As the glow behind their heads grew stronger, their eyes began to shift. Their peripheral vision tracked each other’s movements. Meanwhile, Li Xuanfeng stood motionless, raising his white bow.
His entire body was shattered, hollowed out by karmic flames burning within. His aura weakened bit by bit, yet he still stood firm, the string of his bow quietly humming.
What is he doing?
The five were momentarily stunned as he drew his bowstring back to a full moon. Some chuckled, and one monk wielding a hammer even laughed aloud, "Bathed in karmic fire, what could you possibly shoot!"
Despite the mocking words, all five tightened their guard. Mana surged within them, ready to intercept at any time. It wasn’t carelessness; they simply didn’t want to be the first to make a move and risk falling to a teammate’s betrayal. And so, all five froze in mutual hesitation.
Li Xuanfeng raised his bow and aimed it straight at the hammer-wielding monk. The latter’s expression darkened, while the other four immediately smiled and activated their dharma artifacts, rising higher into the air.
Buzz!
A thunderous roar rang out as the white glow vanished from Li Xuanfeng’s bowstring. The other four simultaneously hurled their dharma artifacts at the hammer-wielding monk, whose face changed drastically as he cried out in horror, "You fools, how could you be so careless!"
Buzz...
The white light shimmered in Li Xuanfeng’s hand, but the white arrow materialized in front of another man, whose face bore a wrathful vajra expression.
Sword in hand, startled and furious, his voice thundered, "You dare!"
"Sowing discord..."
"Good!"
The hammer-wielding monk’s expression darkened, while the other three rejoiced. For the first time, they felt admiration for the white-armored man before them, Pity, how many arrows can he still fire? No matter his schemes, death awaits!
Li Xuanfeng was clearly engulfed in karmic fire; there was no faking that. His mystical arrows had grown weak and feeble. The three relaxed, sneering internally, Tricks of an insect! All he’s doing is helping us claim more glory!
While the five circled in midair, Li Xuanfeng pulled back his bow once again, and this time, a golden-red arrow shimmered on the string.
The arrow was slim but blindingly bright. It was the very mystical arrow forged in Green Pine Temple’s Mirage Mirror Heaven and tempered by Merging Fire and Binding Ring. It was highly resistant to flames. The other five had long melted in karmic fire, while this one merely glowed red.
Li Xuanfeng focused completely. Golden light burst from his white bow, gathering in his palm. Dense Astral Qi poured out like water, forcing the karmic flames around him back three feet.
He no longer looked like a man at the end of his rope. On the contrary, he was even more terrifying than before. The edges of his shattered white armor burned with searing brilliance, stirring fear deep in the soul.
Buzz...
All five froze as the familiar dread of death returned in full force. As Astral Qi surged outward, they all let out sharp howls in unison, shaking the flames around them, "Aaah!!"
Unbelievable shock filled each of their hearts. A single thought surfaced in all their minds, Impossible!
A torrent of golden light erupted like a pillar that connected heaven and earth, parting the karmic fire and converging into the golden-red arrow, which screamed with an ear-piercing shriek.
This arrow was forged from all the Astral Qi Li Xuanfeng had accumulated over countless shots. Over twenty years ago, he had used it against Yu Muxian and nearly killed that genius in a single strike...
Now, after twenty years, twenty years of late-stage Foundation Establishment Realm, of bloodshed and killing, every arrow held the force of years of effort. How could this accumulated force not be terrifying?
When the karmic fire scorched him, he realized his white armor could no longer protect him. But his decades of combat experience, far exceeding the battles these monks had ever seen, he made a split-second calculation and unleashed this arrow.
Buzz...
The five Master Monks in the air were instantly engulfed by Astral Qi. One after another, they and their dharma artifacts were devoured until they were completely erased in that overwhelming storm of Astral Qi.
The brilliant golden light flooded the entire Kongsijiang Demon Bowl. The mountain-sized artifact trembled, letting out a dreadful, muffled roar.
The two closest monks didn’t even have time to groan as their bodies and souls were obliterated in an instant. Even their dharma artifacts turned into golden dust as they were completely annihilated.
The next two had unfortunate comrades shielding them, one blocked by the white arrow, the other by a teammate’s body, yet they too were reduced to ash. Only two faint streams of light flickered in the karmic fire, falling earthward like meteors and veering northward toward reincarnation.
The last monk managed to shift half a step before his body vaporized into nothingness. He only had half a head remaining. His eyes were filled with disbelief, and he had no jaw left to speak. The head tumbled into the karmic fire with a dull thud.
"Ugh..."
He barely formed a mouth, but not a single word emerged. The Kongsijiang Demon Bowl grew dim. The white-armored man now stood before him, eyes cold and resolute. Hde stomped down without hesitation.
Crack!
Shards like colored glass scattered amid the rolling flames. The severed head still held a pleading look in its eyes, but it was crushed underfoot. The supreme golden qi shattered soul and spirit alike, ending his life.
Silence finally returned within the karmic fire. Li Xuanfeng was surrounded by the remains of monks and scattered dharma artifacts. The fire’s tongues licked at the white armor, gradually consuming the golden qi that cloaked him.
Drip!
Autumn dew trickled down Li Xuanfeng’s armor, only to evaporate into nothing in midair from the fire. He slowly pulled the golden spear from his chest and dropped it before him with a clang.
Crack...
He crushed the glass beneath his foot, then slowly sat down. The two Immortal Foundations within him had been reduced to a thin, flickering layer.
He had a faint smile beneath the pale-white runes as he sat atop a mound of broken dharma bodies like a man on his throne. His white bow was lodged in the chest of a corpse as it rested gently in his palm.
Beneath his feet stretched a field of shattered limbs like stained glass. There were arms, legs, snarling faces, and vajra-like bodies, all lying still in the karmic fire. The white bow stood beside him, glowing faintly.
He slowly adjusted his breathing as he waited for the remaining monks to arrive.
But perhaps the other Mahas had intervened, or perhaps the remaining Master Monks were not fools and had already withdrawn. The Kongsijiang Demon Bowl hovered motionless in the sky, but with no monks to sustain it, it lingered for no more than ten seconds before reluctantly fading back into the great void.
Li Xuanfeng sat atop the mountain of monk corpses. The scenery of Jiangnan finally returned in his flame-dimmed eyes.
The surging river flowed east, eddies curling through currents fast and slow. Its cold indifference remained timeless. Jagged rocks jutted up; waves rose and fell. The view was no different than before he entered the formation.
Only now, the river’s surface was crowded with petals, drifting and scattering freely. They clustered together, flowing with the current from west to east, rushing toward the distant Eastern Sea.
His eyes shifted slightly, turning north, along the river’s stretch of fifty kilometers from north to south. The ground was covered in glassy shards, all tinted rose.
"Truly beautiful," he muttered.