Chapter 85

Boom!

A deafening roar echoed as two figures—one clad in red, the other in black—collided with tremendous force.

“Today, I’ll defeat you, Chi Xiao. After that, I’ll take down Shen Xian’er. I will reign supreme in Luoxian Sect!”

Wu Dao launched the first strike. His iron-like fists, forged through relentless body cultivation, slammed fiercely into Chi Xiao’s shield. Sparks burst upon impact, the sound resembling a blacksmith’s hammer on an anvil.

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

“Damn! This guy’s insane! He’s using his bare fists to go head-to-head with a spiritual treasure. Is his body made of cold iron?”

“This isn’t just crazy—it’s terrifying. Are all body cultivators lunatics like this?”

“No, no, don’t lump us in with him... he’s not normal even for us.”

The audience’s perception of Wu Dao was being rapidly rewritten.

“Get lost!”

Chi Xiao wasn’t one to be underestimated. Flames erupted from her body—pure Scarlet Phoenix fire. Her shield came alive, and the carved phoenix on it opened its beak to shoot a scorching blast straight at Wu Dao’s face.

“Hahaha! That’s more like it!”

Wu Dao laughed wildly, sidestepped with ease, and then sprang forth like a jungle predator, aiming to pounce.

Chi Xiao, ever composed, calmly gripped her long crimson spear.

“Scarlet Phoenix Style—Eight Techniques of Annihilation: Execution.”

She whispered, channeling all her searing flame energy to the spear’s tip, then struck.

A crimson streak flashed—blindingly fast.

The blade of the spear, imbued with unstoppable momentum, reached Wu Dao in a blink.

For a moment, it felt as if a volcano had erupted, its force surging toward Wu Dao like a tidal wave.

“Bull Demon Twist!”

Wu Dao stomped with full force, shattering the ground beneath him. He crossed his fists and caught the spear tip dead-center. Sparks exploded. Two monstrous forces clashed at a single point, unleashing a storm.

The earth split apart like tofu; compressed air rang out with deafening booms. The scene stunned everyone present.

“Move!”

Chi Xiao roared as she bathed in her phoenix flames, advancing like an unstoppable tank, trying to pierce Wu Dao.

“AHHH!”

Wu Dao’s shout ripped through the air as his upper garments exploded, revealing a body scarred all over—every muscle defined like chiseled stone.

When the crowd saw the brutal wounds covering him, they collectively gasped.

“Did Wu Dao crawl out of hell?”

“How can anyone survive so many injuries? It’s unreal.”

“He really is a maniac... an absolute madman!”

They were shocked by Wu Dao’s ruthlessness toward himself—and Chi Xiao’s overwhelming force.

At the Qi Refinement level, wielding such destructive divine arts was unheard of. Had Wu Dao not been so resilient, he would've been skewered on the spot.

“No one... no one will block my path today.”

Wu Dao’s eyes blazed with unmatched willpower. With explosive force, he didn’t just endure Chi Xiao’s pressure—he stepped forward and pushed her back.

Chi Xiao’s fighting spirit burned even brighter.

“So Luoxian Sect finally has a man worth acknowledging.”

Her grip tightened around the spear as it spun rapidly like a drill.

Sensing danger, Wu Dao released his hold just in time.

Crimson and black lights flashed past each other. The clash paused.

A dead silence fell over the arena—even the other competitors froze. Only a group of seven in one corner were still frantically shaking the deeply asleep Shen Xian’er.

Drip. Drip.

Blood trickled from Wu Dao’s hand; his iron fists had cracked.

“You’re strong. Worthy of being my opponent.”

Wu Dao, like a devil god, licked the blood from his knuckles and locked eyes on Chi Xiao like a predator.

“You’re strong too,” Chi Xiao replied. “I’ll take you seriously now.”

She glanced down at her spear. A top-grade tier-two spiritual weapon—and it was cracked. The damage was substantial, but her fighting spirit remained undeterred.

Her crimson battle armor clung to her tall frame as she held her spear behind her, flame-red hair dancing in the wind. Her golden eyes gleamed with power.

No one dared approach within fifty meters—her aura was that commanding.

“Pseudo-Domain…”

Watching from afar, Han Luo adjusted his enchanted glasses and zoomed in.

After a thorough scan, he noted something shocking—Chi Xiao had a faint trace of domain energy around her.

She’d definitely attempted an eighth refinement.

Though she failed, the attempt yielded immense benefits.

“What a domineering woman,” Han Luo murmured, secretly giving her a thumbs-up.

To attempt the eighth refinement with a sixth-grade spiritual root was an act of sheer bravery—and a desperate desire to grow stronger. She had earned his respect.

Still, it wasn’t something just anyone could succeed at.

Chi Xiao had merely brushed against the edge of the domain realm, unable to truly step in.

A shame.

If someone like her could truly master a domain, she’d be multiple times more fearsome than even Shen Xian’er.

Others didn’t know she had tried for the eighth refinement. But at that moment, watching her in full battle mode, the crowd erupted with cheers.

Her tall figure clad in crimson armor radiated power—her sharp features held a fierce, refined beauty. That fiery hair alone drove many male disciples sleepless with awe and terror.

Thousands of them had been beaten by Chi Xiao before—and oddly enough, many of them formed the “Phoenix Fan Club.”

They hoisted her banners high and cheered as if they’d turn the arena upside down.

Chi Xiao had won everyone over with her raw strength and dominating charisma.

“Hahahaha!”

Amid the thunderous cheers, one burst of laughter cut through—Wu Dao’s.

“Has he lost his mind already?”

“Who even is this guy? How dare he compare himself to our Chi Xiao?”

“He’s laughing now? Just wait till she beats him into the dirt.”

Taunts filled the square.

But Wu Dao, after laughing long and hard, quieted and swept his dark eyes over the crowd.

Then he said two calm words: “Shut up.”

In that instant—

A blood-red storm erupted from his position, silencing ten thousand voices.

People blinked—and for just a second, they saw a terrifying vision:

A blackened world at dawn. A distant mountain—not of stone, but of beast corpses. Atop it sat a youth, legs crossed, chewing on wild grass, soaked in blood, smiling at the rising sun like a devil god from hell.

That youth was Wu Dao.

“Another domain user?!”

Han Luo ripped off his glasses, rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

He hadn’t imagined it.

Wu Dao had indeed released a domain’s aura.

But unlike Shen Xian’er’s gentle, comforting, almost heavenly domain...

Wu Dao’s was one of slaughter, nightmares, and cruelty.

It was hell.

“An eighth-refinement body cultivator…”

Even Elder Yun Ding's voice quivered as he spoke—shocked at what they had just witnessed.