Ling Dan Shangren's terrified old face contorted, his body trembling uncontrollably with despair.
Ling Fan, however, did not rush to kill him, preferring to watch him writhe in hopelessness and fear. He then turned his attention to the Ancient God Sect Master, a burly man known for his powerful Imperial Body. At this moment, the sect master was as terrified as a woman, completely devoid of his usual demeanor. Unfortunately, before he could even take three steps, Ling Fan caught up and shattered half his body with a single punch. His Imperial Soul screamed and fled, but it could not escape; it was engulfed by the fist's radiance, torn to shreds.
"Spare me, Young Master Ling! I am truly convinced this time, utterly and completely. Keep me alive, and I will serve you as a beast of burden, refine pills, and earn wealth! Yes, I am an alchemist, I am useful to you!"
Ling Dan Shangren's legs went weak. He dropped to his knees before Ling Fan, begging for mercy in a low, submissive tone.
Ling Fan remained silent, merely smiling coldly at him. The gaze was so intense that it was driving Ling Dan Shangren to the brink of collapse. Seeing that he had toyed with him enough, Ling Fan delivered a kick, the "Kui Xing Ti Dou" strike, capable of shattering a star. For Ling Dan Shangren, a peak first-tier Great Emperor who was not skilled in combat, it was a foregone conclusion. He was kicked into pieces without any resistance.
All of this seemed to take a long time.
In reality, it happened in the blink of an eye.
In an instant, five Great Emperors were casually killed by Ling Fan, their power overwhelming. Even Tian Heng, if he were to judge himself, could not achieve such a feat.
"You dare kill people in front of me!"
Tian Heng was enraged to the extreme.
Those three lackeys had taken him considerable effort and energy to subdue; they were his capable subordinates. Furthermore, Ling Dan Shangren, the Treasure Master, and other magnates were his aids in governing the entire Hanshan region. With all of them killed by Ling Fan at once, he had become a solitary figure. Even if he could suppress Ling Fan today, he would be severely punished by the Heavenly Court for his incompetence, and his future would essentially be over.
Therefore, his gaze towards Ling Fan was filled with a hatred so intense it was as if he wanted to devour him.
"Die for me!"
Tian Heng plummeted from the sky, carrying boundless fury. The Imperial Dao origin within him surged like a ferocious dragon, and terrifying power enveloped the boundless heavens and earth. Instantly, the millions of miles around Hanshan City resembled a scene of world destruction, with mountains collapsing, the earth cracking, and the sky darkening.
"Imperial Fall Like Rain!"
He unleashed an even more powerful ultimate move. With a single strike, a tempestuous downpour filled the sky, depicting the horrifying scene of countless Emperors falling from heaven and earth. It was as if an era of twilight for the gods had arrived, and only he, Tian Heng, stood immortal. With a thunderous roar, waves of potent power struck Ling Fan, intending to shatter him and turn him into dust of ages. However, Ling Fan's body merely trembled slightly. His powerful Nirvana Tribulation Body repelled all the power, rendering his myriad killing intents incapable of harming him as he stepped towards the sky.
"Ah! Why aren't you dead yet? Annihilate me!"
Tian Heng was on the verge of madness. His eyes were bloodshot, his body swelled, and he spared no expense, paying a great price to activate his Imperial Dao origin. Instantly, he transformed into a true giant, pointing at the sky and treading upon the earth, exuding boundless dominance, swallowing the heavens and earth. He pointed at Ling Fan, and then, like divine demons, arms emerged from the void, attempting to tear Ling Fan apart.
"Too weak."
Ling Fan merely shook his head indifferently.
Tian Heng was almost unrivaled among second-tier Great Emperors, and walking sideways in the Hanshan region was no problem. Unfortunately, in the Central Heavenly Realm, people like Tian Heng were as numerous as carp crossing a river. He could only barely be considered among the geniuses, but he was still far from those truly astonishing and peerless talents. Otherwise, he would not have been assigned to a desolate place like Hanshan City as an inspector. Ling Fan had played with him enough. With a flick of his finger, a dragon of vital energy erupted with a heaven-shattering roar, whistling past and violently colliding with Tian Heng's body. Instantly, Tian Heng's robust and domineering Imperial Body exploded, shattering into pieces. His flesh and blood writhed frantically, attempting to recover, but Ling Fan would not give him the chance. He stomped down, and the body Tian Heng had just reformed was again crushed into smithereens.
Tian Heng's Imperial Soul screamed and fled. However, within a thousand-mile radius, the area suddenly fell under Ling Fan's domain, trapping him. No matter how Tian Heng struggled and crashed against it, he could not escape the confinement of this domain.
"Who exactly are you! You absolutely cannot be a rogue cultivator!"
Ling Fan smiled faintly, "It's not a problem to tell you. Weren't you just discussing me?"
What!
Upon hearing Ling Fan's words, a flash of lightning struck Tian Heng's mind, as if he had grasped a crucial piece of information. His body trembled. Suddenly, his eyes shot out an intensely brilliant light, and he said incredulously, "You, you, you, you are that fugitive from the lower realm who ascended and alarmed the Heavenly Court! How is this possible? Wasn't it said that you suffered incredibly severe Dao injuries? How dare you still flaunt yourself everywhere, and you've only just ascended, how can you already rival a third-tier Great Emperor! I know, it's that high-grade Imperial Pill, you refined a high-grade Imperial Pill!"
Tian Heng instantly connected all the dots, understanding the key links.
"You're not entirely foolish."
Ling Fan stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Tian Heng as if he were an ant.
"Don't kill me, I still have value to you. I am an inspector of the Heavenly Court, I know many secrets of the Heavenly Court, and I have amassed countless fortunes, millions of Heavenly Spirit Pills! I, I, I can also help you conceal your identity. Think about it, if someone from within the Heavenly Court helps you conceal your identity, you will have much, much less trouble, and you can even cross the heavens and enter the Heavenly Court!"
Tian Heng fully believed his words would hold great appeal for Ling Fan.
But he had no idea that Ling Fan was completely unmoved.
"If I directly refine and search your soul, I can obtain everything you have."
"No, you can't kill me. I can self-detonate my Imperial Soul at any time, thwarting your plans. Don't force me into a desperate struggle!" Tian Heng threatened. However, his threat seemed overly blustering and lacked any real menace in Ling Fan's eyes.
"In front of me, Ling, do you have the right to self-detonate?"
Ling Fan sneered and reached out a hand.
"Explode!"
Tian Heng's Imperial Soul swelled like an inflated balloon, and a terrifying destructive storm rapidly brewed. His strength was almost infinitely close to that of a third-tier Great Emperor. Once it detonated, even a third-tier Great Emperor would have a difficult time at such close range.
Waves of destructive power began to leak out. Tian Heng's Imperial Soul displayed a ferocious and crazed smile, "Just you wait, the Heavenly Court will not let you go. Before the Heavenly Court, you are not even as good as an ant, a mere螳臂当车!"
"Is that so..."
Ling Fan remained noncommittal.
With a flick of his finger.
The Samsara Divine Cauldron appeared above Tian Heng's Imperial Soul, which was on the verge of self-detonation.
Instantly, an unparalleled suppressive force descended.
Tian Heng's Imperial Soul, which had expanded to the limit of self-detonation, began to collapse, like a deflated balloon being squeezed shut. Tian Heng immediately felt the uncontrollable, vast power within him begin to calm down. No matter how he urged it, he could not activate it in the slightest.
"How can this be, this is, this is...!!!"
Tian Heng's eyes widened in disbelief.
"This is the Samsara Divine Cauldron, you, you, you, you..."