Chapter 726: Defeating the Second Elder

"Presumptuous!"

The white-robed elder's voice thundered across the heavens, his fury barely concealing a creeping dread. He knew well that Futu Xuan's strength was not beneath his own — and yet, Futu Xuan had ended up a battered, humiliated mess. The thought alone sent a chill down his spine.

Still, with all eyes upon him, retreat was impossible. If he faltered now, the entire Ancient Maha Clan's dignity would crumble alongside him. Their reputation would turn to dust, and none in the Great Thousand Worlds would ever take them seriously again.

Taking a slow step forward, the elder released his aura. A boundless surge of Spiritual Energy burst outward, shaking heaven and earth. The sky darkened as thunder roared, clouds twisting into a howling tempest. His presence filled the world, majestic and overwhelming — the full might of a Saint Grade Heavenly Sovereign.

Even Immortal Grade experts felt their knees weaken under that divine pressure. To stand before a Saint was like a lamb trembling before a tiger — pure instinctive fear.

From the Ancient Maha Clan's warships came a chorus of voices:

"With the Second Elder here, victory is certain! A mere Immortal Grade can't possibly defy the limits of Sainthood!"

"Indeed! The Second Elder's strength far surpasses that decrepit Futu Xuan. That old relic hasn't wielded true Saint power in ages!"

Whether or not they believed their own words didn't matter — they needed to.

Far below, among the mountains, countless cultivators of the Western Heaven Continent stared skyward in awe. To them, even a Heavenly Sovereign was a myth. To witness two such beings clash — one Immortal Grade, one Saint Grade — was like glimpsing gods in battle.

Liu Xi stood amidst golden light, calm and radiant. The white-robed elder's power surged against him like a tidal wave. Two auras — one domineering and blazing, the other vast and ancient — collided and spiraled upward. The air itself seemed to tear apart from the pressure.

And then, the heavens trembled.

"Mighty Maha Body!"

The elder roared, Spiritual Energy erupting in waves. From within the storm, a colossal shadow of black and white took shape — a towering giant tens of thousands of meters tall, radiating suffocating power.

"Maha Star-Seizing Hand!"

The giant's arm moved. Countless thunderous booms rang out as Spiritual Energy poured into its palm. The hand grew vast, spanning the heavens, shining with endless starlight as if tearing stars straight from the cosmos. The very air exploded beneath its pressure, distorting space and light.

The Maha Clan cheered wildly. "That's the clan's divine art! The Maha Star-Seizing Hand! Legend says even the Heavenly Demon Emperor once fell to this technique!"

Their confidence soared. Surely this would end Liu Xi's arrogance.

But the moment the elder unleashed his divine art, Liu Xi's eyes narrowed.

From the void, waves of Chaotic Spiritual Energy rippled outward. A massive azure lotus shadow emerged, wreathed in endless azure fire. The Azure Lotus Undying Body rose in full might.

"Great Tragedy Hand!"

A vast, flame-wreathed palm condensed within the heavens — blazing, chaotic, and unstoppable. Pillars of azure fire pierced the sky as the hand descended, its heat distorting all creation. Its force was simple, primal — the intent to erase all things, to return the world to chaos.

The Maha Star-Seizing Hand met the Great Tragedy Hand.

Boom!

The collision split the world apart. Light burst across the heavens, so bright that even Saint Grade experts had to shield their eyes. Shockwaves of pure destruction rolled outward, leveling mountains, shattering clouds, shaking the very fabric of the world.

From below, a colossal mushroom cloud rose into the heavens — tens of thousands of meters tall, glowing with violent radiance. The wind that followed tore forests from the earth, leaving the sky itself cracked open.

They had literally blown a hole through the heavens.

For a long moment, no one spoke. Then a trembling voice broke the silence.

"The Maha Star-Seizing Hand... it's gone! It's been... destroyed!"

Gasps erupted. The Maha Clan's faces drained of color.

Within the explosion's core, the giant black-and-white hand and its starlit brilliance had been utterly erased — ground to nothing beneath the Great Tragedy Hand. The remaining Chaotic Spiritual Energy devoured everything in its path, surpassing even the natural laws of heaven and earth.

The Mighty Maha Body — the elder's divine avatar — reeled backward, half of it disintegrating under the onslaught. Even as he tried to repair it with his Spiritual Energy, the lingering chaos burned through his efforts, impossible to dispel.

When the smoke cleared, the truth was plain for all to see.

The Second Elder of the Ancient Maha Clan — one of the Great Thousand Worlds' Saint Grade legends — had fallen into disadvantage.

The watching world froze in disbelief. Maha Tian's face went pale. This was not how it was supposed to go. The Second Elder's victory should have been guaranteed!

And yet, Liu Xi stood there, golden light blazing, utterly unscathed.

"Everyone, attack!" Maha Tian roared hoarsely, his eyes bloodshot. "Channel your power into the warships! Activate the Extinction Divine Light! We will crush him here and now!"

The Maha Clan's experts hesitated, then obeyed. Shame no longer mattered — only survival.

Dozens of Heavenly and Earthly Sovereigns spread across the warships, channeling Spiritual Energy into their cores. Power surged, converging into a chilling pulse that rippled across the sky.

The air froze. The three warships aligned in a triangular formation, each one radiating blinding brilliance as a destructive beam began to condense at their fronts.

But Liu Xi only sneered. "Maha Tian... you've truly lost all face."

He took a step forward.

A tidal wave of divine light erupted from him — endless, mercurial, unstoppable.

Those caught within it felt their power vanish.

"My Spiritual Energy— it's gone!"

"Mine too!"

"All of it... it's gone!"

Panic spread like wildfire through the ranks of the Maha Clan. The Spiritual Energy they had gathered collapsed in an instant, drawn away like sand slipping through their fingers.

The Nine-Turn Profound Art — cleansing divine technique of chaos.

In that light, every weakling was stripped bare.

Even Maha Tian himself stood frozen, powerless.

The so-called Extinction Divine Light never had a chance to form.

(End of Chapter)

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