Chapter 156 Who is the ant?
Chen Pufan's eyes bulged, and his hair stood on end with fury. He mustered all his strength and swung his fists violently. Two massive fists, carrying an unparalleled aura, streaked across the sky like meteors, hurtling directly toward The Xuan-Ming Duo.
At the same time, The Xuan-Ming Duo refused to be outdone. They roared in unison and unleashed their signature techniques, sending forth two earth-shattering palm strikes that collided head-on with Chen Pufan's fist energy.
In an instant, a colossal explosion rang out like thunder from the Nine Heavens, making the entire world tremble.
Rumble—!!!!
The attacks of the three collided fiercely high in the air, bursting with blinding light and world-destroying power.
This powerful impact exploded like a giant nuclear bomb, forming a terrifying shockwave that left onlookers speechless. The shockwave swept in all directions at an incredible speed; wherever it passed, space shattered and the clouds changed color.
In mere moments, the cloud layers within a ten-thousand-mile radius collapsed under the devastation of this terrifying force, turning into scattered fragments in the air.
Behind the shattered veil of clouds, a vast, boundless, and dark cosmic starry sky was revealed, resembling a bottomless abyss radiating an endless mysterious aura.
Furthermore, the aftermath of this shocking duel went far beyond that. The extremely terrifying energy storm tore through everything in its path, unstoppable, and eventually spread to the ground.
Tianmen Pass, already ravaged by war and riddled with scars, was now even worse off, suffering yet another violent earthquake. For a time, the mountains shook and the earth moved, sand and stones flew, and countless massive rocks rolled down from the mountains, smashing the ground into pieces as dust filled the air.
Ye Haocheng stood on the ground and casually waved a barrier into existence, protecting the people from Asura Hall behind him, his gaze still fixed intently on the high sky.
This battle was not only about revenge, but also about whether Asura Hall could establish a firm foothold in the Eastern Continent, and even... their qualification to draw their swords against the Central Continent!
High in the sky, the battle reached a fever pitch.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The sound of flesh colliding was so dense it set teeth on edge, ringing out like falling rain.
The more The Xuan-Ming Duo fought, the more alarmed they became, and the more their hearts filled with dread.
They had originally thought that by joining forces and using the profound martial arts from the Central Continent, even if they couldn't take down this gray-robed old man, they could at least fight to a draw or even wear him out.
But reality gave them a harsh slap in the face.
Too strong! He was simply too strong!
The man before them named Chen Pufan was powerful beyond imagination!
The spiritual energy contained within his body was incomparably majestic, as deep and unfathomable as a boundless ocean, seemingly without end and never running dry.
Not only that, his physical body was as solid as a rock and indestructible, even several times harder than legendary divine iron!
Even when Elder Ming's incredibly powerful Earth-Shaking Divine Fist slammed into him, it only produced a crisp sound of clashing metal and could not cause him any substantial harm.
Looking at the two of them fighting Chen Pufan, they seemed unable to keep up with his fierce and swift offensive, which was like a violent storm. They could only retreat constantly, looking incredibly disheveled and pathetic.
"This... how is this possible?!"
Elder Xuan turned pale with shock, his face filled with disbelief. He unleashed his most prized Thunder Palm technique with all his might, trying to catch Chen Pufan off guard, but the result was disappointing—Chen Pufan actually neutralized his palm force with ease!
Immediately after, Chen Pufan took advantage of the momentum to throw a punch that slammed heavily into Elder Xuan's chest. With a muffled thud, Elder Xuan felt his blood boil, and he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot.
On the other side, Elder Ming's situation was even worse. He had always considered himself to have superior strength, but now he had no power to fight back against Chen Pufan. He could only watch helplessly as the power he had cultivated for many years was completely suppressed and ravaged.
At this point, Elder Ming was covered in wounds. The originally sturdy Mystic Black Heavy Armor he wore was damaged in several places, showing several obvious dents;
At the same time, due to the prolonged pressure, the skin between his thumbs and index fingers had burst open, and blood was flowing continuously from the wounds.
"Boom!"
Another violent collision occurred.
The Xuan-Ming Duo were sent reeling back a thousand zhang by Chen Pufan's Sweeping a Thousand Armies move.
The two gasped for breath and looked at each other. Besides shock, their eyes held more of an unbelievable fear.
"Something's not right... this is definitely not right!"
Elder Xuan stared fixedly at Chen Pufan in the distance, who still had a steady aura as if he had only just warmed up, and said with a trembling voice:
"Although we are also at the peak of the Martial Venerable realm, we've been stuck at the bottleneck without progress. But this man..."
"Every move and every style he makes faintly carries a hint of the 'Dao'... Not only does his spiritual energy crush ours, but his understanding of the laws of heaven and earth is also above ours!"
Elder Ming swallowed hard and voiced the suspicion that made them feel despair:
"Could it be... he has already touched that threshold?!"
"Half-Step... Martial God?!"
Martial God!
That was a legendary realm, the realm of true gods who stood at the top of this world and whose words were law!
Even in the Central Continent, Martial God powerhouses were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns; each one was an ancestor who suppressed the fortune of a region!
If the person before them had really touched the threshold of a Martial God, then the two of them would likely meet their end here today!
"You... who exactly are you?!" Elder Xuan's voice became hoarse and low due to extreme shock, as if an invisible force were choking his throat, making it difficult to speak smoothly.
His eyes widened as he stared at the man named Chen Pufan, his face filled with disbelief and astonishment.
Chen Pufan stood there quietly, as immovable as a mountain, yet radiating an aura that made one's heart race.
Elder Xuan thought to himself: This land of the Eastern Continent has been desolate for over ten thousand years. During this time, the spiritual energy has vanished and the laws have been broken. It's simply impossible to give birth to a peerless master capable of stepping into the Half-Step Martial God Realm!
Could it be that this person is the reincarnation of some ancient powerhouse?!
But even so, with such terrifying strength, why would he easily reveal himself in such a godforsaken place?
Just then, Elder Ming asked in fear and with a trembling voice, "Even those mysterious hidden sects in the Central Continent probably wouldn't dare to casually send a great figure of your level to this desolate place, would they?"
However, facing their repeated questions and terrified expressions, Chen Pufan's face remained as calm as still water, without even a hint of change in expression.
He slowly raised his right hand and made a casual dusting gesture, as if trying to lightly brush away non-existent dust from his clothes.
Then, cold and piercing words came from his mouth: "Noisy people are the most annoying."
Before he finished speaking, a cold killing intent flashed in Chen Pufan's eyes as he continued, "As for who I am, after your souls return to the underworld, you can go ask Yama yourself."
After speaking, Chen Pufan stretched his muscles slightly and then whispered to himself, "That was just a small test of my skills."
The implication was that the strength he had just shown was merely the tip of the iceberg.
Immediately, he took a sudden step forward, and his aura erupted like a star about to explode, blindingly bright and incredibly powerful.
Boom!
As soon as he finished speaking, the aura on Chen Pufan's body surged again. This time, a faint layer of golden light actually appeared on the surface of his body.
That wasn't spiritual light; that was divinity!
That was the sign of a physical body about to become saintly and step into the Divine Realm!
At this moment, The Xuan-Ming Duo fell into complete despair.
"He really is a Half-Step Martial God!! Run! Run quickly!!" The two were terrified, their faces as pale as paper, and their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
Their hearts were filled with despair and fear. They had originally wanted to fight to the death, but now even the slightest bit of fighting spirit had vanished without a trace.
They turned around without hesitation, attempting to tear through space to escape this terrifying place.
However, just as they were about to perform a teleportation technique, a cold and majestic voice suddenly rang out: "Did you think you could escape in front of this old man?"
The speaker was none other than Chen Pufan. With cold light flashing in his eyes, he gave a cold snort and made a sudden grabbing motion toward the void. In an instant, an incomparably powerful force erupted from his hands, and the entire world seemed to shake.
"Space... Lock!" Following Chen Pufan's low shout, a loud hum rang out, and the space within a thousand-mile radius seemed to be tightly squeezed by an invisible giant hand, instantly becoming incredibly rigid, as hard as steel.
The spatial rift that The Xuan-Ming Duo had just torn open was actually forced shut by this terrifying power, returning to its original state!
The two were stunned. They felt like two flies hitting a wall, being violently bounced back.
Before they could react, Chen Pufan's figure had already moved as fast as lightning to the space above them. His speed was astonishing, appearing above their heads in the blink of an eye.
"Get down!!" Chen Pufan's eyes bulged with anger as he let out a roar. At the same time, he clenched his fists together as if he were holding a massive iron hammer.
Then, he used all his strength to smash down toward The Xuan-Ming Duo below!
"No!!!" The Xuan-Ming Duo screamed in terror, their voices echoing through the clouds as if they were about to tear the world apart.
Their eyes were wide, their faces filled with disbelief, and their hearts were filled with endless fear and despair.
Facing that terrifying ultimate strike, The Xuan-Ming Duo did everything in their power, exhausting all their strength to summon every defensive treasure they possessed.
For a moment, countless lights flashed as various rare and precious treasures emerged, forming an incredibly solid defensive line.
However, this seemingly indestructible defense appeared fragile and weak before absolute power.
An earth-shattering explosion rang out—"Boom!!!" In an instant, the mountains crumbled, the clouds changed color, and dust filled the sky.
And those treasures, originally seen as life-saving tools, all shattered at this moment, turning into countless fragments that flew in all directions.
At the same time, accompanied by the crisp sound of breaking treasures and the hair-raising sound of snapping bones, two figures plummeted from the high sky toward the ground like two falling meteors.
They left long trails of blood in the air, a shocking sight that was hard to look at.
Then came two more muffled, deafening thuds: "Thud! Thud!" The earth shook violently, as if it couldn't withstand the massive impact.
On the broad, flat ground in front of Tianmen Pass, two bottomless giant craters suddenly appeared.
As the dust in the sky gradually settled, people finally saw the scene before them.
The previously majestic and arrogant Xuan-Ming Duo were now lying motionless at the bottom of the pits like two lifeless dead dogs.
The originally magnificent robe on Elder Xuan's body was now tattered, as if ravaged by a gale, covered in blood and dust, looking extremely pathetic.
His entire body was collapsed on the ground, trembling slightly. Every breath he took was exceptionally difficult, and his aura was withered to the extreme, as if he would take his last breath at any moment.
Looking at Elder Ming nearby, the situation was equally dire. The heavy and solid armor on his body had completely shattered, with countless pieces scattered on the ground.
His chest was deeply sunken, as if it had been violently crushed by an invisible giant hand.
Furthermore, his limbs were all twisted and deformed; clearly, every bone in his body had been broken beyond recognition. Although the two were not yet dead, they were merely lingering on their last breaths, and even holding on for a moment longer was likely a luxury.
Surprisingly, the place where they fell was perfectly timed—they landed right at Ye Haocheng's feet!
For a time, the entire scene fell into a deathly silence. Everyone present was dumbfounded, standing there like statues, completely unable to comprehend what had just happened.
The two top powerhouses from the Central Continent... had actually been defeated?
And they were defeated in such a miserable and crushing manner?
This fact was so shocking that people couldn't react in time; they could only watch this inconceivable scene with waves of shock crashing in their hearts.
Ye Haocheng slowly lowered his head, his gaze as cold as a knife, staring intently at these two members of the so-called "High Clan" who had been arrogant and condescending.
His face behind the golden mask was expressionless, but the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, forming a cold and disdainful arc.
Immediately after, he raised his foot without hesitation and stepped heavily on the cheek of Elder Xuan, who had once forced him to kneel and beg for mercy, applying a bit of pressure to grind his face into the ground.
Having done this, Ye Haocheng spoke coldly: "Now, who is the real ant?"