In the black mist, a dark figure stood erect.
Black curses swirled around the person, yet they could not harm him in the slightest.
These curses acted like obedient children, manipulated by the shadowy figure.
"Crack."
In the next moment, something unexpected happened that stunned everyone.
The previously intact eyeball instantly burst and exploded.
The witch was completely dumbfounded.
She had never witnessed such a scene. Not only could her curses not get near him, but without him even lifting a finger, her own artifact for casting spells had cracked.
Who was this person?
"Who are you? You carry extremely powerful curses!"
The witch retreated a step, her face ashen.
Curses were also graded.
The curses the witch could cast were generally not high-level, and even if they were, they weren't significantly so.
However, the curses on this person had long surpassed the witch's capabilities.
What was most outrageous was that the curse the witch had just cast was one of aging and death.
This was clearly in direct opposition to the curses this person carried.
That was why she had been backlashed.
"Second Brother's aura is so powerful, it's like a celestial being descending. He doesn't even need to move, and someone else's casting tool cracks."
Fatty quipped from the side.
His eyes sparkled with admiration.
"Second Brother is mighty, Second Brother is domineering, Second Brother, you are Fatty's idol!"
"Boss, quickly praise Second Brother. You guys are 'good brothers'!"
Fatty acted as a cheerleader, even pulling Zhang Tian along.
Zhang Tian gave Fatty a sideward glance and ignored him, but Zhang Qilin's aura was indeed impressive!
The witch was bewildered. Was this truly a tomb-robbing crew? The abilities of this group had far exceeded her comprehension.
Especially this young man in black, he was simply unbelievable.
"Uh, it's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding."
"I'm actually a pitiable..."
Before the witch could finish speaking, Zhang Qilin swung his black gold ancient sword.
A dark blade gleamed, and the witch's head was severed from her body.
Following that, her skeleton turned to dust.
As the witch died, Hu Bayi's curse also vanished.
Looking at Zhang Qilin again, he was wearing a black hat, and his tall, slender figure was fully revealed beneath his trench coat.
At this moment, the black smoke dissipated, and Zhang Qilin stood in the black mist like a mysterious overlord.
"Good heavens, the curse suppression is working."
Zhang Tian put the Ershi back into his bag. He felt a tinge of pity for the witch.
Alas, why did she have to use a curse of aging and death? If she could have made Zhang Qilin age.
Then, perhaps, Zhang Qilin would have woken up laughing in his dreams.
Hu Bayi also shook his head slowly from the side.
"So tragic."
"Lao Hu, this is what happens when you try to show off in front of an expert."
Zhang Tian murmured, as Zhang Qilin slowly turned around.
Zhang Tian instantly swallowed.
At this moment, Zhang Qilin's trench coat was open. Because the clothes underneath were torn, his attire was essentially unbuttoned.
It perfectly displayed his abs and physique.
Zhang Qilin was generally lean, but his abdominal muscles, deltoids, and latissimus dorsi were quite developed.
His physique looked extremely well-proportioned. One could imagine a fair-skinned boy, about 1.8 meters tall, with muscles subtly outlined.
Fatty was already drooling with envy.
"Boss, this is Fatty's future goal."
Fatty sucked in his saliva.
"You only exercise in your dreams. You're useless."
Zhang Tian retorted to Fatty, who sputtered and couldn't speak.
"I'm back."
Zhang Qilin spoke slowly.
His clear voice carried a hint of emotional fluctuation.
Zhang Tian nodded.
"It's good that you're back."
With that, after truly sensing the aura emanating from Zhang Qilin, Zhang Tian was stunned.
Good heavens, he felt that Zhang Qilin had become even stronger.
He himself was only at the Grandmaster level, but this Zhang Qilin seemed to have surpassed the Great Grandmaster.
This feeling was simply unbelievable.
Originally, Zhang Tian had thought that one day he would be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with Zhang Qilin and catch up to his cultivation.
Now, it was as if the other party had cheated, his cultivation soaring.
Even a protagonist's halo wouldn't dare to operate like this, right?
"Mmm, not bad. After consuming the Flood Dragon Pill, your cultivation has reached the peak of Great Grandmaster."
"This is already the highest realm for a martial artist. To go higher will likely be difficult."
Daoist Yimei nodded with satisfaction.
If the Ancestor knew that the three disciples he had accepted this time were all monstrously talented.
He wondered if he would be so excited in his sleep that he wouldn't be able to rest.
"Peak Great Grandmaster? The highest realm for martial artists?"
"Master, you mean there are even higher realms?"
Zhang Tian immediately asked upon hearing this.
Daoist Yimei, hearing this, adopted the demeanor of a master teaching his disciple.
"Let me tell you, my disciple, there is always someone better. So don't be too confident. Although I am the number one genius of Maoshan, I have never been arrogant for a moment."
As Daoist Yimei spoke, crows flew over the heads of Zhang Tian and the others.
You weren't arrogant?
"And after the martial artist realm come those legendary immortals. I don't know if you've heard of them. Before the various dynasties, emperors all sought the favor of celestial beings."
"And these so-called celestial beings are those above the Great Grandmaster realm."
Daoist Yimei spoke, and then explained the subsequent realms.
"Inner Core Stage, Shattered Core Stage..."
According to Daoist Yimei, his own master was only at the Shattered Core Stage, and the levels beyond that were only found in ancient times and had not been seen since.
Moreover, Daoist Yimei only knew these two levels.
"What! Shattered Core Stage? Boss, is it called the Shattered Core Stage because they smash kidney stones?"
"Shattered Core, Nascent Soul?"
Fatty chuckled, and Zhang Tian was also exasperated.
Good heavens, this sounded like the pronouncements of patients in a mental hospital.
For a moment, Zhang Tian felt as if he had entered a team of mentally ill individuals.
Kidney stones, shattering kidney stones, and then ascending to immortality. Yes, it was a bit like that.
Shaking his head, he cast these distracting thoughts aside.
"It seems we still have a long way to go."
Zhang Tian said casually.
As for the abilities of the subsequent realms, according to Daoist Yimei.
The Ancestor could even glide briefly in the forest.
Clearly, in the later stages, places like the Kunlun Divine Palace would likely be even more difficult.
Zhang Tian was now curious about how powerful the Nine-Story Demon Pagoda, the Kunlun Divine Palace, and other such places truly were.
Without further words, the group looked towards the altar.
Hu Bayi's compass needle pointed downwards.
"Heavenly Veins converge, all things return to the void."
"Boss, this is a place where seven stars align, and it's even guarded by four great star formations."
"This is also the location of a myriad-year dragon vein. Above it is the central region of the Greater Khingan Range, also known as the Dragon's Backbone. Below it, a gold vein is hidden!"
Hu Bayi spoke. He examined the altar repeatedly, finally placing his hand on a small notch on the altar.
"Huang Shuliang's coffin should be down there."
Zhang Tian murmured, then walked towards where the witch had been.
He slowly picked up the books on the ground and a few jade pendants.
These were the books that had been on the witch, and the jade pendants were from the altar.
Zhang Tian did not intend to examine them immediately, planning to do so when it was safe.
Seeing Zhang Tian take the items, Hu Bayi pressed a mechanism, and the altar indeed began to descend.
Zhang Qilin stood in front of everyone, his expression serious.
He sensed a dangerous aura from within.
Fatty kept glancing at Zhang Qilin's stomach. If he wasn't afraid of Second Brother hitting him, Fatty might have reached out to touch it.
"Fatty's dream."
Fatty was filled with envy and was determined to work hard to become stronger, at least in his abdominal area.