20: Who dares to touch my disciple? I'll scatter his ashes to the wind!

The originally clear sky suddenly darkened.

It wasn't dark clouds.

It was Blood Clouds.

A vast expanse of crimson clouds, like a giant shroud, rolled in from the horizon, instantly blotting out the sun and dyeing the entire Fallen Mountain Range a dismal red.

The air was thick with a nauseating, bloody stench.

The wind stopped.

The birds went silent.

Even the cicadas, which usually loved to chirp the most, seemed to have their necks throttled, falling into a deathly silence.

On the square of the Hidden God Sect.

Leng Yanran, who was watering radishes, suddenly paused her movements.

She looked up at the Blood Clouds pressing down from above, her eyes narrowing slightly under her mask, revealing a dangerous, cold glint.

"So they're here?"

"They certainly were fast."

She set down the bucket, patted the dirt off her hands, and a bloodthirsty sneer curled at the corners of her mouth.

"Just as well. One piece of fertilizer wasn't enough, and now a whole heap has been delivered."

Beside her.

Xiao Chen, who was chopping wood, and Shi Tian, who was carrying water, also stopped their chores.

The two exchanged a glance, the Battle Intent in their eyes instantly ignited.

"Senior Sister, is it an enemy?"

Shi Tian tossed aside his carrying pole and grabbed his hoe. His posture suggested that with one command from his Senior Sister, he would charge up and dig a hole in the sky.

"Mm."

Leng Yanran nodded. Devilish Qi surged in her hand, and a pitch-black longsword appeared out of thin air.

"People from the Blood Fiend Sect."

"It seems that since that scout didn't return, the old one couldn't sit still."

Rumble—!!!

Right then.

A thunderous roar echoed from within the Blood Clouds.

Immediately after.

Over a dozen Warships made of bleached bones broke through the cloud layer and hovered over the Hidden God Sect.

Upon the Warships, banners fluttered, emblazoned with hideous skulls.

Hundreds of Blood Fiend Sect Disciples dressed in blood-red robes held their Magical Artifacts, looking down with murderous Killing Intent.

And on the massive flagship in the center.

An elderly man with white hair, dressed in a bright red robe, sat upon a throne pieced together from human bones.

He was surrounded by dense blood-fiend energy, his eyes crimson like two flickering ghost fires.

Xuesha Ancestor!

The terrifying Evil Path titan within a thousand-mile radius!

He was also the ceiling of combat power on the surface in this 'newbie village' map, aside from those hidden old monsters—a Nascent Soul Stage powerhouse!

"Li Daoxuan!!"

Xuesha Ancestor slowly stood up.

His voice was raspy and ear-piercing, carrying the terrifying pressure of the Nascent Soul Stage. Like a sonic weapon, it slammed violently against the mountain gate of the Hidden God Sect.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Under the impact of this soundwave, several already dilapidated thatched huts exploded into pieces, straw flying everywhere.

"Get out here for this Old Ancestor!"

"You killed my Disciples and destroyed my Foundation! If I don't raze your pathetic Sect to the ground today, I shall no longer be called Xuesha!"

The soundwaves rolled, echoing through the valley.

Xiao Chen felt his eardrums sting and his chest tighten; it was the absolute suppression of cultivation Realms.

But he did not retreat.

Instead, he gripped his iron sword tighter, the Battle Intent in his eyes growing even stronger.

"Revered Master is taking a nap, and this old dog's barking is too unpleasant."

Xiao Chen gritted his teeth. "Junior Brother, Junior Sister, let's go! Let's liven things up for Revered Master!"

"Alright!"

Shi Tian brandished his hoe. "I'll go dig through that ship's keel!"

Although Leng Yanran didn't speak, the Devilish Qi all over her body was already boiling; she was clearly prepared to fight to the death.

Just as the three hot-blooded youths were about to charge up and throw their lives away.

"Come back."

A lazy voice drifted out from the entrance of the main hall.

The voice wasn't loud.

Yet it clearly reached everyone's ears, instantly calming the restless spiritual energy.

Li Daoxuan yawned and walked out slowly.

He looked at the sky-blotting formation above, then at his three eager Disciples, and shook his head helplessly.

"I told you to hide, but you didn't listen to a single word."

"The one standing up there is at the Nascent Soul Stage."

"The three of you combined aren't enough for him to poke with a single finger."

Xiao Chen was indignant: "Revered Master! We have Imperial Weapons! It might not be an impossible fight!"

"Imperial Weapons?"

Li Daoxuan rolled his eyes. "That's just a fruit-cutting knife. Besides, with your current spiritual energy, you'd be drained dry after one use. What if you don't kill him?"

"Do you expect your Revered Master to collect your corpses?"

The three Disciples were suddenly speechless.

Though they didn't want to admit it, what Revered Master said... seemed to make sense.

This was the gap between Realms.

In the world of cultivation, the suppression of a major Realm was absolute. Unless you were a cheater, don't even think about challenging someone at a higher level, let alone several levels higher.

"Alright, all of you step back."

Li Daoxuan waved his hand, shielding his three Disciples behind him.

"This level of mob isn't something you can farm yet."

"Watch closely."

"I'll only teach you once how to reason with a shameless old thing like this."

After saying that.

Li Daoxuan looked up at Xuesha Ancestor in mid-air.

His gaze was very calm.

So calm it was as if he were looking at a buzzing fly.

"Hey."

Li Daoxuan called out, "You, the old man in the red clothes."

"You've disturbed my nap."

"Also, you're stepping on my home's air. Pay up."

Silence.

A deathly silence.

The Blood Fiend Sect Disciples in the sky were all stunned.

Who was this person?

Facing a Nascent Soul Old Ancestor and an army of hundreds of Cultivators, he was actually... trying to extort them?

Stepping on the air?

Is that something a human would say?

Xuesha Ancestor was so angry his whole body trembled, and his beard curled up.

"Arrogant!"

"Brat, you're looking for death!"

"Facing death and you still dare to be glib! Today, this Old Ancestor will extract your soul and refine your essence, turning you into a sky lantern!"

"Lads! Kill him!!"

Xuesha Ancestor gave a grand wave of his hand.

"Kill!!"

Hundreds of Blood Fiend Sect Disciples roared in unison, as various Magical Artifacts and Talismans fell like rain.

At the same time.

Xuesha Ancestor formed hand seals, and a vision of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood appeared behind him.

A blood-colored giant hand, a full hundred zhang wide, emerged from the sea of blood, carrying an aura of world-destroying destruction as it swatted down toward Li Daoxuan!

This single palm strike was enough to shatter a mountain peak!

This was the might of a Nascent Soul!

"Revered Master, watch out!!"

Xiao Chen and the others cried out in alarm, their hearts leaping into their throats.

Faced with this overwhelming offensive.

Li Daoxuan simply stretched.

*Yawn—*

He cracked his neck, making sharp popping sounds.

"Honestly."

"A perfectly good nap ruined. My morning grumpiness is quite severe."

He slowly raised his right hand.

He didn't draw a sword.

He didn't perform any hand seals.

There wasn't even a ripple of spiritual energy.

He simply pointed toward the sky, toward that descending blood hand that covered the heavens, toward the insufferably arrogant Xuesha Ancestor.

Gently.

He flicked his middle finger.

*Pop.*

A soft sound.

Like the sound of a child flicking a marble.

But the moment this finger flicked out.

A wisp of flame flew from his fingertip.

The flame was tiny.

Only the size of a candle flame, flickering in the wind as if it might go out at any moment.

However.

The moment it touched the air.

BOOM!!!

The world changed.

That weak wisp of flame instantly expanded, fissioned, and exploded!

In the blink of an eye.

It turned into a boundless sea of golden fire!

That was no ordinary fire.

That was... Imperial Fire!

It was the 'Sky-Burning Flame' evolved from the Great Emperor's Origin!

*Whoosh—*

The sea of fire swept upward, instantly swallowing the giant blood-colored hand.

There was no resistance.

No stalemate.

That Nascent Soul Stage Divine Ability, capable of crushing a mountain, was like a snowflake meeting lava before this golden fire—it vaporized instantly!

Immediately after.

The sea of fire continued to spread, sweeping across the entire sky.

"Ahhh—!!!"

The shrill screams had barely begun before they were cut short.

Those hundreds of Blood Fiend Sect Disciples, along with the dozen bone Warships, were burned into nothingness the moment they touched the flames.

Not even ashes remained.

And that insufferably arrogant Xuesha Ancestor sitting on his throne.

His eyes widened, the ghost fires within them turning into true terror.

He wanted to run.

But he found that the surrounding space had been locked down.

"This... what kind of fire is this?!"

"No! I am a Nascent Soul Ancestor! I am immortal and indestructible!!"

"Senior, have mercy!!"

His last plea for mercy wasn't even finished.

The golden wave of fire slapped over him.

*Puff.*

Like a bubble popping.

Xuesha Ancestor, along with the throne beneath him, vanished directly from this world.

Evaporated.

Completely and utterly evaporated.

A giant hole was burned through the Blood Clouds in the sky, revealing the azure heavens and piercing sunlight.

The entire process.

Took less than three seconds.

The terrifying scene from just now, with dark clouds pressing down as if the apocalypse had arrived, was now... as clean as if it had been licked by a dog.

Except for a lingering burnt smell in the air, proving that a group of people had indeed been here.

Li Daoxuan withdrew his finger and blew away non-existent dust from his fingertip.

"So noisy."

He shook his head, looking disgusted.

"And he calls himself a Nascent Soul Ancestor; he couldn't even handle a little burning."

"I originally wanted to leave a whole corpse to use as fertilizer, but I used a tiny bit too much strength..."

He turned around.

He looked at his three Disciples who were completely petrified, jaws dropped, and eyes nearly popping out.

And that big yellow dog, Da Huang, who was so scared he had his tail between his legs, lying on the ground playing dead.

Li Daoxuan shrugged, his tone as flat as if he had just swatted a mosquito.

"What are you looking at?"

"I told you all, the world of cultivation is very dangerous."

"When you encounter mad dogs like this who don't listen to reason, don't waste your breath on them."

"Just scatter their ashes; that's the most stable way to handle it."

"Understand?"

Xiao Chen: "..."

Shi Tian: "..."

Leng Yanran: "..."

The three of them swallowed hard with difficulty and nodded mechanically.

They understood.

They completely understood.

So Revered Master's so-called 'Way of Hiding' wasn't about hiding away.

It was... killing everyone who saw him so that no one would know he had made a move!

Is this... the invincible Way of Hiding?!

This is so damn... satisfying!