"Zhang Fan, come out and die!"
Dao Zun gathered his true energy and let out a thunderous roar, which echoed across the island and spread throughout Donghai City. The citizens of Donghai rushed out of their homes, eager to witness the spectacle.
"That person is provoking Saint Master Zhang again! Last time he brought a horde of strong cultivators to the island, they were annihilated. Only he escaped in disgrace. I can't believe he dares to return!"
Videos of the battle six months ago had gone viral online. Even the authorities couldn't control the spread, and eventually, they gave up and let it propagate freely.
Therefore, most citizens of Donghai City had witnessed the battle. A large number of strong cultivators who had come to provoke Saint Master Zhang had perished. It was believed that after this battle, no one would dare challenge Saint Master Zhang's authority. However, it turned out some people were truly stubborn.
Because of his close relationship with Zhang Fan, Lin Dahai had also received many spiritual pills. With the help of these numerous pills, he had now cultivated to the Saint Domain.
Lin Dahai and the Smoke and Rain Pavilion Master stood side-by-side on the pavilion's rooftop, gazing at the figures hovering in the air above the island. Feeling the powerful auras emanating from them, they were filled with doubt.
"Where did these strong cultivators come from? I've never heard of them before."
The Smoke and Rain Pavilion Master spoke. No matter how many hidden talents this world possessed, the past glories of these powerful individuals would at least leave behind legends.
It was like the Half-Moon Immortal. Although no one in the martial arts world of China had seen him nowadays, some cultivators in the Saint Domain and Divine Realm had heard legends of him.
"That level is too far beyond us. Let's not think about it too much and just watch the show," Lin Dahai said with a smile.
Although he had now entered the Saint Domain, he could sense how powerful the cultivators who had come to provoke the island were. Someone of his level would likely be killed by a single slap.
"En."
A hint of loneliness flickered in the Smoke and Rain Pavilion Master's calm eyes. He had once wished to become Zhang Fan's disciple and pursue deeper realms, but Zhang Fan had not agreed.
Seeing these invaders on the island now, he vaguely understood why.
Perhaps in the martial arts world of China, he could be considered a genius, having entered the Saint Domain at such a young age. However, in Saint Master Zhang's eyes, he was just ordinary and not worth nurturing.
...
"Die?"
Zhang Fan soared into the sky, followed by Xue Jing, Lin Yun, Lin Haotian, and others. The Blood Demon Flood Dragon, stretching over ten zhang, soared through the air, its scarlet eyes flashing with ferocity.
"You rushed back to die with only these few helpers? Are all cultivators from the Wu Shan Star Domain this foolish?"
Zhang Fan's gaze swept over the one-armed Dao Zun and the other four Golden Core cultivators, a smile on his face. In his mind, he was contemplating how many Golden Scale Breaking Origin Pills could be refined from five Golden Cores.
On Earth, where spiritual energy was scarce, it was almost impossible to break through to the Golden Core realm on one's own. To break through, Zhang Fan could only rely on external aids.
Clearly, the Golden Scale Breaking Origin Pill was an excellent auxiliary spiritual pill.
"To kill you is enough!"
The one-armed Dao Zun waved his hand, and a gleaming saber filled with murderous intent appeared in his grasp. He pointed it directly at Zhang Fan and said coldly.
"We are all adults now, so let's not play hide-and-seek anymore. Call out your companions. I'll deal with them all at once, to save trouble."
Zhang Fan said casually and at ease.
As soon as these words were spoken, Dao Zun's eyelids twitched. His gaze remained calm, but a trace of panic stirred within him.
"Did he find out?"
Dao Zun pondered. From their arrival on Earth to their appearance on the island, they had maintained their stealth. Zhang Fan shouldn't have been able to detect them.
Meanwhile, above the island, the Sect Master of Wenxin and Li Yangzi, along with four third-grade Golden Core cultivators, were hidden in the void. The Sect Master of Wenxin held a dark, rhombic token, on which was carved a beast resembling a fierce tiger.
It was the faint aura emanating from this token that shrouded the Sect Master of Wenxin and the others, effectively isolating them from divine sense detection. This was why they dared to approach the battlefield so closely.
"With the Forbidden Thought Token isolating us, unless he has cultivated mental power, it's impossible for him to discover us!"
The Sect Master of Wenxin stated with certainty.
Generally speaking, when a cultivator breaks through to the Heavenly Human realm, they can enter a state of unity between heaven and man, giving rise to divine sense. As their cultivation improves, their divine sense will gradually strengthen.
The primary function of divine sense is for detection. With divine sense covering an area, unaffected by time and distance, it is an extremely potent means of investigation.
In addition to detection, divine sense also possesses a certain offensive capability. It can be used to control spiritual treasures for attacks.
Alternatively, it can be used for direct divine sense attacks, utilizing the power of divine sense itself.
However, divine sense attacks are only significantly effective against cultivators whose power is far weaker than one's own. When two cultivators of similar strength engage in combat, divine sense plays a limited role.
This is because divine sense attacks are ultimately supplementary, lagging behind the paths of Qi refining or body tempering.
For instance, when Zhang Fan was weaker, he often used divine sense to control flying swords. This was because his divine sense far surpassed his cultivation level, so even using divine sense attacks did not significantly lag behind his Qi refining techniques.
But for ordinary cultivators, if their divine sense power is not much different from their overall strength, their divine sense attacks would only be around sixty to seventy percent of their full power.
Of course, there are exceptions for cultivators with naturally strong divine sense, like the assassin Blood Phoenix who once attempted to assassinate Zhang Fan.
Unlike Zhang Fan, a reincarnator, she was born with powerful divine sense. She developed divine sense in the Saint Domain and even devised her own divine sense attack methods, making Zhang Fan actively want to recruit her.
Unfortunately, Blood Phoenix had too little experience and was too proud, thus refusing Zhang Fan.
There are special cultivation methods for divine sense, but they are most helpful in the early stages of cultivation. In the later stages, the contribution of divine sense to combat becomes smaller.
However, at the Golden Core realm, if one can cultivate a first-grade Golden Core, the power of divine sense can be greatly enhanced. After shattering the Golden Core and transforming into the Nascent Soul stage, the power of divine sense undergoes a qualitative change, giving rise to a more magical power than divine sense: mental power.
Mental power is the power of strong will. When fully unleashed, its power is not weaker than that of Qi refining or body tempering. It is a very special cultivation path, and every mental power user is an object of envy.
During combat, mental power combined with body tempering allows them to control treasures while also wielding them, effectively fighting two opponents at once.
Moreover, mental power users are exceptionally adept at long-range attacks. Every mental power user has the potential to become a divine archer.
Although mental power is enviable, its generation is extremely difficult.
One must condense a first-grade Golden Core, causing divine sense to undergo a qualitative change in the Golden Core realm. Only after breaking the core into a nascent soul is it possible to give birth to mental power.
It is not guaranteed that every Nascent Soul cultivator who forms a first-grade Golden Core will develop the magical power of mental power.
In the entire Wu Shan Star Domain, it is rare for even a few mental power users to emerge every ten thousand years.
Dao Zun pondered, believing that at Zhang Fan's level, not even having condensed a Golden Core, it was impossible for him to have developed mental power. He thought Zhang Fan was bluffing and gradually regained his composure.
"Saint Master Zhang is truly cautious. To deal with cultivators from a mere barbaric star system like yours, would I, Dao Zun, resort to hiding? You think too highly of yourself!"
"Alright."
Zhang Fan spread his hands and said, "Since you refuse to come out, I'll take care of these few first. Let's see if they can still stay hidden then?"
"Go, kill them all. Leave none behind!"
Zhang Fan waved his hand, and Xue Jing, Lin Yun, Wuchen Sword Immortal, and others charged out, attacking the group of Golden Core cultivators.
...
ps: Second update! Two more updates are due today...