“Bang!”

With a punch thundering down, Xu Taiping’s Green Bull Fist unleashed a force akin to a landslide, heavily striking Lu Chen’s body.

For a moment, the sound of “crack” echoed repeatedly as dozens of porcupine quills on the armor shattered instantly.

“Pfft!…”

Lu Chen, whose flesh had fused with the Porcupine Armor, spat out a mouthful of fresh blood under the impact of the force.

“Who… who exactly are you?”

He looked at Xu Taiping with disbelief.

The power behind that punch was at the level of a martial arts grandmaster. How could he not be terrified at the prospect of a Gazing Abyss Realm grandmaster wanting to kill him?

“Haven’t you recognized me yet?”

Xu Taiping was somewhat surprised.

He thought that after using the Green Bull Fist, Lu Chen would surely recognize him.

“Are… are you a disciple of the Qingxuan Sect?”

Lu Chen guessed in terror.

“Don’t rush; you’ll know soon enough.”

Xu Taiping tightened the blood spider silk bandage on his hand and, ignoring the blood dripping from his hand, threw another punch at Lu Chen.

“Bang!”

This punch was delivered with the power of Thousandfold Strength.

The force of Thousandfold Strength, after penetrating the thick armor, directly assaulted Lu Chen’s internal organs.

“Argh!”

Under the excruciating pain, Lu Chen screamed miserably as a cloud of blood burst from his body.

But this was just the beginning.

“No, no…”

Lu Chen seemed to plead for mercy, but Xu Taiping paid him no heed.

After that punch, he swung his arms left and right, completely ignoring the wounds pierced by the porcupine quills, and continued to hammer punch after punch at Lu Chen.

With each punch he threw, his punching power and might began to stack, and the phantom of a charging bull started to appear behind him.

“Charging Bull… Formation?!”

Realizing what was happening, Lu Chen, who was enduring the agony of his organs being torn apart, suddenly woke up.

A memory of a young man who had confronted him at the foot of the mountain in a dilapidated courtyard flashed in his mind.

That was the young man who, during the Seven Peaks selection, had used the Charging Bull Formation to overpower the genius Ye Xuan without giving him a chance to fight back.

“Xu Tai…”

Before Lu Chen could finish saying “ping,” Xu Taiping’s punch, intensified in force, cut him off.

“Why… why… why do you want to… kill me!”

Lu Chen, enduring the pain, asked angrily.

Xu Taiping did not answer him, continuing to swing his fists heavily, without the slightest pause even as his flesh was torn and blood flew.

“Are you… doing this for… those sisters? Are you really… willing to risk… violating the sect’s rules… to kill me?”

Lu Chen questioned Xu Taiping incredulously.

Xu Taiping’s response was still just the heavy punches falling.

“Let me go… let me go, I can… give you the Magical Treasure I’ve hidden in the mountains, I can…”

“Bang!”

Before Lu Chen could finish speaking, Xu Taiping punched him in the mouth, and even through the Porcupine Armor, this punch caused Lu Chen’s teeth to shatter.

“This punch is for those girls you’ve harmed.”

Without giving Lu Chen any chance to negotiate, Xu Taiping’s one hundred and sixth punch thundered out.

With a resounding boom, the Porcupine Armor on Lu Chen’s body cracked open, revealing a spot that was immediately dented by the punch.

“Pfft!” Lu Chen vomited blood again.

And Xu Taiping’s fist was raised once more.

This time, he slowed his punch and looked coldly at Lu Chen, saying:

“This one hundred and seventh punch is for Senior Sister Zi Jin. I will shatter every bone in your body, so you can experience the pain of losing a loved one just like she did!”

After saying that, his punch heavily landed on Lu Chen’s lower abdomen.

“Bang!” Another thunderous sound followed, and the front of Lu Chen’s Porcupine Armor completely shattered.

Then, with precise control, the force of the punch accurately hammered every bone in Lu Chen’s body.

“Boom!” A cloud of blood burst from Lu Chen’s body, and a series of “crack” sounds followed from within.

“Argh!…” Lu Chen, in too much pain to speak, had bulging veins on his neck and his eyes were popping out.

And Xu Taiping’s fist was raised again.

“This one hundred and eighth punch is for Senior Sister Qingmei. I will shatter your internal organs, your dantian, and every acupoint, so you can experience even a fraction of her agony!”

As the words fell, so did the fist.

This punch carried not only the momentum of one hundred and eight punches from the Charging Bull Formation but also the nine layers of Thousandfold Strength that Xu Taiping could muster.

“Boom!” Amidst the thunderous sound, Lu Chen’s Porcupine Armor completely shattered.

The Cang Luan Ring’s Sea-Cleaving strike had already damaged the Porcupine Armor, and now it couldn’t withstand the continuous impacts of Xu Taiping’s full-force Charging Bull Formation.

“Bang!” As the armor shattered, the last bit of Lu Chen’s life force burst into a cloud of blood.

“Argh…” His body, with every bone, muscle, and even meridians and acupoints shattered, knelt in place.

“My father, my mother… will not… let you go.”

With his last breath, Lu Chen slowly turned his head towards Xu Taiping and uttered these words with difficulty.

“They will never find out that you were the one who killed me.”

Xu Taiping shook his head calmly and then raised the Spring Tiger saber in his hand.

“To oppose the sect for a mere… Mortal Bones… why… for what?”

Knowing he was about to die, Lu Chen no longer begged for mercy but voiced his greatest confusion.

He couldn’t understand why Xu Taiping, now an Inner Disciple, would seek revenge for a mere Mortal Bones at the foot of the mountain.

“Let me tell you a secret.”

Xu Taiping gripped the hilt of the Spring Tiger saber, then emotionlessly said:

“I am the Mortal Bones you look down upon.”

Hearing this, Lu Chen’s pupils dilated, his face filled with disbelief.

“How did you enter…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Xu Taiping’s Spring Tiger saber swiftly descended across his neck.

“Thud,” a head fell to the ground.

“Crack!”

At the moment Lu Chen’s head fell, the fragments of his Porcupine Armor began to rapidly converge, eventually forming a curled-up porcupine-shaped sphere.

This sphere was the armor’s core, which could be transformed back into armor with an infusion of True Qi.

As he picked up Lu Chen’s head, he also threw the armor core and Lu Chen’s body into the gourd.

Then he communicated with Baiyu using soul transmission:

“I’m done here; send in a team to clean up.”