Chapter 573

The black panther let out a final mournful cry from its mouth, its body crashing heavily onto the ground before Xu Yang. Its massive form, comparable to a fierce tiger, gouged a huge pit into the earth with a boom, sending clouds of dust rolling and the ground trembling.

Its body twitched unconsciously, the blood-red light in its eyes quickly fading, and in an instant, its breath ceased entirely.

"Little Black..." Zhou Yao's eyes seemed ready to burst from their sockets.

The black panther had grown up with him since childhood, as close as brothers; he never expected it to be smashed to brain-mush by Xu Yang in a single glance and die on the spot.

"Boom!"

The half-spiritual weapon spear in his hand erupted with crimson light, carrying the overwhelming power to split open stone and crack mountains, swinging down at Xu Yang's head, intending to cleave Xu Yang to death right there.

Xu Yang had anticipated this long ago; in the split second before the spear would have struck his head, he quickly turned, punching straight upward to meet the heavy strike, precisely blocking the descending spear.

Fist and spear collided!

"Bang!"

The surging force shot out like a whirlwind sweeping across the land, peeling away layers of the ground and kicking up massive clouds of dust.

Xu Yang's body shuddered; the soil beneath his feet cracked, his legs sank an inch, and his tendons and bones roared.

He looked calmly at the man who had already shown signs of madness; amidst the expression of grief, unwillingness and disbelief gradually surfaced.

Sacrificing Little Black's life still could not buy him a chance to injure Xu Yang; the opponent was so overwhelmingly powerful he didn't seem like someone at the Marrow-Washing cultivation base, with strength and reaction speed terrifying to behold.

The aura fluctuation on Zhou Yao's body trembled, as if about to scatter.

Vast power surged from the spear, immense and unmatched; the half-spiritual weapon grade spear seemed unable to withstand this horrifying force, bending into a shocking arc, as if it might be shattered by a single punch.

"Boom!"

The silver spear let out a mournful cry, springing high into the air, trembling incessantly like a dragon trying to break free from its bonds.

Zhou Yao felt a sharp pain in both hands and could no longer grip the spear; the spear was actually blasted away by force, flying out of his hands and shooting straight toward the sky.

His hands trembled violently; in an instant, they were drenched in blood, covered in fine cracks, revealing bones as white as jade.

Was this a strange species that walked out of ancient primordial times? Bare-handedly resisting a half-spiritual weapon and even blasting his half-spiritual weapon away—truly terrifying.

Zhou Yao's heart was horrified, his scalp going numb; the Holy Sect's level of attention toward Xu Yang was far from enough. If the Heavenly Origin Realm expert does not appear, I'm afraid no one can check Xu Yang.

"Flee!" He turned and tried to leave.

Whatever brotherhood the strange beast Little Black had with him was instantly cast aside; he felt no grief or desire for revenge. All his hatred toward Xu Yang was blasted away by that single punch, leaving only fear and horror in his heart.

The half-spiritual weapon, forged at great cost, was still flipping through the sky, yet he did not hesitate for a moment.

If he didn't leave now, he would die here; he would truly die!

"You cannot leave!"

Xu Yang let out a fierce roar, his figure like a dragon, his violent aura like an erupting volcano.

He took a step forward; a golden fist aura tore through the air and blasted out, like a golden meteor streaking across the night sky, crushing mountains and rocks along its path, sending clouds of dust rolling.

"Ah!"

Zhou Yao's face was filled with panic; before the fist aura even arrived, he already felt as if his body would be shaken apart. Ignoring his escape, he turned mid-air and punched out.

"Bang!"

"Crack!"

The two sounds rang out almost simultaneously; Zhou Yao's body shuddered, and his fist, already full of cracks, could no longer hold. Flesh and blood were shaken off entirely, and the white bones exploded as well.

The golden fist aura, unstoppable as withering wood, crashed heavily onto his chest.

A heart-rending scream echoed through the mountains and fields; Zhou Yao, in agony, saw darkness before his eyes. His body was thrown flying, and a clear fist print appeared on his chest.

Before he could hit the ground, Xu Yang, like a rushing thunderbolt, had already caught up, grabbed Zhou Yao's ankle with one hand, and smashed him violently toward the ground.

"Boom-boom-boom..."

The ground trembled, dust flew, and huge cracks spread everywhere.

Amidst the dust rising to the sky, Zhou Yao coughed up great mouthfuls of blood, dazed and confused from the impact, his mind blank, his body embedded in the mud.

"Crack..."

A series of bone-cracking sounds rang out. Xu Yang shook away the dust and looked; Zhou Yao was already like a puddle of rotten mud, white flesh and bones sticking out from everywhere, almost beaten into a meat patty by force.

Releasing the calf he held in his hand, Zhou Yao's pupils had already begun to dilate.

Xu Yang bent down to search the corpse; except for a few silver notes, he found nothing else.

"Pfft!"

The silver spear fell and stabbed into the ground, emitting a buzzing tremor.

Xu Yang stored both half-spiritual weapon spears, then picked up the corpse of the strange beast black panther, and continued rushing toward the cave.

After running for a while, his five senses suddenly detected an aura ahead; upon approaching further, he discovered it was Gao Lin.

Xu Yang increased his speed to catch up, saying joyfully: "Senior Brother Gao, it's great that you are still alive."

A Heavenly Origin Realm expert had struck; he had almost thought Gao Lin was already dead. In that situation, even he would not have been confident of surviving.

"Junior Brother Xu, I didn't expect you to be alive as well." Gao Lin was equally full of surprise; he too had thought Xu Yang might already be dead.

"How did you escape?" Gao Lin asked.

"I sensed the appearance of a Heavenly Origin Realm expert and fled immediately. I was chased by a Xuelian Sect disciple for over ten li, but in the end, I luckily killed him." Xu Yang smiled.

Gao Lin, who had been focused solely on Xu Yang, finally noticed that Xu Yang was carrying two spears and the black panther.

"Huh, how did this beast die at your hands?" Gao Lin was somewhat surprised.

"We met them on the road just now; after a fierce battle, we killed this beast and its master."

Xu Yang asked in return: "What about the other senior and junior brothers? Did anyone else escape?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Lin's face was filled with grief, and his whole body trembled: "I fear they are all dead. That Lotus Envoy merely struck from a distance and blew two people apart; the residual force injured everyone, and we scattered to save our lives.

I heard the screams of Tian Kuan, Xiao Yu, and Hu Ze; they should be dead as well. Only Lu Lu Chuping and I, because we were wearing inner armor, were not severely injured by the first strike and escaped smoothly.

However, his luck was rather unfortunate; that Heavenly Origin Realm Lotus Envoy went to hunt him down, so he should be dead too.

The man riding the black panther chased me; I luckily shook him off and thus managed to save my life."

Xu Yang felt a wave of relief in his heart; had he taken just a few more steps tonight, he might well be dead.

"Senior brother, having escaped such a great calamity, you are sure to have great fortune ahead!" Xu Yang clasped his hands in salute.

Gao Lin wore a grimace of despair: "What great fortune? I burned away over a decade of my life force just to escape with my life. Now my vital energy is in decline; barring any accident, my cultivation base will never advance again in this lifetime."

Escaping from a Heavenly Origin Realm powerhouse was never so simple; he had burned his life force immediately, and only with the protection of a half-Spirit Weapon-grade inner armor did he have a chance to flee. His life was saved, but the path to breakthrough into the Heavenly Origin Realm, which he once had a chance at, was almost completely severed.

Though alive, he felt worse than dead; with the path to the Heavenly Origin Realm cut off, he would never have a chance to take Elder Elder Huoyun's position.

Xu Yang looked closely and finally noticed that Gao Lin's face had acquired some wrinkles, and his skin was dull and lifeless.

Earlier he had thought it was due to injuries, but he never expected it was from burning his life force.

"Senior brother, being alive is better than being dead; as long as one lives, there is always hope. Perhaps Master has a way to help you," Xu Yang said comfortingly.

If they could find a spiritual medicine specifically for extending lifespan, the life force Gao Lin burned away could be replenished; however, the preciousness of such a medicine far exceeds that of all other spiritual medicines.

"Master..."

Gao Lin shook his head inwardly; even if Elder Elder Huoyun could find such a medicine, which was doubtful, it was highly unlikely he would give it to him. No one understood Elder Elder Huoyun better than he did.

The two ran for a while longer, yet before they reached the cave's location, they heard a sharp eagle cry echoing from the mountains.

Both looked up and saw the master of Beast King Peak standing atop a giant eagle, his figure soaring straight into the sky.

"Peak Master Lu!" Gao Lin roared with a shaking voice.

The master of Beast King Peak, whose full name was Lu Lu Tianchen, seemed to have resolved the matter with the Lotus Envoy of the Xuelian Sect and was preparing to depart.

He did not know whether Lu Lu Tianchen could hear him; the distance was too great, so he could only shout a random cry.

Unexpectedly, Lu Lu Tianchen truly heard him; the two giant eagles circled in the air and flew toward the two of them.

A few breaths later, the two giant eagles arrived above the two men.

Xu Yang then realized that Lu Lu Tianchen's mount was far larger in size than the Green-Scaled Eagle he had killed, and its aura was even more astonishing.

His figure, straight as a spear, stepped off the eagle's back in one motion and slowly drifted down to the ground.

Xu Yang gathered all his mental focus, daring not to sense just how strong such a person's aura truly was.

Lu Lu Tianchen's face was rugged; both his attire and his demeanor carried a touch of wildness, making him look like an extremely unruly man.

His thick, lush hair was simply bound up with grass, looking very casual.

"Disciples pay respects to Peak Master Lu!" Xu Yang and Gao Lin clasped their hands in unison.

Lu Lu Tianchen nodded with a smile: "I did not expect the two of you to survive; well done."

Escaping from under a Heavenly Origin Realm powerhouse; he had not even expected two people to survive.

His gaze focused primarily on Xu Yang; Gao Lin appeared with a withered aura and declining vital energy, and with his keen eye, he could immediately tell that Ran Xue Shu had been used to escape.

As for Xu Yang, he bore not a single wound and had even killed the Xuelian Sect disciple who had fled earlier and that black panther.

"The two disciples were merely fortunate!" Gao Lin clasped his hands.

Lu Lu Tianchen shifted his gaze from Xu Yang and said: "I deliberately spared the life of that Lotus Envoy, Li Li Haifeng. Now I am going to pursue his tracks to find the Xuelian Sect's stronghold. Do you wish to follow me?"