Lying Low in the Martial World to Become a Saint

Chapter 423: Chapter 192: Exposed, Part 2

An uproar erupted!

The hall instantly exploded into chaos.

The experts present turned pale, scarcely believing their ears. All eyes snapped to Zhou Nianchu, filled with incredulous horror.

The atmosphere in the hall grew taut to the breaking point.

Knowing he had been exposed, Zhou Nianchu immediately lunged for the exit.

Leng Qianqiu extended a finger, and a beam of intensely condensed, icy Finger Wind shot through the air.

The Finger Wind was silent but faster than a flash of lightning. The air froze in its wake, leaving a distinct trail of frost as it stabbed straight for the space between Zhou Nianchu’s eyebrows.

Zhou Nianchu let out a strange cry as the Red Flame True Astral in his body instinctively surged forth. He hastily swiped upward with a crimson palm, attempting to slap away the deadly Frost Finger Force.

HISS—!

The Ice and Fire Gang Qi collided violently, producing a piercing shriek.

Zhou Nianchu’s body swayed. The force of the finger attack actually knocked him back half a step, and the stone tiles beneath his feet instantly spiderwebbed with cracks.

Almost at the same moment Leng Qianqiu attacked, He Yuzhou pounced like a ferocious tiger. An incomparably pure Geng Metal True Gang erupted from him, and he transformed into a peerless, unsheathed sword, his sharp edge fully revealed.

Without the slightest hesitation, he unleashed the Wutai Sect’s ultimate technique—the most lethal move of the Vajra Armor-Breaking Fist, the Mountain-Shattering Technique!

A dazzling golden light radiated from the Fist Edge. Its indomitable Fist Momentum, utterly unyielding and ferocious, locked onto Zhou Nianchu.

Facing a sudden assault from two Sect Leader Level experts, Zhou Nianchu could no longer maintain his disguise.

He roared, thrusting both palms forward as his Red Flame True Astral surged wildly to meet He Yuzhou’s earth-shattering punch head-on.

BOOM—!!!

Fist and palm collided with solid, bone-jarring impact.

A terrifying torrent of gold, blue, and red Gang Qi erupted like an out-of-control flood, pouring wildly in all directions.

The first to bear the brunt of the blast was the Council Hall itself.

The massive pillars supporting the hall groaned under the strain before being instantly torn apart and destroyed by the rampaging Gang Qi.

The carved doors and windows, the tables and chairs—all were shredded like paper, then pulverized into dust by an even more ferocious shockwave.

Roof tiles rained down like a sudden storm. The entire roof structure, having lost its support, collapsed with an earth-shattering crash.

"Fall back!"

"Get out of here!"

The other experts in the hall—be they Elders from the Wutai Sect and Cold Jade Valley, or He Yueting from Qixia Manor and the men from the Xuanjia Sect—were all aghast. They scrambled to protect themselves with their True Astral and fled the hall in a desperate, chaotic retreat.

A duel between Astral Force masters was already perilous enough. For Outer Astral Realm experts to fight to the death, the destructive power was simply astounding.

In just one or two breaths, the entire Council Hall was reduced to a pile of rubble amidst a deafening roar and a sky full of dust.

From within the swirling dust, three figures soared into the air and landed on the square outside the ruins, facing each other in a triangular standoff.

He Yuzhou and Leng Qianqiu wore grave expressions. Their True Astral surged around them, its brilliant light shimmering as their combined Momentum locked firmly onto Zhou Nianchu in the center.

Zhou Nianchu looked somewhat disheveled. His topknot was undone, his robes were stained with dust, and his breathing was slightly ragged. It was clear that taking their combined attack had cost him dearly.

He shot a venomous glare at He Yuzhou and Leng Qianqiu, the last shred of his disguise finally torn away.

"Good! Good! Excellent! He Yuzhou! Leng Qianqiu! You’re dead set on making an enemy of me, aren’t you!"

He took a deep breath and said slowly, "Since you refuse to let me live, then don’t blame me... for being merciless!"

Before his words had even faded, the aura within Zhou Nianchu’s body changed dramatically.

A jet-black True Astral, far more tyrannical than before, erupted from within him as if a slumbering beast had suddenly awakened.

His originally crimson Red Flame True Astral instantly turned a dark, blackish-red.

A sinister, cold aura emanated from him, and the ground beneath his feet quickly turned scorched and withered.

A pressure far exceeding what he had shown before spread out. He had reached it—the Perfect Astral Force Realm!

An uproar swept through the crowd!

The onlookers watching from a distance were in an uproar, their faces pale with horror.

"A Demon Skill! It really is a Demon Skill!"

"Astral Force Perfection! Manor Master Zhou... he actually..."

"Great Manor Master!"

He Yueting cried out in disbelief, his voice filled with shock and bewilderment. The members of Qixia Manor behind him stared at one another, completely at a loss, stunned by this sudden turn of events.

’Our own Great Manor Master is actually such a deeply hidden Demon!?’

"Heart Devourer!"

Leng Qianqiu’s gaze was bone-chillingly cold as she said, "So it really is you! You’ve hidden yourself well."

Who else in the Yunlin Sub-Pavilion could possess such a level of Cultivation besides Heart Devourer?

"We can’t let a menace like you escape today!"

He Yuzhou’s voice was as cold as a blade, his killing intent already set.

Zhou Nianchu, or perhaps ’Heart Devourer’, merely scoffed at their words. "I am not Heart Devourer! But at this point, nothing I say will make a difference."

Watching from the crowd, Chen Qing was also reeling from the shock.

Though he had long suspected it, seeing it with his own eyes was still staggering.

’So the Great Manor Master of Qixia Manor is the Demon Sect’s Altar Master, Heart Devourer?’

’He’s the leader of an entire manor! With a disguise like that, he was truly hiding in plain sight. He concealed himself far too well!’

The battle erupted in full force.

’Heart Devourer’ struck first. He knew he had to end this quickly. If the experts from the two sects surrounded him, the consequences would be unimaginable.

His figure blurred, transforming into a ghostly wisp of black smoke. He bypassed He Yuzhou and lunged straight for Leng Qianqiu!

He struck out with both hands, his palms as black as the abyss. Two incredibly condensed Black Death Palm Seals shot toward Leng Qianqiu’s vital points, accompanied by a piercing wail like the cry of tormented spirits—the Nine Nether Soul-Eroding Hand!

Leng Qianqiu showed no fear. With a cold snort, a thick layer of frost instantly formed on the ground beneath her feet.

Her Langyue True Astral and Cold Ice True Gang activated simultaneously. Her slender, graceful fingers danced forward, their tips blooming with cold moonlight and frigid energy. They transformed into a dense cascade of Ice Ridge Finger Shadows, striking precisely at the incoming Soul-Eroding Palm Seals.