A Palm

"Who goes there?"

"This is the Withered Cliff Cave. Who gave you permission to enter? Get the hell out!"

For Bai Ji, as the next master of Windmoon Island, the entire island was his domain. On his own turf, he couldn’t be bothered to care who these intruders were—his voice was sharp and commanding.

Yet the moment his words left his lips, the black-robed figure opposite him extended a skeletal white finger.

With a mere flick, a surge of energy shot forth.

"Crack!"

"Ah—!"

A crisp sound was followed by Bai Ji’s agonized scream.

The energy blast shattered every tooth in his mouth, sending them clattering to the ground.

Clutching his mouth in pain, Bai Ji let out a bloodcurdling howl. Blood gushed uncontrollably between his fingers, staining the floor crimson.

"You filthy dogs! Do you even know who I am? How dare you lay a hand on me!" Bai Ji snarled through his ruined mouth, his words slurred and barely intelligible.

The next instant—

An invisible hand materialized in the air, seizing his throat and lifting him off the ground.

The suffocating grip left Bai Ji gasping, his eyes bulging with veins popping.

"W-who... are you?" he rasped, staring at the lead black-robed figure.

"Raaagh!"

The figure’s face suddenly loomed closer, twisting into a visage of death so terrifying that Bai Ji’s soul nearly fled his body. His eyes nearly burst from their sockets.

But just as quickly, the horrifying image blurred, leaving Bai Ji questioning whether he had hallucinated.

At the same time, the invisible hand vanished, dropping Bai Ji to the ground. Gasping for air, he seized the moment when the black-robed figures were distracted to activate a teleportation scroll hidden in his storage ring.

"Hahaha! You worthless scum, I’m already gone! What can you do to me now? Just wait until I call for reinforcements. No matter who you are, since you dared to harm me, none of you will leave here alive!"

Bai Ji’s body vanished, but his taunting voice lingered in the air.

"Heh."

A cold, mocking laugh echoed from beneath the black robes, dripping with disdain.

The figure merely raised a hand, merging it into the void, and reached out with five fingers.

Though the sequence seemed drawn out, it all happened in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, the Moonlit Tower was packed with Xu Zhu’s most trusted subordinates. He had just finished purging all opposition within the Windmoon Sect, imprisoning every dissenting voice.

Bai Ji suddenly materialized in the middle of the hall.

His abrupt appearance drew every eye, especially given his bloodied, toothless state. The sight instantly set Xu Zhu on edge.

"What happened?" Xu Zhu roared, slamming the table as he stood.

"Father! Enemies! Someone tried to kill me! They’re in the Withered Cliff Cave—they’re trying to rescue Feng Qianyue! I barely escaped using the teleportation scroll you gave me! Hurry, go kill them!" Bai Ji clutched his ruined mouth, his voice thick with hatred. "They shattered my teeth! I want them to die screaming!"

"What?!"

"Daring to invade our Windmoon Sect and rescue someone from the Withered Cliff Cave?!" Xu Zhu’s fury erupted.

But at that moment—

A strange ripple disturbed the air.

Xu Zhu’s eyes narrowed, a foreboding chill creeping into his heart.

Sure enough—

The void behind Bai Ji tore open, and a pale hand shot out, seizing his throat.

Bai Ji’s body stiffened.

Absolute terror flooded his mind as death descended upon him.

Bang!

His head exploded in a shower of gore, splattering across the Moonlit Tower—even splashing onto Xu Zhu’s face.

"YOU BASTARD!"

Watching his only son die before his eyes, Xu Zhu’s vision turned red with rage.

This son—separated from him since childhood, searched for over years, finally reunited—had just been taken from him.

Just as they had secured control over Windmoon Island.

Just as everything seemed within their grasp.

"I’LL KILL YOU!"

Xu Zhu bellowed, unleashing his full Dao Fusion realm power. Flames erupted from his body, transforming him into an avatar of wrath.

Clearly—

He had merged with the Dao of Fire.

Every movement radiated scorching heat, causing the temperature in the Moonlit Tower to skyrocket. Objects melted in seconds.

Blind with fury, Xu Zhu channeled his flames into a devastating palm strike aimed at the spectral hand still lingering in the void.

BOOM!

The collision unleashed a shockwave.

A storm of energy blasted outward, forcing the surrounding elders to stagger back.

But Xu Zhu’s eyes widened in horror.

His fiery palm struck the pale hand—yet it didn’t budge an inch. Instead, an icy, bone-deep coldness seeped into his flesh, extinguishing his flames and spreading rapidly.

His hand necrotized before his eyes, the frost creeping toward his arm.

Xu Zhu acted fast—in the next heartbeat, he drew his spirit sword and lopped off his own arm at the shoulder.

The severed limb hit the ground not with a thud, but with a crystalline chime—shattering like fragile ice upon impact.

The void contracted.

The pale hand vanished without a trace.

As if nothing had happened.

But Xu Zhu stood there, panting, his face etched with lingering dread.

He never imagined that a single clash would cost him an arm—and that, had he hesitated, it would have been far worse.

What terrified him most wasn’t just that.

It was the realization that the hand hadn’t even exerted any force. It had merely crushed Bai Ji’s skull and then... idly waited.

Think about it—Xu Zhu, attacking with all his might, couldn’t even make the hand flinch. Instead, he lost an arm just from touching it.

How powerful must its owner be?

Xu Zhu couldn’t fathom it.

His expression darkened to its limit.

An enemy of this caliber was beyond his worst nightmares.

"Where did such a monstrous expert come from?"

"None of our adversaries have anyone like this!"

He racked his brain but found no answers.

Meanwhile, he waved a hand, summoning Bai Ji’s Dao Heart.

Though his son’s body was destroyed, as long as the Dao Heart remained, death wasn’t absolute. They could always find him a new vessel.

Such was the privilege of a Dao realm expert—even in death, rebirth was possible.

Bai Ji’s Dao Heart floated before Xu Zhu, forming his son’s spectral face.

"Father! My body’s gone! What do I do now? You have to avenge me! Tear them to pieces!" the apparition shrieked.

Xu Zhu’s face darkened.

Still talking about revenge at a time like this? Couldn’t he read the situation?

If Bai Ji weren't his own flesh and blood, he would have crushed his Dao heart outright and left him to perish.

Just then, heavy footsteps echoed from outside the tower.

Thud!

Thud… thud…

The moment the footsteps sounded, Xu Zhu and the others inside the tower paled in alarm.

Each step struck like a massive hammer against their chests, an invisible pressure bearing down on them with crushing weight.