"Boom!"
"Rumble!"
Trees toppled, peaks shattered; the battle between Gu Fang and Zhuo Zhaoping had reached a fever pitch.
One of them possessed the body of a tyrant god, while the other, though lacking any special physique, had cultivated to the pinnacle of the True Man realm, just a step away from breaking into the sixth-tier True Monarch level.
Their fierce battle was a clash of equals, with neither gaining the upper hand.
"Who are you?"
Zhuo Zhaoping's face darkened, his eyes filled with a mix of killing intent and barely perceptible astonishment as he looked at Gu Fang.
He had thought that capturing the other would be an easy task given his own power. However, Gu Fang's strength was so overwhelming that even though Zhuo Zhaoping had reached the pinnacle of the True Man realm, he couldn't subdue him.
To this, Gu Fang offered no response, his attacks becoming even more ferocious.
"Boom—"
They clashed again, both being forced back by the impact.
At this moment, Zhuo Zhaoping noticed that the disciples of the Heavenly Thunder Sect who had come with him had already fallen, leaving only one barely holding on, his defeat a matter of time.
Seeing this, Zhuo Zhaoping's face darkened further. With a flip of his hand, he revealed a Purple Thunder God Bow. The bow radiated a brilliant purple light, as if forged from thunder itself, surrounded by an endless aura, exuding a soul-stirring power.
"Forcing me to use this treasure, even if you die, you can still hold your heads high!"
With that, Zhuo Zhaoping poured his energy madly into the Purple Thunder God Bow, as if awakening an ancient power, causing the surrounding air to become heavy.
In an instant, Zhuo Zhaoping pulled the bowstring slightly with his bare hands, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth converged madly, forming a phantom arrow in an instant.
As soon as the phantom arrow condensed, Gu Fang felt a chill run down his spine, as if locked onto by a terrifying presence, with no way to escape.
Not only that, all his escape routes were sealed off by an invisible force, leaving him with no way out.
"Prepare to die!"
Zhuo Zhaoping let out a vicious smile, releasing the string.
The phantom arrow instantly pierced through the void, swift as thunder, aiming straight for Gu Fang.
Unstoppable!
Unavoidable!
At this critical moment, an ancient mirror suddenly appeared, emitting a dense light that transformed into a sturdy barrier in front of Gu Fang.
As the arrow collided with the light barrier, both dissipated simultaneously.
Seeing this, Zhuo Zhaoping's vicious smile froze, his eyes filled with shock as he stared at the ancient mirror.
"The Taichu Mirror!"
"You're from the Taichu Sect!"
As the Taichu Mirror fell into Zhang Ming's hands, Zhuo Zhaoping's face changed drastically.
He hadn't expected this battle to involve someone from the Taichu Sect.
In the past, there were many cultivators on the Taichu Immortal Ship, and Zhuo Zhaoping hadn't paid much attention to a newly advanced True Man, only giving him a brief glance before disregarding him.
Thus, when he first encountered Zhang Ming, Zhuo Zhaoping hadn't recalled his identity.
It wasn't until the Taichu Mirror appeared that he realized the person before him was a disciple of Taichu.
Moreover, holding the saint's treasure, the Taichu Mirror, clearly indicated he wasn't an ordinary disciple but likely a candidate for the sect's young master.
At this moment, the last True Man from the Heavenly Thunder Sect also fell.
The five surrounded Zhuo Zhaoping, blocking all his escape routes, reversing the situation in an instant.
"The Heavenly Thunder Sect and the Taichu Sect have always minded their own business. If you let me go, I won't pursue this matter further!"
Zhuo Zhaoping's face was gloomy as he scanned the group, finally fixing his gaze on Zhang Ming.
To him, this candidate for the Taichu Sect's young master was likely the leader.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Ming responded with a cold smile, "Does Zhuo Shaozhu take me for a child, ignorant of the principle of letting a tiger return to the mountain? Now that we've torn our masks off, do you think I'd let you leave alive?"
"Do you want to completely break with the Heavenly Thunder Sect? If I die here, the Heavenly Thunder Sect won't let this go!"
Zhuo Zhaoping shouted angrily, threatening loudly.
To this, Zhang Ming sneered disdainfully, "Rest assured, the Heavenly Thunder Sect will never know who killed you. Even if they do, what of it?"
"Would the Heavenly Thunder Sect sever ties with Taichu over a fallen prodigy?"
These words left Zhuo Zhaoping speechless.
Indeed!
Would the Heavenly Thunder Sect sever ties with Taichu over a fallen prodigy?
To the sect, a fallen prodigy was no different from an ordinary disciple.
Realizing this, Zhuo Zhaoping's face changed dramatically. He spat a mouthful of blood essence onto the Purple Thunder God Bow.
Desperately trying to unleash the full power of the saint's treasure in a bid for survival.
Zhang Ming and the others had anticipated this.
"Everyone, be careful. This Purple Thunder God Bow is a saint's treasure. I have the Taichu Mirror to counter its power. Focus all your efforts on killing him!"
With that, Zhang Ming also spat out a mouthful of blood essence, infusing it into the Taichu Mirror, instantly unleashing its saintly power.
"You think you can take my life that easily?"
Zhuo Zhaoping's expression turned manic as the Purple Thunder God Bow gathered an incredibly terrifying arrow.
Just as he was about to annihilate Gu Fang and the others, the Taichu Mirror emitted radiant light, forming layers of celestial screens to block the Purple Thunder God Bow's attack.
At the same time, the attacks from Gu Fang and the others descended swiftly.
Despite his profound cultivation, Zhuo Zhaoping, under their combined assault, quickly lost his ability to counterattack and was soon completely annihilated.
As Zhuo Zhaoping fell, the Purple Thunder God Bow in his hand trembled violently.
It seemed to respond to a mysterious summons, attempting to break through space and escape.
However, Zhang Ming had anticipated this, and the Taichu Mirror's power suddenly surged, forcefully suppressing the Purple Thunder God Bow.
At this moment, the two treasures confronted each other, like two saints engaged in a fierce battle.
Seeing this, Zhang Ming remained calm, first using his spiritual wood technique to examine the Purple Thunder God Bow.
Unfortunately, the fifth-level spiritual wood technique could only probe the details of treasures up to the fifth level.
The Purple Thunder God Bow clearly exceeded this limit, rendering the spiritual wood technique ineffective.
At this moment, all eyes were on the Thunder Bow.
The bow emitted an immense aura, clashing with the Taichu Mirror.
"What should we do now?" Chu Shan asked solemnly.
Zhang Ming replied, "This Thunder Bow is a saint's treasure, but Zhuo Zhaoping was not its true master, merely borrowing its power. The real master is elsewhere."
"However, in this saint's secret realm, no matter how powerful the master of the Thunder Bow is, they cannot escape. With the Taichu Mirror, we can suppress it together."
Though a saint's treasure was powerful, without a master, its power was roughly equivalent to the sixth tier.
With Zhang Ming and the others aided by the Taichu Mirror, suppressing the Purple Thunder God Bow would not be difficult.
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