"Hmph, you want to take my spiritual treasure? I doubt you have the ability!"
Li Yangzi sneered, finding this Grand Master Zhang to be delusional.
The Li Yang Spiritual Fire Furnace, as a mid-grade spiritual treasure, while originally intended for alchemy by its creator, also possessed formidable suppression, attack, and defense functions. It was truly an exceptional mid-grade spiritual treasure.
Having refined this spiritual treasure for hundreds of years, nourishing it day and night, Li Yangzi had long since merged with it. How could Zhang Fan simply claim it?
"Is that so?"
Zhang Fan let out a cold laugh, offering no confirmation.
As he watched the Li Yang Spiritual Fire Furnace descend to suppress him, Zhang Fan's breathing gradually steadied. He took a deep breath, clasped his hands together, and a terrifying energy began to brew within him!
"Chaos Devour!"
Zhang Fan roared to the heavens, a voice seemingly echoing from antiquity, resonating across the vast snowy plains.
A colossal phantom of a monstrous beast slowly rose from behind Zhang Fan. The phantom towered hundreds of feet, its head piercing the clouds. Though merely a phantom, its intangible oppressive force sent shivers of fear through everyone present.
"What kind of beast is this?" Dao Venerable and the others, hailing from the Wu Shan star domain, lacked Xue Jing's vast knowledge and couldn't identify the beast.
However, this did not prevent them from sensing the ancient and powerful aura emanating from the phantom's body.
The moment the beast appeared, a tempest raged across the plateau. The frigid energy of the surroundings converged upon the beast, whipping up a blizzard that formed an immense vortex of snow.
"Master is finally using this divine ability!"
Xue Jing, who was in the midst of a fierce battle with the Gate Master of Wenxin Sect, felt his heart tremble with excitement upon witnessing this scene.
He had witnessed the terrifying power of this divine ability when Zhang Fan was cultivating in the Ancestral Castle. It had even devoured their Blood Clan's hidden space, an event Xue Jing remembered vividly.
Seeing it again now, the Taotie phantom appeared even more substantial than the one he had seen at the Ancestral Castle. Clearly, Zhang Fan's divine ability had improved significantly in the intervening time.
"What kind of beast is this? I've roamed for thousands of years, ventured into countless perilous corners of the cosmos, yet I've never seen or heard of it,"
Lin Yun, who was observing from a distance, not having joined the fray, was deeply astonished by the phantom beast whose body resembled a mountain range.
Fortunately, Zhang Fan wasn't using this technique against him, or he would likely have lacked the courage to even make a move.
"Devour it for me!"
The beast, with a human face and a bull's body, emitted a powerful devouring force from its mouth. Like a black hole, it drew the Li Yang Spiritual Fire Furnace, which hovered several zhang in diameter above Zhang Fan's head, towards the beast's maw.
"How is this possible!"
Li Yangzi was greatly alarmed. He frantically employed a secret technique to recall his spiritual treasure, but he found that the connection between himself and the treasure seemed to be severed by that devouring force. He could no longer sense its presence.
To the astonishment of all, the colossal Li Yang Spiritual Fire Furnace was directly swallowed by the Taotie phantom. Then, its gaze turned towards Li Yangzi and the others.
"Flee!"
Sensing the emotionless disregard in the beast phantom's eyes, Li Yangzi was filled with terror, his will to fight completely extinguished. With a roar, he shot towards the heavens.
"To hell with opportunities, survival is paramount."
A dazzling fire erupted from Li Yangzi's body as he pushed his speed to the absolute limit.
Dao Venerable and Bai Zhen were also stunned by this sudden turn of events. How could they possibly fight when even a powerful Golden Core cultivator's natal spiritual treasure could be stolen?
"Escape!"
Once Dao Venerable and Bai Zhen reacted, their fighting spirit vanished. The Gate Master of Wenxin Sect was being held back by Xue Jing, and Li Yangzi's natal spiritual treasure had been seized, his combat power reduced by at least thirty percent. How could they possibly contend with Zhang Fan now?
"Dao Venerable, save me!"
The Gate Master of Wenxin Sect was being relentlessly beaten by Xue Jing, managing to barely defend himself with treasures but sustaining significant injuries.
Seeing his companions being routed by Zhang Fan like mice, the Gate Master of Wenxin Sect fell into despair and cried out for help.
Dao Venerable glanced at the Gate Master of Wenxin Sect, a wry smile on his lips. He unleashed his escape technique, transforming into a sharp streak of blade light that tore through the void and flew towards the heavens without looking back.
The individuals had taken a solemn oath of their natal lives, vowing not to harm each other and to assist one another in battle. However, this was only under the condition of preserving their own lives.
Now that their lives were in peril, how could they possibly help their companions?
"Think you can escape!"
A cold smirk played on Zhang Fan's lips. He unleashed his divine ability once more, and an endless devouring force spread out, drastically slowing down Bai Zhen, Li Yangzi, and Dao Venerable.
"It still can't devour them. It seems I'll have to handle it personally!"
Zhang Fan was somewhat dissatisfied. He had expected to devour Bai Zhen and Li Yangzi directly, but he had underestimated them.
While the divine ability "Chaos Devour" was formidable, Zhang Fan had cultivated it for too short a time. He was still some distance from achieving minor mastery, so its power was naturally somewhat lacking.
"Rending Heaven's Horn!"
To ensure he captured as many of them as possible, Zhang Fan no longer held back, directly employing the divine ability of the Rending Heaven Rhino.
A beast phantom resembling a rhinoceros materialized above Zhang Fan. It was even more substantial than the Taotie from before, exuding a more ferocious aura.
Zhang Fan had cultivated this divine ability to minor mastery, so its power was considerably greater.
"Block it!"
Seeing the phantom beast, shaped like a rhinoceros, charge towards him with its single horn, Bai Zhen felt an irresistible force, as if it could pierce through the very sky. He struggled to muster the resolve to resist.
However, the primal instinct for survival drove out his fear, and he weakly raised his long sword before his chest.
"Boom!"
Without any surprise, the sword shattered. Under the impact of the horn, Bai Zhen was impaled, his internal organs pulverized by the immense force, leading to instantaneous death.
After dispatching Bai Zhen, Zhang Fan looked up at Dao Venerable and Li Yangzi, who were fleeing in opposite directions. After a moment's consideration, Zhang Fan pursued Li Yangzi.
"Why are you chasing me!"
Li Yangzi felt a bitter despair. He had split paths with Dao Venerable, naturally hoping that Zhang Fan would chase Dao Venerable, while he could escape to the starships in space, where he would fear Zhang Fan no longer.
"Die!"
Zhang Fan was already faster than Li Yangzi. Under the effects of his gravity domain and the "Chaos Devour" divine ability, Li Yangzi's speed was pitifully slow. In the blink of an eye, Zhang Fan caught up.
Having lost his natal spiritual treasure, Li Yangzi's combat power was even weaker than Bai Zhen's. Before he could even beg for mercy, he was brutally torn apart by Zhang Fan's endless sword light.
"I'm chasing you because you're weak!"
Zhang Fan collected Li Yangzi's Golden Core and storage artifacts, saying softly.
In that fleeting moment, Dao Venerable, who had fled in the opposite direction, had already escaped Zhang Fan's domain range and disappeared into the clouds. His spiritual sense could no longer detect Dao Venerable's presence.
When Zhang Fan landed back on the snowy plains, the corpse of the Gate Master of Wenxin Sect also crashed heavily onto the snow, staining it red.
...