High above in the sky, Liu Xing stood on a floating shield. He wore a pure white robe with a golden sash around his waist. His hair billowed in the wind as he looked down with a focused yet blank expression, as if the people beneath him were mere ants. The light from the giant fire sword, capable of cleaving a mansion in two, the shining hand mirror, the blue dome, and the glowing green eyes of the dragon painted his face with colorful light. Yet his eyes remained like two pools of black ink.

As he appeared, murmurs and chatter faded, and people pointed upward as if at a specter that had suddenly arrived. Most cultivators of the Qing clan did not have sharp qi senses; only a few had techniques specifically for detecting people, and even they could not sense Liu Xing's arrival. It was as if one moment he was not there, and the next, he was. Similarly, the dome had not detected Liu Xing's presence, even though it was specifically designed to do so. Normally, the moment a qi signature of a certain magnitude drew closer, it should have alerted the anchor—the patriarch—of their arrival. And yet, only now, when the man had already appeared, did the dome send a vibrating signal to the patriarch's right foot, announcing an enemy's presence.

"D-don't panic!" a beginner cultivator shouted. "Our layers of defense are impenetrable!"

"Yeah! No one can enter this barrier," another exclaimed.

"Liu Xing, this is me, your ancestor! Pay respect to me and pass through this barrier to kiss my feet!" another one mocked, eliciting laughter from the crowd.

Though laughter erupted, it was not wholehearted. Smiles did not reach their eyes, and many cultivators inside the dome were sweating. They felt the heavy pressure of Liu Xing's presence. It was as if the air were imbued with his intent, making them feel as though those two pools of black ink were everywhere, and their laughter and mockery were directly under his gaze. It was uncomfortable, unsettling, and for some, downright terrifying. However, they too believed in their defenses, hence their half-hearted laughter and lukewarm mockery.

"A barrier and some accessories," Liu Xing stated, his voice calm but heavy. "Interesting. Though not enough to hide you from me."

The patriarch narrowed his eyes at his enemy high in the sky.His sudden appearance rang alarm bells in his mind. Either Liu Xing had a concealing technique, a unique treasure, or consumable talismans that allowed him to truly vanish. He had heard the report from his younger brother and assumed it was normal invisibility. Apparently, it was not. Not that it would help him. Liu Xing had warned them he would come, but Qing Yunxiao had prepared not only for defense but for offense as well.

He made two hand signs, and once he finished, the smoke dragon began to roar, the giant fire sword began humming and vibrating, and the mirror let out an intense light that made the newly arrived darkness recede, illuminating the area around the dome so nothing could hide.

"Let's begin," said Liu Xing as he pulled something from the bag at his waist. The first thing that emerged was the handle of a sword. It was gray and looked as if it were made of stone. He pulled and pulled until a long, slightly curved blade settled by his right arm. Still standing atop the floating shield, Liu Xing took a relaxed stance and sent a huge amount of qi into his stone blade. It began to glow with a purple light. The moment the purple light outlined the blade, the air grew heavy and cold, pressing down on everyone who watched.

Upon seeing and feeling that glowing stone blade, the patriarch looked calm outwardly, but inside, he was surprised. One of the key points to breaking through to the Core Splitting realm was to hone one's senses to monitor the entire body during the process. It was no exaggeration to say that within the Qing clan—even compared to his father—he had the sharpest senses, and he could feel the immense amount of qi pouring into that stone blade was akin to dozens of waves crashing against a cliff.

Qing Haoran's eyes widened too. While he was lacking in many aspects compared to his brother, he too could sense the massive amount of qi in that stone sword, as well as a hair-raising danger emitting from it. It was as if the space around it was distorted, though a moment later, he realized it was his own eyes and senses that were being deceived.

The grandfather similarly felt immense danger from it, and he shouted to his son, "What are you waiting for?! Don't let him unleash that attack!"

The blade grew heavier with each passing second, but Liu Xing kept pouring qi into his stone blade, intending to push his limit. He had spent half a day filling the Ethereal Pearl as his reserve, and though the amount of potent qi he sent to his blade did not even make a dent in his own reserves or the pearl's, it was undoubtedly the most qi he had ever poured into a single attack.

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After a while, when the heaviness was unbearable and the sword shone with purple light, Liu Xing shouted, "Eat this!"

He swung his stone blade downward. The swing was slow for Liu Xing's standards, but for most people inside the dome, it was unbelievably fast. One moment the sword was gathering qi; the next, it was swung downward. In that instant, a giant crescent of purple qi shot down like a great swallow descending from the sky. It whistled through the air, creating two purple trails from its tips.

As it descended, the patriarch created another hand sign and shouted, "Go!"

The giant fire sword instantly moved. It adjusted its position to point its tip directly at the crescent of qi. Then, like a rocket, it shot toward the attack with a deep rumble, like a massive avalanche. In a moment, the giant fire sword and the crescent qi met in midair. When they collided, a shockwave spread from their meeting point, creating a huge wind that blasted outward. The houses near the Qing clan's estate were hit by the harsh wind; some of their lanterns swayed crazily like lanterns in a storm. Trees bent outward, some of their branches snapping. The crescent and the fire sword were like two bulls ramming their heads together. Sparks ignited from where they met, and they pushed against each other until they trembled. For a moment, it was a tie. However, the tie was merely for a moment.

Soon, a crack echoed through the air. The cultivators of the Qing clan pointed up and murmured as they saw the giant fire sword—so large that they had no hope of holding it, let alone clashing with it—begin to crack like parched earth under a harsh summer sun. The cracks spread everywhere, until a loud sound like a hammer shattering a pane of glass reverberated through the sky. The fire sword shattered into thousands of little fire fragments, and the crescent of purple qi descended with a howling wind, as if roaring in victory.

"That giant fire sword… it shattered!"

"No way! It must be an illusion! This can't be true. My eyes must be deceiving me!"

"Do not despair! That attack looks a bit more fragile than before. It must be his ultimate technique. He can't shoot something like that anymore!"

"Look! The dragon is opening its mouth!"

Indeed, the smoke dragon opened its mouth. It gathered qi, sucking the air toward it. The wind, which had previously spread outward, reversed and swirled around the dragon's maw. Some of the trees that had bent outward now bent inward due to the intense suction. At the same time, the hand mirror descended, as if not wanting to get too close to the smoke dragon. It hovered only a meter away from the highest point of the blue dome. For a while, its mirror was pointed toward the dragon before focusing on the descending purple crescent.

The smoke dragon roared and shot a ball of wind and qi from its mouth. The ball formed a condensed beam of qi, akin to a laser blast, that could have swallowed a horse whole. As it rose toward the purple crescent, it whistled with an unsettling sound, like a ghost's screech. When the beam and the purple crescent met in midair, a green and purple spark ignited. Another huge shockwave formed and spread outward. However, a moment later the purple crescent cut through the attack, splitting the green beam of wind and qi in two like a knife through bamboo.

At that moment, the hand mirror suddenly shone brighter, and from its surface shot a green laser similar to the smoke dragon's attack. As it extended, it too created a screeching sound, and in an instant, it hit the side of the purple crescent. The moment it hit, the crescent was pushed to the side and then pierced. The green laser emerged from the other side of the purple qi, which suddenly broke in two and then swallowed whole by the qi beam.

At that moment, the Qing clan roared in victory.

"We succeeded! We won!"

"Glory to the Qing clan!"

The patriarch's face was cold, but even his lips tugged to the side as if he were trying to stop himself from smiling. His brother, on the other hand, smiled smugly, as if this victory were his and his alone. The old man said to the patriarch, "Don't be careless, keep your focus," but even he felt that it was over. That attack was strong. It must have used an ungodly amount of qi. Even if Liu Xing's qi was not depleted, he surely could not unleash another attack of the same magnitude. And if his strongest attack could not pierce their defense, then any attacks after this had no hope of breaking through.

"Interesting," Liu Xing said in the air.

"What is interesting? Huh? Still think you're better than us!" a cultivator shouted. "It seems the great sect is nothing!"

Taunts rained down on Liu Xing, which he answered with a ferocious smile. "That was merely an opening attack. I'll keep going."

At that, he released the stone blade from his hand. But instead of falling, it floated in the air. It positioned itself to Liu Xing's side and then began to glow with purple light once again. The purple light ignited faster than before.

"The same but weaker attack won't work!" someone shouted.

Liu Xing disregarded the shout, lowered his stance, and extended his right arm with palm pointed downward. The Qing clan could see that both of his hands wore black gauntlets that contrasted with his pure white robe, but the right gauntlet was slightly different. An orange spiral adorned it, and as people wondered what would happen, a ball of white light formed in front of his palm. It grew bigger, and bigger, and bigger, while the blade to his side shone with intense purple light.

"Let's see if you can handle both of these attacks!" Liu Xing shouted, and then unleashed both attacks at the same time.

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