As soon as these words were spoken, the two groups of cultivators burst into raucous laughter. That laughter was filled with mockery and disdain, as if they had heard the greatest joke in the world.
“Earth Immortal realm fifth grade? You should take a good look at yourself in a puddle of your own urine! We discovered this immortal spring first. On what grounds should we yield it to you?”
The cyan-robed cultivator clutched his belly, laughing so hard he doubled over, his eyes brimming with sarcasm.
The black-clothed burly man went further, spitting on the ground and snarling viciously, “I think you have grown tired of living! With your meagre cultivation, you dare to snatch our things? Believe me when I say I could punch you right back into your mother’s womb with one blow!”
As he spoke, he deliberately flexed his sandbag-sized fist, as if in the next moment he would smash Chen Ping to pieces.
Seeing this, Hu Mazi grew anxious at once. He was just about to reach into his bosom for a talisman, ready to fight these cultivators, when Chen Ping raised a hand to stop him.
Chen Ping’s face remained expressionless, as if all of this had been within his expectations.
He simply slowly raised his right hand, palm facing down, and pressed it gently.
“Hum…”
An invisible pressure from heaven and earth suddenly spread from Chen Ping’s body, like dark clouds pressing down overhead. In an instant, it enveloped the entire hollow.
That pressure was like an ancient giant beast awakening from slumber, carrying an aura of world-destroying might that chilled everyone to the bone.
The two groups of cultivators who had been clamouring moments before had their smiles freeze on their faces. Then their complexions turned deathly pale, like sheets of white paper. Their bodies sank uncontrollably, as if crushed beneath an invisible mountain.
“This… what kind of pressure is this?”
The cyan-robed cultivator’s sabre clattered to the ground with a clang. He felt as if a great mountain weighed on his chest, making even breathing difficult. His legs trembled incessantly, nearly buckling to kneel.
His eyes were filled with terror and despair, as if he had witnessed the apocalypse.
The black-clothed burly man fared no better. He gritted his teeth fiercely, trying to mobilise the spiritual qi within his body to resist, but as soon as the qi stirred, it was firmly suppressed by the pressure, unable to release even a trace.
He gazed at Chen Ping in horror, his eyes full of disbelief. How could someone at the fifth grade of the Earth Immortal realm unleash such terrifying pressure?
This was utterly beyond the strength of the Earth Immortal realm!
In his view, Chen Ping was like a demon from hell, possessing power that surpassed his comprehension.
“Now, do you still think I am unqualified to claim this immortal spring?”
Chen Ping’s voice remained even, yet it carried an unquestionable majesty, as if he were the master of this world, with everything under his control.
Though the voice was not loud, it rang like thunder in every cultivator’s ears, instilling awe in their hearts.
Where would the two groups of cultivators dare to retort? One by one, their faces drained of colour, their bodies trembling.
They had been scheming to drive Chen Ping and Hu Mazi away moments ago, but now they realised that the one they faced was no ordinary Earth Immortal realm cultivator, but a ruthless figure who had concealed his true strength!
They were like lambs awaiting slaughter, utterly powerless to resist under Chen Ping’s pressure.
“S… Senior, spare our lives!”
The cyan-robed cultivator was the first to react. With a thud, he dropped to his knees and scrambled towards the hollow’s exit on all fours, his appearance utterly wretched, as if a ferocious beast were pursuing him from behind.
“We do not want the immortal spring any more! We yield it all to Senior!” he shouted loudly as he fled, his voice laced with terror and pleading.
The other cultivators, seeing this, also fell to their knees in succession. They did not even bother to retrieve their weapons from the ground and scrambled away from the hollow, fearing that a moment’s delay would mean being silenced by Chen Ping.
In mere moments, the hollow was left with only Chen Ping and Hu Mazi, along with that immortal spring emitting white mist.
Under the gentle breeze, the white mist from the spring wafted lightly, as if recounting the heart-pounding events of just now.
Hu Mazi watched the cultivators’ fleeing backs with their dishevelled retreat and could not help but chuckle, “These people truly do not know when to accept a toast and insist on the forfeit. If only they had known how formidable you are, they would never have dared to be so arrogant.”
