The Pudu Demon Master's true form in the sky looked at Li Qi with a hint of disbelief.
At this moment, Li Qi, who he had originally seen as an ant, actually exuded a feeling that made him palpably uneasy.
"Impossible! The gap between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core is like a chasm! This guy! Is he fake!"
While the Pudu Demon Master was in shock, Li Qi's voice boomed like thunder, echoing throughout the entire capital.
His figure was so fast it was a blur. Like lightning, he leaped high, charging straight into the sky shrouded by dark clouds.
"Demon Master, take this punch."
Vast spiritual energy, like mountains and seas, surged from Li Qi's body.
"Rumble!"
Under Li Qi's immense pressure, the entire imperial palace began to tremble violently, as if an earthquake had struck.
Terrified screams from eunuchs and palace maids within the palace rang out from all directions.
At this moment, Li Qi's fist struck out with a deafening roar.
"Boom!"
Visible waves of energy erupted from Li Qi's hand, expanding rapidly.
Then, this punch instantly pierced the sky, tearing a hole through the dark clouds that completely covered the heavens.
This punch landed squarely on the Pudu Demon Master's true form, the colossal thousand-meter-long black centipede.
A segment of the black centipede's body was flattened by Li Qi's punch. Dark, foul-smelling ichor sprayed out, rapidly corroding the city walls and buildings where it landed.
"Aaaargh!"
The Pudu Demon Master's voice, filled with pain and killing intent, echoed, directed at Li Qi.
"You... deserve to die... mere ant! Die!"
The wind howled, and the thunderous roars shook the heavens.
In the sky, the black centipede's body was covered in scythe-like, monstrous limbs. Its hundred-meter-long tail, cloaked in dark energy, whipped towards Li Qi in the imperial city.
The Pudu Demon Master's terrifying Golden Core realm aura made everyone in the imperial city feel a profound sense of impending death.
But Li Qi was fearless. Just as the centipede's massive tail was about to strike him, Li Qi’s palm shot out, firmly grasping one of its monstrous limbs.
With just that one grip, the centipede's tail, which the Pudu Demon Master was using to lash at the imperial city from high above, stopped dead in its tracks!
"How is this possible!"
"There's nothing impossible!"
A smile of excitement spread across Li Qi's face. Whether it was the Blood Bat Ancestor before, or the Black Mountain Old Demon, none had ever piqued his interest. They were defeated with just a few punches.
The Pudu Demon Master, however, was truly an opponent worthy of his attention.
But... only just worthy of a fight.
Holding the massive centipede limb in his hand, Li Qi tightened his grip.
"Riiip!"
Dark ichor splattered through the air as Li Qi tore off a limb with his bare hands.
"Ah!"
The Pudu Demon Master let out a pained scream and tried to retract its tail.
But on the other end, Li Qi's hand held fast.
"Come down."
Li Qi, gripping the centipede's colossal tail, yanked downwards with all his might.
In the sky, within the dark clouds, the Pudu Demon Master's thousand-meter-long colossal centipede form was forcibly dragged down by Li Qi and slammed heavily into the imperial city.
The ground of the entire capital shuddered in unison.
"Die! Ant!"
The Pudu Demon Master went completely mad. As a Golden Core cultivator, he was being pushed to such a desperate state by a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Its massive body collided with Li Qi.
"Boom boom boom boom boom!"
As terrifying attacks surged between them, every clash of their blows sent shockwaves that made the entire imperial palace tremble violently.
As for the surrounding structures? They were long gone, reduced to piles of rubble.
Meanwhile, Zuo Shang, who was at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment, watched the battle with his mouth agape in shock.
With his strength, he couldn't even clearly discern the movements of Li Qi and the Pudu Demon Master.
Zuo Shang even had a feeling that if he were to enter the vicinity of their battlefield, he would be instantly crushed into a pulp of flesh.
Just then, an explosion tens of times more powerful than any previous attack erupted from the center where Li Qi and the Pudu Demon Master were fighting.
As the terrifying aftershock spread, Zuo Shang unleashed his spiritual energy, shielding Jing Qian'an and the many ministers.
"Pfft!"
A mouthful of blood sprayed from Zuo Shang's lips. His face turned completely pale. He had expended more than half of his spiritual energy just to barely block the aftershock.
But Zuo Shang paid no mind to his own condition, his gaze fixed on the main battlefield in the distance.
The Pudu Demon Master's aura was incredibly weak. Its massive centipede body bore no intact parts, with clear fist imprints visible everywhere.
The Pudu Demon Master looked at Li Qi before it with fear and astonishment.
Li Qi remained as calm and composed as he was before the battle.
Even the ultimate killing blow it unleashed with all its Golden Core spiritual energy had seemingly not even scratched Li Qi's skin.
"How is this possible!" At this moment, even the Pudu Demon Master became somewhat despondent.
"A Golden Core minor demon, you did your best!"
Li Qi's voice, devoid of any ripples, echoed.
Then, just as he had done before, Li Qi casually threw a punch, which landed heavily on the Pudu Demon Master's head.
Its head completely exploded, spewing out thick, black ichor.
The life force emanating from the Pudu Demon Master grew increasingly weak.
Yet, even now, the Pudu Demon Master remained incredulous.
As a cultivator of the Golden Core realm, today he was about to die in such a crushing manner at the hands of this Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Suddenly, the Pudu Demon Master recalled Li Qi's absurd words before the battle: "Heaven and Earth Without Limits, borrow the laws of the cosmos."
The Pudu Demon Master's large eyes flickered slightly, and it weakly asked,
"What laws did you borrow, that allowed you to break through so many realm restrictions and defeat me?"
Li Qi smiled upon hearing this.
"What I borrowed were not ordinary laws."
The Pudu Demon Master's eyes widened further, as if yearning to hear the truth.
Then Li Qi's voice slowly resounded.
"What I borrowed were not ordinary laws, I borrowed the laws from Wang Wei's poems!"
"Who... is Wang Wei..."
As this question was uttered, the Pudu Demon Master's life force completely dissipated.
"The Demon Master is dead."
Seeing this, Zuo Shang's face lit up with joy.
At that moment, from within the colossal centipede's corpse, a dark shadow suddenly shot out, streaking towards the sky in an attempt to escape.
Upon closer inspection, the shadow was a small centipede, no bigger than a palm, entirely black.
"So, you had a backup plan? You almost fooled me."
Li Qi's gaze flickered. His figure moved with lightning speed to give chase, and with a single grab, he easily caught it.
The Pudu Demon Master's terrified voice echoed from within the small centipede.
"Let me go! I am the youngest son of the Sky Centipede Clan's patriarch. If you kill me, my Sky Centipede Clan will not let you..."
"Sky Centipede Clan? Never heard of it."
But before the Pudu Demon Master could finish speaking, Li Qi clenched his fist. The small centipede in his hand burst, utterly destroyed.
This time, the Pudu Demon Master was truly and completely dead.
As for the so-called Sky Centipede Clan, Li Qi paid it no mind.