Chapter 1254: Radiant Splendor

Many people turned their heads, looking at those beside them, whispering amongst themselves to confirm they hadn't misheard. A Great Sage was going to commit robbery?!

Everyone was wide-eyed with astonishment. This style was simply too bizarre.

Great Sages were legendary beings, so rare that one might not appear for tens of thousands of years. In people's minds, they were synonymous with mythical creatures.

Many people harbored various beautiful aspirations, imagining Great Sages to be magnificent and radiant, supremely talented, and peerlessly graceful.

Yet now, Great Sage Cao De was undeniably peerless, but his image seemed to be shattering. Never in the annals of history had there been a Great Sage quite like him.

Many young powerhouses were speechless, feeling lightheaded, their very beliefs collapsing. Was this truly... the invincible Great Sage among evolutionaries?!

"I warn you, compensate me immediately, or you'll regret it. Know this: if I, Cao De, decree you die by midnight, who dares to let you live until dawn?!"

This was a blatant threat and act of intimidation. He rolled up his sleeves and pressed forward, nearing the sea of thunder.

"By what right?!" Li Chentian was utterly enraged. He had already been sneak-attacked and hit by three bricks, and now he was being extorted, blackmailed, and forced to pay compensation?

His lungs felt like they were burning, seething with fury. He truly wished the heavenly tribulation would end instantly so he could go and slay Cao De!

"Because I am Great Sage Cao, and you, a mere insignificant Quasi-Sage, have foolishly dared to provoke me. Are you tired of living? If you wish to survive, pay up at once!"

Chu Feng rebuked him, his expression utterly serious, and directly named his price: he wanted two chunks of mother gold, each as large as the ones he had just thrown.

Did he truly believe mother gold was as common as cabbages? Demanding two large chunks so casually, and committing robbery in broad daylight—how could Li Chentian possibly endure such public humiliation?

Naturally, he refused outright, explicitly stating that he possessed none.

"You're a successor of the Martial Lunatic lineage; is your sect really that impoverished? If you don't hand it over now, you must be eager to die, right?!" Chu Feng was unconvinced, looking menacingly as if he would kill Li Chentian if the mother gold was not surrendered.

"Cao De, do you even realize what you're doing? You are a Great Sage, representing a mythical being, yet you are intimidating me, shamelessly extorting me! Do you still possess the dignity of a Great Sage? I am ashamed to be associated with you; you are utterly shameless!"

Li Chentian was seething with rage. His upper body was bare, his bronzed skin completely cracked and covered in countless wounds.

At that moment, he was both enraged and ruthless, his eyes, burning with a wild intensity, glared fixedly at Chu Feng through the lightning, wishing he could slaughter him on the spot.

Simultaneously, he wore a look of disdain, feeling that the existence of such a Great Sage in the world was utterly disgraceful, tainting the very title of a mythical being.

Some younger individuals felt a profound sense of disappointment, their beautiful ideals of a Great Sage shattered. How could a Great Sage possess such an "unconventional" style?

"What do you know? Are you a Great Sage? You're merely an insignificant Quasi-Sage. What could you possibly know about the true aura of a Great Sage? The genuine demeanor of a Great Sage is precisely like mine—peerless! I warn you again: if you don't surrender mother gold to buy your life, or atone with scriptures, do you believe I won't obliterate you right now?!"

Chu Feng spoke, moving closer to the lightning-filled area. He issued a series of severe threats and intimidations, demanding compensation from the other side, or else he would resort to deadly force.

People were left speechless. This was truly... outlandish.

"That's enough!" Heavenly Venerate Qi Rong interjected, compelled to stop Chu Feng. The Heavenly Venerates from the opposing faction were already issuing warnings, indicating such "unscrupulous" behavior was unacceptable.

In truth, some high-ranking members of the Yongzhou faction were also somewhat embarrassed. They had initially hoped to set a shining example, but Cao De's current conduct was rather disheartening.

Chu Feng remained unyielding, asserting that Li Chentian had first insulted a Great Sage. For him not to offer compensation or even an apology was simply unacceptable.

"It's like someone publicly insulting a Heavenly Venerate from the opposing side—is that acceptable? I'm sure the elder from the other side would be unable to resist slapping them dead!" Chu Feng offered an example.

He then added that he had a good temper and wouldn't hold a grudge against Li Chentian; simply accepting some mother gold would be enough to put the matter behind them.

Many rolled their eyes. A "good temper," yet he resorted to sneak attacks and smashed people with mother gold bricks? Now he was shamelessly demanding compensation. Such a display of a Great Sage's demeanor was truly jaw-dropping.

While one couldn't entirely label him as immoral, people generally found him peculiar and unconventional, a complete subversion of the beautiful and glorious image they held of Great Sages.

Listening to his incessant chatter, even the Heavenly Venerates wore odd expressions. *Which family did this fellow come from? How did he even become a Great Sage? Couldn't he show a bit more decorum?!*

Having witnessed him unleash the Ultimate Fist, many suspected he was not a rogue cultivator, but rather might hail from a reclusive family.

Ultimately, it wasn't the Heavenly Venerates who reached their limit first, nor was it the Great Sage's image in the young people's hearts that shattered first; instead, it was Li Chentian, the successor of the Martial Lunatic lineage, who could no longer endure it.

This was because he was undergoing a tribulation. And that villain, Cao De, even though he ceased his physical attacks after the Heavenly Venerate's warning, continued his endless verbal intimidation, which was a genuine disturbance and torment for Li Chentian.

This grand tribulation was exceedingly difficult, a matter of life or death. If he couldn't maintain full concentration, he might perish there.

With a notorious scoundrel constantly intimidating and extorting him right beside him, Li Chentian couldn't truly relax. He simply couldn't trust Cao De's character; capable of such outrageous acts, he genuinely feared another sudden, brutal strike.

If he were to suffer another blow from a mother gold brick, Li Chentian was certain he would be finished, unable to endure this grand tribulation.

"Here!" Li Chentian's body glowed as an object flew out, landing on the distant ground. It was indeed... a chunk of mother gold.

Its color was peculiar: one side was yellowish, the other profound black. These nearly fractured hues converged, emanating an aura of the Great Dao that was boundless and terrifying.

"Xuanhuang Mother Gold?!"

Some elder figures were astonished, never having expected to encounter such a pure and incredibly potent mother gold, imbued with flowing Dao principles, on this battlefield.

Xuanhuang Mother Gold was exceedingly rare and precious.

The chunk of mother gold was not small; it was the size of an adult's fist, immensely heavy, and it created a large crater where it landed.

This was far purer than the mother gold found on the Nine-Headed Bird clan's ancestor. The three chunks Chu Feng had just thrown contained numerous impurities.

Furthermore, that other type of mother gold was considered the most common: Earth Mother Gold.

In fact, under the most stringent classification standards, Earth Mother Gold was sometimes not even categorized as true mother gold.

Time Mother Gold, for instance, had been rare since antiquity, with only a handful ever appearing, making its value astounding. Xuanhuang Mother Gold was also considered quite rare and exceptionally precious.

Chu Feng's eyes immediately gleamed green, and with a swift motion, he pocketed it.

Amidst the lightning, Li Chentian exuded a tyrannical aura, his face contorted with murderous intent, his eyes chillingly cold, pupils tinged with red. He resembled a demon god escaped from hell, emanating a sinister, world-destroying chill.

Though he said nothing, his malice was palpable. He swore that once his tribulation was complete, he would brutally kill Cao De, reclaim his mother gold, publicly slay this Great Sage, and thus forge his own legend of invincibility.

No one had anticipated that Cao De would actually succeed in his extortion.

Even the Heavenly Venerates were left speechless. However, the Heavenly Venerates from the opposing faction truly darkened in complexion, secretly blaming Qi Rong for his lack of decorum and for not intervening sooner.

"Get back here!" Heavenly Venerate Qi Rong was in an awkward bind, unable to voice his true feelings. He, too, had never imagined that Cao De would actually succeed in extorting compensation, and of all things, Xuanhuang Mother Gold!

Chu Feng promptly turned, quite cooperative, and retreated into his own faction's ranks.

But just before vanishing, he still called out, "Remember, you still owe me one more chunk of mother gold; we agreed on two as compensation!"

At that moment, many evolutionaries on the Yongzhou side felt a wave of shame, somewhat mortified to face the evolutionaries from Zhanzhou and Hezhou.

"The image of a Great Sage in my heart... has completely shattered."

Some young people mumbled, truly speechless at Great Sage Cao's actions. Public robbery and shameless extortion—this kind of brazen brigandry was simply too wild.

Even the monkey couldn't bear to watch, quietly sighing, "This is so Cao De!"

In the distance, Long Dayu also gritted his teeth, muttering, "This is so Ji Dade!"

And old acquaintances from the Lesser Netherworld also sighed, "This is so Chu Feng!"

Young Barbarian Ox even yelled, "Li Tian, don't you dare falter! You're currently enduring not only the heavenly lightning tribulation but also the human tribulation of Cao De. Once you overcome both, you will achieve unity with heaven and earth, destined to be invincible among all Great Sages!"

This was clearly designed to stir up trouble, deliberately provoking Li Chentian, as if wishing he would cough up blood and perish in the lightning tribulation.

At this moment, Li Chentian's hair whipped wildly, his eyes terrifying. A thick, bloody malevolent aura erupted around him, surging and tearing through the heavenly tribulation. He suddenly grew immensely powerful, his energy skyrocketing, a tyrannical aura permeating the air, chilling his contemporaries and making their hair stand on end. He was practically a demon lord, seemingly poised to cleanse all heavens with blood.

Even Chu Feng felt a bone-chilling cold. Li Chentian was indeed incredibly powerful, bursting forth, resisting the heavenly tribulation, on the verge of becoming a Great Sage.

Though Li Chentian remained silent, his icy gaze conveyed everything: once he succeeded, he would, as a Great Sage, brutally slay Cao De!

As a successor of the Martial Lunatic lineage, to be intimidated and have the mother gold he had saved for forging weapons extorted from him—how could he possibly tolerate that?!

Li Chentian had already disdained Cao De, planning to publicly eliminate him after becoming a Great Sage, seeing him as nothing more than a pile of dry bones, a mere backdrop on his evolutionary journey!

Now, his resolve was even firmer: he would swiftly defeat Cao De!

Just then, from the Zhanzhou faction, a powerful aura surged forth, and a golden path directly unfurled, stretching to the center of the battlefield.

A man, treading this golden path, arrived in an instant, his face etched with murderous intent and fury. He roared, "Cao De, get over here and kneel to your death!"

This was a tall, young man, his face etched with icy coldness and murderous intent, bearing a slight resemblance to Li Chentian. This was Li Chenkun, Li Chentian's elder brother.

He had initially believed that his younger brother would be safe after the Heavenly Venerates from their faction issued a warning. He hadn't anticipated that Cao De would so shamelessly extort his brother's mother gold.

The Heavenly Venerates, feeling it beneath them to bully a junior, said nothing further, quietly awaiting Li Chentian to complete his tribulation and become a Great Sage, after which he could confront Cao De in a decisive battle.

However, Li Chenkun could not endure it; he refused to suffer such indignity or swallow the insult. He immediately charged forward. As an evolutionary at the Reflection level, his power was terrifying, especially as he was a direct successor of the Martial Lunatic lineage.

Li Chentian's elder brother arrived, calling out Cao De by name, ordering him to crawl over and immediately hand over the mother gold, or else he would show no mercy.

Chu Feng said in a deep voice, "Your brother already admitted his fault and gave me mother gold as atonement. Why are you acting so superior? By what right do you demand its return, and even insult me with your words?"

"Crawl over and apologize yourself; don't make me say it twice!" Li Chenkun said coldly.

The entire battlefield fell into an uneasy silence, and people exchanged peculiar glances. The successors of the Martial Lunatic lineage were indeed overbearing, demanding Cao De grovel and apologize—they certainly lived up to their reputation.

If it had been any other family or sect, who would dare to march into the Yongzhou faction's camp and make such demands?

In this world, perhaps only the Martial Lunatic lineage possessed such unbridled audacity and recklessness!

"Dare to say that again?!" Chu Feng uttered coldly.

"Crawl over and apologize, return the Xuanhuang Mother Gold, and kowtow in apology!" Li Chenkun's long hair whipped around him, and his eyes shot forth icy beams, his murderous intent incredibly potent.

"You're nothing! So what if you're at the Reflection realm? I'll finish you!" Chu Feng immediately made his move.

Like a comet, he streaked across the sky, then hurtled towards the earth, vanishing from his spot with a thunderous roar, surging towards Li Chenkun in the heart of the battlefield.

In that instant, it was as if heaven and earth were shattering. The area erupted with a magnificent burst of energy, sand and stones flew, dense runes interwoven with fragmented rules, creating a horrifying spectacle.

Vaguely, the wailing of ghosts and the howling of gods could be heard, and blood seemed to rain from the sky; the bizarre phenomena were utterly terrifying.

Blood splattered. Chu Feng retreated, a severed arm clutched in his right hand, bloody and gruesome.

For a moment, the entire area fell silent. What an astonishing feat! That was a master at the Reflection level, a successor of the Martial Lunatic lineage, yet Cao De had torn off his arm?!

Such a combat record was truly world-shaking. Great Sage Cao De had actually taken down a Reflection-level master of the Martial Lunatic lineage?

"The Martial Lunatic lineage is nothing special!" Chu Feng declared.

The countless young geniuses, both male and female, who had earlier felt the Great Sage's image collapse, were now utterly stunned. An inexpressible surge of heroic pride welled within them, their blood stirring in resonance, as they felt Great Sage Cao once again radiate with brilliant splendor!