As the white flowers continued to bloom, the space was squeezed, and Zhang Fan's range of movement grew increasingly confined.
Zhang Fan's expression was calm, devoid of any panic. With a wave of his hand, the ancient bronze sword rapidly shrank, transforming into a stream of light that shot into Zhang Fan's brow and entered his sea of consciousness.
"Giving up resistance? That's not like the style of Saint Master Zhang!"
The white-robed Pope wore a slight smile, but his heart was extremely vigilant. He knew that this Saint Master Zhang from China would never give up easily.
Moreover, he had always believed that Zhang Fan had inherited the legacy of an ancient powerful being, and might possess some special means to break through his 'Flower of Holy Light'.
"It seems I'll have to rely on the power of my physical body," Zhang Fan slowly stretched his body, exhaling gently.
In terms of qi cultivation and body refinement, due to resource allocation, Zhang Fan's strength in body refinement surpassed his qi cultivation by a margin.
Although his Myriad Prison God-Quelling Body had not yet reached minor completion, it was infinitely close. Once his body reached minor completion, Zhang Fan would be able to possess the power to contend with those who had condensed their Golden Core with bare hands.
The terrifying might of such an increase was immense, a far greater leap than in qi cultivation.
Even now, relying on his body refinement, Zhang Fan felt a degree of confidence in dealing with a white-robed Pope who had just entered the Condensing Core realm.
Zhang Fan's two divine abilities, 'Thunderfire Divine Eyes' and 'Heaven-Splitting Horn', could only be unleashed by relying on the power of his physical body.
"Since I have to use the power of my physical body, let's end this quickly to avoid further complications," Zhang Fan thought to himself.
"Actually, using the 'Soul Extraction Technique' on Saint Master Zhang is a considerable waste. For a rare genius like Saint Master Zhang, if you were willing to join my Holy See and share the secrets in your mind, under the nurturing of our Holy See, your future achievements would undoubtedly surpass ours, becoming the strongest in the history of this planet."
The white-robed Pope stared at Zhang Fan, his expression sincere and benevolent, speaking earnestly.
"Haha, it seems your vision is limited, and your ambitions are no more than this."
Upon hearing the white-robed Pope's words, Zhang Fan couldn't help but burst into laughter, declaring dominantly, "Speaking so much to me, aren't you just trying to stall for time so that your Flower of Holy Light can spread faster?"
"Since that's the case, I'll grant your wish. It's also a good opportunity for me to test just how extraordinary this so-called Flower of Holy Light here is."
Zhang Fan stretched his hands without resistance. The rapidly blooming Flower of Holy Light soon filled the hall, and Zhang Fan was enveloped by countless petals, seemingly unable to move.
The white-robed Pope's gaze penetrated the petals, landing on Zhang Fan, and he let out a sneer, saying, "Even fellow Earth Immortal realm cultivators would not dare to be enveloped by my Holy See's Flower of Holy Light."
"This Saint Master Zhang is truly arrogant. He's merely in the Divine Realm, and with some special techniques, can barely contend with Earth Immortal realm experts. Yet he dares to be so presumptuous."
"This is for the best, it saves me considerable effort."
The white-robed Pope tried to calm his inner turmoil, while simultaneously unable to suppress his curiosity about the secrets in Zhang Fan's mind. He flashed and appeared directly above Zhang Fan.
Just as he was about to dive into the sea of flowers to perform the 'Soul Extraction Technique' on Zhang Fan, a large amount of thunder and fire suddenly erupted from the depths of the flower sea…
"Mere thunder and fire won't have much effect on my Flower of Holy Light!" The white-robed Pope was not surprised in the slightest, as he was aware of Zhang Fan's abilities.
Although the temperature of the flames was extremely high, ordinary Divine Realm cultivators could withstand it. It was too naive to think they could burn his Flower of Holy Light, which could trap Earth Immortal realm experts.
"Is that so!"
Zhang Fan's voice echoed from within the flower sea. The layers of petals that had enveloped him began to shed one by one. Zhang Fan strode forward, slowly emerging from the sea of flowers.
"How is this possible?" The usually unflappable white-robed Pope was somewhat lost for words.
He himself knew the power of the Flower of Holy Light best. With Zhang Fan's strength, even if it were twice as great, it would be difficult to break free once enveloped by layers of petals.
But now, it was extremely strange, as Zhang Fan had not used any attacking force, yet the layers of petals were falling off on their own.
The white-robed Pope grew flustered, finding Zhang Fan's methods difficult to comprehend, and felt for the first time that things were beyond his control.
"Your knowledge is too shallow. In my presence, you are no more than a schoolchild. There are too many things that are impossible for you," Zhang Fan took the opportunity to mock him.
The shedding petals, which appeared to have scattered on their own, were actually peeled off by Zhang Fan using the power of his domain.
Previously, Zhang Fan had tested the power of the Flower of Holy Light with brute force. A full-powered sword strike had failed to cause any damage.
At that time, Zhang Fan knew that the defensive and binding power of the Flower of Holy Light was undoubtedly formidable.
To break it with brute force would likely be difficult unless Zhang Fan's Myriad Prison God-Quelling Body reached minor completion.
After being enveloped by the layers of petals, Zhang Fan only tried once and then gave up.
Although Zhang Fan's realm was still some distance from the Condensing Core realm, due to his cultivation of the Myriad Prison God-Quelling Body, he had long possessed the Gravity Domain and Repulsion Domain.
The Gravity Domain could cause all enemies within the domain to experience stronger Earth's gravity, increasing their weight by hundreds or thousands of times, making them fight as if carrying tons of weight.
The Repulsion Domain, on the other hand, could make all enemies within the domain feel a powerful repulsive force, greatly affecting their combat effectiveness.
When the Gravity Domain and Repulsion Domain were combined, a new and powerful domain would be generated—the Disintegration Domain!
It could disintegrate the enemy's power and also cause compression and tearing to the enemy's body. Even some weaker Saints, upon entering Zhang Fan's Disintegration Domain, would be unable to withstand this force and would be directly squeezed and torn into fragments, making it an extremely terrifying domain.
Therefore, the shedding of petals was a natural occurrence from Zhang Fan's perspective, but utterly incomprehensible to the white-robed Pope.
"Putting on a show!" While the white-robed Pope inwardly sighed at Zhang Fan's strange methods, he refused to concede verbally.
"Contain him!"
As the white-robed Pope manipulated his power, not only did the white flowers begin to envelop Zhang Fan again, but the white vines spreading throughout the hall also coiled towards Zhang Fan like pythons.
Zhang Fan deliberately grabbed a vine and, channeling the power of his divine body, gave a forceful tug. The vine was directly snapped by Zhang Fan.
Holding the vine, Zhang Fan used it as a weapon, unleashing a whip technique, and swept it towards the white-robed Pope.
…
ps: Second update