One move!
No!
To be precise, it wasn't a move at all, nor was it some Immortal Art or Divine Ability. He simply waved his hand, without even a flicker of spiritual power. Yet, all one thousand-plus Immortal Officials present—whether they were Dharma Aspect Grand Venerables with Nine-Star Immortal Guardians or Hundred-Tribulation Elders who had cultivated for millennia—every single one of them, without exception, collapsed to the ground.
Crippled.
All of them were crippled.
Their Primordial Spirit Dharma Aspects were shattered into mist and scattered smoke.
Their Violet Palace heart-minds were blasted apart, disintegrating into nothingness.
Their meridians were completely severed, their bones and tendons pulverized, their foundations utterly destroyed.
Completely crippled.
This was more terrifying than death. Death could bring an end to everything, but from now on, these Immortal Dynasty Officials would only be able to live like the living dead, incapable of caring for themselves, forever bedridden.
No one had ever witnessed such a world-shaking, earth-shattering scene. No one had ever seen such an utterly terrifying sight.
These thousand-plus people were not some random nobodies. They were over a thousand Dharma Aspect Grand Venerables and Hundred-Tribulation Elders, experts bestowed with Immortal Guardians by the Immortal Dynasty! Such experts could absolutely swagger through the Great Northwest Border Wasteland with impunity, feared by none. No matter which major sect or powerhouse they joined, they would be treated as honored guests.
And now, in the blink of an eye, they had been turned into cripples.
By a man who had merely waved his hand.
Earlier, when Su Hua had stepped forward to stop these Immortal Dynasty Officials from attacking Gu Qingfeng, everyone thought she was shielding him. They believed her claim that these officials were no match for Gu Qingfeng was just a bluff.
At this moment, they realized Su Hua Fairy truly had been shielding someone—but it wasn't Gu Qingfeng. It was these Immortal Dynasty Officials. Because Su Hua Fairy had long known that in front of Gu Qingfeng, these so-called Immortal Dynasty Officials were as insignificant and fragile as ants.
"He actually…
He actually crippled the cultivation of all these officials…"
In the distance, Su Hua stared at the thousand-plus half-dead officials on the ground as if she couldn't believe her eyes, her expression filled with utter disbelief.
Killing was easy.
Killing these officials wouldn't be difficult either.
At the very least, with Su Hua's abilities, she had many methods to obliterate these officials with a single move.
But that was just obliteration. If one spoke of crippling the cultivation of all these people with just one move… she couldn't do it. Because that required an extreme, ultimate level of control over force. This wasn't something one could achieve simply by having high cultivation, great strength, or profound destiny. It required accumulation bit by bit over countless years.
It was like how crushing an ant to death was easy.
But inflicting internal injuries on an ant was extremely difficult.
Was that all?
No.
Su Hua noticed these officials had only had their Primordial Spirit Dharma Aspects destroyed, their Violet Palace foundations extinguished, their meridians and bones severed. Yet their internal organs were completely intact.
Su Hua couldn't imagine to what degree a person must have mastered the control of force to achieve such a terrifyingly precise, microscopic level.
Could it be…
Did Gu Qingfeng truly possess the legendary Absolute Force?
She didn't know.
Nor could she imagine it.
She had always been suspicious of Gu Qingfeng's claim of having fused with a wisp of Lord Chixiao's spiritual will. Now, her suspicions grew even deeper.
A wisp of Lord Chixiao's spiritual will might be powerful, but no matter how powerful, it was at best a great destiny. It absolutely could not allow Gu Qingfeng to achieve such absolute, ultimate control over force. This wasn't something that could be forged through destiny, nor something that could be attained through any spiritual will. It could only come from day-by-day, year-by-year accumulation.
Just who was he?
If it wasn't due to fusing with a wisp of the monarch's spiritual will, then could it be…
Was he truly Lord Chixiao reborn?
This wasn't the first time Su Hua had such a thought.
But each time, she didn't dare to dwell on it.
This time was no exception.
Because the name 'Lord Chixiao' held far too great a significance for her—so great that she didn't dare to speculate recklessly, nor believe it lightly.
Beyond the shock, Su Hua's heart was also deeply stirred, and she felt somewhat guilty.
She could have prevented this battle.
Even knowing Gu Qingfeng's formidable strength, she would have tried desperately to stop it.
Her reason for stopping it was threefold: she worried these officials would lose their lives, she feared Gu Qingfeng would thoroughly offend the Immortal Dynasty because of this, and above all, it was out of respect for life itself.
If possible, she didn't want anyone to lose their life.
Alas.
Nalan Qianqiu's appearance had restrained her here, rendering her immobile. Even if she wanted to intervene, she was powerless.
She could only blame herself.
And that was all—just self-blame.
Beyond self-blame, she felt no pity whatsoever for these Immortal Dynasty Officials.
She respected life, but she was no saint!
She understood better than anyone that these officials had brought this upon themselves by joining the encirclement to attack Gu Qingfeng. Now that their cultivation was crippled, they had no one to blame but themselves, and certainly not Gu Qingfeng.
"Compared to before, he really is much more merciful…
It seems time truly can wear down a person's temperament…" Beside her, Nalan Qianqiu, ethereal and hazy like misty clouds, gazed at the scene within the field and murmured to herself. Then she looked at Gu Qingfeng in this place. When her gaze met Gu Qingfeng's deep, dark eyes, when she sensed the weariness within them, she shook her head and let out a soft, self-mocking laugh. She whispered, "What an utterly ignorant fool I am. How could he possibly have become merciful…
How could his temperament have been worn down by the years? He's just… weary.
Weary of fighting. Weary of killing."
Yes.
Weary.
Gu Qingfeng was truly weary.
He glanced at the thousand-plus Dharma Aspect Grand Venerables on the ground, saying not a word. Then he looked toward the pavilion.
Outside the pavilion.
Thirty people remained frozen in mid-air.
They were none other than Liuguang Qinghong, Xingyao, and the other Immortal Dynasty Noble Scions.
"Get down here!"
Three words in one sentence.
As the word 'get' fell.
Boom!
The Great-Sun Radiance Dharma Forms of Liuguang Qinghong and the thirty other Immortal Dynasty Noble Scions instantly exploded and disintegrated.
As the word 'down' fell.
The hundred layers of Natural Colored Spirits surrounding the thirty Noble Scions completely dispersed.
As the word 'here' fell.
The heart-minds and Violet Palaces of the thirty Noble Scions shattered completely; their meridians and bones were all severed.
"Kneel."
Another command fell.
Gah!
The Noble Scions bled from all seven orifices. Thud! They all knelt down around the pavilion.
Crippled.
Crippled again.
With just three words in one sentence, thirty prestigious Immortal Dynasty Noble Scions had been crippled by him just like that. Their vast, domineering Great-Sun Radiance Dharma Forms were destroyed. Their hundred layers of Natural Colored Spirits were extinguished. Even their innate Immortal foundations were scattered into mist and smoke by Gu Qingfeng's three words.
They were no longer the awe-inspiring, arrogant, domineering, and wildly haughty Immortal Dynasty Noble Scions of before. Now, disheveled and covered in blood, they knelt on the ground, trembling, terrified, filled with fear.
They were afraid.
Utterly afraid.
Afraid to the marrow of their bones, afraid to the depths of their souls.
Especially Liuguang Jiaoying, who was closest to the pavilion and the first to be suppressed here by Gu Qingfeng. Kneeling on the ground, he was already scared out of his wits. Seeing Gu Qingfeng walking toward the pavilion, his trembling intensified violently. Desperate, he shrieked,
"I am an Immortal Dynasty Noble Scion, a disciple of the Liuguang Family! My parents are both renowned Immortals! If you dare touch a single hair on my head today, I'll…"