Can't defeat a real dragon, but can't even beat a fellow disciple

Tang Silang felt that what he was stepping on was no longer the rocks inside the lava cave, but a grayish-white wasteland.

Immediately after, the dozen or so figures from the Kuitian Holy Land also appeared one after another on the wasteland.

"There really is a hidden world?!"

"It actually forms its own realm?"

"Is this... the hiding place of that True Dragon?"

Several people looked around at this boundless, dead wasteland where not even a single blade of grass could be seen, their faces full of confusion.

Third Elder Tang did not speak. His gloomy eyes were staring fixedly ahead.

The Second Elder also had a solemn expression. The quaint formation compass in her hand was emitting a faint light, its needle trembling as it pointed in the same direction.

Following their line of sight, they saw that hundreds of zhang away, on the giant bluestone that Hui Xing had used as her exclusive seat for four months, a petite crimson figure was sitting quietly.

She had her back to the crowd, her long hair draped casually, and her delicate bare feet dangling gently in the air. She looked as leisurely as if she were sunbathing in her own backyard.

It really was her.

The one these guys from the Kuitian Holy Land had racked their brains to find was actually Hui Xing.

Su Ji was just a bit speechless...

Were they in a rush to die?

It wasn't as if he hadn't seen the commotion caused by a Golden Core cultivator making a move. Being able to cause destruction over a hundred zhang was generally considered quite strong.

But Hui Xing was an existence capable of punching a ten-thousand-zhang abyss into the ground.

Under such a massive disparity in strength, Su Ji doubted he could even break her defenses, even if he triggered his Sword Sacrifice.

Third Elder Tang looked at that petite back, his voice carrying a bit of disbelief.

"Second Elder, are you sure that is... the True Dragon?"

The description in the divination hexagram—"heart like dead ashes, not adept at combat"—had given them the preconceived notion that even if the True Dragon wasn't old and decrepit, its aura should be withered.

But the one right before their eyes... looked exactly like an innocent human girl, no matter how one looked at her.

A trace of confusion also flashed through the Second Elder's soul-stirring eyes, but she quickly suppressed this doubt.

"The aura cannot be wrong."

"It's her."

"A Dragon taking human form."

She licked her red lips, an alluring smile appearing on her face, her voice soft and bone-meltingly sweet.

"It seems this little dragon girl sensed our arrival and is waiting here specifically for us?"

Third Elder Tang snorted coldly, his face full of greed.

"Who cares what she looks like."

"As long as it's a dragon, it won't escape!"

He took a step forward, the aura of a peak Golden Core cultivator releasing without reservation. His voice exploded across the empty wasteland like a massive bell.

"Vile beast, upon seeing this seat, why haven't you quickly shown your true form and bowed your head to accept death!"

"In the cultivation world, the strong are revered. Do not blame me for bullying you for your youth!"

His voice was filled with a condescending arrogance.

However.

On the bluestone, the petite figure didn't even twitch.

She even let out a very human-like yawn.

It was as if the pressure behind her, which was enough to shatter the courage of an ordinary Golden Core cultivator, was nothing more than a light breeze.

This complete disregard caused Third Elder Tang's face to instantly darken.

"Refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!"

His patience exhausted, he stopped wasting words. Forming a hand seal with one hand, a blue plant formed from condensed spiritual energy appeared out of thin air above his head.

Runes flowed over the plant, emitting a terrifying aura capable of entangling mountains.

"Go!"

Third Elder Tang pointed his fingers like a sword and slashed forward.

The blue plant let out a piercing screech, dragging a long, cold-colored tail flame as it crashed down ruthlessly toward the center of Hui Xing's back like a falling meteor.

He didn't hold back in the slightest with this strike.

Only then did Hui Xing finally make a move.

As if finding the screeching a bit too noisy, she impatiently raised her fair, delicate little hand and casually waved it behind her.

It was just like swatting away an annoying fly.

That seemingly unparalleled blue plant, when it was still three feet away from Hui Xing's back, just... silently crumbled inch by inch.

It turned into blue specks of light dancing in the sky, like a brilliant firework, before returning to nothingness.

The entire process was as smooth as flowing water and as light as a passing breeze.

It was as if what she had crushed wasn't the full-powered strike of a peak Golden Core cultivator, but a weed by the side of the road.

"..."

The entire wasteland fell into a dead silence.

The ferocity and smugness on Third Elder Tang's face completely froze.

For the first time, horror and disbelief surfaced in his gloomy eyes.

The Kuitian Holy Land disciples behind him were even more dumbfounded, as if struck by lightning.

"H-How is this possible?!"

"Second Elder, didn't you say that theoretically, a Foundation Establishment cultivator could defeat her?"

"You dared to deceive me?"

"You are courting death!"

Third Elder Tang finally snapped back from his extreme shock, his voice changing pitch.

The Second Elder's alluring face had long since turned deathly pale, devoid of any color. "I don't know..."

"That is what the divination said..."

"You know I have never calculated wrong..."

To block Third Elder Tang's attack so easily, she didn't even need to think to know that the formations she took such pride in would probably be nothing more than a joke in front of the other party.

Right at this moment.

Hui Xing finally jumped down from the bluestone.

She turned around, revealing an impossibly exquisite little face.

Her beautiful crimson eyes swept over everyone present. That gaze was flat and rippleless, as if she were looking at a group of... noisy bugs.

"You all."

Her red lips parted lightly, her voice completely different from the one Su Ji had heard before.

It carried a vast desolation originating from the primordial times.

"Just now, you were attacking me?"

Third Elder Tang only felt a chill shoot straight from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. Without a second thought, he turned to run.

However, just as he moved.

Hui Xing's figure disappeared from her spot without any warning.

The next moment.

She appeared in front of Third Elder Tang, still maintaining that harmless little girl appearance, her face even carrying a bit of curiosity.

"Where are you going?"

Third Elder Tang's soul nearly left his body in fright. Without thinking, the Golden Core within his body spun madly, and countless life-saving magical treasures and talismans were instantly activated, forming layers upon layers of thick protective shields.

At the same time, his figure retreated explosively, wanting to put distance between himself and this terrifying monster.

Hui Xing, however, merely extended a fair, tender finger and lightly tapped against his overlapping shields.

A soft sound echoed.

Those shields, which were enough to withstand the fierce attacks of a peak Golden Core cultivator, shattered one after another in response, like fragile soap bubbles.

Third Elder Tang's body was struck by an irresistible, massive force. His chest instantly caved in, and he flew backward like a cannonball, smashing fiercely into the distant rock wall.

"Boom!"

A giant human-shaped crater was smashed into the hard rock wall.

Third Elder Tang slid down the rock wall, wildly spewing fresh blood from his mouth, his aura instantly withering to the extreme.

One move.

Just a single move.

A peak Golden Core cultivator, the Third Elder of the Kuitian Holy Land, was defeated!

The remaining Kuitian Holy Land disciples were completely scared silly.

Looking at that petite figure, their bodies trembled like leaves in the wind, unable to muster even the courage to flee.

Hui Xing did not spare another glance at the half-dead Third Elder Tang.

Hui Xing's crimson eyes stared fixedly in the direction where Su Ji was hiding.

She tilted her head.

"Have you seen enough?"

"Peeping tom."

Her voice echoed across the empty wasteland, carrying a hint of dissatisfaction, mixed with a barely perceptible trace of... familiarity.

In a sense, Su Ji could be considered her only friend in this world.

Having been called out, Su Ji no longer bothered to hide.

His appearance caused the Second Elder's heart to tremble violently once again.

Another one!

This seemingly ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator had managed to lurk silently on the sidelines, and not a single one of them had noticed?

She instantly understood.

Everything the First Elder had said was actually true.

But... why was he only at the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm?

Could it be that he possessed some secret technique that perfectly concealed his true cultivation base?

For a moment, fear washed over her like a tidal wave, completely drowning out her last shred of hope.

Su Ji ignored the group of shivering Holy Land elites, simply casting his gaze toward Hui Xing not far away.

Hui Xing also looked at him. "Do you need them alive?"

"If not, I'll just kill them all."

As her words fell, the air across the entire wasteland seemed to freeze.

The dozen or so disciples of the Puppet Heaven Holy Land, every single one of them, froze in place. The color instantly drained from their faces, leaving behind a deathly pallor.

That casual tone sounded as if she were talking about crushing a few ants by the roadside.

This young man before them and that red-haired monster were actually in cahoots!

The Second Elder's already pale face was now completely devoid of blood. Her delicate body trembled slightly, and for the first time, pure terror was revealed in those soul-stealing eyes of hers.

"They might be of some use, but do as you see fit." Su Ji replied. "The main issue is, if you let them go, what if they bring a never-ending stream of people to cause you trouble?"

Hui Xing rolled her eyes at Su Ji. "No need to worry. I let them in myself; otherwise, they wouldn't have found this place in a lifetime."

"It's mainly because a bunch of people were wandering back and forth at my doorstep, which was quite annoying, so I just dragged them in to kill them."

"If they're useful, I'll leave one alive for you."

Every word that fell was like a heavy hammer, viciously smashing into the hearts of everyone from the Puppet Heaven Holy Land.

They wanted to run, but their legs felt as though they were filled with lead, completely refusing to obey their commands.

Seeing that the group remained motionless for a long time, Hui Xing spoke again.

"Uh... I said one of you can live. Do you not understand?"

In an instant, everyone looked at their fellow disciples, murderous intent surging in their eyes.

Especially the Second Elder.

She might not be able to defeat a True Dragon, but couldn't she defeat the rest of them?