powerhouse, had simply evaporated in such a short span of time!
And all of this destruction was caused by... the actions of a single person!
If Jun Moxie had not been buried with him, this result would be terrifying beyond measure!
“Second Brother Xia...” Ji Bowen let out a mournful, heart-wrenching cry upon seeing Xia Changtian annihilate himself, leaving not even a corpse behind. When Xia Changtian initiated his self-detonation, Ji Bowen had managed to dodge at the last second, sustaining several sword wounds in the process.
The Blood of the Flame Emperor, unwilling to let him go, pursued relentlessly, every strike pressing hard. Witnessing the demise of his closest friend, Ji Bowen’s mind became chaotic, leading to a succession of injuries. Yet, now, he did nothing but roar wildly, completely disregarding the wounds afflicting him.
Suddenly, Ji Bowen’s entire body shot upward like a piercing arrow aimed at the heavens, his ascent accompanied by a grief-stricken laugh!
The Blood of the Flame Emperor responded with an abnormally sharp, piercing sword-howl. Swish-swish-swish—a flurry of sword lights flashed, and blood rained down from the high heavens. An arm, severed by the flashing sword-glow, detached and plummeted from mid-air with a sharp crack!
“Agh!” Ji Bowen arched his head back in searing pain, spitting a mouthful of blood toward the sky. The blood immediately dispersed into a mist across the air, but his body maintained its trajectory, speeding forward at full tilt!
The Blood of the Flame Emperor vibrated with a low hum, chasing relentlessly. That momentary lapse in vigilance earlier had allowed this man to escape, and the Blood of the Flame Emperor felt deeply insulted, its rage bordering on humiliation. To let a mere child, who thought himself so capable and important, escape unscathed—the price for such an affront would surely be horrific!
Ji Bowen erupted in booming laughter, suddenly shouting with all the strength left in his body: “Jun Moxie, since you are so utterly devoid of humanity, then this old man will ensure you live the rest of your life in agony! What Second Brother Xia failed to complete, I shall finish!”
Before the words fully left his mouth, his body suddenly folded, violating every known law of physics!
What had been a straight vertical ascent twisted abruptly into a sharp, diagonal plunge! His momentum was fierce as the wind, his speed swift as lightning! In a mere flicker, he bizarrely traced hundreds of single-armed afterimages across the sky, whooshing down at breakneck speed towards Mei Xueyan on the ground!
Ji Bowen laughed maniacally, gathering all the power in his remaining hand! His eyes blazed with an expression of extreme ferocity as he brought his palm down directly towards Mei Xueyan’s head!
This strike was the culmination of a Second Level Sovereign Saint’s entire life force. As this palm was unleashed, the space within a hundred-zhang radius, centered on his hand, instantly solidified! It seemed to transform into a colossal block of iron!
In this domain, not even the wind or the air could move!
Mei Xueyan’s flowing hair abruptly froze mid-wave; Xiong Kaishan, his mouth agape, filled with righteous anger as if to shout a curse, was also held static at that precise moment. It was as if the very fabric of time and space across the entire world had become a solid mass!
Ji Bowen shrieked with a sound of utter misery, his laughter filled with the exquisite pleasure of vengeance!
He sought retribution against Jun Moxie, and the finest way to exact it was by targeting the person he cherished and loved most! He had already decided: if this strike managed to kill Mei Xueyan, after savoring the look of grief on Jun Moxie’s face, he would immediately self-detonate.
Just to witness Jun Moxie’s expression of heart-shattering sorrow, Ji Bowen felt his purpose fulfilled, desiring nothing more!
Everything would have been worth it!
You forced us brothers into a life worse than death; now, I will make sure you live your entire life trapped in suffering! In regret! Forevermore!
Thinking this, Ji Bowen unexpectedly burst into a fit of maniacal laughter.
Yes, every living being possesses only one life.
But when the time comes to sacrifice it, we hold nothing back!
He knew that subjected to a close-range, self-detonating attack, no one among the Heavenly Punishment Mystic Beasts or the high-ranking officials of the Evil Monarch’s Mansion present could possibly survive.
He knew Jun Moxie was not dead; Jun Moxie absolutely could not be dead! Because the cursed demonic sword behind him was still pursuing him relentlessly! That sword was undoubtedly controlled by Jun Moxie, and since the sword flew on, Jun Moxie must still be alive!
This meant Xia Changtian’s self-detonation might not have affected Jun Moxie at all!
This realization fueled a blinding rage in Ji Bowen’s heart!
Jun Moxie, how dare you not die? How can you live? You deserve death the most! You are the one who should perish!
Therefore, Ji Bowen immediately chose this path of retribution! A path of resolute vengeance!
Kill Mei Xueyan!
If Mei Xueyan died, even if Jun Moxie ultimately survived, he would face an eternity of prolonged suffering!
Kill! Kill!
The hundred-zhang distance vanished in a single sweep!
Before his palm, space abruptly buckled, forming a gigantic, hand-shaped imprint that descended through the void!
This was the ultimate power unleashed by a Second Level Sovereign Saint, an all-or-nothing, desperate strike!
An unstoppable death blow!
However, unstoppable momentum does not equate to absolute obstruction!
In that critical, unrepeatable instant, Mei Xueyan, momentarily locked within the containment field, roared, and her entire internal power erupted—the surrounding space instantly began to emit sharp cracking sounds. Her hair billowed out again, and she raised her jade-like hand, ready to counterattack!
At this moment, the personnel from the Three Great Holy Lands could hardly believe their eyes!
A space locked down by the life force of a Sovereign Saint—and Mei Xueyan was able to break free? And immediately prepare a counter-assault? Just what kind of terrifying cultivation must this Heavenly Punishment Sovereign possess now? Hadn't they always referred to her as ‘Venerable Mei’? Why this unbelievable, incomprehensible phenomenon?
But Mei Xueyan ultimately did not counterattack.
It wasn't that she was too slow; it was unnecessary! Unneeded!
Because a figure had materialized eerily in front of Mei Xueyan, standing tall, blocking Ji Bowen’s path!
With this person positioned before her, Mei Xueyan was utterly confident that no power in heaven or on earth could break through this barrier to harm her! She was that certain!
As this figure appeared, dozens of black sword-lights flashed and vanished in a blink, faster than lightning.
A pair of hands seemed to appear from thin air. The space instantly filled with a dense, swirling purple mist. This strange, ethereal purple qi ascended, seeming to contain the most profound trajectory of the 'Dao' existing between heaven and the universe! Upon seeing this purple qi, Gu Han’s face instantly changed dramatically!
This purple qi clearly contained limitless opportunity!
If one wished to break through, to advance further, this, perhaps, would be the crucial key to the absolute key!
Following this, those hands met head-on against the gigantic handprint formed by Ji Bowen’s condensed Xuan energy! It was like an insurmountable, towering mountain suddenly appearing before a surging torrent!
Heavenly thunder meeting earthly fire! The sound was deafening, like the collision of the sun and the moon!
The only person who could inspire such certainty in Mei Xueyan, the only one who could possess such divine artifacts, could only be Jun Moxie!
Jun Moxie’s face was cold, his eyes blazing with an almost hysterical fury! Having manifested from the void when his beloved was under mortal threat, he stood his ground, clashing directly with a Sovereign Saint!
“Argh!” Ji Bowen shrieked, tumbling backward mid-air before his feet even touched the ground, dozens of streams of blood spurting from his front and back!
The dozens of black sword-lights preceding him were, in fact, forty-nine Nine Nether Cold Blades. They had pierced straight through his body at that moment; then, Jun Moxie’s dual palms, saturated with Primordial Purple Qi, slammed into him!
Under the impact of such terrifying, overwhelming force, Ji Bowen was sent flying backward like a three-year-old child suddenly struck by a stampeding bull—arms and legs flailing wildly. Blood erupted from his mouth like a fountain, spraying high into the air fifteen zhang!
The Jun Moxie facing him also showed a flush of redness on his face, staggering back a step before spitting out a mouthful of blood. He crashed against Mei Xueyan’s back, finally stopping his momentum, and then collapsed weakly onto the ground.
Ji Bowen was, after all, a Sovereign Saint expert. Even achieving such a decisive victory, Jun Moxie could not emerge unscathed. In fact, having fought two Sovereign Saints back-to-back, the energy borrowed from the Hongjun Pagoda had been completely exhausted. His meridians were thrown into chaos, and his internal and external injuries could no longer be suppressed. Finally, he could hold on no longer!
Yet, Jun Moxie’s eyes remained fiercely fixed on Ji Bowen.
If he could still move, he would choose to merge with the Hongjun Pagoda once more, even if it meant the annihilation of his own soul, just to completely grind this villain to dust!
A soft hum sounded. The Blood of the Flame Emperor, rushing from behind Ji Bowen, showed no reduction in speed and, without mercy, stabbed straight into Ji Bowen’s back heart! And then it stopped there!
The Blood of the Flame Emperor, flying at the speed of light, following its trajectory, should have passed straight through Ji Bowen’s body without the slightest resistance!
Since Ji Bowen’s body offered virtually no defense now—even the Nine Nether Cold Blades, far inferior to the Blood of the Flame Emperor, had pierced him—how could the incomparably sharper Blood of the Flame Emperor not pass through unimpeded?
But the reality was this strange, this unbelievable!
The Blood of the Flame Emperor, traveling at an incomparably high speed, stopped its forward motion the moment it entered Ji Bowen’s body! It halted within his flesh, embedded in his muscles!