"Hmph, Chu Xuanzhengfa, you really look down on this old man far too much."
"If your father were the one standing in my way today, I would not dare to act rashly."
"But you? You can't have entered the Venerable realm for very long."
"And this old man has been in the Venerable realm for many years. Among first-grade Venerables, there are few who can stand against me, let alone a greenhorn like you who just set foot in the Venerable realm." Yuwen Huazang spoke with undisguised contempt.
His demeanor now was entirely different from before. It turned out he had never truly feared Chu Xuanzhengfa — he had been biding his time.
He knew full well that with the Phantom Blood Lotus present, he could not harm Chu Feng. So the moment it vanished, he immediately revealed his vicious true colors.
He even looked down on Chu Xuanzhengfa to some degree.
"That's right, Chu Xuanzhengfa may be powerful, but he's still young. He can't have entered the Venerable realm for very long — the last time anyone saw him, he was only at the peak of Martial Immortal. Could someone like that really be a match for Yuwen Huazang?"
A visible worry crept into the onlookers' eyes.
Yuwen Huazang's reputation for ruthlessness preceded him. The attitude he displayed now only confirmed that he truly did not fear Chu Xuanzhengfa.
It was common knowledge that the Venerable realm was difficult to master, and depending on how well one commanded Venerable-level power, one's strength could vary enormously. Yuwen Huazang was indeed among the elite within the Venerable realm.
Facing such an opponent, the situation for Chu Xuanzhengfa did not look at all optimistic.
Yet compared to the anxiety of the others, Chu Xuanzhengfa's expression never changed. He said calmly, "I already said — you can try."
"Then I'll deal with you first." The instant Yuwen Huazang finished speaking, he struck.
In that split second, heaven and earth trembled violently. A tremendous shockwave, visible to the naked eye, surged outward in every direction.
At that moment, every person present, regardless of their cultivation level, felt a particular aura.
Hope. In that moment, they felt the aura of hope.
However, that aura of death quickly dissipated as another force wrapped around them.
It was Chu Xuanzhengfa's aura — Chu Xuanzhengfa had acted to protect them.
BOOM—
But although Chu Xuanzhengfa's aura had reached them first, Yuwen Huazang's attack followed close behind. The people were sent flying like scattered leaves caught in a violent storm, blown tens of thousands of meters away in an instant.
At that moment, the onlookers felt even greater gratitude toward Chu Xuanzhengfa for shielding them, for that earlier shockwave alone would have been enough to take their lives.