Among heaven and earth, a clear light pervades.

    The intense and dazzling light, as bright as a full moon at night, was so striking amidst the roaring and churning ice crystals and snow waves. The overwhelming surge of snow was actually halted by the light, stopping just outside its boundaries, motionless.

    Countless towering rocks, along with various plants caught up in the tidal wave, were all revealed in a charcoal black state, stiffened halfway. They were all immediately immobilized by the light.

    Common sense dictates that a regular avalanche is almost invincible, let alone the "Heavens Shatter and Earth Quakes" force, crafted by Kang Yuan using his Ice Ring treasure.

    Now, everyone can clearly see that for hundreds of miles around, the heavens and the earth are enveloped in a rolling surge of snow. Added to this are the blocks of enormous ice crystals formed by the extreme cold, which have such explosive power that they could instantly destroy a small kingdom.

    Such terrifying power was stopped by a single ray of light?

    Everyone was astonished!

    Wu Kejiu, Qin Ming, and the others in the sky were all taken aback.

    Wu Kejiu swallowed a mouthful of saliva and asked, "Qin...Master Qin, have you seen what happened?"

    Qin Ming had no idea. He, too, widened his eyes and replied, "N-no, I don't know."

    Why are the two high-level magicians so startled?

    Because they are all of the same level as Master Chen Yun, who is an elite magician. Although their actual strength may not be as good as the true mainstream of the Xuanmen sect, the gap is not that significant. They naturally understand that such a powerful force cannot be resisted by ordinary elite magicians. This is not a problem with the scope of the power generated by magical treasures. Rather, it's about the density of the power generated by elite magicians. Elite magicians can create destructive forces that cover distances of over one or two hundred miles. However, the power generated by this Ice Ring treasure fills nearly every hundred miles within its range. The difference in power density means that even high-level elites like them, who are not true Xuanmen, have to find a way to avoid such a powerful force.

    Suddenly, Wu Kejiu seemed to have thought of something and weakly said, "Could it be that Mr. Chen has borrowed power from the Zengyang Real Teacher again?"

    Qin Ming denied immediately, "No way. When Master borrowed power from the Zengyang Real Teacher before, he was surrounded by powerful spiritual energy, and the awe-inspiring aura was not something that could be compared to now. From this, it can be seen that Master resisted the power of Kang Yuan's treasure with his own strength."

    Yes, that's right.

    If Master Chen Yun had borrowed power from Zhong Liquan, he should have been surrounded by spiritual energy, exuding a condescending and dominating aura. However, he does not look like this now. It's clear that he used his own strength.

    But Master Chen Yun just broke through to the level of an elite magician, and it seems that he doesn't possess the power to resist such a terrifying force.

    Then what exactly is going on?

    Neither Wu Kejiu nor Qin Ming knew the specific details, so Longnv Sanjiu, Gao Chen, and Ding Xu, among others, naturally could not understand what had happened.

    Everyone was a bit confused and extremely curious.

    For a moment, the 40 or so people floating in the sky were completely silent.

    No one spoke. Everyone was staring fixedly at the ground below, trying to figure out what was happening.

    However, just as Wu Kejiu, Qin Ming, Longnv Sanjiu, and the others were suspicious and unsure,

    Again, there were movements coming from the direction of the ground.

    Boom!

    Rumble rumble!

    The earth shook violently as a series of heavy thuds echoed from the ground, as if something was about to break through.

    So much so that due to the intense shaking of the earth, Wu Kejiu, Qin Ming, and Longnv Sanjiu in the sky could feel a faint tremor even in the sky.

    "Hmm?"

    "What's going on?"

    Everyone was startled and immediately sensed a tremendous and boundless energy gathering beneath the earth, ready to explode.

    They could even feel that if this force surged out instantly, it was highly possible to split the heavens and the earth right there and then.

    As expected, a loud "crack" suddenly came from somewhere beneath the ground.

    Following this, Wu Kejiu, Qin Ming, and Longnv Sanjiu saw a column mixed with broken rocks, soil, water, accumulated snow, ice crystals, and other materials shoot up into the sky. It then burst open like a firework display with scattered material.

    Before the crowd could react, a series of "crack" noises continued to resound from the ground one after another.

    Suddenly, everyone saw an extremely shocking scene.

    It can be seen that various materials were continually expelled from the ground as columns, as if they were heavenly snakes plunging down.

    In an instant, thousands upon thousands of massive columns emerged continuously, just like bamboo shoots after a rainstorm.

    These massive columns, resembling small mountains, burst open and scattered material just like the first one when they hit the halfway point in the sky.

    For a moment, in the sky over the ground, a few kilometers away, were scattered "balls" of mixed materials.

    Above and below, two entirely different situations were formed.

    The sky above several kilometers away was clear and bright.

    The ground several kilometers below was muddy and dirty.

    The powerful energy surge caused the earth to tremble.

    Before Wu Kejiu, Qin Ming, and Longnv Sanjiu could release their magic to investigate the situation, they saw columns of scorching mist rising one after another into the sky, like the tide coming in.

    In just a short time, heaven and earth were enveloped in mist.

    The space within several hundred miles was almost filled with water vapor, all of it extremely hot.

    This situation did not last long.

    In just a moment, Wu Kejiu, Qin Ming, and Longnv Sanjiu saw bursts of purple flames shooting up from the ground, evaporating all the water vapor. The material thrown into the sky was melted by the high temperature into magma, which then fell like rain and eventually filled in the giant crater formed on the ground. The plane was formed again.

    Perhaps due to the sharp change in temperature, the strong winds roared.

    One after another, fierce winds dispersed the impurities floating in the sky, restoring it to clarity.

    Wu Kejiu, Qin Ming, and Longnv Sanjiu along with the 40 or so cultivators, only now saw the exact situation on the ground clearly.

    It could be seen that in the ground, Chen Yun, holding the Red Gold Demon-Slaying Sword, was still enveloped in the clear light, and less than three feet in front of him, a figure covered in tatters was kneeling on the ground—Kang Yuan!

    It was obvious that Chen Yun had won.

    Kang Yuan was defeated decisively this time!

    The result was seen by everyone, but no one knew the process.

    "Mr. Chen won?"

    "Hmm, what just happened?"

    "Wasn't it Kang Yuan, using the Ice Ring treasure to unleash a force of doom, gaining the upper hand?" How did he suddenly lose?"

    Wu Kejiu, Qin Ming, and Longnv Sanjiu exchanged glances in confusion, really not understanding what had happened.

    For a moment, everyone was bewildered.

    Everyone was extremely curious and decided to wait until Chen Yun completely dealt with Kang Yuan and then ask him.

    ...

    Endless high temperatures were still emanating from the ground below.

    Kang Yuan, covered in a patch of charred blackness, knelt on the ground, his body emitting a smell of burned flesh.

    Chen Yun stood above Kang Yuan like a war god, his red-gold demon-slaying sword's light gradually fading away.

    "I was wrong! I truly was wrong!"

    Kang Yuan pounded his head on the ground, crying and begging frantically, "Master Chen, please spare my life! Please spare my dog's life!"

    This time, Kang Yuan's false pleading was completely different. He was genuinely begging for mercy.

    The reason for his pleading was that Kang Yuan was not only severely injured but also had his "qi" dispersed. If he didn't plead for mercy, he would have no other choice but to face death.

    Looking at the ridiculous Kang Yuan, Chen Yun's voice was devoid of any emotion, "Kang Yuan, when you first confessed, I did detect that you were trying to deceive, but my words were sincere. I was willing to intercede for you with Master Wu, Master Qin, and others. It's just that you didn't value the opportunity and still wanted to attack and kill me. I can only say that you are heartless. Today, there's no room for you to live!"

    "Don't kill me! Don't kill me!" With his hair turned into charcoal, Kang Yuan had a terrified expression as he shook his head continuously, "Master Chen, you are a magnanimous person. Please spare my dog's life!"

    Chen Yun sighed helplessly, "Alright, seeing your constant begging, I won't personally kill you out of regard for our past relationship."

    Kang Yuan was overjoyed, "Thank..."

    Kang Yuan's words were cut short as Chen Yun continued, "You shall commit suicide yourself. I will allow you to go with your entire body, without dispersing your soul, allowing you to return to the Underworld and be reborn. I hope that in your next life, you will have emotions and loyalty."

    "Do I still have to die?" Kang Yuan looked up and smiled bitterly, but after his smile, he bowed deeply in gratitude, "Thank you, Master Chen, for allowing me to keep my body intact and return my soul to the Underworld. Although I have committed sins in this life and will not be able to become a human being for the next ten lives, at least my true essence remains. Master Chen, you are truly magnanimous."

    Chen Yun looked at the other party but said nothing, as they had been together for so long and he really couldn't bring himself to kill him. Therefore, allowing Kang Yuan to commit suicide was his way of giving the other party the last bit of dignity.

    Kang Yuan did not immediately commit suicide, but instead removed the Ice Ring from his wrist and placed it gently on the ground. He then took out a coin, "Master Chen, all my belongings are here. Since you have spared my soul to return to the Underworld, I will give back about one hundred godly herbs to our fellow practitioners. Other things I have are all yours. In addition, I buried many treasures in the area of Fengzhou in He River Prefecture. Now that I am about to die, I fear that those treasures may be taken advantage of by outsiders. Now I entrust them all to you."

    He then gave the specific address.

    After listening, Chen Yun understood roughly where Kang Yuan's words were referring to. However, he had no intention of going there himself. Although people are supposed to speak the truth when they are about to die, who knows if Kang Yuan, a person who had no compassion for others, would scheme something in his last breath and lure himself and others to a trap?

    Kang Yuan was indeed a man of integrity. After sharing this information, he directly dispersed the last "qi" that was sustaining his life.

    The next moment, he closed his eyes and lay on the ground, his life force completely severed.

    Chen Yun and others naturally put away the Ice Ring treasure and the money treasure used by Kang Yuan for storage.

    At that moment, Wu Kejiu, Qin Ming, and Longnv Sanjiu fell down from the sky at high speed together.

    "Master Chen."

    "Master Chen, what just happened?"

    "Kang Yuan used a treasure to explode with such terrifying power. How did you suddenly win?"

    As these cultivators landed on the ground, they surrounded Chen Yun.

    Each person on the faces revealed curiosity and continuously inquired about the specific situation.

    Contrary to the body of Kang Yuan lying nearby, it seemed that no one wanted to look at it directly.

    There was no choice. The things that Kang Yuan had done previously were so despicable that not grinding his bones to dust and scattering them would be considered showing leniency. How could they look at him directly?

    Moreover, the way Chen Yun won was too strange. Everyone's hearts were full of curiosity, and they all wanted to know the specific situation at the time and how Chen Yun managed to break through the power of the treasure.

    (End of Chapter)