As the dust from the "World Destroyer" attack settled, a miracle occurred. The villagers, who had been bracing for annihilation, slowly pushed themselves up.
"I'm… I'm not dead?" a man whispered, checking his trembling hands. "We're alive!"
A roar of relief swept through the crowd as every eye turned toward the sky. Floating there, calm as a still lake, was Old Lady Shen.
"So, you finally came out," the Senior with the Serpent Halo said, his voice carrying a cold edge. He narrowed his eyes, studying her intently.
Late Core Formation? he thought, a flicker of confusion crossing his face. When I first arrived, her pressure felt overwhelming—like a vast ocean. But she's only a Late-stage expert?
He squeezed his face into a mask of arrogance.
If that's all she is, then nothing in this backwater can stop me.
Old Lady Shen looked at him with an expression that held no fear. But a suddenly thought came in her mind, I promise not to come outside any more. But I broke that promise,mhmm but if I don't, this village will be no more. Huh, then she inhale and exhale. "And even if I did come out, what of it?"
"You're no different from that doctor," the The halo ring senior mocked, resting his cheek on his hand. "Just a slightly bigger ant."
Behind him, his two black-robed subordinates chuckled, their eyes gleaming with malice.
"Fellow Daoist," Old Lady Shen said, her voice dropping an octave, "I see you are from the Western Lands. And more than that, you are a Dark Cultivator."
"Sharp eyes for a village hag," the Senior sneered.
In an instant old Lady Shen's aura flared with a sudden, murderous intensity. In response, the Senior released his own spiritual pressure. The collision of their wills made the air tremble so violently that every word they spoke seemed to physically tear at the space around them.
Below, the villagers felt as if a mountain the size of a country was pressing down on their chests. Even Han Yue, a Middle Core Formation expert, felt his body beginning to scream under the strain.
Is the gap between Middle and Peak Core Formation really a different dimension? he thought, his bones creaking.
"What grudge does this village have with you?" Old Lady Shen demanded.
"Hahaha! No grudge," the Senior laughed. "I came a long way for one thing: Open the secret passage to the Forbidden Mountain, and I will spare you all."
Old Lady Shen was about to speak, but the Senior interrupted, his voice turning lethal. "Do not refuse. I have the Heaven Devouring Demon Sect as my backers. Choose wisely."
Old Lady Shen's face paled slightly at the mention of the Demon Sect, but she did not back down. She took a single step forward, her body erupting in a brilliant, blue radiance.
"You think your status and power can buy you everything? You are mistaken."
BOOM!
They dashed toward each other, the gap between them closing in a microsecond. Their fists collided with the force of a tornado, sending shockwaves through the air that looked like jagged lightning.
Doctor Lu Cheng, sensing the danger to the villagers, immediately formed a series of rapid seals, creating a secondary barrier to shield them from the fallout of the fight.
Above, the two experts were blurs of light. They crossed paths in an instant, leaving a glowing, X-shaped trail sliced into the air. Han Yue watched, his eyes barely able to track their movements even as they limited their strength to avoid destroying the entire region.
Each strike could flatten this 15km village four times over!
The Serpent Halo Senior found an opening and landed a punch carrying fifty thousand tons of force direct to her abs.
BOOM!
Old Lady Shen was sent screaming through the air, slamming through two distant mountain peaks. But she didn't stay down. She blasted forward like a cannonball, closing the distance in the blink of an eye. With a flick of her wrist, a sword flew from her storage ring. She injected her Qi, and the blade expanded until it was a giant phantom weapon.
She swung it down like a collapsing mountain.
The Senior, caught mid-air, realized it was too late to dodge. He flicked a finger, and an Earth-Grade Shield materialized from his storage ring. He poured his brown, stone-like Qi into it.
BOOM!
The clouds split as the blade struck. A deafening explosion shook the sky. The shield held for a heartbeat, spider-web cracks spreading across its surface.
"BREAK!" Old Lady Shen roared.
CRACK!
The shield shattered into a thousand fragments. The remaining force of the blade slammed into the Senior, driving him into the earth and carving a deep, smoking trench across the ground.
The Serpent's Counter
Dust rose in a massive cloud. The villagers held their breath, but then—a dark, suffocating aura burst from the crater.
The Senior stepped out, his robes torn and blood leaking from his mouth, but he was smiling.
"Not bad…"
His serpent halo began to spin with a chilling sound, releasing a pressure that made the air turn cold. He raised his hand, and black Qi condensed into a massive, ghostly claw.
"Dark Serpent Claw!"
The phantom claw tore through the sky. Old Lady Shen sidestepped it by a hair's breadth, the attack obliterating a straight line of terrain behind her. In the same motion, she appeared directly above him, her palm glowing with the light of a miniature moon.
"Heaven Seal Palm!"
BOOM!
A blue light exploded as her palm slammed into his defense, forcing the Peak Core Formation expert down to one knee. The ground beneath him shattered like glass. He gritted his teeth, his muscles bulging as he struggled against the divine weight.
Old Lady Shen stood firm above him, her aura blazing like an unyielding moon