Chapter 85: The Finger Flick Seen Once More

The immortal servant who had accompanied Li Haiwei was utterly terrified, his complexion twisting in horror. After all, in a world where the immortal mountains reigned supreme, it was almost unimaginable that anyone would dare to provoke the majesty of an immortal master.

One had to know that when an immortal master walked beneath the immortal mountains, they represented the very face of those peaks.

For a moment, the scene fell into an eerie silence. Apart from a few members of the Li clan who had perhaps been briefed by the elders and maintained their composure, the rest were practically dumbstruck. After all, they had originally assumed Chen Hongxu was simply waiting here to be chosen by the immortal masters as a promising youth to be brought up to the immortal mountains.

As for the terror gripping Li Haiwei and his group, it went without saying.

Chen Hongxu stared at the talented young man wearing the purple-gold crown ahead, the one Li Haiwei had addressed as Senior Brother Kong, and smiled, shifting his foot slightly to the left.

Li Haiwei’s shrill scream erupted instantly, shattering the brief yet eerie silence.

Amidst the chorus of screams—"Ah, ah, ah, ah..."—the expressions of the group who had descended from the immortal mountain grew increasingly grim.

"Attack! Kill this ignorant brat!" The youth surnamed Kong, wearing the purple-gold crown, seemed to be the leader of the group. His eyes narrowed as he waved his hand and barked the command.

The surrounding fellows who had come down from the immortal mountain—already accustomed to viewing themselves as superior beings—were rubbing their fists and had been waiting for this order. Thus, the moment the youth surnamed Kong finished speaking, they eagerly swarmed forward and surrounded Chen Hongxu.

"Gang up on one person, are we?" A playful smile played at the corners of Chen Hongxu’s mouth.

"Hmph." The crowd surrounding Chen Hongxu naturally had no concept of single combat. Having taken their positions, they didn't waste any breath talking to Chen Hongxu, instead assuming their stances and initiating an offensive.

Chen Hongxu’s eyes flickered as if he had discovered something novel, and he muttered to himself, "A combined attack technique, of all things?"

Naturally, no one was going to step forward to enlighten Chen Hongxu. The seven individuals surrounding him had now steadied their minds. Although their moral character left much to be desired, they certainly possessed genuine strength. The mere fact that they could immediately adjust their mindset upon entering combat showed they were not merely flashy good-for-nothings.

"This is getting interesting." Watching a stream of blue Qi gather rapidly above the heads of the seven figures, Chen Hongxu showed no haste to stop them. Instead, with a calm demeanor, he began to observe and study the phenomenon.

The youth surnamed Kong was not among the group forming the array, which allowed him to take in every nuance of Chen Hongxu's composed expression. Although he could not fathom what Chen Hongxu was relying on for confidence, could someone capable of cultivating to such a realm possibly be a fool?

"Wait—?" The youth surnamed Kong paused, his heart trembling as he finally realized what he had been overlooking all along.

While being consumed by rage at Chen Hongxu, he had completely forgotten how the opponent could possibly possess the cultivation level of an immortal master. If he were a talented youth nurtured by some other tribe, he would never dare to act so disrespectfully toward people descending from the immortal mountain. Could he be from the upper realm?

That was also impossible; recently, the immortal mountains had given no indication of anyone descending from the upper realm. If he was neither from the upper realm nor a local talent nurtured by indigenous tribes, the remaining answer practically shouted itself—an outsider.

Upon reaching this realization, a trace of unexpected fear surged into the eyes of the youth surnamed Kong, completely devoid of the greed one would normally expect.

Though his status on the immortal mountain did not quite match that of Wang Liwang, his interpersonal network far exceeded Wang Liwang's. Regarding the inexplicable closure of the immortal mountains last year, trying to suppress the rumors was simply out of the question.

As it happened, the youth surnamed Kong dabbled somewhat in divination and calculation, so he knew more or less about the underlying causes of those events.

Connecting this with everything he encountered now, the youth surnamed Kong thought secretly that perhaps the youth standing before him had not launched a sneak attack on Li Haiwei after all.

Once this thought took root in his mind, it could no longer be eradicated. The more the youth surnamed Kong thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Maintaining a steady expression, he quietly and imperceptibly began to distance himself from the battlefield.

Chen Hongxu, who maintained absolute control over the situation on the battlefield, naturally sensed this subtle shift in the youth surnamed Kong and cast a deeply meaningful glance in his direction.

That look, however, was misinterpreted by the youth surnamed Kong as mockery. Yet, he dared not dwell on it at the moment. Remembering how Wang Liwang—despite possessing numerous treasures bestowed by heavenly immortals—had been reduced to a pulp of flesh and blood, he could no longer bear to stay.

Without even managing a word of farewell, he turned and fled.

Although the seven individuals forming the array failed to notice the fear gripping the youth surnamed Kong, such a conspicuous action as fleeing could not escape their eyes.

"What is Senior Brother Kong doing?"

"He must have spotted another suspicious individual."

"This Li clan is truly courting death. Let's step up our efforts and quickly eliminate this ignorant brat before us, then go up and give Senior Brother Kong a hand."

The seven communicated briefly via spiritual transmission, never suspecting that the youth surnamed Kong was actually turning tail to flee rather than hunting down some opponent. Of course, had they been able to see the expression on the youth surnamed Kong's face, they might have deduced a conclusion they were entirely unwilling to believe.

Yet, the youth surnamed Kong's notion of escaping proved somewhat naive. Even if Chen Hongxu were alone, he would never allow anyone to come and go so freely—not to mention the fact that Chen Hongxu was not by himself.

Suddenly, a massive wall materialized out of thin air along the path of the fleeing youth surnamed Kong. No matter how the youth surnamed Kong maneuvered, he found himself entirely unable to escape the area blocked by this flesh-and-blood wall.

Chen Hongxu merely glanced at it casually, knowing that Jiajia would have absolutely no problem ensuring her own safety, even if she couldn't defeat the opponent.

Turning his attention back, he stared fixedly at the Bagua diagram that was gradually taking shape above his head, studying it intently. Chen Hongxu had only ever heard brief mentions of such combined attacks in the explanations provided by the Weapon Spirit, and this was the first time he was witnessing one in reality.

Given that these seven individuals clearly possessed only ordinary cultivation ranks yet could unleash a force vaguely more formidable than the vital realm of the Longevity Stage, the technique undoubtedly had its merits.

However, a single glance told Chen Hongxu that the combined attack technique employed by these seven was incomplete. Still, circumstances afforded him no luxury to continue his research; after all, his opponents were not sparring partners who would wait for him to fully comprehend their moves before attacking.

In a split second, the Bagua diagram suspended in the air descended, spinning as it dragged the surrounding air along with it. A howling wind rose, blowing the surrounding members of the Li clan off balance.

Faint flashes of lightning crackled around the edges of the Bagua diagram. In the broad daylight, it made the surrounding scenery plunge into a sudden dimness, as if night had fallen.

Although the combined attack of the seven lacked any deafening thunderous roar, even someone completely untrained in cultivation could sense the terrifying might contained within the technique.

Just as the onlookers closed their eyes, unable to bear witnessing Chen Hongxu's tragic death, Chen Hongxu—engulfed by the Bagua diagram—simply smiled. Casually raising his hand, he extended a single index finger and pressed it against the exact center of the Bagua diagram.

"Bang!"

A ripple erupted at the very spot where Chen Hongxu's fingertip made contact, spreading outward like water ripples in all directions.

The Bagua diagram shattered at the sound, and the seven individuals surrounding Chen Hongxu all spewed blood as they were sent flying backward...

Naturally, Chen Hongxu's counterattack did not stop there. The finger he had extended remained unretracted; instead, his previously bent arm pushed slightly further forward.

The disintegration of the Bagua diagram caused the lightning that had just hovered around its periphery to vanish as well.

In its place, a cluster of purple clouds abruptly materialized in the sky. From time to time, one or two purple thunder dragons, thick as an infant's arm, darted out from the clouds, baring their claws and fangs in a deeply terrifying display.

Chen Hongxu's gaze turned slightly cold as he swept his eyes across the seven scattered individuals and smiled. "Playing with thunder? You're not up to it."

A finger flick, once again a finger flick!