Chapter 116: This youth possesses boundless potential; it is truly terrifying!

If this dragged on any longer, he would surely be worn to death by these enemies.

His own death would not matter, but Chu Tian was still beneath the underground palace.

If anything happened to Chu Tian, and there was no one left to send word or call for help, what then?

No matter what, he had to survive!

With that thought, Wang Jiulong stopped fighting recklessly.

Covering his wound with one hand, he turned and dashed down the mountain.

At that very moment, inside the underground palace.

“Master, your disciple is incompetent. I nearly allowed Chu Tian to rescue Long Tianjiao.”

“Please punish me!”

Situ Deng hurriedly rose, crawled forward on his knees, and knelt before Wu Xingyan’s phantom.

The phantom did not answer. Its gaze fell straight into the stone chamber.

More precisely, it settled on Chu Tian.

After all, Chu Tian possessed the Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart, a constitution seen only once in ten thousand years.

If the Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart reached perfection, and Wu Xingyan then absorbed it, his cultivation would certainly increase tremendously.

But Chu Tian had delayed absorbing the essence of his seven senior sisters, and had even ambushed Wu Xingyan, repeatedly ruining his plans. Little by little, he had exhausted Wu Xingyan’s patience.

Now, Wu Xingyan no longer wished to spare Chu Tian’s life. Fearing that delay would bring unforeseen trouble, he wanted only to kill Chu Tian here and now.

At that moment, Chu Tian pushed aside the scattered rubble with both hands and staggered to his feet.

Yet despite being covered in wounds, he still stood in front of Long Tianjiao, shielding her tightly behind him.

“I will give you one last chance. If you are willing to kneel and beg for mercy, and obediently allow me to complete the extraction of the Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart, I can spare your seven senior sisters and let you die without regrets!”

Wu Xingyan’s phantom spoke slowly. His voice carried an ethereal quality, yet was arrogant and overbearing.

“I will naturally protect my seven senior sisters myself. There is no need for you to put on this hypocritical act!”

Chu Tian gave a soft laugh.

Seeing this, Wu Xingyan said no more. He had already understood Chu Tian’s resolve.

“In that case, this underground palace shall be your burial place!”

With a wave of his hand, Wu Xingyan struck toward Chu Tian with a single palm.

At once, a surge of force tore through the void and thundered straight toward him.

Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art!

Chu Tian’s meridians had suffered severe damage. To use the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art at such a time was no different from courting death.

But he could no longer concern himself with that. If he could not withstand Wu Xingyan’s attack, not only would he die here—his Fifth Senior Sister would certainly perish as well.

Even for the sake of his Fifth Senior Sister, he had to defeat Wu Xingyan’s external incarnation.

Boom!

Chu Tian frantically circulated his spiritual energy. In an instant, a vortex of black mist appeared before him.

As his spiritual energy continued to flow, the vortex expanded rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, it became a black hole ten feet high, completely blocking the entrance to the stone chamber.

The next second, Wu Xingyan’s palm struck the black hole, and its outline instantly began to disperse.

Yet the scene Situ Deng had expected did not occur.

He had originally believed that, with Wu Xingyan’s strength, a single palm would shatter the black hole formed by Chu Tian’s Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art and take Chu Tian’s life on the spot.

But the result had completely exceeded his expectations.

At this moment, not only was Situ Deng stunned—even Wu Xingyan’s external incarnation was utterly shocked.

He was no longer the same man he had been a month ago.

Several months earlier, Wu Xingyan had been defeated by Long Sihai, leaving him severely weakened and gravely injured.

Otherwise, even if Chu Tian had launched a surprise attack, it would have been impossible for him to destroy Wu Xingyan’s physical body with the strength he possessed immediately after his rebirth.

But recently, Wu Xingyan had fully restored his vitality through essence absorption.

Although his true body was not present now, his external incarnation still possessed one-thousandth of his strength.

Under a full-power palm strike, Chu Tian had actually managed to block him.

How was that possible?

Wu Xingyan was greatly taken aback. If this had been Chu Tian a month ago, he would have had no chance of stopping that palm.

Only a month had passed, yet Chu Tian’s strength had advanced so dramatically?

Wu Xingyan could not imagine what kind of technique Chu Tian had cultivated, or how he could have progressed so astonishingly in such a short time.

This child’s potential was limitless—terrifyingly so!

That was Wu Xingyan’s first thought. He could no longer afford to leave Chu Tian alive.

Otherwise, Chu Tian’s existence would surely become his greatest threat in the future!

“You vile wretch! Today, I will show you no mercy!”

Wu Xingyan once again circulated his spiritual energy and struck toward Chu Tian’s head.

Compared with the previous palm, this attack was clearly far more powerful. A force like mountains collapsing and seas overturning swept forth, powerful enough to destroy the entire underground palace.

Chu Tian was already at the edge of his limits.

Every inch of his body was enduring unbearable agony. Although he had blocked Wu Xingyan’s previous palm, the black hole formed by the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art had expanded to its limit and was on the verge of collapsing.

At the same time, Chu Tian’s meridians were breaking apart inch by inch, and endless blood seeped from his pores.

In a matter of seconds, he had become a man of blood, his clothes soaked through.

Yet his expression remained unmoved. He suddenly raised his eyes and stared directly at Wu Xingyan’s attack.

Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art!

Chu Tian thrust both palms forward. The vortex inside the black hole began spinning once more, gathering a tremendous force that shot toward the power Wu Xingyan had unleashed.

The two forces were similar in nature and equal in strength.

Wu Xingyan’s pupils suddenly contracted.

Was this his own power?

He could clearly sense that the counterattack Chu Tian had unleashed was entirely composed of Wu Xingyan’s own strength.

What... what was happening?

In an instant, Wu Xingyan understood.

Chu Tian’s black hole had devoured his power, then released it again, using his strength against him.

The stronger Wu Xingyan’s attack had been, the stronger Chu Tian’s counterattack now was.

There was actually such a wondrous technique in this world?

Wu Xingyan found it impossible to believe. He had no idea who had taught Chu Tian, nor where Chu Tian had obtained such a technique.

These thoughts flashed through his mind. Though complex, they all occurred within a single instant.

Boom!

The two forces collided head-on, unleashing a violent shockwave of true energy.

In an instant, Situ Deng’s pupils contracted as he hurriedly retreated.

But the shockwave moved even faster, slamming into his chest.

“Pfft!”

His body flew backward like a kite with its string severed, crashing heavily onto the staircase at the entrance to the underground palace. His back smashed through several steps.

The collision between Wu Xingyan’s two forces was no less devastating than a massive earthquake.

The surrounding stone walls split apart inch by inch, and the entire underground palace showed signs of collapsing.

The inner stone chamber bore the brunt of it, becoming the center of the mountain’s collapse.

In an instant, the ceiling of the chamber gave way. A colossal boulder five zhang high suddenly fell, crashing toward Long Tianjiao.

She was trapped inside the stone chamber, with nowhere to dodge.

Once the boulder came down, death would be her only fate.