Skull Mountain is a perilous peak that juts out from the sea surface, towering about ten thousand ren high, with its peak crowded with forests, occupying nearly ten thousand square miles in area.

At this moment, as Yu Yuan unleashed a punch, the world suddenly lost its color.

A vast and majestic force swept from south to north.

Destroying decayed woods as if they were nothing, a series of sharp peaks that reached into the sky directly shattered into powder, and in an instant, most of Skull Mountain within ten thousand square miles vanished. Even the white clouds hanging in the distant sky were split into two, revealing a clear blue sky like washed jade.

At a fierce glance, it seemed as though this piece of heaven and earth was punched into two halves.

And the first to bear the brunt, Ma Yuan, was directly turned into ashes beneath this punch.

Even his Heavenly Immortal Primordial Spirit could not escape and was completely obliterated by the terrifying force.

Both form and spirit were destroyed!

"Hisss!"

Having witnessed all this, Madam Shi Ji couldn't help but inhale sharply, feeling her scalp tingle.

As a Golden Immortal of the Jie Sect, Shi Ji's Dao Xing is undoubtedly profound.

Thus, she could clearly feel that this punch was not any Divine Communication Skill but purely strength!

That was truly inconceivable.

In the path of Cultivation, although refining the physical body is also emphasized, most people upon entering the Immortal Path choose to comprehend the Dao, practice divine skills, refine Spiritual Weapons, nurture Spiritual Treasures, and harvest Great Pills...

Any of these done well would significantly and effectively enhance one's strength.

Therefore, the path of physical body refining has long been abandoned by most Immortal Gods.

For one, this path is tiring, bitter, and crude, not fitting the free and easy temperament of those on the Immortal Path; secondly, the progress in physical cultivation is slow, and the enhancement of strength is far less compared to other methods.

Spending a thousand years refining the physical body might allow someone to lift a rock weighing a hundred thousand pounds with physical strength alone.

But if the same amount of time were spent on practicing divine skills, one could have mastered a formidable Wind Control Skill, easily lifting dozens of rocks of the same weight.

Or spending the time on refining Great Pills, a thousand years would be enough to produce a furnace of Great Pills, increasing one's mana by ten or eighteen thousand years instantly… Isn't that much more appealing than refining the physical body?

That was the thinking of Shi Ji, and indeed, of most Immortal Gods.

However, now, having witnessed the power of that punch, Shi Ji wavered.

She couldn't help but compare herself.

If she were standing in Ma Yuan's position facing that punch, could she withstand it?

The answer was no.

At that distance, she wouldn't have the time to deploy a Spiritual Treasure for protection.

And without a Spiritual Treasure's protection, even though she wouldn't be utterly obliterated in both form and spirit like Ma Yuan, it's likely that she couldn't preserve her physical body!

Thinking so, Shi Ji moved her thought, and immediately a ray of light flew out from her sleeve, appearing like a white handkerchief with treasures of Kan, Li, Zhen, and Dui, bearing all treasures like a shield in front of her.

Not until then did she feel a slight sense of security, and she solemnly asked, "Who are you?" Thiscopycomesfromcontenton*.

"I am Yu Yuan, a Primordial One Qi Immortal of Penglai Immortal Island, a disciple of the Golden Spirit Saint Mother."

Yu Yuan candidly reported his background and origin.

"You are a disciple of Sister Golden Spirit?"

Shi Ji widened her eyes in shock, exclaiming, "Then why did you kill Ma Yuan!"

"Elixirs can be taken indiscriminately, but words must not be spoken carelessly!"

Yu Yuan glanced at her, took out a cigarette and lit it, speaking in annoyance, "Just now, it was clearly Ma Yuan who wanted to kill me. I was forced to retaliate after attempts to persuade and warn proved ineffective... You saw all this yourself, didn't you, Uncle?"

Shi Ji: "..."

Indeed, she had witnessed all this with her own eyes, but if there weren't any secrets involved, she wouldn't believe it at all!

Seeing her silent, Yu Yuan added, "By the way, I overheard Ma Yuan saying that he was going to use Xuanyin Essence Gold as a reward to ask you to take action... to slay me?"

Shi Ji's expression changed abruptly, instinctively sensing a crisis.

This crisis was not imminent, but rather lay in the near future!

She knew that if she were proven to have "collaborated with Ma Yuan in attacking the Third Generation Disciples of the Inner Sect," her end would be extremely tragic.

At the moment, she quickly shook her head and said, "Nephew-disciple, please do not misunderstand, all these plans were Ma Yuan's alone, and they have nothing to do with me! Moreover, I didn't agree to them earlier…"

"What is Aunt-master so nervous about?"

Yu Yuan exhaled a ring of smoke and said indifferently, "I was just asking casually."

Believe you? Ha!

Shi Ji cursed inwardly, feeling she must do something, or else she would keep being led by the nose and might be involved deeply.

Just as her thoughts raced, she heard Yu Yuan as if suddenly remembering something, loudly said, "Almost forgot, I inadvertently found a small piece of Xuanyin Essence Gold just now, considering that all treasures on Skull Mountain now belong to Aunt-master... Let's return it to its rightful owner."

While speaking, he flicked his right hand, tossing that gleaming metallic sphere over.

Watching the sphere that glittered with dazzling treasure light drawing a splendid arc in the air, Shi Ji's thoughts spun fast, feeling like two voices were battling inside her.

To catch, or not to catch?

Eventually, she reached out and caught the metal sphere.

The Xuanyin Essence Gold was insignificant, but catching or not catching it represented her stance.

She understood and realized.

Being a plain rock beyond Heaven and Earth, absorbing the spiritual energy of the world, nourished by the essence of the sun and moon, refined through earth, water, fire, and wind, and finally transforming to be able to follow a Saint, her foundation and fortune were extraordinary.

Moreover, having cultivated for a long time and achieved the Golden Immortal Dao Fruit, she was already naturally wise, how could she not understand the meaning behind his words?

After she pocketed the small piece of Xuanyin Essence Gold, Shi Ji nodded slightly and said, "Thank you, nephew-disciple, for retrieving the treasure I lost. What nephew-disciple said earlier is correct, indeed it was Ma Yuan himself who took the initiative to ambush nephew-disciple and even promised great rewards to persuade me to act...

This is what I saw with my own eyes and heard with my ears, and I would recount it in the same way even before the Sect Hierarch."

Yu Yuan was quite pleased, "If only Ma Yuan were as sensible as Aunt-master, why would it have come to this."

His decision to act decisively was not impulsive, but after careful consideration.

In terms of Daoist cultivation, Shi Ji was a Golden Immortal.

In terms of position, she could also be regarded as one of the elite among the external disciples of Jie Sect.

Her words held considerable weight within Jie Sect.

As long as she testified, making the murder of Ma Yuan seem plausible would be quite manageable.

He was satisfied, but Shi Ji slightly shuddered.

How aptly sensible!

If she had not been sensible, knowing how to advance and retreat, would she have ended up with the same fate as Ma Yuan?

This thought reaffirmed her decision to take this path.

After all, she had little to do with Ma Yuan; him being dead was just that.

Moreover, the other party had already arranged everything, she didn't need to fabricate lies, just needed to tell what she saw and heard truthfully.

Even if there were any complications afterward, they would have nothing to do with her.

After all, who could blame her for telling the truth?

On the contrary, if she were to delve into whether Ma Yuan was schemed against and died, she would offend this Third Generation Disciple of the Inner Sect, and then offend her Senior Sister Golden Spirit.

Comparing the two, what decision to make was plainly obvious!

Thus, Shi Ji could only silently sigh in her heart: "Better you die than me."

You Ma Yuan, boasting the identity of a Jie Sect disciple and acting tyrannically every day, since someone from our own isn't cleaning you up now, don't blame me for lacking fellowship.