Chapter 167: Burst of the Light Crystals

Xiao Kaitian and the Tengu had no intention of keeping their conversation hidden, and the group of martial practitioners overheard it as well. Seeing the two of them preparing to make a move, the martial artists grew active with schemes once again.

These were Wanderers. Even if the martial practitioners swarmed them together and ultimately achieved victory, the price to pay would undoubtedly be immense. Now that Xiao Kaitian was willing to take the vanguard, this group was more than happy to play the role of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

Of course, the Tengu cared nothing for these martial practitioners. The only thing that caught his interest in his eyes was Xiao Kaitian's physical body. He licked his lips and said, "I don't know why you understand so much, but I've taken a fancy to this body of yours."

"I am surprised as well. I never expected you to be having so much fun playing with such low-level tricks like spiritual transplantation," Xiao Kaitian said, signaling Bai Kou to leave while taking a stride forward, intentionally or unintentionally blocking Tengu's path. "Manifested in this dimension, I thought you would be crying like a child who couldn't find his home."

"You are arrogant!" The Tengu sneered with a chattering laugh. "In that case, we shall let our abilities speak for themselves." He slowly picked up his Japanese-style katana, a red glow flashing across the blade.

"This is getting a bit troublesome." Xiao Kaitian rapidly gathered his Divine Source, yet the gap between him and the Tengu remained quite apparent. Even if he were to unleash boundary-breaking techniques, it could only be said to narrow the distance between them.

"Let me show you the true power from a higher dimension," the Tengu said, resting the blade on his shoulder. With him as the center, a whirlwind rapidly expanded. Two streaks of red light extended from the shoulders behind him, vaguely taking the shape of a pair of wings.

"So that's it. Some kind of deity or monster from the island nation's history—a Tengu bird-spirit." Xiao Kaitian was not unfamiliar with the knowledge of this world and recognized it instantly. He raised his right hand high, and instantly a vortex formed around his arm. Compressed air currents continuously surged in, and the surrounding temperature rose rapidly due to friction.

The surrounding martial practitioners naturally recognized the danger and backed away to keep their distance. The techniques employed by these two did not belong to the martial arts world at all; taking even a scratch from them would mean certain death.

"A mere four-dimensional existence, yet you dare to call yourself a higher-dimensional entity," a cold smile flashed across Xiao Kaitian's lips. He had used this technique, the Blazing Heaven Blade, back when he was at the peak of the Earth Realm in his battle against Xie Yuan.

However, he was now at the Heavenly Realm Grandmaster tier. Unleashing it once again after breaking through a major realm was naturally incomparable to before.

"I see. You possess 'fortuity' as well," the Tengu licked the corner of his mouth, his wide mouth grinning with a chattering laugh. "You are just a dish ready on my plate!"

"Slash!" He swung his blade downward, a flash of red light appearing and striking toward Xiao Kaitian. Everywhere the light passed, the ground crumbled completely.

"Break for me!" Xiao Kaitian gritted his teeth. The Blazing Heaven Blade materialized, and a massive ball of fire erupted as his arm swept downward, meeting the Tengu's sword strike head-on.

"Boom!" The collision of the two forces was like an exploding bomb. Air vortexes scattered in all directions, and the surrounding martial practitioners hastily retreated further.

It was an even match! The Tengu's advantage lay in the absolute ferocity of his strength, while Xiao Kaitian's trump card lay in the transcendence of his Divine Source power. Their clash ended in a complete stalemate.

"Interesting!" Red light flared brilliantly in the Tengu's eyes, and the illusory wings on his back flapped. His entire body slowly rose into mid-air.

This was an existence that transcended the physical common sense of the world. Even if martial practitioners reached the peak of the Grandmaster realm, as long as they remained bound to this world, they could manage walking on air to some extent, but actual flight was utterly impossible.

"A Wanderer... Is this the power of a Wanderer..." someone muttered in awe.

Yet immediately, that exclamation turned into terror. Suspended in mid-air, the Tengu tossed away the Japanese katana in his hand. "As expected, I still don't like using weapons."

"Xiao Kaitian, you truly are a stunning existence. I am growing more and more interested in your body. Next, taste this move of mine."

He likewise raised his right hand high. Along with the elevation of his arm, an indescribable force rapidly condensed into a small red sphere between his raised fingers.

"So this is your ultimate technique." Xiao Kaitian gritted his teeth. Compared to this power, the gap was simply too vast. He glanced across the scene: there were still at least a hundred martial practitioners present, none of whom realized what was about to happen as they all stared upward in wonder.

"My killer move, chatter," the Tengu's mouth curved into an arc. "Perish completely, Devouring Tengu!"

He violently pressed his right hand downward. The small red sphere plummeted rapidly, transforming into a massive formation pattern that covered the sky above Xiao Kaitian and the others.

Between the formation lines, countless incomprehensible text symbols flowed with a glowing red light. This sensory experience lasted merely an instant before the entire formation flared with intense red light, descending in a hemispherical shape.

"Base potential, maximum release!" Almost simultaneously, without the slightest hesitation, Xiao Kaitian activated the technique of the Light of Divine Source. As one pearl of Divine Source Light was extinguished, his entire body emanated a natural-colored radiance.

Acceleration! It was one of Xiao Kaitian's special skills. The speed reached instantaneously was twice that of normal limits. Amidst his flickering afterimage, he wrapped his arm around Bai Kou's slender waist, rapidly evacuating the battlefield with her.

The martial practitioners, however, did not possess such swift reflexes. By the time some of them realized the danger and tried to flee, the semi-circular red barrier had already descended.

"Boom, boom, boom!" Streaks of red light rained down. Whatever they touched seemed to be devoured by something, instantly vanishing. Some martial practitioners who failed to dodge in time had their entire bodies or halves of their bodies vanish into thin air.

Yet this was merely the beginning. When one of the red beams struck near the luminous crystal on the ground, the moment it swallowed the crystal, a bizarre transformation occurred.

Within the entire semi-circular curtain, centered suddenly around the crystal, a cluster of golden light rapidly expanded in a vortex pattern. Constrained by the barrier, these golden lights crashed frantically back and forth inside the semi-circular enclosure.

Whenever the light struck someone, that person would emit piercing, agonizing screams. They would age rapidly—their hair, skin, bones, and internal organs withering and disappearing one by one, quickly turning into skeletons, and then vanishing into microscopic dust that scattered into the air.

As for others, they continuously shrank, growing younger, turning into youths, children, infants... and ultimately vanishing.

Nearly a hundred martial practitioners who had participated in the spirit crystal competition were trapped within the semi-circular barrier, undergoing baptism after the crystal's eruption.

What was originally intended to be a source of power fought over by martial practitioners had transformed into a lethal weapon in this moment—an inescapable weapon.

Groups of martial practitioners continuously vanished into the golden light. This was the aftereffect triggered by the explosion of the luminous crystal: the punishment for three-dimensional beings recklessly toying with four-dimensional objects.

Even the ground began to vanish in some places while bulging upward in others. The seawater did the same, freezing in some areas and boiling into steam in others. All matter, under the runaway flow or regression of time, underwent various uncontrollable changes according to the physical laws of this dimension.

Xiao Kaitian and Bai Kou stood far away, yet witnessing the scene before them, they could not help but fall into a speechless silence.

"Is this... the consequence of attempting to control a power that exceeds one's own limits?" Bai Kou concluded.

Xiao Kaitian set Bai Kou down beside him. He remained silent. The Tengu's existence was simply too dangerous; he had to be dealt with right here and now!