Chapter 23: Burning Lifespan for Skin Whitening

Xiao Tian looked at Xiang Yuanbai before him, feeling irritated in his heart.

He just couldn't understand why people in this world refused to be reasonable.

Xiao Tian crouched in front of Xiang Yuanbai, lowering his head with a sigh.

"I really didn't want to expose my strength. I just simply wanted to find an excuse to send this Imperial Guard Commander away."

"Is this request really so difficult for you?"

Speaking to this point, Xiao Tian saw that Xiang Yuanbai remained silent, and knew he was wasting his breath.

The fire in his heart couldn't help but surge upward, and he raised his hand to slap him across the face.

Slap!

As a seventh-tier Awakening Realm cultivator who had experienced countless battles, Xiang Yuanbai instinctively activated his protective spiritual qi.

But before Xiao Tian's slap, it was completely useless—it exploded with a bang.

"I'm asking you a question. Speak up!"

Xiang Yuanbai covered his visibly swelling face, shrinking back as he spoke: "I... I... it's all a misunderstanding, senior."

Slap!!

Xiao Tian delivered another slap: "I'm only in my early twenties. Can't you speak properly, hm?"

"My lord, I'm sorry, I..."

Slap!

Xiao Tian suddenly gave him another smack: "Speak louder, I can't hear you."

"..." Blood trickled from the corner of Xiang Yuanbai's mouth. He clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and shouted, "My lord, I..."

Slap! Slap! Slap...

Xiao Tian alternated between forehand and backhand, viciously slapping Xiang Yuanbai: "Why are you shouting so loud? You scared me, you know that?"

Xiang Yuanbai collapsed to the ground, completely dazed by Xiao Tian's slaps.

Naked humiliation.

Compared to the life-and-death battles he'd experienced, these slaps didn't hurt much, but they were terrifyingly loud.

Xiao Tian was trampling his dignity into the ground, grinding it mercilessly.

Yet Xiang Yuanbai didn't dare resist. He could only endure the humiliation, continuously begging Xiao Tian for mercy.

"Young... Young General, what on earth is happening?" Liu Yan's voice trembled as she pinched herself hard, wondering if she was dreaming.

The previously arrogant and domineering Poison Swamp Elder Xiang Yuanbai.

Just moments ago, he had been humiliating the Prince, forcing him to submit.

But in the blink of an eye, the seemingly powerless Prince had transformed into a demon king, beating Xiang Yuanbai like an old dog begging for mercy.

Especially those two mountains that Xiao Tian had shattered with a single stomp—it was like a dream, almost unbelievable.

"Just as you see, the Prince is excessively strong." Zhong Ling patted Liu Yan with a serious expression. "So you must never tell Her Majesty about the Prince's true strength."

"Otherwise, you'd be ungrateful."

Liu Yan looked at Zhong Ling's calm expression and suddenly understood.

So the Young General had known all along—no wonder her temperament had changed so drastically, obeying Xiao Tian's every word.

Of course, the Young General had always worshipped the strong.

For Xiao Tian to possess such terrifying strength and win her over was perfectly reasonable.

"Young... Young General, could the Blood Cloud Tower have been..." A flash of insight struck Liu Yan's mind, her pupils contracting violently.

Zhong Ling nodded: "Since you already know the Prince's strength, there's no need to hide it from you."

"That's right. The mysterious expert who destroyed the Blood Cloud Tower was none other than the Prince."

Liu Yan felt thunderstruck. She truly hadn't expected that the mysterious expert who avenged her husband was actually the Prince!

She stiffly turned around, looking toward Xiao Tian.

The Poison Swamp Elder, one of the Six Evils of the Black Soul Hall—a terrifying existence that made countless people flee in terror.

Yet now he sat humbly in place, motionless, allowing the Prince to slap him at will.

How pitiful...

Even Liu Yan felt some sympathy for him.

Look at that old face—the Prince had beaten him beyond recognition.

But as Liu Yan watched, she noticed something wrong.

Why were Xiang Yuanbai's ten fingers digging into the soil?

"Wait, could it be..." Liu Yan's expression suddenly changed, and she urgently shouted to Xiao Tian, "Prince, retreat quickly!"

"Too late!" The pig-headed Xiang Yuanbai suddenly revealed a ridiculous smile. The aura within his body plummeted wildly.

His spiritual qi also instantly dried up.

But the ground beneath Xiao Tian's feet suddenly became muddy and treacherous, transforming into a purple-black swamp.

Almost in that instant, Xiang Yuanbai abruptly retreated.

And Xiao Tian before him sank entirely into the poison swamp.

"Xiao Tian, you were careless! This is the Nether Poison Swamp I created by burning my lifespan. Even a ninth-tier Saint Entry Realm expert trapped within would die from the poison."

"Even a terrifying tenth-tier Saint Realm existence cannot avoid the toxins invading their body."

Xiang Yuanbai extended his hand, pointing at Xiao Tian.

Age spots had clearly appeared on Xiang Yuanbai's arm—he had aged considerably.

His tone was filled with venomous hatred: "Enjoy it well—this poisonous bath created by burning thirty years of my life."

"Your skin will begin to fester, your flesh will corrode, and your bones will become as fragile as charcoal, crumbling at a touch."

"Struggle all you want! But the more you struggle, the deeper you'll sink, and the faster the poison swamp's toxins will invade your body."

"Hahahaha! So what if you're powerful? You still fell for my trap!"

Xiang Yuanbai laughed maniacally, spitting a bloody glob on the ground.

Gu Hongmao, who had been trembling nearby, also relaxed and laughed along with his teacher.

Earlier, he truly couldn't speak—Xiao Tian had scared him to the point of wetting himself.

Now seeing his teacher trap Xiao Tian with the Nether Poison Swamp created by burning thirty years of lifespan, his mind completely relaxed.

With such a costly Nether Poison Swamp, there was no way it couldn't take down Xiao Tian.

"Young General, save him quickly!" Liu Yan was extremely anxious. She grabbed her blade and was about to rush forward, but Zhong Ling held her back.

Zhong Ling advised: "Sister Liu, don't go up there and cause trouble for the Prince."

"But this is the Nether Poison Swamp. The Prince is indeed very strong, but poison..." Before Liu Yan could finish, Zhong Ling interrupted her.

"No, you're underestimating the Prince. He's not very strong." Zhong Ling shook her head, looking forward again. "He's ridiculously strong..."

Liu Yan watched as Zhong Ling's mouth twitched slightly after speaking, then looked forward again, her expression changing dramatically.

She watched as Xiao Tian walked out of the Nether Poison Swamp expressionlessly, shaking off the purple-black mud from his body.

The purple-black mud droplets, no larger than fingernails, corroded a large area wherever Xiao Tian shook them onto the ground.

Yet Xiao Tian acted as if nothing had happened. In fact, as the poisonous mud slid off, the exposed skin seemed even more... smooth and fair than before?

"That move of yours was pretty good." Xiao Tian extended his hand, giving Xiang Yuanbai a thumbs up. "Burning your own lifespan to exfoliate my dead skin."

The Nether Poison Swamp that Xiang Yuanbai created by burning thirty years of his life not only failed to take Xiao Tian's life.

Instead, it gave him a full-body whitening treatment!

In the distance, Liu Yan was already rubbing her face, gaining a completely new understanding of Xiao Tian's terrifying power.