Originally, Xu Taiping intended to have his clone place the jade disk, but after careful consideration, he decided to take a small risk for safety’s sake. He used the clone as bait, following closely behind to ascend the altar.
Although he was eventually discovered, he successfully placed the jade disk on the altar.
“Boom!”
At that moment, the purple-eyed demonic lord struck down with another punch.
“Take the jade disk down, and I might spare your life!”
The purple-eyed demonic lord threatened Xu Taiping coldly.
The altar was protected by a barrier that even the demonic lord couldn’t shatter.
Despite this, the force of the punch transmitted through the barrier still caused Xu Taiping’s blood to churn.
At this stage, he had no way to contend with the demonic lord.
Upon hearing the threat, Xu Taiping took a sip of Dragon Gall Wine and calmly looked at the purple-eyed demonic lord, saying:
“Do you think I’m a fool?”
Even if it wasn’t a demonic cultivator, he wouldn’t leave even if Liu Chuxuan, the lord of the Nine Mansions, ordered him to.
The task was completed, and he was waiting for the Nine Mansions to summon reinforcements.
Hearing this, the purple-eyed demonic lord’s expression changed drastically. He slowly raised his fist, gathering momentum, and said coldly:
“Even if you place the jade disk, the teleportation array will take at least the time it takes to brew a cup of tea to activate. Even with the barrier, my fist can still kill you!”
As he spoke, he assumed a fighting stance.
The muscles in his arms and body began to swell.
The air around him vibrated with a humming sound.
Xu Taiping, who had trained in the Human Emperor’s Body Refinement Technique, could tell that this sound was caused by the immense power contained within the physique.
It was similar to the air tremors caused by the deep true essence of a cultivator.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!…”
The purple-eyed demonic lord fully assumed his stance, and the momentum and power of his fist reached its peak.
Even from twenty to thirty meters away, and with the barrier’s protection, Xu Taiping could feel the oppressive force of the demonic lord’s punch.
“If it weren’t for the altar’s barrier, taking this punch head-on would be fatal.”
This was Xu Taiping’s assessment of the punch.
At that moment, the purple-eyed demonic lord’s punch struck down towards Xu Taiping on the altar.
“Bang!”
With a loud crash, the water around the altar sank due to the force of the punch.
Xu Taiping understood why the purple-eyed demonic lord was so confident that he could kill him even with the barrier.
Although the barrier dissipated most of the force, a hidden energy, wrapped in the momentum and intent of the punch, still struck Xu Taiping.
It was similar to Fairy Lingyue’s Thousandfold Force.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
After the first punch, the purple-eyed demonic lord continued to punch through the barrier without a moment’s pause.
“Cough, cough, cough!…”
Under the continuous accumulation of damage, Xu Taiping couldn’t help but cough, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
“Indeed, it’s very similar to Thousandfold Force, but more insidious and harder to dissolve with True Qi.”
Xu Taiping wiped the blood from his mouth and thought to himself.
“However, he relies on the momentum and intent of his punches to harm me. If I can use my own punch intent and momentum to diminish or even break his, the damage will be greatly reduced. At least, I can hold out for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.”
As he thought this, he also assumed a fighting stance.
But this time, it wasn’t the Green Bull Fist, but the first move of the Green Bull Saint Fist—Thunder Strike.
“Crack, crack, crack!…”
As he assumed the Thunder Strike stance, his bones crackled, and his body awakened, transforming from an ordinary youth’s body into a Wild Lion physique with a ferocious beast’s aura.
This was the process of the Wild Lion physique transitioning from a Sleeping Lion to a Waking Lion.
However, even after awakening, Xu Taiping’s body’s aura continued to rise.
To show respect to the demonic lord, he decided to elevate his Wild Lion physique to the Angry Lion state.
“Twang, twang, twang…”
Unlike the previous bone-cracking sounds, elevating to the Angry Lion state produced a sound like a tightly drawn bowstring.
This was the essence of the Angry Lion state.
Every bone, tendon, and even hair in the Wild Lion physique was drawn tight like a bowstring, unleashing the body’s maximum power.
However, elevating to the Angry Lion state would rapidly deplete his blood energy.
With the Ghost-Sealing Talisman already consuming his blood energy, Xu Taiping rarely used the Wild Lion physique.
Today, he had no choice.
“Boom!…”
As Xu Taiping elevated his Wild Lion physique to the Angry Lion state, the air around him vibrated with a humming sound.
The purple-eyed demonic lord, about to strike, frowned.
“You’re actually a Martial Sovereign?”
He was surprised.
The realm of a martial artist is determined by the strength of their physique, so his statement wasn’t wrong.
“Who said only demonic cultivators can refine their bodies?”
Xu Taiping smiled.
Immediately, an invisible force gathered around him, driven by his Mortal Bones punch intent.
The purple-eyed demonic lord understood Xu Taiping’s intention.
“You want to compete with me in punch momentum and intent?”
He smirked.
The purple-eyed demonic lord’s name was Zhou Kui.
Before becoming a demonic cultivator, he was a great general in the mortal world, having killed hundreds of thousands of enemy soldiers in battle.
After successfully integrating this killing intent into his punch intent, he touched the threshold of the Martial Sovereign realm, only lacking a body to support his punch intent.
Upon hearing that demonic cultivation could refine a Martial Sovereign physique, he chose to become a demonic cultivator without hesitation.
“Boom!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the air trembled, and Zhou Kui’s killing intent transformed into punch intent, stirring the surrounding forces to gather behind him.
“This is what punch intent and momentum should be.”
Zhou Kui looked at Xu Taiping with arrogance.