The people of the Purple Subtlety Sect had arrived first, their presence imposing, forcefully surrounding the Old Madman’s group within their ranks, each and every one of them brimming with killing intent.

The leading elder had snow-white hair and beard — he was a “half-step Great Able One.” Thin and bony, yet sharp-eyed and vigorous, his two eyes shone as brilliantly as two small suns.

“You dare to cripple a disciple of our Purple Subtlety Sect?!” One of the elders had a volatile temper. He fixed his gaze upon Li Heishui’s group the moment he arrived, his words laced with cold menace.

Xiao Nannan was somewhat frightened. Sitting tensely on the Old Madman’s shoulder, she said softly: “Elder, your people were the first to try to kill big brother…”

“What does a little slip of a girl understand!” The old man did not spare her a glance, his eyes — cold as ice blades — fixed upon Li Heishui, the Great Black Dog, the Old Madman, and Ye Fan not far away.

“You are all dead!” Another elder was even more direct, raising a finger to point at Li Heishui, the Old Madman, and the rest.

One could say the Purple Subtlety Sect people were supremely domineering. Having arrived and surrounded who they saw as prey on a chopping block, they seemed to hold the power of life and death in their grasp, as if they could take anyone’s life with a single thought.

At this moment, the Great Black Dog was so excited it nearly howled aloud. Its four great claws dug into the ground, and facing so many experts, it showed not the slightest trace of fear — instead, its maw split into a grin of undisguised pleasure.

Then it spoke directly: “Do you people really want to kill us? Bringing only a dozen or so is hardly enough — you ought to have brought at least one or two genuine Great Able Ones.”

All dozen or so people were powerful experts, and the leading elder was especially so — a half-step Great Able One. Upon hearing the dog’s words, his face immediately darkened.

This was naked provocation. A half-step Great Able One leading so many powerful experts — this formation was more than enough not only to kill the younger generation but to contend with fearsome elder-generation figures as well.

“Such arrogance…” One of them turned positively glacial, his expression growing even more menacing.

“You people have come to kill us, but you are honestly a bit outclassed. Take my advice and slink away quietly.” Li Heishui also needled them without good intentions. “Go bring your supreme sect master — otherwise, you are truly not worth watching.”

“Ignorant junior — your power is nothing, yet you speak with such bravado. Are you not afraid the wind will split your tongue?!” The Purple Subtlety Sect people truly could not endure the two of them.

The two black-hearted creatures were presently feeling refreshed and invigorated. Upon hearing this they both snickered quietly to themselves, and said nothing more.

“Kill them — finish them off immediately, without a moment’s delay!” One of the great elders wore an expression dark as still water and was the first to make a move, lunging forward to kill.

His right hand flickered with violet radiance, and between his palm and fingers a great purple star revolved — the manifestation of the Purple Subtlety Emperor Star he had cultivated, the embodiment of his Dao attainment.

The purple great star rapidly expanded, in an instant blotting out the entire sky, coming down like a great mountain range.

Boom!

Divine power surged like a tide — a boundless purple ocean churning in turmoil, causing the onlookers to feel their hair stand on end. A person at the very pinnacle of Dragon Transformation striking with full force was clearly intending to reduce the entire group to ash in an instant, body and soul utterly obliterated!

The Great Black Dog and Li Heishui moved in perfect unison, both darting behind the Old Madman, provoking the Purple Subtlety Sect’s dozen-plus experts with their eyes alone.

The Old Madman made no response of any kind. He stood there like a towering wooden post, not even casting a glance at these people — as if he had turned to stone.

Boom!

The purple great star came pressing down, vast as the ocean, its Dao force flooding down in an all-encompassing wave, completely submerging the area.

Yet all the boundless violet radiance collapsed and died before the Old Madman — like a candle flame in the wind, swiftly snuffed out. And that purple great star, having descended, vanished without a trace before the Old Madman, as if swallowed by a vast ocean with no sign of where it had gone.

“What manner of person is this?!” The Purple Subtlety Sect expert was stunned.

“Kill!”

The several others who had advanced alongside him also struck simultaneously, sacred radiance blazing from their hands as they deployed various stellar ancient treasures that transformed into a shower of meteors.

This expanse of heaven and earth collapsed in silence, countless beams of light raining down — yet none of this could harm even a single hair on the Old Madman’s body.

He simply stood there unmoving, calmly ignoring the many weapons, every terrifying artifact shattering upon the cloth of his ancient robes.

Silently and without sound, all the ancient treasures turned to fine dust — unable to advance so much as a fraction of an inch.

“What are you?!” The several men who had stepped forward were stunned. They stumbled back several steps, every face drained of color.

The Old Madman was an imposing presence — a head or two taller than ordinary people. He shook his disheveled hair loose, his vacant eyes sweeping across them. Then, without warning, he flicked his sleeve — and in that instant, a great wind howled through heaven and earth.

Four of the powerful experts were swept up like fallen leaves in a gale, flung high into the sky in an instant, then vanished in a flash, disappearing into the vast expanse of the heavens.

Every jaw dropped. These were people at the very pinnacle of Dragon Transformation — yet they had been fanned away by a single sleeve, shrinking to tiny black specks and vanishing into the far reaches of the sky.

God only knew how many li they had been sent flying!

As for the few who had been sent away, they never came flying back — and this result left every person standing with open mouths, utterly unable to find words.

What level of expert was this? Like swatting flies — with a single sleeve he sent several great powerhouses flying without a trace, too far to ever return.

“Heavens — what is this divine being, and where did he come from? Why is he so terrifyingly powerful?!”

“Good lord — was I seeing things just now? He completely ignored the attacks of pinnacle Dragon Transformation experts, and with one flick of his sleeve, those people… just vanished!”

“This is too terrifying — what manner of personage is he? How has no one ever heard of him…”

The onlookers were frightened out of their wits, jaws nearly hitting the ground, every one of them staring blankly. They had already witnessed the Old Madman’s godlike power before — when he stared two powerhouses of the eighth change of Dragon Transformation to death — but now, seeing his unparalleled might again, they trembled from head to toe, utterly incapable of guessing what realm this terrifying figure had reached.

“Could he actually be one of the legendary supreme ancient saints?!” Someone was overcome with shock, this thought rising unbidden.

The Purple Subtlety Sect’s people were left in a daze. A wild-haired strange man — who looked no older than forty — how could he be so horrifyingly powerful?

“You… who are you? What is your name?” The Purple Subtlety Sect people demanded, though the confidence in their voices had clearly drained away.

“Could he truly be a supreme ancient saint who walked out of the great wilderness?” The half-step Great Able One of the Purple Subtlety Sect’s expression was solemn, yet a flash of vicious light crossed his eyes and he muttered to himself: “Impossible — no ancient saint who went into the forbidden lands seeking to extend their life has ever walked out alive!”

He suddenly raised his head and called out: “Friend — what manner of Great Able One are you?”

True Great Able Ones commanded boundless divine power and could roam freely under heaven with none to oppose them. They were the hegemon-lords and holy masters of their respective domains, none able to stand against them.

The entire great earth belonged to them — for they were the masters of every great inheritance, incomparably more powerful than even half-step Great Able Ones.

The Old Madman made no response of any kind. He stood there like a towering iron pillar, completely unmoved, as if all things outside himself had nothing to do with him and could not stir him in the least.

“You are far too arrogant — our Purple Subtlety Sect is a supreme great sect of the Eastern Wastelands. Even if you are a peerless Great Able One, you should not look down upon us so!”

The Old Madman remained unmoved, without any response of any kind. But the Great Black Dog could not hold its tongue and barked: “What does the Purple Subtlety Sect amount to? Unless your sect master comes in person, you lot alone have no right to speak such tall boasts…”

The half-step Great Able One’s expression darkened. He stood in place without moving for a long while, then said with sinister menace: “In this world, sometimes raw power alone cannot resolve everything…”

“What is happening — why do I suddenly feel dizzy?” Li Heishui suddenly cried out.

“Damn it all — this Emperor also feels weakened…” The Great Black Dog bared its teeth in discomfort.

“Nannan’s head is also dizzy and spinning…” Xiao Nannan was feeling muddled, and nearly toppled from the Old Madman’s shoulder.

The half-step Great Able One’s mouth curved into a cold smirk. “As I said — sometimes power alone is not enough in this world!”

“What did you do?” Li Heishui demanded sharply.

“The pollen of the Purple Subtlety Emperor Flower — it can poison even a peerless ancient saint to death, obliterating body and soul. You may all depart to the afterlife now!” The half-step Great Able One’s expression was cold and sinister.

He had been overawed by the Old Madman and was filled with dread within his heart — and so he had resorted to any means necessary, deploying the forbidden imperial flower pollen, hoping to kill everyone in one stroke.

“The Purple Subtlety Emperor Flower — that absolute poison of legends. Word has it that in the distant past it caused a catastrophe of world-shaking proportions, simultaneously poisoning multiple ancient saints to death at a great assembly.”

“This is a terrifying demonic flower — and he actually deployed such a technique!”

The crowd was horrified, and everyone scrambled frantically backward, terrified of coming into contact with even the slightest trace of it — for that would mean utter ruin.

Had the Great Black Dog and Li Heishui not consumed the sacred fruits from the ancient forbidden lands, had Xiao Nannan not possessed her unique constitution, they would have been reduced to pools of blood and pus in the very first moment.

Even so, they could no longer withstand it, swaying unsteadily, on the verge of losing consciousness.

“Uncle…” Xiao Nannan called out to the Old Madman in a daze.

The Purple Subtlety Sect people were shaken — that the Purple Subtlety Emperor Flower had failed to kill the group instantly was truly alarming to them. Every one of them felt that something was very wrong.

The Old Madman looked at Xiao Nannan, brushed a hand across her brow, and the small seven-colored orb of light immediately flowed with sacred and divine radiance. The little one came to her senses on the spot, completely unharmed.

The Old Madman then gave the Great Black Dog and Li Heishui each a single pat. Both of them shuddered violently, and from within their bodies burst forth a blazing torrent of violet light.

They each cried out in turn — then were completely restored, without the slightest trace of discomfort, life essence surging through them, untouched by any injury whatsoever.

“The Purple Subtlety Sect people are so vicious — to have deployed such a technique!” The onlookers murmured, each feeling a chill run through them.

“Go!” The half-step Great Able One of the Purple Subtlety Sect issued a low command and was the first to take flight, attempting to flee — the Old Madman’s display had filled his heart with dread.

“Senior, you must not let them escape — they are far too cruel and vicious. They deserve to be killed!” Li Heishui called out.

Without a sound, the Old Madman reached out a great hand, stretching it out in an instant to the very edge of the sky. It seemed even he was displeased with such a vicious technique, and he had truly acted.

It was a shocking sight to behold. The Purple Subtlety Sect’s people had flown untold li away, already shrinking to tiny black specks nearly vanishing into the boundless distant horizon — yet the Old Madman’s great hand extended outward in an instant, pressing down to cover the entirety of heaven and earth!

This hand was immense beyond description, stretching out for dozens of li, blanketing the far reaches of the sky with boundless and ever-shifting manifestations.

“AHHHH!”

The half-step Great Able One let out a roar that shook the mountains and rivers. The great mountains below began to crumble. His body expanded to fill heaven and earth, rising to stand between sky and ground, attempting to contend against this great hand.

Boom!

It was futile. The Old Madman’s great hand seized him in one motion. The supremely powerful half-step Great Able One struggled with everything he had.

But every technique he deployed, every divine art he unleashed, was completely and utterly useless — like a mayfly trying to topple a great tree!

Squelch!

The half-step Great Able One was crushed to blood mist within that great hand, reduced to dust in an instant — ceasing to exist.

The Old Madman released his hand. He gave it a single light shake in the void, and the entire expanse of heaven and earth collapsed at once — primordial mist appeared and disappeared in flickers, as if the heavens and earth themselves were being newly born. The remaining Purple Subtlety Sect members were all swallowed within it.

Everyone was struck dumb. That was a half-step Great Able One — and this wild-haired strange man had simply seized him in one hand and crushed him. This was something that beggared belief!

“Heavens — could he actually be a Saint? How can there be someone this terrifyingly powerful in the world?!”

“That was a half-step Great Able One — one who can look down upon the entire Eastern Wastelands — yet he was crushed to death like squashing an ant, effortlessly obliterated!”

“This… is this still a human? How can anyone this powerful exist in this age?”

Not a soul was not shaken to their core. Every person was nearly trembling. The Old Madman’s power had surpassed anything within the bounds of their imagination.