The elder's figure, sinuous as a serpent, came rushing in.
His hand, covered with green snake scales, reached straight for Xu Nian's head.
What spat out of his mouth was actually a snake's tongue.
And those blood-colored vertical pupils emitted a bloodthirsty killing intent.
Xu Nian's gaze instantly hardened, and he smacked his palm on the ground.
His body shot up from the earth.
The Immortal Sword in his hand chopped directly at the elder.
However, the elder let out a cold snort.
Terrifying tendrils burst out from the ground in an instant.
Xu Nian was completely bound in an instant, his sword-wielding motion frozen.
Xu Nian's face changed dramatically in the blink of an eye.
Bound by these tendrils, he was absolutely incapable of wielding his sword in defense.
Thus, he could only watch helplessly as the elder's claw reached towards him.
"Haha, let me rip out your heart and see how it's different from others," the elder laughed heartily.
His claw reached Xu Nian's heart in an instant.
In the next moment, it was about to pierce Xu Nian's skin and plunge into his flesh.
Just when it seemed too late, a sharp glint flashed in Xu Nian's eyes.
A dreadful fluctuation emanated from Xu Nian's body.
With a loud shout from Xu Nian, the tendrils binding him were shattered.
Simultaneously, Xu Nian's hand, quick as lightning, caught the elder's probing claw.
The Immortal Sword in Xu Nian's right hand had vanished, replaced by the layer of blood-red Dragon Scale Boxing Gloves.
The elder was taken aback.
He had never expected Xu Nian to break free from his restraints so suddenly.
For some reason, he felt that the Xu Nian in front of him seemed to have transformed into a different person.
His eyes had turned pitch black.
A terrifying aura radiated from his body.
The elder was shocked and had a bad premonition.
He hurriedly tried to retreat.
But he found himself utterly unable to break free from Xu Nian's grip.
Xu Nian shouted fiercely.
His hand had already formed a tight fist.
A dreadful wave of power transmitted from Xu Nian's fist.
With a thunderous roar, Xu Nian's fist slammed viciously into the elder's abdomen.
The elder's scale armor burst apart in an instant.
A horrifying, landslide-like force poured directly into the elder's midsection.
The elder spat out fresh blood on the spot, his eye sockets nearly splitting.
His face also wore an expression of utter shock.
"How... how is this possible?" the elder screamed inside.
Yet, from Xu Nian's nostrils came a cold snort.
His right hand threw another punch.
This punch landed solidly on the elder's chest.
Not only did the elder's chest scale armor explode,
but the power also tore apart the blue scale armor on his back.
Fresh blood spewed wildly from the elder's mouth; his eyes bulged as large as a bull's.
But Xu Nian did not cease his assault and grabbed the wing on the elder's back.
With a fierce tug, he savagely ripped the wing right off.
Blood sprayed everywhere, flesh turned blurry.
The elder let out a pitiful scream.
The three Battle Saints watching from a distance were left completely agape.
Wasn't the elder occupying the upper hand just now?
How come he suddenly got insanely ravaged by Xu Nian?
Even Leng Yanran, who had been watching the battle from a distance, was dumbfounded.
This is a Battle Emperor Expert, yet Xu Nian cruelly tore off one of his wings?
Xu Nian looked at the elder, who was in unbearable pain, but his eyes did not show the slightest sign of stopping.
On the contrary, there was a bloodthirsty killing intent.
Xu Nian directly swung his Iron Fist towards the elder's head.
Terrifying black light surged around the fist.
Strike him down while he's weak!
This was always Xu Nian's principle.
Just as Xu Nian's fist was about to strike the elder.
The elder let out a thunderous roar, and then an overwhelming force that Xu Nian could not contend with burst forth.
Xu Nian was instantly sent flying.
"Damn, he's unsealed his power," Xu Nian exclaimed in horror.
His body went flying backward with the rebounding force.
At that moment, the elder's blue Scale Armor had receded, and his robe was stained with blood.
His white hair whipped wildly in the air.
An extremely powerful aura was continuously emanating from the elder.
The trees within three thousand miles around were uprooted in this fierce wind.
Leng Yanran also couldn't withstand the terrible fluctuations and was sent flying.
Fortunately, the Undying Devouring Sky Beast took action in time to catch her and retreated with her to five kilometers away.
The three Battle Saints were also frightened by this terrifying aura and retreated hastily.
"Elder Hai actually unsealed his power, this way, isn't he going to..."
The Nine-star Body Saint Peak powerhouse couldn't help but look up at the sky.
The horizon was filled with rolling dark clouds, and the originally clear sky gradually darkened at this moment.
"Did someone tamper with the imperial oath and trigger the Heavenly Tribulation?"
In the direction of the Imperial Capital, many strong individuals were stirred, looking towards the outskirts of the city.
Among them were Emperor-level strong men from the Four Great Families and the Imperial Family.
They looked at the rolling dark clouds in the sky, their faces showing an extremely surprised expression.
Tamper with the imperial oath.
An Emperor Level strong man would trigger the imperial oath only when taking action against a Holy Level or lower strong man.
Such an event had not occurred in hundreds of years.
Now, someone had tampered with it.
Just who was engaged in the battle?
Who was worth a Battle Emperor risking his life to kill?
Inside the palace where the Eighth Prince resided, a young man stood at the front of the hall, watching the rolling dark clouds on the horizon.
His brows were tightly furrowed.
Behind him stood a middle-aged man, whose face also showed great surprise.
"Your Highness, it's in the direction of the Tianling Mountain Range. If I'm not mistaken, it should be Elder Hai who triggered the imperial oath," the middle-aged man said.
Even as he spoke, his face still held a tinge of surprise.
They all knew who Elder Hai went to kill.
But they never imagined that Elder Hai would be pushed to such a point.
That was an Emperor-level strong man with the power of the Immortal Snake.
To be driven to this point by a mere Xu Nian?
At this moment, the Eighth Prince's fist was also clenched tightly, his eyes revealing a strong killing intent.
His star-like eyes darkened to the extreme.
"Your Highness, what should we do now? With Elder Hai unsealing his power, Xu Nian is surely doomed, but this will likely reveal the purpose of our Star Pavilion to everyone's eyes, and what Your Highness desires..."
—The middle-aged man began.
"Humph, useless trash, one little Xu Nian and I've lost a Battle Emperor. Instruct them; I am going into seclusion. Without my permission, no one is to disturb me," the young man said coldly, his sleeves flapping, as he walked into the grand hall.
The middle-aged man, however, stood frozen in place.
"Could it be that His Highness is about to..."
The middle-aged man seemed to have realized something, his face showing an extremely surprised expression.
Then a gleam of excitement burst forth in his eyes.