Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

"Hey you, weren't you so arrogant just now? Why are you so quiet now?!" Jian Wuhen stood behind Venerable Miaodi, a smile finally appearing on his face. He looked at Tian Hong, whose expression was solemn, and began to mock him.

However, Tian Hong only glanced at Jian Wuhen indifferently before focusing all his attention on Venerable Miaodi.

"This bald monk in front of me is also from the Eastern Xuan Continent. How can a continent with such a barren spiritual energy produce a Creation Realm expert?" This was a question that Tian Hong couldn't understand. But what truly made him wary of the person in front of him was the incredibly heavy aura emanating from Venerable Miaodi.

Thick fog swirled around them, yet it could never get within a hundred meters of the two. On one side was a fierce fighting spirit, and on the other was a vast Buddhist light, separating this world.

Finally, Tian Hong's expression changed, and he broke the silence first.

"Bald monk, do you dare to fight me?"

As he spoke, his fighting spirit erupted like a volcano, soaring into the sky. The black iron rod in his hand seemed to sense its master's fighting spirit, emitting a buzzing sound.

At the same time, Tian Hong's body also began to undergo drastic changes.

His already somewhat tall frame grew even taller, his muscles bulging like rocks. Even more bizarrely, golden hair began to grow wildly on his skin, densely covering his entire body in an instant.

The originally lean human has now been transformed into a golden ape!

"No way!! How did this guy turn into this? Could he have the bloodline of a demon beast?!" Jian Wuhen swallowed hard as he looked at Tian Hong's transformed appearance.

"Perhaps it's because of the cultivation technique!" Venerable Miaodi, as a powerful cultivator in the Creation Realm, had a broader perspective. For example, Xia Jin, who had fought with him before, exuded a demonic aura during their last match, but that aura was even more noble than that of the person before him.

However, he was certain that Xia Jin was human and did not possess any demonic or beast blood.

Venerable Miaodi looked at Tian Hong after his transformation with an extremely serious expression.

Holding an iron rod, Tian Hong exuded an overwhelming ferocity, his eyes glowing red as he stared intently at Venerable Miaodi.

At this moment, he no longer resembled a human; he was practically a demon god who had walked out of ancient times.

"Roar! Let's fight!!"

Tian Hong's chest heaved, and suddenly he let out a long roar to the sky.

The surrounding thick fog was shaken away by the roar, and the lightning within a radius of dozens of miles seemed to be frightened and avoided the area.

Venerable Miaodi fell silent. He turned to Jian Wuhen and said, "You should stay away. Otherwise, if a great battle breaks out, I won't be able to protect your safety."

"Don't worry! Venerable One, I don't need you to remind me! I was planning to watch the battle from the sidelines anyway!" Jian Wuhen chuckled awkwardly, and without saying a word, he retreated rapidly to a distance of dozens of miles away, watching from afar.

Venerable Miaodi withdrew his gaze, his mind becoming extremely focused.

"Amitabha! Since you wish to challenge this humble monk, then I must take my leave!"

As Venerable Myo-di breathed rhythmically, a golden mark suddenly appeared on his forehead.

It was a swastika, slowly rotating, yet radiating a vast Buddhist light.

Immediately afterwards, a huge golden halo appeared behind him, as bright as the sun in the sky, purifying all the surrounding thick fog.

The Buddha's light shines everywhere, and all evil cannot invade.

Venerable Miaodi raised his head and looked at the golden ape. His gaze was calm and still, without the slightest fluctuation.

This is when he's most focused.

"Please, benefactor."

A fierce glint flashed in the golden ape's eyes, and its figure suddenly vanished from the spot. Venerable Miaodi suddenly looked up, only to see a staff coming down towards him.

This blow was more than ten times stronger than the one that had struck Jian Wuhen before!

The shadows of the sticks were as thick as mountains, and the sky seemed to collapse and the earth to split.

Venerable Miaodi raised his hand and struck out with his palm, instantly forming a golden handprint.

The golden handprint collided with Tian Hong's staff.

A deafening roar, and the wind whipped up the remaining clouds.

What happened next left Jian Wuhen, who was far away, dumbfounded.

In the battle zone, as Tian Hong and Venerable Miaodi clashed, lightning flashed, thunder roared, and a fierce wind howled.

Golden Buddhist light and violent staff shadows mingled together, each collision triggering a violent explosion.

The ground trembled continuously, the thick fog was completely dispelled, and even the thunderclouds in the sky were shattered by this force.

Even with Jian Wuhen's cultivation at the ninth level of the Divine Realm, he could only see two figures constantly appearing in various places, one golden and the other also golden. Eventually, it became impossible to distinguish them with the naked eye.

However, although they are both gold, they are completely different.

One type of gold is the fierce and violent gold, and the other is the peaceful and compassionate gold.

The battle lasted for a full hour.

The ear-piercing crashing sounds finally subsided.

Jian Wuhen stared nervously at that area, his palms already sweating profusely.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous. If Venerable Miaodi won, he would have escaped a calamity today. But if Tian Hong won, he would be doomed.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of him.

It is Venerable Myo-di.

But at this moment, Venerable Miaodi looked noticeably more disheveled than before.

His gray monk's robe was torn in several places, and his breathing was also fluctuating, clearly indicating that he had exhausted himself.

"Venerable One! Are you alright?" Jian Wuhen quickly stepped forward and asked, a hint of tension flashing in his eyes.

Venerable Miaodi shook his head, his expression remaining calm: "It's alright. That person was quite strong; I could only barely force him to retreat."

He paused, gazing into the distance, his tone becoming more serious: "However, I doubt he will let this go easily. Among the temple disciples who entered the Thunder Pool Trial this time, there are quite a few Earth-rank disciples from the Tianqi Continent. If a few more Creation Realm experts join forces, even this old monk won't be able to stop them."

Upon hearing this, Jian Wuhen's expression also turned gloomy.

"Your Excellency is right. So what should we do now?"

"Find Benefactor Xia as soon as possible. As long as Benefactor Xia is here, there is no need to worry about these people, even if they join forces!!" Venerable Miaodi was silent for a moment, then raised his hand and released a beam of Buddhist light, which landed on Jian Wuhen.

The Buddhist light swirled around Jian Wuhen, completely concealing his aura.

"Let's go."

Without lingering any longer, the two moved and disappeared into the thick fog, heading towards the depths of the Thunder Pool.

......

the other side.

Having been forced back, Tian Hong had now returned to human form, but his face was terrifyingly gloomy.

He carried the iron rod, and with a flash, returned to the place where Master Cao had been before.

"Third Brother!"

When Master Cao saw Tian Hong return, he hurried to greet him. But when he saw Tian Hong's gloomy face, his heart skipped a beat, and the question that was about to come out of his mouth turned into a cautious "Third Brother, what's wrong?"

Tian Hong didn't say anything, he just stood there with a gloomy face.

Cao Ye grew increasingly uneasy and asked in a low voice, "Third Brother, has something gone wrong?"

Tian Hong glanced at the other person before speaking: "I was chasing after the kid who injured you, but I ran into his accomplices."

A hint of apprehension flashed in his eyes: "That bald monk is quite strong; he actually managed to fight me to a draw."

Master Cao's expression changed: "A draw? Third Brother, you're at the Creation Realm, and that bald monk... could he also be at the Creation Realm?"

"Nonsense." Tian Hong gave him a cold look. "If you're not at the Creation Realm, how could you possibly fight me for an hour?"

Master Cao's face turned extremely grim: "Then... Third Brother, what do we do? Are we just going to let them off like this?"

"Spare them?" Tian Hong sneered, a chilling killing intent flashing in his eyes. "Impossible."

He turned and looked into the depths of the Thunder Pool: "Notify my eldest brother and second brother. If the three of us join forces, even if that bald monk has three heads and six arms, he won't be a match for us."

Upon hearing this, Master Cao immediately perked up: "Third Brother is brilliant! I'll go right away!"

"You don't need to go," Tian Hong waved his hand. "In your current state, you'd only be a burden. I'll go myself."

After he finished speaking, he vanished from his spot in a flash and sped off towards the center of the Thunder Pool.

Master Cao stood there, looking in the direction where Tian Hong had disappeared, a smug smile on his face.

"Hmph! With Third Brother and the others taking action, you lot can just wait to die!"