Chapter 37: The Natural Star-Seizing Hand
"Xiao Yi, there is a late-stage Void Dao Realm expert secretly following them. Likely the guardian of those two," the old man in the ring transmitted after sweeping his divine sense around.
"Damn it, why do these second-generation elites always have powerful protectors wherever they go?" Xiao Yi's face darkened, envy welling up in his heart.
Born into great sects, they didn't have to lift a finger, resources came to them endlessly, and strong experts guarded them everywhere. But for him, everything depended on himself. The heavens were simply unfair.
"Teacher, once I win, do you think he'll try to go back on his word?" Xiao Yi walked out of the city, unease suddenly rising in his heart. His intuition had always been accurate, meaning he might be facing danger to his life.
"He won't. Prodigies value face above all else and won't act against their Dao heart. But if you really obtain the Soul Infant Fruit, then he certainly won't let you go," the old man in the ring replied.
"No matter. As long as I get the Soul Infant Fruit, it's enough. Once we pull this off, we'll leave Qingzhou. The world is vast—I don't believe he can chase me to the ends of the earth."
Xiao Yi shrugged with indifference, his heart settling. After all, with the old man in the ring present, once he consumed the Soul Infant Fruit, he could restore his Void Dao Realm strength. Killing Void Dao Realm experts might not be certain, but escaping with Xiao Yi would be no issue.
The four of them arrived at a desolate mountain a hundred miles outside the city. Xiao Yi's eyes rolled, and he suddenly said, "Fellow Daoists, for fairness' sake, why not hand the Soul Infant Fruit to Fairy Chu Yao first?"
Hearing this, Chu Yao laughed angrily at Xiao Yi's shamelessness. The fight hadn't even begun, yet he was already scheming how to secure the fruit.
"What you say makes sense, but since Young Master Gu is wagering the Soul Infant Fruit, what treasure are you offering in return?"
"This…"
Xiao Yi cursed inwardly. He hadn't even settled matters with Chu Yao, yet she constantly opposed him. If not for knowing he couldn't defeat her, he would have challenged her already to teach this vixen a lesson.
"This was Gu Qing's initiative. I only wish to make the duel fairer," Xiao Yi said darkly.
"Hmph, put away those petty schemes. Do you really think you'll live to claim the Soul Infant Fruit?"
Chu Yao might not know their exact strength, but Gu Qing was far too cunning to be outplayed by Xiao Yi. No matter the outcome, Xiao Yi was doomed.
"What do you mean?"
"Idiot. Exactly what it sounds like," Chu Yao sneered, ignoring him further as she stepped back with Su Qingyue.
"Young Master Gu, are you planning to break the rules?" Xiao Yi asked in a low voice.
"I will naturally follow the rules. If you can withstand three of my moves, then the Soul Infant Fruit is yours."
Gu Qing admired such fortune-favored protagonists. First, they slap down villains, then escape calamities with their protectors' help, afterward stumbling into fortuitous encounters that heal their injuries and skyrocket their cultivation.
Unfortunately, Xiao Yi wasn't a villain. Gu Qing was the man of the Heaven's Chosen woman—the light of the righteous path.
Without waiting for Xiao Yi's bluster, Gu Qing struck out directly, his hand clawing toward him.
"Star-Seizing Hand…"
Boom!
A thunderous roar shook heaven and earth. The clear blue sky was instantly lit with countless stars.
Stars swirled around Gu Qing's body, bathing him in sacred radiance, as if he were a deity commanding the heavens.
In perfect harmony with heaven and earth, bolstered by countless Dao laws, the power of the divine ability soared dozens of times over.
A colossal handprint of starlight, wreathed in sun, moon, and stars, came crashing down, blotting out the sky.
"This is—the Star-Seizing Hand?!"
"This is bad. Quickly, give me control of your body!"
The old man in the ring turned pale with shock.
Xiao Yi was already terrified to his core.
The Star-Seizing Hand was too overwhelming.
Even before the handprint landed, the vast divine might descended, crushing him until he could barely breathe.
If not seen with his own eyes, he would never believe such a technique could be unleashed by someone of the Mysterious Dan Realm.
Boom!
The old man seized control of Xiao Yi's body, releasing a surge of immense power to resist the crushing force of the Star-Seizing Hand.
His cultivation instantly rose to the third level of the Spirit Refining Realm.
At the moment his fist clenched, ice and fire surged to their extremes, erupting as he punched forward, simultaneously summoning a damaged great bell for protection.
Boom!
The mountain beneath Xiao Yi was blasted into a pit a thousand feet deep by the Star-Seizing Hand.
"Cough…"
Xiao Yi spat fragments of his organs. His bones were shattered by the immense power, leaving him half-dead in the crater.
"The natural Star-Seizing Hand… that's an awakened innate divine ability. You've awakened a supreme star-type physique."
Despair filled his eyes as he looked at Gu Qing.
This time, Xiao Yi had truly struck iron. Today, he might lose his life here.
He knew all too well the might of the Starry Sky Temple.
That immortal lineage had endured since the ancient and even primordial ages, standing aloof above the world.
Every true disciple of the Starry Sky Temple who ventured out was guarded by a mighty expert of the King Realm or higher.
If Xiao Yi could fight Gu Qing head-on, there might still be hope. But if he couldn't, there was absolutely no escape.
[Detected: Xiao Yi possessed by the Old Man in the Ring. Combat strength surges to the third level of the Spirit Refining Realm. Triggering Super Counterattack. Host's combat strength doubles, doubling again… completed. Host attains the sixth level of the Spirit Refining Realm.]
Boom!
A tremendous force descended. Gu Qing's cultivation instantly soared to the sixth level of the Spirit Refining Realm.
Glancing at Xiao Yi sprawled like a dead dog, his brow furrowed.
"So that's the old man's strength? Too weak."
[Detected: Xiao Yi is terrified of the host. Attempting to devour host's fortune. Triggering Super Counterattack. Counter-devouring one thousand fortune.]
[Detected: Xiao Yi harbors deep malice toward the host. Attempting to devour host's fortune. Triggering Super Counterattack. Counter-devouring one thousand fortune.]
Gu Qing stepped on Xiao Yi's chest, letting his true essence ravage his meridians.
"Stop, I admit defeat!"
Xiao Yi regained control of his body, eyes full of fear.
"Do you still want the Soul Infant Fruit?" Gu Qing asked with a playful look.
"You jest, fellow Daoist. The Soul Infant Fruit is yours by right," Xiao Yi forced a smile uglier than crying.
Before fighting, he'd been brimming with confidence, believing Gu Qing arrogant and ignorant, a frog at the bottom of a well.
But now it felt like a dream.
He was a genius who killed across realms with ease, slaying peers like breathing, often using the Old Man in the Ring to kill even older generations.
Yet here, together they weren't even worth a single move against Gu Qing.
Was this not a dream?
"Sister Su, what kind of supreme physique did Young Master Gu awaken?"
Chu Yao's foxy eyes stared unblinking at Gu Qing, poking Su Qingyue's arm with a jade-like finger.
Outwardly calm, inwardly her heart was in turmoil.
Gu Qing's Star-Seizing Hand was flawless, seamlessly one with heaven and earth, like an eternal divine ability born with the cosmos itself.
There wasn't the slightest trace of later cultivation—clearly an innate divine ability.
Its power surpassed even the records.
The boundless might blotted out the sky. Even though she wasn't the target, as a sixth-level Spirit Refining cultivator she felt mortal danger.
Her ambition, born from acquiring a god-tier divine ability, was suddenly doused in cold water.
Supreme divine abilities, born of supreme physiques, were already terrifying.
If they were awakened as innate divine powers, their strength became utterly unreasonable.
Even if she cultivated a god-tier divine ability herself, how could she compete with someone's innate one?
"Hmph, stop prying. That's not something you should ask."
Su Qingyue pulled away from her, seething with irritation.
Who was her "Sister Su"? Shameless vixen.
Meanwhile, the moment he saw the Star-Seizing Hand, Xu Tiefu's soul trembled.
He suddenly remembered an ancient scripture in the Sutra Pavilion.
It spoke of a transcendent force—the Starry Sky Temple.
King Realm experts there were countless.
It even had rumored human Supremes, Heaven-patrolling Saints, and undying beings of the Divine Fire Realm.
The Starry Sky Temple's legacy stretched so far back it defied tracing—an immortal lineage that had survived endless tribulations.
The strongest sect in this universe.
Realizing this, Xu Tiefu was horrified. Only one thought remained—escape.
As arrogant as he came, he now fled in utter disgrace.
No fruit was worth more than his life.
If Gu Qing had been a holy land heir, he might have dared to kill him. But against someone of the Starry Sky Temple? Not even with ten thousand lives would he dare.
"Want to flee? Can you escape?"
Ji Ning opened her eyes, divine light bursting forth, instantly blasting Xu Tiefu into dust.
A sect master who once ruled a region fell just like that.
"It seems those two cannot spark a heavenly thunderfire clash. These people truly deserved death."
Murmuring softly, she turned away, uninterested.
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