The Breaking of the Beasts' Domain

The Big Dipper's light screen blazed with divine radiance, like golden battle armor, radiating an endless aura of slaughter and conquest.

That light screen—Xiao Chen called it the Divine-Sealing Light Screen—had once been one of his most prized techniques, but it had fallen to the margins of his combat repertoire after the emergence of the Four Killing Moves. This time, however, the further divinization of his acupoints had changed things. Vigorous life essence now flowed unceasingly through eight divine acupoints, each as luminous as a full moon. The Big Dipper light screen seemed to feed on that energy, growing several times stronger than before.

Like an ancient suit of armor reborn, it could form the Big Dipper Light Shield or transform into a radiant battle suit.

After the Divine-Sealing Light Screen had reawakened to its full power, this was the first time Xiao Chen had worn it into battle. He could sense Yuwen Feng's strength and danger—this was a demonic youth who defied all reason. The field that only Spirit-Treasury cultivators could produce was something ordinary people simply could not contend with.

Just then, Yuwen Feng struck. The Red Beast Domain pulsed with a bone-shaking aura. A fierce, terrifying blood-fiend energy surged forward, staining the sky crimson as waves of blood and dancing scarlet divine flames filled the air.

The sound of ten thousand beasts thundering erupted, deafening and savage. Rolling waves of bestial roars crashed against Xiao Chen's mind. The sound waves themselves made the lake water explode in all directions. In that instant, Xiao Chen felt as if his skull might split—the sonic force pierced directly through his flesh, attacking his soul.

At last the Big Dipper light screen enveloped even his head, leaving only his eyes visible, shimmering with cold light.

"BOOM!" The very sky trembled. Yuwen Feng charged forward, his domain surging around him. His momentum was utterly terrifying. As he threw a punch, space itself twisted—the domain could influence the void, unleashing the strongest possible power.

Xiao Chen launched himself into the air, his Slay God move swinging again and again, shredding the crimson blood-light. Then he dove headfirst from the sky, meeting strength with strength. There was not a trace of retreat in him.

The domain carried a strange force. Within its range, all external power was weakened to the maximum at the same time as the user's own strikes were amplified.

"RUMBLE!" The lake seethed. Endless blood-light shot skyward. Ten thousand beasts howled. Vast white steam rose from the boiling water, blanketing the entire lake.

Xiao Chen was blasted backward by an enormous force. Yuwen Feng walked on the waves, his body like a streak of blood, swift as wind and lightning.

"DIE!" Yuwen Feng was utterly savage. The Ten Thousand Beasts Demonic Art shook heaven and earth. Within the blood-light, he seemed possessed by a demon god, channeling the power of heaven itself. The surging primal energy of the world gathered from all directions, drawn by his domain and made violent by his fists.

He threw punch after punch—thirteen in all—each heavier than the last. The lake’s waters surged into colossal waves, and with his bare fists he split the lake itself, revealing the mud at its bottom. A full sixth of the lake's water was blasted into the sky.

Xiao Chen, as nimble as a startled swan, righted himself in an instant and charged straight against the blood-light, directly at Yuwen Feng. It was not reckless desperation—he believed he could stand against Yuwen Feng. He simply needed to find the domain's weak point at close range.

Slay God! Suppress Demon! Collapse!

He fused three of the Four Killing Moves together, channeling all their might into his palms. A series of earth-shaking forces rolled out, one wave after another, like a raging sea or a meteor shower streaking across the sky. Boundless divine light drowned the small lake, making the moon and stars above seem dim by comparison.

Sky-covering, earth-shaking!

This time Xiao Chen held nothing back, unleashing nearly all of his power.

But the Red Beast Domain was too strange, too evil. It seemed to be a world of its own, containing supreme laws that simply ignored such vast, surging waves of energy.

The towering torrents of power struck as if against empty space. The crimson blood-light leaped and churned, surging back in towering scarlet tides.

Yuwen Feng crossed straight through the pounding waves. Each step carried him to a different part of the lake's surface, and he closed on Xiao Chen in a flash. He unleashed the "Pacify Chaos Strike" from the Ten Thousand Beasts Demonic Art. With a thunderous boom, a phantom of an ancient savage beast roared and charged at Xiao Chen.

The sound of shattering rang out. Despite his desperate defense, Xiao Chen was blasted away, spitting a mouthful of blood.

"Ha… hahaha… hahahaha!" Yuwen Feng threw back his head and laughed, arrogant and unbridled. He emerged from within the blood-light, his voice as cold as frozen steel: "I have already cultivated a domain. How can you fight me? How dare you fight me? Killing you is no trouble at all. Before my Red Beast Domain, all your power is like flowers in a mirror, moonlight on water—utterly useless against me! Because you cannot possibly tear my domain apart! You—cannot!"

The zither and the flute melody grew heavier, the notes mingled with sobs. Ding-dong, wu-wu-yan-yan, they drifted on the wind across the secluded lakeshore.

Xiao Chen wiped the blood from his lips. The light in his eyes burned even brighter. There was not a shred of fear in him. Instead, the undefeated fighting spirit within his heart swelled more and more. Tonight, he needed an enemy like this. His blood was boiling. At his core, he was a man of wild abandon, just one who seldom showed it in daily life.

Normally, his rule was: don't trouble me, I won't trouble you. Now that wild spirit had been provoked into the open.

Xiao Chen stood on the lake and walked forward over the waves. His momentum grew stronger and stronger, until finally a blazing pillar of light erupted from his body, like a colossal sword rising into the sky.

He had ascended into his most powerful combat state.

Slay God! Suppress Demon! Collapse! Reverse Chaos!

All Four Killing Moves struck simultaneously, focused on a single point—Yuwen Feng's throat.

Even though the blood-mist blocked the view, Xiao Chen's keen spiritual sense had locked onto that spot with unshakable precision.

The Slay God move condensed tens of thousands of tiny rays of light into tangible blades and swords.

The Suppress Demon move seemed to open the gates of a pitch-black hell, where ancient runes like holy scripture arranged themselves in the air, pressing forward to suppress.

The Collapse move seemed to shatter the void itself, filling the air with cracks and fissures, as if carving out a brand-new space.

The Reverse Chaos move wove complex, visible hand-seals into profound, mysterious imprints of the Dao, overturning yin and yang. Beam after beam of light swept down against the red glow, attempting to rip the Red Beast Domain open.

All Four Killing Moves converged at a single point—Yuwen Feng's throat. The power they unleashed was unimaginable, vast as an ocean, unstoppable as fate.

Overwhelming all resistance. Shattering all physical forms.

At last, Yuwen Feng's expression changed. As powerful as he was, having cultivated a domain, he felt a suffocating pressure around his throat. A layer of goosebumps rose on his skin from sheer cold dread.

He retreated like a phantom, swift as a shooting star, vanishing from his original position in an instant.

But Xiao Chen followed like a shadow, locked onto him, and the fused force of the Four Killing Moves erupted simultaneously, aimed straight at his throat.

Yuwen Feng's expression changed again and again. He was savage as a wild beast—after more than a year cultivating in the depths of the Southern Wastes, living among savage beasts day and night, he had developed a feral intuition, exquisitely sensitive to danger.

Shua, shua, shua!

The two figures kept exchanging positions, their bodies like two strands of light intertwined on the lake.

"BOOM!"

The fused power of the Four Killing Moves finally exploded. Yuwen Feng blocked the mightiest strike with one hand protecting his throat and the other spreading open the Red Beast Domain.

Both men flew backward, each spitting several mouthfuls of blood.

"This is what I needed!" Xiao Chen murmured to himself. Though wounded, his eyes burned even brighter. He could feel as though a crack had been forced open in the seal that locked his body's inner treasury—the sealing gate was loosening.

Yuwen Feng steadied himself. Without a word, he walked forward across the lake, step by step. His pace was slow, yet heavy—as if a mountain was descending over the water. An indescribable pressure weighed down on the scene, suffocating.

The Red Beast Domain expanded relentlessly. The shadowy spirits of savage beasts poured out of it, surrounding Xiao Chen, drowning the lake.

From a distance, the lake was a sea of blood-light, the crimson domain trapping Xiao Chen within.

Xiao Chen felt no fear. As the seal on his body's treasury cracked, the eight divinized acupoints burst with dazzling light.

The Baihui acupoint atop his head, the Shangqiu acupoints at both ankles, the Jianjing acupoints at both shoulders, the Laogong acupoints at both palms, and the Zhongting acupoint in his chest—all were linked by threads of golden radiance that now connected them as a single circuit. No longer could they only be felt; now they could even be seen with the naked eye.

Lines of gold ran through the eight divine acupoints, joining his head, limbs, chest, and abdomen into a single grand character: 大, "Great." The golden light pierced through his flesh. The Big Dipper light screen grew even stronger, forming a near-solid suit of golden battle armor.

Life essence surged like a breached dam, roaring and galloping, flooding every part of Xiao Chen's body in an instant. The power that had been nearly drained was refilled in the blink of an eye—and it was even stronger than before.

Blazing radiance completely engulfed Xiao Chen. Though the Red Beast Domain held him within, it could no longer press close to his body.

This was a life-force as vast as a sea. Xiao Chen's flesh received the purest baptism in that brief moment, growing even more powerful.

His eyes were blazing gems. Clad in golden divine armor, he brought his fingers together like a blade, took a single step, and appeared eight yards away—straight at Yuwen Feng. He had broken through the confinement of the Red Beast Domain.

"Impossible!" Shock spread across Yuwen Feng's face.

"BOOM!"

His palm struck like a blade, vibrating continuously. A spiral force followed Yuwen Feng's fist into his body, shattering the layer of blood-light that covered his skin.

"Puh!"

Yuwen Feng coughed up three huge mouthfuls of blood, his body flying backward. He could not believe it. "A domain… did you just now cultivate a domain?"

He had felt the power of a domain—it had torn apart his Red Beast Domain.

"What is a domain? This world has no invincible technique—only invincible people!" Xiao Chen pressed forward, his blade-hand striking again. A brilliant blade-light slashed diagonally at Yuwen Feng's chest and abdomen.

"That is definitely a domain!" Yuwen Feng deployed the Red Beast Domain anew and met Xiao Chen's blade-hand with his fist.

"RUMBLE!"

A thunderous sound of rupture. Divine radiance flooded the lake. Yuwen Feng and Xiao Chen both spat blood—but Yuwen Feng took a step back, while Xiao Chen stepped forward.

Only advance, never retreat! Xiao Chen had the momentum of breaking through a last defense. His spirit was like a rainbow.

The eight divinized acupoints, linked by golden threads, seemed to form a new divine circulatory network. Power surged unceasingly, mimicking a true domain.

It was not a true domain, but it was no weaker than one.

After a few cycles, the essence hidden in those divine acupoints receded back into them—but the mimic domain did not vanish. It merged into the Big Dipper light screen. The golden armor blazed with a light that affected the surrounding space as the Red Beast Domain did: making it extremely difficult for external powers to break in while allowing one's own strength to be wielded to the utmost.

In truth, Xiao Chen's greatest gain was the golden threads within his body, linking the eight divine acupoints together. What future changes they might bring remained to be seen.

His blade-hand shone like a rainbow. Xiao Chen's momentum only grew stronger.

He met strength with strength, fought an open and overwhelming battle, and savagely beat Yuwen Feng back.

Yuwen Feng had always been known for his power and wildness. But now Xiao Chen was counterattacking with his very own style—fierce, unmatched, heavy and forceful.

The two top experts clashed over a hundred more rounds in a flash, whipping the lake into towering, furious waves.

Xiao Chen had forced Yuwen Feng into submission.

It was an unspeakable defeat. Xiao Chen was meeting power with power, strength with strength, suppressing Yuwen Feng by using his own strongest asset against him. More savage than you? Even more savage. More ferocious than you? Even more ferocious.

Being defeated on his own terms was the most bitter pill of all.

"ROAR…!"

Yuwen Feng bellowed at the sky, launching himself into the air and exchanging three final head-on blows with Xiao Chen.

"BOOM!"

In a deafening roar, within a burst of blinding light, the clear sound of shattering bone reached both fighters' ears.

Yuwen Feng flew backward, his fist trembling faintly. Four of his fingers were broken.

Xiao Chen's palm ached terribly. A crack had appeared in the bone of his hand. He could clearly sense the flesh at the fracture spasming. But he did not hesitate. He raised that cracked hand and still struck at Yuwen Feng like a blade.

Frustration. Rage.

Yuwen Feng's broken fist trembled uncontrollably. He struggled to clench it, but could not bring his fingers together. Finally, he let out a long, howling shriek, turned, and fled like the wind toward the outside of the Drunken Beauty Palace. His body bounded over the rooftops like a demonic apparition.

Xiao Chen's killing intent had already risen. He spread his Undying Heavenly Wings and shot after him, catching up quickly.

"BOOM!"

A single blade-hand strike sent Yuwen Feng's hulking demonic body tumbling through the air, spraying blood. But he managed to land just outside the palace wall. Seeing the inner river ahead, he threw himself forward without a second thought and plunged into the water.

Almost at the same time, Xiao Chen also dove into the river. But his keen divine sense could not locate Yuwen Feng anywhere—the ability to perceive without seeing or hearing had failed him.

Without lingering, Xiao Chen burst out of the water. He stood silently in midair, regulating his breathing and mending his injuries.

Not until half an hour had passed did he open his eyes again.

Nearby, Fire Dance swayed her graceful, curvaceous body as she sauntered over. Ice Qin, clad in white like snow, also stood at the gate of the Drunken Beauty Palace.

"Brother Xiao, we had prepared a special gift for tonight's victor," Fire Dance said, her expression utterly seductive. Her large, watery eyes fixed on Xiao Chen without blinking, brimming with provocation.

"I will remember tonight's gift. Another day," Xiao Chen said. Then he rose into the air and flew off into the distance.

"Next… Dugu Jianmo!"

Long after Xiao Chen had vanished, hundreds of meters downstream of the inner river, Yuwen Feng struggled out of the riverbed's mud. Soaked in slime, he looked like a wounded beast, his eyes glittering with savage light. Then he let out a roar of absolute fury.

Too humiliating. He, Yuwen Feng, who had even cultivated a domain, known as the undefeated young expert of the Southern Wastes, had been forced to hide in the mud at the bottom of a river. What a crushing blow!

"I will grow stronger! I—will—grow—stronger!" Yuwen Feng wailed to the heavens.

At the same time, a faint dragon roar came from the dungeon beneath the Drunken Beauty Palace. Yuwen Feng's eyes were as cold as the edge of a blade as he stared at that majestic building in the distance.