One person: Senior brother Zhang Zhiwei, the Celestial Master begged me to descend the mountain.

next second.

Zhang Taichu lightly stomped his right foot, which was wearing flip-flops, on the ground.

boom------!!

That one step felt like it was striking the very pulse of the entire Longhu Mountain.

The earth trembled violently, not in a violent way, but in a resonance that made one's heart stop.

Followed by.

The edge of the back mountain, which had been swallowed by the night, was suddenly illuminated by countless dazzling golden lights.

The golden light was not scattered; it seemed to have received some kind of irresistible military order, rising simultaneously from the four directions of east, west, south, and north, like four huge golden walls, converging towards the sky at an astonishing speed.

That is... the Golden Light Mantra.

"What the hell is that?!"

The Quanxing alien at the front suddenly stopped, his shoes carving two deep furrows in the mud.

He looked up in horror.

All that could be seen was the sky above, which had completely disappeared from view.

Instead, a thick, flowing, enormous light curtain, resembling liquid gold, sealed off the space within a radius of several miles.

The army of supernatural beings, who had been shouting battle cries and were as greedy as a pack of wolves, suddenly became like a flock of ducks with their necks choked, all their voices stuck in their throats.

Only the buzzing sound emitted when the golden light flowed was like the fluttering of countless bees in one's ear.

"A barrier? Hmph! A mere trick!"

A burly, bald man with a face full of scars spat disdainfully. He carried two Xuanhua broadswords in his hands, and his muscles bulged all over, clearly indicating that he was a master of physical combat.

"Brothers! Don't be intimidated by this illusion! The Eight Extraordinary Techniques are right ahead! Whoever grabs them first gets them! Charge!"

The bald, burly man roared, pushed off with his feet, and charged like a cannonball into the rising golden wall.

"Open it!!"

He swung his axe in a wide arc, carrying immense force, and slammed it down fiercely onto the flowing golden light.

however.

There was no breaking sound as I had imagined, nor the crisp sound of metal colliding.

Sizzle—!

That was the sound of hot oil being poured onto raw meat.

"Aaaaaaahhhhh!!"

A piercing scream, so shrill it was almost unrecognizable, instantly tore through the night sky.

Under the gaze of hundreds of eyes.

The bald, burly man with his exceptional external martial arts skills, along with the steel battle axe in his hand, reacted as if snow had met a red-hot iron the moment they came into contact with the golden light.

It melts instantly.

First the axe, then the arms, then the head...

In just half a second.

A living person, right before everyone's eyes, turned into a wisp of smoke, leaving not a trace.

Only the golden light continued to flow calmly, as if it had just swallowed up only an insignificant mosquito.

Quiet.

The entire back mountain fell into a suffocating silence.

Those who had originally intended to charge forward were abruptly stopped, falling into a heap due to inertia, and then frantically retreating, their eyes fixed on the golden wall as if they were looking at the gates to hell.

"We...we can't get out..."

In the crowd, someone spoke in a trembling voice.

Panic began to spread among the people like a plague.

They looked back at the path they had come from, which was also sealed off by the same golden light.

They were trapped.

They were locked up with that legendary "monster".

Hey.

Hey.

Hey.

Just then, a series of unhurried footsteps came from the direction of that quiet courtyard.

The sound was soft, even somewhat lazy, like the sound of an old man taking a walk after dinner.

But in this deathly silence, the footsteps seemed to pound on everyone's heart.

Everyone turned their heads stiffly.

There it was, under that huge old locust tree.

Zhang Taichu, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, was walking leisurely towards this place, step by step.

He didn't have that exaggerated arrogance, nor did he exude any overwhelming murderous intent.

Even the faded Taoist robe looked somewhat loose.

but.

With each step he took.

The air in this place became a little heavier.

Those greedy eyes were now filled only with fear.

In their view, it wasn't just one person approaching.

Instead, it is a towering, ever-growing sacred mountain that is constantly rising and expanding until it obscures the entire view.

That absolute suppression from a higher level of life made their souls tremble and their knees begin to buckle.

"I have given you a chance."

Zhang Taichu's voice echoed in the night sky.

"The post has been up for three days."

"That was an invitation, but also a letter of resignation."

Zhang Taichu stopped and stood fifty meters away from the crowd.

He slightly raised his eyelids, and a faint golden halo flowed in his deep eyes as he coldly surveyed the hundreds of people in front of him.

It's like... watching a herd of pigs and sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

"What a pity."

"Greed knows no bounds, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant."

"You have a path to heaven but you won't take it, there's no gate to hell... yet you insist on squeezing your heads into it."

boom!!

As the last word fell.

An overwhelming pressure, too terrifying to be described in words, erupted without reservation from Zhang Taichu's frail body.

That wasn't an aura directed at any one person.

It was a crushing, all-encompassing force, like the sky collapsing.

Click! Click! Click!

A series of rapid cracking sounds rang out.

The dozens of superhumans at the very front didn't even have time to scream.

Their kneecaps shattered instantly.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Neat and tidy.

It's like a wheat field swept by a combine harvester.

At the same time, dozens of people knelt down heavily in front of the young man in the Taoist robe.

Some even collapsed onto the ground, unable to withstand the pressure, their internal organs bleeding under the force.

Zhang Taichu looked at the kneeling crowd without a trace of pity on his face.

He gently raised his right hand and beckoned to the small courtyard behind him.

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!

Several whooshing sounds rang out.

Those secret manuals that drove the entire world of supernatural beings mad and caused countless deaths—"The Heavenly Record," "The Spirit Binding and Commanding Generals," and "The Mysterious Gate of the Wind"...

It was as if she was being pulled by an invisible thread, and she flew to Zhang Taichu's back.

They floated silently in mid-air, their pages rustling in the night breeze.

Right there.

within reach.

Simply by reaching out and stepping over the man before him, one can obtain this heaven-reaching power.

But now.

Looking at those yellowed booklets, the people kneeling on the ground felt nothing but fear, and no longer any greed could rise in their eyes.

"Do you want it?"

Zhang Taichu pointed to the secret manual behind him, a cruel smile curving his lips:

"The Tongtian Talisman can draw upon the power of heaven and earth without drawing talismans."

"He can command spirits and generals, and direct all spirits under heaven."

"What a wonderful thing!"

Zhang Taichu stepped forward.

With that step, the oppressive force doubled in intensity once more.

puff! !

The people kneeling in the front row coughed up a mouthful of blood, their faces turning ashen.

"The thing is right here."

Zhang Taichu's voice turned icy cold, each word like a steel needle piercing everyone's eardrums:

"This humble Taoist priest does not keep anything to himself."

"But the problem is..."

Zhang Taichu leaned down slightly, his golden eyes staring directly at the Quanxing demon closest to him:

"Even if you risked your lives... you wouldn't be qualified."

humiliation.

The ultimate humiliation.

The Quanxing sorcerer trembled all over, his face flushed red. He was a renowned figure in the Quanxing sect, a well-known name in the martial arts world. When had he ever suffered such humiliation?

Rather than be crushed to death by this oppressive force, it's better to take a gamble!

"I'll fight you to the death!!"

The man let out a roar like a trapped beast, unexpectedly unleashing a fierce energy in his desperate situation.

Ignoring his broken knee, he sprang up from the ground, a poisoned dagger now in his hand, which he thrust straight at Zhang Taichu's throat like a venomous snake.

This strike was swift, accurate, and ruthless.

It almost exhausted his entire life's cultivation.

The blue-glowing dagger was about to pierce Zhang Taichu's neck.

Zhang Chulan couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Watch out!!"

however.

Zhang Taichu didn't even blink.

He simply watched as the dagger came hurtling towards him.

Just when the tip of the dagger was three inches from his skin.

stopped.

It wasn't that person who wanted to stop.

Instead... the air froze.

The Quanxing demon remained in the assassination pose, hovering in mid-air, his eyes bulging, his face filled with disbelief and terror.

He felt as if he had crashed into an invisible wall.

The surrounding air, and even the space itself, was squeezing his body frantically.

"spell?"

Zhang Taichu looked at the distorted face in front of him, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes:

"You dare to challenge me?"

boom! !

A muffled thud.

It's like a water-filled balloon being run over by a truck.

There were no signs whatsoever.

That Quanxing sorcerer, along with his dagger, exploded right in front of Zhang Taichu.

A cloud of blood mist exploded.

Strangely, not a single drop of blood and bits of flesh splattered onto Zhang Taichu.

It was blocked by an invisible layer of protective golden light when it was still an inch away from his body, and slid down the light barrier, dripping into the dust.

This moment.

The entire room fell silent.

The remaining people even forgot to breathe.

If the oppressive aura they felt earlier only instilled fear in them, then this scene completely shattered all their psychological defenses.

This is not a fight at all.

This is a one-sided massacre.

This is the insurmountable chasm between mortals and gods.

Zhang Taichu stood in a pool of blood.

The white Taoist robe remained spotless, fluttering slightly in the night breeze.

He raised his head, his gaze passing over the kneeling crowd and looking into the darkness further away.

There, even more people were trembling in fear.

"Trying to run away?"

Zhang Taichu seemed to see through those people's thoughts.

He lightly patted non-existent dust off his sleeve, a despairing smile spreading across his face.

"The door is already closed."

"Now that this net has been cast, how could we possibly let you..."

"Going back empty-handed?"