Chapter 22: Tri-Color Primordial Slash

Zhang Xiao stood there like a golden sun, while the surrounding shops violently exploded and ignited in golden flames. Even deep within the ocean, the majestic power of the Bifang Divine Flame was something the seawater itself could not block. Chen Tianba was completely wrapped in countless bolts of lightning, yet right now, he could only flee in panicked wretchedness.

"Want to run? Stay right where you are!" Zhang Xiao extended his palm and grabbed forward. The seawater surrounding Chen Tianba instantly boiled, and clusters of golden flames tightly enclosed him.

Amidst the intense, searing heat, Chen Tianba opened his wide mouth, and a mist-shrouded demonic core spat out from within. The moment the demonic core appeared, countless flashes of lightning erupted from it, forming a protective lightning barrier that tightly shielded him.

However, all of this was in futile effort. A cold look flashed in Zhang Xiao's eyes, and his figure rushed to Chen Tianba's side like a phantom. Countless bolts of lightning burst forth with blinding brilliance, crashing down thunderously upon Zhang Xiao, yet before these lightning arcs could even get close to his body, they were instantly absorbed by the tricolor halo revolving behind Zhang Xiao's head.

At the same time, Zhang Xiao made a sweeping grab with his massive hand, and Chen Tianba's demonic core was instantly seized within his grip. Seeing this, Chen Tianba immediately realized that he had kicked a massive iron plate; even if his own father were to come personally, he might not possess such overwhelming might. Realizing this, Chen Tianba hurriedly cried out, "Senior, spare my life! It was my subordinate who offended you, I beg Senior to spare my life!"

At this point, Chen Tianba had no choice but to shift all the blame onto his subordinate first, just to save his own miserable skin. "Oh? But I heard that it was your command, and you even gave me two choices, of which I chose the second. Now, I ask the Master of the Estate to tell me what that second choice was." Zhang Xiao stood there as the surrounding seawater churned and boiled.

Large beads of sweat dripped down Chen Tianba's forehead. Upon hearing Zhang Xiao's words, Chen Tianba's eyes lit up and he smiled ingratiatingly, "What second choice? I have no idea about any of that. Clearly, what I originally said was that I wanted to offer a tribute to Senior." After saying this, Chen Tianba deliberately put on a fierce and vicious expression, gnashing his teeth as he cursed, "It was all that damned Ruifangzi! It must have been his spouting nonsense. Once Senior's anger subsides, this junior will surely tear him into ten thousand pieces!"

Upon hearing this, a satisfied look immediately surfaced on Zhang Xiao's face. He retracted the flames all over his body, lowering the surrounding temperature, and sneered coldly at Chen Tianba, "A tribute? Heh, I do love tributes, though I wonder if the Estate Master's tribute will be able to satisfy me." Although Zhang Xiao's words sounded amiable, anyone could tell that if Chen Tianba failed to produce items that satisfied Zhang Xiao, Zhang Xiao certainly would not let the matter rest.

Seeing this, Chen Tianba wore a bitter expression. Without a second word, he unfastened the spatial pouch from his waist and respectfully offered it to Zhang Xiao, saying, "This junior has prepared the tribute long ago. Please, Senior, graciously accept it."

This spatial pouch was naturally not a tribute prepared by Chen Tianba in advance, but rather his collection accumulated over many years, every single item of which was of exceptional quality. As the owner of the largest trading market controlled by the Sea King Palace, the items kept in Chen Tianba's personal collection were naturally extraordinary.

When Zhang Xiao's divine sense penetrated inside and took a look, his eyes instantly brightened. He discovered that although most of the contents were merely materials, every single piece was a rare treasure. Of course, what satisfied Zhang Xiao the most was that there were actually fifty ninth-grade spirit stones inside, the spiritual energy of each being more than twice as rich as crystal essence. Seeing this, a satisfied smile instantly bloomed on Zhang Xiao's face.

After tucking the pouch into his robe, Zhang Xiao laughed heartily, "Hahaha, many thanks to the Estate Master for the tribute! Since it was all a misunderstanding, this matter is now concluded. Farewell!" With a long whistle, Zhang Xiao's figure instantly transformed into a five-colored rainbow light, shooting rapidly out of the sea surface and flying toward the east.

This harvest was quite remarkable, especially regarding the spirit stones, which allowed him to make a massive profit—more than enough for him to squander lavishly for a while. Now that his objective had been achieved, there was no need for him to linger here any longer. Just as he was about to have Ziyan prepare the Profound Heaven Token to return to the Profound Heaven Cave Abode, a fiercely violent aura suddenly emanated from the sky, completely sealing off all the surrounding space.

Zhang Xiao's expression shifted as he looked up into the sky. Only a mastery-stage expert could bypass his divine sense. A middle-aged man wearing golden robes and with a square jaw appeared in the sky. Upon seeing this man—

Zhang Xiao's pupils constricted, and he couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment, "The Great Crow King!" Having read Tie Ya's memories, Zhang Xiao naturally recognized the Great Crow King's appearance, yet the person before him differed somewhat from the Great Crow King in Tie Ya's memories. First, the tentacles on his face were missing; second, the Great Crow King's cultivation seemed to be at the late Divine Transformation stage—how had he suddenly become a mastery-stage expert?

As it turned out, the Great Crow King had also fortuitously just broken through to the mastery-stage during this period. He was on his way to the Tianxu Market to purchase some pills to stabilize his cultivation when, while still on the road, he received news from the Spirit Fish Commander stating that Zhang Xiao's trace had been found at the Tianxu Market. Ecstatic with joy, he accelerated all the way and finally caught up with Zhang Xiao here.

Hearing Zhang Xiao's startled cry, a look of smug satisfaction appeared on the Great Crow King's face. He laughed aloud, "Hahaha, I didn't expect you to actually recognize me. That's fine too, it saves you from becoming a ghost—oh! No, no, no," the Great Crow King paused abruptly mid-sentence, shook his head, and continued, "Not a ghost, I'm going to ensure you can't even become a ghost, hahaha!"

Hearing the Great Crow King's words, a sharp, cold gleam flashed in Zhang Xiao's eyes. A killing intent that was almost tangible burst forth thunderously, and a chilling smile appeared on his face as he laughed, "Hahaha! There is a path to heaven which you refuse to take, yet you break blindly into the gates of hell where there is no door!"

Following Zhang Xiao's roar, his aura burst open explosively, a battle armor formed over his body, and the golden flame-like wings behind his back unfurled. With the tricolor halo behind his head alternating in brilliance, Zhang Xiao summoned the Heavenly Sun Sword, his figure flashing like a phantom as he charged rapidly toward the Great Crow King.

"Humph, courting death!" Hearing Zhang Xiao's words, the Great Crow King's expression turned terrifyingly gloomy. Seeing that Zhang Xiao had actually taken the initiative to charge at him, the enraged Great Crow King let out a loud shout. His right fist bloomed with golden radiance, and surging water spiritual power instantly poured forth, transforming into a ferocious, malevolent dragon that shot rapidly toward Zhang Xiao.

With ferocious might that churned the heavens and earth, the azure-blue malevolent dragon tore through the firmament along its path, perfectly displaying the might and dominance of a mastery-stage expert. It charged toward Zhang Xiao carrying energy powerful enough to destroy everything in its path.

Seeing this, a brilliant light burst forth in Zhang Xiao's eyes. "Slash!!" With a low shout, he abruptly raised the Heavenly Sun Sword in his hand and brought it down in a single stroke. In an instant, the entire heaven and earth underwent a drastic change. It was as if an extra silver sun had appeared in the world, and under the illumination of countless silver rays, the entire sky and ocean were covered by a sky full of silver light.

A sword qi dozens of meters long emanated an astonishingly terrifying momentum, shooting straight into the sky. Wherever the tip of the sword pointed, nothing could withstand it.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Explosive sounds echoed one after another in the air. Zhang Xiao's astonishing sword qi actually shredded the azure malevolent dragon summoned by the Great Crow King into powdery smithereens, transforming it into countless droplets of water spiritual energy that scattered and shook across the sky.

The Great Crow King's expression shifted drastically; he had never imagined that Zhang Xiao's strength would be so formidable. He could not comprehend how Zhang Xiao's aura seemingly didn't even reach the mastery-stage, yet his actual combat power was surprisingly a cut above his own. Feeling the intense pain radiating from his arm, the Great Crow King's body violently shook as countless tentacles burst out from within his flesh.

In the blink of an eye, an unimaginably gigantic octopus appeared before Zhang Xiao—this was the Great Crow King's true form. Patches of crimson color had actually grown all over its body, resembling numerous staring eyes on the Great Crow King. Having revealed his true form, the Great Crow King's body surged violently, each of his tentacles striking out like a massive fist amidst a sky-full of innumerable fist images.

The entire heaven and earth trembled fiercely as the spiritual energy of all four directions madly surged toward the Great Crow King's fists. In the blink of an eye, countless azure-blue horned dragons manifested before Zhang Xiao, the might of each dragon ten times fiercer than before. Before the fists even arrived, their pressure had already descended, and the terrifying aura caused the sea surface beneath Zhang Xiao to explode into upheaval.

Seeing this, Zhang Xiao's expression remained unchanged. He took a single step forward, and the space beneath his feet violently trembled, rippling outward in concentric circles. Instead of retreating, his figure charged straight toward the Great Crow King.

"Tricolor Primordial Chaos Slash!"

With a ferocious expression, Zhang Xiao let out an angry roar. The tricolor divine light behind his head vibrated violently, instantly churning together and transforming into a tricolor beam of light that silently shot out from the back of his head, hurtling toward the Great Crow King.

This Tricolor Primordial Chaos Slash was a technique Zhang Xiao had only recently comprehended. Although it appeared silent and utterly ordinary, it represented the essence, qi, and spirit of Zhang Xiao, condensing his entire lifetime's cultivation into a single, sharp line. Its might was so terrifying that even Zhang Xiao himself found it difficult to gauge. Today happened to be the perfect opportunity to let the Great Crow King test the waters for him.

With gold, silver, and black intertwining, this beam of light appeared exceptionally bizarre, defying description as it crashed violently into the countless fist images unleashed by the Great Crow King.

One second, two seconds—in an instant, the sky-shaking and ocean-cleaving aura arrived forcefully, enveloping Zhang Xiao within it. Yet Zhang Xiao's expression remained calm as he stood there, his eyes locked fixedly on the incoming fist images of the Great Crow King. Just as Zhang Xiao appeared on the verge of being torn into pieces by the countless fists of the Great Crow King, the Great Crow King's expression suddenly shuddered, an look of utter disbelief flooding his eyes. He watched as the tentacles that had already struck right before Zhang Xiao's eyes abruptly burst apart one after another!

Those originally thick tentacles transformed in a split second into countless strands of flesh thinner than noodles. Hundreds of tentacles were violently severed from his body, and the most terrifying part was that all of this seemed to have happened instantaneously, yet the Great Crow King hadn't even perceived when it had occurred. A streak of tricolor light pierced outward from the severed tentacles, and Zhang Xiao pointed a finger directly at the Great Crow King's head, shouting:

"Swift!!"

The tricolor light in the sky immediately vibrated and lunged toward the Great Crow King. Seeing this, the Great Crow King's eyes widened in sheer disbelief, filled entirely with terror. Opening his mouth, he spat out an ancient shield. Various brilliant radiances flickered across the shield; it was actually an eighth-grade magical treasure! But how could a mere eighth-grade magical treasure possibly block Zhang Xiao's Tricolor Primordial Chaos Slash?

The ancient shield acting as a defense before the Great Crow King was pierced straight through by Zhang Xiao's Tricolor Primordial Chaos Slash as easily as if it were tofu. With its momentum undiminished, it shot directly toward the Great Crow King's head. At this sight, the terror in the Great Crow King's eyes could no longer be concealed, and he let out a furious roar—his voice brimming entirely with terror, regret, and unwillingness.

Regrettably, Zhang Xiao paid no heed to the Great Crow King's cries. The Tricolor Primordial Chaos Slash pierced instantly through the center of the Great Crow King's brow, dissolving his entire physique in a split second into threads no thicker than noodles.