Old Freak Zhaixing, who had soared upward with such imposing momentum, abruptly retracted every trace of his surging aura. Without even a backward glance, he tore open a rift in space and plunged headlong into the void.
"Is he… creating all that terrifying pressure just to flee?" Hu Jia stared in disbelief. The old monster had looked moments ago as though he were prepared to burn his life in a final, apocalyptic strike—yet now he fled in such a wretched, panic-stricken manner. Was this truly one of the renowned experts of the Central Plains?
"I have no idea either," Han Xue murmured, shaking her head slowly. "This is the first time I have witnessed such a thing."
Half of Old Freak Zhaixing's body had already vanished into the spatial tear. He believed escape was within his grasp.
But in that very instant, horror flooded his aged eyes.
His body froze uncontrollably in midair.
The heavens, the earth, the void itself—even his own vision—transformed into a dead, silent world of black and white. The scene was indescribably eerie.
No wind stirred. No aura fluctuated. All vitality seemed to have been stripped from existence. Only endless shades of gray and pitch darkness intertwined, as though even the flow of time had been frozen solid in this moment!
"What… is happening?" Old Freak Zhaixing wanted to cry out, yet no sound escaped his lips. An unspeakable terror gripped his heart.
He struggled with all his might—yet it was futile. His entire body felt imprisoned by an irresistible, supreme force. He could not move so much as a single finger. Only his eyes remained capable of motion.
And then—
A figure appeared out of thin air.
Xiao Jietian descended gracefully, landing directly before him. Hands clasped behind his back, he looked down upon the trapped old monster with a faint, mocking smile.
"The performance is not yet concluded. Did I grant you permission to leave?"
Before the words had even finished falling from his lips, Xiao Jietian suddenly raised his right leg.
His foot lashed out like a thunderbolt, smashing viciously into Old Freak Zhaixing's already distorted face.
"No—!!!"
The old freak's eyes bulged in abject terror. He desperately tried to lift his arms to block, yet his body remained utterly immobile!
"Boom!!"
A colossal force erupted.
The sole of the shoe struck Old Freak Zhaixing's face dead-center. In an instant his features caved inward—nose bridge shattered, teeth exploded outward, blood spraying from both nostrils and mouth like crimson fountains.
"Ugh—ahhh—!!!"
A soul-rending wail forced its way from his ruined throat.
Only then did Old Freak Zhaixing discover that his body could once again move—but not freely. It was merely the motion of being brutally kicked away by Xiao Jietian's foot.
He could only watch helplessly as the ground rushed up to meet him.
"BOOM!!"
The earth quaked violently. Dust and debris billowed skyward in a choking cloud.
Hu Jia and Han Xue, standing on solid ground, were shaken by the tremor and swayed unsteadily. Both unconsciously swallowed hard.
"That… must have hurt quite a lot."
Glancing at the spreading dust cloud, the two women quickly summoned Dou Qi wings and retreated swiftly to avoid soiling their robes.
Several breaths later.
When the dust finally settled, a pit three zhang deep had been smashed into the earth, centered perfectly on Old Freak Zhaixing. Spiderweb cracks radiated outward in all directions. The pitch-black ghost-headed broadsword stood vertically between his legs—its blade only a few scant centimeters from a far more… sensitive region.
Even amidst the agony wracking his entire body, he could not suppress an inexplicable chill that raced up his spine.
The weapon trembled briefly, then dissolved back into eerie black mist and dissipated.
"With only this much ability, you still dared to play tricks before me?"
Xiao Jietian strolled forward unhurriedly, gazing down at the broken old man. He had to admit—a Dou Zun's physique was indeed resilient. Even after such a fall, only the protective battle armor had shattered; countless fragments were now embedded in the skin, and numerous bones had snapped, yet the old freak still lived.
"I thought you were building up to unleash the Star Shattering Slash of your famed blade."
"Cough… cough…"
Old Freak Zhaixing struggled to lift his head from the dirt. Blood froth mixed with shattered teeth constantly bubbled from the corners of his mouth. His eyes were bloodshot, vision blurred, yet he still stared fixedly at Xiao Jietian—his gaze brimming with venomous resentment and bitter unwillingness.
"You… you dare…"
Gritting what remained of his teeth against the excruciating pain, Old Freak Zhaixing forced himself upright. Standing at the bottom of the pit, he glared upward at Xiao Jietian. Deep in his heart he secretly regretted ever rushing here in the first place—driven by the promise of merit when he first heard of this opportunity.
Now everything had gone wrong.
No merit gained. His life hanging by a thread. He did not believe for a moment that Xiao Jietian would spare him.
"Oh? You can still stand?" Xiao Jietian looked down mockingly at the hunched, miserable figure in the pit.
The only reason Old Freak Zhaixing could rise at all was because the healing medicines he had swallowed earlier had not yet fully worn off.
"Daring to oppose our Hall of Souls… you will meet a miserable end!!!" Old Freak Zhaixing glared with sinister hatred, voice rasping and hoarse. "You simply have no idea how vast and deep the power of the Hall of Souls truly runs!"
"Oh? Is that so?" Xiao Jietian folded his arms, looking down with an expression of pure contempt. He yawned lazily. "Then I shall wait with anticipation."
Suddenly his tone sharpened.
"Pick up your teeth."
Old Freak Zhaixing's body jerked violently. His eyes widened until the whites showed all around. The flesh of his face twisted grotesquely. He seemed unable to comprehend the words.
"You… what did you say?" His voice was so hoarse it was nearly inaudible; the grinding of shattered jawbones produced a grating, sickening sound.
In the next instant he "understood."
He realized Xiao Jietian intended for him to crawl across the dirt like a dog, gathering his scattered, broken teeth one by one.
A tidal wave of humiliation surged through his chest.
"You… you dare?!"
"Since you refuse to cooperate—then die!"
An overwhelming, terrifying pressure suddenly descended from the heavens, crushing down upon Old Freak Zhaixing like the weight of Mount Tai itself!
"Nine… Nine-star Dou Zun peak!!!"
Old Freak Zhaixing's knees slammed into the mud at the bottom of the pit. His kneecaps sank deep; the sound of cracking bone rang out with chilling clarity. He roared in utter disbelief.
In the blink of an eye Xiao Jietian appeared directly before him.
His palm glowed with an invisible, terrifying force as it smashed mercilessly downward toward the old monster's skull.
"Soul Shattering Palm!"
"No—!!!"
Old Freak Zhaixing's eyes turned scarlet. He frantically circulated every last scrap of remaining Dou Qi, desperately attempting to form a defensive barrier.
But—
"Crack!"
The hastily conjured shield shattered like brittle paper beneath Xiao Jietian's strike!
The palm print landed squarely upon Old Freak Zhaixing's skull—without earth-shattering explosions, without world-rending fluctuations. It was deceptively gentle… yet utterly devastating.
"Ugh—ahhhh—!!!"
Old Freak Zhaixing's eyes bulged grotesquely. Every vein on his face swelled to bursting. Blood poured from his mouth, nose, ears, and eyes as an inhuman scream tore from his ruined throat.
"You will not die an easy death!" he cursed viciously, blood bubbling from all seven orifices.
Xiao Jietian merely shook his head faintly, eyes calm and rippleless.
"For wicked fiends such as those of your Hall of Souls… is that phrase not most fitting of all?"
"No—!!!"