342: A 100-meter dash!

Buzz!

A piece of earthy yellow radiance, seemingly capable of bearing all things, shot up from behind him, transforming into a phantom landmass.

Majestic mountains stood upon it, the earth was vast, containing endless weight and power.

This was the manifestation of the Great Dao of Thick Earth, in which Li Daoxuan had immersed himself for centuries!

Heavy, steady, and indestructible!

However, the moment the Five Elements Dao Chart—where the Five Elements merged into one integrated body—came into contact with the solitary phantom of the Thick Earth continent, the superiority was immediately apparent!

Within the Five Elements Dao Chart, sharp sword shadows continuously slashed out, leaving sword marks across the vast land, which from a distance looked like ravines and abysses covering the surface.

At the same time, countless ancient tree roots grew wildly, piercing into the mountains and absorbing their Earth Element essence.

The Heavenly River Water also poured in, washing and eroding it.

Fierce flames scorched the land, creating a thousand miles of barren earth!

Furthermore, the Earth Element Origin resonated with Li Daoxuan's Great Dao of Thick Earth, seemingly attempting to assimilate and absorb it, incorporating it into its own Five Elements cycle!

This immediately caused Li Daoxuan’s Dao of Thick Earth to become sluggish. The mountain phantom upon it began to tremble violently under the crushing force of the endlessly circulating Five Elements Dao Chart; its radiance quickly dimmed, and its volume continuously shrank.

For a moment, Li Daoxuan groaned repeatedly, his face flushed red, and veins bulged on his forehead, yet he could only struggle with all his might to maintain his Dao Realm.

But this was destined to be futile. No matter how strong his Dao of Thick Earth was, it was only one of the Five Elements.

Without the support of the other four elements, the isolated “Earth Element” struggled to succeed.

In truth, Li Daoxuan's Great Dao of Thick Earth was not weak in itself, but when facing the complete system of Yun Chenzi's Great Dao of Five Elements, it appeared singular and fragile.

His Dao was dismantled and suppressed by Yun Chenzi from every angle!

“Crack—”

After persisting for less than three breaths, an invisible cracking sound rang out deep within Li Daoxuan's heart.

His solidified phantom continent finally could not withstand the continuous crushing force of the Five Elements Domain, and cracks appeared, its light rapidly dimming.

“Pfft!”

Li Daoxuan could no longer suppress it; he spat out a mouthful of congested blood, his face instantly turning pale as paper, and his surrounding Qi rapidly withered at a visible speed.

He staggered back several steps before barely managing to stabilize himself.

From the outside, he bore no obvious external injuries.

But only he knew that Yun Chenzi's “Dao Discussion” had forcefully severed nearly sixty years of Dao Cultivation accumulated through arduous practice!

If he had a choice, Li Daoxuan would rather suffer severe physical injury than lose his Dao Cultivation!

After all, this was an Origin injury to the Dao, far more severe than physical injury, and much harder to recover from!

It could be said that this was Yun Chenzi's blatant retaliation, and moreover, a long-planned scheme!

The reason was simple: Li Daoxuan and Yun Chenzi both belonged to Golden Core Perfection. Although their strength differed because Li Daoxuan's understanding of Law was singular, lacking the harmony of the Five Elements.

However, in terms of the Realm itself, there was no difference; they both belonged to the same Realm.

Theoretically, as long as his Golden Core was flawless and his dao foundation was stable, Li Daoxuan was equally qualified to attempt to assault the Nascent Soul, though success was not guaranteed.

But once successful, it would be like a carp transforming into a Dragon. A Nascent Soul True Monarch and a Golden Core True Person are worlds apart. At that point, no matter how unrivaled Yun Chenzi was among peers, he would certainly not be Li Daoxuan's opponent.

Since Yun Chenzi and the others could not bring themselves to kill him, crippling his Dao Cultivation and delaying his time to attain the Nascent Soul Dao was an effective method.

Feeling the drop in his inner Dao Cultivation, Li Daoxuan's facial muscles twitched. A flash of ferocity quickly crossed his eyes, only to be forcibly suppressed.

Too ruthless!

Yun Chenzi was simply too ruthless!

Severing sixty years of his Dao Cultivation—how was this different from gouging out his heart and liver, or devouring his flesh and blood!

Sixty years of Dao Cultivation could not be recovered simply through seclusion. This represented a deficiency in his comprehension of the Laws of Heaven and Earth, a flaw in his Dao Heart.

The effort and time required to compensate for this loss were incalculable!

For him, who desperately sought the Breakthrough to Nascent Soul, this blow was devastating!

Li Daoxuan felt that his luck had been absolutely terrible lately!

First, the crucial Nascent Soul condensing Opportunity, the Spirit-Nurturing Treasure Physique, was inexplicably snatched away, and now he had run into Yun Chenzi, this Harbinger of Misfortune. Both his Cultivation base and Dao Cultivation were severely damaged, resulting in a massive loss of combat power in the short term. He would likely have to slink back to his Clan Territory for secluded healing.

An endless sense of frustration and humiliation surged into his heart—an experience he had never encountered in his centuries of Cultivation.

However, when he looked up and met Yun Chenzi's eyes, which remained indifferent, viewing him like a defeated dog, all his unwillingness and anger were extinguished by the coldness.

Unbeatable!

Li Daoxuan was, after all, an Old Hand who had Cultivated for centuries; his Heart-Nature was naturally sound, and he would not act impulsively.

To knowingly attempt the impossible was a choice only an idiot would make.

Li Daoxuan endured the agonizing pain, forced out a smile uglier than a cry, and managed a difficult cupped-hand salute toward Yun Chenzi, unable even to utter pleasantries.

He did not spare another glance for Zhuge Mingyi, who was equally pale nearby, and turned to leave.

He knew what Yun Chenzi was wary of, and he knew his life was safe, but he did not want to stay for another moment; he only wanted to leave this place of humiliation as quickly as possible.

He took a deep breath, attempting to mobilize the Spatial Law power he had only partially grasped, intending to Teleport directly away and maintain his last shred of dignity.

However—“Whoosh!”

Li Daoxuan's figure suddenly blurred in mid-air.

The next moment, he only reappeared... a hundred meters away!

Because his Dao Cultivation was damaged, his control over Spatial Law also decreased. His previously practiced Spatial Teleportation resulted only in a hundred-meter flash!

In that instant, Li Daoxuan felt like he was splitting apart; his old face burned, and his Dao Heart nearly collapsed entirely.

This was utterly humiliating!

Too ashamed to stay any longer, and ignoring further attempts, he transformed into a slightly panicked streak of Escape Light and sped toward the horizon without looking back, clearly making a hasty retreat.

Looking at Li Daoxuan's embarrassed fleeing figure, the mockery on Yun Chenzi's face was undisguised.

With such paltry Dao Cultivation and Heart-Nature, was he even fit to be ranked alongside him at Golden Core Perfection? Truly, the Great Dao is blind!

If he hadn't worried about the power behind him, he would have surely slain this fiend today!

Withdrawing his gaze, Yun Chenzi looked toward Zhuge Mingyi, who had been desperately trying to minimize his presence and shrink into a ball ever since the “Dao Discussion” began.

Zhuge Mingyi was in extremely poor condition at the moment. The internal injuries from the Backlash of Heavenly Secrets had not healed, and he was further impacted by the residual shockwaves of the recent Law clash, leaving his complexion ashen and his aura chaotic.

Yun Chenzi's eyes were deep, and he pondered briefly.

People from the Heavenly Secrets Family might not have peak Combat ability, but their network of connections was deeply entrenched.

Moreover, their methods for prying into Heavenly Secrets were daunting and troublesome to deal with.

As the saying goes, recent times are turbulent, and it is unwise to create additional complications.

“But he must still be punished!”

Yun Chenzi spoke indifferently. Before Zhuge Mingyi could react, he casually flicked his wide sleeve toward him.

There was no earth-shattering momentum, only the space around Zhuge Mingyi suddenly rippling violently, like water into which a stone had been tossed.

Immediately afterward, an unstable Spatial Vortex appeared out of thin air beside him.

Master Zhuge Mingyi was initially dumbfounded, which quickly turned into utter terror.

“Ah!!!!”