Han Xiaoya sighed.
"But we won't fight each other, so who is stronger between us remains an unknown."
"Huh?"
Ling Fan suddenly let out a soft exclamation.
He reached out and grabbed, and a giant dragon claw instantly tore through countless spatial-temporal storms, snatching an ancient mirror from a runaway torrent of weapons.
In reality, it wasn't a true mirror, merely similar in shape.
Ling Fan examined the mirror carefully, speculating it was a fragment of some artifact.
"The treasure of the Artifact Tower, the Flowing Light Mirror. It's said to be a fragment left behind after a supremely powerful Dao artifact was destroyed," Han Xiaoya stated, clearly knowledgeable about such matters.
"Mm," Ling Fan nodded.
However, he couldn't immediately ascertain its origins or true purpose, and now was not the time for research. Ling Fan put the item away.
Additionally,
Ling Fan did not waste the torrent of weapons left by the Artifact Tower's lord.
He directly absorbed the immensely powerful ultimate path into his own realm.
As that realm continuously absorbed the Artifact Tower Lord's ultimate Dao principles, it further expanded to over nine thousand zhang, still a considerable distance from the ten-thousand-zhang limit.
"Let's go, to kill Gao Gan."
Ling Fan took Han Xiaoya's hand, and the two vanished in an instant.
...
Deep within this spatial-temporal rift.
The environment grew increasingly harsh.
Terrifying spatial-temporal storms of astonishing scale would occasionally sweep through, containing the corpses of half-step Emperor Venerable experts who had not yet been torn apart.
However, with Ling Fan and Han Xiaoya's greatly enhanced strength, these spatial-temporal storms were no longer a significant threat.
"There's movement ahead! A major battle has broken out."
Ling Fan suddenly looked ahead sharply and said.
"Let's go and see!"
By the time Ling Fan and Han Xiaoya arrived.
The deepest part of the spatial-temporal rift had transformed into a brutal, hellish battlefield.
Countless severed limbs, broken bodies, and fragments of weapons floated motionlessly in the dark, boundless void.
In the center of the battlefield, only a handful of individuals could still stand.
And at the very core.
A strangely shaped fruit, resembling the flame of a destructive storm, was drawing immense energy from the surrounding, incredibly fearsome spatial-temporal storms.
The ferocity of the spatial-temporal storms around the fruit made even Ling Fan and Han Xiaoya feel a sense of apprehension.
"This is a quasi-Heavenly Venerate Dao Fruit representing the Dao of Destruction!"
Ling Fan and Han Xiaoya's eyes narrowed slightly as they looked at the fruit.
A subtle, unusual feeling suddenly arose within them.
The Dao of Destruction.
This was a supreme skill of the Gao family from the Qing Xuan Sect.
Just then.
The battle at the center of the battlefield was drawing to a close.
Several powerful Emperor Venerable experts found themselves unable to overcome each other, resulting in a complete stalemate. All parties maintained a tacit, delicate balance, approaching the quasi-Heavenly Venerate Dao Fruit simultaneously.
"Fellow Daoists, why don't we study it together?"
The several Emperor Venerable experts, each with their own hidden motives and wariness of one another, proposed.
"I have no objections. The situation is a stalemate, and no one can overpower the others. Rather than wasting time and depleting our strength here, it's better to reach an accord."
The other Emperor Venerables nodded.
However, their true intentions remained unknown to anyone.
"This is excellent. By joining forces, we can better resist the spatial-temporal storms surrounding the Dao Fruit."
"As for who ultimately obtains the Dao Fruit, it will depend on individual capability."
The Emperor Venerables unleashed their formidable power, braving the extremely terrifying spatial-temporal storms around the Dao Fruit and inching closer.
And at this very moment.
Suddenly, a drastic change occurred.
From within the Dao Fruit, pale, corpse-like arms began to grasp outwards.
Not only that, but countless hands of destruction extended from the fruit, devouring all the remains of the experts, the leftover weapons, and everything else into themselves.
"Damn it, has this Dao Fruit already been stolen by someone!"
The several Emperor Venerable experts were greatly alarmed.
But before they could react, they were firmly seized by those pale, chillingly eerie arms, covered in countless storm talismans, and slowly dragged towards the fruit within the storm.
"Hahaha, with you as fertilizer, only then can my Dao Fruit truly be complete and mature!"
An evil, chaotic, and mad voice reverberated everywhere.
As the Emperor Venerables were pulled closer, they discovered a terrifyingly massive corpse lying beneath the fruit!
This Dao Fruit had astonishingly grown from the navel of this corpse.
However, the corpse had been obscured by the chaotic spatial-temporal storms, so no one had noticed it initially.
The fruit suddenly sprouted numerous orifices.
Amidst the screams of the Emperor Venerables, with crunching sounds, they were devoured alive.
The next moment.
The colossal corpse slowly sat up from the terrifying, destructive, and chaotic storm.
The appearance of the corpse.
It was none other than Gao Gan!
Or rather...
The long-deceased Emperor Venerable Gao Qiu.
"After so many years of planning, I can finally break through to quasi-Heavenly Venerate as I wished. Hmph, Lu Jiuwen, that traitor, and that brat named Fan Lin, daring to usurp my Gao family's authority, just you wait. I will return soon to settle accounts with you!"
As the voice faded.
The massive corpse exploded into countless wisps of blood mist with a boom, all of which were then absorbed by the Dao Fruit.
Plop!
Plop!
The sound of a giant beast's pumping heart echoed.
The Dao Fruit, at this moment, suddenly seemed to possess life. It no longer resembled a fruit but a nauseating mass of flesh, writhing frantically.
Seeing the mass of flesh about to transform into a human form.
An supreme aura that would make even Emperor Venerables tremble emanated outwards.
At this very moment.
A terrifying fist glow transformed into a sky-shattering dragon, roaring and striking the heavens, blasting through countless spatial-temporal storm barriers, and landing fiercely upon the mass of flesh.
In an instant.
A chilling shriek emanated from the mass of flesh.
"Who is it? Who is ruining my good deed!"
The mass of flesh began to writhe more rapidly.
Soon, it transformed into a bloody figure that stood up.
It was precisely Gao Gan's appearance!
"Gao Gan, or perhaps I should call you Gao Qiu. You, with your dull aptitude, to achieve this step, you've actually turned yourself into this monstrous form. Truly pathetic."
Ling Fan and Han Xiaoya appeared in the center of the battlefield.
Upon seeing Ling Fan.
Gao Qiu, covered in blood, glared with eyes like needles and grinned menacingly, grinding his teeth, "It's you. Good, very good! I hadn't come to settle scores with you yet, and you've delivered yourself to my doorstep."
After being resurrected, Gao Qiu inherited Gao Gan's bone-deep hatred for Ling Fan, and an boundless killing intent surged towards Ling Fan.
"And who are you?"
Gao Gan looked at Han Xiaoya.
"I remember now, you are Lu Jiuwen's daughter!"
Gao Qiu smiled cruelly.
"That day, I followed the Heavenly Court's decree to punish all those related to the Qing family, ensuring they would never rise again. The men would be slaves for generations, and the women prostitutes for generations. Lu Jiuwen's wife was from the Qing family, but he suddenly went mad one day and slaughtered all the Qing family women who were to be prostitutes, including his wife! He only left his daughter, who disappeared. Is that you, you little bastard!"
"Shut up! Shut up! I will kill you!"
Han Xiaoya trembled uncontrollably, her voice hoarse and desperate.
"Hahaha, I am only one step away from achieving quasi-Heavenly Venerate. You two think you can kill me? Ridiculous!"