"Hmph! To be dissolved into the elemental stream—how elegant of you! But don't you fear that I might instead refine your true eldritch essence?" The bearded warrior fixed his gaze firmly on Wan Tianming's infant form, his voice cold and steady. "If you truly possess such prowess, then I shall fall at your hands—so be it. But first, let me consider how to withstand the Master's true thunder. After all, let us now discuss how to meet this challenge!" As the infant spoke, he released one of the two thunder pills from his palm without hesitation. The moment it left his hand, the pill exploded, expanding into a wheel-sized cluster of vibrant purple light, surging forward with powerful momentum toward the bearded warrior. The bearded warrior's brows shot upward, his expression darkened with intensity. With a golden hand gesture, he delivered two powerful punches to his chest. Yet, as golden light burst forth, a delicate infant appeared atop his head—his face resembling that of the bearded warrior, standing two inches and a half tall, slightly taller and more robust than Wan Tianming's. Yet its eyes remained closed, hands tightly clutching a small, misty shield. The shield was circular and exquisitely compact, with a translucent crystal stone embedded at its center—about the size of a soybean—radiating brilliant light. As the purple glow approached, the Yuan-En-Stage being remained unopened, yet clearly aware. With a simple gesture of its hand, it raised the shield. A pale green light aura emanated from the shield and enveloped the entire body of the bearded figure. The purple flame struck it without hesitation! Upon witnessing the two figures having their Yuan-En-Stage bodies extricate themselves, Tian Wu Zi and Ji Yin, on the other side, were struck with awe, realizing that these two were truly determined to fight to the end. A thunderous roar erupted in the sky, the entire upper portion of the light aura turning a deep purple-red. Suddenly, a thundercloud of several dozen zhang in diameter appeared, fully enclosing the bearded figure, shielding him completely from wind and rain. Within the cloud, the purple lightning flashed and crackled violently, the thunderous roars and gusting winds merging into a dazzling, relentless display of light—so intense and majestic it seemed as though heaven Others glanced in astonishment, deeply shocked. They had long heard of the prowess of Tian Luo's True Thunder, but the spectacular display as it unfolded was something they had never witnessed before. Indeed, it was truly awe-inspiring—fully deserving of its renowned reputation. While marveling at the thunder's power, their own attacks grew even more fierce and precise. Meanwhile, Wan Tianming's Yuan Spirit paid no attention to the bearded warrior trapped beneath the thundercloud. With his free hand, he suddenly produced a small purple sword. A flash of purple light, and both the Yuan Spirit and the sword vanished. When they reappeared moments later, they were only a few dozen paces away from the five-colored luminous orb below. "Yuan Spirit riding the sword," the four engaged in a tangled struggle all reacted instantly—this was no mere illusion caused by speed, but a genuine, direct teleportation. It was a special ability possessed by cultivators' Yuan Spirits once they had detached from their physical bodies. However, this remarkable elusiveness is a technique that greatly drains one's vital essence—a method well-known to all Yuan'ing-stage cultivators, though rarely employed. Now, Wan Tianming unexpectedly summoned it. No wonder the others felt a surge of tension! Ji Yin and the scholar in the robe, without hesitation, abandoned their opponents and swiftly turned to rush toward the Pu Tian Dan. Their opponents, Tian Wu Zi and the lean elder, exchanged glances, yet for some reason, merely cast a few minor spells to create a show of strength, failing to mount a full defense against their retreat. Thus, Ji Yin and the easy-going resident smoothly broke free and sped off toward the lower region. Wan Tianming's Yuan'ing did not turn around, yet he had already sensed the developments behind him. A subtle, incongruous smile of cold amusement flickered across his youthful face. At his current distance, the Pu Tian Dan would surely be within his grasp in the next moment. Who else could now possibly stop him? Indeed, after the Yuan-Enlightenment of Wan Tianming flickered, he appeared beside the five-colored light sphere, then manifested a massive purple hand that grasped the sphere in one sweep. As the great hand compressed the five-colored light with its five fingers, the radiance faded and vanished, leaving behind a translucent, five-hued pill resting in the palm. Wan Tianming was filled with exhilaration. Yet the JI Yin Master and the scholar in the rujian robe, far from content, were far from satisfied—especially the JI Yin Master, who roared with blazing eyes: "Wan Tianming, leave the Pill of Heaven-Repairing!" A vast expanse of dark yin magical aura descended directly upon them, followed by countless strands of jade-green light, dense and numerous beyond count. "Can you truly contain me?" the infant laughed softly, the purple glow brightening as he instantly materialized beyond the reach of the green and black auras. Standing on a small purple sword some dozen zhang away, the Yuan-Enlightenment regarded the two with a look of amused contempt. But as soon as that mocking smile broke upon his face, his eyes suddenly widened with fear, and he stared upward in sheer disbelief. His youthful face turned pale. In the sky, Wan Tianming's physical form had been lifted high by someone—someone tall and radiant with golden light, no other figure could it be? Yet now, his beard and hair were completely curled, his garments tattered and disheveled, appearing somewhat awkward. Nevertheless, the golden scales covering his body and the fierce expression on his face gave him a terrifying, godlike aura. "It's impossible! How did you come here?" Wan Tianming hurried to gaze at the thundercloud, only to be stunned by what he saw. The magnificent purple thundercloud had vanished completely—no trace of it remained, not even a faint spark of lightning. "Heh! Master Wan Tian, I must say, your luck simply hasn't been very good lately." In fact, I once subdued a rare Lei Whale spirit beast. Though I was severely injured at the time, I managed to secure the lightning-absorbing stone intact within its body. Your Tian Luo True Lightning, though powerful, would merely absorb half its strength—wouldn't you then think you could still hold me off? The bearded man raised his hand, and a glowing purple crystal materialized in it. He then gently shook it, and it vanished without a trace. "Now, I count to three. If you don't hand over the Buhuan Pill, I'll shatter your physical form right here. The consequences, I'm sure you're well aware of!" "One..." "Two..." The bearded man didn't give Wan Tianming a single chance to haggle or consider his options. With one hand he held Wan Tianming's body, and with the other, a golden glow pressed firmly against the head of his torso, counting without hesitation. Wan Tianming was both astonished and furious. Though he had already laid several seals on his physical form before his Yuan Ying stage departed, he found himself still at the mercy of the other's grasp. This, like the fact that the other party possessed the lightning-absorbing pearl, made him find it hard to believe. Yet he had no time to ponder it carefully. If his physical body were truly destroyed, a Yuan婴 (spiritual embryo) cultivator who had only reached the mid-stage of Yuan婴 cultivation would inevitably dissipate into vapor—since he had not yet achieved the level where his Yuan婴 alone could roam the world freely. This was precisely why Yuan婴 cultivators, even knowing that their Yuan婴 could perform powerful, special techniques once separated, still hesitated to let it depart. Yet Wan Tianming, seeing the Heavenly Healing Pill right before him, found himself unable to free himself from the persistent entanglement of the bearded man, and suddenly grew greedy, committing this very oversight. Now, the bearded man stood firm, refusing to haggle at all, which filled Wan Tianming with regret—but also enabled him to quickly assess the advantages and disadvantages. Thus, when the other called out "two," Wan Tianming bit his teeth and, without hesitation, threw the Heavenly Healing Pill upward, truly sending it soaring toward the bearded man. From receiving the Healing Sky Pill from Wan Tianming's Yuan婴 sword-flight, to him reluctantly returning it to the burly man, this dramatic reversal unfolded in an instant. The burly man, eyes gleaming with delight, seized the five-colored pill that had flown to his reach with one hand. Then, without hesitation, he used a single hand to forcefully hurl Wan Tianming's flesh sac back toward Wan Tianming. The sac shot straight toward the opposite wall. Should no one have stepped forward to catch it, it would surely have shattered. Wan Tianming's Yuan婴 was stunned, his spirit soaring to the heavens, and with nothing else on his mind, he flew directly toward the sac. Though the distance was considerable, thanks to the instantaneous teleportation enabled by his Yuan婴's sword-flight, he managed to intercept it in time. Meanwhile, the burly man transformed into a golden rainbow and swiftly fled toward the stone steps. He did not wish to eliminate Wan Tianming outright, for the latter was the master of the Ten Methods Sect—should he strike him hard, their rivalry would truly become irreconcilable with the orthodox forces. Yet the mad old woman of Wanfa Men—this one, he could not even match. He certainly didn’t want to be pursued day and night by her. After all, the current great adversary between the Celestial and Mortal sects remained still the Star Palace. As long as he secured the elixir, he would be content. Seeing the bearded man unexpectedly win the Complementing Heaven Elixir and showing clear intentions to flee from the Xutian Hall, Tian Wu Zi and the lean old man naturally refused to let go, immediately summoning their flight lights to chase after him, determined not to yield. Thus, several senior immortals in the Yuan Ying stage followed the golden glow of Man-Bristle, breaking through the protective barriers at the stone steps in succession and rushing out from the platform. Even Wan Tianming, who had just reattached himself to his body, gritted his teeth and transformed once more into a streak of purple light, chasing after them as well.