Chapter 548: Attack! In the underground palace, countless gazes were fixed on that bright, shiny scarlet fruit and they grew increasingly fervent. Nobody noticed that a massive figure was silently approaching from the depths of the palace. The mist around the Vermilion Fruit had almost dispersed entirely. The Vermilion Fruit was completely ripe! Suddenly, the air was still. There was tension and pressure! Many cultivators were motionless except for their roving eyes that darted all around; they did not even notice the sweat pouring down their faces. Given the current situation, any slight movement could cause a massive fight to break out between the paragons! The ten Upper Sects of the North Region – Dark Ghost Sect, Stellar Luna Sect, Blaze Columbus Valley, Shadowless Sect, Heavenly Piercing Sword Sect, Heaven Motion Sect, Seven Kills Sect, Blood Mist Sect, Mystic Firmament Divine Cult, Dragon Tiger Sect. The four gentry clans – Taba, Murong, Yuwen and Gudu. Those powerful factions had lasted through history and managed to endure through the destruction of the Great Qian Empire in the past with their formidable foundations. But now, all the paragons of the ten Upper Sects and four gentry clans were wary and none of them dared to be the first to attack. Although the Vermilion Fruit was already ripe, it was right in front of everyone and the person who made the first move would definitely be at a loss and would probably be drowned in the attacks of everyone! “Hehe!” Suddenly, Taba Feng’s laugh broke the silence. “The Vermilion Fruit is right here. Since no one dares to take it, I won’t stand on courtesy!” Surveying his surroundings with a raring battle intent, Taba Feng took a huge stride forward with a golden halberd in his right hand, sprinting towards the Vermilion Fruit with a condescending aura. Everyone present was all paragons of the North Region; the strongest of the younger generation. Even those that were not from the ten Upper Sects or four gentry clans did not feel that they were inferior to Taba Feng and naturally felt no fear. “Humph!” Dragon Tiger Sect’s paragon harrumphed coldly. “Taba Feng, you think that you’re qualified to take the Vermilion Fruit and reign supreme over the North Region?” Wielding two truncheons, Dragon Tiger Sect’s paragon had a domineering aura when he stood forth! Boom! The golden halberd collided against the twin truncheons and let out a deafening bang with sparks! It was an even split! Both sides were pushed back with that head-on collision. Among the ten Upper Sects, Dragon Tiger Sect was the only one that focused only on body tempering. The Founder Master that established it was a remarkable figure in Tianhuang Mainland and left behind the Dragon Tiger Sutra. It’s said that at the peak of its cultivation, one can subdue dragons and suppress tigers; there was nothing one couldn’t do! The twin truncheons were also known as the Dragon Tiger Truncheons. The truncheon on his left hand was etched with an intricate pattern that looked like a dragon’s scales. The truncheon on his right hand had black yellow flower patterns that resembled those on a tiger’s skin. The weapons that both of them used were perfect-grade spirit weapons! Initially, at the sect competition of Great Zhou, the birth of a perfect spirit weapon was enough to stir the capital and tempt countless Golden Cores. But now, two perfect spirit weapons were displayed the moment two paragons fought! Buzz! All of a sudden! The clear sound of a sword buzzing rang through the void. A sword light flashed. It was blazing white and tore the void into two. The paragon of Heavenly Piercing Sword Sect had attacked and his slash sliced through the void. There was initially nothing there. However, the sword beam illuminated a figure in the air who retreated hurriedly with a flustered expression, dodging the killing move by a hair’s breadth! That was the paragon of Shadowless Sect who was trying to get close to the Vermilion Fruit by hiding himself. However, Heavenly Piercing Sword Sect’s paragon saw through him and forced him out with a single slash! The paragon of Dark Ghost Sect tapped his feet off the ground and charged towards the Vermilion Fruit like a phantom but he was blocked away by a streak of fire. “You!” Dark Ghost Sect’s paragon’s expression was grim. The one who attacked was Wang Yan of Blaze Columbus Valley. A month ago, he escaped from this place and with the help of seniors in his sect, healed his injuries completely and even advanced in his cultivation. He was not only back for the Vermilion Fruit, but also for revenge! The moment Blood Mist Sect’s paragon made a move, a gigantic star appeared before him. The paragon of Stellar Luna Sect had attacked. The paragons of Heaven Motion Sect, Seven Kills Sect, Yuwen Wujia, Murong Wushuang and everyone else attacked either in pairs or in three way fights. The situation was in complete chaos. All the other paragons of the North Region seized the opportunity to strike! A long-faced cultivator relied on the speed of his movement technique and avoided a few fatal attacks in succession, charging towards the Vermilion Fruit. Before he could reach it, a blood mist appeared before him and devoured him completely, leaving no corpse behind! Some other geniuses that tried to close in were cleaved down by Taba Feng’s halberd as well! The battle royale between the paragons of the Ten Upper Sects and the four gentry clans was terrifying as Hell and any cultivators that approached were instantly minced! The many paragons that were present were extremely conservative and did not give it their all yet. If any paragon were to start using a Golden Core phenomenon and cause a threat to others, it would definitely cause a chain reaction and that battle royale would turn even more bloody and cruel! Mu Dongqing and Bai Yuhan stood at the outermost perimeter and looked at the intense battle of the paragons with pale expressions. This was a perfect representation of how savage and cruel the cultivation world was! The two of them witnessed the person known as the number one Golden Core of Great Shang charge in only to be beaten down by the Dragon Tiger Truncheons of Dragon Tiger Sect’s paragon repeatedly. That person had only managed to release his Golden Core phenomenon halfway when he was killed by Dragon Tiger Sect’s paragon and died on the spot! Geniuses of the cultivation world were absolutely worthless at this moment. Only those that could survive the baptism of blood could be considered as the true paragons of the North Region! “This is way too scary!” Bai Yuhan remarked softly, “The paragons of the Ten Upper Sects and four gentry clans are fighting around the Vermilion Fruit. Anyone that wants to get their hands on the Vermilion Fruit will have to pass by them and will definitely fail.” Mu Dongqing nodded. “That’s right, their combat strength is truly way too terrifying.” At that moment, a tall and burly figure rushed into the crowd. The burly man wore rough linen clothes that exposed his thick, muscular arms. His expression was steely and everywhere he passed, everything was overturned as he charged right into the center of the battlefield. “Another person who wants to die.” Bai Yuhan shook her head and sighed gently. In this short period of time, hundreds of Golden Cores have already perished on the battlefield. Any paragon that wanted to approach the Vermilion Fruit would definitely be slaughtered by the paragons of the Ten Upper Sects and four gentry clans mercilessly! In the blink of an eye, the burly man had already closed in and was fighting against the paragon of Blood Mist Sect. There were already dozens of Golden Cores that had died in the hands of Blood Mist Sect’s paragon by now! Controlling his blood mist, the paragon devoured everything and there was nothing he couldn’t corrode and eat up! In fact, Mu Dongqing and Bai Yuhan saw some Golden Cores release phenomenons that were devoured by his blood mist completely! “You must have a death wish!” When he saw that the burly man had no intention of slowing down, Blood Mist Sect’s paragon sneered and released his blood mist to engulf the former. “Scram!” His voice was thunderous and shuddering! Not only did the burly man not dodge or avoid, his gaze was like lightning and when he spoke, there was a mighty aura that burst forth from his body like a surging tsunami! Tsunami blood! The pupils of Blood Mist Sect’s paragon constricted and his expression changed starkly. With a torrential blood qi, the burly man forced back the incoming blood mist instantly! The unstoppable blood mist could not get close to him at all! The burly man did not stop there and extended his massive palm, slapping the blood mist directly. Poof! A huge head was lopped into the air with widened eyes. A single charge by the burly man dispersed the blood mist. Instantly, Blood Mist Sect’s paragon died on the spot in regrets without the chance to even release his Golden Core phenomenon.