Divine Root Bone

Zhang Yang's body was covered in pale golden Dao patterns, like thousands of blazing fire snakes, surging and climbing wildly along his flesh and meridians. All the foundational knowledge of the second level of Foundation Establishment exploded without reservation. The golden patterns flowing across his body naturally carried a mountain-like pressure that suppressed Qi Refining cultivators. The mortal puppets and corrupted cultivator puppets that had gathered in the alleyway became uncontrollably stiff and stopped as soon as they approached within three zhang. The yin and evil qi within the puppets melted away upon encountering the golden patterns, unable to stop him from advancing even half a step.

A faint, fragmented golden lotus pattern rose beneath his feet. He unleashed the full power of his transcendent physical body, transforming into a dazzling golden rainbow piercing the dense, purplish-black fog, instantly traversing the ten-zhang-long street. His liquefied spiritual energy surged like a torrent, pouring into his right fist. The golden light on his fist solidified into tangible golden crystals, tearing the air with a series of crackling sounds. Carrying the immense power to crush rocks, and brimming with rage and grief, he slammed his fist fiercely towards the evil clone—a replica of a Qingyun Sect disciple's face, devoid of any humanity!

Just as the tip of Ningjin's fist was only half a foot away from the opponent's cheek, almost grazing their flesh—

Buzz—!

A deep, resonant boom that shook the entire street's paving stones suddenly exploded out of nowhere.

A layer of three-foot-thick, solid, mercury-like, and immovable black dan yuan protective shield slowly rose and spread from the pores of the evil spirit's body, like an inverted black jade bell that firmly locked its body in the center, with fine dan patterns flowing on the surface of the shield.

The next second, Zhang Yang unleashed a powerful punch, pouring all his cultivation into it, which slammed solidly and without any cushioning into the Dan Yuan protective shield!

BOOM!

The earth-shattering collision unleashed concentric rings of dark ripples, like a massive boulder plunging into a bottomless abyss. The black ripples surged and trembled along the three-foot-long protective shield, yet no matter how fiercely the golden light of the fist eroded and washed over it, not a single tiny crack or dent appeared on the surface of the shield. It was indestructible, isolating all Foundation Establishment power.

The instant the protective shield of the core was formed, the terrifying pressure emanating from the core was like a massive mountain suddenly collapsing from the sky, completely blocking all escape routes for Zhang Yang.

When the golden core radiated outwards, the Dao foundations of all the cultivators present trembled violently instinctively. An extreme fear originating from the level of life arose deep within their souls. Even looking directly at the golden core itself was like looking directly at the blazing sun. Their minds ached and their bodies trembled.

Zhang Yang was exactly like that at that moment.

A dull, tingling pain spread through every bone in his body. The golden Dao foundation that had solidified within his dantian vibrated uncontrollably, buzzing and groaning as if it were about to crumble and disintegrate at any moment. A bone-chilling cold, originating from the chasm between realms and penetrating deep into his soul and marrow, rushed from his limbs and bones straight to the top of his head. His legs and arms trembled slightly uncontrollably, the spiritual energy at his fingertips dissipated and became unstable, and his pupils contracted violently, his eyes surging with uncontrollable shock and disbelief.

The black-clad, malevolent clone, separated by the ever-fluctuating inky black protective barrier, slowly curled its stiff lips, filled with bloodlust and coldness. A hoarse, dry, mocking laugh, like scraping rotten wood, pierced through the biting wind, each word striking Zhang Yang's soul:

"Not enough force, why are you shaking all over? Am I that scary to you? Haha..."

Zhang Yang's mind was in turmoil, and his brain went completely blank.

That attack was his ultimate killing move, a fusion of his physical body, liquefied Foundation Establishment spiritual power, and amplified by the Dao patterns on his body. If Shi Wanshan, who was at the peak of Qi Refining, had taken that punch, his physical body would have shattered and his evil energy would have dissipated on the spot. But now, even after using all his trump cards, he couldn't even budge the slightest bit of the innate defense that passively emerged from the first layer of his evil spirit clone and didn't require any deliberate activation.

This wasn't even a protective technique used by the opponent; it was merely the innate and everlasting protective essence of a Golden Core cultivator after condensing their core! Between the two was an insurmountable chasm.

Behind the alley, in the formation of cultivators desperately defending against the puppet frenzy, a seasoned rogue cultivator, who had traveled extensively through various secret realms and possessed vast knowledge, stared intently at the three-foot-high black barrier. Feeling the overwhelming, foundation-suppressing power of the pill, his face turned ashen, and he let out a shrill, piercing scream that echoed throughout the entire alley:

"It's the protection of the Core Formation! The unique Core Formation foundation of the Golden Core realm! An innate protective barrier that Foundation Establishment cultivators simply cannot breach!"

Upon hearing this, all the rogue cultivators and outer disciples from various sects felt their bodies instantly turn ice-cold, their hands and feet turning icy. The last shred of hope in their hearts shattered completely, and they finally understood just how terrifying the difference in cultivation levels between the two people before them truly was.

In the center of the formation, Su Qingyao gripped the hilt of her spirit sword tightly, her knuckles turning bluish-white from the force. The sword's spiritual light trembled violently, flickering on and off, and her usually serene face was completely drained of color. Beside her, Lin Wanqing stood frozen, tears that had just rolled down her cheeks congealed, her eyes fixed on the golden figure shielded by the dark aura, a suffocating tightness in her chest. Everyone present, watching Zhang Yang fight alone, felt their last vestiges of hope teetering on the brink of collapse.

In the center of the battlefield, a layer of icy cold sweat instantly seeped from Zhang Yang's forehead, dripping down his chin and onto the bluestone slab, spreading out small wet marks.

Before the battle began, he had anticipated countless perilous scenarios, knowing that the Golden Core evil avatar was far more powerful than himself. He was prepared to fight to the death, even at the cost of his life. But he never expected that his all-out attack, his trump card, wouldn't even break through a single layer of the opponent's defense. From the moment he threw his punch, he was already in a completely disadvantageous and desperate situation.

The evil avatar took in the horror in Zhang Yang's eyes. Its empty, dark eyes, devoid of any spirit, now held an even stronger mockery and cruelty. It slowly took a step forward, and with each step its black-clad figure, shrouded in black mist, took, the stone slab beneath its feet cracked along the patterns on the stone, fine fissures spreading in all directions. A chilling, malevolent aura seeped into the ground through these cracks, devouring the sparse spiritual energy around it.

"You're done?" The evil clone spoke slowly, with a teasing tone like a cat playing with a mouse. The faint glow of the golden core pulsed within the protective shield. "Now, it's my turn. Open your eyes wide and take a good look at the power of the golden core."

Before he could finish speaking, the faint light from the core of the evil spirit's body suddenly surged, and the thick black mist completely engulfed him, causing his figure to vanish into thin air in an instant.

All Zhang Yang could see was a thick, swirling, purplish-black fog that obscured his vision. No matter how hard he tried to use his eyesight or spiritual sense to investigate, he couldn't detect even the slightest movement of the other party. The other party's speed was so fast that it completely exceeded the limits of what a Foundation Establishment cultivator's eyes and spiritual sense could capture. Only a chilling vortex remained in the air.

With a life-or-death crisis looming over him, Zhang Yang had no time to consider any way to break the deadlock. Only one thought remained in his mind: to withstand this fatal blow and preserve his Dao foundation and physical body, so that he could have a chance to find a weakness in the opponent's Danbao (a defensive formation) and find a glimmer of hope for a counterattack!

In the nick of time, Zhang Yang swiftly crossed his arms in front of his chest, all the pale gold Dao patterns on his body converged and surged into his arms, his arms radiating intense golden light. He used most of his remaining spiritual power to create a thin, precarious golden spiritual power barrier in front of his arms.

The next instant, the evil clone appeared abruptly three feet in front of Zhang Yang, as if it had teleported across space.

He didn't try to flank or ambush, nor did he look for blind spots in his defenses like his waist, abdomen, or heart. He simply stood there upright, a cruel and wicked smile full of killing intent on his lips. His fist, filled with rich internal energy and entwined with bone-corroding black mist, slammed down with immense pressure onto Zhang Yang's crossed arms as he tried to block!

"boom----!!"

A deafening roar, like a heavy cannon blast striking a thick city wall, tore through the old alley. The sound waves whipped up a gale, shattering the wooden doors and windows of the houses on both sides, sending shards of wood and tiles flying everywhere!

The violent and unparalleled power of the Golden Core surged through the point of impact, like a toxic flood bursting its banks, into Zhang Yang's limbs and bones. Zhang Yang was as if he had been hit head-on by a full-speed cannonball, his body flying uncontrollably backward, his back slamming heavily against the thick wall of an old stone house to the side.

The first high wall of stacked stones collapsed with a roar, sending fist-sized and head-sized stones flying everywhere; but his momentum as he flew backward did not diminish at all, and his body smashed through the second and third thick stone walls. Wall debris, rotten wooden beams, and broken bricks and tiles followed closely behind, scattering everywhere and carving out a messy, broken passage leading directly to the inner room in the dark and dilapidated house.

A devastating pain instantly swept through his body. His two blocking arms went completely numb and lost all feeling. The meridians in his arms were torn apart inch by inch, and countless tiny blood lines spread beneath his skin. The solidified golden Dao foundation in his dantian trembled violently, almost collapsing on the spot. A scalding, extremely sweet and pungent blood surged wildly up his throat, blocking his throat.

While flying backwards through the air, Zhang Yang couldn't suppress the surging internal injuries. He uncontrollably gushed mouthfuls of scalding blood, the crimson blood mist spreading along the way, staining the black mist drifting in the air. His back slammed violently against the rough, hard stone wall time and time again, a burning, tearing pain mixed with numbness sweeping through his entire body. His consciousness rapidly dissipated and blurred, his vision veiled by a layer of blood-red mist.

The three storage bags he had seized from the higher-ups of the Black Fiend Sect were broken free from his clothes by the continuous and violent impacts. They tumbled in the air a few times before crashing down not far from where he was about to land. The bags were slightly open, and a few slivers of light could be faintly seen from inside.

His body crashed heavily onto the ground covered in rubble. Zhang Yang convulsed violently twice, his arms went limp, and the pale golden Dao patterns on his body instantly dimmed and disappeared. His vision went black, and he completely lost consciousness, lying stiffly in the pool of rubble and blood, motionless.

Within the cultivators' formation, who were desperately defending the puppet encirclement, everyone witnessed this devastating scene. Their blood froze instantly, their limbs stiffened, and only a bone-chilling despair remained in their hearts.

Affected by the shock to her mind, Su Qingyao's spiritual sword rang out with a crisp clang. She staggered half a step, nearly having her shoulder pierced by the claws of the corrupted cultivator puppet that pounced from the side. Completely disregarding the murderous intent of the puppet that was close at hand, her eyes were bloodshot, and she screamed incoherently.

Several male disciples of the Qingyun Sect held the mentally broken Lin Wanqing tightly in the center of their formation, shielding her from the puppets and evil energy attacking from all directions. Lin Wanqing trembled violently, two streams of hot tears streaming down her face, dripping incessantly from her chin. She broke free from the protection of her fellow disciples, leaning halfway out towards the ruins. Her heart-wrenching screams pierced through the chilling wind and the puppets' roars, echoing throughout the deathly silent old alley:

"Zhang Yang—!!"

Anxious, fearful, and desperate cries rose and fell, intertwining and echoing through the old alleyway, shrouded in gloom and filled with puppets, their mournful cries piercing the ears.

All around, thousands upon thousands of stiff, numb mortal puppets and incessantly roaring evil cultivator puppets continued to shrink the encirclement, the stench of blood and the cold, turbid air growing ever thicker.

The black-clad evil spirit's clone stood silently at the entrance of the dilapidated house. Its three-foot-long black energy shield remained unchanged, its empty, dark gaze sweeping over the completely collapsed and demoralized cultivator formation. Boundless killing intent, like black water, swept across the sky, firmly enveloping everyone in the shadow of death.