The Ancient Deity Plateau stood by the bank of the river that flowed and tumbled for three thousand miles.

The plateau was surrounded by Essence Qi. Winds carried the rumbles of thunder from the distance as lightning poked through dark clouds, illuminating the flat ground. It was a very rare and perfect place for seeking enlightenment. No wonder it would attract so many young cultivators to gather there and compete with each other.

However, there and then, the mood at the plateau was tense.

“Did I hear it right? Elixir Monarch Chen wants to kill Lichen?”

“That is absurd! The Wang Family had revoked his Elixir Monarch title, he’s a nobody now. Even if the Heavenly Jade Sword Prince is willing to spare his life for the sake of his alchemy skills, he would not let him get away with it unpunished.”

“Chen Beixuan must have lost touch with reality after being worshiped for a few days.”

Many people shook their heads in their minds.

Elixir Monarch was just an empty title; it meant nothing without the backing and recognition of powerful factions. It was as empty as a deadman’s eyes in front of Heavenly Lord Families.

In a way, the Elixir Monarch meant much less than the title of a Heavenly Alchemist.

A Heavenly Alchemist had to become a Heavenly Lord first and had enough personal strength to sit at the same table with other powerful factions.

“Nonsense.”

Nin Haichao snorted.

“Elixir Monarch Chen, you are getting too carried away with your success.”

Feng Yuqiu shook his head.

“He’s starting to crack.”

Hu Mei let out a derisive smile.

The other elites on the Longevity Roll didn’t even say a thing since they were convinced that Chen Fan was doomed from the outset. Neither had Heavenly Jade Sword Prince or Wang Xuanlong ever doubted Chen Fan’s Alchemy Art, but they would rather handle under average alchemists to do their bidding than having to deal with an Elixir Monarch’s attitude.

“Wu Baisu, Young Master Wang has just revoked his title. We will take Chen Beixuan with us until we have decided his punishment.”

Hu Xiao sauntered over.

“Over my dead body!” Wu Baisu rose to her feet and protested. However, she knew that the Wu Family could not hold out against the combined might of so many powerful families. She looked over and turned to Wu Baisu in a fit of desperation.

However, Wu Baisu had kept her silence.

The dealings between Chen Fan and the Wu Family were purely business. The Wu Family might have been willing to eliminate minor players such as the Flying Feather Sect for Chen Fan, but would never step to defend him in front of the Heavenly Lord Families. Worse, the Wang Family and the Three Major Heavenly Sects were involved. Even Wu Wendin would have to think twice before crossing the red line.

“Chen Beixuan, please follow me. You can rest assured that the Hu family will give you a proper trial.”

Hu Xiao cracked a smile and reached a hand toward Chen Fan.

In the sky, a golden palm appeared out of nowhere. It was four meters wide and it’s glinting surface looked extremely tough. It bore down on Chen Fan. Hu Xiao’s attack was carried out with energy from his Superior-grade Golden Core. Before the claw landed on Chen Fan, the ground was pressed in despite the protective arrays left by the Heavenly Lord.

“Stop!”

Lin Wuhua flew out with a blade in one hand. However, Hu Xiao knocked her off course with the flick of a finger. If Zhao Juexian hadn’t acted quickly, she might have been killed by Hu Xiao. Zhao Juexian straightened his back and summoned an apparition of a huge python. The python flew out and blocked the palm attack.

“What’s the meaning of this? You want to fight me again?”

Hu Xiao sniggered.

He had brought down Zhao Juexian the last time they fought. However, he was later defeated by Chen Fan. He dreamed of avenging his defeat and redeem himself, and the day had finally come.

Hu Xiao threw his head back and shouted, “Very well then. I shall bring both of you to heel.”

Suddenly, six sparkling purple Talisman Inscriptions flew out of his eyes and formed six copies of Hu Xiao around him.

“Nine Illusions of Heavenly Fox!”

The secret art of the Hu family was revealed once more. This time, Hu Xiao’s copy looked much more vivid than the previous time. The energy inside of those apparitions had also doubled.

“Boom!”

Hu Xiao, along with his six copies, charged at Chen Fan.

Zhao Juexian was able to stop the six copies in their tracks, but not Hu Xiao himself. He darted left and right, and passed Zhao Juexian’s defense like a phantom. In a blink, he arrived in front of Chen Fan. His long hair and sleeves flowed against the wind, looking unearthly and elfin.

Everyone watched as Hu Xiao lifted one arm and reached toward Chen Fan.

“Come with me!”

His hand increased size rapidly and turned into the Divine Claw of the Heavenly Fox. It cut off Chen Fan’s escape route, before it even landed on him. Not even a late-stage Golden Core Cultivator could dodge this attack.

Wu Qinyan was turned into a bundle of nerves. She looked at Wu Baisu several times, but was disappointed to see her indifference.

Yun Yier shouted out her distress, “Senior Chen!”

All the audience held their breath.

Chen Fan had made as many enemies as he made friends. The man with a folded fan clenched tightly onto the wooden spine of this accessory and fell into distress.

“Chen Beixuan, the title of Elixir Monarch means nothing. The world is tightly under the grasp of great families. You will regret ever messing with me!”

Seeing the victory was at his finger tip, a smile broke over Hu Xiao’s face.

However, only a fraction of a second later, the smile froze on his face.

He watched as Chen Fan looked up with an impassive face and raised a finger. His movement was almost lazy.

“Boom!”

His finger had an azure luster and halfway through the air, the azure light suddenly burned more intensely as the finger grew in size. In a blink, it was the size of a mountain.

Looking from above, one would see an azure finger poking through the clouds to pin down its target.

“Azure Thearch… God Shattering Jab,” Chen Fan announced the name of the move with an even voice.

Suddenly, a primordial force that was older than time itself rolled in from all directions and loomed above the ground. Everyone felt that they were being watched by a primordial god, and the finger was his retribution.

So powerful was the art that a Primordial Azure Thearch could shatter the sun with ease.

“Boom!”

Under Hu Xiao’s incredulous glare, the enormous claw shattered into pieces in an instant. The mountainous finger kept a true path with a belligerent force.

“Oh no!”

Hu Xiao’s face darkened as the six Talisman Inscriptions glittered at the same time.

The six copies appeared again and surrounded Hu Xiao. Hu Xiao flew into the sky with six streaks of purple light trailing behind, each going off toward a different direction. No one knew which of them was Hu Xiao and which were his copies.

However, Chen Fan didn’t need to know.

He pressed his finger down without aiming.

The Azure Thearch’s God Shattering Jab was far from the deadliest Divine Power Chen Fan knew, but it was already an overkill move against Hu Xiao.

“Bang!”

The six copies of Hu Xiao suddenly stopped cold in their tracks for a fraction of a second, but it was enough to let Chen Fan discern the real target.

The energy finger pierced through the clouds and landed a gentle jab on one of the apparitions.

“Pop!”

The other six apparitions disappeared like popped bubbles. They were reduced to fragments of Talisman Inscriptions and fell from the sky, leaving Hu Xiao alone in the air.

A shocked expression surfaced on Hu Xiao’s face before he was pressed deeply into the Ancient Deity Plateau. His robust Heavenly Fox body was squished into a pulp along with all the spirit treasures he carried with him.

Hu Xiao was killed with one jab!

“Stth!”

The development silenced all the audience.

At first they were shocked and dumbfounded, but a few seconds later, terror started to crawl onto their faces. Nin Haichao, Feng Yuqiu and Shang Xinkong were all shaken to the core while Wang Xuanlong and the elites gaped at Chen Fan in disbelief.

“You… you killed Hu Xiao?” Wu Qinyan stammered.

The ethereal beauty on her face was replaced with daze and disbelief.

Mu Hongti and Lin Wuhua both covered their mouths to stifle their cries. Wu Baisu widened her eyes while they were glued onto Chen Fan. It was as if she had never known him before.

He killed Hu Xiao!

The Second Lord Hu ranked among the top ten of the cultivators of the young generation.

Although he was only at the mid-stage of the Golden Core, his Golden Core was level seven. Not even Lord Beihan Zhao Juexian was his worthy opponent, much less anyone else. In addition, Hu Xiao’s Heavenly Fox bloodline had given him an extraordinary physique, coupled with the use of powerful Dharma Treasures; it would have been impossible to capture him.

However, Chen Fan had killed him with a finger jab.

Wu Qinyan felt like dreaming while Violet Moon Fairy’s eyes were filled with disbelief.

“You killed my Big Brother!” the alluring Hu Mei screamed, as poisonous fire spilled out from her eyes, “Chen Beixuan, you are dead! We will not let you get away with this. He was the heir of the Hu family, killing him is a proclamation of war against the Hu family. We don’t care who you are and where you are, we will hunt you down.”

Before she finished speaking, Chen Fan murmured, “Would you shut up?”

He flicked a finger, sending out a ray of azure energy. The light was light and insubstantial, but as soon as it landed on Hu Mei, the girl’s body froze and then exploded from the inside.

Chen Fan had killed the daughter of the Hu family with the flick of a finger.

A deadly silence fell over the plateau again.

“Who else wants to die?”

Chen Fan scanned the crowd around him with a cold light in his eyes.

No one said a word.

A minute earlier, no one believed in Chen Fan’s power. They had finally seen proof of Chen Fan’s terrifying might right in front of them, in the form of two wads of bloody mess.

Even though he was surrounded by ten thousand mighty cultivators, no one dared to challenge him.