.

Li Bo's voice echoed loud enough to draw the attention of the people below, who could only see several figures suspended in midair and wonder what was going on.

The same couldn't be said for the cultivators and guards nearby. As soon as they noticed the commotion, they realized that a fight was about to break out.

"Move, go inform Lady Ye," one of them said.

They were third stage guards, strong enough to handle most situations, but they quickly understood this one wouldn't be so simple.

The mere fact that those people were flying was enough to tell they were at least at the fourth, if not the fifth stage.

That alone alerted them, the situation was dangerous and clearly beyond their control.

While the crowd below started moving, the tension above kept rising.

Hearing Li Bo's words, Cao Jian frowned. He could tell that things weren't going to end peacefully.

He gestured, and the men behind him, understood immediately and spread out, surrounding Li Bo.

Cao Jian himself might have been a fifth stage cultivator, able to face Li Bo head on to some extent, but a battle between cultivators of that level was never peaceful.

He had to avoid damaging the people below, as well as the building itself.

Li Bo smirked at this sight, ignoring the cloaked men circling around him and focusing only on Cao Jian.

"Well then, if that's your decision, don't blame me for what's about to happen," he said.

Without wasting another second, he raised his hand, and several runes formed at high speed, flashing in various directions in front of him before coming to a stop in midair.

As they did, a light began to shine from the center of the small rune formation. It quickly expanded into what looked like a bright, powerful yellowish sphere of energy.

Cao Jian didn't underestimate it. With a motion of his hand, he drew a sword from his dimensional ring and immediately infused it with Qi.

As the two released their auras, the air itself grew heavy, the rising pressure a clear sign that two fifth stage cultivators were about to clash.

The pressure didn't stop around them it spread in all directions, including downward.

But before it could reach the people below, the other men who had surrounded Li Bo acted quickly, erecting a formation that sealed off the area around them, containing the growing pressure.

Neither Li Bo nor Cao Jian paid them any mind, both keeping their eyes fixed on each other, ready to strike.

"Let's see how you handle this," Li Bo said coldly, and with a flick of his hand, the yellow sphere, now nearly a meter wide, shot forward.

It streaked through the air in an instant, heading straight for Cao Jian.

Cao Jian, prepared, didn't back down. Tightening his grip on the sword, he swung it toward the incoming sphere.

A simple movement, but the result was anything but simple.

As the two attacks collided, a deafening, muffled boom erupted, shaking the invisible barrier and even causing visible cracks to appear on it.

More importantly, a massive shockwave of energy burst out, hitting the four cultivators nearby.

They almost lost control of their formation, coughing up blood as they struggled to stay steady.

They were all mostly fourth stage cultivators, and being so close to two fifth stage powers, they suffered heavy internal injuries.

The clash of energy continued violently, waves of power rippling in every direction.

Neither side backed down. Li Bo hovered calmly, his hand still extended, watching his attack being held back.

He didn't seem surprised. His expression remained calm as he said,

"You know, if this had been a few years ago, it might've been difficult for me to deal with you. But things are different now."

As he spoke, he released another surge of energy from his hand, pushing the yellow sphere even harder.

"I'm already on the verge of breaking through, about to reach a realm you can only dream of. Do you really think you're still my equal?" he said, bursting into mad laughter as the pressure on the sphere intensified severalfold.

Instantly, Cao Jian, who had been holding his ground until now, was pushed back.

He barely had time to react before the full force of the attack struck him head on, sending both him and the energy sphere hurtling downward toward the building behind him.

"No…" Cao Jian tried to resist, but the force was simply overwhelming. He could only take the hit directly as he was flung closer and closer to the building.

But at that very moment, when the sphere was only fifty meters away from impact, a faint, invisible barrier appeared in front of it and took the full blow.

As it did, an invisible wave of energy spread out, and glowing runes appeared in the air right where the sphere had been stopped. They expanded outward in a circular pattern, covering the entire building before fading away.

It was a dome shaped barrier, one erected by Zhu Rong to protect this place.

It withstood the attack, which, after pressing harder against it, gradually lost intensity until it completely dissipated, not because it had been stopped, but because the excessive energy was absorbed by the barrier, which used it to strengthen its own defenses.

Seeing this, Li Bo frowned, studying the formation that powered the barrier.

"Interesting… to think you could use such a simple combination in this way. I wonder who created it," he muttered.

With his vast experience in formations and runes, he could immediately discern the nature of the structure behind the barrier, and notice several intresting details.

He was impressed, especially because the base formation was one of the simplest kinds. Yet, the way the runes were linked was different from normal, and the effects were clear, the barrier was remarkably sturdy, strong enough to withstand even his attack.

He was both amazed and curious, but soon his expression turned serious again.

"Hmph. If you think this is enough to stop me, then you're gravely mistaken," he said coldly.

This time, he released his cultivation base completely.

Several talismans appeared around him, moving through the air as they arranged themselves into an invisible formation whose effects became apparent at once.

The air around him began to tremble violently.

The pressure released from his cultivation, already at the peak of the Mortal Realm, close to the Spirit Realm, could no longer be contained and broke through the invisible formation that Cao Jian's four subordinates had created.

They were completely overwhelmed by the sheer force of his power, and one by one they fell from the sky like flies.

Li Bo grinned maniacally as he converted all his spiritual energy into the talismans.

Soon, an enormous snake's head made of condensed light appeared behind him.

It was the manifestation of his nascent soul, something only cultivators who had already entered the early stages of the Spirit Realm could do.

Even though Li Bo hadn't fully reached that point, his comprehension was deep enough to sustain it for a short time.

He didn't think it was necessary to go this far just to deal with a few insignificant insects, but his true goal wasn't merely them.

He wanted to send a clear message that the Li family was not to be underestimated.

And so, he didn't hold back.

He unleashed his strongest attack, sending the giant snake head crashing downward toward the building below.

The snake's head, large enough to swallow an entire structure, descended visibly through the air like a blazing sun.

Seeing this, the people below, some already fleeing, others unconscious from the sheer pressure, could only tremble at the sight of the monstrous being above them.

The snake's head was about to fall onto the building. The pressure distorted the air itself, and even sunlight seemed to vanish behind that colossal form.

Everyone below held their breath, certain the end had come.

But just then, a voice echoed through the air, calm and deep, as though coming from every direction at once.

"Well," the voice said with an almost ironic lightness, "this is quite the welcome."

Time itself seemed to freeze at the sound of those words.

The snake head stopped midair, hanging motionless as if reality itself had been suspended.

Even the dust around them froze, crystallized in the stillness.

Li Bo stiffened, a chill running down his spine. It wasn't just the voice, it was the power behind it, something that defied logic, something even he, with all his strength, couldn't comprehend.

"This… a Spirit Realm cultivator?" he thought in shock, recognizing that type of power. But unfortunately for him, he didn't have time to think further.

In the blink of an eye, everything began to move in reverse.

The snake head retreated into the sky as though time itself were rewinding.

The cracks in the ground that had formed under the immense pressure of the attack closed up.

The crushing pressure vanished, and the skies turned clear once again.

Sunlight poured over the area.

When all was calm, there was no trace of the attack.

Nor of Li Bo.

The only thing that remained was a faint, powerful rustling sound that lingered in the air for a few seconds, before fading away completely.

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