The three Ascension Bandits attacked with synchronization honed by years of predation. Their Immortal Foundation level attacks, while only equivalent to the Mid-Spirit Foundation Realm of the Seven-Heaven Realm in name, carried a significantly denser and sharper Immortal Qi.
Ling Tian sneered, but his expression was purely a mask of cold arrogance hiding internal calculations. He could not afford a full Primordial Chaos Palm—it would deplete his reserves entirely.
"Crude," Ling Tian judged the incoming attacks.
Brutal Reality Check
The bandit leader's heavy sword aimed for Ling Tian's head, while the others flanked him with razor-sharp Qi strikes. Ling Tian used the Primordial Chaos Shadow Steps (now operating at a fraction of its true power) to evade the sword, but one of the flanking Qi strikes grazed his shoulder.
HISS!
A sharp pain shot through his body. The Immortal Qi was corrosive; it penetrated his defense and immediately targeted his meridians.
My physical defenses are not enough here! Ling Tian realized. The sheer quality of their Qi is overwhelming the remnants of my Seven-Heaven protection!
Ling Tian reacted with cold fury. He was wounded—a concept alien to him since gaining the Inheritance.
He unleashed a simple, highly condensed punch aimed at the nearest bandit's chest. This was not a Primordial Chaos Palm, but a strike imbued with a lethal, concentrated burst of his Perfect Golden Chaos Core energy.
The bandit laughed, raising his sword to block. "A bare fist? Foolish lower-realm scum—"
CRACK!
The bandit's sword shattered instantly. The pure, condensed Chaos energy pierced his armor and his body. Unlike the annihilation caused by the full Palm, this burst targeted the structure of the bandit's Immortal Foundation.
The bandit's eyes widened in horror as his foundation crumbled internally. He dropped to the ground, convulsing, his cultivation crippled.
The Eradication
The remaining two bandits recoiled, their confidence shattered by the sight of their comrade's instant defeat.
"He... he crippled him instantly! What kind of Qi is that?" the second bandit stammered.
"Run!" shouted the leader, immediately turning his flying sword to flee.
"You should have knelt," Ling Tian stated, his voice devoid of emotion.
Knowing they would alert others, Ling Tian decided on a brutal clean-up. He focused the last of his remaining combat Qi, ignoring the drain.
Primordial Chaos Imprint!
He unleashed a powerful burst of concentrated Chaos energy in two swift strikes. The energy traveled not as a beam, but as a silent, invisible shockwave focused only on the targets' Dantians.
WHUMP! WHUMP!
The leader, halfway through his escape, screamed as his Immortal Foundation was obliterated. He plummeted to the ground, dead before he hit the Scarred Earth. The third bandit suffered the same fate.
Ling Tian stood over the three crippled or dead figures. His face was pale from the rapid Qi usage.
"This Realm... the cost of battle is high," Ling Tian admitted. He glanced at the graze on his shoulder, which was slowly healing thanks to the Core, but the corrosive Immortal Qi was stubborn.
He quickly looted the three bodies, finding several low-grade Immortal Crystals—the currency of this realm—and a few simple healing pills that were useless to his Primordial Chaos system.
Initial Assessment
Ling Tian knew he was in trouble. His current strength was enough to instantly defeat the Early Immortal Foundation level, but sustained battle would leave him vulnerable to higher-level experts. He needed a place to recover and a way to quickly convert the dense Immortal Qi into Primordial Chaos energy.
The key is purification, Ling Tian mused, looking toward the distant horizon where a faint plume of smoke suggested civilization. I need advanced purification techniques and an abundant source of high-grade Immortal Qi. Until then, my existence here must be treated as a secret.
He quickly cleaned up the traces of the fight, using a low-grade formation technique to bury the evidence.
Ling Tian then activated the remaining energy in his core, forcing himself into a state of high vigilance, and began his difficult journey across the desolate Scarred Earth Plateau, heading toward the distant signs of life. His supremacy journey in the Nine Immortal Realms had begun, and for the first time in a long time, it required caution.