Longcheng, The Third Day.
The entire city of Longcheng was blanketed by a heavy, invisible pall of gloom. This oppression didn't come from the weather but from two formidable forces: the rage of Ancestor Wang Xiaotian, and the intangible threat of the arrogant youth's three-day deadline.
All businesses, prominent families, and even the underworld organizations in the city ceased activity. No one dared to make any noise on this day, fearing they might attract the wrath of the impending clash.
The Wang Family Estate.
Outside the Wang family manor, three layers of defensive arrays, personally arranged by Wang Xiaotian, shimmered with light, protecting the entire residence impenetrably. Inside, the atmosphere was so tense it could be cut with a knife.
Wang Xiaotian, dressed in a black martial arts robe, sat cross-legged in the center of the training ground. His eyes were closed, and the powerful aura of the Early Foundation Establishment Stage coiled like a slumbering beast, ready to devour its prey at any moment.
Two days ago, he had received a reply from the Capital's Wang family: the main family would not risk entanglement for a mere Longcheng branch, and they warned him that "the anomaly near Dragon's Hidden Mountain is extraordinary; resolve the issue quickly, do not delay." The Black Tortoise Society had outright refused his plea for aid, causing a sliver of unease to surface in Wang Xiaotian's heart for the first time.
"Hmph! A scoundrel playing mind games! Even if you broke through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, so what? This old man has been immersed in this realm for decades; how can a mere junior who just entered the stage compare?" Wang Xiaotian suddenly opened his eyes, which were bloodshot. He had to use an absolute victory to suppress the fear growing within him.
"Patriarch! Patriarch!" Wang Xu rushed in, dragging his injured body, his face pale with panic. "The time... noon has arrived! What if that madman doesn't show up?"
"Silence!" Wang Xiaotian roared, his voice like a clap of thunder, sending Wang Xu staggering back several steps.
"Since he dared to claim he would take my life in three days, if he fails to appear today, this old man will execute the entire Qin family and search every inch of the earth for him! I will make him wish for death!"
No sooner had Wang Xiaotian finished speaking than an unparalleled, vast spiritual pressure, like a tsunami, poured down from the direction of Dragon's Hidden Mountain!
Dragon's Hidden Mountain.
Shan Hu, clad in black, stepped out of the alchemy chamber. Having been refined by the Foundation Establishment Pill, his entire being was transformed, his aura contained yet ubiquitous. He took a single step, not employing any grand divine art, merely allowing his physical body, driven by True Essence, to turn into a streak of light, heading straight for the Wang family manor in Longcheng.
At this moment, the immense pressure surrounding him was utterly unleashed!
Though only in the Early Foundation Establishment Stage, his cultivation, enhanced by the Immortal Emperor's profound heritage, exerted a pressure far exceeding that of his peers, as if a true deity had descended upon the mortal world.
This oppressive force instantly enveloped the entire city of Longcheng. Ordinary people felt a chilling, suffocating terror, collapsing onto the ground, afraid to look up.
And to the martial experts and cultivators in Longcheng, this felt like the end of the world!
"Is... is this a Golden Core Ancestor?!" Ye Qingyun, stationed at the Ye family's Longcheng branch, went pale, the intelligence paper in his hand falling to the floor.
He had initially assumed the anomaly was merely a Foundation Establishment breakthrough, but this current pressure surpassed any Foundation Establishment Master he had ever encountered, carrying an air of supreme dominance and noble condescension.
The Qin Family.
Qin Mingyuan and Qin Wan'er's mother huddled together in terror, but seeing Qin Wan'er somewhat eased their fear. Qin Wan'er stood in the courtyard, gazing up in the direction of the pressure, a proud smile gracing her lips.
"Father, Mother. Master has arrived."
The Wang Family Estate.
Wang Xiaotian leaped up from the ground, his True Essence bursting forth in a violent collision with the descending pressure!
"Madman! You finally came!" he roared, though a hint of undisguised trembling laced his voice.
Shan Hu's figure stopped about a hundred meters above the Wang family manor, resembling a small black sun, faintly wreathed in five-colored True Essence light. He looked down upon Wang Xiaotian with cold indifference, as if viewing a dead man.
"Wang Xiaotian. Your life is forfeit. The three days have passed."
Shan Hu spoke only these words before raising his right hand.
"Arrogant! Don't think you can succeed!"
Wang Xiaotian's face was contorted with fury. Knowing he had to strike first, he violently stomped his feet, transforming his body into a swift shadow that shot towards the sky, simultaneously activating the Wang family's strongest defensive array!
"Mountain Protection Great Array, Activate!"
The three layers of defensive light instantly solidified, emitting an earthy yellow light. Each layer was strong enough to withstand the full-force strike of a Foundation Establishment expert. This was the Wang family's greatest card for dominating Longcheng.
However, Shan Hu's action was faster and simpler.
He merely gave a gentle thrust with his palm, aiming downward. There was no thunderous boom, no deafening explosion, only an irresistible, pure "Aura of Authority."
The Immortal Emperor's Palm!
"Crack—"
The three layers of the Wang family's prideful Mountain Protection Great Array shattered instantly like fragile glass under that seemingly effortless palm, dissolving into countless points of light!
Wang Xiaotian's figure froze mid-air, his pupils contracting. His spirit had been shattered by the backlash of the array's destruction. He finally understood that the young man before him was by no means a junior who had just entered Foundation Establishment, but a true—Peerless Grandmaster!