"Come! Show me your true strength!"
Gu Yuan's expression was solemn as he stared intently at Chen Xiaoming. After a fierce exchange of blows, he realized that Chen Xiaoming's Dou Qi cultivation had also reached the peak of Nine-Star Dou Saint—an equal match to his own.
Rip!
The space within the Gu Realm tore open. Silver light surged between Chen Xiaoming's hands as he reached into the rift, pulling the space apart to either side. A pitch-black spatial corridor emerged from the void.
"Let's take this outside."
Fighting inside the Gu Realm was too restrictive. Outside, they could unleash their full strength. With a flicker of his figure, Chen Xiaoming was the first to vanish into the void.
Gu Yuan hesitated briefly, his eyes flickering with uncertainty, but then he too followed.
"Let's go."
Outside the great hall, the Gu Clan Elders also murmured softly and quickly followed through the spatial rift left in Chen Xiaoming's wake.
Xiao Xun'er trailed closely behind, her eyes filled with worry. Is Teacher getting a little carried away?
Beyond the spatial passageway lay an endless, sweeping prairie. Gazing around, the outline of Ancient Sacred City was still faintly visible in the distance. High above, suspended midair, Chen Xiaoming and Gu Yuan now stood facing one another.
"Here, we don't need to hold back."
A flicker of excitement flashed across Chen Xiaoming's eyes. His figure blurred, and the space around him rippled with visible distortions. As space warped, his body vanished.
A breeze stirred between heaven and earth. Behind Gu Yuan, waves of surging energy roared silently, exerting immense pressure across the area as faint energy fluctuations swept outward in all directions.
Whoosh!
As the energy pulse passed by Gu Yuan's right, a silver light suddenly tore through the air. Dazzling and intense, it exploded in a burst of brilliance. Thousands of silver rays shot forth like piercing needles, hurtling toward Gu Yuan.
"Go."
Unmoved, Gu Yuan responded. The tidal wave of energy behind him condensed into a massive palm, which swept out to intercept the attack. The sheer force of the energy disturbed the surrounding space.
The silver rays clashed against the energy palm, but the tide of power surged relentlessly, dissolving every attack without exception.
Suddenly, Gu Yuan's soul force spread out. A chilling sensation swept over him from his left—a warning of imminent danger.
"Ancient Emperor's Shattering Nirvana Finger!"
His Dou Qi surged to its peak. With a low shout, the sea of energy behind him surged forward. Towering Dou Qi coalesced into a colossal finger etched with arcane runes. The terrifying pressure shattered the surrounding space.
The moment the finger pointed outward, all creation seemed to crumble. A deathly stillness descended between heaven and earth as terrifying waves of energy swept outward.
A suffocating pressure poured down from the sky. Even distant spectators felt the space lock around them, and fear crept into their hearts.
The mere exchange of blows within the Gu Clan had already left everyone awestruck. Now, outside the Gu Realm, both combatants had fully unleashed their strength.
Especially among the clan elders, one Five-Star Dou Saint suddenly felt insignificant—convinced even a stray shockwave from the fight could seriously injure him.
"Break!"
As the energy finger bore down, a crack tore through space at its tip. The space trembled and twisted.
A dazzling silver spear thrust out from the void. Upon it were engraved nine golden dragon runes, and golden light danced at its tip.
With a single thrust, the void quivered. Chen Xiaoming reappeared, spear in hand. Radiant silver energy flooded into the weapon, his vast Dou Qi erupting in a detonation that distorted space itself.
Boom!
Spear and finger collided. An explosion of energy erupted, thunderous and apocalyptic in scale, as if the sky itself were collapsing.
Xiao Xun'er and the others in the distance instinctively summoned their Dou Qi in front of them to block the shockwave's onslaught.
Energy stormed outward. The massive finger was pierced through by the spear's silver light. Tides of energy surged through the sky as the golden and silver spear light shattered, bursting into countless radiant fragments that rained down like stars.
In that moment, the battlefield transformed into a starry realm. Countless spatial rifts stretched out into dark abysses, dotted with twinkling lights like celestial constellations. Amid the sweeping tides of power, even the stars seemed to shift and realign.
Whoosh!
With the energy finger broken, Chen Xiaoming seized the opportunity and lunged again. The terrifying brilliance of his spear surged forward, tearing the world like paper.
Countless spatial fissures appeared, stretching for thousands of feet. The starry sky split apart, transforming the heavens into an abyss—a terrifying, otherworldly sight.
Gu Yuan moved swiftly. Behind him, the energy tide transformed into countless massive fingers, each pointing forward to block Chen Xiaoming's relentless assaults.
Boom... boom... boom...
Thunderous explosions echoed across the sky. Distant spectators felt waves of sound crashing against them. Though they were far removed, they were still forced to retreat further.
A Seven-Star Dou Saint elder fared worst. Though reluctant to retreat, his role as protector of the Gu Clan—and especially Xiao Xun'er—left him no choice but to remain. But the pressure on him grew immense, and with the escalating ferocity of the battle, he feared even a glancing injury would spell disaster.
Even back in the Ancient Sacred City, still a great distance away, members of the Gu Clan were rising into the air, watching the clash unfold from afar.
Even at such a distance, the residual shockwaves could be felt. A faint pressure enveloped the entire city, suppressing all those with weaker cultivation, leaving many immobilized.
The stronger cultivators stood in the air, watching in silent shock.
Boom!
The two collided again. Chen Xiaoming and Gu Yuan separated, hovering midair and locking gazes. Chen Xiaoming's once-vast Dou Qi was now faintly diminished.
Gu Yuan, not far away, was in much the same state. Though both were Nine-Star Dou Saints, the scale of their attacks had been immense, far beyond what natural Dou Qi recovery could match in a short time.
Whoosh.
With a flick of his finger, Chen Xiaoming sent a streak of white light toward Gu Yuan. Gu Yuan caught it with a wave of his sleeve—it was a pill, faintly fragrant with medicinal essence.
After dragging the fight on this long, Chen Xiaoming knew it was time to bring it to an end. Gu Yuan's strength had exceeded even his expectations.
A flash of light shimmered in Chen Xiaoming's right hand, revealing an identical white pill. He swallowed it in one gulp. His fading Dou Qi instantly surged back to full.
"One final move—to decide everything!"
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