The First Venerable of All Paths

The Wilderness.

There was no sun, moon, or stars.

This is a dark place without light, where not even a trace of spiritual energy can be detected.

Fang Xuan felt as if he were floating in a void, neither touching the sky nor the ground, unable to find any direction.

His internal power, his natal flying sword, and the heavenly fire were all suppressed by an invisible force.

Even with spiritual power, one cannot perceive the surroundings.

Now, he is truly nothing but a physical body.

"The wilderness is invisible and invincible."

The echoes of the Undying Fire Phoenix still lingered in his mind, but it didn't tell him how to leave.

Fang Xuan clenched his fists, his brows furrowing deeply.

"Are we really going to be stuck here forever?"

Just as Fang Xuan felt a sense of powerlessness, the entire desolate realm trembled violently.

"Boom!"

The heavens and earth collapsed.

Fang Xuan sensed an invisible force stirring violently around him.

An indifferent, desolate, and aloof will swept over Fang Xuan.

Like a sentient being.

There is no joy or anger, no good or evil, only pure, primal instinct.

"It's desolation!"

Fang Xuan felt his hair stand on end, as if he were a speck of dust that could be crushed into ashes at any moment.

The expected crushing did not occur.

in contrast.

The void beneath his feet tore open, and a hazy spatial vortex suddenly formed, pulling Fang Xuan's body with tremendous force.

Fang Xuan couldn't even put up the slightest resistance before being pulled into the vortex.

The world spun around.

The next moment, Fang Xuan crashed heavily onto the ground.

Before me lay scorched black earth, and in the distance, broken ancient mountains stretched across the sky, with piles of white bones scattered everywhere, and countless ferocious roars echoing across the land.

The sky is an unchanging, hazy gray.

"Could these corpses be creatures swallowed up by the wilderness?"

Fang Xuan looked around.

Those piles of white bones.

There are the remains of martial artists, and also the bones of demonic beasts.

Even after countless years, it still exudes an overwhelming and terrifying pressure.

Clearly, the owners of these skeletons were extremely terrifying beings in life.

"So, is this the Desolate Realm, or somewhere else?"

Fang Xuan moved his body slightly and found that apart from being unable to mobilize the power of his natal flying sword and heavenly fire, his body was fine.

"Fortunately, the power of the Chaos Holy Body is still intact."

Before Fang Xuan could get up, the ground shook violently.

"Awooo!"

Then a ferocious beast, three zhang in size and covered with gray scales, emerged from the ground and pounced on Fang Xuan without hesitation.

"Wild beasts?"

Although Fang Xuan had never seen a wild beast before, he recognized it as a unique wild beast of the Sunset Wasteland at first glance.

This wild beast is only at the level of a demon king.

If it were any other martial artist, whose power was sealed, they would be torn to shreds instantly upon encountering such a wild beast.

But Fang Xuan was different.

He also possesses the Chaos Saint Body!

"King's Fist Shakes the World!"

There was no leakage of Yuan energy.

The skin, flesh, tendons, bones, and blood all boil simultaneously.

The origin of the Chaos Sacred Body is not bound by the seal of the Desolate Realm!

He sidestepped the giant claws that the wild beast was sweeping across, and a faint golden light emanated from the skin of his fist.

"Bang!!!"

The flesh and blood collided with a deafening explosion.

Fang Xuan, with his bare hands, slammed a punch hard into the head of the wild beast.

"Snap!"

The incredibly hard skull of the wild beast dented and cracked.

The beast didn't even have time to let out a wail before its massive body crashed to the ground.

At the instant the wild beast died, a wisp of gray aura rose from its corpse and entered Fang Xuan's body like lightning.

"boom!"

A powerful and savage force swept through his entire body, causing his bones to crack and pop, and his physical strength to increase dramatically at a visible speed.

A fourteenth golden line appeared on his skin.

However, this golden pattern was only an inch long.

It's still a long way from being fully formed.

"this......"

Fang Xuan was shocked, his face filled with astonishment.

"This thing can actually temper a Chaos Saint Body?"

Since Fang Xuan awakened the Chaos Saint Body, the only way to increase his power is by absorbing the power of the lightning tribulation when he enters the martial arts realm and the heavenly tribulation descends.

But Fang Xuan didn't expect that the primordial power within this wild beast could also enhance the Chaos Saint Body.

"Although the essence of the wilderness within the beasts is very weak, if I kill enough of them, the quantitative change will lead to a qualitative change. Wouldn't I be able to push my Chaos Saint Body to the third level?"

Fang Xuan was thrilled.

He quickly activated his Chaos Sacred Body to refine and absorb this wisp of desolate origin.

"Boom!"

As soon as it finished absorbing the nutrients, the earth trembled again.

Two wild beasts emerged from the earth.

A giant scorpion over ten meters long, and a bone-eating serpent over three zhang long.

They were all at the fourth rank, comparable in strength to the previous wild beast.

As soon as they appeared, the two wild beasts charged straight at Fang Xuan.

Despite its large size, it does not affect its speed in the slightest.

They were fast, but Fang Xuan was even faster.

"Perhaps, if we want to leave this place, we will have to rely on you."

Fang Xuan grinned, stomped his foot on the ground, and pounced on the two wild beasts like an arrow.

"Bang! Bang!!"

Two muffled thuds rang out as Fang Xuan's iron fists blasted the two wild beasts apart.

Two strands of the Desolate Origin entered his body, and the fourteenth mark on Fang Xuan's body changed from one inch to three inches.

Fang Xuan's power also increased by a tiny bit.

"It really worked!"

Fang Xuan licked his lips, looked at the desolate land, and his eyes burned with passion.

"continue!"

"Boom!"

The ground trembled continuously, and more and more wild beasts crawled out from underground or emerged from among the corpses.

These wild beasts came in all shapes and sizes, but without exception, they were all fourth-tier, equivalent to martial artists in the Condensation Realm.

Looking at the rampaging beasts, Fang Xuan showed no fear, but rather anticipation.

He bent his body slightly, then shot out like an arrow, his fists moving so fast they were like afterimages, unleashing a series of punches.

There was no sword energy, no heavenly fire, and no spear techniques or supernatural abilities.

Fang Xuan could only rely on physical combat to bring the "Primordial Long Fist" and "Killing Dao King Fist" to their fullest potential.

Fists, elbows, knees, and feet, like the most ferocious and powerful weapons, each punch landing squarely.

Blood splattered, screams and wails filled the air.

No wild beast could withstand a single punch from Fang Xuan.

At this moment, Fang Xuan was like a ruthless killing machine, slaughtering everything in his path and blasting away one wild beast after another.

With each wild beast he slayed, a wisp of its essence was absorbed and devoured by him.

One strand, ten strands, a hundred strands.

A continuous stream of wild beast essence flowed into his body, and the fourteenth golden pattern continued to lengthen.

It's just an inch away from being fully formed.

"So close!"

Fang Xuan clenched his fists and suddenly looked ahead.

There, a colossal grizzly bear, standing ten meters tall, was striding towards them.

It's like a small mountain moving rapidly.

"A wild beast at the Demon Emperor realm?"

Fang Xuan took a deep breath and grinned, "Good timing!"

"Awooo!"

The grizzly bear beast saw Fang Xuan from afar and roared as it raised its head.

"Thump!"

Then, Fang Xuan saw the grizzly bear beast leap up and crash down on him like a mountain.

At that moment, Fang Xuan felt as if the sky itself was blocked.

Fang Xuan's eyes gleamed, and nearly fourteen golden lines converged one after another on his right fist.

"The Dao Falls, the Fist Ends!"

Fang Xuan let out a cold shout in his heart and suddenly slammed his fist out.

"Break it!"

In an instant, a dazzling golden light burst forth from Fang Xuan's fist, crashing down upon the demon king-level beast that was falling like a mountain.

The grizzly bear beast's face contorted with ferocity, its eyes filled with disdain and sneer, as if it thought this insignificant ant was trying to shake a tree, overestimating its own strength.

However, the moment the fist made contact with the grizzly bear beast, the world fell silent.

As the golden light flowed, it spread to the grizzly bear beast.

"Bang!"

With a piercing scream, the grizzly bear beast's entire body exploded.

A strand of desolate origin, about the thickness of a little finger, rapidly entered Fang Xuan's body.

The fourteenth pattern is now fully formed.

A surge of power flowed from the depths of his body, causing Fang Xuan's aura to more than double.

"This power is truly captivating."

Fang Xuan looked pleased as his gaze swept across the boundless wasteland of white bones, bright and dazzling, as if he were looking at a treasure mountain.

"Keep going, keep going!"

Meanwhile, Fang Xuan was in the Desolate Realm, slaying wild beasts to temper his Chaos Saint Body.

In a hall of the Merchant Alliance in Sunset Town, the atmosphere was as oppressive as death.

Xue Wanlong, Madam Gu, and the heads of many families all looked restless.

"What are your thoughts?"

At the head of the business alliance, Shangguan Yun toyed with the teacup in his hand, his tone calm yet exerting immense pressure on everyone.

Seeing that everyone remained silent, Shangguan Yun directly addressed him, "Patriarch Han, what do you have to say?"

Since Han Yun was killed by Fang Xuan, the Han family has fallen into the hands of his younger brother, Han Feng.

Although Han Feng's cultivation level is not as high as Han Yun's, he is still at the third level of the Divine Intent Realm.

Upon hearing Shangguan Yun's words, Han Feng clenched his fists, a hint of resentment in his eyes.

The new family head, Han Feng, hadn't even begun to make his mark, but Shangguan Yun was already planning to consolidate all the forces in Sunset Town.

It's called integration, but in reality, it's about making these people bow down and submit, and putting the business alliance first.

This is different from before, where you only had to give up a portion of your profits to the business alliance according to a fixed quota. Now, all profits are distributed uniformly by the business alliance.

Agreeing means that the relationship between the Han family and the business alliance will no longer be one of cooperation, but rather one of superior and subordinate.

But if we oppose it, things might not end well today.

Moreover, there are still some dissenting voices within the clan who have reservations about him as the new head of the family.

Thinking of this, Han Feng gritted his teeth and said, "My Han family is willing to respect Alliance Leader Shangguan."

Upon hearing this, many people's expressions changed slightly.

"it is good."

Shangguan Yun lightly slapped the table and said with a smile, "Patriarch Han is very righteous, and I am extremely gratified."

"Now that Patriarch Han has expressed his opinion, what about you all?"

Shangguan Yun said, "Everyone is free to speak their minds. If you agree with this alliance leader, you are most welcome. If you disagree, we can still be friends."

I bother!

Utterly hypocritical!

Sitting at the end of the table, Qiu Feng was inwardly grumbling.

Anyone who dares to refuse will likely not be able to leave this hall today.

"Our Qiu family business is also willing to follow the lead of Alliance Leader Shangguan and obey his every command without hesitation!"

Qiu Feng stood up decisively and bowed deeply to Shangguan Yun.

His attitude was extremely humble.

Tang Xuan already disliked him, and if he still disagreed, the Qiu family might really be expelled.

"My Sun family agrees."

"My Wu family agrees."

"I......"

In the blink of an eye, most of the people present had nodded in agreement.

"I, too, am willing to take Lord Shangguan as my leader."

Lady Bone, whose physical body had already been reconstructed, hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

Seeing Shangguan Yun turn his gaze to him, Xue Wanlong sighed inwardly.

"I agree!"

Seeing that everyone agreed, Shangguan Yun smiled and said, "Alright, in that case, from now on, we will share honor and disgrace, and advance and retreat together."

Changing his tone, Shangguan Yun said coldly, "But anyone who dares to outwardly comply while inwardly disagreeing, or who is half-hearted, shouldn't blame this alliance leader for being ruthless and making an example of them!"

Everyone said they dared not.

"Now, I, the leader of the alliance, issue my first order."

Shangguan Yun said, "Each faction should select its strongest warriors to form an allied army, venture deep into the wasteland, and find the whereabouts of Huang."

These words shocked everyone in the audience.