Chapter 621: Extreme Limits

As Zhou Yuan crouched low, pressing his palms against the ground, his voice echoed. This posture indicated that he intended to initiate an attack.

This immediately caused a stir everywhere. No one had expected the Chief Disciple of the Cangxuan Sect to be so unyielding. However, at a time like this, was such a fierce, head-on confrontation truly a wise choice?

"Does that young man really need to be so aggressive?" Gong Wan, from the Hundred Flowers Immortal Palace, exclaimed in surprise. She then shook her head, unable to hide her disapproval. "This is far too reckless. The more he clashes head-on, the more his three combined powers will be depleted. If even one of them weakens, it will lead to a disastrous, 'avalanche-like' collapse." Gong Wan's delicate brows furrowed, and a flicker of disappointment crossed her eyes. Zhou Yuan’s earlier performance had earned her respect, but how could he lose all sense of self-awareness after gaining a slight upper hand? The most sensible strategy now would be to maneuver, to engage Chai Ying in a prolonged struggle to buy time, not to make such a rash choice to expend so much of his own power in a direct confrontation.

"He's just too young, after all," the other female Holy Sons from the Hundred Flowers Immortal Palace echoed, shaking their heads. "Being suppressed by Chai Ying in front of so many people must have made him feel disgraced, and he wants to reclaim his honor."

Hearing the comments from the other Holy Sons, Zuoqiu Qingyu and Lulou exchanged glances. Qingyu then lightly bit her red lip and said, "Zhou Yuan isn't usually so reckless. If he's acting this way, he must have a plan."

Gong Wan chuckled faintly. "What plan? Does he truly believe he can defeat Chai Ying directly?" Although Zhou Yuan, by combining his three powers, had indeed gained the ability to engage Chai Ying head-on, if he genuinely intended to defeat Chai Ying, even these three powers would not be enough. Gong Wan understood this more clearly than anyone.

In the sky, Chai Ying observed Zhou Yuan below with a cold gaze, a sarcastic smirk playing on his lips. With his arms crossed, he found Zhou Yuan’s actions entirely to his liking. "You truly don't know your place," he thought. "Do you really believe I'd be afraid of those three barely integrated powers of yours? Very well, I'll soon show you just how foolish your idea is."

On the ground below, Zhou Yuan remained low, his palms pressed against the earth. His expression was remarkably calm, and he paid no heed to the myriad confused and mocking gazes. He was certainly not arrogant; he knew full well that if he chose to engage in a prolonged battle, even Chai Ying would be unable to defeat him. What no one could have anticipated, however, was that Zhou Yuan's true objective was not merely to contend with Chai Ying. He sought a whetstone to test the absolute limits of his own strength, and Chai Ying, standing before him, presented a nearly perfect subject for this experiment. Others might believe that even with his three powers combined, Zhou Yuan could only hope to hold his own against Chai Ying, but never defeat him. Yet, Zhou Yuan himself understood that they simply did not comprehend the true extent of his abilities.

Zhou Yuan’s palms pressed against the ground, his eyes slowly closing. A mysterious light began to emanate from his palms, as the Earth Saint Rune gradually emerged, making contact with the earth. At that moment, the very ground seemed to tremble.

The next moment, powerful ripples erupted from the ground, with Zhou Yuan at their epicenter. The earth within a hundred-mile radius began to tremble. From deep within the earth, a surge of Genesis Qi roared, channeling wildly into Zhou Yuan's body through his palms. Consequently, a mysterious, ancient yellow hue began to appear on Zhou Yuan's skin, and his eyes gradually transformed into the same deep, ancient yellow color, appearing profoundly old and weighty. The Genesis Qi pressure radiating from him escalated at an astonishing rate.

This sudden development caused countless onlookers to gasp, their expressions shifting dramatically. Their gazes, filled with disbelief, fixed on Zhou Yuan, clearly unable to comprehend the sudden surge in his power. In the sky, Chai Ying's pupils constricted slightly. He watched Zhou Yuan with a grim expression; the Genesis Qi pressure emanating from Zhou Yuan was now making him feel a growing sense of danger. "What technique did this guy use?" Chai Ying muttered, his expression flickering. "How did his Genesis Qi suddenly become so powerful?" Finally, a ruthless glint appeared in his eyes. "No matter what, I'll kill him first!"

Chai Ying abruptly clasped his hands together, and black-gold Genesis Qi roared forth, condensing in the void above to form a black-gold spear roughly a thousand feet long. The spear shimmered with an eerie, chilling light. With a flick of Chai Ying’s sleeve, the black-gold spear instantly tore through the air, creating a sonic boom as it shot down like a black streak, hurtling fiercely towards Zhou Yuan below. Though he didn't understand what Zhou Yuan was doing, Chai Ying knew he had to interrupt him.

The spear plummeted, but just as it was still ten feet away from Zhou Yuan, an ancient yellow Genesis Qi suddenly surged from within him, forming a radiant barrier that enveloped him. The spear struck the ancient yellow Genesis Qi shield with a heavy impact, causing rapid ripples to erupt. Moments later, the black-gold spear violently shattered, dissolving into a myriad of shimmering light particles.

Chai Ying's eyes narrowed, and he let out a cold snort. Genesis Qi surged continuously from within him, immediately forming hundreds of black-gold spears above his head. *Whoosh! Whoosh!* In the next instant, hundreds of spears rained down. The sheer scale of the assault made countless onlookers' scalps tingle; each individual spear was capable of instantly slaying any Chief Disciple. With hundreds unleashed simultaneously, even Holy Sons of Chai Ying's own level would likely be forced to retreat. The hundreds of black-gold spears, a veritable deluge, pounded against the ancient yellow light barrier, repeatedly causing ripples. The barrier itself began to rapidly thin, clearly struggling to withstand Chai Ying's relentless onslaught.

However, while countless spectators watched the wavering light barrier with bated breath, Zhou Yuan remained with his eyes slightly closed, his palms firmly pressed to the ground. He was channeling all his effort into activating the Earth Saint Rune, determined to test its current limits. The last time Zhou Yuan utilized the Earth Saint Rune to kill Fan Yao, he had only activated it slightly, and the earth Genesis Qi it drew in had effortlessly obliterated Fan Yao. At that time, Zhou Yuan had absorbed earth Genesis Qi from a radius of about a hundred miles. Now, this range had extended to two hundred miles. From the depths of the earth, a dense and mysterious Earth Genesis Qi roared like a subterranean dragon, rushing in from all directions and pouring into his body. Zhou Yuan's entire physical being was violently vibrating. This made him somewhat grateful that he had previously advanced to the Golden Blood Realm, further strengthening his physical body; otherwise, he likely wouldn't have been able to endure such raw, furious power. Yet, two hundred miles still didn't seem to be the limit. Zhou Yuan took a deep breath, and the range of the Earth Saint Rune rapidly expanded: two hundred thirty miles... two hundred fifty miles... More and more surging Earth Genesis Qi frantically flooded into his body.

*Boom! Boom!* Outside the barrier, countless black-gold spears continued to tear through the sky and strike, making the Genesis Qi shield grow increasingly thin. Myriad eyes watching the scene held their breath for Zhou Yuan. In the sky, Chai Ying’s expression grew increasingly grim as he stared intently at the figure below. Above his head, a black-gold spear slowly condensed. This spear, however, was tinged with streaks of blood-red, radiating an indescribably piercing aura. "Destroying Gold Spear!" Chai Ying took a deep breath, his eyes chilling, and then abruptly waved his sleeve. The air exploded. The blood-stained golden spear seemed to pierce through space, appearing in a flash above Zhou Yuan before heavily colliding with the barrier. The ancient yellow barrier finally shattered with a resounding crack. Countless onlookers secretly shook their heads, convinced that Zhou Yuan was doomed.

However, just as the blood-stained golden spear was about to plunge down, a slender hand materialized out of thin air and abruptly clenched. Space itself seemed to twist at that moment. The sharp tip of the blood-stained golden spear froze mere inches from Zhou Yuan's brow, the violent gusts of wind whipping his hair around him. Under countless astonished gazes, Zhou Yuan slowly raised his head, his ancient yellow eyes fixed indifferently on Chai Ying in the sky. With a sudden clench of his hand, the blood-stained golden spear shattered, dissolving into countless shimmering points of light. As the light particles floated up before his eyes, Zhou Yuan stared at the grim-faced Chai Ying, then suddenly bared his teeth in a chilling grin. "Is this all a Holy Son of the Sacred Palace is capable of?" he challenged. "If this is truly your limit, then today, I might just... slay a Holy Son!" The instant his voice faded, an overwhelming surge of aura, one that deeply moved countless onlookers, erupted explosively from within him.