In the pitch-black alley, Elder Liu, enraged upon realizing his attacker was Qin Lang, instantly assessed the situation: "This Qin Lang is faster than me. I am injured now... If I flee, he will surely continue to attack me with throwing knives. If this drags on, I will certainly die. I might as well fight him head-on!"

In an instant, Elder Liu calmed down, his gaze retracting, holding his battle saber with his uninjured left hand.

"Die!" A low shout echoed through the alley.

Boom!

The air exploded as an iron claw tore through the void, carrying spatial ripples of shock, arriving in front of Elder Liu instantly.

"Clang!" The battle saber parried Teng Qingshan's grab with exquisite timing.

"Break!" Teng Qingshan soared upward, his right fist surging forward like a flooded dragon, accompanied by a piercing shriek. At first glance—it resembled a sharp spear. This punch was swift as violent thunder, fast as lightning. Carrying a reddish afterimage, its power surged dramatically just before it reached Elder Liu!

Hum~~

Space seemed to be pierced by an electric drill.

"Thud!" Like a strike on a great drum, Teng Qingshan was forced to take a step back, while Elder Liu gracefully drifted back three zhang. Teng Qingshan's punch had once again failed to achieve its goal.

"True Self Realm?" Teng Qingshan's expression shifted slightly.

Elder Liu stood with a composed face, his eyes resembling a placid deep pool, all sharp glint concealed. The battle saber in his left hand pointed diagonally toward the ground, a faint ice-green saber light flickering on its edge.

"Qin Lang! You want to kill me?" Elder Liu said coldly, "With just these paltry tricks, you presume to kill me?"

"Oh?"

Teng Qingshan grinned, "Then watch closely as I show you my true methods."

In the dark alley, a powerhouse shrouded in firelight faced off against a powerhouse illuminated by an ice-green glow.

"Boom!" Teng Qingshan's trousers stretched taut, and his strong right leg pushed off the ground, causing the earth to tremble. He himself utilized the rebound force, combined with the Tianya Xing movement technique, transforming into a fiery red blur... closing the distance of several zhang in an instant.

Elder Liu, existing in the 'True Self Realm,' remained unfazed by Teng Qingshan's ferocious assault.

"Swish!" Another seemingly casual strike.

The blade struck Teng Qingshan's palm, yet his right hand, encased in the 'Sky Eagle Claw' gauntlet, remained completely unharmed.

"Clang!" Producing a metallic collision sound, Elder Liu swiftly withdrew his saber.

Teng Qingshan's left hand moved like lightning, reaching for Elder Liu's weapon.

"Hmph." A cold sneer played on Elder Liu's lips. His battle saber casually brushed against Teng Qingshan's left hand, easily neutralizing the grab, while Elder Liu used the force to retreat... But just as he was about to pull back—

"Dragon Form! Tiger Pounce!" Teng Qingshan's gaze sharpened.

Both his arms instantly transformed like coiling pythons, swiftly wrapping around, while his feet stomped down hard, executing a direct Tiger Pounce.

Close-quarters Tiger Pounce! Arm entanglement!

How could the one-armed Elder Liu dodge now? "Courting death!" Elder Liu's face turned cold, and the battle saber in his hand erupted with a dazzling ice-green chill, cleaving toward Teng Qingshan's arms. A cold smile touched Teng Qingshan's lips—

"Crack—" The sound of shattering bone rang out.

Teng Qingshan's hands, like two snakes, bound Elder Liu's single arm, twisting it into a grotesque angle!

"How is this possible?" Elder Liu was stunned.

The True Self Realm meant making the most perfect control based on known information. It meant keeping the battle under control... But now, events had deviated beyond his expectations.

"Thump!" Teng Qingshan delivered a high knee strike directly into Elder Liu's abdomen.

In terms of sheer power, Teng Qingshan's leg strength surpassed his arms.

The knee instantly pierced the Innate True Essence Qi Shield, sending a violent force through the abdomen, instantly destroying Elder Liu's vital Dantian.

Once the Dantian was destroyed, Elder Liu was inferior even to a Houtian master.

"Elder Liu, did you finally see my methods?" Teng Qingshan released his grip, and Elder Liu collapsed limply to the ground. Clutching his abdomen, he stared fixedly at Teng Qingshan: "You, your arm just now—how? Impossible. This shouldn't happen..." Even with his Dantian destroyed, Elder Liu refused to believe it.

"Others cannot do it, but that doesn't mean I cannot," Teng Qingshan stated indifferently.

Normally, Elder Liu's strike should not have presented Teng Qingshan with an opportunity. But... Teng Qingshan's two arms moved as if boneless, bending at an unnatural angle. Making the impossible possible, they managed to snake around the battle saber and entwine Elder Liu's limb, crushing it!

"Before I die, let me tell you a secret," Teng Qingshan grinned.

"Hmm?" Elder Liu's eyes widened.

Because Teng Qingshan had peeled off his human skin mask.

"Teng—" Before the terror-stricken Elder Liu could finish speaking, a streak of firelight shot through his throat! A Xiantian powerhouse whose Dantian was ruined was nothing more than an ordinary person.

Elder Liu was dead!

"Crash!" Elder Liu slumped down powerlessly, but his eyes were still filled with horror and disbelief, as if he had witnessed something unbelievable.

He couldn't believe it!

He couldn't believe that the one capable of killing him, given Green Lake Island's ruthless methods, was the seventeen-year-old Teng Qingshan!

Yes, it was Teng Qingshan!

In his final moments, he saw... Qin Lang was Teng Qingshan! Sadly, he had no way to inform anyone else.

Teng Qingshan reapplied his human skin mask: "Arm coiling and bending? Hmph... When it comes to control over the body, you Xiantian masters, even with another hundred years of practice, could never compare to me!" Different paths of cultivation determine different achievements. The path of cultivating inner strength and pursuing the Xiantian realm...

This path values inner strength and Innate True Essence.

Whereas the path of Internal Martial Arts values control over the body—be it the internal organs, the flow of blood and breath, or the bones, muscles, and skin... In terms of physical control, those Xiantian experts truly lagged far, far behind.

In his previous life, one of the three giants of the Divine Kingdom, 'Vishnu,' who fought Teng Qingshan, was a grandmaster who cultivated 'Hatha Yoga' to its extreme, capable of making his arms wrap around like they had no bones.

In this life, Teng Qingshan, whose physical control had reached an unprecedented peak, possessed flexibility even surpassing Vishnu.

"My ultimate Internal Martial Arts skills, especially the physical advantages, can only be maximized in close combat. But... how can a powerful Xiantian master allow me to get that close so easily?" Teng Qingshan sighed inwardly. "Even killing a one-armed Elder Liu was this troublesome! My cultivation realm is indeed significantly lacking."

Combining physical strength and Innate True Essence, Teng Qingshan was comparable to a Xiantian Solid Core realm expert.

But in terms of realm, Teng Qingshan was still only at the 'Subtle Inflow' stage. While the Xiantian Solid Core experts were either in the 'True Self Realm' or the 'Selfless Realm'... Unless he could deploy an unexpected ultimate move like this time, killing them would be difficult. The gap in realms made it extremely hard for Teng Qingshan to finish them off.

"With my current strength, killing a Xiantian Solid Core expert head-on... it will indeed be arduous," Teng Qingshan mused.

Although he had personally killed several elders of Green Lake Island.

One was stealthily ambushed and died unjustly outside the Heavenly Flood Palace. Another, facing overwhelming pursuit, blindly fled and slammed directly into the hard wall forged by Emperor Yu, killing himself instantly! As for Elder Hu... strictly speaking, Teng Qingshan had used borrowed knives to kill him! And Elder Liu here was also one-armed.

Of course, achieving so many victories was also due to Teng Qingshan exploiting his advantages and using any means necessary to kill his opponents.

When one is powerful, one can sweep away opponents head-on with grand momentum. But when one is weak, still foolishly challenging them directly—that is the act of an idiot.

...

In the pitch-black alley, the handsome silver-haired man, 'Zhao Danchen,' moved forward silently, not making a single sound.

"Three more turns at the forks, and I'll reach the treasure location," Zhao Danchen's heart pounded with excitement. "So many elders entered this time... Most of the other elders have likely met their demise. All of Green Lake Island's sacrifices... are worth it! As long as we can obtain Emperor Yu's treasure!"

He glanced back, a cold smirk touching the corner of Zhao Danchen's mouth.

"That bald monk, the technique he cultivates should be the extremely mysterious Shijia Heart Sutra from Manjushri Temple, and of the Six Great Divine Powers, he has likely mastered Clairvoyance, Clairaudience, Supernatural Movement, and Telepathy. His Arhat fruition is near completion—he's harder to shake off than a wild dog!" Zhao Danchen sighed inwardly, recalling the journey.

The Beast King 'Wu Hou' was the first to enter the Heavenly Flood Palace.

Zhao Danchen and the Long-Browed Old Monk entered later.

Initially, Zhao Danchen intentionally took wrong turns because he guessed... the Long-Browed Old Monk was likely tailing him. Given the accomplishments of the Long-Browed Old Monk cultivating the Shijia Heart Sutra, silent tracking wouldn't be difficult. Zhao Danchen circled for a long time and tried every method to shake him off.

Finally, believing he had succeeded, he returned to the correct path. Yet, through an accidental discovery, he was shocked to find that the Long-Browed Old Monk was still following him.

This second time, Zhao Danchen expended immense effort, eventually leading the Long-Browed Old Monk into a wrong side passage. Only then did Zhao Danchen laugh triumphantly three times before departing proudly.

"Manjushri Temple truly lives up to its name as the foremost major sect. The Shijia Heart Sutra, Mahā, and numerous other Heaven-tier secret texts are all profoundly mystical and unpredictable," Zhao Danchen sighed. In the entire world, no sect could compare to Manjushri Temple in terms of sheer volume of secret techniques. This was because... among the Four Ultimate Powerhouses, only the Shakyamuni Ancestor focused his entire energy on his sect, creating various miraculous martial arts. Emperor Yu and the Heavenly Emperor of Qinling devoted too little effort to sect building. The number of secret manuals suffered as a result. Of course, Emperor Yu's Gate and the Ying Clan were still superior to the other five major clans.

"However, once we obtain Emperor Yu's treasure, Green Lake Island will surely become even stronger."

Zhao Danchen’s heart burned with fervor.

As he rounded the final corner, Zhao Danchen looked toward the 'Treasure Location'—

Embedded in the wall in the center of this alley were two luminous pearls, emitting a faint, eerie jade-green glow that illuminated the surrounding area for more than ten zhang. Beside the wall was a staircase leading underground.

"Emperor Yu's treasure is inside!" Zhao Danchen rejoiced.

"Hahaha... Zhao Danchen, you've worked hard on this journey." A hearty laugh rang out. Startled, Zhao Danchen turned—

A figure emerged from the darkness.

It was the 'Beast King' Wu Hou!