One person: Senior brother Zhang Zhiwei, the Celestial Master begged me to descend the mountain.

boom--!

That punch didn't have any spectacular light effects or fancy techniques.

It was simply a golden fist colliding with white alloy armor.

But next second.

The Shenji White Puppet, weighing several tons and representing Ma Xianhong's greatest masterpiece, flew out like a baseball that had been hit, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound.

It smashed through three walls and collapsed two wooden houses along the way, finally crashing into a mound a few hundred meters away with a piercing metallic twisting sound.

Smoke and dust rose everywhere.

Zhang Taichu withdrew his fist, lightly flicked his wrist, and didn't even glance at the big guy he had blasted away.

He lifted his foot and stepped over the deep ravine in front of him.

That was the force of that punch, plowing through the ground.

"Stop him!"

"Don't let him get near the cultivation furnace!"

Several terrified yet resolute roars rang out.

Despite being terrified by the scene that had just unfolded like a demon, some of them, as the most promising talents of Biyou Village and followers of Ma Xianhong's ideals, still mustered their courage and rushed forward.

Several streaks of light swept in.

There were flying swords, iron beads, and several strangely shaped magical treasures, each carrying its own unique Qi energy fluctuations, heading straight for Zhang Taichu's face, back, and soft ribs.

Zhang Taichu didn't even stop walking.

He didn't even lift his eyelids.

hum!

The protective golden light around him wasn't deliberately unleashed; it simply flowed naturally with his breathing.

Ding ding ding—

A series of sharp, cracking sounds.

Those magical artifacts that were normally as sharp as cutting through iron and incredibly powerful would instantly become powerless the moment they touched that faint golden light.

It's like an egg hitting a rock.

Shattered.

burst.

It turned into countless scrap metal fragments, falling helplessly to the ground.

The swordsman who was controlling the flying sword spat out a mouthful of blood. The backlash from the destruction of his natal magic weapon made him instantly collapse to the ground.

Zhang Taichu stepped over the shards scattered on the ground, his feet making a crunching sound.

He strolled leisurely towards the tall wooden building at the deepest part of the village, as if he were taking a walk in his own backyard.

Every step he took felt like stepping on the heartbeats of everyone present.

thump.

thump.

That invisible sense of oppression made the surrounding air incredibly thick and suffocating.

"Don't go and get yourself killed!"

Just as the remaining few promising talents were about to rush forward, a bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, blasting a charred crater right in front of them.

Shila-

Zhang Chulan, his body wreathed in white lightning, stood before everyone like a monkey leaping out of a pool of lightning.

He had one hand in his pocket, the other picking at his ear, and a sly grin on his face that made you want to punch him.

"Everyone, you've taken the wrong path."

"Can't you see my grand-uncle is busy?"

"Going out at a time like this, are you tired of living, or do you think there aren't enough people queuing up for death?"

"Zhang Chulan! You shameless scoundrel!"

Chou Rang, clutching half a broken ruyi scepter, roared with bloodshot eyes:

"You're also an extraordinary being, can't you see the value of the Body Cultivation Furnace? Why are you helping him to commit evil!"

"Stop! Stop!"

Zhang Chulan quickly waved his hand and took half a step back with a look of horror:

"Don't talk to me about values ​​or ideals. I'm too ordinary to understand them."

All I know is that my martial uncle has a bad temper.

"If he gets angry, he might not just flatten the whole mountain, let alone you bunch of rotten sweet potatoes and stinky eggs."

As he spoke, he pointed to Wang Ye, who was still standing behind him:

"See that? That guy's from Wudang Mountain, and he got beaten to a pulp too, didn't he?"

Wang Ye, who was rubbing his lower back, froze and rolled his eyes.

"You bastard, can you please not drag me into your insults?"

"Besides, I get seasick, not beaten into submission. Get your logic straight."

Despite his complaints, Wang Ye's hands didn't stop moving.

He lightly stepped on the ground.

The clapper of the clapper is in disarray.

An invisible wave instantly enveloped the group of people who were trying to bypass Zhang Chulan and rush towards Zhang Taichu.

Those people's movements instantly became incredibly slow, like snails stuck in a quagmire.

"Alright, I'll stay here then."

Wang Ye sighed and found a relatively clean rock to sit on.

"That's a battle of gods, and we mortals suffer the consequences."

"If you just watch the show quietly, you might still survive."

……

In front.

Zhang Taichu had already reached the ruin-like mound.

Whoosh!

Earth and rocks collapsed and flew.

The once majestic white mecha was now in a state of disrepair.

The chest armor was completely dented, and one of the mechanical arms was broken off, revealing the sparking wiring inside.

But it still moved.

"Zhang...Tai...Chu..."

The sound coming from the loudspeaker was severely distorted, accompanied by a piercing electrical hum and Ma Xianhong's almost manic screams.

ka ka ka-

The armor plating on the back of the white puppet suddenly sprang open.

More than a dozen miniature missiles, trailing long plumes of flame, rained down on Zhang Taichu, who was standing almost within reach, like a swarm of death's bees.

at the same time.

Two crimson high-energy lasers shot out from the mecha's eyes, sealing off all of Zhang Taichu's escape routes.

This is a saturation attack.

It was Ma Xianhong's last struggle in a desperate situation.

"Die! Die! Die!!!"

Boom boom boom boom boom boom—!!!

The deafening explosion instantly drowned out everything.

Flames shot into the sky, turning the twilight sky blood red.

A terrifying wave of high-temperature air swept outwards, even making Zhang Chulan, who was far away, squint and have to use the Golden Light Mantra to protect his body.

"Goodness..."

Zhang Chulan clicked his tongue in amazement:

"Old Ma is really desperate. His firepower is almost comparable to that of a small army."

"Do you think my uncle-master can withstand it?"

"Could you please remove that?"

Wang Ye glanced at him lazily:

"If you're worried about that old monster, you should worry about whether the foundation of Biyou Village is sturdy enough."

Before he could finish speaking...

A gentle breeze blew by.

The billowing smoke and the raging flames seemed to be gently parted by an invisible hand.

The scene inside was revealed.

Zhang Taichu stood still.

Not a single step was retreated.

His Taoist robe was still neat and new, and even his hair was in perfect shape.

Only the protective golden light was slightly brighter than before.

"Cough cough..."

Zhang Taichu frowned, waved his hand in front of his nose, and looked disgusted.

"What kind of lousy gunpowder is this?"

"It smells so strong?"

"And that laser thing..."

He pointed to his chest, where there was a scorch mark the size of a fingernail. He had deliberately let his guard down to test the power of the scorch mark.

"Is this your latest technology?"

"You can't even iron my clothes properly, who are you going to use this thing for gua sha?"

Inside the cockpit.

Looking at the unharmed man on the screen, Ma Xianhong felt as if his soul had been drained, and slumped into his chair.

How could that be...?

That's enough firepower to shatter a small mountain!

Even those ten elders couldn't possibly withstand it so easily!

"I don't believe it..."

"I don't believe it!!!"

Blood and tears streamed from Ma Xianhong's eyes as he jerked the control lever.

The battered white puppet let out a mournful cry, its engine running at overload, dragging its broken body as it charged toward Zhang Taichu once more.

This time, there were no fancy weapons.

Only the purest impact.

That was the last stand of the desperate.

Watching that steel behemoth stumble and charge towards us.

A hint of impatience flashed in Zhang Taichu's eyes.

"Have you had enough fun?"

"I am very busy."

He took a step forward.

Raise your right hand.

It's not about clenching your fist, but rather spreading your five fingers, as if you're swatting an annoying fly.

call--

A gigantic hand, formed entirely of golden light, appeared out of thin air above the white puppet's head.

The palm was so large it blotted out the sky, its lines clearly visible, radiating a chilling majesty.

"Lie down."

Zhang Taichu pressed his palm downwards.

boom!!!

The enormous golden hand slammed down heavily as he moved.

There is no suspense.

There was no resistance.

That white puppet, which represented the highest achievement of the Divine Machine Hundred Refinements and required countless efforts from Ma Xianhong.

It's like a soda can being flattened by a hydraulic press.

It was instantly slammed into the mud.

The earth trembled violently.

Centered on the point of impact, spiderweb-like cracks spread outwards for hundreds of meters.

When the golden light faded.

Only a huge palm print crater remained on the ground.

And at the center of the palm print.

It was a pile of scrap metal that was completely unrecognizable.

Zhang Taichu withdrew his hand, didn't even glance at the pit, and walked straight over.

His target was the tall wooden building ahead.

There, there is a body-cultivating furnace.

squeak-

The wooden building's door was pushed open by an invisible force.

The enormous, complex, and intricate furnace, emitting a faint blue light, finally appeared before Zhang Taichu.

He stopped, put his hands behind his back, and looked up to examine the enormous creature.

Runes flowed, and the core roared.

It is indeed ingenious.

The interlocking of every part and the carving of every talisman are all masterpieces.

But Zhang Taichu's eyes only held the indifference one would show when looking at trash.

"Is this your way?"

He asked softly.

I don't know if I'm asking the air or the person climbing this way.

In the scrap metal pile.

A blood-soaked hand reached out and gripped the soil tightly.

Ma Xianhong.

He is not dead yet.

The protective artifact shielded him from the fatal impact in that instant, but it was also completely shattered.

At this moment, he was covered in blood, and countless bones were broken, yet he still relied on that stubborn will to crawl, bit by bit, like a dog with a broken spine, toward the wooden building.

"Don't...touch...it..."

Ma Xianhong's voice was weak, yet it carried a touching stubbornness.

He left a long trail of blood on the ground.

Finally, he climbed to the doorway.

They crawled to Zhang Taichu's feet.

He raised his head, his blood-stained face etched with madness and resentment:

"What do you know..."

Do you know what it represents?

"It can empower ordinary people...it can eliminate inequality between people...it can create a new world without the weak!"

Ma Xianhong stared intently at the furnace, his eyes burning with a light even more intense than the furnace fire:

"It's perfect!"

"It is a miracle created to benefit all living beings!"

"What gives you the right to deny it? What gives you the right to treat it like garbage?!"

Zhang Taichu looked down at the man at his feet who had completely gone mad.

There was neither pity nor anger in his eyes.

There was only a detached, godlike calm as if a deity were scrutinizing an ant.

"To benefit all living beings?"

Zhang Taichu scoffed.

He slowly raised his right foot.

A dazzling golden light condensed and compressed at his toes, and the terrifying energy fluctuations caused subtle distortions in the surrounding space.

"Ma Xianhong".

You've got one thing wrong.

"Power is never bestowed."

"It grew from blood, from sweat, from countless struggles on the brink of life and death."

Zhang Taichu's voice echoed in the empty wooden building, each word like a heavy hammer blow, striking Ma Xianhong's heart:

"Without experiencing painful tempering, without undergoing the tempering of one's character."

"Those things you created."

"They're just a bunch of babies with nuclear weapons."

That's not perfection.

"That's called a disaster."

Zhang Taichu's foot was aimed at the core of the Body Refinement Furnace, which was pulsating violently.

That's the heart of the entire furnace.

It is also the convergence point of all of Ma Xianhong's dreams and ambitions.

"No--!!!"

Ma Xianhong's pupils constricted, and he reached out to grab Zhang Taichu's leg, trying to stop it all.

But it was all too late.

A cold smile curved Zhang Taichu's lips as he uttered his final words in a detached tone:

"A soulless lump of iron."

"Does it even deserve to be called perfect?"

boom!!!