"Screech!"

  Time seemed to stand still.

  Luo Xiaohu stared in disbelief at the blood-stained sword piercing his chest, blood uncontrollably spurting from his mouth.

  "This... how is this possible!"

  His cultivation was already on the verge of breaking through to the Breaking Illusions Realm, capable of easily crushing any cultivator in the Dao Palace Realm!

  He thought killing Xiao Lingchen would be as easy as before.

  Yet, he never imagined that he couldn't even withstand a single move from Xiao Lingchen!

  "Why... are you so strong?"

  Luo Xiaohu voiced the doubt in his heart.

  But to Xiao Lingchen, the questions of a dying man no longer needed answering.

  Withdrawing the Phoenix Emperor Sword, Xiao Lingchen turned to leave.

  However, at that moment, a powerful aura erupted from Luo Xiaohu!

  Luo Xiaohu was now shrouded in a black mist, and the wounds on his chest and wrist were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye!

  Luo Xiaohu roared like a mountain tiger:

  "I didn't want to break through so soon, but you forced my hand!"

  "Xiao Lingchen, I admit you're strong, but if I reach the Breaking Illusions Realm, how will you deal with it?"

  Luo Xiaohu's cultivation aura surged at an astonishing rate!

  In just a few breaths, it skyrocketed more than tenfold!

  "Is this the Breaking Illusions Realm?"

  "What immense power!"

  Luo Xiaohu was intoxicated by the boundless power surging within him, feeling as if he controlled the entire world!

  He even felt he could shatter a mountain with a punch, crack the earth with a stomp!

  "Breaking Illusions Realm!"

  From a distance, Ning Huanhuan couldn't help but scream:

  "Xiao Lingchen, run!"

  "This guy has broken through to the Breaking Illusions Realm!"

  "We can't match him, run!"

  The gap between the Spirit Platform Realm and the Dao Palace Realm was like a chasm.

  But the gap between the Dao Palace Realm and the Breaking Illusions Realm was like heaven and earth!

  Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

  The greatest enhancement for a Breaking Illusions Realm expert wasn't just strength, but the transformation of their divine sense, allowing them to see through illusions and perceive everything.

  Their overwhelming power could make any cultivator below the Breaking Illusions Realm despair.

  Running might be their only chance for survival now.

  Yet, despite Ning Huanhuan's warning, Xiao Lingchen didn't flee; instead, he grew even more intrigued by Luo Xiaohu!

  Although he had always been confident in his current strength, believing he could contend with a Breaking Illusions Realm expert, it was ultimately just self-assessment.

  Now, faced with a genuine Breaking Illusions Realm opponent, he felt an urge to fight!

  Without hesitation, Xiao Lingchen raised his sword and charged at Luo Xiaohu again!

  But this time, injuring him wouldn't be so easy!

  With a swing of the sword, Luo Xiaohu casually caught the Phoenix Emperor Sword!

  Then, with a powerful punch accompanied by a thousand tiger roars, he sent Xiao Lingchen flying!

  "Interesting! Come again!"

  "Hahahaha!!!"

  Luo Xiaohu laughed heartily, the immense power filling him with indescribable exhilaration.

  But at that moment, Xiao Lingchen had already closed in again, taking advantage of Luo Xiaohu's complacency to snatch back the Phoenix Emperor Sword and slash at him once more!

  "Don't you know villains often die from talking too much?"

  "Screech!"

  With that swing, Luo Xiaohu's arm was severed on the spot.

  In the previous second, Luo Xiaohu was smug, but now he let out a piercing scream.

  Looking at Xiao Lingchen again, his eyes were filled with indescribable fury!

  "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!!!!"

  "Ahhh!!!"

  "I am a Breaking Illusions Realm expert, how can a mere Dao Palace Realm ant harm me?!!!"

  Luo Xiaohu's enraged roar echoed as black mist enveloped him, and he swung his fist at Xiao Lingchen!

  In his furious state, both his strength and speed, as well as his physical defense, were enhanced once more.

  With a flurry of punches and tiger roars, he forced Xiao Lingchen to retreat repeatedly.

  During this time, Xiao Lingchen unleashed various divine powers like the Shadow Assault Technique, Divine Movement Step, and Anger of the Thunder.

  Yet, none could restrain Luo Xiaohu in the slightest!

  Seeing another punch coming, Xiao Lingchen decided not to dodge.

  "Manifest Heaven and Earth!"

  With a loud shout, Xiao Lingchen's body radiated golden light.

  Manifest Heaven and Earth was a new divine power derived from perfecting the Golden Body Technique, with power comparable to Heaven Grade!

  It was one of Xiao Lingchen's greatest trump cards!

  In an instant, Xiao Lingchen's body doubled in size.

  Then, he punched towards Luo Xiaohu!

  "Supreme Vajra Fist!"

  The Supreme Vajra Fist was one of the two Earth Grade divine powers obtained in the Secret Realm of the Cauldron of Fate.

  Upon executing this fist technique, the caster's fist became as hard as vajra, indestructible, with a single punch carrying the force of ten thousand pounds!

  "Boom!!!"

  The two fists collided.

  The heavens and earth trembled!

  Golden light clashed with black mist, as if shattering the very space around them!

  With a crisp "pop," Luo Xiaohu's agonizing scream followed!

  "Ahhh!!!"

  Under the heaven-defying augmentation of Manifest Heaven and Earth, a single Supreme Vajra Fist blasted Luo Xiaohu's remaining arm into a bloody mist!

  "No! Impossible!"

  "How can this be!"

  Luo Xiaohu staggered back, with no arms left, he had no power to resist, and his aura plummeted.

  He looked at Xiao Lingchen in horror, unable to comprehend why his Breaking Illusions Realm strength was no match for Xiao Lingchen!

  "Who... who are you?"

  Xiao Lingchen didn't answer.

  Instead, he flashed forward, charging at Luo Xiaohu once more.

  Then, under Luo Xiaohu's gaze filled with unwillingness, he drove his sword fiercely into the center of his forehead!

  With that, Luo Xiaohu was utterly lifeless!

  The overwhelming aura of slaughter surged into Xiao Lingchen's body, causing his cultivation to soar once more!

  And those Black Tiger Gang members who followed Luo Xiaohu back from outside were not spared by Xiao Lingchen.

  One man, one sword, he slaughtered them all!

  Until the last Black Tiger Gang member fell, the entire stronghold fell silent.

  "So... terrifying..."

  From a distance, Ning Huanhuan was utterly shocked by everything that had just happened.

  It wasn't until Xiao Lingchen reminded her that she snapped back to reality.

  "Don't just stand there, the Black Tiger Gang has looted plenty of treasures over the years, help me gather them all."

  Ning Huanhuan shook her head in disbelief:

  "Xiao Lingchen, are you a monster?"

  Perhaps his rapid cultivation speed was due to practicing dual cultivation techniques.

  But to kill a Breaking Illusions Realm expert with Dao Palace Realm cultivation, that was truly monstrous!

  Xiao Lingchen shrugged, not answering her question.

  Soon, the two of them had gathered all the valuables in the stronghold.

  After setting the entire place ablaze, they left.

  With that, another major enemy of the Xiao Family was eliminated!

  As for the Tianyan Sect, Xiao Lingchen didn't plan to waste time going there, as it was said they would attend the upcoming Sect Tournament.

  Then, there would be plenty of opportunities to settle scores!

  By now, it was late, and the two didn't plan to continue traveling.

  Instead, they took the women who had been captured into the Secret Realm of the Cauldron of Fate, intending to settle them for the night and let them leave on their own the next day in a nearby city.

  The Secret Realm of the Cauldron of Fate was the relic of the ancient Shangqing Xuan Sect, with plenty of disciples' residences that could be cleaned up for accommodation.

  Night deepened.

  But for someone of Xiao Lingchen's strength, even going days without sleep wouldn't cause fatigue.

  So he took out the spoils obtained from the Black Tiger Gang to tally them.

  The Black Tiger Gang was essentially a bandit gang, and with their formidable strength, they had amassed quite a collection of treasures over the years.

  First, there were countless spirit stones!

  A quick count revealed over five hundred higher-grade spirit stones!

  At an exchange rate of one to ten thousand, these five hundred higher-grade spirit stones were equivalent to a full five million lower-grade spirit stones!

  This windfall caused Xiao Lingchen's wealth to soar once more!

  Hi everyone, if you like this novel and want to read more in advance, please support me on .