Chapter 56: One Palm to Kill?

None of the people present were weaklings.

Even though Xia He had gained immense fame in the All-Nature due to her bizarre constitution, she had not fallen too far behind in her cultivation of Qi.

The strength Lin Xuan displayed was overwhelming.

Just now, not only Ding Daoan but the others also felt that if they were to encounter such a means of attack, they would only be able to resist it head-on.

Everyone's expression was solemn.

Moreover, some had already begun to consider retreating.

Ding Daoan adjusted his breathing, looked at Lin Xuan—who had turned around after shattering the bluestone with a single palm—and raised his hand to strike with an Empty Palm.

An ordinary Empty Palm that could injure someone from about three meters away would already be considered mastered, but for Ding Daoan to have such power from a distance of seven or eight meters, he had truly reached the pinnacle of the technique.

Sensing the incoming Qi energy, Lin Xuan raised his right hand and swung it out.

Boom!

With a muffled thud, the two streams of Qi energy collided and dissipated.

However, following the Qi energy of the Empty Palm, an extremely dangerous force surged toward Lin Xuan.

The target was the Jianliao acupoint on Lin Xuan's shoulder.

He raised his hand and caught the incoming dangerous force in his palm.

"You actually held back!"

Pinching the needle, which was as fine as an ox hair, Lin Xuan said softly.

The Jianliao acupoint is a point on the shoulder; pressing it causes a sensation of soreness and swelling in the shoulder and arm.

If this fine needle were to strike this acupoint, an average person's right arm might temporarily become sore, weak, and unable to exert force.

If the needle were removed, the arm would suffer no lasting effects and might even benefit from improved circulation.

Yet, Ding Daoan's target was this acupoint, rather than other dangerous ones.

Seeing that the Ghost Gate Needle hidden behind the Empty Palm force had been discovered, Ding Daoan's expression darkened, and a massive amount of Qi surged from his body, completely enveloping him.

"Life-and-death combat was not my original intention."

Ding Daoan, having deployed his Escape Light, spoke in a deep voice.

Escape Light is a defensive technique; while its versatility is inferior to the Golden Light Spell of Longhu Mountain, in terms of protection, it is no less effective when practiced to a high level.

Those who can reach Ding Daoan's level of mastery are one in a million.

But even after using Escape Light, Ding Daoan still felt a lack of security.

To him, Lin Xuan was too much of an enigma.

Furthermore, the sense of oppression was too intense.

Lin Xuan did not manifest a terrifying aura like a demon god, but this near-indifferent demeanor made the pressure Ding Daoan felt even greater.

Gently twisting the needle in his hand, Lin Xuan looked at Ding Daoan.

"After doing certain things, one must consider the consequences—not just the consequences you yourself caused, but other impacts as well.

Do you think that because you only came to challenge me, the current situation has nothing to do with you?"

The killing intent that had arisen in Lin Xuan's heart had diminished significantly.

He had originally thought about finishing Ding Daoan off here to intimidate those fellows in the All-Nature.

After all, he could not descend the mountain and sweep through the All-Nature like the Old Heavenly Master.

Ding Daoan fell silent upon hearing this.

He knew Lin Xuan was right; his own words were not an attempt to shirk responsibility, but merely a statement of his own thoughts.

In the matter of the All-Nature ascending White Cloud Temple this time, he was indeed the main force to a certain extent.

There was no whitewashing this point, so he would have to bear whatever consequences followed.

Thinking of this, Ding Daoan's gaze became resolute.

The Escape Light rising from his body contracted, clinging tightly to his frame and becoming incredibly dense.

Xia He and the others on the sidelines knew that Ding Daoan was preparing to risk his life.

They all watched nervously, occasionally exchanging glances.

"In that case, Ding Daoan of the All-Nature, please enlighten me!"

Although he feared death, at this moment, Ding Daoan cast life and death aside.

What followed was the enjoyment of fighting with all his might against the most formidable person he had ever encountered in his life, regardless of the outcome.

Boom!

The mountain stones beneath his feet crumbled, and his body arrived in front of Lin Xuan as if by Instant Teleportation; his robust arm rotated with his body, carrying immense, wild force as it swept toward Lin Xuan's head.

Bang!

Lin Xuan raised his left arm to block the sweeping punch, and Ding Daoan used the momentum to spin in the opposite direction; his right leg, like a battle axe, swept again, only to be blocked once more by Lin Xuan's raised right arm.

Without using any Qi, relying solely on physical strength, he had blocked two of Ding Daoan's violent attacks.

However, now fully immersed in the battle, he had already anticipated such a situation.

He now compared Lin Xuan to the master he had met in his youth, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks, his entire being seemingly transforming into a gray shadow.

Violent gusts of energy spread in all directions with the two of them at the center.

Xia He and the others were pushed back by the force of the wind and had no choice but to retreat.

The bluestone on the ground cracked, and the surrounding terrain was destroyed and altered during their exchange.

Lin Xuan blocked every attack from Ding Daoan.

That Ding Daoan dared to engage in close-quarters combat was something he had not expected.

If one were to ask what his most powerful means were now, it would undoubtedly be his Cinnabar Fire.

Aside from the terrifying Cinnabar Fire, his greatest strength was not any single one of the three thousand Daoist techniques.

Even the Purple Thunder, evolved from the fusion of Palm Thunder and the Five Thunders Orthodox Method of Longhu Mountain, would have to take a backseat.

Currently, apart from his dantian fire, his most powerful means is undoubtedly his life-and-nature cultivation, which is so formidable that he has cultivated an inner elixir.

The cultivation of the physical body and the primordial spirit.

The strike just now that shattered the bluestone was merely a glimpse of this power.

"Ha!"

Ding Daoan leaped high into the air, his right leg descending in a battle-axe-style downward chop.

His entire body was steaming with heat, clearly indicating that the circulation of his Qi had reached its limit, yet his eyes were exceptionally bright.

This feeling was even more exhilarating than when he fought Na Ruhu.

This sensation of dancing on the tip of a blade even made him somewhat addicted.

But the next moment, Ding Daoan's feeling of indulgence was shattered.

Facing the heavy and powerful downward leg strike, Lin Xuan raised his hand to swat the leg aside and stepped forward.

This was the first time he had moved since he began fighting Ding Daoan again.

His palm pressed lightly toward Ding Daoan's chest and abdomen.

The speed appeared to be anything but fast.

Ding Daoan wanted to dodge, but his body seemed unresponsive, and he could only watch helplessly as the palm pressed against his chest.

Bang!

Lin Xuan's strike looked to have no force behind it, but the feeling for Ding Daoan, who was hit, was the exact opposite.

A terrifying force was applied to his chest.

The hardened Escape Light enveloping his entire body was covered in cracks in an instant, and before his body could even fly backward, it shattered into golden fragments that filled the sky, dissipating like tiny stars.

Then, the person was sent flying directly.

"Holy crap!"

Xia Liuqing exclaimed and hurriedly dodged.

The others all felt a gust of wild wind sweep past them; the force of this wind alone made them unsteady on their feet.

Boom!

A loud noise, followed by the sound of trees snapping.

The group turned their heads, their eyelids twitching wildly.

A large tree, thick enough for two people to wrap their arms around, snapped and fell; Ding Daoan slumped against this broken tree, his head hanging low and motionless.

He didn't die, did he?

The others' eyelids twitched even more violently.

Given how fierce Ding Daoan's attack had been just now, Xia He and the others had thought he would gain some advantage.

As it turned out, the situation reversed in an instant.

If they hadn't seen Ding Daoan's chest still rising and falling slightly, they really would have thought this guy had been slapped to death.

Hearing footsteps, the group turned around in horror.

Yuan Tao pulled out the Nine Dragon Sons, ready to strike; a god-mask had already appeared on Xia Liuqing's face, pink Qi surged over Xia He's body, and black mist poured out from Tu Junfang, with shadows seemingly flickering within the mist.

The others also each assumed a defensive posture.