The two colossal palm imprints, one golden, one scarlet, remained locked in a violent deadlock, grinding against each other in the sky. Shockwaves rolled across the half frozen plains below, shattering mountains into drifting fragments of ice and dust.
Shen Yuan stood within the crimson glow of demonic spiritual energy, wings beating slowly behind him. His crimson eyes flickered with madness… and with amusement.
A wicked smile curled across his lips.
"Let me help you," he whispered.
With his other arm, he extended his demonic spiritual energy outward. It twisted and stretched, forming a crimson spectral hand that expanded like living flesh. In a flash, it slammed down toward Yi An, Yan Bao, and Bai Chen.
The three reacted instantly, dispersing in different directions.
The crimson hand missed them by a hair's breadth.
It struck the earth.
The impact erased more than 100 kilometers of land in an instant. Mountains collapsed into dust. Frozen plains cracked open like fragile glass.
Even the three early Elysian cultivators felt their hearts tremble.
They regrouped midair, their expressions turning solemn.
Without hesitation, they combined their spiritual energy once again, forming intricate seals with blinding speed.
A massive white triangular array manifested beneath them, glowing with sacred brilliance. White light spread across the ground like a tide.
Then the earth shook.
Countless figures erupted from the soil.
They were golems, formed of rock, dust, and condensed spiritual energy. Their empty eyes glowed faintly as they rose in endless waves.
Bai Chen chuckled coldly. "If you want to fight us, you'll need to destroy all of them first."
Shen Yuan said nothing.
He descended like a storm.
Claws, fists, wings, and demonic spiritual energy tore through the golems in a frenzy of violence. Every strike shattered stone and scattered dust across the pocket world.
A minute passed.
Hundreds of golems lay in ruins.
Yet when the dust settled, Shen Yuan realized something unsettling.
The number of golems had not decreased.
They were reforming.
Again. And again.
His crimson eyes narrowed.
Outside the pocket world, even the mortals in the audience sensed the problem. Murmurs spread as they watched the endless stone figures rise again and again.
"Wait... again? He just turned that last wave into gravel with one swing! Why are there more? It's like the mountain's spitting them out faster than he can break them. My eyes hurt from watching this madness."
"Hundreds... hundreds gone! I saw the ground shake when they fell. But look! More hands pushing up through the cracks, more stone eyes opening. It's not stopping. Is the earth cursed? Or is Shen Yuan fighting something that can't die?"
"It's impossible. I blinked, and the broken pieces started glowing, pulling back together. More golems, same as before. Is the land alive? Is it protecting the three? Or is Shen Yuan trapped in some hell where nothing stays broken?"
"Somebody explain this to me like I'm five. He turns hundreds to powder—literally powder—and the next breath, fresh golems are marching out like nothing happened. Is the mountain infinite? Or did someone curse the battlefield?"
Inside, Shen Yuan let out a low breath.
"Oh… I see."
He lifted a finger and pointed toward the three cultivators.
"Using illusions against me isn't bad," he said calmly, though his eyes burned with madness. "But illusions that harm my mind while I cannot harm them… are ultimately useless. Trying to buy some time? How can I let that happen?"
The three froze.
'How did he figure it out so quickly?' Yi An thought in disbelief.
Shen Yuan's voice dropped into a crazed whisper.
"Void fire… go."
A tiny flicker of dark blue flame shot from his fingertip.
It did not aim for them.
It streaked straight toward the white triangular array above.
The three realized too late.
The flame accelerated, devouring space itself—then struck the array.
In a single breath, the array was consumed entirely.
The golems crumbled into dust, vanishing as if they had never existed.
Yan Bao cursed under his breath.
They moved.
Yi An and Bai Chen dashed from the right. Yan Bao surged from the left.
Shen Yuan raised both arms and pointed two fingers outward.
Space warped.
In the next instant, the three did not strike Shen Yuan.
They slammed into each other midair, several meters above the ground, their bodies colliding violently.
Shen Yuan clasped his hands into a seal.
A technique he had not used in years surged.
"Draconic Roar!"
An earth-shaking roar exploded from his throat. The sound was not merely noise—it was a wave of demonic spiritual energy.
Yi An, Bai Chen, and Yan Bao coughed blood as the roar struck them. Their ears bled, their minds rattled.
Yi An gritted his teeth and formed seals.
An array materialized before him, from which a massive spiritual longsword shot toward Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan halted his roar and teleported to the side.
But the sword followed.
Mid-flight, it split into ten glowing rings of light that pursued him relentlessly.
He teleported again.
And again.
Still they followed.
Finally, Shen Yuan let them reach him.
The rings snapped around his joints, tightening like shackles.
His body twisted in an unnatural way.
With a violent surge of demonic spiritual energy, he broke the rings apart.
Even the three early Elysian cultivators stared in shock.
Outside, some mortals turned away, unable to watch such self-inflicted brutality.
Shen Yuan hovered in the air, wings beating, crimson eyes glowing with insight.
He formed seals and shouted.
"Draconic Demon's Screech!"
The sound that followed was monstrous—part a dragon's roar, part a demon's howl. It echoed through the pocket world like the cry of an ancient nightmare. A technique made from the combination of Draconic roar and Demonic roar.
In the elders' chamber, even the elders were stunned.
A new combination technique, created in a crazed state.
The Twin Soul Sect's elder stared unblinking. "He laughs like a demon, eyes bleeding crimson... and from that chaos, a new combination martial technique emerges? Gods… is our Shen Yuan really some kind of genius?!"
The Sun-Forging Sect's elder slammed his cup of tea down. "Impossible! Draconic Roar carries the emperor might of ancient dragons—pure authority. Demonic Roar drips with chaotic malice. Combining them should tear the user apart from within... yet Shen Yuan laughs through the pain and unleashes something new, something that shakes the soul and cracks space itself. A technique born not from harmony, but from frenzied clash. My old heart cannot accept this."
The Sword God Sect elder gripped his sword hilt until it creaked. "He... he merged them? Draconic Roar's majestic pressure with Demonic Roar's bloodthirsty madness—right there, in that demonic transformation? Crimson eyes blazing, mad laughter echoing, and from that chaos a brand-new roar technique erupts?"
The Sun-Forging Sect's elder spoke again. "Draconic Roar and Demonic Roar—two techniques that should repel each other like fire and water. As demonic roar is made of yang and draconic roar is made of yin—yet he forces them together in his insanity, creating a sonic storm that rends both body and soul. The fusion is perfect, seamless, terrifying. He laughs like a lunatic while crafting what sober geniuses could not dream of. We elders... we may have grown too rigid, too afraid of true dangers."
Inside the pocket world, Yi An, Bai Chen, and Yan Bao were struck again. Blood poured from their mouths and noses as they staggered under the terrifying pressure.
Shen Yuan suddenly stopped.
His throat burned.
Suddenly, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
That was when all four realized the truth.
His body could not withstand the new technique.
The three seized the moment.
"Dao Domain, activate!"