The distance between them was not great to begin with. In the blink of an eye, Pan Shi was in front of the Daoist.
He clenched his right fist and abruptly raised it. The flesh and muscle on that arm began to tremble violently, swelling in size as he threw a punch at the Daoist.
Pan Shi was a disciple of the Meat Tree True Master from Sansong Mountain, and the Cultivation Technique he practiced was the renowned Meat Holding Dharma Body Scripture. Its core principle was the ability to freely control his body's flesh and blood, mobilizing power from every fiber of his being. At full mastery, one could even use their physical body to directly withstand the immense power of the world itself.
Though this punch looked ordinary, it was anything but. Pan Shi had gathered the power of his entire body into this one fist. Had it been a boulder the size of a grown man, this single punch would have smashed it to smithereens.
But faced with Pan Shi's ferocious punch, the Daoist remained unhurried and perfectly calm.
He gave a sinister chuckle, then raised the stick in his hand—which looked like it had been whittled from a tree branch—and simply jabbed it straight toward Pan Shi.
To Pan Shi, the stick seemed to move very slowly, not even as fast as his own punch.
But for some unknown reason, in a flash, the stick accelerated to an unimaginable speed and struck him in the side, a beat faster than his own attack.
HISS!
Pan Shi's face immediately contorted in pain. The power gathered in his fist instantly dispersed, and with his attack broken, he was sent flying back several meters before crashing into a tree.
"Heh heh, kid. With a mere Fake Food Realm Cultivation Level, you're no match for this Daoist Master. Didn't your sect ever teach you to know your own limits?"
The Daoist jeered with a strange laugh, having broken Pan Shi's assault with just a simple jab.
As the Daoist spoke, Pan Shi staggered back to his feet, his expression grim.
'Primordial Feeding Realm!'
'This Daoist is actually a Primordial Feeding Realm Cultivator!'
'If his opponent was at the same Cultivation Level, there's no way he could have countered so easily.'
'Practicing the Meat Holding Dharma Body Scripture makes one's close-quarters combat ability second to none. I might not be invincible within my own realm, but I'm certainly formidable enough to overwhelm most Cultivators at my level without a problem.'
'But the strength he's shown is far beyond what the Fake Food Realm is capable of. The only explanation is that he's in the Primordial Feeding Realm, the realm above it!'
'This is going to be difficult!'
Pan Shi rubbed the side where he'd been jabbed, feeling a numbness spreading across half his body. He subconsciously glanced over at Yang An, who was standing beside his junior sister.
'Fellow Daoist Yang is also in the Primordial Feeding Realm. I'll probably have to ask for his help. There's no way I can deal with this Daoist by myself.'
'But as a Cultivator, I don't want to be underestimated. No matter what, I can't bring shame upon my sect.'
'If I ask Fellow Daoist Yang for help too soon, even if Yang An doesn't look down on me, the gap in our standing will unconsciously grow. It'll be harder to rely on our friendship if we run into more trouble later on.'
'We haven't even reached the Xiyue River yet. We're still just on the way there. Who knows what might happen at the Great Feast? It could be even more trouble than this.'
'But right now, I need to solve the problem at hand before I can worry about the future.'
Pan Shi rubbed his numb arm, then turned, wrapped his arms around a thigh-thick tree, and gritted his teeth.
Muscles bulged across his entire body, every fiber of his being trembling violently as blue veins popped out on his skin.
In an instant, he uprooted the thigh-thick tree, roots snapping, and swung it violently at the Daoist. Had an ordinary person been struck by such a blow, they would have been reduced to a pile of meat paste on the spot.
Yet, faced with this powerful and heavy blow, the Daoist neither dodged nor evaded, and simply raised his stick again.
Compared to the thick tree trunk, the stick looked like a thin needle; the difference between the two was like night and day.
But when the tip of the stick suddenly tapped the oncoming tree trunk, an invisible force erupted from it, shredding everything it came into contact with.
RRRIP!
In a single instant, the tree trunk was torn asunder as if it had been disemboweled, shattering into countless pieces.
As for the Daoist, he had only absorbed a small portion of the force. He took two steps back but was otherwise completely unharmed.
Watching the fight from the sidelines, both Yang An and Pan Yu felt their hearts pound in terror. A heavy sense of dread washed over them as they witnessed the Daoist's power.
'This Daoist is too strong!'
'Pan Shi is being completely overwhelmed, utterly unable to fight back.'
Yang An couldn't help but worry. 'If Pan Shi is defeated, how are Pan Yu and I supposed to handle this Daoist on our own?'
'Run? Or surrender?'
'Neither seemed like a very good option.'
On the other side, although Pan Shi had been mentally prepared, he hadn't expected the Daoist to be this powerful. The tree trunk in his hands was now just a stump, which he hurled at the Daoist with all his might.
'No matter what, I have to give it everything I've got. I can only ask Fellow Daoist Yang for help when I have nothing left.'
'After all, if I don't even give it my all, why should I expect someone else to?'
'These tactics are useless against the Daoist. I have to use my trump card.'
Seizing the opening created by the flying stump, Pan Shi bit the tip of his tongue and spat a mouthful of blood onto his hands.
It wasn't much blood, but as it landed on his hands, it formed into individual Blood Pearls.
What was even stranger was that as soon as these crimson droplets touched the skin on Pan Shi's hands, they seemed to come alive, like tiny, wriggling worms burrowing into his pores.
RRRIP!
The sound of tearing flesh followed, and then twisted, blood-red bone spurs erupted from Pan Shi's hands.
The bone spurs were sharp, their tips riddled with tiny pores. Each spur was filled with a potent blood toxin. As long as he could wound his opponent, even if the injury wasn't severe, the toxin would be enough to suppress their strength.
This was Pan Shi's trump card.
Even though there was a massive difference in their strength—a whole Great Realm—Pan Shi was still confident in his trump card.
He lunged toward the Daoist again, his speed even greater than before. In the blink of an eye, he was behind him.
He had learned his lesson. Taking advantage of the instant the Daoist shattered the stump, he had circled around to his back, refusing to attack head-on again.
But the Daoist's reaction was just as swift. The instant Pan Shi appeared, he spun around, the stick in his hand once again pointing at Pan Shi.
BANG!
This time, the stick in his hand let out an explosive bang as a blast of yellow wind shot forth from its tip.
The yellow wind carried a powerful concussive force and gave off a thick stench so foul it was almost unbearable.
The next moment, Pan Shi was sent flying once again, crashing heavily to the ground. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, his consciousness clouding over the instant the foul-smelling gust hit him.
And yet, a faint smile played on Pan Shi's lips.
'I did my best!'
'Even though I couldn't defeat this Daoist, he's not getting away unscathed.'
As Pan Shi collapsed, everyone—the spectating Yang An and Pan Yu, and even the Daoist who had just grievously wounded him—was shocked to discover that the twisted, sharp bone spurs on Pan Shi's hands had all broken off at the base and vanished.
The Daoist realized something and slowly lowered his head.
There, embedded in his abdomen, was a single, blood-red bone spur!
"Heh heh heh..."
Spitting blood, Pan Shi suddenly began to laugh, his gaze instinctively turning toward Yang An.
'Fellow Daoist Yang, I'm counting on you!'
'Counting on me? My ass!!'
As if he had understood the message in Pan Shi's eyes, Yang An snapped his gaze toward the Daoist. The Daoist's expression had turned foul; he looked completely enraged.
Yang An felt every hair on his body stand on end.