Elder Gao Feng, blinded by rage and handicapped by the Vein Suppression Array, funneled enormous internal energy into the Spiraling Abyss Blade. The massive, destructive technique sliced through the air toward Ling Tian, capable of shattering mountains and grinding spiritual cores into dust.
Ling Tian stood completely still, his Late Golden Core pulsing with calm assurance. This was the moment he had calculated—the perfect expenditure of external energy that justified his full counterattack.
"You waste power on a technique that is already obsolete," Ling Tian declared, his voice cutting through the roar of the incoming attack.
The Full Primordial Chaos Palm
Ling Tian channeled the entirety of his focused power into his right hand. He unleashed the full, unrestrained version of the Primordial Chaos Palm.
It wasn't a technique of light or fire; it was the manifestation of annihilation. A silent, violet-gold sphere of absolute nothingness expanded from his palm, meeting the Spiraling Abyss Blade head-on.
WHOOOM—SPLATTER.
There was no titanic explosion, only a wet, sickening sound of instantaneous dissolution. Gao Feng's ultimate attack, the Spiraling Abyss Blade, did not clash with the Chaos Palm; it was deleted from existence, along with the Immortal Qi that formed it.
The Primordial Chaos Palm continued its trajectory, striking Elder Gao Feng square in the chest.
Gao Feng's eyes widened in profound horror, his Spirit Severing essence screaming in denial. He realized in his final second that he was not fighting a Golden Core cultivator, but a cosmic entity.
"Primal... Primal Chaos..." he managed, before his body and his spiritual avatar—the core of the Spirit Severing Realm—were instantly vaporized.
Elder Gao Feng, a terrifying expert of the Jade Lake Palace and the most powerful cultivator in the region, was gone. Wiped out, leaving behind only a faint residue of spiritual dust.
Dominion Over the Citadel
Silence reigned over the Hidden Peak Citadel.
The Bladefang Corps, who had been huddled below, slowly emerged. They stared at the empty space where the mighty Elder Gao Feng had stood moments ago. They had witnessed the terrifying strength of a Spirit Severing Realm expert, followed by the silent, absolute annihilation delivered by their young Master.
They didn't cheer; they simply knelt in unison, their loyalty now cemented by terror and divine awe.
"Master Ling Tian is truly a God!" Hu Lie whispered, kowtowing deeply.
Lin Yue, who understood the vast gulf between Golden Core and Spirit Severing, was speechless. She now knew Ling Tian's power defied the established laws of the Nine Immortal Realms.
Ling Tian descended calmly back into the Citadel. He was slightly fatigued from the massive expenditure, but victorious.
"Lin Yue, disable the Vein Suppression Array and focus the Nine-Cloud Defense Array only on energy absorption," Ling Tian commanded. "Hu Lie, secure the perimeter. This Citadel is now the base of the Chaos Sect."
The Final Harvest
Ling Tian immediately retreated to the central courtyard. The defeat of a Spirit Severing expert provided a massive, unintended reward: the dissipated Spirit Severing essence of Elder Gao Feng.
He placed his Violet Thunder Cauldron back over the Mid-Grade Immortal Vein, absorbing the essence left by Gao Feng along with the pure Immortal Qi.
This Spirit Severing essence is high-grade purification material, Ling Tian calculated. It is enough to push my cultivation to the peak of the Golden Core and lay the final groundwork for the Nascent Soul breakthrough.
The Citadel hummed as Ling Tian entered a state of deep seclusion. He had eliminated the most immediate external threat and secured a powerful base and resource pool. The Chaos Sect had been born with the destruction of a powerful enemy.