A verdant hurricane rose from seemingly nowhere, as if born from the netherworld, sharp and frigid, carrying an endless killing intent, rushing towards Yang Hong who was still groggy in the room.
He had lived years of constant trepidation, and finally, after returning to the normal world and managing a sound sleep, he indeed slept deeply.
However, the deep-seated vigilance within him had never waned.
Now, in his daze, seeing someone launch a fatal attack against him, he naturally unleashed his strongest counterattack.
Without shouting any move names, he directly and silently activated the Sword Domain he had perfected in the Hongtong Secret Realm. Countless sword qi and sword intents immediately shot out from his body, blocking the sudden emerald hurricane.
*Crackling… Crunch… Crunch…*
Under the impact of the hurricane and sword intents, the "Lin Feng Single-Family Building" began to disintegrate from the nineteenth floor upwards.
"My lords, my lords, it's all a misunderstanding, a pure misunderstanding! Please, noble sirs, spare us!"
The stout innkeeper was on the verge of tears, shouting desperately, wishing to make them stop.
However, Qing Rongchang was too accustomed to arrogance. How could he possibly heed the words of a mere innkeeper at the eighth stage of Tribulation Crossing?
Yang Hong was still groggy.
He only subconsciously knew that he mustn't harm humans, but demons could perish!
Thus, upon hearing the stout innkeeper's plea, he retracted his spreading sword domain, transforming it into a three-meter giant sword that pierced directly towards the center of the hurricane outside the door.
"No—"
"Not good—"
"Stop!"
Amidst three cries of alarm, Yang Hong's sword domain giant sword, while avoiding Feng Ruhua who had already fallen unconscious, accurately struck Qing Rongchang who was still channeling his full power.
*Bang—*
With a crisp explosion, Qing Rongchang's body was torn asunder. Countless enormous pieces of flesh, along with a torrent of blood, shot outwards, smashing nearby rooms, floors, and even reaching outside the inn.
The scene was incredibly gruesome.
"Guard!"
Finally, Yang Hong's mind cleared up considerably. He knew the power of his ultimate move and immediately shifted his sword domain, protecting the nearby living beings who had not yet died.
Priority was given to protecting humans, and demons would be protected if there was spare capacity; otherwise, they were on their own.
"Who are you, fellow Daoist, and why do you kill people on my Fire Phoenix Island!"
While Yang Hong was protecting the innocent, a streak of fire shot rapidly from afar, transforming into a stunning beauty with white hair before Yang Hong.
The ancient ancestor of the Fire Phoenix clan, Feng Wei, had arrived. However, she was a bit late. Qing Rongchang was already dead, his body scattered on the ground.
Yet, her arrival was timely. As she spoke to Yang Hong, she used her own mana to protect Qing Rongchang's Nascent Soul and quickly gathered his remains.
With these two items, Qing Rongchang had a high chance of rebirth through the Phoenix clan's innate ability, "Nirvana."
"I had no intention of killing anyone. This idiot wanted to kill me, and he was killed by a backlash from my own mana."
Yang Hong spoke calmly and floated towards Feng Wei.
He could sense that this ageless, white-haired beauty before him was a master at the Immortal level.
Therefore, while mobilizing all his mana to protect himself, he offered an explanation.
Whether she believed him or not was unimportant. What mattered was whether he could defeat this white-haired beauty.
"Your mana is truly extraordinary, fellow Daoist. Merely a backlash, and it was filled with sword qi and sword intent, instantly killing a ninth-tier Demon Emperor! If you intended to attack, wouldn't it be filled with Dao principles?"
Feng Wei stared at Yang Hong, her gaze filled with surprise. She could sense that the young man before her was genuinely young, not exceeding 500 years old, yet possessing mana at the peak of Mahayana.
Furthermore, his mana was both pure and potent; she wasn't confident she could win against this young human.
Such a genius was rare among humans, and such geniuses usually had powerful backing, making her hesitant to act rashly. Thus, she continued to collect Qing Rongchang's scattered remains while engaging Yang Hong in conversation.
"There are no Dao principles, but there are rules."
Yang Hong condensed a wisp of Sword Rule onto his right index finger, then slowly clenched his fist, allowing Feng Wei to clearly see the rule power on his finger.
Spiritual Charm, Dao Charm, Law, Rule, and finally Dao Principle—this was the hierarchy of rules as Yang Hong understood it. However, he was unsure if this classification held true in the Immortal Realm.
Before a Demon Immortal, he felt he had the ability to protect himself, but if he could avoid a fight, it would be best. Therefore, he displayed the wisp of rule power he had just comprehended, hoping to avert a needless battle.
"Rule! You—a Mahayana cultivator can actually touch upon the artistic conception of the Rule level? Are you an Upper Immortal down to the mortal realm for training?"
Feng Wei was indeed startled by the wisp of Rule power Yang Hong displayed!
As far as she knew, in the lower realms, the highest artistic conception cultivators could touch was Law, and most cultivators, even after ascending, might not necessarily grasp the Rule-level artistic conception of Law.
Suddenly encountering a Mahayana cultivator at the Rule level truly shocked a Demon Immortal like Feng Wei.
This was because the artistic conception Feng Wei currently dealt with was only at the Law level, and she herself hadn't mastered any Law, only having a preliminary understanding.
This led her to mistakenly believe Yang Hong was an reincarnated Upper Immortal.
"No, I am a genuine native of the Taiyuan Realm. I simply cultivate more diligently than others."
"..."
Suddenly, she felt an urge to kill this scoundrel.
Diligent cultivation allowed one to comprehend "Rules"?
Then what was her ten thousand years of arduous cultivation worth? Had she been slacking off all along?
She could only cough awkwardly to change the subject:
"Cough, cough—What do you call yourself, fellow Daoist? What business brings you to my Fire Phoenix Island?"
"I'm just passing through. I'm preparing to return to the Taiyuan Continent and happened to pass by Fire Phoenix Island, so I stopped for a meal and a rest."
Yang Hong shrugged, choosing to speak the truth.
However, his innocent expression made Feng Wei want to lash out again.
You were just passing through, and you cleaved a ninth-tier Demon Emperor, a ninth-tier Demon Emperor who was said to have a high chance of ascending within a hundred years?
Aren't you being too overbearing?
"Cough, cough—Fellow Daoist, why did you kill a ninth-tier Demon Emperor of my Phoenix clan?"
"Hmm—He was a ninth-tier Demon Emperor?" Hearing this, Yang Hong was stunned. He then looked at the still-shocked Nascent Soul for two more seconds.
This made Qing Rongchang almost cry from fright.
"He really was a ninth-tier Demon Emperor. I just didn't expect him to be so weak. My apologies, I didn't mean to."
Saying this, Yang Hong even cupped his fists in a slight bow towards the Nascent Soul behind Feng Wei as an apology.
"You—you—you bully—"
"Hm?"
The Nascent Soul, Qing Rongchang, intended to complain or curse Yang Hong a few more times, but when Yang Hong's questioning gaze fell upon him, he immediately shut up in fear and quickly hid behind Feng Wei.
This action caused Feng Wei's brows to furrow. She felt a bit disgusted by Qing Rongchang's cowardice and a bit annoyed by Yang Hong's overbearing nature.
"Fellow Daoist—I am Feng Wei, the current clan leader of the Fire Phoenix clan. What do you call yourself, and where do you come from?"
Feng Wei also cupped her fists slightly, inquiring about Yang Hong's identity once more.
"Oh—My name is Li Sen, from the Taiyuan Continent. Just a rogue cultivator."
Fine, Yang Hong remained as cautious as ever. Lies came easily to his lips.
"Rouge—Rogue cultivator?"
Feng Wei's face turned red with anger at Yang Hong's statement.
Rogue cultivator?
Your whole family are rogue cultivators!
How can a rogue cultivator have such powerful cultivation and such potent killing intent?
"I am indeed a rogue cultivator."
Yang Hong nodded again, confirming and reconfirming.