Chapter 532: Landslide Shatters the Formation, Slaying Yan Leizi, Withered Toad's Vengeance, The Underground Door (I)

"Who are you?" Yan Leizi's voice rang out sharp and commanding, his expression caught between shock and caution.

Luo Chen paused in his stride as his gaze fell upon the uniquely sunken valley ahead.

Trapping Hollow Valley! Wang Yuan, I've finally found you!

Luo Chen smiled faintly as he introduced himself. "I am Luo Chen from the Luo Tian Society. Greetings, Fellow Daoist Yan Leizi!"

The Luo Tian Society...?

Yan Leizi paused, then quickly recalled. Wang Yuan was the leader of a department within this Luo Tian Society. Rumor had it that he and the society's president were close friends, having supported one another since the earliest days of their cultivation.

"You've come for Wang Yuan?" he asked in a guarded tone as he drew a small hammer from his storage pouch.

Luo Chen's eyes fell on the hammer. "Indeed. So why not deactivate the formation and resolve this peacefully?"

"You're the leader of an organization, how can you be so naive?" Yan Leizi sneered. "Do you not know that Wang Yuan killed Withered Toad's son? Their enmity is one of life and death!"

He... killed Withered Toad's son?

Luo Chen froze for a moment.

Just then, the small hammer in Yan Leizi's hand crackled with strands of lightning and flickers of flame. "President Luo, I've long heard of your reputation. They say your mastery over fire arts has earned you the Dao title Fire Spirit Lord. While I specialize in lightning, I do have some grasp of fire arts as well. Care to exchange a few pointers?"

Luo Chen raised an eyebrow, and he nodded. "Since you insist, I'll oblige!"

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Great, I was thinking—"

Before Yan Leizi could finish the sentence, his expression shifted dramatically. His spirit trembled violently, and a cold chill ran down his spine. He watched Luo Chen raise his long sword high into the air. The quakes that had been rumbling through the ground abruptly ceased with that motion. Now it was clear that his opponent had been quietly channeling power into a spell all along.

"Despicable!" Yan Leizi shouted.

He roared and hurled his hammer toward the sky, launching a bolt of lightning at Luo Chen. But Luo Chen didn't even flinch. Instead, he took a deep breath and poured all his spirit power into the Mystic Flame Sword.

The next instant, the sword came crashing down!

Boom!

A deafening roar exploded from the stillness. The shift from silence to violence came in a single breath. Sensing danger, Yan Leizi leaped onto his flying sword and shot into the sky, but it was too late. A colossal shockwave surged outward like a tidal wave. Yan Leizi was caught in its path and flung high like a broken ragdoll.

Layers of shimmering defensive light flared around him one after another, only to be crushed beneath the overwhelming force. Again and again they reformed, only to shatter once more beneath the impact. It wasn't until the shockwave finally lost momentum that he came to a halt, trembling in midair.

Pfft!

He could no longer suppress the blood surging in his chest; it sprayed from his lips as he coughed violently. He looked down, and his eyes widened in pure horror.

The mountain had collapsed. All the ridgelines within five li of Trapping Hollow Valley had crumbled all at once. An overwhelming surge of energy had converged at the very heart of the Lightning Prison Grand Formation.

The blinding explosion faded, leaving behind waves of molten lava that poured from all directions, flooding the buried depths of the valley.

Gulp!

Yan Leizi's throat visibly bobbed.

In a hoarse voice, he asked, "What... what kind of spell was that?"

Luo Chen said nothing. He simply smiled, standing motionless as waves of scorching heat swept toward him.

What spell? It was none other than Luo Chen's specialty—Landslide!

Though technically classified as a second-tier, Luo Chen had cultivated all three prerequisite spells to Perfected Mastery, and Landslide itself had likewise reached Perfected Mastery in his hands.

On top of that, the Mystic Flame Sword dramatically amplified the power of his fire spells. By this point, the might of Landslide had already far surpassed its tier, easily equaling third-tier offensive spells. In truth, even ordinary third-tier spells couldn't hope to match the level of destruction Luo Chen had just unleashed.

Had he aimed that Landslide directly at Yan Leizi, that single strike would have killed him outright. Even with defensive enchanted treasures, the sheer destructive force could have crushed him to death. However, Luo Chen had a different target in mind. Yan Leizi was merely collateral damage.

Yan Leizi also understood that he was not the main target. Yet despite that, he'd still been gravely injured. The very thought of what might have happened if that spell had been aimed directly at him sent a chill down his spine.

To his question about the spell, Luo Chen gave no reply. Instead, he looked down in astonishment at the mountain beneath his feet.

The ninth mountain truly was extraordinary! Even after carefully preparing and pushing the spell to its limit, he had only managed to collapse a small part. That went to show the ground's incredible toughness. But causing the mountain to collapse was not the point; his actual goal had been achieved. Landslide had made the terrain shift, essentially causing the environment here to change altogether.

In other words.... The Lightning Prison Grand Formation was shattered! Of the three who had been trapped inside, Luo Chen had no idea whether two had survived. But he was certain about the third one—Luo Chen had no doubt in his mind that Wang Yuan was fine. That was the unwavering trust he placed in his friend!

Now, Luo Chen pressed his lips together. His smile vanished as his gaze lifted, locking onto Yan Leizi with a cold and piercing intensity. Though he stood below, the aura pressing upward felt as though a giant shadow loomed over Yan Leizi, casting him beneath an invisible weight.

"What are you trying to do?" Yan Leizi snarled, wiping the blood from his lips, his eyes blazing with hostility.

Luo Chen merely gave a faint smile. "Fellow Daoist, you should watch your back."

Yan Leizi froze for an instant before letting out a cold sneer. "Still trying to trick me? That spell of yours must have drained every bit of your spirit power! You're just standing there to recover, and you expect me to believe there's something behind me?"

As he prepared to strike, a tremendous boom erupted above his head. Yan Leizi was startled, and he snapped his head up. A roaring lightning dragon was crashing down from the heavens!

It was a thunderstorm!

To his horror, he had no time left to react.

Crack!

The bolt of lightning slammed into him, flooding the air with searing silver light. A jade pendant hanging at his chest lit up automatically, deflecting the strike. At the same time, the small hammer in his hand began absorbing ambient lightning energy. But that was the end of his luck!

The very next instant, Yan Leizi turned his head with difficulty. Where Luo Chen once stood, now there remained only a fading afterimage.

The air buzzed with the sound of something moving at extreme speed. But Yan Leizi no longer had the strength to resist. All he could do was open his mouth. "Fellow Daoist, I am the son of a Golden Core elder—"

Shhkkkk!

Yan Leizi looked down in disbelief.

The tip of a sword had pierced straight through his chest. Behind him, Luo Chen's fiery wings beat once, and his fingers flew in a blur of hand seals.

"Spin!"

With a low command, the Mystic Flame Sword twisted sharply. A flood of blazing fire comets erupted from the blade, engulfing Yan Leizi's body in flames. In the blink of an eye, Yan Leizi's body was reduced to ash. The jade pendant glowed once more, trying desperately to shield what remained of him, but it had already blocked the devastation of Landslide and the thunderbolt. Now, it could only emit a weak light, barely protecting his skull.

Three zhang away, Luo Chen frowned slightly. "

Hm...

I see, it's something like the Black Ice Talisman that Fairy Ruthless gave me."

A cold glint flashed in his eyes. He drove the Mystic Flame Sword forward once more.

The head protected by the pendant paled with terror. It moved backward, and a voice cried out between desperate gasps, "Fellow Daoist Luo, please show mercy! Spare my life and I'll repay you greatly!"

Ding!

The Mystic Flame Sword struck the silver light, but failed to pierce through. Luo Chen snorted coldly and spat out his sword orb. It materialized in the air and instantly unraveled into a net of brilliant sword-light, encircling the area from all sides.

Yan Leizi's panicked scream tore through the night. "You can't kill me! My father is Elder Di Wanyun of the Flame Alliance! If you kill me, he'll never let you go!"

But Luo Chen didn't seem to hear a word. He continued controlling the sword net to block any chance of retreat. With a flick of his hand, the Mystic Flame Sword returned to his grip.

Why would he show mercy now? He had made his decision, and there would be no holding back, especially after he had already destroyed the man's body. Even if Yan Leizi survived, it would be almost impossible to reconstruct a new body attuned to his soul. His path to immortality had already been severed completely. Under such circumstances, Yan Leizi would never spare him, nor would the so-called Flame Alliance Golden Core elder behind him.

When dealing with enemies, one must be ruthless!

Luo Chen tightened his grip on the Mystic Flame Sword. Flames rippled along its edge, and streams of fire began forming at the tip. Blazing Fireflies was a spell he'd learned back in the Qi Refinement Realm. He'd rarely had cause to use it, but that didn't mean it was useless!

He had now seen the flaw of that jade pendant. It could block explosive strikes and had formidable defensive power, only slightly weaker than the Black Ice Talisman Fairy Ruthless once gave him. Its advantage was multiple activations, yet its weakness was clear—it required time between activations. Under sustained assault, its limits would inevitably be exposed. Compared to spells like Solar Flare, the continuous strikes of Blazing Fireflies were far more suited to this scenario.

With that thought, Luo Chen swept his sword forward. Streams of fire comets blazed through the air, bombarding the silver barrier around Yan Leizi in a relentless storm.

Deep within his soul, Yan Leizi was sinking into despair. His ears rang with the piercing screech of sword light grinding against his barrier, and his eyes were filled with wave after wave of those burning fire comets.

He really means to kill me!

Under the impact of sword and flame, the silver glow that protected him grew dimmer and dimmer. The despair in Yan Leizi's eyes deepened until it reached its breaking point. Then came the madness. "If I can't live, then don't expect peace either!"