Chapter 444: Crushing
The Saint Monk's expression twisted in horror. He didn't even have time to scream before the Sword Qi shredded his body, annihilating him body and soul on the spot!
The sight sent a chill down the spines of the other two Saint Monks, and even Master Minghui's face paled.
To kill a Saint Monk with a flick of his finger!
Such power would absolutely rank him among the top-tier experts in the eastern part of the dynasty.
"What a nuisance."
Ye Chen spoke nonchalantly. The familiar voice made Master Minghui's eyes fly open.
Then, Ye Chen casually removed the conical hat from his head.
At that moment, his true face was finally revealed to them all.
"It really is you, you brat!!!"
Master Minghui nearly shrieked, "So you're not dead after all!"
"Tell me, what happened to Master Jingde and Lord Shakyamuni?!"
Hearing this, Ye Chen couldn't help but smile. "You mean those two? They've long since become ghosts at my hand."
"Impossible!!!" Master Minghui shrieked, his voice raw with disbelief. "You're only in the Divinity Transformation Realm! No matter how powerful you are, you couldn't possibly have killed Master Jingde and the others!"
"Is that so?"
"Then I'll just have to prove it to you."
Ye Chen's expression was impassive. With several flicks of his fingers, he sent multiple strands of Sword Qi streaking through the air. They flew like curved crescent moons, tearing through the void as they hurtled toward Master Minghui and the two Saint Monks at his side.
In that instant, an intense feeling of dread washed over Master Minghui.
His face contorted, and a cold sweat broke out all over his body. As he watched the chilling glint of the Sword Qi draw nearer, his body went rigid. He found he didn't even have the courage to resist!
His opponent's comprehension of Sword Intent had clearly reached a profound level. The sheer pressure of that power was enough to crush his will to fight, filling him with a sense of utter despair.
"Break!"
But at that very moment, Pure Buddha made his move.
He suddenly spoke, his voice booming like thunder. It echoed through the heavens and the earth, ringing in the ears of Master Minghui and the others, snapping them out of their terror.
A boundless Buddhist light shone from his eyes. In the void above, phantoms of Buddhas seated upon lotus platforms materialized, and a vast, world-spanning aura instantly unfurled.
"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"
Pure Buddha deflected all three strands of Sword Qi, which exploded in mid-air and scattered into a shower of brilliant motes.
Master Minghui's face was still a mask of shock. He looked as if he had just been dragged back from the brink of death, his heart pounding with residual terror.
"So it's true... You killed Master Jingde... You're the one who killed them!!!"
He finally accepted the unbelievable truth. His expression twisted with a mixture of shock, fury, and indignation.
He simply couldn't fathom how a young man in the Divinity Transformation Realm could possess such terrifying combat strength.
There was no doubt now. The ambush by Master Jingde, Lord Shakyamuni, Xu Qianfeng, and Mu Liuji had failed to harm Ye Chen in the slightest. Instead, their entire group had been wiped out.
No wonder he'd been unable to contact any of them.
"There's no need to be so upset. You'll be joining them in the afterlife soon enough. That's a good thing, isn't it?"
Ye Chen offered a faint smile.
"You're courting death!"
Enraged, Master Minghui raised his staff and unleashed a wave of brilliant golden flames toward Ye Chen.
The flames swelled into a monstrous torrent that surged through the void, striking terror into the hearts of the two watching Saint Monks.
How terrifying was the power of an all-out attack from a Fifth Layer Divine Might Realm Cultivator?
And he wasn't finished. In his towering rage, Master Minghui threw all caution to the wind.
He produced a string of Buddha Beads, which broke apart and scattered, each one erupting with tremendous might.
Each bead transformed into a layer of a golden domain. In total, thirty-three layers formed, like thirty-three ancient Divine Mountains pressing down on Ye Chen with unstoppable force!
The two Saint Monks watched, terrified. In Yan Province, they were considered first-rate experts, yet here, they felt utterly useless, completely unable to intervene.
Without even a glance, Ye Chen casually flicked a strand of Sword Qi from the back of his hand. It tore through the torrent of golden flames, causing it to detonate in mid-air and letting the powerful shockwaves run rampant like a tidal wave.
Immediately after, an astonishing power erupted from his body. A brilliant purple light rippled forth, enveloping him like a suit of resplendent armor as he charged, using nothing but his physical body to collide with the thirty-three layers of the domain.
"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"
"..."
Ye Chen used no flashy techniques, just a series of simple, direct punches.
Each punch shattered one of the golden barriers, which exploded into a rain of light.
He was like a young celestial, his power seemingly infinite. A single punch looked as if it could shatter a majestic, ancient mountain. His slender frame contained an unimaginable, boundless strength!
In what felt like the blink of an eye, Ye Chen had thrown thirty-three consecutive punches.
And with each successive layer, the domain's power grew stronger.
Yet before Ye Chen, they were all like paper-mâché, utterly unable to slow him down. They shattered one after another, and the string of radiant Buddha Beads crumbled to dust. A precious Spiritual Treasure had been reduced to nothing.
Terrifying shockwaves ravaged the sky. Master Minghui, caught in the backlash and reeling from his own fury, staggered back a large step, coughing up mouthfuls of blood as his face turned deathly pale.
At this moment, no matter how unwilling he was, he had no choice but to accept the shocking truth.
Though Ye Chen was in the Divinity Transformation Realm, he possessed the astonishing combat power to completely overwhelm someone in the Divine Might Realm!
"This brat... must be killed!"
"Otherwise, he will become an endless scourge!!!"
He shrieked hoarsely, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Much of his once-towering battle intent had been ground away by Ye Chen.
As for the two Saint Monks, they had long been scared witless, left utterly speechless.
"Hmph!"
Just then, Pure Buddha snorted in anger, his aura surging. "Brat, allow me to test your strength."
Seeing Master Minghui so thoroughly crushed that his Dao Heart was on the verge of shattering, he could no longer stand by. He decided to act personally and suppress this young man!
"Does Jingkong Temple intend to stand up for the Saintly Temple?" Even when facing a powerful enemy from Jingkong Temple, Ye Chen was entirely fearless, his posture as domineering as ever.
"You dared to impersonate a disciple of my Jingkong Temple. For that alone, I have reason enough to kill you a thousand times over!"
Pure Buddha sneered. With a step, he rose into the air, a golden lotus platform radiant with Buddhist light materializing beneath his feet. He looked like a magnificent, solemn Buddha, his might pressing down through the ages as it unfurled to cover the sky.
"Come!"
Ye Chen stared at Pure Buddha, who was now floating in the sky. His eyes shone brightly as an astonishing battle intent began to radiate from him as well.