I run a casino in the immortal realm.

The seemingly casual palm strike actually locked down all the space around Zhou Changming.

"No!"

Zhou Changming frantically channeled his spiritual power, summoning three protective magic treasures in succession.

A bronze mirror covered in runes floated above his head, and a fourth-grade top-quality Vajra Talisman transformed into a golden light shield that enveloped him. The Xuan Turtle Inner Armor he wore also emitted a dazzling light.

But under Ye Tianqiong's palm strike, all these defenses were as fragile as paper.

"Bang!"

The ancient bronze mirror couldn't even withstand a single breath before shattering into countless fragments. The golden light shield burst like a bubble, and a black palm print was firmly imprinted on Zhou Changming's chest.

"puff--"

Zhou Changming coughed up a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs, and the inner shell of the Xuan Turtle on his chest caved in deeply, the sound of bones breaking crisp and piercing.

His body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the wall where the ancestral tablets of the Qingyun Sect were enshrined, shattering the entire wall into pieces.

A devastating blow!

Zhou Changming struggled to his feet from the ruins, his hair disheveled and his breath extremely weak.

He glanced at the slowly dissipating phantom of the Night Sky Dome, his eyes filled with fear, all traces of the prestige of a Nascent Soul Elder gone.

He didn't dare to linger at all, and immediately bit his tongue, burning his life essence and blood, while his hands quickly formed hand seals.

"Blood Escape!"

A blinding crimson light enveloped Zhou Changming, transforming into a blood-red rainbow that shot into the sky at an incredible speed, disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye without leaving behind a single harsh word.

As the power of the jade talisman was exhausted, the phantom of the night sky completely dissipated, and the hall returned to deathly silence, with only a cold wind blowing in from the broken dome.

Hu Lie stood there blankly, his body trembling uncontrollably.

His biggest trump card, the Nascent Soul Elder sent by the Xuantian Sect to oversee things, couldn't even withstand a single move from the opponent and was severely injured and forced to flee.

Just as Hu Lie was stunned, a series of whooshing sounds came from outside the main hall.

Su Chenyuan, Li Jianfeng, Xu Zhenghai, Xu Muyao, and others, covered in blood, rushed into the main hall like a pack of hungry wolves.

Su Chenyuan glanced at the dilapidated hall and the pale-faced Zheng Yifei and the other three, but didn't ask any questions. He simply waved his sleeve, and the spiritual power of his perfected Golden Core stage transformed into an invisible barrier, completely sealing off all the exits of the hall.

A dozen or so Golden Core cultivators formed a semi-encirclement, trapping Hu Lie firmly in the center.

"Hu Lie".

Xu Zhenghai stepped forward from the crowd, his eyes bloodshot, staring intently at the enemy who had wiped out his entire family. Blood was still dripping from the warhammer in his hand, and his aura became violent due to extreme anger.

Looking at the murderous faces around him, Hu Lie knew that he was now in a hopeless situation with no chance of survival.

"You want to kill me? Then we'll die together!"

Hu Lie let out a desperate and frantic roar. The golden core within his body began to expand violently, and his spiritual energy surged backward. He actually wanted to self-destruct his golden core, taking everyone down with him. He suddenly pushed off the ground, transforming into a dazzling fireball, and rushed straight towards Li Jianfeng and the others, who were the weakest among them.

"act recklessly."

Su Chenyuan snorted coldly, his figure appearing as if he had teleported to block Hu Lie's path. His withered right hand reached out, its palm radiating a bright blue light, and he pressed it firmly against Hu Lie's chest.

"Bang!"

The two streams of spiritual energy at the peak of the Golden Core stage collided violently. Hu Lie already had hidden injuries, and had just exhausted himself, so he was no match for Su Chenyuan.

Su Chenyuan's palm strike directly dispersed Hu Lie's reverse-flowing spiritual power, forcibly interrupting his self-destruction process.

Hu Lie coughed up a mouthful of blood, his protective aura completely dissipated, and his body slumped down like a lump of mud.

Just as he was about to fall to the ground, Xu Zhenghai moved.

Instead of using the heavy warhammer, he drew his spare longsword from his waist with a backhand motion. The sword's light flashed like a cold lightning bolt, piercing the dim light of the hall.

There were no fancy sword techniques, only the purest killing intent and determination.

"laugh--"

The longsword pierced Hu Lie's throat with perfect precision, the cold blade emerging from the back of his neck, drawing out a string of bright red blood beads.

Hu Lie's body suddenly stiffened, a gurgling sound came from his throat, his eyes wide open, staring intently at Xu Zhenghai who was so close to him, his eyes filled with resentment, fear and disbelief.

He never imagined that after scheming for so long and finally taking the position of sect leader of Qingyun Sect, he would ultimately die at the hands of a junior he once looked down upon.

Xu Zhenghai expressionlessly drew his longsword, leaving Hu Lie's corpse lying stiffly in a pool of blood.

He looked up at the dilapidated dome of the main hall, a single, cloudy tear sliding down his cheek, which he then roughly wiped away with the back of his hand.

Meanwhile, high above the Qingyun Sect.

Zhou Hong was controlling a giant flying sword, which clashed fiercely with Xu Tianyang's illusory Dharma image.

Two cultivators at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm clashed, their battle causing the sky to darken and the clouds within a radius of dozens of miles to be pulverized.

Suddenly, Zhou Hong sensed a chilling surge of demonic energy coming from below. He then saw Sun Changming burn his life essence and blood, turning into a bloody light as he fled in panic.

Zhou Hong was greatly alarmed and immediately scanned the main hall of the peak below with his divine sense.

When he saw Hu Lie lying in a pool of blood, his life completely extinguished, and a dozen or so Golden Core cultivators exuding murderous aura standing in the main hall, his heart sank completely.

The Qingyun Sect is finished.

With Hu Lie dead, the Hu family is leaderless, and those vassal families and rogue cultivators will immediately scatter like monkeys when the tree falls.

More importantly, Sun Changming escaped with serious injuries, and he alone had no chance of defeating Xu Tianyang. If the dozen or so Golden Core cultivators below were to set up an array to assist Xu Tianyang, he might even have perished today.

Nascent Soul cultivators are always calm and realistic in their judgments; they will never engage in a battle that is meaningless.

"Xu Tianyang, you colluded with demonic cultivators and ruined the foundation of my Xuantian Sect. The Sect Master will settle this score with you!"

Zhou Hong coldly uttered a polite remark, then changed his hand seals, and the huge flying sword suddenly burst out with a burst of bright light, forcing back Xu Tianyang's Dharma form.

Using the recoil force, Zhou Hong transformed into a streak of light and sped off towards the Xuan Tian Sect without looking back.

Xu Tianyang put away his Dharma form and hovered in mid-air, watching Zhou Hongyuan's departing figure without giving chase.

He knew very well that with his current strength, he could at best fight Zhou Hong to a draw, and killing a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator who was determined to escape was almost impossible.

He slowly descended, landing in front of the dilapidated gate of the main hall on the summit.

Looking at Hu Lie's corpse in the main hall, and those once-familiar Qingyun Sect disciples, Xu Tianyang let out a long breath.

Eight months of escape and forbearance finally came to an end at this moment.