The Six Ancient Sacred Sect, Zhou Shiyu!

Fury surged within Pei Shishi, but the sight of the densely packed spirit stones brought a sudden, sobering realization: this seemingly harmless young man before her was not someone she could afford to provoke. Even she had never seen so many spirit stones, let alone someone who could produce such a vast quantity on a whim. Her expression shifted through several shades, her eyes filled with venom as she glared at the group. Yet fulfilling their wager in front of everyone present was out of the question. Proud and haughty as she was, how could Pei Shishi ever honor such a bet? Li Guanqi sneered, a streak of lightning crackling at his fingertip. Suddenly— *Boom!* An immensely powerful aura abruptly surged from the foot of the mountain straight into the clouds! *Clatter!* The rustle and clanking of chains reached everyone's ears. The expressions of all present changed; even Li Guanqi's face hardened. He sensed an aura like that of a primordial beast, step by step ascending toward the mountain gate. Moreover... Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes and murmured softly, "Is it him?" *Clank, clatter!* The entire peak shuddered faintly, the majestic momentum of that crushing pressure nearly suffocating the onlookers. Cultivators in the Nascent Soul realm were already bent double, struggling desperately to keep from falling to their knees. This pressure... was comparable to the late Void Refining Realm! Sun Jie, who guarded the mountain gate, turned pale. He whipped out a jade slip and rapidly relayed what was happening. Gradually, a figure emerged in everyone's vision—a limping man whose upper chest was pierced through by a golden chain! He hung his head, his disheveled hair obscuring his features. The long chain dragged along the ground, rattling noisily behind him. Built with lean, powerful muscles, the young man dragged a broad-backed greatsword of pitch-black metal with his right hand. As the greatsword scraped across the earth, it gouged a long, deep furrow in its wake, revealing its terrifying weight. Beneath the swaying strands of tangled hair, the onlookers caught glimpses of a pair of bloodshot eyes, brimming with defiance and hatred. Upon seeing the young man, Kong Xun's face lit up with realization, and he murmured softly, "Zhou Shiyu... How did he end up like this?" At the same time, Li Guanqi sensed two immensely powerful auras rapidly approaching from within the Six Ancient Sacred Sect. Yet the moment those two auras appeared, Sun Jie also realized something was amiss. Grabbing Pei Shishi, he prepared to dash into the barrier! *Thud!* The earth trembled, loose rocks tumbled down the mountain, and the ground beneath Zhou Shiyu's feet abruptly shattered. To the onlookers, the scene blurred for an instant, and the young man's figure vanished from sight. Sensing that Sun Jie and Pei Shishi were about to dart inside, a cold sneer formed on Li Guanqi's lips. An invisible pressure condensed into a spatial barrier, blocking the rift in the boundary. *Bang!* Sun Jie slammed headfirst into the invisible wall, shock gripping his heart. The crushing pressure erupting from Zhou Shiyu behind him trapped him as if in a quagmire, rendering him unable to move. *Whoosh!* *Boom!* A flash of pitch-black sword light erupted as Zhou Shiyu raised the black heavy sword high with both hands. Leaping into the air, his body arched like a fully drawn bow, he brought the sword crashing down with vicious force! *Boom!* Under this single strike, Sun Jie was obliterated into nothingness! The mountain trembled. Laden with the crushing heaviness of earth-element primal energy, the terrifying slash shattered the mountain gate and brought the barrier crashing down. The horrifying sword beam extended upward for hundreds of zhang, effortlessly tearing a wide chasm into the earth. Dust and smoke billowed in all directions, and the suffocating pressure bearing down on everyone suddenly lifted. Scrambling in panic, the cultivators fled toward the outskirts of the mountains, terrified of being caught in the crossfire. A sharp glint flashed in Li Guanqi's eyes. *Such momentum...* Zhou Shiyu, now standing behind Li Guanqi, also cast a slightly surprised glance his way. Yet he sensed no hostility from Li Guanqi. Before them, however... A cold-faced young man stood amid the billowing dust. Holding a longsword, the youth was none other than Sun Tianqi! At his feet lay Pei Shishi, collapsed in terror, her entire body limp. A flicker of disgust crossed Sun Tianqi's eyes, his brows furrowing in deep displeasure. Pei Shishi looked up and, seeing him, felt as though she had caught hold of a lifeline. Scrambling and crawling, she grabbed the hem of Sun Tianqi's robe to pull herself up. Sun Tianqi frowned and struck her across the face with a vicious slap. In an icy voice, he said, "Don't touch my clothes with your filthy hands." Pei Shishi's cheek swelled at a speed visible to the naked eye, burning with stinging pain. Seeing this, quite a few onlookers let out snickers. Pei Shishi cast a flustered glance around, her expression instantly shifting to one of pitiful grievance, tears welling in her eyes in a display meant to evoke pity. Yet Sun Tianqi pointed the tip of his longsword at her chest and said with a frown, "Don't come any closer." The woman, who had still wanted to press forward for comfort, froze in her tracks. The sword pierced her robe, the cold blade resting against her skin. She understood Sun Tianqi's meaning: throwing tantrums and playing the coquette would not work here. Her expression stiffened as she replied, "Yes..." Sun Tianqi looked outward, and a powerful aura erupted from him to contend directly with Zhou Shiyu's. Staring straight at Zhou Shiyu in the distance, Sun Tianqi did not spare the woman beside him a single glance. In an icy tone, he said, "Pei Shishi, remember your place. You are merely a plaything sent to me by the Tian'e Sect. Know your station. Your conduct today... displeases me greatly." *Thud!* Her soul trembling, Pei Shishi fell to her knees before the man without hesitation, in full view of every cultivator present. Resting her hands on the ground, her face pale and her wide eyes shimmering with complicated emotion, she spoke in a trembling, submissive voice: "Yes... I... I was wrong..." Pei Shishi was terrified. Only after clearly sensing the oppressive pressure of the young man before her did she truly wake to reality. The difference in status between them was like night and day! The force that had decisively suppressed the Tian'e Sect was merely a subordinate branch of the Sun clan. The life and death of the entire Tian'e Sect depended on nothing more than a word from Sun Tianqi. What Pei Shishi had done today was already overstepping her bounds. If Sun Tianqi became truly displeased... Sun Zhen, who arrived shortly afterward, merely cast a sneering glance at Pei Shishi, his eyes dripping with contempt. Sun Tianqi spared Li Guanqi only a brief glance before paying him no further attention. In his eyes, Li Guanqi was nothing more than an affluent disciple of some clan. "Zhou Shiyu, under the terms of the wager, you are no longer the next sect master of the Six Ancient Sacred Sect. What is the meaning of this now?" Not far away, the young man slowly raised his head. His left hand gently caressed the golden chain piercing his chest as a ferocious, bloodthirsty aura surged to the heavens. A low, raspy voice slowly rang out: "Today... I have come for your life."