Chang Sheng Daozhang and Bai Tu were the weakest among the five, but both were cunning individuals, so Zhang Fan decided to eliminate them first.
"Heaven Shading Hand!"
Before he even got close, a massive palm print materialized from the void, striking directly at Bai Tu.
The palm print, spanning over ten meters in diameter, descended from the sky. Its size was comparable to half a basketball court, making Bai Tu and the others appear as insignificant as insects beneath it.
"Everyone, strike together!"
The immense pressure from the palm print caused the expressions of Chang Bai Shan Wu Sheng and the others to shift. From this single move, they could tell that this Master Zhang's strength had at least reached the late stage of the Core Condensation realm, comparable to Daoist Niu.
As for who was stronger between him and Daoist Niu, they found it difficult to judge. Daoist Niu had been in the late stage of the Core Condensation realm for a century and had not made a public move in a long time, making it hard to gauge his true depth.
With a shout from Chang Bai Shan Wu Sheng, Bai Tu and Chang Sheng Daozhang also unleashed their respective techniques, striking towards the colossal palm print. Chang Bai Shan Lu Wu Sheng, meanwhile, transformed into a streak of golden light and directly collided with it.
Under their combined efforts, the Heaven Shading Palm Print was blasted apart before it could even descend, dissipating into a surge of airflow in the sky.
Throughout this entire exchange, Daoist Niu made no move. He watched calmly from the side, while Wu Chen Jian Xian seemed to be in a daze, frozen in place, devoid of any fighting spirit, after Zhang Fan's words.
Undeterred by the shattering of the palm print, Zhang Fan's figure moved with incredible speed. In less than a single breath, he appeared beside Chang Sheng Daozhang.
"Myriad Dao Fist!"
Channeling the power of his physical body, he unleashed a punch from the Thirty-Six Battle Emperor Forms. As the fist struck out, it seemed to forge a miniature world interwoven with myriad Daos. The speed far surpassed the speed of sound, filling the air with a series of piercing sonic booms.
Even though Chang Sheng Daozhang had been constantly wary of Zhang Fan, he had not anticipated Zhang Fan's speed to reach such a level. He only reacted after Zhang Fan had already thrown the punch.
To evade was clearly too late, and he could only defend with all his might.
"Eternal Flame Wall!"
In a flash, Chang Sheng Daozhang swiftly swept his hand across the gourd at his waist. An endless stream of flames erupted from the gourd, forming a wall of fire, tinged with purple, before him.
Chang Sheng Daozhang had a fondness for drinking and was skilled in using various elixirs and herbs to brew wine. Initially, his flames were merely an aid in his distillation process, but he never imagined that, in his later cultivation, they would become one of his most formidable abilities.
"Eternal Flowing Fire" was a unique flame cultivated by Chang Sheng Daozhang himself. The flame was gentle, but once it ignited, it was incredibly difficult to extinguish.
He had thought that the "Eternal Flame Wall" would grant him a brief window of opportunity. However, to his astonishment, Zhang Fan completely disregarded the wall of fire before him, punched straight through it, and slammed fiercely into Chang Sheng Daozhang's chest.
Chang Sheng Daozhang was sent flying, spitting up blood that splattered conspicuously on the sandy beach.
Now that his Myriad Domain Town God Body had reached the quasi-great success stage, Zhang Fan's strength was sufficient to contend with a true Golden Core realm cultivator. His physical body was so robust that it was impervious to damage from cultivators below the Golden Core realm. Killing a cultivator in the early Core Condensation realm was as effortless as slaughtering a pig.
With that single punch, had he used his full power, he could have shattered Chang Sheng Daozhang's Nascent Core, killing him instantly.
However, he had not done so.
Firstly, to strike down an opponent in the early Core Condensation realm, who had already employed defensive measures, with a single punch was something even Daoist Niu could not achieve. But if Zhang Fan were to accomplish this, the immense power he displayed would merely frighten all of them into retreating.
Secondly, every Core Condensation realm cultivator contained a Nascent Core brimming with pure energy. For Zhang Fan's current cultivation, this was of immense benefit, and he was naturally reluctant to destroy it.
To ordinary people, the act of cultivators consuming the Nascent Cores of other human cultivators was akin to cannibalism, a violation of human ethics, and utterly despised.
However, in the world of cultivation, this was a commonplace occurrence. It was precisely due to this that the law of the jungle, the survival of the fittest, was even more vividly displayed in the cultivation world.
Indeed, in the vast expanse of the Myriad Domains, there were powerful demonic cultivators who would raise entire planets of humans, nurturing them specifically, and then consuming them once they became powerful.
Such actions were considered taboo in the cultivation world, yet many demonic cultivators still engaged in them to further their cultivation.
...
Even using only a third of his strength, Zhang Fan's punch caused Chang Sheng Daozhang's chest to cave in, leaving him severely wounded and instantly incapacitated.
Bai Tu, who was not far from Chang Sheng Daozhang, witnessed this scene and saw the tragic state of Chang Sheng Daozhang, a chill spreading through his heart.
Chang Sheng Daozhang's strength was comparable to his own, yet he couldn't withstand a single punch from Zhang Fan. Could he?
Without any hesitation, Bai Tu lightly brushed the white jade bone token at his waist. Instantly, thirty-three ghostly generals of various appearances emerged from the token, surrounding Bai Tu.
Each ghostly general exuded the powerful aura of the Divine realm. Bai Tu mobilized the ghostly generals, rapidly forming a Di Sha Ghost General Formation to protect himself.
Originally, the Di Sha Ghost General Formation, with all thirty-six ghostly generals, could unleash its ultimate power, capable of contending with cultivators in the early Core Condensation realm.
However, three of the ghostly generals had been refined by Zhang Fan's lightning and fire earlier. The speed was so great that he had no time to recall them, resulting in the loss of three ghostly generals.
The Di Sha Ghost General Formation was now his strongest available method. Once deployed, against opponents of the same cultivation level, it was equivalent to fighting two at once, with perfect coordination.
But the Di Sha Ghost General Formation formed by thirty-three ghostly generals could only barely reach the threshold of the early Core Condensation realm in terms of power.
After severely wounding Chang Sheng Daozhang, Zhang Fan turned his gaze towards Bai Tu. Chang Bai Shan Wu Sheng and Daoist Niu clearly understood Zhang Fan's intentions. Their figures flickered, and they positioned themselves in front of Bai Tu.
Although Bai Tu's individual strength was ordinary, he was still a Core Condensation realm Earth Immortal. They did not wish to give Zhang Fan the opportunity to defeat them one by one.
"I am very curious, what kind of body cultivation technique does Master Zhang practice?" Chang Bai Shan Wu Sheng's entire body radiated golden light, like a god of war. His voice rumbled, filled with immense, heavy power.
"Dead men don't need to know so much!"
Flames erupted from Zhang Fan's eyes, engulfing the group. Daoist Niu and Chang Bai Shan Wu Sheng could easily withstand them, but the Di Sha Ghost General Formation formed by Bai Tu could not.
Although the thirty-three ghostly generals combined possessed the might of a Core Condensation realm Earth Immortal, their individual strength was only at the early Divine realm. Under the refining power of the lightning and fire, each ghostly general's body gradually became illusory, and they emitted piercing ghostly wails.
Feeling his nurtured ghostly generals rapidly weakening, Bai Tu's heart grew cold, but he was helpless.
Because Zhang Fan's lightning and fire domain also exerted significant suppression on him, he could only barely protect himself at this moment.
"Collect!"
After Zhang Fan unleashed this move, Bai Tu knew that his Di Sha Ghost General Formation was rendered useless. He had no choice but to recall them all into the bone token.
After all, those ghostly generals were the result of his painstaking nurturing over several hundred years to reach their current level.
"Water come!"
Daoist Niu formed a cryptic palm seal with his hands and then beckoned. The waters of Jade Pond were stirred, and two water dragons transformed into towering pillars of water, continuously pouring into the lightning and fire in an attempt to extinguish it.
Seeing this, a slightly mocking smile appeared on Zhang Fan's stern face.
The flames within his lightning and fire domain were divine flames. Ordinary lake water posed no threat to his lightning and fire domain.
...