"Who are you?!" Zhou Yitang suddenly retreated, watching cautiously.

The moment he saw the other person, his heart began pounding like a drum.

His heartbeat quickened, blood flow accelerated, and his body temperature soared again.

Strands of Spiritual Lines frantically tried to break through the skin from within his body, becoming agitated with his instinctual emotions.

And this was exactly the case now; Zhou Yitang understood after just one move that he was likely no match for this opponent.

"I want to conduct a test." Zhang Rongfang raised his hand.

Swish!!

His figure flickered, suddenly crossing over ten meters, appearing beside Zhou Yitang, and struck down.

Boom!!!

At the same time, a clear white ripple spread out from Zhou Yitang’s body.

It was his ultimate technique’s special ability, capable of releasing a massive shockwave through the thunder beast pattern on his chest.

This sound wave could vibrate the flesh and weaken any force exerted substantially.

This weakening usually depends on the physical strength of the attacked.

If one’s physique is not strong enough, it might even rupture their meridians and result in instant death.

But if one’s physique is strong enough...

The white ripple struck Zhang Rongfang, billowing his robe backward, and then...

It had no effect.

Swish!

He grabbed the back of Zhou Yitang’s neck with one hand.

A deadly threat instantly engulfed Zhou Yitang, who was terrified, exploding all his strength with his elbows backward, trying to turn and face his opponent.

But it was no use.

No matter how he turned, the person behind him remained there, unchanged in position.

With two light taps, his elbow strikes were diverted, equally meaningless.

Hiss...

A faint sound of blood being drawn came from the back of his neck, Zhou Yitang’s eyes spun in fear, his whole body was chilled, feeling his strength waning.

He immediately lunged forward, disregarding everything, trying to escape this place.

The gap between them was too vast! He stood no chance at all!!

’Damn! If not for the earlier battle against those three combined, wearing him out, he wouldn’t be so weak now!’

Suddenly, a peculiar shout escaped his mouth, as Zhou Yitang’s body technique speed surged, bursting forward with a leap.

This burst of speed was much faster than the temporary acceleration earlier, though only temporary, it was enough for Zhang Rongfang to miscalculate and loosen his grasp.

He let out a soft exclamation, losing the chance to siphon blood.

"Still trying to run?"

Zhang Rongfang’s expression remained unchanged, intrigued, as he immediately stepped forward, his figure suddenly turning into a phantom chasing after Zhou Yitang.

If he maintained his speed, no matter how hard Zhou Yitang ran, it would only take half a minute to catch up.

But things often don’t go as conveniently as imagined.

He had just sprinted five steps when Zhang Rongfang abruptly stopped in his tracks.

Poof!

A splash of thick black liquid sprayed out from a nearby residential building on his right, blocking the path of pursuit.

The liquid landed on the ground, instantly corroding the soil and stone slabs, emitting a dense black smoke.

Zhang Rongfang turned his body technique, once again pursuing from another direction.

But this time, the same black liquid accurately blocked his path.

On the third turn, he leaped into the air, bouncing off almost without touching the ground.

Yet again, several streams of black liquid shot up, nearly enveloping him.

With little choice, Zhang Rongfang flung his cloak, completely shielding himself from the liquid, then landed standing firmly on the ground.

"Who is there!?"

Zhang Rongfang looked toward the direction the liquid was coming from, eyes slightly narrowed.

"The one who will kill you!" An old man with a head full of white hair, holding a wine gourd, leisurely walked out from the residence.

"Sect Leader Xu, it’s time you fulfilled your promise." The old man was a Hu by surname, an elder accompanying Zhou Yitang.

He had originally come just to watch the spectacle, but didn’t expect such a twist.

Seeing that Zhou Yitang would be done for if he didn’t intervene, he was forced to reveal himself.

As for the immense power Zhang Rongfang had demonstrated earlier, he had seen it. If he had been alone, he certainly wouldn’t have dared to show himself now.

"What a pity... Meeting us is undoubtedly your greatest misfortune..." The Hu-named elder shook his head slightly and made way.

A figure slowly emerged from behind him.

The person had a lithe, curvaceous figure, long black hair cascading to her waist, with features that were sharp and striking yet possessed a certain pale beauty.

In the firelight of the night, the woman wore a long deep purple coat, with nothing but shortened black leather shorts underneath, revealing her long, fair legs.

Even in such times, with such customs, no matter how liberal, few would dress like that.

Yet on this woman, it seemed not the least bit out of place.

"Long time no see... I have been looking for you for quite a while..." The woman’s beautiful eyes, like blades, stared unblinkingly at Zhang Rongfang.

"You’re not dead?" Zhang Rongfang was slightly surprised.

"If you’re not dead, how could I possibly be!" The woman roared fiercely. "Before I defeat you head-on and kill you! I won’t die!"

"So..."

Swoosh!

Before she could finish her sentence, her vision blurred and she realized the figure of Zhang Rongfang across from her had vanished.

With a turn of her head, Zhang Rongfang had already gotten far, nearly catching up with the fleeing Zhou Yitang.

"You dare ignore me!!?"

With a furious roar, her entire physique expanded, her upper garment ripping apart, while the shortened leather shorts somehow held firm on her body.

Her height of 1.8 meters suddenly surged to 2.5 meters. At the same time, white bulbous nodules swelled across her body.

"Ultimate Form! Taiyin Blazing Body!!"

With an angry scream, her body elongated, growing taller once more, reaching three meters!

Her form twisted and writhed like mud, quickly forming a symmetrical figure.

Only, her complexion was covered with a layer of pitch-black skin membrane.

Dark red blood-mouth-like cracks continually appeared on her back. From the cracks, a dense array of red, sucker-like fleshy appendages could be seen inside.

"I am no longer who I used to be!! Zhang Ying, you have nowhere to run!!"

The woman exploded from underfoot, charging forward with a speed not slower than Zhang Rongfang amidst the booming sounds.

Everywhere she passed, with each step borrowed for force, she left behind a poisonous footprint on the ground, emitting black smoke.

In front, Zhang Rongfang was rapidly moving forward, seeing that the distance between him and Zhou Yitang was less than a meter.

He suddenly reached out, employing the "Cherish the Fire" technique from the Flame Emperor Talisman, clawing forward.

Suddenly his heart stirred, his hand paused, and his body flashed to the left.

Poof!

A colorful mist shot from the rear, brushing past him, striking precisely on a wooden pillar of a nearby house.

The pillar instantly blackened, carbonized, dehydrated, and began shedding large amounts of black powder.

In no time, most of the pillar was gone, snapping with a crack and falling to the ground.

"I remember now, you’re Xu Mengyan, the Leader of the Five Cauldrons Sect?" Zhang Rongfang suddenly spoke, his realization voiced upon seeing this scene.

As he spoke, his body moved to the left, precisely evading Xu Mengyan’s subsequent chain of attacks.

Blow after blow accompanied by colorful mist constantly struck at various parts of his body.

From a distance, it seemed like a storm curtain composed of fists and palms.

Mixed within the curtain of rain was highly toxic colorful mist, which was Xu Mengyan’s Five-Colored Radiance naturally emitted at the end form.

"Keep dodging! I’ve learned from last time and improved the dissemination speed of the Five-Colored Radiance! This time, you are doomed!!" Xu Mengyan laughed wildly.

Sure enough, with each of her attacks, the colorful mist spread incredibly fast.

Sometimes, it was clearly just the impact area of a punch, but enveloped in colorful mist, the punch became equivalent to a massive shockwave, covering a substantial area.

Zhang Rongfang dodged each move, but he couldn’t completely evade this mist.

Hiss...

The poisonous mist began corroding his skin, emitting black smoke.

"Again with this move. But it does seem more potent now."

While evading, he commented simultaneously.

His vitality was stronger than before, yet this toxin could still damage him, indeed showing improvement.

"By the way, have you prayed to the gods?" Zhang Rongfang suddenly asked aloud.

"Daring to be distracted while fighting me!! Die!!" Xu Mengyan roared angrily. In her end form, her speed and strength were significantly stronger than in their past encounter.

Evidently, she had made significant progress during this time.

But unfortunately....

Simply increasing speed and strength doesn’t count unless there’s a generational gap of a huge disparity, otherwise...

Swish!

Zhang Rongfang easily avoided a sweeping kick, the colored poison mist on the leg corroding his facial skin to emit black smoke, then in less than half a second, his backpack-like skin naturally healed and recovered.

As if nothing had ever happened.

Any toxin without a lethal dose is useless.

Unless he confronted Xu Mengyan head-on like before, merely relying on a bit of dispersed external mist attack was entirely ineffective.

This setting was an outdoor open environment, different from the enclosed environment of the previous underground cave.

This bit of poison, diluted by the airflow, found it too challenging to place him in mortal peril.

Zhang Rongfang continuously flickered his form, perfectly dodging all of Xu Mengyan’s moves.

Apart from the mist, he carefully examined the woman before him.

"Taiyin Blaze Body... Born from the Five Cauldrons Sect Sensing Sect, speaking of which, the Sensing Sect is also a major force under my master’s banner, belonging to the Daoist Sect...."

As the two exchanged rapid blows, they also pursued Zhou Yitang, who was fleeing ahead.

Soon the three of them rushed into a deep, dark forest at night.

Seeing in dim light, Zhang Rongfang remained unaffected.

Xu Mengyan also seemed entirely unhindered, presumably due to her unique physique, while Zhou Yitang, meanwhile, visibly slowed down.

Swish!

Zhang Rongfang dodged Xu Mengyan’s punch again. Suddenly, he spoke.

"It seems, you’ve also lost your way."

"!? Are you insulting me!!?" Xu Mengyan’s eyes roared increasingly louder; she took two steps back, spreading her arms, and numerous blood-red cracks abruptly appeared on her entire skin.

"To kill you!!! I’ve painstakingly researched, and finally advanced the Taiyin Blaze Body one step further today!"

"You think you’re guaranteed to win!? Die for me!!"

Xu Mengyan roared wildly, her entire body resembled countless mouths, fiercely inflating air inwards.

Hiss.....!!

Her whole body rapidly expanded, as if inflating, under her skin numerous varying sizes of semi-transparent blisters swelled.

Her body size instantly grew by a large circle.

Then, exploded violently.

Whoosh!!!

Countless toxic mist mixed with toxic liquid droplets sprayed outwards like bullets.

Zhang Rongfang rapidly retreated, and upon seeing this, he finally made a decision in his eyes.

"Both of you are not bad. Fine, let’s finish it together then."

Numerous toxic drops hit his body’s surface, where corrosion and healing began an intense battle, competing in speed.

Zhang Rongfang’s expression remained unchanged. His Qi and Blood began to surge.

’Extreme State: Divine Intent Unification.’

’Extreme State: Yin and Yang Cooperation.’

’Extreme State: Boundary.’

His body began to expand in circles, skin color turning black, countless blood vessels protruding like worms, eyes turning red, filled with blood threads.

"I can feel it, you’re in great pain."

Raising his hands, Zhang Rongfang gently exhaled, dispersing the mist in front of him.

"So...."

"Shadow Rainbow!"

Swish!!

In an instant, Zhang Rongfang’s right hand moved forward like a blade or arrow, bursting through the toxic mist, grabbing Xu Mengyan’s neck, and pressed downwards.

BOOM!!!

The ground shook, exploding into dirt and stones within a five-meter radius centered on the two of them.

It’s like a meteorite fell from the sky, with countless layers of soil scattering and shooting outwards, striking tree trunks and even creating pits of various sizes.