"Watch carefully." Yue Dewen’s fingertip slowly traced a faint symbol in the air.

"This is one of the Five Spirits Talismanic Skill from our Great Dao Teaching’s fundamental martial arts, the Rejuvenation Purification Talisman Manual."

Swish!

In an instant, his fingertip accelerated sharply, drawing a complex talismanic pattern in the air.

"The Three Pristine Ones! Fix!"

Yue Dewen let out a sudden low shout.

Suddenly, a large mass of airflow around him began to swirl rapidly, surging and sweeping toward Zhang Rongfang.

The airflow transformed into a thick wall, encircling Zhang Rongfang and trapping him in the center, rendering him unable to move.

It was like an extremely dense jelly, preventing him from exerting force while continually providing resistance.

At this moment, Zhang Rongfang felt like he had lost all sensation.

His eyes could see nothing, turning into a vast white blankness.

His ears heard nothing but the roaring of endless winds.

His skin could only feel the violent friction of the airflow, nothing else.

Standing still, he felt enveloped by the airflow, suspended, unable to exert force.

With his sense of balance disrupted, the world spun around him, and he had no idea which way was up or down.

Suddenly, a fatal and terrifying threat surged from behind him.

Zhang Rongfang let out a low shout, his entire being swiftly entering an Extreme State.

Three layers overlapped, with his Qi and blood frantically circulating, his body entering its most extreme state.

The fatal threat grew closer, and closer...

At that moment, Zhang Rongfang reached back with a grab.

Pop!

The airflow dispersed, everything returning to normal.

His eyesight gradually restored, and he realized he was gripping his own neck with both hands, half-kneeling and struggling to breathe.

The space ahead was empty, Yue Dewen had long since moved far away.

He was left alone in the snow.

Rustle.

Zhang Rongfang stood up from the snow, lightly feeling his chest and heart.

The wound there had long healed.

To be honest, he had painstakingly controlled it all night to slow down the healing, just to avoid Yue Shi noticing anything unusual about his body.

Realizations of Daoist methods and martial arts could be explained by natural talent, but the peculiarity of his physique was beyond any genius comprehension.

So he only spoke of his personal insights into Daoist cultivation, without mentioning the abnormalities after his blood and flesh were restored.

At this moment, Zhang Rongfang slowly stood up.

"Did I fail after all?" he sighed. Indeed, a breakthrough to Grandmaster could not be forged. He had just attempted to use Yue Shi to provoke himself into taking the final step into the Grandmaster’s ultimate form.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t deceive his own heart.

Because, even though the surroundings felt dangerous, he was clearly aware that Yue Dewen would never kill him.

Therefore, the perceived threat was greatly diluted.

As he had expected, the suffocating move only lasted a brief moment before naturally dissipating.

Glancing around, Zhang Rongfang activated his low-light vision but could no longer see any trace of his master.

He felt a wave of emotion—despite all the bad things said about Yue Dewen, the conspiracies and plots attributed to him, Yue Shi had never failed him personally.

’I’d better catch up with the caravan. I wonder how the Celestial Maiden and the others are holding up....’ he thought, turning to judge the direction the caravan had left, and began to stride forward to leave.

"Finally left." Suddenly, a deep and resonant voice sounded from not far behind.

The voice was heavy and familiar, as if heard not long ago.

Zhang Rongfang spun around, looking back.

"It’s you!?"

In the forest behind, stood a tall man clad in heavy black armor adorned with a lion motif.

It was none other than Chen Tao from the Snow Rainbow Pavilion, who had been scared off earlier!

"You dare return?" Zhang Rongfang said in surprise. It was clear this man was quite wary of his master, yet he came back alone, which indicated....

"Why wouldn’t I dare? It’s Yue Dewen I fear, not you." Chen Tao slowly paced forward, closing in.

"With sects lifting restrictions locally, the Ten Thousand Teachings Shepherd Contract rendered null, and now the Five Religions Circle governs all sects under heaven. The Great Dao Teaching, being at the forefront, has its hands full." Chen Tao’s expression was confident as he advanced slowly.

"I have to say, your talent is extraordinary. The Reversal Association wants to recruit you, and even Yue Dewen considers you a cornerstone. But it’s a pity...."

"Pity what?" Zhang Rongfang subtly gathered his Qi, his muscles taut.

"Pity... you’ll die here now.... And the one to kill you...will be the Fierce General of the Snow Rainbow Pavilion!" Chen Tao suddenly let out a strange laugh.

Something’s wrong!

Zhang Rongfang immediately sensed something amiss.

He carefully scrutinized Chen Tao’s face again but detected no signs of disguise.

Clearly, the man was Chen Tao.

"No need to look any further. I’ve been infiltrating the Snow Rainbow Pavilion for many years, and now it’s finally time to act." Chen Tao smiled as he continued to approach.

The distance between them was now just twenty meters.

"You want to kill me?" Zhang Rongfang noticed the shrinking distance. "Aren’t you afraid my master will come after you later?"

"He has to find me first for that to happen..." Chen Tao smirked at the corner of his mouth.

Suddenly, his entire body swelled, with crimson lines appearing all over him, and his skin turned jet black. A silver spirit character manifested at his brow.

"Earth Cang, Heaven Extinguished, Hub Dragon!!"

Pop pop pop!!

Simultaneously, three fleshy tumors erupted from his back. The tumors split open, and sharp bone spikes emerged like knives.

Whoosh!

With him at the center, circles of airflow radiated outwards, blowing away much of the snow on the ground.

Suddenly, everything turned into a vast white blur, obscuring the view.

Zhang Rongfang quickly retreated, waving away the swirling snow powder before him.

But then, a massive silhouette burst through the snow right before him.

Bent elbow, sweeping strike, heavy hit!!

Boom!!

Zhang Rongfang crossed his arms to block the massive elbow strike.

A tremendous force clashed between them, blowing away the surrounding snow powder in the dispersing air currents.

"Ultimate Form!!?" Zhang Rongfang instantly realized the opponent’s state.

This man had employed the Ultimate Form upon first contact.

This guy!!?

The overwhelming power of the opponent’s elbow strike was something he found increasingly difficult to withstand, as his body bent under the pressure.

’Golden Toad!’

Suddenly, Zhang Rongfang’s heart moved, and the explosive power belonging to the Golden Toad Skill burst simultaneously, unleashing a fresh surge of strength in his body already in a full-force state.

This newfound strength forced Chen Tao’s pressing elbow back.

However, the outburst of the Golden Toad Skill is not lasting and can only support a moment.

But that moment was enough.

’Limit-Breaking Skill · Heavy Mountain!’

’Tenfold!!!’

Taking advantage of the gap he created, Zhang Rongfang raised his hand, bent his knees, twisted his waist, and his entire person exploded like a compressed spring, punching forward.

With a thunderous explosion.

The snow powder falling around him was blasted forward by a massive impact, forming a beam.

But unfortunately, the punch missed, brushing straight past Chen Tao.

The speed difference between the two was too great, and even with this sudden burst, Chen Tao had ample time to dodge.

"If this is all you’ve got... then...."

"Die!!"

With a step forward, his figure suddenly lunged, and as his arm swung to slash, there was a faint tremor transferred.

Bang.

Zhang Rongfang raised his arm to block, but this time, he clearly felt a huge vibration, accompanied by a second surge from the opponent’s arm.

The impact was a single strike, but then, there was a second!

It was as if an extra level of force had emerged out of nowhere!

"My ultimate technique can repeat the force right after my initial strike! The force is two-thirds of the original."

Chen Tao’s arms, like phantoms, explosively created a flurry of fist and palm shadows, far surpassing Zhang Rongfang in speed.

Fists and palms, like walls, suddenly shattered, transforming into dark shadowy shockwaves, attacking Zhang Rongfang from all directions.

Each shadow was an absolute strike he couldn’t withstand!

Goosebumps erupted all over Zhang Rongfang’s body, feeling the fatal threat rapidly approaching even before the assault touched him.

The dense sound of wind, piercing the air, slicing through the cold air, like a curtain of rain flying towards him.

His blood pounded, his heart contracted.

In his vision, countless black energies swirled around Chen Tao, transforming him into a massive monster akin to a Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara.

Time seemed to slow down at that moment.

Snow powder was suspended in mid-air, unable to fall.

The wind blew past, twisting the light.

Similarly, the colossal Chen Tao, along with the fist and palm shadow shockwaves he slashed, also slowed down, as if in a superslow-motion movie, inching forward.

"Hiss...." Zhang Rongfang took a deep breath.

The extreme death threat made him desperately want to activate the Blood Lotus.

But he suppressed that urge.

"I can do it!"

He told himself in his heart.

"I can!!"

In this extreme slowness, the blood in his body began to boil, countless red blood cells in his blood aggressively roared, burned, dissolved like flame.

Boom!!!

In an instant, a vertical crack appeared on his forehead.

Countless blood-red flames shot into the sky from Zhang Rongfang’s body like phantoms.

"Ultimate Form!!!"

With a tearing crisp sound, an additional arm suddenly stretched out from his back, breaking through flesh and skin, reaching forward!

At the same time, the crack on his forehead fully opened, with a sinisterly rotating blood-red eyeball in the center.

"Kill!!!!"

The ground collapsed with a loud boom, snow powder fell like stones into water, rippling and spreading outward in layers.

Everything centered on Zhang Rongfang completely entered an ultra-slow-motion state.

Only he!

Only himself!!

’If this is my ultimate form, then....’

Zhang Rongfang widened his eyes, countless blood vessels gathering in them.

’It should be called....’

"Godspeed!!"

In an instant, he spread his arms wide, arched his body, palms extending forward like hooks.

The massive airflow stirred up the snow powder, vaguely forming two sharp white air blades.

Swoosh!!!!

With extreme speed, he flashed past Chen Tao’s side.

Everything around returned to normal.

The hovering snow powder slowly drifted.

The cold wind began to flow again.

The charging Chen Tao also returned to normal speed. But he could no longer move. Instead, he stood there dumbfounded.

Looking at the huge bloody gash on his abdomen.

"What... technique is this?!"

Zhang Rongfang did not respond, instead turning around from behind him, looking at this person.

In that instant, he touched on all of the opponent’s force support points, dissolving the opponent’s technique while delivering a fatal strike.

So....

The outcome was decided.

The ultimate form was completed, greatly enhancing his burst speed, and next, activating the Blood Lotus to increase his strike power would give him the upper hand to completely kill this person.

"It’s enough.... this is the end." Chen Tao suddenly withdrew his body, returning to normal state.

The gash on his abdomen quickly healed, soon returning to normal.

He turned, looking at Zhang Rongfang with a complex expression.

"I’ve fulfilled my promise."

With that final statement, he exploded snow powder underfoot, dashing swiftly into the distance, disappearing from sight in an instant.

Zhang Rongfang did not pursue. Instead, he seemed dazed, suddenly turning to look in another direction.

In the distance, a gray-black figure was gazing this way.

But just as Zhang Rongfang turned to look, the figure quickly left, not lingering any longer.

Everything returned to tranquility.

Zhang Rongfang stood there, looking in that direction, not moving for a long time.

He remembered that direction was where his Master, Yue Dewen, had left before....