An Understated Dominance

 Dustin suddenly felt his body sink, as though he were carrying mountains upon his back — even lifting an arm became nearly impossible. The ground beneath him rolled and heaved, his footing unstable. All around, countless deadly stalagmites and rock walls closed in, sealing off every escape route. Summoning his final breath of true essence, he poured it into his sword. The blade flared with a last clear brilliance; swordlight spun like a wheel, shielding his body. Clang! Clang! Boom! Sword qi clashed madly with stone; shards flew, dust filled the air. Dustin’s sword remained sharp — every swing shattered vast swaths of rock — but the stone seemed endless. The instant he cleaved through one wave, more rose from the earth to take its place. And that crushing gravity field heavily restricted his movement and strength, draining him with every motion. His face turned ghostly pale, breath ragged like an old bellows; the flesh between his thumb and forefinger had split, blood dripping fre...

Xuanming was completely sealed by that pale-golden talisman, frozen upright like a puppet, his face locked in terror and unwillingness. The scene hit the Penglai Immortal Palace like the coldest of cold fronts, instantly sweeping through it and turning the slight heaviness that had arisen after Qingmu’s defeat into a bone-chilling, absolute stillness. The men and women who had been indulging in pleasures had long since collapsed to the ground, their trembling reduced to barely audible shivers; only the pounding of terrified hearts drummed loudly in the silence. The wine pools no longer rippled, the carnal thickets ceased to sway, and even the lascivious immortal music had been cut off — as if the whole palace were mourning the consecutive losses of two “immortals.” The peerless beauty — she called herself Houtu — now had not a shred of flirtation left in her pair of world-toppling eyes. Only a surging storm of shock remained, and a chill she herself refused to admit. Qingmu’s defeat co...

 Dustin let out a muffled groan as his  Xuanqing  true energy burst forth, shattering the ice on his arm. He used the force to glide several meters backward, widening the distance between himself and Xuan Ming. His sword arm trembled slightly, and his face grew even paler. His opponent’s movement and cloning techniques were far too swift and deceptive—impossible to guard against completely. “Heh, not bad reflexes,” Xuan Ming said with a soft, eerie smile as he toyed with the ice crystal sword in his hand, condensed from pure frost energy. “But how many times can you dodge? Within this Immortal Palace, the water essence is endless, and as long as it exists, I cannot die. No matter how sharp your sword is, what can you possibly do to me?” As if to prove his words, the remnants of dark water energy from their earlier clashes—left in Dustin’s wounds by the water dragons and ice spikes—began to stir like living things. They seeped into his body, trying to freeze his blood and ...

Faced with provocation, Ao Kun did not strike immediately, but his cold gaze alone had already passed sentence on Dustin. This man must die. “Good. Good. Good.” The effeminate man repeated the word three times, his voice still smooth and lilting, but now laced with venomous chill. He gently set down his jade cup and rose, straightening his lavender robe with the poise of a performer stepping onto stage. “To have wounded Qing Mu so grievously—your sword truly has some merit. Unfortunately for you, you’ve met me, Xuan Ming.” As he named himself, the atmosphere of the entire palace shifted. Moisture thickened in the air. The spiritual liquid in the wine pool rippled without wind. Beads of water condensed upon the luminous pearls inlaid along the walls. Even the spiritual energy hanging in the air felt damp and heavy. Xuan Ming seemed to have become the sovereign of every trace of water essence in the space. Dustin stood with his sword, his breathing ragged. After such relentless combat—es...

 Facing the three black-furred corpse fiends, whose bodies were impervious to blades or spears, Dustin moved like drifting smoke, weaving effortlessly through their relentless assault. He no longer met their strength head-on; instead, his sword strikes became exceedingly precise and cunning, the tip always finding the weak points—the joints where the limbs connected or the nodes where the corpse talismans’ energy converged—piercing them with pinpoint accuracy. Clang! Clang! Shhhh! Sparks flew. One of the corpse fiends had its knee joint pierced through by a strand of sword qi, its movement freezing instantly. Another had the control talisman on its back sliced open by the sword tip, and it began staggering about wildly like a headless fly. The third, the fiercest of the trio, slashed straight for Dustin’s chest with razor-like claws—but he twisted aside with a move of flawless precision, then countered with a backhanded thrust, a streak of blue-white light flashing like a meteor pi...

Dustin’s words — “You are demons, not immortals” — cracked like thunder through the decadent and eerie halls of the so-called Immortal Palace of Penglai. The moment the words left his lips, the grand hall’s temperature seemed to plunge to freezing. Even the spiritual mist rising from the wine pools froze in mid-air for an instant. The men and women who had been indulging in pleasure stiffened as if their throats had been clamped shut. Terror seized them; they shrank back, not daring to breathe too loudly. The delicate man’s fingers froze upon the strings of his zither. The enchanting smile on the peerless woman’s face hardened into an icy mask. Even Ao Kun, ever languid and detached, finally let a clear flicker of anger cross his deep eyes. The struggle of an ant could be amusing to watch — but an ant daring to mock and deny the heavens? That was an affront to divine authority. “Insolent fool!” The robed man was the first to erupt. He hurled his jade wine cup to the ground, shattering ...

The sudden change left   Margaret ,   A’Long , and the others exchanging uneasy glances, unsure whether this was a blessing or a curse. Dustin  adjusted his breathing for a moment. A hint of color returned to his pale face. He gazed at the radiant rainbow bridge before him — its glow alluring yet laced with ominous mystery — his eyes deep and unreadable. He could feel it. At the other end of that bridge were  Ao Kun  and the others — the very heart of that luxurious palace. “It seems that unless I defeat the true master, I’ll never uncover the real secret of the Jade Pool.” Dustin  slowly rose to his feet. Though his aura was still weak, his eyes once again shone with sharp determination. “Stay here and wait for me. I’ll be back soon.” “I’m coming with you!”  Margaret  said without hesitation, her tone resolute. Dustin  glanced at her, seeing the worry and unyielding resolve in her eyes. At last, he nodded. “Stay close.” The two stepped forwa...