Just as everyone was eagerly waiting for the dust and smoke to settle, they heard Zen Master Huai Xiang shout in alarm:
"This is bad! Get back!"
Before the words had even left his mouth, the vast cloud of dust and smoke suddenly imploded, rapidly contracting toward its center.
Then, the entire cloud shot outward with an explosive force a hundred times greater than the speed of its contraction.
A scorching wave of heat accompanied the cloud, expanding wildly outward like a volcanic eruption.
This searing blast wave and the incandescent matter within it were clearly the energy from the missile's earlier explosion.
The Red Flame Ice Dragon—the Viper King Venerable—had somehow contained it, only to reflect it back at the humans in its entirety.
Everyone scrambled to defend themselves, either by forming a True Qi Barrier or by using a Peak Lightness Skill to evade the scorching blast.
Even a True Dharma Master would have to avoid the full force of a missile's power.
