296: The entire audience went wild! The light revealed an abyss; this was no human being!

"Boom—!!!"

The purple-gold thunder pillar, carrying the destructive power of a middle-stage Spirit King's angry strike, smashed ruthlessly toward the dragon head of the five-colored warship.

On the plaza, many timid female Cultivators had already covered their eyes.

However, the tragic scene of the ship being destroyed and people dying as expected did not appear.

"Ang!"

The Resting Soil Earth Dragon coiled at the bottom of the ship merely lifted its eyelids lazily, and the heavy layer of earthy yellow divine light on its body brightened slightly.

That was the absolute defense from the Mother Qi of the Earth.

"Thud."

A dull sound.

The thunder pillar, which was enough to shatter mountains, was like an egg hitting granite; it didn't even stir a ripple, directly crumbling into a sky full of electric arcs and dissipating into the air.

Even the tattered lantern hanging at the bow with the words "Immortal Bean" written on it only swayed twice and didn't fall off.

"..."

Dead silence throughout the field.

In mid-air, the figure rushing forward wrapped in thunder suddenly stalled, coming to a hard stop fifty meters in front of the warship.

The newcomer was a middle-aged man wearing a Purple-Gold Thunder-Patterned Robe. His face was seventy percent similar to Thunder Without Limit's, but at this moment, that majestic face was filled with astonishment and fury.

Deputy Hall Master of the Thunder Spirit Hall, Lei Lie.

Level 46, middle-stage Spirit King.

He stared fixedly at that earth dragon, the corners of his eyes twitching wildly.

That's... Resting Soil?!

This spendthrift actually used the legendary Resting Soil as the bottom plank of a ship?!

"Deputy Hall Master Lei."

Lu Sheng stood atop the dragon head, still holding that half-eaten spiritual fruit in his hand, looking down at Lei Lie from a height. His gaze was as indifferent as if he were looking at a moth that didn't know whether it was dead or alive.

"Just now, that nephew of yours gave me two appetizers. What, are you also in a hurry to come and seek death?"

"Arrogant brat!!"

Lei Lie was so angry that his whole body trembled, and the finger he pointed at Lu Sheng was shaking.

"Fellow Daoists!!"

Lei Lie suddenly turned around and roared sternly at the onlookers from various major forces on the plaza below. His voice was extremely sorrowful and indignant, spreading throughout the entire Kunlun Heavenly Gate.

"This wretch from the Dengxian Island is cruel and bloodthirsty!"

"On the way to Kunlun, he intercepted and killed my Thunder Spirit Hall's flying boat for no reason, brutally murdered two Spirit King Dao-protectors, and even tortured my nephew, Without Limit, to death!"

"Such devilish behavior is simply a provocation to the order of the entire True Sea!"

"If this beast is not eliminated today, what justice can there be in the Holy Land Grand Competition?! What rules can there be?!"

These words were spoken with tears and blood in every syllable.

Whoosh—!

The crowd instantly exploded into a commotion.

"What? Those two Dao-protectors from the Thunder Spirit Hall are dead?"

"Even Thunder Without Limit was killed? Heavens, he was a top Prodigy of our generation!"

"This is too ruthless... Everyone is here for the competition, is it necessary to go for the kill?"

The direction of public opinion instantly tilted toward the "victim," the Thunder Spirit Hall.

At the same time.

In the crowd, several auras that had long been ready to go erupted with great tacit understanding.

"Brother Lei is right! This child's hostility is too heavy; he cannot be kept!"

An old man with a sharp aura and an ancient sword on his back stepped out, followed by dozens of Sword Cultivators in purple robes.

Zixiao Sword Sect!

"Humph, my Tianhai City's Young Lord, Jun Yiran, was also ruined at this child's hands!"

On the other side, a group of Cultivators in sea-blue robes surrounded them with grim faces. The leader was a one-eyed old woman, her crutch thumping heavily on the ground, her Killing Intent chilling.

"A life for a life, a debt for a debt! Today, an explanation must be given!"

Several second-rate Sects attached to these major forces also followed the wind, sacrificing their Magic Treasures one after another and spreading out in a fan shape, completely blocking the five-colored warship's path of retreat.

In just a few breaths.

Above the White Jade Plaza, spiritual light soared to the sky, and Killing Intent was like a net.

A full seven or eight Spirit King realm powerhouses, along with hundreds of Spirit Ancestor and Spirit Master level elites, formed a terrifying encirclement capable of flattening a small Sect.

At the edge of the plaza, those neutral forces retreated one after another, their eyes full of schadenfreude and disdain.

"It's over."

Someone sighed in a low voice: "Dengxian Island has incited public anger this time."

"This is called having a status that doesn't match one's virtue. A dilapidated house that has been in decline for two hundred years still wants to put on airs like others? Now look, they're going to be liquidated before they even enter the gate."

"With only two Spirit King Elders to hold the fort, what do they have to fight others with?"

On the warship's Deck.

Li Xiaoyao's face was ashen, and the green-edged sword in his hand buzzed, yet it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

He glanced at the dense, hostile gazes around him, and his heart felt cold.

This was a setup.

These people didn't intend to be reasonable at all; they wanted to use the name of "righteousness" to completely crush the Dengxian Island right under Kunlun's nose!

"Lu Sheng..."

Luo Tianfei crawled out of the cabin, clutching her ribs which were still faintly aching, and looked at this scene with a pale face: "What should we do? Should we give up on this Grand Competition?"

Although she was proud, she wasn't stupid.

In this situation, going head-to-head was a dead end.

"Give up?"

Lu Sheng bit off the last piece of fruit and casually tossed the core into the air.

Pop.

The core accurately hit the protective spiritual light Lei Lie had put up, bounced once, and fell to the ground.

The damage was minimal, but the insult was extremely strong.

"Old man."

Lu Sheng ignored Luo Tianfei and didn't look at those indignant enemies either; he just turned to Li Xiaoyao and said indifferently: "Keep the ship steady, don't scratch my dragon."

Li Xiaoyao was stunned: "What do you want to do?"

"What do I want to do?"

A cold arc curved at the corner of Lu Sheng's mouth as he slowly pulled his hands out of his pockets.

"Since they say I'm a Devil Head..."

"Then if I don't do something a Devil Head should do, wouldn't I be letting them down?"

Thump!

Lu Sheng took a step out, his figure falling directly from the hundred-meter-high dragon head.

Without any buffering movement.

Like a piece of meteoric iron weighing billions of tons, he smashed straight toward the ground.

"Boom—!!!"

The White Jade Plaza vibrated violently.

Centered on Lu Sheng's landing point, the high-grade white marble floor tiles within a hundred-meter radius turned into powder in an instant.

Web-like cracks, like crazily growing vines, spread rapidly toward the surroundings, forcing the Cultivators in the front row of the encirclement to retreat in a panic.

The dust dissipated.

Lu Sheng stood in the center of the ruins, patted the dust off his pant legs, and slowly looked up.

Those eyes were very dark, as dark as a night sky without stars.

But there was no violent fluctuation of Qi around him, only a faint, grayish-white mist silently penetrating outward from the soles of his feet.

That was "Desolation."

It was the end of all life.

"Just now, who said they wanted an explanation?"

Lu Sheng's gaze moved horizontally, bypassing those clamoring small fry and locking onto Lei Lie.

Being swept by this gaze, Lei Lie's heart jumped violently. That feeling was like having his throat stared at by an archaic Vicious Beast.

But he was a middle-stage Spirit King after all, and under the watchful eyes of everyone, how could he show cowardice?

"It's me!"

Lei Lie took a step forward, the thunder light around him flourishing as he tried to dispel that oppressive feeling, shouting sternly: "Wretch! You slaughtered fellow Daoists, the evidence of your crimes is conclusive, what else do you have to say?!"

"Evidence?"

Lu Sheng smiled.

He smiled so much his shoulders shook, as if he had heard some huge joke.

"Killing a few dogs requires evidence?"

Lu Sheng raised his right hand and lightly hooked his index finger.

"I'm standing right here."

"Those who want an explanation, those who want revenge, those who want to wag their tails and show loyalty in front of those Kunlun masters..."

His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly drilled into everyone's ears, carrying an extremely arrogant provocation.

"Come at me together."

"It saves me the time of looking for you one by one."

Arrogant!

Arrogant beyond limit!

The whole field was in an uproar.

"You thing that doesn't know whether it's dead or alive!"

That one-eyed old woman from Tianhai City was the first to lose her patience, her crutch thumping the ground: "This old woman will send you to the afterlife right now!"

"Do it!!"

Lei Lie's eyes also flashed with Killing Intent, and he stopped talking nonsense.

He keenly sensed something.

This Lu Sheng had not released a Dharma Idol from beginning to end.

Even when facing enemies several times his number, he was only using the strength of his Physical Body to resist.

Was he hiding his strength?

Or... did he have some shameful secret?

"No matter what you've hidden, in the face of absolute power, you'll have to show your true form!"

Lei Lie sneered in his heart, a recording stone appearing in his hand.

The absolute order he received this time was not just to kill, but more importantly—to force out Lu Sheng's trump cards and record all his data!

"Zixiao Sword Formation, rise!"

"Tianhai Raging Tide, suppress!"

"Ten Thousand Thunders Striking!!"

Rumble—!!

For a moment, the sky above the White Jade Plaza was colorful.

Flying Swords were like rain, sea waves were overwhelming, and thunder was destroying the world.

Several Spirit Kings acted simultaneously, and that terrifying power even caused tiny cracks to appear in the surrounding space.

Facing this overwhelming destructive strike.

Lu Sheng didn't dodge.

He just stood there quietly, watching the sky full of flowing light fall, a hint of disdain flashing in the depths of his eyes.

"Too weak."

He shook his head.

Deep within his spine, the Dharma Idol prototype of the "Archaic Heaven Emperor Venerable," sensing its master's Battle Intent, trembled slightly.

But Lu Sheng pressed it back down.

Small fry of this level weren't worthy of making the Emperor open his eyes.

"Human-Dragon Form—Open!"

Hum!!

Lu Sheng's skin instantly turned grayish-white, and layers of ferocious bone armor emerged from his body, wrapping him into a humanoid killing machine.

He didn't use any spirit source.

Merely relying on his base strength of 1350 tons after a 3-fold increase, he threw a punch toward the densest part of the sword rain directly in front.

A simple and unadorned punch.

"Bang!!!"

The air was blasted apart.

A visible white vacuum ripple crazily spread outward in a fan shape from the fist's edge.

Those Flying Swords that were enough to cut gold and break jade were like fragile toothpicks in the face of this pure violence, snapping and falling all over the ground.

Next were the sea waves, then the thunder.

All were smashed by a single punch!

The residual force of the punch didn't diminish, hitting that one-eyed old woman's chest directly.

"Puff—!!"

The old woman didn't even have time to scream; she was like a ragdoll hit by a locomotive, flying back several hundred meters and smashing heavily into a white jade dragon-coiled pillar, fainting on the spot.

One punch to break all techniques!

The whole field fell into a suffocating dead silence again.

Those second-rate forces that were originally prepared to rush up and kick a man while he's down stopped in their tracks, their faces pale and their legs weak.

Monster... this is a pure monster!

Lei Lie was also breaking out in a cold sweat on his forehead at this time, almost dropping the recording stone in his hand.

What sequence of physical strength is this?

Even Spirit King-level attacks can't break through his defense?!

"What? Not moving?"

Lu Sheng withdrew his fist and scanned the field, his tone cold: "Weren't you shouting very happily just now?"

He stepped forward.

With every step he took, the surrounding crowd took a step back.

The aura of one person actually suppressed hundreds of powerhouses so much they couldn't lift their heads!

"Which onion are you?"

Lu Sheng finally stopped in front of Lei Lie, his bone-armored face leaning close to the other person, his voice hoarse and low: "Just now, you were the one shouting the loudest?"

Lei Lie only felt a strong smell of blood and a Desolation aura hitting his face, his heart twitching.

But he couldn't retreat.

Behind him was the Kunlun Heavenly Gate; if he retreated, the Thunder Spirit Hall's face would be completely lost!

"Lu Sheng! Don't you dare be so arrogant!"

Lei Lie gnashed his teeth and roared with false bravado: "This is the Kunlun Holy Land! Above your head is the haotian demon-illuminating mirror! You are so cruel and tyrannical, you must have cultivated a Demonic Technique! I'll see if you dare let the demon-illuminating mirror shine on you!!"

He was gambling.

Gambling that Lu Sheng wouldn't dare accept the inspection.

As long as Lu Sheng refused, the crime of "having a guilty conscience" would be confirmed. At that time, when the Kunlun Law Enforcement Team acted, no one could save him!

However.

To everyone's surprise.

Lu Sheng didn't refuse, nor did he argue.

He just looked up at the huge bronze ancient mirror hanging above the Heavenly Gate, which had been flickering with light.

"A mirror?"

The corners of Lu Sheng's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a row of snow-white fangs.

"You want to see?"

"Then I'll let you see enough."

Before his voice fell.

Lu Sheng stopped suppressing that black energy that had been restless in his body.

That was the residue of the "Abyssal Demon Hand" he had swallowed before, the Impurities that had settled in the deepest part of his Dantian after being refined by the Five Elements Dragon Wheel.

Or rather, it was a bit of "seasoning" he had deliberately left behind.

"Boom!!"

Within Lu Sheng's body, an aura as black as ink, carrying extreme chaos and evil, soared into the sky without warning!

This aura was not his Origin, but in the eyes of outsiders, it looked as if his whole body was emitting black smoke.

"Hum—!!!!"

The haotian demon-illuminating mirror, which had been in standby mode, seemed to receive some strong stimulation.

On the mirror's surface, the originally soft divine light instantly turned into a piercing blood-red alarm light!

A thick pillar of light instantly locked onto Lu Sheng.

Everyone held their breath, staring fixedly at that huge mirror.

Only to see in that mirror surface as smooth as water.

What was reflected was not Lu Sheng's grayish-white bone-armored body.

But a twisted, massive, terrifying shadow that made one's SAN value drop crazily.

In that shadow, there was no dragon head, nor a human face.

There was only a... massive demon hand covered with countless black eyes, with corrosive black water dripping from its fingertips—the Abyssal Demon Hand!

Those eyes rolled crazily in the mirror, staring fixedly at everyone on the plaza, as if they wanted to penetrate the mirror surface and drag everyone's Soul into the bottomless abyss.

"Hiss—!!!"

The sound of the whole crowd gasping was like a bellows being pulled.

Lei Lie was so scared he sat on the ground, his face as pale as paper, pointing at the mirror and letting out a scream of extreme terror:

"Abyss... Abyss!!"

"He is an Abyss Demon Seed!!!"

"Quick! Quickly invite the Holy Land Elders to suppress this beast!!!"

The plaza was in complete chaos.

And Lu Sheng, standing in the center of the storm, looked at the reflection in the mirror that had terrified everyone, and the smile on his face became even more brilliant.

It even carried a hint of pleasure as if a prank had succeeded.

"Scared already?"

Lu Sheng murmured softly, his voice tinged with madness.

"The good show... has only just begun."