Having overcome numerous challenges and trials, John Brown has successfully reached the Immortal Realm. However, his journey takes an unexpected turn as he finds himself in the Spirit Domain Realm instead, devoid of his powers, treasures, and memories from the past three centuries. Cut off from his allies and resources, John Brown must unravel the events of the last 300 years in order to find a way back to the Immortal Realm. Will he be able to overcome the odds stacked against him, or will he be condemned to remain in this lower realm forever? With the deck seemingly stacked against him, John Brown 's fate hangs in the balance in A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Immortal Realm, a popular novel by Wang Yu that delves into themes of action, adventure, fantasy, harem, martial arts, and immortal heroes.
The Mortal's Path to Immortality: Immortal Realm
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Chapter 45: That's Impossible
Inside his cave abode, John slowly opened his eyes, withdrawing his spiritual sense from within his body, and there was a weary look on his face.
After taking a moment to compose himself, he flipped a hand over to produce a blue Cloud Crane Herb, which he placed into his mouth and began chewing as a contemplative look appeared on his face.
Moments later, he exhaled before suddenly breaking the silence.
"Bruce, I have some questions for you."
As soon as his voice trailed off, the shadow that was cast onto the ground in front of him warped and elongated, following which a black-robed man with skin as dark as ink rose up from the shadow.
The man cast his gaze toward John in silence, and John wasted no time, cutting straight to the chase.
"Do you know of any secret technique that can seal one's nascent soul using chains that contain some type of power of laws?"
"Does this have something to do with the seal on your nascent soul?"
After the past two years of recuperation, Bruce Wills had also made some strides in his recovery, but he was still rather mechanical in his way of speech.
John nodded in response, then gave Bruce a brief rundown of the state that his nascent soul was in.
Bruce was silent for a moment before replying, "Judging from my past experience, in your current situation, you'll most likely have to recover your former spiritual powers cultivation base, then rely on some secret technique to break the seal on your nascent soul. Unfortunately, due to the seal that's been placed on your nascent soul, it's impossible for you to cultivate and recover your cultivation base, so it seems to be a self-contradicting dilemma."
"I thought that would be the case. In fact, my situation is even worse than what you've just described. Even if I were to self-detonate my physical body and possess another body with my nascent soul, I still won't be able to free myself from this seal," John said with tightly furrowed brows.
"I recall you recently paid a visit to this sect's scripture library. Did you discover anything useful there?" Bruce asked.
"I read through all of their scriptures, but there was nothing of use," Han Li sighed in a resigned manner.
Bruce fell silent again for a moment before replying, "In that case, I can only imagine that there are no secret techniques in this realm of a sufficiently high caliber to provide a solution to your problem. You'll most likely have to find a way to return to the Immortal Realm before you can pursue ways to remedy the issue."
……
In a lush forest somewhere in the Immortal Realm.
The forest was countless ancient trees, some of which were vibrant and thriving, while others were withered and decrepit. There were also some that were of a purplish-red color, presenting a peculiar sight to behold.
Deep in the forest was an open area without any tall trees in this area, only patches of shrubs, creating a stark contrast with the environment around it.
However, at the very center of this area was a strange ancient tree that extended all the way up into the clouds.
The tree was entirely of a dark azure color. The trunk of the tree was extremely straight with very few branches, and there wasn't a single leaf growing on the tree, giving it a bare, pillar-like appearance.
What was even more interesting was that at some point above the tree, there were seven or eight branches growing diagonally out of the trunk, and these branches were supporting a massive gray bird's nest, looking much like an upside-down tattered straw hat from afar.
An incredibly massive bird was laying in the nest, whimpering quietly, seemingly in a great deal of pain.
The bird's entire body was riddled with arrow-like feathers, and it had a disproportionately massive head, but a rather thin neck, and there was a huge pouch hanging near its chest, which was expanding and shrinking with each breath that it took.
All of a sudden, the bird fully extended its neck as it raised its head up high, casting a wary gaze toward a certain direction, and the rate at which the pouch in front of its chest was expanding and shrinking sped up dramatically.
The forest on the edge of the open area rustled violently in three different directions, and a humanoid figure leaped out from each direction before flying rapidly toward the giant nest.
The three figures were all wearing tight-fitting black robes, and they leaped out into the open in perfect synchronicity, with even the degree of their movements completely identical. What was even more remarkable was that the three men were also identical in appearance, with all three bearing the same handsome and youthful male face.
The three were rapidly closing in on the giant nest at an indescribable speed, leaving trails of afterimages in the wake. All of a sudden, all three of them blurred before vanishing on the spot.
The enormous bird was quite alarmed by this, and the pouch in front of its chest bulged slightly, following which it abruptly opened its beak toward the southeast to let loose a deafening cry.
Incredibly powerful soundwaves interspersed with countless azure blades of wind were sent sweeping toward the tall trees up ahead.
The countless blades of wind formed an arc-shaped wall amid the sound of thunderous rumbling, and all of the shrubs in the wake of the wall of wind were uprooted before being torn to shreds, while all of the tall trees in the wall's path were also felled before being reduced to sawdust.
The remnants of all of these plants were swept up by the wall of wind, becoming part of the wall as it continued to sweep through the dense forest without displaying any signs of slowing down.
In the southeast, the two black-robed figures that had just disappeared suddenly re-emerged out of thin air before rapidly descending toward the ground.
At the same time, azure light flashed from their bodies in unison, and they instantly became blurry and indistinct as they flashed through the air, constantly adjusting their speed in a calm and methodical manner to evade all of the oncoming blades of wind.
The giant bird's thunderous roar continued to ring out, and countless more blades of wind were sent sweeping in all directions alongside devastating soundwaves.
However, the two figures were able to traverse casually through the blades of wind as if they were taking a stroll in the park, continuing to approach the giant bird as if there were nothing in their path.
As the two figures drew closer and closer, the giant bird looked down at the nest beneath itself, then let loose a despairing wail.
The fleshy pouch on its chest began to rapidly expand, becoming as large as the rest of its body in mere moments, and it was still continuing to expand.
One of the black-robed young men was furious to see this.
"You think you can self-detonate? Not on my watch!"
As soon as his voice trailed off, the third black-robed young man, who had been concealed this entire time, suddenly appeared in the air above the giant bird without any warning.
He was wielding a long black blade, and with just a flick of his wrist, the blade instantly sliced through the bird's throat amid a flash of black light.
A powerful burst of wind erupted out of the wound, carrying a vast volume of blue blood that erupted like a fountain.
By the time the fountain of blue blood ran dry, the pouch on the giant bird's chest had also shrunk back down to its original size. Its head was laying limply in the massive nest, and its feathers were covered in its blood.
Beneath it was a huge white egg that was tinged with traces of blue blood, and it was nestled against the giant bird's abdomen, looking very lonely and vulnerable.
The three black-robed figures jumped down from the giant bird's head in an expressionless manner, then made their way over to its two wings and its tail. After rummaging through the bird's thick plumage for a while, each of them plucked out a glowing feather.
Right at this moment, a flash of yellow light suddenly lit up from the waist of one of the black-robed figures, accompanied by a burst of urgent buzzing.
The other two immediately arrived by the black-robed young man's side, and the three figures blurred before quickly fusing as one.
Immediately thereafter, the black-robed young man pulled out a round communication plate from his waist, then injected his spiritual sense into it, upon which his brows suddenly furrowed tightly as he exclaimed, "That's impossible!"
A vicious look appeared in his eyes as he spoke, and he quickly stowed the giant egg away before speeding off into the distance as a gust of fierce wind.
Inside his cave abode, John slowly opened his eyes, withdrawing his spiritual sense from within his body, and there was a weary look on his face.
After taking a moment to compose himself, he flipped a hand over to produce a blue Cloud Crane Herb, which he placed into his mouth and began chewing as a contemplative look appeared on his face.
Moments later, he exhaled before suddenly breaking the silence.
"Bruce, I have some questions for you."
As soon as his voice trailed off, the shadow that was cast onto the ground in front of him warped and elongated, following which a black-robed man with skin as dark as ink rose up from the shadow.
The man cast his gaze toward John in silence, and John wasted no time, cutting straight to the chase.
"Do you know of any secret technique that can seal one's nascent soul using chains that contain some type of power of laws?"
"Does this have something to do with the seal on your nascent soul?"
After the past two years of recuperation, Bruce Wills had also made some strides in his recovery, but he was still rather mechanical in his way of speech.
John nodded in response, then gave Bruce a brief rundown of the state that his nascent soul was in.
Bruce was silent for a moment before replying, "Judging from my past experience, in your current situation, you'll most likely have to recover your former spiritual powers cultivation base, then rely on some secret technique to break the seal on your nascent soul. Unfortunately, due to the seal that's been placed on your nascent soul, it's impossible for you to cultivate and recover your cultivation base, so it seems to be a self-contradicting dilemma."
"I thought that would be the case. In fact, my situation is even worse than what you've just described. Even if I were to self-detonate my physical body and possess another body with my nascent soul, I still won't be able to free myself from this seal," John said with tightly furrowed brows.
"I recall you recently paid a visit to this sect's scripture library. Did you discover anything useful there?" Bruce asked.
"I read through all of their scriptures, but there was nothing of use," Han Li sighed in a resigned manner.
Bruce fell silent again for a moment before replying, "In that case, I can only imagine that there are no secret techniques in this realm of a sufficiently high caliber to provide a solution to your problem. You'll most likely have to find a way to return to the Immortal Realm before you can pursue ways to remedy the issue."
……
In a lush forest somewhere in the Immortal Realm.
The forest was countless ancient trees, some of which were vibrant and thriving, while others were withered and decrepit. There were also some that were of a purplish-red color, presenting a peculiar sight to behold.
Deep in the forest was an open area without any tall trees in this area, only patches of shrubs, creating a stark contrast with the environment around it.
However, at the very center of this area was a strange ancient tree that extended all the way up into the clouds.
The tree was entirely of a dark azure color. The trunk of the tree was extremely straight with very few branches, and there wasn't a single leaf growing on the tree, giving it a bare, pillar-like appearance.
What was even more interesting was that at some point above the tree, there were seven or eight branches growing diagonally out of the trunk, and these branches were supporting a massive gray bird's nest, looking much like an upside-down tattered straw hat from afar.
An incredibly massive bird was laying in the nest, whimpering quietly, seemingly in a great deal of pain.
The bird's entire body was riddled with arrow-like feathers, and it had a disproportionately massive head, but a rather thin neck, and there was a huge pouch hanging near its chest, which was expanding and shrinking with each breath that it took.
All of a sudden, the bird fully extended its neck as it raised its head up high, casting a wary gaze toward a certain direction, and the rate at which the pouch in front of its chest was expanding and shrinking sped up dramatically.
The forest on the edge of the open area rustled violently in three different directions, and a humanoid figure leaped out from each direction before flying rapidly toward the giant nest.
The three figures were all wearing tight-fitting black robes, and they leaped out into the open in perfect synchronicity, with even the degree of their movements completely identical. What was even more remarkable was that the three men were also identical in appearance, with all three bearing the same handsome and youthful male face.
The three were rapidly closing in on the giant nest at an indescribable speed, leaving trails of afterimages in the wake. All of a sudden, all three of them blurred before vanishing on the spot.
The enormous bird was quite alarmed by this, and the pouch in front of its chest bulged slightly, following which it abruptly opened its beak toward the southeast to let loose a deafening cry.
Incredibly powerful soundwaves interspersed with countless azure blades of wind were sent sweeping toward the tall trees up ahead.
The countless blades of wind formed an arc-shaped wall amid the sound of thunderous rumbling, and all of the shrubs in the wake of the wall of wind were uprooted before being torn to shreds, while all of the tall trees in the wall's path were also felled before being reduced to sawdust.
The remnants of all of these plants were swept up by the wall of wind, becoming part of the wall as it continued to sweep through the dense forest without displaying any signs of slowing down.
In the southeast, the two black-robed figures that had just disappeared suddenly re-emerged out of thin air before rapidly descending toward the ground.
At the same time, azure light flashed from their bodies in unison, and they instantly became blurry and indistinct as they flashed through the air, constantly adjusting their speed in a calm and methodical manner to evade all of the oncoming blades of wind.
The giant bird's thunderous roar continued to ring out, and countless more blades of wind were sent sweeping in all directions alongside devastating soundwaves.
However, the two figures were able to traverse casually through the blades of wind as if they were taking a stroll in the park, continuing to approach the giant bird as if there were nothing in their path.
As the two figures drew closer and closer, the giant bird looked down at the nest beneath itself, then let loose a despairing wail.
The fleshy pouch on its chest began to rapidly expand, becoming as large as the rest of its body in mere moments, and it was still continuing to expand.
One of the black-robed young men was furious to see this.
"You think you can self-detonate? Not on my watch!"
As soon as his voice trailed off, the third black-robed young man, who had been concealed this entire time, suddenly appeared in the air above the giant bird without any warning.
He was wielding a long black blade, and with just a flick of his wrist, the blade instantly sliced through the bird's throat amid a flash of black light.
A powerful burst of wind erupted out of the wound, carrying a vast volume of blue blood that erupted like a fountain.
By the time the fountain of blue blood ran dry, the pouch on the giant bird's chest had also shrunk back down to its original size. Its head was laying limply in the massive nest, and its feathers were covered in its blood.
Beneath it was a huge white egg that was tinged with traces of blue blood, and it was nestled against the giant bird's abdomen, looking very lonely and vulnerable.
The three black-robed figures jumped down from the giant bird's head in an expressionless manner, then made their way over to its two wings and its tail. After rummaging through the bird's thick plumage for a while, each of them plucked out a glowing feather.
Right at this moment, a flash of yellow light suddenly lit up from the waist of one of the black-robed figures, accompanied by a burst of urgent buzzing.
The other two immediately arrived by the black-robed young man's side, and the three figures blurred before quickly fusing as one.
Immediately thereafter, the black-robed young man pulled out a round communication plate from his waist, then injected his spiritual sense into it, upon which his brows suddenly furrowed tightly as he exclaimed, "That's impossible!"
A vicious look appeared in his eyes as he spoke, and he quickly stowed the giant egg away before speeding off into the distance as a gust of fierce wind.
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Chapter 46: Two Solutions
Inside his secret chamber, John watched as Bruce gradually vanished back into his shadow, and a wry smile appeared on his face. He no longer wanted to think about the seal that was imposed on his nascent soul.
He raised his head to look up at the starry night sky through the huge hole in the ceiling, and a short while later, he rose to his feet before making his way over to Mizar star, the sixth star of the Big Dipper Energy Gathering Array. Once there, he sat down with his legs crossed again, then made a hand seal to cast several incantation seals in succession to activate the entire array.
After taking a moment to prepare himself, John closed his eyes and fell completely still.
Close to an hour later, right as he began to cultivate the sixth level of the Big Dipper Origin Arts, an unexpected turn of events unfolded.
For some reason, the starpower that he was able to draw from the night sky was several times more potent than before, and within the span of just a few seconds, six massive pillars of starlight had taken shape.
If one were to inspect the scene from afar, they would see six pillars of light descending straight from the night sky, giving off immense starpower fluctuations.
John was quite surprised to see this.
He had triggered similar phenomena while cultivating the fifth level of the Big Dipper Origin Arts, but they hadn't been anywhere near as spectacular. There were quite a few cultivation arts in the Spirit Domain Realm that relied on harnessing the power of starlight, so such a phenomenon wasn't all that remarkable. However, given how much of a spectacle he was putting on here, it was going to be very difficult to avoid drawing attention.
He shook his head, not paying the matter much heed as he continued to focus on cultivation.
……
In the air above a certain cave abode stood a burly man, who was looking at the six enormous pillars of light with a surprised and solemn expression.
In the next instant, black light appeared over his entire body, and he flew through the air as a blurry shadow before quickly landing near John's cave abode in a stealthy manner.
The closer he drew to the cave abode, the more he was able to sense the unfathomably immense starpower contained within those pillars of light, which was spreading through the air in powerful waves.
After a brief hesitation, he decided to take a risk and draw even closer for a more thorough examination.
Right at this moment, a voice suddenly rang out beside him without any warning. "Hold on, Bill Murray."
In the next instant, a scholarly-robed figure appeared in front of him in a flash, and it was none other than Clint Eastwood, the master of the Cloudrise Peak.
Bill Murray faltered slightly upon seeing this, following which the black light around him faded, and he immediately cupped his fist in a salute. "Peak Master, I..."
Clint Eastwood raised a hand to cut him off. "There's no need to say anything. Come with me."
Before Bill had a chance to reply, Clint Eastwood sped away toward the pinnacle of the Cloudrise Peak as a streak of white light.
Bill seemed to want to say something, but at this point, Clint Eastwood was already far away, so he could only follow along.
A short while later, Bill descended in front of the hall at the pinnacle of the Cloudrise Peak.
Clint Eastwood was already making his way into the hall with his hands clasped behind his back, and Bill hurriedly approached him.
"Peak Master, given the phenomenon that John has triggered, he's definitely not practicing any ordinary cultivation art. On top of that, his origins have always been suspicious. If we don't investigate this matter properly, what are we going to do if the sect decides to hold us accountable?"
"The supreme elder personally sent me a message not to investigate this matter," Clint Eastwood replied as he continued to make his way into the hall.
A stunned look appeared on Bill's face upon hearing this. "The supreme elder? Why…..."
Clint Eastwood suddenly stopped in his tracks, then turned around as he said, "The supreme elder must have his reasons. All we need to do is follow his orders."
"Alright, in that case, it seems we have no choice Bill replied with a nod.
"Issue an order to all of the disciples of our peak. Tell them that no one is to approach John's cave abode, and disrupting during his cultivation is strictly prohibited!" Clint Eastwood instructed.
"Yes, Peak Master!" Billn immediately departed to carry out the orders assigned to him.
"Who exactly are you, John? The supreme elder is always in seclusion and rarely ever makes an appearance for anything, yet..." Clint Eastwood murmured to himself as he fell into deep thought.
……
The phenomenon triggered above John's cave abode didn't last very long. Close to three hours later, the six giant pillars of starlight disintegrated into nothingness.
Despite the spectacular nature of the phenomenon, not a single person from the sect approached John's cave abode to investigate. It was as if no one had even noticed what was happening.
Inside his cave abode, John was still seated with his legs crossed, and his eyes were already open, but he remained completely still, seemingly a little concerned about something.
The cultivation of the sixth level of the Big Dipper Origin Arts was far more difficult than he imagined. Not only was the process far more complex than it was for the fifth level, most importantly, the amount of starpower required also increased dramatically.
With his current spiritual sense, he was able to satisfy the starpower requirements, but the more spiritual sense he used, the more magic power he would have to expend.
Prior to this, the Cloud Crane Herbs that he had grown were sufficient to support his cultivation, but at this point, even if he were to constantly use the Heaven Controlling Vial to accelerate the maturation of the Cloud Crane Herbs, there was still no guarantee that he would have a sufficient supply to support his cultivation.
At this rate, if he wanted to master the sixth level of the cultivation art, it would take at least a decade.
With that in mind, John's brows furrowed tightly with concern.
He had to return to the Immortal Realm as soon as possible, and he couldn't afford to wait ten years.
Objectively speaking, mastering the sixth level of the Big Dipper Origin Arts in just ten years was already completely unheard of. If Patriarch Cold Flame were to hear about this, his jaw would've most likely dropped straight to the ground.
John stroked his chin in contemplation, and a short while later, a thought seemed to have suddenly occurred to him.
He closed his eyes as he sifted through the scriptures of the Cold Flame Sect stored in his mind.
Moments later, his eyes sprang open as a faint smile appeared on his face.
As expected of one of the three dominant powerhouses of the Spirit Domain Realm, the scriptures of the Cold Flame Sect really did contain two potential solutions, the first of which was directly tied to the Origin Realm Temple.
There were many cultivation arts in the Origin Realm Temple that relied on harnessing the power of starlight, and it was said that the founding patriarch excelled in such cultivation arts.
Inside the temple was a Star Gathering Platform, which had been constructed using countless precious materials, and the platform had an ancient star array engraved upon it.
The array had been personally set up by the immortal founder of the Origin Realm Temple, and it was far more potent than the Big Dipper Energy Gathering Array that Han Li had created.
The array was vastly renowned across the entire Spirit Domain Realm, and it was said that with the assistance of the array, one would be able to easily draw four to five times the power of starlight they would've normally been capable of.
However, this platform was an extremely cherished resource of the Origin Realm Temple, and only the brightest disciple and elders could access it. As for people outside of the sect, it was prohibited for them to even catch a glimpse of the platform.
The second potential solution was to use a treasure known as the Starmoon Mirror, the refinement method for which was recorded in one of the jade slips from the inner library.
The Starmoon Mirror wasn't a powerful offensive treasure. Instead, it was an auxiliary treasure that could attract a vast amount of starpower with an injection of only a tiny amount of magic power.
The refinement method for the mirror was found by chance in a secret area by a Body Integration Stage elder of the Cold Flame Sect.
However, there weren't many star-based cultivation arts in the Cold Flame Sect, and a huge amount of precious materials were required to refine the treasure, so even though this was an extremely precious jade slip, no one had actually used it to refine any Starmoon Mirrors.
Most importantly, the main material used for refining this treasure was the Dawn Stone, which was not only an extremely rare material, but also something that the Heavenly Ghost Sect held in the utmost regard.
It was said that when cultivating the Great Heavenly Ghost Arts, the premium cultivation art of the Heavenly Ghost Sect, a large amount of Dawn Stones had to be expended in the cultivation of the final few levels.
As a result, the few known Dawn Stone mines in the Spirit Domain Realm were all under the Heavenly Ghost Sect's control.
Hence, access to the Star Gathering Platform and refining Starmoon Mirrors were both rather difficult options to pursue.
After a moment of contemplation, John rose to his feet before leaving his cave abode.
fatboy
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What's JB plan for obtaining this mirror
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Chapter 47: Probing
It was already very late at night as John emerged from his cave abode, and he took a moment to ascertain the correct direction before flying away as a streak of light.
However, he had only flown for a short while when an enormous white palm suddenly appeared above him without any warning, then came crashing down upon him.
At the same time, countless white fire lotus flowers appeared in the air around him before revolving on the spot, releasing countless flower petals that instantly encircled an area, making it impossible for John to avoid the descending giant palm.
A glacial aura swept through the area, causing the air temperature to plummet drastically, and a layer of frost had appeared on the nearby ground.
John faltered slightly upon seeing this, then threw a punch to release a burst of enormous power.
A string of dull thumps rang out, and almost all of the white fire lotus flowers disintegrated like apparitions, dissipating into countless specks of light.
The spiritual light on the surface of the giant white palm was also trembling violently in the face of the immense power unleashed by John's punch, and the surrounding space began to warp as a burst of rumbling rang out.
The owner of the giant palm seemed to have been caught off guard by this, and the palm was withdrawn in a slightly panicked manner before vanishing into thin air.
Immediately thereafter, spatial fluctuations erupted not far away, and a humanoid figure appeared. The figure's entire body was enshrouded under a layer of white light, making it impossible to make out their physical appearance. They were holding a translucent blue jade ruler in their hand, and there were profound patterns etched all over the surface of the ruler.
As soon as the figure appeared, they immediately tossed the ruler in their hand high up into the sky.
The ruler circled around in the air before swelling, and all of the patterns on its surface began to radiate dazzling blue light.
The white figure raised a hand, and the massive ruler immediately came crashing down toward John with incredible might.
In response, John reached out with one hand before making a grabbing motion.
Even though no direct contact was made, an enormous burst of force was still sent surging toward the massive ruler, stopping it cold in its tracks and causing the spiritual light on its surface to quiver violently.
Right at this moment, the light radiating from the patterns on the giant ruler brightened significantly, forming a monstrous projection of a creature with a cow's head and a dragon's body.
The projection opened its mouth to let loose a thunderous roar, and the blue ruler began to descend again.
John's eyes narrowed slightly as he activated his Big Dipper Origin Arts. Five specks of blue light immediately appeared on his chest and abdomen, forming a clear Big Dipper constellation. However, the first five stars in the constellation were bright and dazzling, while the other two stars were dull and devoid of luster.
He then abruptly clenched the fingers of his outstretched hand together, causing the nearby space to warp and churn violently.
The monstrous projection released by the giant ruler let loose an anguished howl before disintegrating with a dull thump.
"Stop! It's me, Jason Statham!" the white figure hurriedly said upon seeing this.
The white light around him faded as he spoke, revealing a purple-robed man with a head of white hair.
A hint of surprise flashed through John's eyes, and he stopped right before he was about to clench his hand into a fist.
Jason Statham quickly made a series of hand seals, and the blue ruler shrank down to its original size before returning to his grasp in a flash.
Only then did he heave a sigh of relief.
Through the spirit treasure in his hand, he was able to clearly sense just how fearsome that grab from John was. If he had hesitated even a moment longer, the ruler would've at least been severely damaged, if not completely destroyed.
He hadn't gone all-out in his attack, but judging from how casual and nonchalant John looked, it was clear that he had held back as well.
"What is the meaning of this, Mr. Jason?" John asked in an expressionless manner as he clasped his hands behind his back.
"Please don't misunderstand. I have no intention of disrespecting you, I simply wanted to test your power. After all, your agreement with our patriarch is extremely important to our sect, and I have to see exactly what our sect is getting in exchange for all of the resources that you've taken," Jason said with a smile as he stowed his jade ruler away.
"So what do you think now?" John asked with a hint of a smile on his face.
"You are far more powerful than I expected, Mr. John. In addition to that, it's truly astounding that you were able to cultivate the Big Dipper Origin Arts to this extent in such a short time. There have been some in our sect who have attempted to pursue this cultivation art in the past, but none of them were able to make any substantial progress," Jason Statham praised in a heartfelt manner.
"You're far too kind, Mr. Jason," John replied with a smile. "Regarding the scriptures that I took from the inner library, I can make replacement copies of all of them once I return from my errand."
"Thank you for the kind offer, but there's no need for that. Our sect has backup copies of all of the lost scriptures. All I ask is that you don't forget your promise to our patriarch," Jason Statham said as he cupped his fist in a salute toward John from afar.
"Rest assured, I won't go back on my word," John replied in a calm manner.
"That's very reassuring to hear. It looks like you still have some matters to attend to, so I won't hold you up any longer, Mr. John," Jason Statham said as he cupped his fist in a salute.
John didn't say anything further as azure spiritual light appeared over his body, and he flew away into the distance, vanishing out of sight in the blink of an eye.
……
In the Northern Glacial Immortal Region of the Immortal Realm.
There was a mountain, enshrouded in a dense mist that was filled with spiritual energy. On the pinnacle of the mountain stood a resplendent golden palace that was shimmering under the rising sun.
At this moment, there was an elderly man with a long beard, seated on a sandalwood chair in the palace. The man was wearing a purple and golden robe, and a lotus flower crown on his head. He was holding a jade teacup, out of which he took a small sip, then raised his head to cast his gaze toward the person standing before him.
The person in question was a black-robed young man who appeared to be around 25 years of age, and he extended a respectful bow toward the elderly man as he said, "Immortal Master Adrian Walsh, my name is Simon Pegg, and I've come here today with the hope that you can track down someone for me."
"I have no interest in who you are. Do you know the rules of this place?" the elderly man asked in an indifferent voice as he gently set his teacup down onto the table beside him.
The black-robed young man immediately took a half-step forward as he declared, "I present to you a 10,000-year-old Voidsea Purple Yang Flower, two top-grade Golden Dragon Eye Stones, and a vial of Yin Yang Reversal Elixir. Will that be sufficient, Immortal Master?"
Two intricate purple boxes and a white jade vial appeared in the air before him as he spoke. The lids of the boxes and the stopper of the vial had all been removed to reveal the contents inside.
The elderly man's eyes lit up slightly upon seeing this, and he gave a slight nod of approval. "Looks like you've come to me with some sincerity. Who is it that you're looking for?"
"I'm looking for a formidable foe that I fought against 300 years ago. I thought that he had already perished during our battle, but recently, I learned that he's still alive. However, I don't know where he is right now, and I was hoping that you would help me find him," the black-robed young man replied as his brows furrowed slightly.
"Do you have anything related to his bloodline, or any clippings of his hair or nails or anything like that?" the elderly man asked.
The black-robed young man hesitated momentarily, then flipped a hand over to produce a white porcelain vial, which he offered to the elderly man as he said, "The person I'm searching for has a very special bloodline, and I was able to secure a drop of his blood essence during our battle. Would this be sufficient, Immortal Master?"
The elderly man accepted the vial before swirling its contents around, and to his surprise, the vial was unexpectedly heavy. He then removed the stopper of the vial before taking a slight whiff, upon which a hint of surprise appeared on his face.
"How strange! Who exactly is this person? His bloodline contains the powers of many types of true spirits," Immortal Master Walsh exclaimed.
"Truth be told, he was originally from a lower realm and ascended to the Immortal Realm. He possessed many strange abilities and was an extremely troublesome opponent. I was only able to defeat him by some strokes of fortune," the black-robed young man replied after a brief hesitation.
"I see. Come with me."
Immortal Master Adrian Walsh was silent for a moment before rising to his feet, then made his way toward the rear hall of the palace with his hands clasped behind his back.
The black-robed young man followed him as they passed by a beautiful golden screen, then passed through the rear hall to arrive in a secret chamber.
The secret chamber was extremely spacious with three circles of patterns engraved on the ground, clearly forming some type of extremely complex array. There were no tables and chairs in the room, and the only thing in the chamber was a large copper urn at the very center.
The urn was \ riddled with strange patterns that connected seamlessly with the patterns on the ground.
The black-robed young man followed Immortal Master Walsh to the urn, then looked down to find that it was filled with black liquid, with a reflection of the two visible on the surface of the liquid.
Immortal Master Walsh removed the stopper of the vial in his hand, then tipped all of the blood essence inside into the urn.
A drop of golden blood flowed out of the vial, then fell into the urn with a small splash, sending ripples cascading across the surface of the liquid in the urn.
Immediately thereafter, the inky black color of the liquid in the urn began to recede in all directions, and in the blink of an eye, it had become extremely clear and transparent.
Through the liquid, it could be seen that there were circles of patterns engraved onto the bottom of the urn as well.
Immortal Master Walsh began to chant a complex incantation, then suddenly uttered the word "open".
At the same time, he poked his index finger against his own forehead, then pointed at the large copper urn.
A faint buzzing sound rang out, and the urn shuddered as soon Immortal Master Walsh's finger came into contact with its rim, following which a burst of bright azure light began to radiate from the patterns on the urn.
After that, the light quickly spread along the patterns, and soon, the entire array on the ground had lit up.
Before Simon Pegg had a chance to react, he found himself enshrouded within a vast expanse of azure light.
He discovered that he was standing above a large body of water, and he inspected his surroundings to discover a lush mountain range.
"I'm... inside the urn!" Simon Pegg murmured to himself as an enlightened look appeared on his face.
It was already very late at night as John emerged from his cave abode, and he took a moment to ascertain the correct direction before flying away as a streak of light.
However, he had only flown for a short while when an enormous white palm suddenly appeared above him without any warning, then came crashing down upon him.
At the same time, countless white fire lotus flowers appeared in the air around him before revolving on the spot, releasing countless flower petals that instantly encircled an area, making it impossible for John to avoid the descending giant palm.
A glacial aura swept through the area, causing the air temperature to plummet drastically, and a layer of frost had appeared on the nearby ground.
John faltered slightly upon seeing this, then threw a punch to release a burst of enormous power.
A string of dull thumps rang out, and almost all of the white fire lotus flowers disintegrated like apparitions, dissipating into countless specks of light.
The spiritual light on the surface of the giant white palm was also trembling violently in the face of the immense power unleashed by John's punch, and the surrounding space began to warp as a burst of rumbling rang out.
The owner of the giant palm seemed to have been caught off guard by this, and the palm was withdrawn in a slightly panicked manner before vanishing into thin air.
Immediately thereafter, spatial fluctuations erupted not far away, and a humanoid figure appeared. The figure's entire body was enshrouded under a layer of white light, making it impossible to make out their physical appearance. They were holding a translucent blue jade ruler in their hand, and there were profound patterns etched all over the surface of the ruler.
As soon as the figure appeared, they immediately tossed the ruler in their hand high up into the sky.
The ruler circled around in the air before swelling, and all of the patterns on its surface began to radiate dazzling blue light.
The white figure raised a hand, and the massive ruler immediately came crashing down toward John with incredible might.
In response, John reached out with one hand before making a grabbing motion.
Even though no direct contact was made, an enormous burst of force was still sent surging toward the massive ruler, stopping it cold in its tracks and causing the spiritual light on its surface to quiver violently.
Right at this moment, the light radiating from the patterns on the giant ruler brightened significantly, forming a monstrous projection of a creature with a cow's head and a dragon's body.
The projection opened its mouth to let loose a thunderous roar, and the blue ruler began to descend again.
John's eyes narrowed slightly as he activated his Big Dipper Origin Arts. Five specks of blue light immediately appeared on his chest and abdomen, forming a clear Big Dipper constellation. However, the first five stars in the constellation were bright and dazzling, while the other two stars were dull and devoid of luster.
He then abruptly clenched the fingers of his outstretched hand together, causing the nearby space to warp and churn violently.
The monstrous projection released by the giant ruler let loose an anguished howl before disintegrating with a dull thump.
"Stop! It's me, Jason Statham!" the white figure hurriedly said upon seeing this.
The white light around him faded as he spoke, revealing a purple-robed man with a head of white hair.
A hint of surprise flashed through John's eyes, and he stopped right before he was about to clench his hand into a fist.
Jason Statham quickly made a series of hand seals, and the blue ruler shrank down to its original size before returning to his grasp in a flash.
Only then did he heave a sigh of relief.
Through the spirit treasure in his hand, he was able to clearly sense just how fearsome that grab from John was. If he had hesitated even a moment longer, the ruler would've at least been severely damaged, if not completely destroyed.
He hadn't gone all-out in his attack, but judging from how casual and nonchalant John looked, it was clear that he had held back as well.
"What is the meaning of this, Mr. Jason?" John asked in an expressionless manner as he clasped his hands behind his back.
"Please don't misunderstand. I have no intention of disrespecting you, I simply wanted to test your power. After all, your agreement with our patriarch is extremely important to our sect, and I have to see exactly what our sect is getting in exchange for all of the resources that you've taken," Jason said with a smile as he stowed his jade ruler away.
"So what do you think now?" John asked with a hint of a smile on his face.
"You are far more powerful than I expected, Mr. John. In addition to that, it's truly astounding that you were able to cultivate the Big Dipper Origin Arts to this extent in such a short time. There have been some in our sect who have attempted to pursue this cultivation art in the past, but none of them were able to make any substantial progress," Jason Statham praised in a heartfelt manner.
"You're far too kind, Mr. Jason," John replied with a smile. "Regarding the scriptures that I took from the inner library, I can make replacement copies of all of them once I return from my errand."
"Thank you for the kind offer, but there's no need for that. Our sect has backup copies of all of the lost scriptures. All I ask is that you don't forget your promise to our patriarch," Jason Statham said as he cupped his fist in a salute toward John from afar.
"Rest assured, I won't go back on my word," John replied in a calm manner.
"That's very reassuring to hear. It looks like you still have some matters to attend to, so I won't hold you up any longer, Mr. John," Jason Statham said as he cupped his fist in a salute.
John didn't say anything further as azure spiritual light appeared over his body, and he flew away into the distance, vanishing out of sight in the blink of an eye.
……
In the Northern Glacial Immortal Region of the Immortal Realm.
There was a mountain, enshrouded in a dense mist that was filled with spiritual energy. On the pinnacle of the mountain stood a resplendent golden palace that was shimmering under the rising sun.
At this moment, there was an elderly man with a long beard, seated on a sandalwood chair in the palace. The man was wearing a purple and golden robe, and a lotus flower crown on his head. He was holding a jade teacup, out of which he took a small sip, then raised his head to cast his gaze toward the person standing before him.
The person in question was a black-robed young man who appeared to be around 25 years of age, and he extended a respectful bow toward the elderly man as he said, "Immortal Master Adrian Walsh, my name is Simon Pegg, and I've come here today with the hope that you can track down someone for me."
"I have no interest in who you are. Do you know the rules of this place?" the elderly man asked in an indifferent voice as he gently set his teacup down onto the table beside him.
The black-robed young man immediately took a half-step forward as he declared, "I present to you a 10,000-year-old Voidsea Purple Yang Flower, two top-grade Golden Dragon Eye Stones, and a vial of Yin Yang Reversal Elixir. Will that be sufficient, Immortal Master?"
Two intricate purple boxes and a white jade vial appeared in the air before him as he spoke. The lids of the boxes and the stopper of the vial had all been removed to reveal the contents inside.
The elderly man's eyes lit up slightly upon seeing this, and he gave a slight nod of approval. "Looks like you've come to me with some sincerity. Who is it that you're looking for?"
"I'm looking for a formidable foe that I fought against 300 years ago. I thought that he had already perished during our battle, but recently, I learned that he's still alive. However, I don't know where he is right now, and I was hoping that you would help me find him," the black-robed young man replied as his brows furrowed slightly.
"Do you have anything related to his bloodline, or any clippings of his hair or nails or anything like that?" the elderly man asked.
The black-robed young man hesitated momentarily, then flipped a hand over to produce a white porcelain vial, which he offered to the elderly man as he said, "The person I'm searching for has a very special bloodline, and I was able to secure a drop of his blood essence during our battle. Would this be sufficient, Immortal Master?"
The elderly man accepted the vial before swirling its contents around, and to his surprise, the vial was unexpectedly heavy. He then removed the stopper of the vial before taking a slight whiff, upon which a hint of surprise appeared on his face.
"How strange! Who exactly is this person? His bloodline contains the powers of many types of true spirits," Immortal Master Walsh exclaimed.
"Truth be told, he was originally from a lower realm and ascended to the Immortal Realm. He possessed many strange abilities and was an extremely troublesome opponent. I was only able to defeat him by some strokes of fortune," the black-robed young man replied after a brief hesitation.
"I see. Come with me."
Immortal Master Adrian Walsh was silent for a moment before rising to his feet, then made his way toward the rear hall of the palace with his hands clasped behind his back.
The black-robed young man followed him as they passed by a beautiful golden screen, then passed through the rear hall to arrive in a secret chamber.
The secret chamber was extremely spacious with three circles of patterns engraved on the ground, clearly forming some type of extremely complex array. There were no tables and chairs in the room, and the only thing in the chamber was a large copper urn at the very center.
The urn was \ riddled with strange patterns that connected seamlessly with the patterns on the ground.
The black-robed young man followed Immortal Master Walsh to the urn, then looked down to find that it was filled with black liquid, with a reflection of the two visible on the surface of the liquid.
Immortal Master Walsh removed the stopper of the vial in his hand, then tipped all of the blood essence inside into the urn.
A drop of golden blood flowed out of the vial, then fell into the urn with a small splash, sending ripples cascading across the surface of the liquid in the urn.
Immediately thereafter, the inky black color of the liquid in the urn began to recede in all directions, and in the blink of an eye, it had become extremely clear and transparent.
Through the liquid, it could be seen that there were circles of patterns engraved onto the bottom of the urn as well.
Immortal Master Walsh began to chant a complex incantation, then suddenly uttered the word "open".
At the same time, he poked his index finger against his own forehead, then pointed at the large copper urn.
A faint buzzing sound rang out, and the urn shuddered as soon Immortal Master Walsh's finger came into contact with its rim, following which a burst of bright azure light began to radiate from the patterns on the urn.
After that, the light quickly spread along the patterns, and soon, the entire array on the ground had lit up.
Before Simon Pegg had a chance to react, he found himself enshrouded within a vast expanse of azure light.
He discovered that he was standing above a large body of water, and he inspected his surroundings to discover a lush mountain range.
"I'm... inside the urn!" Simon Pegg murmured to himself as an enlightened look appeared on his face.
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Chapter 48: Abduction
"Don't get distracted! You only have five seconds!"
Immortal Master Adrian Walsh's voice suddenly rang out from above like rumbling thunder, and Simon Pegg hurriedly did as he was told, focusing his attention on his surroundings, but there was nothing to be seen aside from the scenery around him.
All of a sudden, he seemed to have sensed something, and he abruptly lowered his head, upon which he discovered a golden line of blood extending down into the body of water beneath his feet.
Upon closer inspection, Pegg discovered that there was an indistinct azure figure beneath the surface of the water. At times, the figure appeared close, while at other times, it appeared to be quite distant, and Pegg was doing everything in his power to see the figure clearly, but it was a futile task.
Right as he was about to crouch down and plunge his head into the water for a closer look, the trail of blood beneath his feet suddenly blurred before vanishing.
Simon faltered slightly upon seeing this, but before he had a chance to think about anything, his surroundings suddenly became warped and abstract again.
By the time he returned to his senses, he discovered that he was still standing by the large copper urn, and he was hunched over slightly with his hands resting on the rim of the urn.
He looked down to find that the liquid within the urn was still as dark as ever, and it was as if everything that he had just seen had been nothing more than a dream.
"What did you see?" Immortal Master Walsh asked.
"Apologies for my incompetence, but I wasn't able to see anything clearly. The figure that I saw was quite indistinct, and I wasn't able to make out any concrete features," Simon Pegg replied in a truthful manner.
Immortal Master Walsh pondered these findings momentarily, then explained, "In that case, it's very likely that the person you're searching for isn't currently in the Northern Glacial Immortal Region. Instead, they must be in a certain secret area in the immortal region or perhaps a lower realm directly under this immortal region."
"Immortal Master, would it be possible for you to ascertain which secret area or which lower realm he's in?" Pegg asked with a hopeful expression.
"That's preposterous! Do you realize how vast the Immortal Realm is? You've provided me with no coordinates, and you expect me to track down someone with just a drop of blood essence?" Immortal Master Walsh harrumphed coldly in a displeased manner.
Pegg hurriedly cupped his fist in an apologetic salute upon seeing this. "Please forgive me for my insolence, Immortal Master."
A short while later, Pegg departed from the mountain, and he stood in mid-air with his hand clasped behind his back and a cold and sinister look on his face.
"You can run away to any corner of any realm, but I'm still going to find you to tear you to shreds!"
He pulled out a communication plate from his waist as he spoke, then whispered a message into it. After that, he pointed a finger at his own forehead before drawing his finger away from his forehead, and a light screen surfaced over his palm.
The light screen depicted a tall and broad azure-robed young man with a set of ordinary facial features.
With a wave of his hand, the light screen also vanished into the communication plate.
……
Several days later.
Inside a misty valley in the northwestern region of the Prosperous Nation, the sounds of explosions and clashing treasures were ringing out incessantly.
All of a sudden, a resounding boom rang out as the mist exploded violently, immediately following which a streak of green light flew out from within.
The streak of green light contained a young woman with three glowing azure jade badges revolving around her body, and beneath her feet was a green jade spear.
The young woman was none other than Megan Fox, and she didn't make it very far out of the valley before five more streaks of light shot out of the dense mist, flying after her in hot pursuit.
All of her pursuers were giving off Nascent Soul Stage auras, and even though Megan was spurring on the flying spear beneath her feet with all her might, she was still slower than her pursuers.
All of a sudden, Megan made a hand seal and stopped cold in her tracks, then turned to her pursuers with a cold expression. "Who are you and why do you insist on pursuing me?"
The streak of black light that was leading the way among her pursuers faded to reveal a burly man with a thick beard, and he glanced at the flying spear beneath her feet with undisguised greed in his eyes as he chuckled, "Don't ask unnecessary questions. Surrender now and we'll spare you from any physical torment."
The other four streaks of light split up into two groups of two, flying to either side of \Megan to trap her in a tight encirclement.
The streaks of light then faded to reveal a red-faced elderly man, a purple-robed young woman, and two black-robed young men who were completely identical in appearance, appearing to be identical twins.
"What makes you think you can get away with this? Do you think the disciples of our Cold Flame Sect are easy to pick on?" Megan asked as she swept a cold gaze over her assailants.
"You sure talk big for a mere Core Formation cultivator. Let's see if you're still going to be so cocky after this!" the red-faced elderly man chuckled as he abruptly swept a sleeve through the air, and a crimson ring shot out of his hand before sweeping toward Megan as countless crimson projections.
Aside from the burly man, the other three pursuers also each pulled out a treasure, then unleashed a series of magic power attacks of different colors that hurtled directly toward Megan from three different directions.
A grim look appeared on Megan's face, but she was prepared for this, and she swept her hand through the air as she chanted an incantation, and the three azure jade badges around her instantly swelled to several times their original size, manifesting layers upon layers of badge projections that shielded her from all directions.
Four bursts of dazzling light erupted, and the azure badge projections flashed erratically as a string of shattering sounds rang out.
The light radiating from the badge projections had dimmed significantly, but they were able to keep the attacks from the four Nascent Soul cultivators at bay, much to the surprise of all five of Megan's pursuers.
"This is not a place we should linger in, so we have to end this battle as quickly as possible. Take care not to kill her," the burly man instructed, then raised a hand to release the object in his hand, which transformed into a giant black brick
With all five Nascent Soul cultivators joining forces, assault became even more ferocious, and the spiritual light radiating from the azure badge projections quickly dimmed.
However, right in the instant before the badge projections were about to be shattered, Megan raised a hand in an unhurried manner to summon a white silken handkerchief that was glowing with spiritual light, and it seemed to be a treasure that wasn't inferior to the azure jade badges.
The handkerchief circled around above Megan's head, releasing layers of white radiance that rippled through the air around her, encompassing her entire body and giving her an indistinct appearance.
The five Nascent Soul cultivators were quite alarmed to see this, clearly not expecting a Core Formation cultivator to be carrying so many high-grade treasures.
However, it was clear that this wasn't their first time working together, and even though there was no verbal communication between them, all of them immediately injected more magic power into their respective treasures.
A burst of rumbling rang out as the white light around Megan began to tremble violently, but it was still able to hold itself intact.
Inside the white light, Megan hurriedly swallowed a pill, then made a rapid series of hand seals with a tense look on her face.
This was the first time that she had faced several enemies of a far more advanced cultivation base than herself on her own. She was only able to kill Ben Rapper of the Blood Sword Sect with the Essence Fire Raven that John had sealed into her body through special means, and if she hadn't taken a pill in advance to temporarily elevate her magic power so that she could tap into more of the fire raven's power, there was no way that she would've been able to kill Ben Rapper with just a single attack.
She was able to last to this point against her pursuers by relying on the treasures and pills that John had bestowed upon her prior to her departure, but her situation was growing grimmer and grimmer by the second.
I can't allow anything to happen to me! I promised Brother Rock that I was going to keep myself safe!
With that in mind, Megan bit down onto her own lower lip, and a decisive look appeared on her face as she quickly made a hand seal.
A profound silver array on her left arm instantly lit up, and a silver fire raven that was slightly smaller than the one that had taken Ben Rapper's life shot out of her arm, spreading its wings as it flew out of the white light in a flash.
"Argh, what the hell is this thing?"
"No..."
In the blink of an eye, both of the black-robed young men were completely engulfed in silver flames amid cries of panic and horror.
The sequence of events had taken place so abruptly that the other three Nascent Soul cultivators didn't even have a chance to react before the two black-robed young men were incinerated into nothingness. Not even their nascent souls had managed to escape.
In the next instant, the red-faced elderly man was also completely devoured by the silver flames. The protective spiritual light around him was completely ineffective, and he didn't even get a chance to cry out before he was also erased from existence.
The burly man and the purple-robed young woman were horrified to see this, and they immediately turned to flee in different directions.
The burly man's cultivation base was slightly superior to that of the purple-robed young woman, so he was naturally also a little faster.
However, the silver fire raven didn't give them any chance to escape, flying after them like a bolt of silver lightning and covering a distance of several thousand feet in the blink of an eye. It pierced directly through the purple-robed young woman's chest from behind, then plummeted straight down as a scorching ball of fire.
"Master, save..."
Moments later, a blood-curdling howl rang out before abruptly cutting off, and the burly man was also incinerated into nothingness by the silver flames.
The silver fireball then reverted back into its fire raven form before flying back to Megan, vanishing into her left arm in a flash.
Megan was quite relieved to see this, but her face had turned as pale as a sheet, and she was barely able to remain on her feet.
She hurriedly took another pill, and only then did some color return to her cheeks.
Right at this moment, spatial fluctuations suddenly erupted above her, immediately following which a black devilish claw appeared out of thin air before swooping down at an alarming speed.
Before the claw had even fallen upon Megan, the space around her began to ripple violently, and she was struck by a crushing burst of spiritual pressure.
The protective white light around her was already rather unstable, and it instantly collapsed under the immense spiritual pressure.
Megan was greatly alarmed by this, and she hurriedly drew upon her magic power to flee the scene, but in the next instant, the space constricted around her, and she couldn't even lift a single finger, let alone make any hand seals.
She could only look on helplessly as rays of black light were released from the palm of the devilish claw, forming a huge black net that quickly bound her entire body.
The black devilish claw then vanished into thin air in a flash, immediately following which a black-robed elderly man appeared in mid-air not far away.
"Don't get distracted! You only have five seconds!"
Immortal Master Adrian Walsh's voice suddenly rang out from above like rumbling thunder, and Simon Pegg hurriedly did as he was told, focusing his attention on his surroundings, but there was nothing to be seen aside from the scenery around him.
All of a sudden, he seemed to have sensed something, and he abruptly lowered his head, upon which he discovered a golden line of blood extending down into the body of water beneath his feet.
Upon closer inspection, Pegg discovered that there was an indistinct azure figure beneath the surface of the water. At times, the figure appeared close, while at other times, it appeared to be quite distant, and Pegg was doing everything in his power to see the figure clearly, but it was a futile task.
Right as he was about to crouch down and plunge his head into the water for a closer look, the trail of blood beneath his feet suddenly blurred before vanishing.
Simon faltered slightly upon seeing this, but before he had a chance to think about anything, his surroundings suddenly became warped and abstract again.
By the time he returned to his senses, he discovered that he was still standing by the large copper urn, and he was hunched over slightly with his hands resting on the rim of the urn.
He looked down to find that the liquid within the urn was still as dark as ever, and it was as if everything that he had just seen had been nothing more than a dream.
"What did you see?" Immortal Master Walsh asked.
"Apologies for my incompetence, but I wasn't able to see anything clearly. The figure that I saw was quite indistinct, and I wasn't able to make out any concrete features," Simon Pegg replied in a truthful manner.
Immortal Master Walsh pondered these findings momentarily, then explained, "In that case, it's very likely that the person you're searching for isn't currently in the Northern Glacial Immortal Region. Instead, they must be in a certain secret area in the immortal region or perhaps a lower realm directly under this immortal region."
"Immortal Master, would it be possible for you to ascertain which secret area or which lower realm he's in?" Pegg asked with a hopeful expression.
"That's preposterous! Do you realize how vast the Immortal Realm is? You've provided me with no coordinates, and you expect me to track down someone with just a drop of blood essence?" Immortal Master Walsh harrumphed coldly in a displeased manner.
Pegg hurriedly cupped his fist in an apologetic salute upon seeing this. "Please forgive me for my insolence, Immortal Master."
A short while later, Pegg departed from the mountain, and he stood in mid-air with his hand clasped behind his back and a cold and sinister look on his face.
"You can run away to any corner of any realm, but I'm still going to find you to tear you to shreds!"
He pulled out a communication plate from his waist as he spoke, then whispered a message into it. After that, he pointed a finger at his own forehead before drawing his finger away from his forehead, and a light screen surfaced over his palm.
The light screen depicted a tall and broad azure-robed young man with a set of ordinary facial features.
With a wave of his hand, the light screen also vanished into the communication plate.
……
Several days later.
Inside a misty valley in the northwestern region of the Prosperous Nation, the sounds of explosions and clashing treasures were ringing out incessantly.
All of a sudden, a resounding boom rang out as the mist exploded violently, immediately following which a streak of green light flew out from within.
The streak of green light contained a young woman with three glowing azure jade badges revolving around her body, and beneath her feet was a green jade spear.
The young woman was none other than Megan Fox, and she didn't make it very far out of the valley before five more streaks of light shot out of the dense mist, flying after her in hot pursuit.
All of her pursuers were giving off Nascent Soul Stage auras, and even though Megan was spurring on the flying spear beneath her feet with all her might, she was still slower than her pursuers.
All of a sudden, Megan made a hand seal and stopped cold in her tracks, then turned to her pursuers with a cold expression. "Who are you and why do you insist on pursuing me?"
The streak of black light that was leading the way among her pursuers faded to reveal a burly man with a thick beard, and he glanced at the flying spear beneath her feet with undisguised greed in his eyes as he chuckled, "Don't ask unnecessary questions. Surrender now and we'll spare you from any physical torment."
The other four streaks of light split up into two groups of two, flying to either side of \Megan to trap her in a tight encirclement.
The streaks of light then faded to reveal a red-faced elderly man, a purple-robed young woman, and two black-robed young men who were completely identical in appearance, appearing to be identical twins.
"What makes you think you can get away with this? Do you think the disciples of our Cold Flame Sect are easy to pick on?" Megan asked as she swept a cold gaze over her assailants.
"You sure talk big for a mere Core Formation cultivator. Let's see if you're still going to be so cocky after this!" the red-faced elderly man chuckled as he abruptly swept a sleeve through the air, and a crimson ring shot out of his hand before sweeping toward Megan as countless crimson projections.
Aside from the burly man, the other three pursuers also each pulled out a treasure, then unleashed a series of magic power attacks of different colors that hurtled directly toward Megan from three different directions.
A grim look appeared on Megan's face, but she was prepared for this, and she swept her hand through the air as she chanted an incantation, and the three azure jade badges around her instantly swelled to several times their original size, manifesting layers upon layers of badge projections that shielded her from all directions.
Four bursts of dazzling light erupted, and the azure badge projections flashed erratically as a string of shattering sounds rang out.
The light radiating from the badge projections had dimmed significantly, but they were able to keep the attacks from the four Nascent Soul cultivators at bay, much to the surprise of all five of Megan's pursuers.
"This is not a place we should linger in, so we have to end this battle as quickly as possible. Take care not to kill her," the burly man instructed, then raised a hand to release the object in his hand, which transformed into a giant black brick
With all five Nascent Soul cultivators joining forces, assault became even more ferocious, and the spiritual light radiating from the azure badge projections quickly dimmed.
However, right in the instant before the badge projections were about to be shattered, Megan raised a hand in an unhurried manner to summon a white silken handkerchief that was glowing with spiritual light, and it seemed to be a treasure that wasn't inferior to the azure jade badges.
The handkerchief circled around above Megan's head, releasing layers of white radiance that rippled through the air around her, encompassing her entire body and giving her an indistinct appearance.
The five Nascent Soul cultivators were quite alarmed to see this, clearly not expecting a Core Formation cultivator to be carrying so many high-grade treasures.
However, it was clear that this wasn't their first time working together, and even though there was no verbal communication between them, all of them immediately injected more magic power into their respective treasures.
A burst of rumbling rang out as the white light around Megan began to tremble violently, but it was still able to hold itself intact.
Inside the white light, Megan hurriedly swallowed a pill, then made a rapid series of hand seals with a tense look on her face.
This was the first time that she had faced several enemies of a far more advanced cultivation base than herself on her own. She was only able to kill Ben Rapper of the Blood Sword Sect with the Essence Fire Raven that John had sealed into her body through special means, and if she hadn't taken a pill in advance to temporarily elevate her magic power so that she could tap into more of the fire raven's power, there was no way that she would've been able to kill Ben Rapper with just a single attack.
She was able to last to this point against her pursuers by relying on the treasures and pills that John had bestowed upon her prior to her departure, but her situation was growing grimmer and grimmer by the second.
I can't allow anything to happen to me! I promised Brother Rock that I was going to keep myself safe!
With that in mind, Megan bit down onto her own lower lip, and a decisive look appeared on her face as she quickly made a hand seal.
A profound silver array on her left arm instantly lit up, and a silver fire raven that was slightly smaller than the one that had taken Ben Rapper's life shot out of her arm, spreading its wings as it flew out of the white light in a flash.
"Argh, what the hell is this thing?"
"No..."
In the blink of an eye, both of the black-robed young men were completely engulfed in silver flames amid cries of panic and horror.
The sequence of events had taken place so abruptly that the other three Nascent Soul cultivators didn't even have a chance to react before the two black-robed young men were incinerated into nothingness. Not even their nascent souls had managed to escape.
In the next instant, the red-faced elderly man was also completely devoured by the silver flames. The protective spiritual light around him was completely ineffective, and he didn't even get a chance to cry out before he was also erased from existence.
The burly man and the purple-robed young woman were horrified to see this, and they immediately turned to flee in different directions.
The burly man's cultivation base was slightly superior to that of the purple-robed young woman, so he was naturally also a little faster.
However, the silver fire raven didn't give them any chance to escape, flying after them like a bolt of silver lightning and covering a distance of several thousand feet in the blink of an eye. It pierced directly through the purple-robed young woman's chest from behind, then plummeted straight down as a scorching ball of fire.
"Master, save..."
Moments later, a blood-curdling howl rang out before abruptly cutting off, and the burly man was also incinerated into nothingness by the silver flames.
The silver fireball then reverted back into its fire raven form before flying back to Megan, vanishing into her left arm in a flash.
Megan was quite relieved to see this, but her face had turned as pale as a sheet, and she was barely able to remain on her feet.
She hurriedly took another pill, and only then did some color return to her cheeks.
Right at this moment, spatial fluctuations suddenly erupted above her, immediately following which a black devilish claw appeared out of thin air before swooping down at an alarming speed.
Before the claw had even fallen upon Megan, the space around her began to ripple violently, and she was struck by a crushing burst of spiritual pressure.
The protective white light around her was already rather unstable, and it instantly collapsed under the immense spiritual pressure.
Megan was greatly alarmed by this, and she hurriedly drew upon her magic power to flee the scene, but in the next instant, the space constricted around her, and she couldn't even lift a single finger, let alone make any hand seals.
She could only look on helplessly as rays of black light were released from the palm of the devilish claw, forming a huge black net that quickly bound her entire body.
The black devilish claw then vanished into thin air in a flash, immediately following which a black-robed elderly man appeared in mid-air not far away.
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Chapter 49: Extortion
"How did a little demon fox like you acquire such an incredible flame? Oh, I see, that John brat gave the flame to you, right? No wonder he's so troublesome to deal with. This is quite the unexpected blessing. Looks like the heavens are smiling down upon me!" the black-robed elderly man cackled as he stared intently at the silver seal on Megan's left arm.
At this moment, Megan was completely bound and immobilized by the black net, and after hearing what the elderly man had just said, a thought suddenly occurred to her as she exclaimed, "You're Greg Butler of the Heavenly Ghost Sect!"
Butler's smile faded upon hearing this, and a sinister look appeared on his face. "That's right. If you know who I am, then I'm sure you also know why I've captured you."
"You're trying to use me to lure in Brother Rock!"
A furious expression appeared on Megan's face, and a resolute look flashed through her eyes.
Immediately thereafter, her pupils lit up with green radiance, and specks of green light also appeared on her forehead before flashing erratically.
The elderly man extended a finger upon seeing this, releasing a burst of black light that entered Megan's forehead in a flash.
The specks of green light on her forehead were instantly snuffed out, and she fell unconscious before she could do anything else.
"It's still not time for you to die yet. Once I capture that Han brat, I'll take both of you to Chuck's grave and burn you into ashes with my ghostly fire!" Greg Butler harrumphed coldly in a resentful manner.
His gaze then returned to Megan's left arm, and after a brief moment of contemplation, he flipped a hand over to produce a red vial, which was riddled with various types of complex runes.
He tossed the vial up into the air so that it was hovering directly in front of him, then chanted an incantation before flicking his fingers through the air, seemingly preparing some type of secret technique.
A short while later, he abruptly pointed a finger at the vial, and all of the runes on its surface instantly lit up, while a burst of fiery red light flew out from within the vial.
Dozens of translucent threads flew out of the red light, then vanished into the silver seal in Megan's left arm in a flash before pulling outward.
The silver seal immediately began to glow brightly, and specks of silver flames appeared on its surface as the seal was dragged out by the threads of light.
Greg Butler was ecstatic to see this, and he quickly made a series of hand seals.
The light pouring out of the vial instantly became much denser, and more and more translucent threads of light appeared before vanishing into the silver seal.
Megan shuddered slightly as her left arm began to spasm, and she gave a muffled groan.
More and more silver flames were dragged out of the seal to form a silver fire raven, but its aura was extremely feeble, and it appeared to be on the verge of falling asleep.
Right at this moment, a burst of azure light flashed from deep within the seal, and it was attempting to drag the fire raven back into the seal.
A derisive sneer appeared on Greg's face upon seeing this, and he opened his mouth to release a ball of blood essence, which fused into the red vial.
The vial instantly began to glow with dazzling red light, and all of the translucent threads of red light intertwined to form a pair of translucent chains that locked themselves around the silver fire raven's neck.
Silver light flashed from the fire raven, and it suddenly snapped wide awake.
It seemed to have been enraged by the chains around its neck, and it let loose a furious cry as it spread its wings while releasing a pillar of silver flames out of its beak.
The translucent chains instantly evaporated into nothingness upon contact with the silver flames, and the pillar of fire pierced directly through the red vial before hurtling directly toward Greg.
The pillar of fire was traveling at an incredible speed, reaching Greg in the blink of an eye.
Greg Butler was greatly alarmed by this turn of events, and he hurriedly summoned a small green shield while rushing back in retreat, leaving a trail of afterimages in his wake. In the blink of an eye, he was already several hundred feet away, but his left arm had been reduced to ashes as it had come into contact with trace amounts of the silver flame.
If the speck of silver fire that had come into contact with his body had been even slightly larger, he would've at least been severely injured, if not killed.
He took a deep breath, then flipped a hand over to produce a crimson pill that he promptly swallowed. The muscles on the shoulder of his missing arm began to squirm violently, and new flesh began to grow at a rate that was discernible even to the naked eye.
After just a few seconds, his left arm had been regrown.
Only then did Greg Butler cast his gaze toward Megan with a hint of lingering fear in his eyes.
At this point, the red vial and the green shield had already been completely devoured by the silver flames, while the silver fire raven had vanished back into the seal on Megan's arm amid a flash of azure light.
Even though he had just suffered a close call, the incredible display of power put on by the silver fire raven only made him even more determined to tame it for himself.
……
In a lush, low-lying mountain range, a series of intricately constructed pavilions and palaces were littered over the landscape amid clouds of mist that were filled with spiritual energy.
High up in the sky above a certain valley, seven or eight figures were flying through the air before landing at the entrance of the valley.
The group was led by a white-robed young man, and there was a look of arrogant confidence on his handsome face.
As soon as he landed on the ground, he immediately turned to the rest of the group. "We enter the valley right away, and this time, we can't let it escape no matter what."
"Yes!" everyone replied in unison before immediately rushing into the valley.
However, there was a gray-robed elderly woman in the group who didn't spring into action like everyone else. Instead, she made her way over to the young man's side, supporting herself with a strange-looking silver cane.
"You should go as well, Granny Sun. This Purple Cloud Sable is extremely cunning. I doubt they'll be able to capture it without your help," the young man said as he turned to the elderly woman.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Young Master. I was instructed by the temple master to protect you at all times, and I can't stray from my post," the elderly woman replied with a shake of her head.
"You'll only be going into the valley ahead of me to capture the Purple Cloud Sable. How is that straying from your post?" the young man argued as his brows furrowed slightly.
"The Temple Master instructed me to remain by your side at all times. If anything were to happen to you, I could die thousand times without even coming close to atoning for my crime." The elderly woman was still unwilling to oblige.
A displeased look appeared on the young man's face. "This Gourd Valley falls under the jurisdiction of our Origin Realm Temple, and it's also virtually right next to our temple! Who would dare to stir up trouble here? Do they have a death wish?"
"That may be true, but..."
Before the elderly woman had a chance to finish, the young man cut her off in an exasperated manner. "Cut the chit-chat! If the Purple Cloud Sable escapes because of this delay, I'm going to report you to the temple master!"
A hesitant look appeared on the elderly woman's face upon hearing this, but she still held her ground.
"Hurry up!"
The young man immediately flew into a rage upon seeing this.
The elderly woman could only grit her teeth and oblige, flying into the valley as a streak of light.
The young man looked on at the elderly woman's departing figure, and he was still feeling rather angry that his authority had been challenged.
He began to make his way into the valley, but after taking only two steps, he sensed something behind him, and he reflexively turned around.
As a result, he was greeted by the sight of two mesmerizing specks of blue light, and his consciousness immediately began to fade.
John slowly emerged out of thin air behind him with a purple talisman in his hand, and there was blue light flashing within his pupils.
He calmly stowed the High Zenith Invisibility Talisman away, and a faint smile appeared on his face as he made his way over to the young man.
The young man was standing completely still on the spot with a dazed expression and vacant eyes.
"Where is the Star Gathering Platform of the Origin Realm Temple?" John asked.
"On the pinnacle of the Nine Palace Peak," the young man replied in a mechanical voice.
"Oh? Why is it not on the main peak, the Heaven Worship Peak?" John asked with a perplexed expression.
"The Nine Palace Peak is the tallest peak, and the field of view on its pinnacle is broader than on all other peaks. This makes it the most effective location for drawing upon the power of starlight, and that's why our temple's founder established the array there," the young man replied without any hesitation.
"What are the cultivation bases of the people stationed at the Star Gathering Platform?" John asked.
The young man continued to answer John's questions in an expressionless manner, revealing all of the details about the Star Gathering Platform on the Nine Palace Peak.
The Nine Palace Peak was second in status only to the Heaven Worship Peak in the Origin Realm Temple, and there were always many temple elders and disciples cultivating on the mountain.
However, the pinnacle of the mountain where the Star Gathering Platform was situated was a restricted area of the temple, and access to the area was granted only to some inner court elders and a very select group of disciples.
According to the young man, the Star Gathering Platform was encompassed under a powerful restriction, and there was an indeterminate number of elders stationed there, but one thing that was for sure was that there was at least one Body Integration Stage elder there.
John took a moment to process this information, then gently tapped a finger against the young man's forehead before vanishing on the spot in a wraith-like manner.
Only then did a hint of life return to the young man's eyes, and he still recalled that he had sensed something behind him. He hurriedly turned around, to investigate, only to find that there was nothing there.
He shook his head with a confused expression, then turned and continued into the valley.
Meanwhile, John emerged from behind an ancient tree, and he was just about to depart when a burst of light appeared on his waist, following which a yellow talisman flew out on its own without being summoned.
John's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this talisman.
All of a sudden, the talisman burst into flames on its own, and a blurry image appeared within the fire before gradually becoming clearer.
The image depicted a young woman slumped over a stone table. Her face was completely devoid of color, and her eyes were tightly shut in a state of unconsciousness.
Her slender wrist was currently locked within the grasp of a thin and wizened hand.
The owner of the hand was a thin black-robed elderly man who was looking directly at John with a dark expression.
John took a glance at the elderly man, then at the robe that he was wearing, and his eyes narrowed slightly as he concluded, "You must be Greg Butler."
"That's right! Two years ago, you killed my grandnephew, Chuck, then assassinated my close friend, Brad Pitt. After that, you've been hiding in the Cold Flame Sect this entire time like a cowardly turtle! I must say, it's been quite the hassle tracking you down. Now that this little demon fox has fallen into my hands, are you going to save her or not?" the elderly man cackled with a sinister expression.
John's expression remained unchanged as he asked, "What do you want?"
"Come to the Wraith Peak in the Yin Necropolis Valley of our Heavenly Ghost Sect in a month. You must come on your own, and if I don't see you there by the time a month is up, don't blame me for putting an end to her life," Greg Butler said in a cold voice.
He tightened his grip around Megan's wrist as he spoke, and even in her unconscious state, she couldn't help but furrow her brows in pain as her face grew even paler.
A dark look appeared on John's face upon seeing this.
With one final burst of sinister cackling, the flames in front of John vanished, leaving behind only a ball of ash that was quickly carried away by the wind.
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Chapter 50: Breaking Out of the Pagoda
Half a month later, in the Yin Necropolis Mountain Range.
There was a layer of dark clouds in the sky above a tall and steep mountain, and even though it was currently noon, not much sunlight was able to filter down from the sky. It seemed that a storm was afoot.
The mountain was riddled with trees, but these trees weren't of the normal bright green variety. Instead, these trees were of a much darker green color, making the entire mountain appear as if it had come straight out of an ink painting.
Right at this moment, a rift was suddenly opened up in the dark clouds in the sky, and a streak of light shot out, revealing a tall and broad azure-robed young man.
It was none other than John, and he hovered in mid-air as he briefly inspected his surroundings, then closed his eyes to release his spiritual sense over the entire mountain.
Moments later, his eyes sprang open, and a peculiar look appeared on his face. He then continued to fly through the air before descending toward a misty forest.
After landing on the ground, he made his way forward and skirted around an ancient tree, upon which he caught sight of a petite figure in the mist, laying diagonally against a dead tree in a completely still manner.
"Megan," he called out as his brows furrowed slightly.
The petite figure stirred slightly upon hearing his voice, and her eyelashes fluttered, following which her eyes slowly opened.
In the instant that she caught sight of John, an elated look appeared on her pale face, and despite her condition, she still put on a feeble smile. She then opened her mouth to say something, but a restriction seemed to have been placed upon her mouth, making her unable to utter any intelligible words.
"It's alright, I'm here now," John consoled as he slowly made his way toward her.
A thought seemed to have suddenly occurred to Megan upon seeing this, and a horrified look appeared in her eyes as she frantically shook her head at John.
However, John paid no heed to this and continued to advance toward her. In her desperation, she tried to struggle into an upright position, but a burst of loud crackling suddenly rang out around her.
A series of chains that were flashing with arcs of black electricity appeared over her body, binding her from head to toe. As soon as she made even the slightest move, the chains would release bursts of black electricity to torment her.
John's expression remained unchanged at the sight of the agonized look on Megan's face, but a hint of cold killing intent flashed through his eyes as he continued to advance.
Right as he took another step forward, an unexpected turn of events abruptly unfolded.
The white mist in the forest suddenly turned as dark as ink, and it began to churn violently. Immediately thereafter, a gust of fierce wind swept into the forest, and all of the black mist instantly transformed into a giant vortex.
The surrounding temperatures plummeted drastically, and ghastly howling rang out in all directions.
John was situated at the center of the vortex, and everything suddenly turned dark around him, while a burst of suction force erupted from the vortex, trying to drag him downward.
He gave a cold harrumph as he continued to approach Megan, seemingly completely unaffected by the vortex.
Right at this moment, a burst of loud rumbling rang out from underground, and the ground on either side of him quaked violently before shattering with explosive force.
A pair of giant ghostly hands that were riddled with sharp spikes erupted out of the ground before grabbing tightly onto Johns legs.
Almost at the exact same moment, the black mist above his head scattered in all directions, and a burst of immense pressure came crashing down upon him from above.
An earth-shattering boom rang out as a dark purple octagonal pagoda descended from the heavens like an immovable mountain, trapping John within.
The pagoda was tall with purple spirit patterns all over its surface, and it was giving off an indescribably sinister aura.
All of this had taken place in the blink of an eye, and it seemed that John had fallen into the trap before he even had a chance to react.
A string of panicked, muffled sounds instantly rang out from Megan's mouth upon seeing this, and she began to struggle violently.
However, the more she struggled, the tighter the chains on her body constricted around her, and the arcs of black electricity surging along the lengths of those chains were inflicting such severe agony upon her that cold sweat was pouring down her forehead.
The ghostly mist around the pagoda surged, and four figures emerged around the pagoda in a flash.
One of the four figures was none other than Greg Butler, and directly across from him was a well-built yellow-robed man, while the remaining two figures consisted of a thin middle-aged man in a silver robe and a red-robed middle-aged woman.
All four of them were Deity Transformation cultivators, and they were all making the same hand seal, which they only withdrew once they had reached the pagoda.
"It's all thanks to this Purple Nether Pagoda of yours that we were able to capture that John brat in one fell swoop, Elder Denis," Greg said with a smile as he cupped his fist in a salute toward the yellow-robed man.
A pleased look appeared on the yellow-robed man's face, and he glanced at the pagoda as he replied, "You're far too kind, Elder Butler. Speaking of which, you had to pay quite a heavy price for me to borrow this powerful treasure from my master, yet you're using it to target a mere Nascent Soul cultivator? Don't you think this is overkill?"
"I did this as a safety precaution. After all, Elder Brad Pittperished by his hands, and for that, I received quite a severe punishment from the Enforcement Hall," Greg Butler sighed with a shake of his head.
"In any case, now that we've helped you capture him, don't forget about the things that you promised us, Brother Butler," the red-robed woman said with a faint smile.
"Of course. Rest assured..."
Before Greg Butler had a chance to finish his sentence, the giant pagoda suddenly shuddered violently along with the earth around it. As a result, he was distracted from what he was saying, and his voice trailed off mid-sentence.
"What's going on here?" the red-robed woman asked with a surprised look in her eyes.
The silver-robed man standing across from her chuckled in a nonchalant manner as he replied, "There's no need to be alarmed. My Rot Brute Ghost is in there with that Han brat. It seems like he's trying to resist and break out, but I'm afraid things won't end so well for him."
"I didn't think that your Rot Brute Ghost would already be powerful enough to shake the Purple Nether Tower," the red-robed woman said in a relieved voice as she patted her own voluptuous chest.
As soon as her voice trailed off, another rumbling boom rang out from within the purple pagoda, and this one was even louder than the last one.
The earth quaked violently beneath the feet of the four Deity Transformation cultivators, and they were struggling to keep their balance.
At the same time, a series of deep rifts had appeared on the ground, and the rifts were only continuing to expand like a system of cobwebs.
The red-robed woman's expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and she turned to the silver-robed man as she asked, "Is this your Rot Brute Ghost's doing as well, Brother Lewis?"
The silver-robed man was just about to open his mouth to say something when he involuntarily threw up a mouthful of blood.
"Impossible! My Rot Brute Ghost has been killed..." the silver-robed man exclaimed with a stunned expression as he wiped the blood from the corners of his lips.
Greg Butler and the red-robed women were shocked to hear this.
"It seems that Elder Butler was correct. This John brat really does possess an incredibly formidable physical body. Having said that, there's no need to be alarmed. This Purple Nether Pagoda is a Divine Spirit Treasure. Even a Spatial Tempering cultivator would struggle to break free from it, how could a mere Nascent Soul cultivator possibly do anything?" the yellow-robed man said in a confident manner.
"That may be true, but this treasure is something that can only be used by Body Integration cultivators. With our combined powers, we're just barely able to use it, but it's still significantly less effective than it otherwise would be. If you ask me, we should go all-out right now and use the pagoda to kill him as soon as possible," Greg Butler suggested with tightly furrowed brows, clearly still rather concerned.
"I concur with Brother Butler's proposal. We should kill that John brat as soon as possible to avoid any unforeseen circumstances. Once his physical body is destroyed, his nascent soul will be completely at our mercy," the silver-robed man chimed in with a vicious expression.
With the decision made, the four Deity Transformation cultivators adopted the same hand seal once again as they began to chant an incantation.
All of the purple patterns on the giant pagoda immediately lit up, and countless profound runes emerged in a flash. Wisps of dense purple qi began to emanate from the pagoda, causing the surrounding air temperature to plummet even further, so much so that large patches of frost were beginning to appear in the nearby area.
At the same time, the entire pagoda seemed to have become heavier, and it embedded itself deep into the ground.
However, before the four Deity Transformation cultivators had a chance to do anything else, the giant pagoda shuddered violently once again, and the spirit patterns on its surface began to flash erratically.
The yellow-robed man's expression changed drastically upon seeing this, and in the next instant, a series of massive cracks appeared on the surface of the pagoda, running down its entire length from top to bottom.
Immediately thereafter, the giant pagoda exploded violently right before the astonished eyes of the four Deity Transformation cultivators, and a huge cloud of purple mist rose up into the air.
A burst of incredibly powerful shockwaves spread through the surrounding area, and even though the four Deity Transformation cultivators were doing their best to hold their ground, they still couldn't help but be forced back. Meanwhile, Megan was also picked up by the shockwaves and sent flying back through the air.
The shattered remains of the pagoda clattered down onto the ground, and as the dust slowly settled, a fearsome giant ghost was revealed. The ghostly creature was laying flat on its back with a huge hole punched through its chest, out of which putrid black blood was flowing incessantly.
John stood atop the head of the giant ghost, and he took a glance at Megan to ensure that she was unharmed, then directed a cold gaze toward the four Deity Transformation cultivators around him.
The four Deity Transformation cultivators were astonished, and the prospect of a Nascent Soul cultivator destroying the Purple Nether Pagoda from the inside was downright preposterous to them, but it seemed that there was no other possible explanation for this situation.
In the next instant, John threw a pair of punches through the air, the first of which was directed toward the silver-robed man, while the second one was aimed at the red-robed woman.
Both of them felt a burst of enormous force surging toward them, and by the time they reacted to the attack, it was already too late to take evasive measures.
The silver-robed man hurriedly raised his hands, and his sleeves flared up as wide as they would go as two plumes of dense spiritual energy came surging out.
Within the spiritual energuy were five bloodstained ghostly heads, and they opened their gruesome mouths up wide as they sped toward the oncoming shockwave.
Immediately after the five ghostly heads came a crimson ghostly seal that was riddled with energy runes, and the seal rapidly swelled to the size of a house before positioning itself in front of the silver-robed man.
Meanwhile, the red-robed woman wore a horrified expression as she flicked her wrists in a blind panic, releasing 13 bone flying bone swords that hurtled directly forward amid a burst of ghastly howling.
She then curled the fingers of one hand into a claw before digging her nails viciously into her other forearm, tearing several horrific gashes onto her own body. Countless red blood insects that were each around the size of a grain of rice came crawling out of those gashes, instantly forming a crimson shield in front of her.
fatboy
Demonic Cultivator
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- Sep 24, 2023
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- 148
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- 236
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- 43
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2023
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- 23,716
- Points
- 113
Chapter 51: Minor Spatial Teleportation Technique
A string of dull thumps rang out incessantly from both directions at once.
Almost as soon as the five ghostly heads appeared, they exploded like a cluster of smashed watermelons, and the crimson ghostly seal was also completely pulverized.
On the other side, the 13 bone swords also shattered into pieces before being reduced to dust, immediately following which the crimson shield was torn apart as if it were made from paper.
Two blood-curdling cries rang out almost in unison as the silver-robed man and the red-robed woman's bodies exploded violently.
A purple nascent soul flew out of the silver-robed man's remains, and there was a horrified look on its face as it immediately tried to flee the scene.
However, before it was able to fly away, John had already appeared right beside it, then reached out a hand to catch it firmly in his grasp.
The purple nascent soul struggled and writhed with all its might in an attempt to break free, but all it took was a nonchalant squeeze of John’s hand to erase it from existence.
The red-robed woman's nascent soul didn't dare to flee right away. Instead, it took advantage of the distraction provided by the silver-robed man's nascent soul to flee the scene, flying rapidly toward the forest in the distance.
John suddenly turned around before opening his mouth to release a burst of spiritual energy, which took on the form of a flying sword as it hurtled through the air.
A burst of rumbling rang out within the forest up ahead, and one huge tree was felled after another.
Deep in the forest, a streak of white light flashed past, and the red-robed woman's nascent soul was instantly sliced into two before disintegrating into specks of light.
This seemed to have been a complex process, but in reality, it had all taken place in the blink of an eye.
Meanwhile, Greg Butler and the yellow-robed man were already fleeing in opposite directions, frantically unleashing secret techniques to enhance their speed.
The yellow-robed man was standing atop a giant bone bird, and the bird was flying at an incredible speed, able to cover kilometers with each flap of its wings.
As for Greg, he had grown a pair of crimson wings he was flying even faster than the yellow-robed man.
Both of them were greatly alarmed and horrified to sense the auras of their two companions being instantly snuffed out.
The yellow-robed man immediately flipped a hand over to produce a black and red octagonal copper mirror, and black and red light flashed from its surface as it appeared directly behind him.
Even with that, he still didn't feel safe, and he swept a sleeve through the air to release nine small black flags, which connected with one another in mid-air to form a dense black light barrier in the blink of an eye, forming a watertight protective layer all around him.
At the same time, a string of cracks and pops rang out from within his body, and his clothes were torn to shreds as a series of thorn-like bone spikes protruded out of his skin, then fused together to form a suit of bone armor that covered all of his vital regions.
In the other direction, a decisive look appeared on Greg's face as he raised his right hand, then chopped his own arm off in one swift motion.
A large plume of blood erupted through the air, transforming into a cloud of blood mist that enveloped his entire body, turning him into a streak of crimson light that sped through the air at an incredible speed.
John's brows furrowed slightly, and he didn't immediately give chase. Instead, he pointed a finger at Megan from afar.
A streak of azure light shot forth before vanishing into her body in a flash.
A series of black lightning chains instantly appeared around her, then shattered with a dull thump.
"Brother Rock!" Megan called out in an ecstatic voice.
John gave her a faint smile, then beckoned to her with one hand, and a dull black talisman flew out of her body, exploding mid-flight to release five miniature black mountains that fell into John's grasp.
John then cast his gaze toward the two fleeing figures, and his arms flashed through the air in a blur.
Two of the miniature mountains flew out of his grasp, transforming into a pair of black shadows that hurtled through the air toward Greg and the yellow-robed man, closing down the gap at a phenomenal rate.
Black light flashed on the surfaces of the two mountains, and they each swelled in size mid-flight, leaving a trail of ripples in the space in their wake.
Soon, both the yellow-robed man and Greg felt a burst of terrifying power sweep toward them from behind, much to their alarm and horror.
The yellow-robed man hurriedly tried to make a hand seal, but it was already too late.
The black mountain crashed through with devastating force, instantly destroying the octagonal copper mirror, the black flags, and all of his other protective treasures upon contact.
The bone bird beneath his feet also exploded into countless bone fragments with a despairing cry.
The yellow-robed man was then struck by the mountain, and the suit of bone armor that he was wearing was instantly shattered, while his body was also reduced to a mangled mass of flesh and blood.
His nascent soul didn't even get a chance to escape before it was destroyed in the blink of an eye by the tremendous force imbued within the mountain.
At this point, Greg was was horrified to see what had become of his final remaining companion in the distance.
Right at this moment, the other black mountain came hurtling toward him with unstoppable might.
In this dire situation, he let loose a guttural roar as his eyes turned bright red, and his body also took on a crimson hue. Countless veins bulged beneath his skin, and his entire body began to swell up like a balloon.
Boom
A resounding sound rang out, and flames scattered in all directions as the cone of fire exploded, falling down from above as balls of fire.
His body then exploded into a massive ball of crimson light, while crimson ripples spread through the air in all directions.
The black mountain arrived on the scene like lightning, but it was stalled slightly by the crimson light.
Greg's nascent soul took advantage of the opportunity to fly out of the crimson light, then abruptly vanished on the spot. In the next instant, it appeared over far away, then opened its mouth to release a ball of blood essence, which formed a ball of crimson light around itself.
The nascent soul then continued to flee into the distance at an incredible speed.
John's eyes narrowed slightly upon seeing this, and he beckoned to Megan again.
Silver light flashed from her left arm, and a clear cry rang out, following which countless specks of silver flames emerged to form a palm-sized silver fire raven.
The bird spread its wings before landing on the center of John's palm.
John made a hand seal before pointing a finger at the silver fire raven, and it instantly swelled several times in size before rapidly elongating to form a fiery silver bow with countless silver runes dancing around it.
Even though no arrow was nocked on the bow, he still grabbed onto the bowstring with his other hand before gently pulling back.
The fiery silver bow began to glow with dazzling light, then blasted several bursts of silver flames through the surrounding air. The silver flames instantly converged to form a silver fire arrow, which was aimed at Greg's nascent soul from afar.
Even though Greg's nascent soul was far away, it still felt a chill run down its spine, and a sense of foreboding welled up in its heart, causing its expression to change drastically.
"Stop!"
Right at this moment, a thunderous roar rang out in the distance.
A speck of black light had appeared on the horizon, and it swelled to become a dark cloud in the blink of an eye, approaching the scene at an alarming speed.
Greg's nascent soul was ecstatic to see this, and it immediately changed directions, flying toward the dark cloud.
However, John paid no heed to the voice as he released the bowstring, and the silver arrow was immediately fired before vanishing into thin air.
In the next instant, the silver arrow reappeared directly behind Greg's nascent soul, then pierced through it in the blink of an eye.
The nascent soul erupted into silver flames amid a horrified wail, and it was reduced to a ball of black light in the blink of an eye.
Right at this moment, the dark cloud also reached the nascent soul, and a burst of energy swept toward it, but it was already too late.
"How dare you!"
Rumbling thunderclaps rang out within the dark cloud, and it was clear that whoever was inside the cloud was furious.
A black ghostly claw that was the size of a small mountain extended out of the cloud, reaching for John with gusts of fierce energy wind blowing all around it.
As the ghostly claw descended from above, bursts of black ghostly flames appeared on the tips of its fingers, releasing countless black fireballs that rained down in a torrential storm.
John remained completely unfazed by this, and a cold look flashed through his eyes as he clenched his fist before throwing a punch toward the sky.
A burst of tremendous force erupted into the heavens, threatening to tear through the very air in its path.
All of the black fireballs raining down from above were quickly snuffed out, and the giant black claw was also stopped cold in its tracks.
Black light flashed over the claw momentarily before it exploded violently into countless bursts of energy that dissipated into nothingness.
Gusts of ferocious wind were swept up, tearing the black cloud in the sky apart with ease.
As a result, a black-robed elderly man was revealed, and his body swayed slightly before he quickly steadied himself with a bewildered look on his face.
John raised his head to look up at the black-robed elderly man, and a hint of derision appeared in his eyes.
A dark look appeared on the black-robed elderly man's face upon seeing this, and he flipped a hand over to produce a shimmering silver object, which he hurled through the air.
This was a silver array plate that flew directly toward John amid a sharp screeching sound, and it abruptly exploded on its own mid-flight.
Boundless silver radiance erupted from the array plate, spreading over an area o, encompassing both John and Megan within.
Countless silver runes appeared within the light amid what appeared to be the sound of Buddhist prayers.
A thought abruptly occurred to John upon seeing this, and he was just about to do something when a streak of black light flew out of the silver radiance, screeching toward Megan at an incredible speed.
John vanished on the spot in a flash, then instantly appeared in front of Megan before sweeping an arm through the air.
The streak of black light was sent flying by his casual swat, revealing itself to be a black flying dagger.
Right at this moment, the silver light in the surrounding area suddenly brightened significantly, filling the entirety of his field of view.
His body was enshrouded under a certain force, and the scene around him rapidly transitioned.
Soon, his vision was restored, and he found himself in an empty and spacious area.
"That was the Minor Spatial Teleportation Technique!" John mused to himself as he swept his gaze over his surroundings.
He found himself situated in a massive valley under a dense layer of dark clouds. There were tall black mountains on either side of him, with some buildings visible on those mountains.
At this moment, he and Megan were on a huge plaza in the valley, and the black-robed elderly man was hovering in mid-air above them.
The plaza was several hundred acres in area and was riddled with black jade. Plumes of negative energy were surging out of the black jade, forming a faint yet resilient layer of black mist over the plaza, making the entire plaza appear as if it were situated on a black cloud.
In front of the plaza was an enormous and majestic hall, above which was a black plaque that carried the words "Heavenly Ghost Hall" in large characters.
fatboy
Demonic Cultivator
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Thanks boss
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More to come.
- Joined
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Chapter 52: It's My Turn Now
Almost as soon as John and Megan appeared on the plaza, the earth around the giant plaza began to tremble, and nine black stone pillars rose up out of the soil, encircling a large circular area.
Each pillar was so thick that the average adult human would only just barely be able to wrap their arms around it. Countless runes and array patterns were engraved all over the surfaces of the pillars, and there were also many glowing black gemstones embedded into them. These gemstones seemed to be some type of special spirit stone, and they were all shimmering with bright black light.
Aside from that, there was a statue of a different ghostly creature situated at the top of each pillar. All of them were extremely life-like, and even though they were nothing more than statues, just the mere sight of them was enough to send chills running down one's spine.
Dazzling black light rose up from all the ghostly creatures on top of the stone pillars before connecting together in a flash to form a hemispherical black light barrier in the blink of an eye.
The surface of the light barrier was riddled with black runes that were flashing incessantly, and countless indistinct ghostly projections were manifested amid bursts of eerie ghostly wailing, presenting a terrifying sight to behold.
Megan couldn't help but shudder upon seeing this, and she unconsciously sidled up closer to John.
She was no longer the inexperienced little fox girl that she once was, but this fearsome sight was still enough to strike horror deep into her heart.
John didn't even bother to take a single glance at the black-robed elderly man as he swept a hand through the air, releasing the silver fire raven out of his palm. The fire raven transformed into a silver net of fire at his behest before settling over Megan as a protective barrier.
"Stay in there, and don't be afraid."
Megan was greatly reassured by John's calm demeanor.
Right at this moment, countless streaks of light rose up from the surrounding buildings before converging toward the plaza, and they were all black-robed Heavenly Ghost Sect disciples.
It didn't take long before the sky above the plaza was filled with several hundred people, and there were still more people constantly approaching from all directions.
However, John paid no heed to the commotion around him. Instead, he was calmly examining the nine stone pillars and the black light barrier around him with blue light flashing in his eyes.
The Heavenly Ghost Sect disciples converging from all directions were under the impression that the sect had been invaded by powerful enemies, and they were all rather bewildered to see only an ordinary-looking young man who appeared to be in his twenties and a little girl at the center of the plaza.
However, no one dared to ask any questions after catching a glimpse of the dark expression on the black-robed elderly man's face.
The black-robed elderly man made no effort to address the disciples around him as he descended onto one of the black stone pillars, then began to chant an incantation as he released nine array plates out of his sleeves before making a rapid series of hand seals.
The nine array plates flew through the air before each of them descended onto one of the nine giant stone pillars, then vanished into the black light radiating from the giant pillars in a flash.
Even more runes surged out of the black light barrier, and it instantly became significantly thicker, while the rather indistinct ghostly projections also became clearer and more substantial.
Only then did the black-robed elderly man allow himself to heave a faint sigh of relief, but he still continued to make hand seals without pause.
Right at this moment, two particularly bright streaks of light shot forth from the distance before arriving above the plaza in the blink of an eye, revealing a pair of figures, one of which was a white-haired elderly man, while the other was an imposing man with a dark complexion.
Just like the black-robed elderly man, both of them were also Spatial Tempering cultivators.
Once the Heavenly Ghost Sect disciples present on the scene realized that there were three sect elders present at once, all of the commotion and chatter instantly died down.
As soon as the white-haired elderly man and the dark-skinned man arrived, they immediately released their spiritual sense in unison to sweep over John and Megan while also quickly inspecting the surrounding area.
"What is the meaning of this, Elder Liam? Why did you use the Minor Spatial Teleportation Plate to bring these two juniors into the sect? On top of that, you've even activated the nine Heavenly Ghost Monarch Pillars! I'm sure you know just as well as I do how much resources have to be expended just to activate this array even once," the white-haired elderly man said with a displeased expression.
The dark-skinned man also turned to the black-robed elderly man with a perplexed expression.
"You've come at just the right time! Help me power the array to refine these two at once!" the black-robed elderly man said in an urgent voice as he continued to make hand seals.
"You activated the array just to refine these two low-grade cultivators? The Heavenly Ghost Monarch Pillars can trap even Body Integration Stage beings! Is this supposed to be a joke, Brother Liam?" the dark-skinned man chuckled, displaying no intention to cooperate.
The white-haired elderly man also refrained from joining the black-robed elderly man.
A stir ran through the nearby disciples as well, but they didn't dare to say anything for fear of irking the black-robed elderly man.
Many of them had already managed to identify that the two people trapped in the array were only at the Nascent Soul Stage and the Core Formation Stage, and even among the disciples present, there were many who were capable of killing them with ease.
However, the black-robed elderly man was a Spatial Tempering cultivator, and he was proclaiming that it was necessary to activate the nine Heavenly Ghost Monarch Pillars just to take care of such a lowly pair of cultivators. If word of this were to spread to the outside world, he would be made the butt of countless jokes.
"Don't underestimate them! That Nascent Soul Stage brat is an extremely formidable body cultivator with powers far beyond what his cultivation base suggests!" the black-robed elderly man said in an urgent voice.
The dark-skinned man was still unconvinced and shook his head with an amused smile.
The white-haired elderly man lowered his head to look down at John, who was still casually looking around, seemingly completely oblivious to the perilous situation that he was in.
Right at this moment, John's gaze suddenly settled on something, and he murmured to himself, "Seeing as I'm already here, why don't I kill two birds with one stone?"
As soon as his voice trailed off, he sped over to one side of the light barrier, leaving a trail of afterimages in his wake, then casually tapped a certain spot on the light barrier with a single finger.
An incredible scene immediately unfolded.
The entire black light barrier began to tremble violently, while the light radiating from its surface flashed erratically, and the ghostly projections within it suddenly erupted into a chaotic frenzy as if they had gone insane.
The dark-skinned man's smile immediately stiffened upon seeing this, and his eyes widened with shock.
The black-robed elderly man shuddered as he threw up a mouthful of blood, and he made a rapid series of hand seals, doing everything in his power to stabilize the array.
"We need to stabilize the array! We can't let him break free!" the white-haired elderly man yelled in an alarmed voice as he flew through the air before landing on top of one of the stone pillars.
The dark-skinned man also returned to his senses and flew toward another one of the stone pillars with a stunned expression, but it was already too late.
With one final flash of light from the surface of the light barrier, all of the ghostly projections instantly vanished. Immediately thereafter, nine giant ghostly faces appeared in unison on the surface of the light barrier corresponding with the locations of the nine stone pillars, and all of the ghostly faces wore agonized expressions as they let loose ear-piercing shrieks.
Their voices were extremely sharp and abrasive, and all of the disciples on the plaza immediately screamed as they threw their hands over their heads, while some of the weaker ones among them began to bleed out of their ears and nostrils.
After letting loose those horrific screams, countless black runes surged out of the nine giant ghostly faces in a frenzy before abruptly crumbling away.
The entire light barrier also shattered like glass, disintegrating into countless specks of black light.
Not only that but countless cracks also appeared on the statues of the ghostly creatures on top of the nine stone pillars before they exploded in rapid succession.
At this point, John had already withdrawn his finger, and his hands were clasped behind his back as he made his way toward Megan amid the countless specks of black light drifting through the air.
Megan was ecstatic as she stood under the silver net of fire, and if it weren't for the fact that they were still completely surrounded by enemies, she would've already erupted into jubilant cheers.
The three Spatial Tempering Stage elders of the Heavenly Ghost Sect were astonished to see that the array had been destroyed so easily, and all three of them felt as if they had been dealt a heavy blow.
The hundreds of Heavenly Ghost Sect disciples present were also completely rooted to the spot, looking on with dazed expressions.
"How dare you destroy our sect's precious array!" the black-robed elderly man roared with fury as he opened his mouth to release a burst of white light, which transformed into a white bone blade with nine large silver rings on its back.
At the same time, he made a rapid series of hand seals, releasing five or six incantation seals in quick succession.
The nine silver rings on the bone blade clattered together to produce a disorienting sound, while countless crimson runes abruptly appeared on the surface of the blade, releasing a dazzling blade projection, which came crashing down directly upon John.
At the same time, the white-haired elderly man reached out to summon an antiquated black cane, at the tip of which was an ornate black dragon's head.
The cane circled around in mid-air before swelling drastically in size, transforming into a black wyrm with a pair of wings on its back.
The wyrm opened its cavernous mouth to release a vast expanse of black flames, while the dark-skinned man also flipped a hand over to produce a gray feather fan without any hesitation.
The fan seemed to have been made from the feathers of some type of spirit bird, and he injected his magic power into the fan in a frenzy before sweeping it vigorously through the air.
The sky instantly darkened as gusts of fierce gray wind swept through the air, transforming into seven or eight gray wind dragons that pounced toward John.
With the three Spatial Tempering Stage elders springing into action, the surrounding Heavenly Ghost Sect disciples also quickly joined the fray, summoning all types of treasures while chanting different incantations.
All of a sudden, spiritual light of all types of different colors appeared all around the plaza.
John immediately swept an enormous burst of spiritual sense over the entire plaza upon seeing this, sending an indescribably powerful burst of spiritual pressure crashing down upon the entire area.
All of the people in the plaza felt as if they had received a blow to the head.
Stars instantly began to dance in front of the eyes of the nearby Heavenly Ghost Sect disciples, and they immediately fell unconscious before plummeting out of the sky, falling onto the plaza in a limp and immobile state.
All of the treasures summoned by the disciples also clattered down onto the ground as a result.
In contrast, the three Spatial Tempering Stage elders possessed considerably more powerful souls than the disciples at the scene, so they were able to quickly shrug off the effects of the spiritual sense attack.
The three of them continued to unleash attacks at John without skipping a beat, and in the blink of an eye, a blade projection, a wave of black flames, and the thunder of wind dragons descended upon John.
John remained completely still on the spot, displaying no intention to take evasive measures.
A string of resounding booms rang out, and the crimson blade projections were the first to strike John's body, only to be completely shattered and revert back to a white bone blade that was repelled back through the air.
The black flames and the wind dragons also disintegrated upon making contact with John's body, unable to inflict any harm upon him. In fact, even his azure robes remained completely unscathed.
As for Megan, she was also safe and sound under the silver net of fire as all of the attacks had been withstood by John.
The three Spatial Tempering Stage elders drew a sharp breath in unison, unable to believe what they were seeing.
"It's my turn now!" John declared in an indifferent voice as he raised his head.
Almost as soon as John and Megan appeared on the plaza, the earth around the giant plaza began to tremble, and nine black stone pillars rose up out of the soil, encircling a large circular area.
Each pillar was so thick that the average adult human would only just barely be able to wrap their arms around it. Countless runes and array patterns were engraved all over the surfaces of the pillars, and there were also many glowing black gemstones embedded into them. These gemstones seemed to be some type of special spirit stone, and they were all shimmering with bright black light.
Aside from that, there was a statue of a different ghostly creature situated at the top of each pillar. All of them were extremely life-like, and even though they were nothing more than statues, just the mere sight of them was enough to send chills running down one's spine.
Dazzling black light rose up from all the ghostly creatures on top of the stone pillars before connecting together in a flash to form a hemispherical black light barrier in the blink of an eye.
The surface of the light barrier was riddled with black runes that were flashing incessantly, and countless indistinct ghostly projections were manifested amid bursts of eerie ghostly wailing, presenting a terrifying sight to behold.
Megan couldn't help but shudder upon seeing this, and she unconsciously sidled up closer to John.
She was no longer the inexperienced little fox girl that she once was, but this fearsome sight was still enough to strike horror deep into her heart.
John didn't even bother to take a single glance at the black-robed elderly man as he swept a hand through the air, releasing the silver fire raven out of his palm. The fire raven transformed into a silver net of fire at his behest before settling over Megan as a protective barrier.
"Stay in there, and don't be afraid."
Megan was greatly reassured by John's calm demeanor.
Right at this moment, countless streaks of light rose up from the surrounding buildings before converging toward the plaza, and they were all black-robed Heavenly Ghost Sect disciples.
It didn't take long before the sky above the plaza was filled with several hundred people, and there were still more people constantly approaching from all directions.
However, John paid no heed to the commotion around him. Instead, he was calmly examining the nine stone pillars and the black light barrier around him with blue light flashing in his eyes.
The Heavenly Ghost Sect disciples converging from all directions were under the impression that the sect had been invaded by powerful enemies, and they were all rather bewildered to see only an ordinary-looking young man who appeared to be in his twenties and a little girl at the center of the plaza.
However, no one dared to ask any questions after catching a glimpse of the dark expression on the black-robed elderly man's face.
The black-robed elderly man made no effort to address the disciples around him as he descended onto one of the black stone pillars, then began to chant an incantation as he released nine array plates out of his sleeves before making a rapid series of hand seals.
The nine array plates flew through the air before each of them descended onto one of the nine giant stone pillars, then vanished into the black light radiating from the giant pillars in a flash.
Even more runes surged out of the black light barrier, and it instantly became significantly thicker, while the rather indistinct ghostly projections also became clearer and more substantial.
Only then did the black-robed elderly man allow himself to heave a faint sigh of relief, but he still continued to make hand seals without pause.
Right at this moment, two particularly bright streaks of light shot forth from the distance before arriving above the plaza in the blink of an eye, revealing a pair of figures, one of which was a white-haired elderly man, while the other was an imposing man with a dark complexion.
Just like the black-robed elderly man, both of them were also Spatial Tempering cultivators.
Once the Heavenly Ghost Sect disciples present on the scene realized that there were three sect elders present at once, all of the commotion and chatter instantly died down.
As soon as the white-haired elderly man and the dark-skinned man arrived, they immediately released their spiritual sense in unison to sweep over John and Megan while also quickly inspecting the surrounding area.
"What is the meaning of this, Elder Liam? Why did you use the Minor Spatial Teleportation Plate to bring these two juniors into the sect? On top of that, you've even activated the nine Heavenly Ghost Monarch Pillars! I'm sure you know just as well as I do how much resources have to be expended just to activate this array even once," the white-haired elderly man said with a displeased expression.
The dark-skinned man also turned to the black-robed elderly man with a perplexed expression.
"You've come at just the right time! Help me power the array to refine these two at once!" the black-robed elderly man said in an urgent voice as he continued to make hand seals.
"You activated the array just to refine these two low-grade cultivators? The Heavenly Ghost Monarch Pillars can trap even Body Integration Stage beings! Is this supposed to be a joke, Brother Liam?" the dark-skinned man chuckled, displaying no intention to cooperate.
The white-haired elderly man also refrained from joining the black-robed elderly man.
A stir ran through the nearby disciples as well, but they didn't dare to say anything for fear of irking the black-robed elderly man.
Many of them had already managed to identify that the two people trapped in the array were only at the Nascent Soul Stage and the Core Formation Stage, and even among the disciples present, there were many who were capable of killing them with ease.
However, the black-robed elderly man was a Spatial Tempering cultivator, and he was proclaiming that it was necessary to activate the nine Heavenly Ghost Monarch Pillars just to take care of such a lowly pair of cultivators. If word of this were to spread to the outside world, he would be made the butt of countless jokes.
"Don't underestimate them! That Nascent Soul Stage brat is an extremely formidable body cultivator with powers far beyond what his cultivation base suggests!" the black-robed elderly man said in an urgent voice.
The dark-skinned man was still unconvinced and shook his head with an amused smile.
The white-haired elderly man lowered his head to look down at John, who was still casually looking around, seemingly completely oblivious to the perilous situation that he was in.
Right at this moment, John's gaze suddenly settled on something, and he murmured to himself, "Seeing as I'm already here, why don't I kill two birds with one stone?"
As soon as his voice trailed off, he sped over to one side of the light barrier, leaving a trail of afterimages in his wake, then casually tapped a certain spot on the light barrier with a single finger.
An incredible scene immediately unfolded.
The entire black light barrier began to tremble violently, while the light radiating from its surface flashed erratically, and the ghostly projections within it suddenly erupted into a chaotic frenzy as if they had gone insane.
The dark-skinned man's smile immediately stiffened upon seeing this, and his eyes widened with shock.
The black-robed elderly man shuddered as he threw up a mouthful of blood, and he made a rapid series of hand seals, doing everything in his power to stabilize the array.
"We need to stabilize the array! We can't let him break free!" the white-haired elderly man yelled in an alarmed voice as he flew through the air before landing on top of one of the stone pillars.
The dark-skinned man also returned to his senses and flew toward another one of the stone pillars with a stunned expression, but it was already too late.
With one final flash of light from the surface of the light barrier, all of the ghostly projections instantly vanished. Immediately thereafter, nine giant ghostly faces appeared in unison on the surface of the light barrier corresponding with the locations of the nine stone pillars, and all of the ghostly faces wore agonized expressions as they let loose ear-piercing shrieks.
Their voices were extremely sharp and abrasive, and all of the disciples on the plaza immediately screamed as they threw their hands over their heads, while some of the weaker ones among them began to bleed out of their ears and nostrils.
After letting loose those horrific screams, countless black runes surged out of the nine giant ghostly faces in a frenzy before abruptly crumbling away.
The entire light barrier also shattered like glass, disintegrating into countless specks of black light.
Not only that but countless cracks also appeared on the statues of the ghostly creatures on top of the nine stone pillars before they exploded in rapid succession.
At this point, John had already withdrawn his finger, and his hands were clasped behind his back as he made his way toward Megan amid the countless specks of black light drifting through the air.
Megan was ecstatic as she stood under the silver net of fire, and if it weren't for the fact that they were still completely surrounded by enemies, she would've already erupted into jubilant cheers.
The three Spatial Tempering Stage elders of the Heavenly Ghost Sect were astonished to see that the array had been destroyed so easily, and all three of them felt as if they had been dealt a heavy blow.
The hundreds of Heavenly Ghost Sect disciples present were also completely rooted to the spot, looking on with dazed expressions.
"How dare you destroy our sect's precious array!" the black-robed elderly man roared with fury as he opened his mouth to release a burst of white light, which transformed into a white bone blade with nine large silver rings on its back.
At the same time, he made a rapid series of hand seals, releasing five or six incantation seals in quick succession.
The nine silver rings on the bone blade clattered together to produce a disorienting sound, while countless crimson runes abruptly appeared on the surface of the blade, releasing a dazzling blade projection, which came crashing down directly upon John.
At the same time, the white-haired elderly man reached out to summon an antiquated black cane, at the tip of which was an ornate black dragon's head.
The cane circled around in mid-air before swelling drastically in size, transforming into a black wyrm with a pair of wings on its back.
The wyrm opened its cavernous mouth to release a vast expanse of black flames, while the dark-skinned man also flipped a hand over to produce a gray feather fan without any hesitation.
The fan seemed to have been made from the feathers of some type of spirit bird, and he injected his magic power into the fan in a frenzy before sweeping it vigorously through the air.
The sky instantly darkened as gusts of fierce gray wind swept through the air, transforming into seven or eight gray wind dragons that pounced toward John.
With the three Spatial Tempering Stage elders springing into action, the surrounding Heavenly Ghost Sect disciples also quickly joined the fray, summoning all types of treasures while chanting different incantations.
All of a sudden, spiritual light of all types of different colors appeared all around the plaza.
John immediately swept an enormous burst of spiritual sense over the entire plaza upon seeing this, sending an indescribably powerful burst of spiritual pressure crashing down upon the entire area.
All of the people in the plaza felt as if they had received a blow to the head.
Stars instantly began to dance in front of the eyes of the nearby Heavenly Ghost Sect disciples, and they immediately fell unconscious before plummeting out of the sky, falling onto the plaza in a limp and immobile state.
All of the treasures summoned by the disciples also clattered down onto the ground as a result.
In contrast, the three Spatial Tempering Stage elders possessed considerably more powerful souls than the disciples at the scene, so they were able to quickly shrug off the effects of the spiritual sense attack.
The three of them continued to unleash attacks at John without skipping a beat, and in the blink of an eye, a blade projection, a wave of black flames, and the thunder of wind dragons descended upon John.
John remained completely still on the spot, displaying no intention to take evasive measures.
A string of resounding booms rang out, and the crimson blade projections were the first to strike John's body, only to be completely shattered and revert back to a white bone blade that was repelled back through the air.
The black flames and the wind dragons also disintegrated upon making contact with John's body, unable to inflict any harm upon him. In fact, even his azure robes remained completely unscathed.
As for Megan, she was also safe and sound under the silver net of fire as all of the attacks had been withstood by John.
The three Spatial Tempering Stage elders drew a sharp breath in unison, unable to believe what they were seeing.
"It's my turn now!" John declared in an indifferent voice as he raised his head.
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Chapter 53: Scorched By Devilish Flames
As soon as his voice trailed off, John's body blurred before vanishing on the spot.
"Look out!" the black-robed elderly man hurriedly yelled in an urgent voice.
However, before he had a chance to do anything else, he felt a blur flash past his eyes, following which he was sent flying back like a ragdoll as if a giant mountain had just crashed into him. He flew all the way to a mountain outside of the plaza before crashing into the mountain with such force that his body was completely embedded into the mountain face, and it was unclear whether he had survived the attack.
The white-haired elderly man and the dark-skinned man looked on as the black-robed elderly was sent flying, and before they even had a chance to make sense of the situation, two more dull thumps rang out as the two of them were also sent flying away in different directions before crashing heavily into the mountain face.
The entire plaza had fallen completely silent.
Megan was staring at all of the unconscious bodies and treasures littered all over the plaza, and her jaw had completely fallen onto the ground.
She had always known that John was extremely powerful, but this still went far beyond her imagination, and she felt as if she were in a dream.
While she was still looking on with a dazed expression, John arrived by her side as he asked with a concerned expression, "Are you alright, Megan?"
"I'm fine, Brother Rock. It's all thanks to those treasures and pills that you gave me. That Greg Butler was a really insidious bastard! Not only did he want to take your spirit flame for himself, he used me as bait to lure you here. Thankfully, he didn't do anything to me aside from keeping me prisoner," Megan replied with a hint of lingering fear in her eyes.
John nodded in response, then sat down with his legs crossed before producing a white pill that he placed into his own mouth.
Even though he had intentionally held back on the spiritual sense attack he had unleashed earlier, his current meager reserves of magic power had still almost completely run dry.
Megan faltered slightly upon seeing this, then looked around with a concerned expression as she asked, "Shouldn't we be leaving this place before other people get here, Brother Rock?"
The massive commotion that John had caused here had naturally attracted the attention of the entire Heavenly Ghost Sect, and many streaks of light were converging toward the plaza.
"There's no hurry to leave," John replied with a nonchalant smile.
Mere moments later, several particularly large streaks of light arrived on the scene, revealing six figures that were giving off auras that weren't inferior to those of the three Spatial Tempering Stage elders from earlier.
The six of them were greatly alarmed to see the situation down below, and they all focused their eyes on John.
The six of them were rather hesitant about how to proceed, and they quickly released their spiritual sense to inspect John's cultivation base, then exchanged a glance with one another before retreating to open up some distance, and only then did they release their treasures.
Six treasures of different colors descended from the heavens, screeching through the air as they hurtled directly toward John with devastating might.
John didn't even bother to stand up, remaining in a seated position as he lashed out with his fists, throwing punches in six different directions to oppose the oncoming treasures.
Powerful shockwaves rippled through the air, proliferating in all directions.
A string of deafening booms rang out, and it was as if all of the treasures had crashed into invisible walls. Six enormous bursts of spiritual light erupted forth, and the entire space seemed to be trembling violently.
By the time the light faded, John was already nowhere to be seen.
The six figures in the air faltered slightly upon seeing this, immediately following which John appeared in front of a middle-aged man with a pair of narrow eyes before throwing a punch without any hesitation.
The middle-aged man didn't get a chance to react at all before he was sent flying back by a burst of tremendous force.
Five resounding booms rang out in quick succession, followed by the sound of a heavy impact, and the middle-aged man slumped down onto the ground, having fallen completely unconscious.
John then sent the five remaining Spatial Tempering cultivators flying with a punch each, then returned to Megan's side, where he stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
The Heavenly Ghost Sect cultivators that were approaching from all directions were just in time to witness this astonishing scene, and they hurriedly stopped cold in their tracks with alarmed expressions, exchanging bewildered glances as they pondered how to proceed.
All of these high and mighty Spatial Tempering Stage elders were getting swatted away like flies by a completely unremarkable-looking Nascent Soul cultivator. Some had smashed deep craters into the plaza, some had been entombed in the nearby mountain face, and some had crashed through and toppled nearby buildings.
In particular, the hundreds of unconscious disciples and the treasures littered all over the ground around the plaza presented a harrowing sight to behold.
Right at this moment, a streak of white light shot forth from the distance, arriving in the sky above the Heavenly Ghost Hall, most of which had already collapsed at this point.
The light then faded to reveal a burly man in a silken robe who appeared to be no more than 30 to 40 years of age. He had a square face with a short purple beard, and he was giving off a formidable aura.
"Grand Elder Page!"
"It's Grand Elder Page! Thank heavens..."
All of the disciples around the plaza were ecstatic to see the arrival of the purple-bearded man, and they all called out in elation as if they had found a life raft to cling onto.
The man's gaze fell upon John, and he wore a cautious expression as he quickly made a series of hand seals.
"So a Body Integration cultivator has finally shown up," John mused to himself with a faint smile, then flipped a hand over to produce a miniature mountain amid a flash of black light.
The mountain flew out of his grasp with a swipe of his arm, rapidly swelling to several hundred feet tall mid-flight as it hurtled directly toward the purple-bearded man.
Even before the mountain arrived, a burst of astonishing force surged through the air.
The purple-bearded man remained calm and collected, and he was making hand seals at such an incredible speed that his hands had turned into an untraceable blur.
At this point, the black mountain had already swelled, yet right when it was about to crash into the purple-bearded man, he suddenly stopped what he was doing.
A burst of dark purple light appeared beneath his feet, following which a hidden array that was riddled with runes abruptly emerged, swallowing him up in an instant.
The mountain missed its target as a result, continuing to crash toward the wreckage of the Heavenly Ghost Hall down below.
At the same time, identical purple arrays appeared beneath John and Megan's feet as well, releasing a burst of purple light that enveloped the two of them in an instant.
……
Inside a secluded valley in the Yin Necropolis Mountain Range.
The space here was very confined, and there was barely any natural light. The entire valley was filled with dense black mist, and on either side of the valley were rock faces that stood, upon which were engraved some strange patterns and complex ghostly runes.
Situated at each of the four corners of the valley was a large bluestone pillar, all four of which were riddled with runes and quite archaic in appearance.
Right at this moment, purple light suddenly flashed from the ground, and both John and Megan appeared in the valley at the same time.
Megan was still under the protection of the fiery net formed by the silver fire raven, and she was swaying slightly from the rush of dizziness brought on by the sudden teleportation, but aside from that, she was completely fine.
As soon as John arrived in the valley, he immediately raised his head to inspect his surroundings.
The purple-bearded man from before had already appeared on one of the bluestone pillars, and two male cultivators and one female cultivator were seated atop the other three pillars, seemingly meditating with their eyes closed.
The woman had a voluptuous figure and a set of beautiful features that were complemented by a red dress. She didn't appear to be very old, but she was giving off a mature charm.
The other two cultivators consisted of a giant of a man with only a single eye, and a hunch-backed elderly man.
Judging from their auras, all three of them were also Body Integration cultivators.
The three of them opened their eyes in unison upon sensing the disturbance in the valley, and they took a bewildered glance at John's duo before turning to the purple-bearded man.
"Didn't you go to the Heavenly Ghost Plaza to take care of some intruders, Elder Page? Why are you back so soon, and why did you bring these two outsiders into this forbidden zone?" the woman asked with a displeased look on her face.
"There's no time to explain! Hurry up and activate the Earthly Ghost Soul Suppression Array! That man is a Body Integration Stage body cultivator!" the purple-bearded man said in an urgent voice with a grim look on his face.
The other three cultivators were all quite surprised to hear this, but each of them instantly summoned a black badge without any hesitation.
The four of them then tossed their badges through the air in unison with a flick of their wrists.
Four metallic clangs rang out as the badges flew directly downward, instantly burrowing into the ground around John.
Immediately thereafter, the ground beneath John's feet began to tremble violently, and a string of thunderous rumbling rang out from beneath the ground.
The soil around him churned violently while the rocks crumbled away, and four peculiar archways erupted out of the ground, surrounding John and Megan.
Each of the archways had four pillars that were riddled with human and beast bones. A crimson skull was hanging from each corner of the archways' eaves, and they were swaying incessantly in the wind like red windchimes.
A giant ghostly head was engraved into the very center of each archway, and each of them was different in appearance from the others.
Before John had a chance to do anything, the four ghostly heads on the archways seemed to have suddenly sprung to life, and their eyes swiveled toward him in unison.
A vast expanse of crimson light erupted out all of their eyes, then intertwined to form a projection of a sea of churning blood that encompassed the entire area around John and Megan in a radius of several thousand feet.
Situated within the sea of blood, John could feel an immense weight forcing down upon his shoulders. His robes were pressed tightly against his body, and all of his movements had become slightly slow and sluggish.
Blue light flashed through his eyes, and a string of loud cracks and pops rang out from within his body in quick succession. However, he only swayed slightly under the tremendous force weighing down on him before steadying himself again, seemingly completely unfazed.
The silver net above Megan was beginning to warp under the enormous pressure, and the uppermost section of the net had caved in significantly, but it was able to hold its shape once John cast a string of incantation seals into it, much to Megan's relief.
The woman in red was staring at John and Megan with an incredulous expression. "How is this possible?"
"Looks like we've still underestimated him. At the very most, this array will only be able to temporarily trap him. However, now that I've brought them into the Devilish Flame Valley, I can use the Ninth Heaven Devilish Flames left behind in the valley by Patriarch Bone Flame to refine them," the purple-bearded man said as a fierce look appeared in his eyes.
The one-eyed man and the hunch-backed elderly man exchanged a quick glance, and both of them nodded in agreement with this course of action.
Thus, the four of them immediately began to make a rapid series of hand seals, and the sound of their collective chanting rang out within the valley.
At the same time, a faint buzzing sound appeared in the valley before quickly becoming louder and louder, causing the entire valley to tremble and buzz.
Small rocks began to roll down from the cliff faces on either side of the valley, and the ghostly runes engraved upon them were radiating dazzling light.
The previously rather indistinct patterns suddenly became extremely vibrant and life-like, and they quickly joined together to form a series of black fire lotus flowers.
The lotus flowers swayed as bursts of black flames were released from their petals, surging incessantly into the valley. Before long, the entire valley had been filled with a sea of black flames that completely inundated John and Megan.
As soon as his voice trailed off, John's body blurred before vanishing on the spot.
"Look out!" the black-robed elderly man hurriedly yelled in an urgent voice.
However, before he had a chance to do anything else, he felt a blur flash past his eyes, following which he was sent flying back like a ragdoll as if a giant mountain had just crashed into him. He flew all the way to a mountain outside of the plaza before crashing into the mountain with such force that his body was completely embedded into the mountain face, and it was unclear whether he had survived the attack.
The white-haired elderly man and the dark-skinned man looked on as the black-robed elderly was sent flying, and before they even had a chance to make sense of the situation, two more dull thumps rang out as the two of them were also sent flying away in different directions before crashing heavily into the mountain face.
The entire plaza had fallen completely silent.
Megan was staring at all of the unconscious bodies and treasures littered all over the plaza, and her jaw had completely fallen onto the ground.
She had always known that John was extremely powerful, but this still went far beyond her imagination, and she felt as if she were in a dream.
While she was still looking on with a dazed expression, John arrived by her side as he asked with a concerned expression, "Are you alright, Megan?"
"I'm fine, Brother Rock. It's all thanks to those treasures and pills that you gave me. That Greg Butler was a really insidious bastard! Not only did he want to take your spirit flame for himself, he used me as bait to lure you here. Thankfully, he didn't do anything to me aside from keeping me prisoner," Megan replied with a hint of lingering fear in her eyes.
John nodded in response, then sat down with his legs crossed before producing a white pill that he placed into his own mouth.
Even though he had intentionally held back on the spiritual sense attack he had unleashed earlier, his current meager reserves of magic power had still almost completely run dry.
Megan faltered slightly upon seeing this, then looked around with a concerned expression as she asked, "Shouldn't we be leaving this place before other people get here, Brother Rock?"
The massive commotion that John had caused here had naturally attracted the attention of the entire Heavenly Ghost Sect, and many streaks of light were converging toward the plaza.
"There's no hurry to leave," John replied with a nonchalant smile.
Mere moments later, several particularly large streaks of light arrived on the scene, revealing six figures that were giving off auras that weren't inferior to those of the three Spatial Tempering Stage elders from earlier.
The six of them were greatly alarmed to see the situation down below, and they all focused their eyes on John.
The six of them were rather hesitant about how to proceed, and they quickly released their spiritual sense to inspect John's cultivation base, then exchanged a glance with one another before retreating to open up some distance, and only then did they release their treasures.
Six treasures of different colors descended from the heavens, screeching through the air as they hurtled directly toward John with devastating might.
John didn't even bother to stand up, remaining in a seated position as he lashed out with his fists, throwing punches in six different directions to oppose the oncoming treasures.
Powerful shockwaves rippled through the air, proliferating in all directions.
A string of deafening booms rang out, and it was as if all of the treasures had crashed into invisible walls. Six enormous bursts of spiritual light erupted forth, and the entire space seemed to be trembling violently.
By the time the light faded, John was already nowhere to be seen.
The six figures in the air faltered slightly upon seeing this, immediately following which John appeared in front of a middle-aged man with a pair of narrow eyes before throwing a punch without any hesitation.
The middle-aged man didn't get a chance to react at all before he was sent flying back by a burst of tremendous force.
Five resounding booms rang out in quick succession, followed by the sound of a heavy impact, and the middle-aged man slumped down onto the ground, having fallen completely unconscious.
John then sent the five remaining Spatial Tempering cultivators flying with a punch each, then returned to Megan's side, where he stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
The Heavenly Ghost Sect cultivators that were approaching from all directions were just in time to witness this astonishing scene, and they hurriedly stopped cold in their tracks with alarmed expressions, exchanging bewildered glances as they pondered how to proceed.
All of these high and mighty Spatial Tempering Stage elders were getting swatted away like flies by a completely unremarkable-looking Nascent Soul cultivator. Some had smashed deep craters into the plaza, some had been entombed in the nearby mountain face, and some had crashed through and toppled nearby buildings.
In particular, the hundreds of unconscious disciples and the treasures littered all over the ground around the plaza presented a harrowing sight to behold.
Right at this moment, a streak of white light shot forth from the distance, arriving in the sky above the Heavenly Ghost Hall, most of which had already collapsed at this point.
The light then faded to reveal a burly man in a silken robe who appeared to be no more than 30 to 40 years of age. He had a square face with a short purple beard, and he was giving off a formidable aura.
"Grand Elder Page!"
"It's Grand Elder Page! Thank heavens..."
All of the disciples around the plaza were ecstatic to see the arrival of the purple-bearded man, and they all called out in elation as if they had found a life raft to cling onto.
The man's gaze fell upon John, and he wore a cautious expression as he quickly made a series of hand seals.
"So a Body Integration cultivator has finally shown up," John mused to himself with a faint smile, then flipped a hand over to produce a miniature mountain amid a flash of black light.
The mountain flew out of his grasp with a swipe of his arm, rapidly swelling to several hundred feet tall mid-flight as it hurtled directly toward the purple-bearded man.
Even before the mountain arrived, a burst of astonishing force surged through the air.
The purple-bearded man remained calm and collected, and he was making hand seals at such an incredible speed that his hands had turned into an untraceable blur.
At this point, the black mountain had already swelled, yet right when it was about to crash into the purple-bearded man, he suddenly stopped what he was doing.
A burst of dark purple light appeared beneath his feet, following which a hidden array that was riddled with runes abruptly emerged, swallowing him up in an instant.
The mountain missed its target as a result, continuing to crash toward the wreckage of the Heavenly Ghost Hall down below.
At the same time, identical purple arrays appeared beneath John and Megan's feet as well, releasing a burst of purple light that enveloped the two of them in an instant.
……
Inside a secluded valley in the Yin Necropolis Mountain Range.
The space here was very confined, and there was barely any natural light. The entire valley was filled with dense black mist, and on either side of the valley were rock faces that stood, upon which were engraved some strange patterns and complex ghostly runes.
Situated at each of the four corners of the valley was a large bluestone pillar, all four of which were riddled with runes and quite archaic in appearance.
Right at this moment, purple light suddenly flashed from the ground, and both John and Megan appeared in the valley at the same time.
Megan was still under the protection of the fiery net formed by the silver fire raven, and she was swaying slightly from the rush of dizziness brought on by the sudden teleportation, but aside from that, she was completely fine.
As soon as John arrived in the valley, he immediately raised his head to inspect his surroundings.
The purple-bearded man from before had already appeared on one of the bluestone pillars, and two male cultivators and one female cultivator were seated atop the other three pillars, seemingly meditating with their eyes closed.
The woman had a voluptuous figure and a set of beautiful features that were complemented by a red dress. She didn't appear to be very old, but she was giving off a mature charm.
The other two cultivators consisted of a giant of a man with only a single eye, and a hunch-backed elderly man.
Judging from their auras, all three of them were also Body Integration cultivators.
The three of them opened their eyes in unison upon sensing the disturbance in the valley, and they took a bewildered glance at John's duo before turning to the purple-bearded man.
"Didn't you go to the Heavenly Ghost Plaza to take care of some intruders, Elder Page? Why are you back so soon, and why did you bring these two outsiders into this forbidden zone?" the woman asked with a displeased look on her face.
"There's no time to explain! Hurry up and activate the Earthly Ghost Soul Suppression Array! That man is a Body Integration Stage body cultivator!" the purple-bearded man said in an urgent voice with a grim look on his face.
The other three cultivators were all quite surprised to hear this, but each of them instantly summoned a black badge without any hesitation.
The four of them then tossed their badges through the air in unison with a flick of their wrists.
Four metallic clangs rang out as the badges flew directly downward, instantly burrowing into the ground around John.
Immediately thereafter, the ground beneath John's feet began to tremble violently, and a string of thunderous rumbling rang out from beneath the ground.
The soil around him churned violently while the rocks crumbled away, and four peculiar archways erupted out of the ground, surrounding John and Megan.
Each of the archways had four pillars that were riddled with human and beast bones. A crimson skull was hanging from each corner of the archways' eaves, and they were swaying incessantly in the wind like red windchimes.
A giant ghostly head was engraved into the very center of each archway, and each of them was different in appearance from the others.
Before John had a chance to do anything, the four ghostly heads on the archways seemed to have suddenly sprung to life, and their eyes swiveled toward him in unison.
A vast expanse of crimson light erupted out all of their eyes, then intertwined to form a projection of a sea of churning blood that encompassed the entire area around John and Megan in a radius of several thousand feet.
Situated within the sea of blood, John could feel an immense weight forcing down upon his shoulders. His robes were pressed tightly against his body, and all of his movements had become slightly slow and sluggish.
Blue light flashed through his eyes, and a string of loud cracks and pops rang out from within his body in quick succession. However, he only swayed slightly under the tremendous force weighing down on him before steadying himself again, seemingly completely unfazed.
The silver net above Megan was beginning to warp under the enormous pressure, and the uppermost section of the net had caved in significantly, but it was able to hold its shape once John cast a string of incantation seals into it, much to Megan's relief.
The woman in red was staring at John and Megan with an incredulous expression. "How is this possible?"
"Looks like we've still underestimated him. At the very most, this array will only be able to temporarily trap him. However, now that I've brought them into the Devilish Flame Valley, I can use the Ninth Heaven Devilish Flames left behind in the valley by Patriarch Bone Flame to refine them," the purple-bearded man said as a fierce look appeared in his eyes.
The one-eyed man and the hunch-backed elderly man exchanged a quick glance, and both of them nodded in agreement with this course of action.
Thus, the four of them immediately began to make a rapid series of hand seals, and the sound of their collective chanting rang out within the valley.
At the same time, a faint buzzing sound appeared in the valley before quickly becoming louder and louder, causing the entire valley to tremble and buzz.
Small rocks began to roll down from the cliff faces on either side of the valley, and the ghostly runes engraved upon them were radiating dazzling light.
The previously rather indistinct patterns suddenly became extremely vibrant and life-like, and they quickly joined together to form a series of black fire lotus flowers.
The lotus flowers swayed as bursts of black flames were released from their petals, surging incessantly into the valley. Before long, the entire valley had been filled with a sea of black flames that completely inundated John and Megan.
fatboy
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Nice
I think it could be interesting novel
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Chapter 54: Devouring the Devilish Flame
This black flame was rather peculiar. With the scorching heat that it released, it was as if the entire valley had been plunged into a furnace, but at the same time, inky-black devilish energy was gradually permeating throughout the area, giving off a terrifying aura.
Situated within the sea of black fire, John and Megan were subjected to incredibly high temperatures, so much so that the air around them was becoming warped and indistinct.
Megan had already turned as pale as a sheet as she watched the oncoming sea of devilish flames with a horrified expression.
However, she then immediately discovered that the silver net of fire around her seemed to be releasing some type of immense suction force that was drawing in all of the surrounding devilish fire and the unbearable heat, creating a cool and refreshing area with a radius of several dozen feet. As a result, Megan was instantly feeling a lot more reassured.
Even though John didn't have the silver flame to protect himself, he appeared to be extremely calm and collected as he stood within the churning sea of devilish fire.
Right as the devilish flames around him were about to sweep over his body, he suddenly opened his mouth before inhaling sharply.
All of the black devilish flames around him instantly surged into his mouth in a frenzy, and in the span of no more than two or three seconds, most of the fire in the valley had been devoured by John.
The four Body Integration cultivators around the valley were so astonished to see this that their eyes almost bulged out of their sockets, and they hurriedly stopped what they were doing.
As a result, the black fire lotus flower diagrams on the cliff faces quickly reverted back to their original form, but compared with before, the patterns had clearly dimmed slightly.
Meanwhile, John was displaying no signs of stopping, and only after he had devoured all of the black fire in the valley did he close his mouth before letting loose a loud burp, seemingly still not quite satisfied with the meal.
"How can any possibly be able to devour the Ninth Heaven Devilish Flame?"
"What kind of monster is this man?"
"We can't afford to hold back any longer. We have to kill him now while he's still trapped in this Earthly Ghost Soul Suppression Array. Otherwise, once he comes out, the consequences will be catastrophic!" the purple-bearded man yelled in an urgent voice.
He raised a hand as he spoke to summon an antiquated purple copper lantern that was no more than half a foot tall, then chanted a complex incantation as he gently rubbed his hands together.
A faint purple flame was ignited within the lantern, and at the same time, countless tiny purple runes emerged on the surface of the lantern before quickly revolving around it.
A burst of dense purple smoke rose up from the lantern, then quickly swelled to form an extremely life-like giant purple tiger in the blink of an eye. The tiger was the size of a pavilion, and it raised its head before letting loose a silent roar, then pounced directly toward John at an incredible speed.
On another stone pillar, the woman in the red dress was chanting an incantation, while a layer of red light had appeared over her eyes.
The red dress that she was wearing began to billow around her despite the lack of wind, and all of the skin and flesh all over her entire body was rapidly withering away at a rate that was discernible even to the naked eye. The nails on her slim fingers elongated and turned black, transforming into a set of sinister claws, while the flesh on her seductive face melted away, and she transformed into a living pink skeleton.
She swooped down in a graceful manner, traveling at an astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, she appeared directly above John, leaving a trail of afterimages in her wake before swiping down viciously with one set of claws.
Spatial fluctuations erupted above John, and a white bone claw the size of a small mountain emerged. The fingers of the giant claw were as sharp as blades, and they were screeching through the air as they grabbed viciously down upon John's head with gray baleful qi surging out of the palm of the claw.
Even though the bone claw was also embroiled in the projection of the sea of blood, it seemed to be completely unaffected.
John remained still on the spot as he casually raised a hand upward, releasing a miniature black mountain, which transformed into a full-sized mountain in the blink of an eye before crashing into the white bone claw with vicious might.
The black mountain exploded beneath the bone claw, plummeting out of the sky as a shower of giant rocks, but the bone claw also shattered upon impact.
The boundless expanse of baleful energy quickly faded, leaving behind only the countless bone fragments that remained of the giant claw.
Before the pink skeleton had a chance to do anything else, it was swept up by a devastating shockwave from below like a frail leaf in the wind, sent flying without being able to offer any resistance. The pink skeleton tumbled through the air like a ragdoll before crashing into a mountain face, where it was also shattered into a pile of bone fragments.
Right at this moment, the giant purple tiger entered the fray, opening its mouth to release a pillar of purple light that came crashing down with remarkable speed and power.
However, all it took was a casual wave of John's hand to dispel the pillar of purple light with a resounding boom, following which he leaped up into the air, completely disregarding the heightened gravitational force as he appeared right under the giant tiger's belly.
He then reached out with both hands like lightning, closing his grip around the giant tiger's head with one hand while grabbing onto one of its hind legs with the other. The muscles on his arms bulged, and despite the giant tiger's frantic struggles, it was completely unable to escape his vice-like grip.
Right as he was about to wrench his hands apart and tear the tiger into two, a dull thump suddenly rang out from the ground down below, and four huge black spears that were giving off a faint black sheen erupted out of the soil, piercing through the sea of blood as they plunged viciously toward John's vital organs.
A loud clang rang out, and it was as if the four spears had struck a steel wall. The impact of the strike caused the spears to be repelled back as they quivered violently.
All of a sudden, the ground split apart, and a giant black spider sprang out.
There were two rows of white compound eyes on its head, and its eight spear-like legs were as thick as human arms. There was also a gray fleshy pouch hanging beneath its abdomen, and upon closer inspection, John discovered that the pouch contained none other than that hunch-backed elderly man.
The spider seemed to have grown out of the bulge on his back, presenting a very strange sight to behold.
As soon as the black spider appeared, it crossed its two sharp forelegs once again before raising them upward. The crimson light radiating from its forelegs gave them the appearance of a pair of red-hot giant scissors, which were closing in viciously on John's neck.
However, this time, John chose to retaliate rather than remain passive. While still holding onto the giant purple tiger, he sprang down with ferocious might, sweeping his right foot horizontally through the air during his descent.
Boom
A resounding sound rang out as the spider's two forelegs were shattered, and it was sent flying through the air by a burst of tremendous force, crashing into a mountain face before being buried under the falling rocks.
As soon as John landed on the ground, he spread his arms apart viciously to tear the giant purple tiger into two.
However, things suddenly took an unexpected turn.
Instead of disintegrating into nothingness, the giant purple tiger transformed into a huge cloud of purple mist that completely encompassed John.
A strong, indescribable scent was released by the purple mist, and it possessed the ability to cloud the mind and disorient the senses.
"Brother Rock!" Megan called out in an alarmed voice upon seeing this.
Not far away, the pink skeleton had reformed itself from its remains, and it stood up in a slightly unsteady manner as it cackled, "Haha, so what if you possess a formidable physical body? Under the effects of Elder Page's Soul Corroding Ghostly Mist..."
Before it had a chance to finish its sentence, an agonized howl suddenly rang out from the top of one of the stone pillars.
The purple-bearded man came tumbling down from the stone pillar before rolling around in agony, while the purple copper lantern fell onto the ground beside him.
The purple mist formed by the giant purple tiger faded to reveal John, who drew the purple copper lantern into his grasp with a casual beckoning gesture. After a brief inspection, he stowed the lantern away into his storage bag.
At the same time, a translucent thread of spiritual sense shot out of the purple-bearded man's head before flying back into John's forehead.
Only then did he turn and cast his gaze toward the archway to the left before asking in an indifferent voice, "Have you still not found an opening to attack me?"
As soon as his voice trailed off, a figure emerged from behind the archway in a flash before rapidly retreating. It was none other than the one-eyed man, who had refrained from attacking this entire time.
At this moment, his entire body was encased in a suit of spiky bone armor, and he was holding a translucent crimson ax in one hand, which was clearly also an extremely powerful treasure.
After retreating to some distance away, the one-eyed man cast a wary gaze toward John, displaying no intention to attack.
He had just witnessed John dominate three Body Integration cultivators at once with ridiculous ease, and throughout the entire process, he hadn't found any opportunity to attack.
He couldn't even remember the last time he had felt this helpless in a battle.
John took a glance at the one-eyed man before withdrawing his gaze, then made his way toward one of the archways in an unhurried manner.
Judging from how tightly his clothes were pressed against his body, it was clear that the enormous force being exerted by the sea of blood was still acting upon him, but even though he wasn't walking very quickly, he clearly wasn't struggling, either.
Upon making his way over to one of the archways, he inspected it momentarily before suddenly bending down at the knees and wrapping his arms around one of the pillars. He then suddenly began to exert force through his entire body, hoisting the pillar upward.
The ground rumbled and quaked violently as a humanized look of shock and horror appeared in the eyes of the giant ghostly head on the archway.
The entire archway began to sway from side to side while growing taller and taller before finally being completely uprooted.
The giant ghostly head let loose an anguished wail, immediately following which the entire archway shrank down amid a flash of black light, reverting back into a black badge that fell into John's grasp. At the same time, the vast sea of blood also churned violently before shrinking significantly in size.
John stowed the badge away before making his way toward another archway.
At this point, the hunch-backed elderly man and the purple-bearded man had already clambered back to their feet, and the red skeleton had already returned to its original human form.
The four Heavenly Ghost Sect Body Integration cultivators were standing at the four corners of the valley, watching with complex looks on their faces as Heavenly Ghost Sect uprooted the archways one by one, but none of them stepped in to try and stop him.
All four of them were standing in silence, seemingly waiting for something.
A few minutes later, as John stowed the final black badge away, he suddenly raised an eyebrow before turning toward a certain direction.
He then abruptly opened his mouth before exhaling forcefully, releasing all of the devilish flames that he had devoured earlier.
The devilish fire erupted into the heavens, then converged in mid-air to form four clouds of fire the size of wagon wheels. Immediately thereafter, the fiery clouds transformed into four fiery black pythons, each of which was several dozen feet in length, and they pounced toward the four Body Integration cultivators in unison.
The four of them were greatly alarmed to see this, and they hurriedly summoned different defensive treasures, conjuring up protective barriers to shield themselves from the flames.
This black flame was rather peculiar. With the scorching heat that it released, it was as if the entire valley had been plunged into a furnace, but at the same time, inky-black devilish energy was gradually permeating throughout the area, giving off a terrifying aura.
Situated within the sea of black fire, John and Megan were subjected to incredibly high temperatures, so much so that the air around them was becoming warped and indistinct.
Megan had already turned as pale as a sheet as she watched the oncoming sea of devilish flames with a horrified expression.
However, she then immediately discovered that the silver net of fire around her seemed to be releasing some type of immense suction force that was drawing in all of the surrounding devilish fire and the unbearable heat, creating a cool and refreshing area with a radius of several dozen feet. As a result, Megan was instantly feeling a lot more reassured.
Even though John didn't have the silver flame to protect himself, he appeared to be extremely calm and collected as he stood within the churning sea of devilish fire.
Right as the devilish flames around him were about to sweep over his body, he suddenly opened his mouth before inhaling sharply.
All of the black devilish flames around him instantly surged into his mouth in a frenzy, and in the span of no more than two or three seconds, most of the fire in the valley had been devoured by John.
The four Body Integration cultivators around the valley were so astonished to see this that their eyes almost bulged out of their sockets, and they hurriedly stopped what they were doing.
As a result, the black fire lotus flower diagrams on the cliff faces quickly reverted back to their original form, but compared with before, the patterns had clearly dimmed slightly.
Meanwhile, John was displaying no signs of stopping, and only after he had devoured all of the black fire in the valley did he close his mouth before letting loose a loud burp, seemingly still not quite satisfied with the meal.
"How can any possibly be able to devour the Ninth Heaven Devilish Flame?"
"What kind of monster is this man?"
"We can't afford to hold back any longer. We have to kill him now while he's still trapped in this Earthly Ghost Soul Suppression Array. Otherwise, once he comes out, the consequences will be catastrophic!" the purple-bearded man yelled in an urgent voice.
He raised a hand as he spoke to summon an antiquated purple copper lantern that was no more than half a foot tall, then chanted a complex incantation as he gently rubbed his hands together.
A faint purple flame was ignited within the lantern, and at the same time, countless tiny purple runes emerged on the surface of the lantern before quickly revolving around it.
A burst of dense purple smoke rose up from the lantern, then quickly swelled to form an extremely life-like giant purple tiger in the blink of an eye. The tiger was the size of a pavilion, and it raised its head before letting loose a silent roar, then pounced directly toward John at an incredible speed.
On another stone pillar, the woman in the red dress was chanting an incantation, while a layer of red light had appeared over her eyes.
The red dress that she was wearing began to billow around her despite the lack of wind, and all of the skin and flesh all over her entire body was rapidly withering away at a rate that was discernible even to the naked eye. The nails on her slim fingers elongated and turned black, transforming into a set of sinister claws, while the flesh on her seductive face melted away, and she transformed into a living pink skeleton.
She swooped down in a graceful manner, traveling at an astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, she appeared directly above John, leaving a trail of afterimages in her wake before swiping down viciously with one set of claws.
Spatial fluctuations erupted above John, and a white bone claw the size of a small mountain emerged. The fingers of the giant claw were as sharp as blades, and they were screeching through the air as they grabbed viciously down upon John's head with gray baleful qi surging out of the palm of the claw.
Even though the bone claw was also embroiled in the projection of the sea of blood, it seemed to be completely unaffected.
John remained still on the spot as he casually raised a hand upward, releasing a miniature black mountain, which transformed into a full-sized mountain in the blink of an eye before crashing into the white bone claw with vicious might.
The black mountain exploded beneath the bone claw, plummeting out of the sky as a shower of giant rocks, but the bone claw also shattered upon impact.
The boundless expanse of baleful energy quickly faded, leaving behind only the countless bone fragments that remained of the giant claw.
Before the pink skeleton had a chance to do anything else, it was swept up by a devastating shockwave from below like a frail leaf in the wind, sent flying without being able to offer any resistance. The pink skeleton tumbled through the air like a ragdoll before crashing into a mountain face, where it was also shattered into a pile of bone fragments.
Right at this moment, the giant purple tiger entered the fray, opening its mouth to release a pillar of purple light that came crashing down with remarkable speed and power.
However, all it took was a casual wave of John's hand to dispel the pillar of purple light with a resounding boom, following which he leaped up into the air, completely disregarding the heightened gravitational force as he appeared right under the giant tiger's belly.
He then reached out with both hands like lightning, closing his grip around the giant tiger's head with one hand while grabbing onto one of its hind legs with the other. The muscles on his arms bulged, and despite the giant tiger's frantic struggles, it was completely unable to escape his vice-like grip.
Right as he was about to wrench his hands apart and tear the tiger into two, a dull thump suddenly rang out from the ground down below, and four huge black spears that were giving off a faint black sheen erupted out of the soil, piercing through the sea of blood as they plunged viciously toward John's vital organs.
A loud clang rang out, and it was as if the four spears had struck a steel wall. The impact of the strike caused the spears to be repelled back as they quivered violently.
All of a sudden, the ground split apart, and a giant black spider sprang out.
There were two rows of white compound eyes on its head, and its eight spear-like legs were as thick as human arms. There was also a gray fleshy pouch hanging beneath its abdomen, and upon closer inspection, John discovered that the pouch contained none other than that hunch-backed elderly man.
The spider seemed to have grown out of the bulge on his back, presenting a very strange sight to behold.
As soon as the black spider appeared, it crossed its two sharp forelegs once again before raising them upward. The crimson light radiating from its forelegs gave them the appearance of a pair of red-hot giant scissors, which were closing in viciously on John's neck.
However, this time, John chose to retaliate rather than remain passive. While still holding onto the giant purple tiger, he sprang down with ferocious might, sweeping his right foot horizontally through the air during his descent.
Boom
A resounding sound rang out as the spider's two forelegs were shattered, and it was sent flying through the air by a burst of tremendous force, crashing into a mountain face before being buried under the falling rocks.
As soon as John landed on the ground, he spread his arms apart viciously to tear the giant purple tiger into two.
However, things suddenly took an unexpected turn.
Instead of disintegrating into nothingness, the giant purple tiger transformed into a huge cloud of purple mist that completely encompassed John.
A strong, indescribable scent was released by the purple mist, and it possessed the ability to cloud the mind and disorient the senses.
"Brother Rock!" Megan called out in an alarmed voice upon seeing this.
Not far away, the pink skeleton had reformed itself from its remains, and it stood up in a slightly unsteady manner as it cackled, "Haha, so what if you possess a formidable physical body? Under the effects of Elder Page's Soul Corroding Ghostly Mist..."
Before it had a chance to finish its sentence, an agonized howl suddenly rang out from the top of one of the stone pillars.
The purple-bearded man came tumbling down from the stone pillar before rolling around in agony, while the purple copper lantern fell onto the ground beside him.
The purple mist formed by the giant purple tiger faded to reveal John, who drew the purple copper lantern into his grasp with a casual beckoning gesture. After a brief inspection, he stowed the lantern away into his storage bag.
At the same time, a translucent thread of spiritual sense shot out of the purple-bearded man's head before flying back into John's forehead.
Only then did he turn and cast his gaze toward the archway to the left before asking in an indifferent voice, "Have you still not found an opening to attack me?"
As soon as his voice trailed off, a figure emerged from behind the archway in a flash before rapidly retreating. It was none other than the one-eyed man, who had refrained from attacking this entire time.
At this moment, his entire body was encased in a suit of spiky bone armor, and he was holding a translucent crimson ax in one hand, which was clearly also an extremely powerful treasure.
After retreating to some distance away, the one-eyed man cast a wary gaze toward John, displaying no intention to attack.
He had just witnessed John dominate three Body Integration cultivators at once with ridiculous ease, and throughout the entire process, he hadn't found any opportunity to attack.
He couldn't even remember the last time he had felt this helpless in a battle.
John took a glance at the one-eyed man before withdrawing his gaze, then made his way toward one of the archways in an unhurried manner.
Judging from how tightly his clothes were pressed against his body, it was clear that the enormous force being exerted by the sea of blood was still acting upon him, but even though he wasn't walking very quickly, he clearly wasn't struggling, either.
Upon making his way over to one of the archways, he inspected it momentarily before suddenly bending down at the knees and wrapping his arms around one of the pillars. He then suddenly began to exert force through his entire body, hoisting the pillar upward.
The ground rumbled and quaked violently as a humanized look of shock and horror appeared in the eyes of the giant ghostly head on the archway.
The entire archway began to sway from side to side while growing taller and taller before finally being completely uprooted.
The giant ghostly head let loose an anguished wail, immediately following which the entire archway shrank down amid a flash of black light, reverting back into a black badge that fell into John's grasp. At the same time, the vast sea of blood also churned violently before shrinking significantly in size.
John stowed the badge away before making his way toward another archway.
At this point, the hunch-backed elderly man and the purple-bearded man had already clambered back to their feet, and the red skeleton had already returned to its original human form.
The four Heavenly Ghost Sect Body Integration cultivators were standing at the four corners of the valley, watching with complex looks on their faces as Heavenly Ghost Sect uprooted the archways one by one, but none of them stepped in to try and stop him.
All four of them were standing in silence, seemingly waiting for something.
A few minutes later, as John stowed the final black badge away, he suddenly raised an eyebrow before turning toward a certain direction.
He then abruptly opened his mouth before exhaling forcefully, releasing all of the devilish flames that he had devoured earlier.
The devilish fire erupted into the heavens, then converged in mid-air to form four clouds of fire the size of wagon wheels. Immediately thereafter, the fiery clouds transformed into four fiery black pythons, each of which was several dozen feet in length, and they pounced toward the four Body Integration cultivators in unison.
The four of them were greatly alarmed to see this, and they hurriedly summoned different defensive treasures, conjuring up protective barriers to shield themselves from the flames.
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Chapter 55: Explanation
Even though the four Body Integration cultivators had taken extensive defensive measures, they were still sweating profusely from fear.
The four fiery black pythons were manifested by the Ninth Heaven Devilish Flames that had previously filled this entire valley. As high-grade cultivators of the Heavenly Ghost Sect, they were more aware than anyone else of just how fearsome these flames were.
Even as Body Integration cultivators, the slightest lapse in concentration could've resulted in catastrophic circumstances.
Never did they think that they would be on the receiving end of these devilish flames someday.
Right at this moment, a burst of white light appeared in the air above the valley, then split up into four before descending rapidly from above, moving at such an astonishing speed that it was as if they had arrived in front of the four Body Integration cultivators through instantaneous teleportation.
These were four streaks of translucent swordlight, and they began to revolve in mid-air to form four wheels of light.
In the next instant, the four fiery black pythons crashed into the wheels of light before exploding violently into bursts of black fire.
In the end, the fiery black pythons were snuffed out as powerful shockwaves swept through the air.
Immediately thereafter, spatial fluctuations erupted in the air above the valley, and a black-robed man appeared. He had a graceful and refined appearance, but his brows were as sharp as a pair of menacing swords.
The four swords then reverted back into streaks of white light that returned to the black-robed figure before vanishing into his body in a flash.
"Martial Uncle Dean!"
The four Body Integration cultivators were ecstatic to see the arrival of the black-robed man.
John remained on the spot as he cast his gaze directly toward the black-robed man.
The man was none other than one of the two Grand Ascension Stage patriarchs of the Heavenly Ghost Sect, Dean Eaton.
Dean Eaton swept his gaze over the area to find that the revered Devilish Flame Valley of the sect had been reduced to a chaotic mess, while the four Body Integration cultivators were looking completely downtrodden and defeated. His expression remained unchanged, but his eyelids were twitching ever so slightly.
He then lowered his head to direct his gaze toward John before extending a hand forward and spreading his fingers apart.
The five fingers on his hand instantly took on a translucent appearance, and spiritual light was flashing incessantly from his fingertips.
Countless streaks of white light shot out of his fingertips, then transformed into hundreds of white bone flying swords that were each around a foot in length, screeching through the air as they rained down upon John.
John made a hand seal upon seeing this, and a burst of cracks and pops rang out as his body swelled drastically in size. Countless golden scales then appeared over his skin amid a flash of golden radiance, instantly covering his entire body.
The storm of white bone swords arrived in the blink of an eye, striking him in rapid succession, creating explosions of white and golden light that completely devoured him.
Powerful shockwaves swept through the surrounding area like a ferocious hurricane, causing countless thin white rifts to appear in the surrounding space in a radius of several hundred feet.
At the same time, spatial fluctuations erupted in the air directly above the explosions, and a small black seal appeared out of thin air, then instantly swelled to the size of a pavilion before descending from above while radiating boundless black radiance.
Even before the seal had come fully crashing down, it was releasing a burst of asphyxiating spiritual pressure that was causing the nearby to twist and warp significantly.
All of a sudden, an earth-shattering boom rang out, and the giant seal was suddenly stopped cold in its tracks around 10 feet above the ground, unable to descend any further.
Dean Eaton's expression finally changed slightly upon seeing this.
Even though he had just unleashed two powerful attacks one after another, all of this had taken place in the blink of an eye, and at this moment, the explosions of white and golden light faded to reveal the situation down below.
John was standing still on the spot like an immovable mountain with his right arm raised above his head. The arm was completely covered in golden scales, and it was holding the giant black seal aloft in the air. His feet had already sunken into the ground, and a series of rifts had opened up around him.
He looked up at Dean Eaton with a calm expression, then abruptly bent his right arm before straightening it again.
Boom
A deafening sound instantly rang out, and the mountainous black seal was hurled away as if it were nothing more than a piece of wood, flying out of the valley at an astonishing speed before vanishing into the distance.
Immediately thereafter, John sprang up into the air, arriving not far in front of Dean Eaton in a flash before throwing a vicious punch his way.
Dean Eaton's expression remained completely unchanged upon seeing this, and right at this moment, a silver ring suddenly appeared behind John without any warning before flying directly toward him.
John seemed to have already anticipated this, and he quickly turned around while swinging his hand through the air in a chopping motion to slice the ring into two.
However, to John's surprise, the two halves of the silver ring suddenly vanished, leaving only a trail of afterimages in their wake.
In the next instant, they appeared on either side of him without any warning.
Immediately thereafter, the two halves of the silver ring converged toward the center to form a whole ring once again, constricting John's body tightly within it.
Dazzling spiritual light radiated from the ring as it continued to constrict, and sparks were flying erratically between the inner wall of the ring and golden scales on John's skin, which were crackling incessantly, looking as if they were about to be crushed into pieces under the immense pressure.
At this point, Megan had already retreated to the corner of the valley, and she was greatly alarmed to see this. "Brother Rock!"
In contrast, the four Body Integration cultivators were ecstatic to witness this development.
John didn't appear to be panicked in the slightest as let loose a low roar, and a burst of thunderous rumbling instantly rang out within his body as five specks of blue light appeared on his chest and abdomen.
At the same time, all of the muscles all over his entire body bulged, increasing his stature even further.
He then raised his arms with tremendous might, forcibly expanding the silver ring as it flashed erratically. Countless silver runes appeared on its surface, but that still wasn't enough for it to contain John's unfathomable strength, and it exploded with a dull crack.
A serious look finally appeared on Dean Eaton's face, and he shot back in retreat while raising his hands, seemingly about to unleash some other treasures or abilities.
John certainly wasn't just going to allow Dean Eaton to do as he pleased, and he abruptly vanished on the spot.
In the next instant, John reappeared right behind Dean Eaton in a wraith-like manner, then clenched his hand into a fist before throwing a punch.
His fist was glowing with dazzling golden radiance, and a large white rift was left in the space in its wake.
Dean Eaton immediately turned around, then opened his mouth to release a crimson cloud, which transformed into a crimson light shield that positioned itself directly in front of him.
John's fist struck the crimson shield, and the surface of the shield caved in significantly before it exploded into a cloud of blood mist. John's fist wasn't slowed down in the slightest as it punched straight through Dean Eaton's chest.
However, he knew that this wasn't the end of the battle.
In the next instant, Dean Eaton's body disintegrated into a cloud of blood mist, leaving behind only a white skeleton that was dangling off John's arm.
Spatial fluctuations erupted, and Dean Eaton emerged out of thin air. He appeared to be completely unscathed, but his face was slightly pale.
All of this had taken place in the blink of an eye, and the four Body Integration cultivators couldn't help but exchange a glance with one another, only to find their own astonishment mirrored in one another's eyes.
Dean Eaton scrutinized John in silence for a moment, then mused, "To think that a body cultivator comparable in power to Grand Ascension Stage beings has appeared in this realm in just the past few centuries that I've been in seclusion. May I ask your name?"
"You're far too kind,. My name is JB, John Brown," John replied with a faint smile, then casually cast the white skeleton aside.
The golden scales all over his body quickly faded, and he appeared to be content to end the battle there.
"I see. May I ask for what purpose you've come here, JB? As a cultivator of your caliber, you should be acting in a way that's befitting of your powers. Why have you come to wreak havoc at our Heavenly Ghost Sect and harmed so many of our disciples? I believe you owe me an explanation," Dean Eaton said as his voice suddenly took a cold turn.
"It's rather amusing that you're turning this on me. First, your Heavenly Ghost Sect abducted someone close to me, then forcibly teleported me here using a secret technique. I was hoping that you would be able to give me an explanation," John said with a cold smile.
Dean Eaton faltered slightly upon hearing this, then turned to the four Body Integration cultivators before asking, "What's going on here?"
The other three Body Integration cultivators all turned to the purple-bearded man for an explanation.
"I received news earlier that someone had invaded our sect, so I went to investigate. I could see that this... John was quite a formidable opponent, so I teleported him here to contain him in the array. As for why he came to our Heavenly Ghost Sect, I'm afraid I don't actually know," the purple-bearded man explained after a moment of hesitation.
"Investigate this matter right away!" Dean Eaton instructed in an implacable voice.
"Yes!" the purple-bearded man hurriedly replied before flying out of the valley.
Dean Eaton's gaze returned to John in silence.
John turned to Megan to give her a reassuring look, then turned back to face Dean Eaton with a faint smile on his face.
Few minutes later, the purple-bearded man returned to the valley, then communicated a message to Dean Eaton through voice transmission.
Dean Eaton's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing what was said, but his expression then immediately returned to normal as waved a dismissive hand.
The purple-bearded man hurriedly backed away to the side.
"So you're from the Cold Flame Sect, is that right?" Dean Eaton asked in a slow and deliberate voice, seemingly pondering what he was going to say next.
"That's right," John replied in a truthful manner.
"It's incredible to think that the Cold Flame Sect managed to produce a body cultivator as powerful as yourself completely in secret. I must offer the Cold Flame Sect and yourself my sincerest congratulations," Dean Eaton said with a fake smile on his face.
"I suggest you don't try to change the subject, Mr. Dean," John replied with a faint smile.
"I've already made sense of the situation. What I've heard is that you had some differences with a now-deceased outer court elder of our sect, and everything that happened after that was all a huge misunderstanding. Seeing as that elder is already dead and the situation has already been clarified, there's no point for our battle to continue. How about we stop here, and I'll send some people to accompany you and your companion out of our sect?" Dean Eaton suggested.
In his eyes, John's cultivation base wasn't very high, but he had clearly employed some type of method to conceal his true cultivation base. The other Grand Ascension Stage being of the Heavenly Ghost Sect just so happened to be away at the moment, so it was unwise to continue this battle.
"So I was teleported into your sect for no reason, then had to endure attacks from countless cultivators of your sect, and now, you're telling me that this is all just a big misunderstanding and to pretend as if nothing ever happened. Would you agree to this if you were in my place, Mr. Dean?" John countered with a cold smile.
Even though the four Body Integration cultivators had taken extensive defensive measures, they were still sweating profusely from fear.
The four fiery black pythons were manifested by the Ninth Heaven Devilish Flames that had previously filled this entire valley. As high-grade cultivators of the Heavenly Ghost Sect, they were more aware than anyone else of just how fearsome these flames were.
Even as Body Integration cultivators, the slightest lapse in concentration could've resulted in catastrophic circumstances.
Never did they think that they would be on the receiving end of these devilish flames someday.
Right at this moment, a burst of white light appeared in the air above the valley, then split up into four before descending rapidly from above, moving at such an astonishing speed that it was as if they had arrived in front of the four Body Integration cultivators through instantaneous teleportation.
These were four streaks of translucent swordlight, and they began to revolve in mid-air to form four wheels of light.
In the next instant, the four fiery black pythons crashed into the wheels of light before exploding violently into bursts of black fire.
In the end, the fiery black pythons were snuffed out as powerful shockwaves swept through the air.
Immediately thereafter, spatial fluctuations erupted in the air above the valley, and a black-robed man appeared. He had a graceful and refined appearance, but his brows were as sharp as a pair of menacing swords.
The four swords then reverted back into streaks of white light that returned to the black-robed figure before vanishing into his body in a flash.
"Martial Uncle Dean!"
The four Body Integration cultivators were ecstatic to see the arrival of the black-robed man.
John remained on the spot as he cast his gaze directly toward the black-robed man.
The man was none other than one of the two Grand Ascension Stage patriarchs of the Heavenly Ghost Sect, Dean Eaton.
Dean Eaton swept his gaze over the area to find that the revered Devilish Flame Valley of the sect had been reduced to a chaotic mess, while the four Body Integration cultivators were looking completely downtrodden and defeated. His expression remained unchanged, but his eyelids were twitching ever so slightly.
He then lowered his head to direct his gaze toward John before extending a hand forward and spreading his fingers apart.
The five fingers on his hand instantly took on a translucent appearance, and spiritual light was flashing incessantly from his fingertips.
Countless streaks of white light shot out of his fingertips, then transformed into hundreds of white bone flying swords that were each around a foot in length, screeching through the air as they rained down upon John.
John made a hand seal upon seeing this, and a burst of cracks and pops rang out as his body swelled drastically in size. Countless golden scales then appeared over his skin amid a flash of golden radiance, instantly covering his entire body.
The storm of white bone swords arrived in the blink of an eye, striking him in rapid succession, creating explosions of white and golden light that completely devoured him.
Powerful shockwaves swept through the surrounding area like a ferocious hurricane, causing countless thin white rifts to appear in the surrounding space in a radius of several hundred feet.
At the same time, spatial fluctuations erupted in the air directly above the explosions, and a small black seal appeared out of thin air, then instantly swelled to the size of a pavilion before descending from above while radiating boundless black radiance.
Even before the seal had come fully crashing down, it was releasing a burst of asphyxiating spiritual pressure that was causing the nearby to twist and warp significantly.
All of a sudden, an earth-shattering boom rang out, and the giant seal was suddenly stopped cold in its tracks around 10 feet above the ground, unable to descend any further.
Dean Eaton's expression finally changed slightly upon seeing this.
Even though he had just unleashed two powerful attacks one after another, all of this had taken place in the blink of an eye, and at this moment, the explosions of white and golden light faded to reveal the situation down below.
John was standing still on the spot like an immovable mountain with his right arm raised above his head. The arm was completely covered in golden scales, and it was holding the giant black seal aloft in the air. His feet had already sunken into the ground, and a series of rifts had opened up around him.
He looked up at Dean Eaton with a calm expression, then abruptly bent his right arm before straightening it again.
Boom
A deafening sound instantly rang out, and the mountainous black seal was hurled away as if it were nothing more than a piece of wood, flying out of the valley at an astonishing speed before vanishing into the distance.
Immediately thereafter, John sprang up into the air, arriving not far in front of Dean Eaton in a flash before throwing a vicious punch his way.
Dean Eaton's expression remained completely unchanged upon seeing this, and right at this moment, a silver ring suddenly appeared behind John without any warning before flying directly toward him.
John seemed to have already anticipated this, and he quickly turned around while swinging his hand through the air in a chopping motion to slice the ring into two.
However, to John's surprise, the two halves of the silver ring suddenly vanished, leaving only a trail of afterimages in their wake.
In the next instant, they appeared on either side of him without any warning.
Immediately thereafter, the two halves of the silver ring converged toward the center to form a whole ring once again, constricting John's body tightly within it.
Dazzling spiritual light radiated from the ring as it continued to constrict, and sparks were flying erratically between the inner wall of the ring and golden scales on John's skin, which were crackling incessantly, looking as if they were about to be crushed into pieces under the immense pressure.
At this point, Megan had already retreated to the corner of the valley, and she was greatly alarmed to see this. "Brother Rock!"
In contrast, the four Body Integration cultivators were ecstatic to witness this development.
John didn't appear to be panicked in the slightest as let loose a low roar, and a burst of thunderous rumbling instantly rang out within his body as five specks of blue light appeared on his chest and abdomen.
At the same time, all of the muscles all over his entire body bulged, increasing his stature even further.
He then raised his arms with tremendous might, forcibly expanding the silver ring as it flashed erratically. Countless silver runes appeared on its surface, but that still wasn't enough for it to contain John's unfathomable strength, and it exploded with a dull crack.
A serious look finally appeared on Dean Eaton's face, and he shot back in retreat while raising his hands, seemingly about to unleash some other treasures or abilities.
John certainly wasn't just going to allow Dean Eaton to do as he pleased, and he abruptly vanished on the spot.
In the next instant, John reappeared right behind Dean Eaton in a wraith-like manner, then clenched his hand into a fist before throwing a punch.
His fist was glowing with dazzling golden radiance, and a large white rift was left in the space in its wake.
Dean Eaton immediately turned around, then opened his mouth to release a crimson cloud, which transformed into a crimson light shield that positioned itself directly in front of him.
John's fist struck the crimson shield, and the surface of the shield caved in significantly before it exploded into a cloud of blood mist. John's fist wasn't slowed down in the slightest as it punched straight through Dean Eaton's chest.
However, he knew that this wasn't the end of the battle.
In the next instant, Dean Eaton's body disintegrated into a cloud of blood mist, leaving behind only a white skeleton that was dangling off John's arm.
Spatial fluctuations erupted, and Dean Eaton emerged out of thin air. He appeared to be completely unscathed, but his face was slightly pale.
All of this had taken place in the blink of an eye, and the four Body Integration cultivators couldn't help but exchange a glance with one another, only to find their own astonishment mirrored in one another's eyes.
Dean Eaton scrutinized John in silence for a moment, then mused, "To think that a body cultivator comparable in power to Grand Ascension Stage beings has appeared in this realm in just the past few centuries that I've been in seclusion. May I ask your name?"
"You're far too kind,. My name is JB, John Brown," John replied with a faint smile, then casually cast the white skeleton aside.
The golden scales all over his body quickly faded, and he appeared to be content to end the battle there.
"I see. May I ask for what purpose you've come here, JB? As a cultivator of your caliber, you should be acting in a way that's befitting of your powers. Why have you come to wreak havoc at our Heavenly Ghost Sect and harmed so many of our disciples? I believe you owe me an explanation," Dean Eaton said as his voice suddenly took a cold turn.
"It's rather amusing that you're turning this on me. First, your Heavenly Ghost Sect abducted someone close to me, then forcibly teleported me here using a secret technique. I was hoping that you would be able to give me an explanation," John said with a cold smile.
Dean Eaton faltered slightly upon hearing this, then turned to the four Body Integration cultivators before asking, "What's going on here?"
The other three Body Integration cultivators all turned to the purple-bearded man for an explanation.
"I received news earlier that someone had invaded our sect, so I went to investigate. I could see that this... John was quite a formidable opponent, so I teleported him here to contain him in the array. As for why he came to our Heavenly Ghost Sect, I'm afraid I don't actually know," the purple-bearded man explained after a moment of hesitation.
"Investigate this matter right away!" Dean Eaton instructed in an implacable voice.
"Yes!" the purple-bearded man hurriedly replied before flying out of the valley.
Dean Eaton's gaze returned to John in silence.
John turned to Megan to give her a reassuring look, then turned back to face Dean Eaton with a faint smile on his face.
Few minutes later, the purple-bearded man returned to the valley, then communicated a message to Dean Eaton through voice transmission.
Dean Eaton's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing what was said, but his expression then immediately returned to normal as waved a dismissive hand.
The purple-bearded man hurriedly backed away to the side.
"So you're from the Cold Flame Sect, is that right?" Dean Eaton asked in a slow and deliberate voice, seemingly pondering what he was going to say next.
"That's right," John replied in a truthful manner.
"It's incredible to think that the Cold Flame Sect managed to produce a body cultivator as powerful as yourself completely in secret. I must offer the Cold Flame Sect and yourself my sincerest congratulations," Dean Eaton said with a fake smile on his face.
"I suggest you don't try to change the subject, Mr. Dean," John replied with a faint smile.
"I've already made sense of the situation. What I've heard is that you had some differences with a now-deceased outer court elder of our sect, and everything that happened after that was all a huge misunderstanding. Seeing as that elder is already dead and the situation has already been clarified, there's no point for our battle to continue. How about we stop here, and I'll send some people to accompany you and your companion out of our sect?" Dean Eaton suggested.
In his eyes, John's cultivation base wasn't very high, but he had clearly employed some type of method to conceal his true cultivation base. The other Grand Ascension Stage being of the Heavenly Ghost Sect just so happened to be away at the moment, so it was unwise to continue this battle.
"So I was teleported into your sect for no reason, then had to endure attacks from countless cultivators of your sect, and now, you're telling me that this is all just a big misunderstanding and to pretend as if nothing ever happened. Would you agree to this if you were in my place, Mr. Dean?" John countered with a cold smile.
fatboy
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Nice one
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Chapter 56: Rise of the Heavenly Ghost
"What do you want?" Dean Eaton asked in an indifferent voice.
"I want 50 kg of refined Dawn Stone," John replied without any hesitation.
A peculiar silence instantly descended upon the entire valley with this declaration.
"You want 50 kg of Dawn Stone?"
"You destroyed several major restrictions of our sect and completely ruined the Devilish Flame Valley! How dare you state such a brazen demand?"
"You must be delusional!"
After a brief stunned silence, the four Body Integration cultivators all erupted into furious tirades before Dean Eaton had a chance to say anything.
Dean Eaton's expression remained unchanged, but a hint of anger had crept into his voice as he said, "You're asking for far too much! An entire Dawn Stone mine is only able to produce around half a kilogram of Dawn Stone per year, and you're asking for 50 kg at once! Don't you think you're going too far?"
"I don't think that at all. Surely you can't tell me the Heavenly Ghost Sect is unable to offer up at least that much Dawn Stone," John replied with a nonchalant smile.
"It looks like you came here with the intention of starting trouble. If you're unwilling to leave, then you can remain here forever!" A furious look appeared on Dean Eaton's face as he spoke, and it was clear that he had been completely enraged by John's attitude.
As soon as his voice trailed off, a vast expanse of crimson light erupted out of his body, illuminating the entire surrounding area. At the same time, he released a burst of terrifying spiritual pressure that almost made the nearby space congeal, and he opened his mouth to release a miniature crimson flag that was several inches tall.
The flag circled around in the air before swelling with baleful energy surging all over its surface. An image of a sinister ghostly head with a pair of horns could be clearly seen on the flag, and at the moment, the ghostly head's eyes were tightly shut.
Crimson light began to surge over the giant flag as Dean Eaton chanted an incantation, sweeping up gusts of wind that reeked of blood and gore. The ghostly head then opened its cavernous mouth, releasing a thick pillar of crimson light that hurtled directly toward John with unstoppable might.
Even before the pillar of light reached John, a nauseating stench permeated throughout the entire valley, and the nearby air temperature plummeted drastically.
John abruptly vanished on the spot upon seeing this, and as a result, the pillar of crimson light struck nothing but empty air.
In the next instant, spatial fluctuations erupted behind Dean Eaton, following which John appeared out of thin air before throwing a punch. His fist was covered in golden scales, and a ferocious barrage of hundreds of fist projections was unleashed in an instant.
A burst of astonishing force passed through the barrage of fist projections, threatening to shatter the space in its wake.
In the face of such an astonishing attack, all Dean Eaton did was extend a finger before pointing it at the giant crimson flag before him in an unhurried manner.
A vast expanse of crimson mist instantly swept out of the flag like lightning before quickly spreading through the air, transforming into a crimson cloud with a radius of several hundred feet. The cloud completely encompassed Dean Eaton within it, giving him a rather murky and indistinct appearance.
The golden fist projections fell upon the crimson cloud like rain, but it was as if they had struck an enormous wall of cotton. In a strange turn of events, the incredible power imbued within the first projections instantly vanished upon making contact with the crimson cloud, and with each fist projection that landed, the crimson cloud would expand slightly.
John's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, and he immediately withdrew his fists before flying back in retreat without any hesitation.
The crimson cloud instantly swept down like a turbulent wave, then rapidly spread apart to either side, while a series of crimson vortexes appeared, releasing bursts of powerful force that swept through the surrounding air, causing the nearby space to warp and twist violently.
A string of loud rumbling rang out, and John felt the air construct around him, following which bursts of tremendous force surged toward him from all directions, causing him to slow down in his retreat.
Right at this moment, the eyes of the sinister ghostly head on the surface of the crimson flag sprang open, and two balls of red light that were as radiant as the sun was revealed, forcing all beholders to shield their eyes and avert their gaze.
John felt his surroundings blur for a moment, and in the next instant, he suddenly found himself situated within a crimson space.
Above his head was a murky crimson sky, while down below was a boundless sea of blood. A faint layer of blood mist was hovering above the surface of the sea of blood, and there was a slightly sweet aroma permeating through the air.
"This is a domain treasure!" John exclaimed as a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.
Dean Eaton was standing in mid-air not far away with his hands clasped behind his back, and his black robe was flapping audibly while crimson mist surged around him. "You sure are knowledgeable. Indeed, this Heavenly Ghost Blood Flag is a domain treasure, and it's the most revered treasure of our Heavenly Ghost Sect. You're extremely fortunate to be able to make this domain your final resting place."
"Is that right?" John harrumphed coldly.
As soon as his voice trailed off, a flurry of ghostly howls suddenly rang out in all directions.
The ghostly howls were undulating incessantly, and it was as if there were countless ghostly creatures screaming and screeching incessantly with all their might.
All of a sudden, John's consciousness began to waver, and his eyelids became as heavy as lead. At the same time, a sense of bloodlust and frustration welled up in his heart, and it seemed that the bloodlust could be satisfied by engaging those ghostly creatures in a battle to the death.
In response to these intrusive sensations, John made a hand seal without any hesitation, and a burst of cool and refreshing energy surged out of his forehead, instantly flowing through all of his meridians.
The deranged thoughts in his mind instantly ceased to exist, and the ghostly howling also faded into silence.
Dean Eaton was astonished that John was able to remain completely unaffected by the mind-altering properties of the domain.
The layer of mist hovering over the sea of blood was manifested from the resentment of countless ghosts, and it could completely cloud one's mind and tap into the innermost desires and bloodlust in one's heart. Even if Dean Eaton himself were to be beset by its effects in a completely defenseless state, he certainly wouldn't have been able to regain full sanity and rationality so easily.
The fact that John was completely unaffected by this indicated that his spiritual sense was far more powerful than even Dean Eaton's!
Thus, one of the trump cards that Dean Eaton had prepared was rendered useless from the get-go.
Right at this moment, John's body suddenly blurred as he shot forth through the air, flying directly toward Dean Eaton.
Dean Eaton gave a cold harrumph upon seeing this, and he quickly made a hand seal.
The sea of blood down below suddenly began to churn violently, and an enormous wave of blood abruptly raised to devour Dean Eaton,
John instantly stopped cold in his tracks upon seeing this, and he closed his eyes to release his immense spiritual sense, but his brows then immediately furrowed slightly.
This space seemed to be infinitely vast, and the sea of blood down below was also extremely strange. Even John's spiritual sense was only able to reach a depth of less than 200 feet in the sea of blood, making it impossible for him to find out where Dean Eaton was hiding.
After a moment of contemplation, blue light flashed through his eyes as he unleashed his Brightsight Spirit Eyes ability
Everything within several hundred feet beneath the surface of the sea of blood instantly became as clear as day, but beyond that was still just a vast expanse of murkiness that was impossible to see through.
John flipped a hand over to produce Cloud Crane Herb that he quickly devoured, then injected most of his spiritual power into his eyes, yet right as he was about to activate his spirit eyes ability to its fullest extent, an unexpected turn of events abruptly unfolded.
The surface of the sea of blood several thousand feet ahead of John suddenly began to churn violently, and the viscous blood surged toward a certain direction, forming an enormous vortex that was rumbling incessantly.
John immediately flew up upon seeing this, and only then did he lower his head to inspect the scene that was unfolding down below.
The center of the vortex was splashing loudly, and waves were churning and rolling as an enormous skeleton rose up from the depths.
The skeleton bones were of a translucent red color, as if it were entirely constructed from blood jade. Every single bone was riddled with countless profound runes, and at the top of the skeleton's enormous head, nestled right between a pair of curved horns, sat Dean Eaton's nascent soul with its eyes closed and its legs crossed.
John's eyes narrowed slightly upon seeing this.
All of a sudden, the nascent soul's eyes sprang open, and it opened its mouth to release seven balls of blood essence in rapid succession. At the same time, it was making a series of hand seals while chanting an incantation.
The balls of blood essence exploded into seven clouds of blood mist, which wrapped themselves around the nascent soul's body, neck, and limbs like a nest of spirit snakes. Immediately thereafter, the blood mist began to radiate crimson radiance, encompassing the nascent soul within a ball of crimson light.
All of a sudden, the crimson ball of light vanished into the skull of the skeleton.
Two balls of crimson light instantly appeared within the giant skeleton's empty eye sockets, and all of the runes all over its body also lit up in unison.
Enormous waves were churning within the blood vortex down below, releasing bursts of viscous crimson light that rose up while revolving and intertwining, forming a corkscrew-shaped pillar of blood that engulfed the entire skeleton.
Through the pillar of blood, John could see that the giant skeleton was gradually expanding even further in stature.
Shortly thereafter, the pillar of blood receded like the tide, and the giant skeleton had completely vanished, replaced by a terrifying ghostly creature. The creature had a pair of eyes that were as red as blood, and a pair of curved horns on its head, as well as a pair of dark purple bat wings on its back. Its entire body was covered in crimson fur, and even compared with its enormous body, its limbs were disproportionately long.
As soon as it appeared, it immediately began to release an astonishing aura that was causing even the space around it to tremble and quiver violently.
"So this is the legendary Blood Heavenly Ghost that's rumored to be from the Nether Realm? Interesting..." John murmured to himself as he looked directly at the giant ghostly creature before him.
Right at this moment, the Blood Heavenly Ghost raised one of its arms, and a vast expanse of crimson flames erupted on its palm as it grabbed at John from afar.
The sky above John instantly dimmed as an enormous crimson ghostly claw that was around an acre in size appeared overhead, then came swooping down with scorching crimson flames burning all over its surface.
Even before the giant claw reached John, a gust of ferocious wind had already come sweeping down, causing the sea of blood down below to ripple and churn violently.
In response, John threw a punch directly upward, releasing a burst of tremendous force.
Boom
A resounding sound rang out, and the crimson ghostly claw was instantly destroyed, exploding into specks of crimson light and scattered flames that scattered in all directions.
However, John was also forced to stumble back a few steps before steadying himself, and a hint of surprise flashed through his eyes.
The power imbued within the giant crimson claw had exceeded his expectations.
The specks of crimson light that scattered through the air didn't fade away. Instead, after scattering in all directions for a short distance, they suddenly stopped cold in their tracks, then converged and intertwined to form a ring of blood with a radius of several dozen feet. The ring then abruptly contracted, constricting tightly around John.
Before John had a chance to do anything, the Blood Heavenly Ghost beckoned to him, and the crimson ring around John instantly flew toward it at an incredible speed. As a result, he was quickly drawn into the Blood Heavenly Ghost's grasp, leaving only his head exposed.
"Let's see how you're going to get away now!" the Blood Heavenly Ghost cackled as it closed its other claw around the one that was gripping John, then tightened its grip with both claws.
John immediately felt tremendous force constricting around him from all directions, and his bones were creaking incessantly. Even with his incredibly resolute physical body, he was struggling to withstand the pressure.
As we red On John White story, Brightsight Spirit Eyes is something related to Nethersky Eye, essentially, it's an ocular ability that significantly enhances one's eyesight and allows the user to see hidden cultivators and restrictions.
"What do you want?" Dean Eaton asked in an indifferent voice.
"I want 50 kg of refined Dawn Stone," John replied without any hesitation.
A peculiar silence instantly descended upon the entire valley with this declaration.
"You want 50 kg of Dawn Stone?"
"You destroyed several major restrictions of our sect and completely ruined the Devilish Flame Valley! How dare you state such a brazen demand?"
"You must be delusional!"
After a brief stunned silence, the four Body Integration cultivators all erupted into furious tirades before Dean Eaton had a chance to say anything.
Dean Eaton's expression remained unchanged, but a hint of anger had crept into his voice as he said, "You're asking for far too much! An entire Dawn Stone mine is only able to produce around half a kilogram of Dawn Stone per year, and you're asking for 50 kg at once! Don't you think you're going too far?"
"I don't think that at all. Surely you can't tell me the Heavenly Ghost Sect is unable to offer up at least that much Dawn Stone," John replied with a nonchalant smile.
"It looks like you came here with the intention of starting trouble. If you're unwilling to leave, then you can remain here forever!" A furious look appeared on Dean Eaton's face as he spoke, and it was clear that he had been completely enraged by John's attitude.
As soon as his voice trailed off, a vast expanse of crimson light erupted out of his body, illuminating the entire surrounding area. At the same time, he released a burst of terrifying spiritual pressure that almost made the nearby space congeal, and he opened his mouth to release a miniature crimson flag that was several inches tall.
The flag circled around in the air before swelling with baleful energy surging all over its surface. An image of a sinister ghostly head with a pair of horns could be clearly seen on the flag, and at the moment, the ghostly head's eyes were tightly shut.
Crimson light began to surge over the giant flag as Dean Eaton chanted an incantation, sweeping up gusts of wind that reeked of blood and gore. The ghostly head then opened its cavernous mouth, releasing a thick pillar of crimson light that hurtled directly toward John with unstoppable might.
Even before the pillar of light reached John, a nauseating stench permeated throughout the entire valley, and the nearby air temperature plummeted drastically.
John abruptly vanished on the spot upon seeing this, and as a result, the pillar of crimson light struck nothing but empty air.
In the next instant, spatial fluctuations erupted behind Dean Eaton, following which John appeared out of thin air before throwing a punch. His fist was covered in golden scales, and a ferocious barrage of hundreds of fist projections was unleashed in an instant.
A burst of astonishing force passed through the barrage of fist projections, threatening to shatter the space in its wake.
In the face of such an astonishing attack, all Dean Eaton did was extend a finger before pointing it at the giant crimson flag before him in an unhurried manner.
A vast expanse of crimson mist instantly swept out of the flag like lightning before quickly spreading through the air, transforming into a crimson cloud with a radius of several hundred feet. The cloud completely encompassed Dean Eaton within it, giving him a rather murky and indistinct appearance.
The golden fist projections fell upon the crimson cloud like rain, but it was as if they had struck an enormous wall of cotton. In a strange turn of events, the incredible power imbued within the first projections instantly vanished upon making contact with the crimson cloud, and with each fist projection that landed, the crimson cloud would expand slightly.
John's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, and he immediately withdrew his fists before flying back in retreat without any hesitation.
The crimson cloud instantly swept down like a turbulent wave, then rapidly spread apart to either side, while a series of crimson vortexes appeared, releasing bursts of powerful force that swept through the surrounding air, causing the nearby space to warp and twist violently.
A string of loud rumbling rang out, and John felt the air construct around him, following which bursts of tremendous force surged toward him from all directions, causing him to slow down in his retreat.
Right at this moment, the eyes of the sinister ghostly head on the surface of the crimson flag sprang open, and two balls of red light that were as radiant as the sun was revealed, forcing all beholders to shield their eyes and avert their gaze.
John felt his surroundings blur for a moment, and in the next instant, he suddenly found himself situated within a crimson space.
Above his head was a murky crimson sky, while down below was a boundless sea of blood. A faint layer of blood mist was hovering above the surface of the sea of blood, and there was a slightly sweet aroma permeating through the air.
"This is a domain treasure!" John exclaimed as a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.
Dean Eaton was standing in mid-air not far away with his hands clasped behind his back, and his black robe was flapping audibly while crimson mist surged around him. "You sure are knowledgeable. Indeed, this Heavenly Ghost Blood Flag is a domain treasure, and it's the most revered treasure of our Heavenly Ghost Sect. You're extremely fortunate to be able to make this domain your final resting place."
"Is that right?" John harrumphed coldly.
As soon as his voice trailed off, a flurry of ghostly howls suddenly rang out in all directions.
The ghostly howls were undulating incessantly, and it was as if there were countless ghostly creatures screaming and screeching incessantly with all their might.
All of a sudden, John's consciousness began to waver, and his eyelids became as heavy as lead. At the same time, a sense of bloodlust and frustration welled up in his heart, and it seemed that the bloodlust could be satisfied by engaging those ghostly creatures in a battle to the death.
In response to these intrusive sensations, John made a hand seal without any hesitation, and a burst of cool and refreshing energy surged out of his forehead, instantly flowing through all of his meridians.
The deranged thoughts in his mind instantly ceased to exist, and the ghostly howling also faded into silence.
Dean Eaton was astonished that John was able to remain completely unaffected by the mind-altering properties of the domain.
The layer of mist hovering over the sea of blood was manifested from the resentment of countless ghosts, and it could completely cloud one's mind and tap into the innermost desires and bloodlust in one's heart. Even if Dean Eaton himself were to be beset by its effects in a completely defenseless state, he certainly wouldn't have been able to regain full sanity and rationality so easily.
The fact that John was completely unaffected by this indicated that his spiritual sense was far more powerful than even Dean Eaton's!
Thus, one of the trump cards that Dean Eaton had prepared was rendered useless from the get-go.
Right at this moment, John's body suddenly blurred as he shot forth through the air, flying directly toward Dean Eaton.
Dean Eaton gave a cold harrumph upon seeing this, and he quickly made a hand seal.
The sea of blood down below suddenly began to churn violently, and an enormous wave of blood abruptly raised to devour Dean Eaton,
John instantly stopped cold in his tracks upon seeing this, and he closed his eyes to release his immense spiritual sense, but his brows then immediately furrowed slightly.
This space seemed to be infinitely vast, and the sea of blood down below was also extremely strange. Even John's spiritual sense was only able to reach a depth of less than 200 feet in the sea of blood, making it impossible for him to find out where Dean Eaton was hiding.
After a moment of contemplation, blue light flashed through his eyes as he unleashed his Brightsight Spirit Eyes ability
Everything within several hundred feet beneath the surface of the sea of blood instantly became as clear as day, but beyond that was still just a vast expanse of murkiness that was impossible to see through.
John flipped a hand over to produce Cloud Crane Herb that he quickly devoured, then injected most of his spiritual power into his eyes, yet right as he was about to activate his spirit eyes ability to its fullest extent, an unexpected turn of events abruptly unfolded.
The surface of the sea of blood several thousand feet ahead of John suddenly began to churn violently, and the viscous blood surged toward a certain direction, forming an enormous vortex that was rumbling incessantly.
John immediately flew up upon seeing this, and only then did he lower his head to inspect the scene that was unfolding down below.
The center of the vortex was splashing loudly, and waves were churning and rolling as an enormous skeleton rose up from the depths.
The skeleton bones were of a translucent red color, as if it were entirely constructed from blood jade. Every single bone was riddled with countless profound runes, and at the top of the skeleton's enormous head, nestled right between a pair of curved horns, sat Dean Eaton's nascent soul with its eyes closed and its legs crossed.
John's eyes narrowed slightly upon seeing this.
All of a sudden, the nascent soul's eyes sprang open, and it opened its mouth to release seven balls of blood essence in rapid succession. At the same time, it was making a series of hand seals while chanting an incantation.
The balls of blood essence exploded into seven clouds of blood mist, which wrapped themselves around the nascent soul's body, neck, and limbs like a nest of spirit snakes. Immediately thereafter, the blood mist began to radiate crimson radiance, encompassing the nascent soul within a ball of crimson light.
All of a sudden, the crimson ball of light vanished into the skull of the skeleton.
Two balls of crimson light instantly appeared within the giant skeleton's empty eye sockets, and all of the runes all over its body also lit up in unison.
Enormous waves were churning within the blood vortex down below, releasing bursts of viscous crimson light that rose up while revolving and intertwining, forming a corkscrew-shaped pillar of blood that engulfed the entire skeleton.
Through the pillar of blood, John could see that the giant skeleton was gradually expanding even further in stature.
Shortly thereafter, the pillar of blood receded like the tide, and the giant skeleton had completely vanished, replaced by a terrifying ghostly creature. The creature had a pair of eyes that were as red as blood, and a pair of curved horns on its head, as well as a pair of dark purple bat wings on its back. Its entire body was covered in crimson fur, and even compared with its enormous body, its limbs were disproportionately long.
As soon as it appeared, it immediately began to release an astonishing aura that was causing even the space around it to tremble and quiver violently.
"So this is the legendary Blood Heavenly Ghost that's rumored to be from the Nether Realm? Interesting..." John murmured to himself as he looked directly at the giant ghostly creature before him.
Right at this moment, the Blood Heavenly Ghost raised one of its arms, and a vast expanse of crimson flames erupted on its palm as it grabbed at John from afar.
The sky above John instantly dimmed as an enormous crimson ghostly claw that was around an acre in size appeared overhead, then came swooping down with scorching crimson flames burning all over its surface.
Even before the giant claw reached John, a gust of ferocious wind had already come sweeping down, causing the sea of blood down below to ripple and churn violently.
In response, John threw a punch directly upward, releasing a burst of tremendous force.
Boom
A resounding sound rang out, and the crimson ghostly claw was instantly destroyed, exploding into specks of crimson light and scattered flames that scattered in all directions.
However, John was also forced to stumble back a few steps before steadying himself, and a hint of surprise flashed through his eyes.
The power imbued within the giant crimson claw had exceeded his expectations.
The specks of crimson light that scattered through the air didn't fade away. Instead, after scattering in all directions for a short distance, they suddenly stopped cold in their tracks, then converged and intertwined to form a ring of blood with a radius of several dozen feet. The ring then abruptly contracted, constricting tightly around John.
Before John had a chance to do anything, the Blood Heavenly Ghost beckoned to him, and the crimson ring around John instantly flew toward it at an incredible speed. As a result, he was quickly drawn into the Blood Heavenly Ghost's grasp, leaving only his head exposed.
"Let's see how you're going to get away now!" the Blood Heavenly Ghost cackled as it closed its other claw around the one that was gripping John, then tightened its grip with both claws.
John immediately felt tremendous force constricting around him from all directions, and his bones were creaking incessantly. Even with his incredibly resolute physical body, he was struggling to withstand the pressure.
As we red On John White story, Brightsight Spirit Eyes is something related to Nethersky Eye, essentially, it's an ocular ability that significantly enhances one's eyesight and allows the user to see hidden cultivators and restrictions.
fatboy
Demonic Cultivator
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- Sep 24, 2023
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Action 24/7
- Joined
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Chapter 57: 12 Awakening Transformations
A hint of surprise flashed through the Blood Heavenly Ghost's eyes, clearly taken aback by the fact that it was unable to completely pulverize John's body with its crushing grip.
However, it then harrumphed coldly as a series of thick crimson patterns appeared all over its body, and its arms bulged as it tightened its grip with all its might, determined to crush John with brute force.
A pained look appeared on John's face, but his body remained as resolute as a piece of indestructible iron essence, refusing to be crushed no matter how much force the Blood Heavenly Ghost exerted.
Right at this moment, a burst of golden light suddenly erupted from John's body, and countless golden scales appeared over his skin, while five specks of blue light emerged on his chest and abdomen.
He then let loose a low roar as he spread his arms outward with all his might, resisting against the vice-like grip around him.
A stunned look appeared on the Blood Heavenly Ghost's face as its fingers were slowly forced apart by John.
With the space that was opened up around him, John was able to fly out of the Blood Heavenly Ghost's grasp as a streak of golden light. His body rapidly swelled in size mid-flight, and thick tufts of hard golden fur quickly grew over his entire body, while a pair of white tusks protruded out of his mouth.
In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a giant golden ape
A violent aura erupted out of his body, and bursts of black baleful qi were dancing around him.
"This is... a Giant Mountain Ape!" the Blood Heavenly Ghost exclaimed in a surprised voice.
The giant ape that John had transformed thumped its fists against its chest and let loose a long roar as it felt the tremendous strength coursing through its body.
Even though John's nascent soul had been sealed, the power of the true spirit bloodlines he had refined was still in his body, and upon recovering from all of his physical injuries, he was finally able to use his 12 Awakening Transformations again.
Unleashing this ability instantly brought a flurry of memories flooding into his mind.
"It's no wonder that you possess such incredible strength if you're related to this true spirit. I've been searching everywhere for someone like you, never did I think one would show up on my doorstep! If I can refine this Blood Heavenly Ghost Flag again with your blood, its powers will be sure to be greatly enhanced!" the Blood Heavenly Ghost cackled as it launched itself through the air.
It clenched its right claw into a giant fist before throwing a punch at the golden ape, and a vast expanse of crimson light erupted from its fist.
The giant golden ape harrumphed coldly as it also retaliated with a punch of its own, releasing an enormous burst of golden radiance from its fist.
The two fists of completely incomparable sizes clashed, and an earth-shattering boom rang out across the entire sky, causing the sea of blood down below to tumble and churn violently.
The Blood Heavenly Ghost's body shuddered, and it was sent flying back by the impact. Its right arm shattered with blood and flesh flying in all directions before disintegrating into a huge cloud of blood mist, revealing the translucent blood-jade-like arm bones inside.
The Blood Heavenly Ghost plummeted into the sea of blood down below, raising a gargantuan wave of blood.
In contrast, the giant golden ape only swayed slightly before steadying itself, then lowered its head to cast its gaze downward.
The surface of the sea of blood churned for a while before falling still again.
However, in the next instant, a resounding boom rang out, and the sea of blood behind the golden ape split apart violently.
Waves of blood surged in all directions as the Blood Heavenly Ghost emerged from the depths. At this point, its shattered arm had already fully healed, and its eyes were glowing brightly with crimson radiance, seemingly having been completely enraged by the resistance being displayed by the giant ape.
It reached down with one hand, and a vast wave of blood rose up from down below, transforming into a crimson spear before falling into its grasp. The Blood Heavenly Ghost then quickly took aim at the giant golden ape before hurling the spear viciously through the air.
A sharp screeching sound instantly rang out, and the giant ape immediately turned around.
However, instead of retreating, it advanced toward the spear while swinging a huge furry hand down with tremendous force.
Thump
A deafening thump rang out, and the crimson spear had virtually only just left the Blood Heavenly Ghost's grasp before it was swatted away, then shattered into countless pieces before disintegrating back into a wave of blood.
The Blood Heavenly Ghost was stunned to see this, and before it had a chance to take evasive measures, the giant golden ape lashed out with both of its golden fists.
The Blood Heavenly Ghost fought fire with fire, raising its left arm to withstand the attack.
Boom
A resounding sound rang out, and the Blood Heavenly Ghost was sent flying once again. The blood and flesh on the left half of its body had been completely destroyed, revealing the translucent bones within.
Right as the giant golden ape was about to give chase and press its advantage, an enormous wave suddenly rose up from the sea of blood down below, then transformed into a fearsome dragon's head in the blink of an eye.
The dragon's head opened its cavernous mouth before closing it in a flash, devouring the giant golden ape right as it was about to catch up to the Blood Heavenly Ghost.
Immediately thereafter, a blood dragon rose up from the sea of blood, coiling its massive body in the air as it released a vast cloud of blood mist.
Not far away, the Blood Heavenly Ghost had already steadied itself, and the runes on its bones were flashing as bursts of viscous blood rose up from the sea of blood before intertwining themselves around the missing half of its body. New flesh instantly began to grow at a rate that was discernible even to the naked eye, squirming incessantly as it did so.
Taking advantage of the fact that the giant ape had been devoured by the blood dragon, the Blood Heavenly Ghost hurriedly made a hand seal while chanting a profound incantation.
Bright crimson light glowed within the giant dragon's eyes as it instantly coiled its own body into a massive ball of blood. Crimson light was flashing erratically from the surface of the ball of blood, and it was also rapidly expanding like a balloon.
A fierce look appeared on the Blood Heavenly Ghost's face as it made one final hand seal, but right at this moment, countless golden threads of light suddenly pierced through a certain part of the enormous ball of blood, creating a massive bulge.
Immediately thereafter, a resounding thump rang out, and a burst of golden light flew out before hurtling directly toward the Blood Heavenly Ghost.
Enveloped within the golden light was none other than the giant golden ape.
It had only flown no more than 200 feet before an earth-shattering boom rang out, and the gigantic ball of blood exploded violently, forming an even more gargantuan ball of crimson light, which was still rapidly expanding in all directions at an alarming rate.
Devastating shockwaves proliferated through the air, sending fierce gusts of wind sweeping through the surrounding area close to 10 kilometers in radius. Spatial ripples that were visible even to the naked eye appeared at the very epicenter of the explosion before fading in the blink of an eye.
The giant golden ape managed to break out of the ball of blood in time, but it was still partially caught in the explosion, and several tufts of its vibrant golden fur had been singed. Thankfully, the injuries that it had sustained didn't appear to be very severe. If it weren't for his fast reactions, even with his formidable physical body, he would've still suffered significant damage from the explosion.
The Blood Heavenly Ghost looked on at the rapidly approaching giant golden ape, and it flapped its dark purple bat wings, instantly conjuring up two gusts of fierce wind beneath itself. Its enormous body then transformed into a blurry crimson shadow that retreated into the distance at an incredible speed that was far superior to that of the giant golden ape.
At this point, it was already clear to the Blood Heavenly Ghost that continuing to challenge the giant ape to a contest of strength was not a wise option.
A cold look appeared on the giant golden ape's face upon seeing this.
The Giant Mountain Ape was renowned for its incredible strength, but its speed was rather lackluster, and there was no way that John could catch the Blood Heavenly Ghost in this current form.
All of a sudden, the Blood Heavenly Ghost in the distance let loose a ghastly screech, and a series of bulges appeared in the sea of blood around the giant golden ape, each of which was several dozen feet in size.
Immediately thereafter, hundreds of crimson shadows shot out of the bulges before converging toward the golden ape from all directions.
It was a horde of crimson ghostly creatures, each with a single horn on its head. The creatures had green eyes and sharp claws, and clouds of blood mist were surging all around them.
The giant golden ape stopped in its tracks, and golden light began to radiate from its body. At the same time, it was rapidly shrinking in size and was quickly concealed within the clouds of blood mist around it.
In the next instant, a clear cry rang out, and countless bursts of azure light erupted out of the blood mist. Fierce gusts of azure wind then swept through the surrounding area to sweep the blood mist away, revealing a giant azure bird.
The bird had azure feather crest on its head. Its wings were extremely wide, and when fully spread open, its wingspan exceeded the length of its body. There were also three long tail feathers trailing along behind it, giving it a majestic and mystical appearance.
With a vigorous flap of its wings, the giant azure bird released countless gusts of fierce wind, leaving hundreds of azure streaks in its wake before slashing into the oncoming horde of ghostly creatures.
Several dozen ghostly creatures were instantly sliced into shreds by the azure streaks, then exploded into clouds of blood mist.
The giant azure bird spread its wings once again, transforming into a blurry azure shadow that flew out of the encirclement of ghostly creatures in an extremely agile manner before racing toward the Blood Heavenly Ghost.
"This is... the Azure Luan Bird! Who are you?" the Blood Heavenly Ghost exclaimed, then hurriedly flapped its wings as it fled the scene.
However, the azure shadow was astonishingly fast, and it reached the Blood Heavenly Ghost in the blink of an eye before flying past amid a flash of azure light.
Three huge wounds that were deep enough to expose bone instantly appeared on the Blood Heavenly Ghost's chest, and blood erupted in all directions.
The Blood Heavenly Ghost reflexively turned around and raised its arms to retaliate, but by then, the azure shadow had already appeared behind it before flashing past its back.
Three huge wounds were instantly inflicted onto the Blood Heavenly Ghost's back, and blood splattered everywhere once again, while one of its bat wings was completely severed.
A furious crimson glow appeared in the Blood Heavenly Ghost's eyes, and it let loose an enraged roar as it lashed out at the azure shadow with its powerful claws.
Countless crimson claw projections were conjured up, then intertwined with one another to form a dense net.
However, the azure shadow suddenly vanished on the spot, then appeared to the right of the Blood Heavenly Ghost in the next instant as if by instantaneous teleportation, then pounced like lightning once again.
Three more deep wounds appeared on the Blood Heavenly Ghost's right arm, exposing its arm bones as blood erupted out of the wounds like a crimson fountain.
The Blood Heavenly Ghost let loose another furious roar as it attempted to retaliate, but unfortunately for it, it was completely unable to keep up with the azure shadow's speed.
A series of blurry azure shadows danced around the Blood Heavenly Ghost in a wraith-like manner, moving so rapidly that it was impossible to track with the naked eye.
The Blood Heavenly Ghost's body was instantly riddled with wounds, and its movements had also become quite sluggish.
If it weren't for the fact that the translucent bones in its body were extremely hard and resolute, it would've already been sliced into countless shreds.
A hint of fear finally flashed through the Blood Heavenly Ghost's eyes, and it threw its arms over its own head as it raced toward the sea of blood down below. At the same time, an enormous wave of viscous blood rose up to meet it.
Right at this moment, a clear cry rang out, and the azure shadow accelerated even further, dancing around the Blood Heavenly Ghost at an unfathomable speed, leaving trails of afterimages in its wake.
Ferocious gusts of wind were swept up, and countless long azure streaks appeared within the wind, filling the surrounding area in a radius of several kilometers as they tore viciously at everything.
The wave of blood had only just begun to rise up before it was instantly struck by dozens of azure streaks, causing it to disintegrate and tumble back into the sea of blood.
A hint of surprise flashed through the Blood Heavenly Ghost's eyes, clearly taken aback by the fact that it was unable to completely pulverize John's body with its crushing grip.
However, it then harrumphed coldly as a series of thick crimson patterns appeared all over its body, and its arms bulged as it tightened its grip with all its might, determined to crush John with brute force.
A pained look appeared on John's face, but his body remained as resolute as a piece of indestructible iron essence, refusing to be crushed no matter how much force the Blood Heavenly Ghost exerted.
Right at this moment, a burst of golden light suddenly erupted from John's body, and countless golden scales appeared over his skin, while five specks of blue light emerged on his chest and abdomen.
He then let loose a low roar as he spread his arms outward with all his might, resisting against the vice-like grip around him.
A stunned look appeared on the Blood Heavenly Ghost's face as its fingers were slowly forced apart by John.
With the space that was opened up around him, John was able to fly out of the Blood Heavenly Ghost's grasp as a streak of golden light. His body rapidly swelled in size mid-flight, and thick tufts of hard golden fur quickly grew over his entire body, while a pair of white tusks protruded out of his mouth.
In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a giant golden ape
A violent aura erupted out of his body, and bursts of black baleful qi were dancing around him.
"This is... a Giant Mountain Ape!" the Blood Heavenly Ghost exclaimed in a surprised voice.
The giant ape that John had transformed thumped its fists against its chest and let loose a long roar as it felt the tremendous strength coursing through its body.
Even though John's nascent soul had been sealed, the power of the true spirit bloodlines he had refined was still in his body, and upon recovering from all of his physical injuries, he was finally able to use his 12 Awakening Transformations again.
Unleashing this ability instantly brought a flurry of memories flooding into his mind.
"It's no wonder that you possess such incredible strength if you're related to this true spirit. I've been searching everywhere for someone like you, never did I think one would show up on my doorstep! If I can refine this Blood Heavenly Ghost Flag again with your blood, its powers will be sure to be greatly enhanced!" the Blood Heavenly Ghost cackled as it launched itself through the air.
It clenched its right claw into a giant fist before throwing a punch at the golden ape, and a vast expanse of crimson light erupted from its fist.
The giant golden ape harrumphed coldly as it also retaliated with a punch of its own, releasing an enormous burst of golden radiance from its fist.
The two fists of completely incomparable sizes clashed, and an earth-shattering boom rang out across the entire sky, causing the sea of blood down below to tumble and churn violently.
The Blood Heavenly Ghost's body shuddered, and it was sent flying back by the impact. Its right arm shattered with blood and flesh flying in all directions before disintegrating into a huge cloud of blood mist, revealing the translucent blood-jade-like arm bones inside.
The Blood Heavenly Ghost plummeted into the sea of blood down below, raising a gargantuan wave of blood.
In contrast, the giant golden ape only swayed slightly before steadying itself, then lowered its head to cast its gaze downward.
The surface of the sea of blood churned for a while before falling still again.
However, in the next instant, a resounding boom rang out, and the sea of blood behind the golden ape split apart violently.
Waves of blood surged in all directions as the Blood Heavenly Ghost emerged from the depths. At this point, its shattered arm had already fully healed, and its eyes were glowing brightly with crimson radiance, seemingly having been completely enraged by the resistance being displayed by the giant ape.
It reached down with one hand, and a vast wave of blood rose up from down below, transforming into a crimson spear before falling into its grasp. The Blood Heavenly Ghost then quickly took aim at the giant golden ape before hurling the spear viciously through the air.
A sharp screeching sound instantly rang out, and the giant ape immediately turned around.
However, instead of retreating, it advanced toward the spear while swinging a huge furry hand down with tremendous force.
Thump
A deafening thump rang out, and the crimson spear had virtually only just left the Blood Heavenly Ghost's grasp before it was swatted away, then shattered into countless pieces before disintegrating back into a wave of blood.
The Blood Heavenly Ghost was stunned to see this, and before it had a chance to take evasive measures, the giant golden ape lashed out with both of its golden fists.
The Blood Heavenly Ghost fought fire with fire, raising its left arm to withstand the attack.
Boom
A resounding sound rang out, and the Blood Heavenly Ghost was sent flying once again. The blood and flesh on the left half of its body had been completely destroyed, revealing the translucent bones within.
Right as the giant golden ape was about to give chase and press its advantage, an enormous wave suddenly rose up from the sea of blood down below, then transformed into a fearsome dragon's head in the blink of an eye.
The dragon's head opened its cavernous mouth before closing it in a flash, devouring the giant golden ape right as it was about to catch up to the Blood Heavenly Ghost.
Immediately thereafter, a blood dragon rose up from the sea of blood, coiling its massive body in the air as it released a vast cloud of blood mist.
Not far away, the Blood Heavenly Ghost had already steadied itself, and the runes on its bones were flashing as bursts of viscous blood rose up from the sea of blood before intertwining themselves around the missing half of its body. New flesh instantly began to grow at a rate that was discernible even to the naked eye, squirming incessantly as it did so.
Taking advantage of the fact that the giant ape had been devoured by the blood dragon, the Blood Heavenly Ghost hurriedly made a hand seal while chanting a profound incantation.
Bright crimson light glowed within the giant dragon's eyes as it instantly coiled its own body into a massive ball of blood. Crimson light was flashing erratically from the surface of the ball of blood, and it was also rapidly expanding like a balloon.
A fierce look appeared on the Blood Heavenly Ghost's face as it made one final hand seal, but right at this moment, countless golden threads of light suddenly pierced through a certain part of the enormous ball of blood, creating a massive bulge.
Immediately thereafter, a resounding thump rang out, and a burst of golden light flew out before hurtling directly toward the Blood Heavenly Ghost.
Enveloped within the golden light was none other than the giant golden ape.
It had only flown no more than 200 feet before an earth-shattering boom rang out, and the gigantic ball of blood exploded violently, forming an even more gargantuan ball of crimson light, which was still rapidly expanding in all directions at an alarming rate.
Devastating shockwaves proliferated through the air, sending fierce gusts of wind sweeping through the surrounding area close to 10 kilometers in radius. Spatial ripples that were visible even to the naked eye appeared at the very epicenter of the explosion before fading in the blink of an eye.
The giant golden ape managed to break out of the ball of blood in time, but it was still partially caught in the explosion, and several tufts of its vibrant golden fur had been singed. Thankfully, the injuries that it had sustained didn't appear to be very severe. If it weren't for his fast reactions, even with his formidable physical body, he would've still suffered significant damage from the explosion.
The Blood Heavenly Ghost looked on at the rapidly approaching giant golden ape, and it flapped its dark purple bat wings, instantly conjuring up two gusts of fierce wind beneath itself. Its enormous body then transformed into a blurry crimson shadow that retreated into the distance at an incredible speed that was far superior to that of the giant golden ape.
At this point, it was already clear to the Blood Heavenly Ghost that continuing to challenge the giant ape to a contest of strength was not a wise option.
A cold look appeared on the giant golden ape's face upon seeing this.
The Giant Mountain Ape was renowned for its incredible strength, but its speed was rather lackluster, and there was no way that John could catch the Blood Heavenly Ghost in this current form.
All of a sudden, the Blood Heavenly Ghost in the distance let loose a ghastly screech, and a series of bulges appeared in the sea of blood around the giant golden ape, each of which was several dozen feet in size.
Immediately thereafter, hundreds of crimson shadows shot out of the bulges before converging toward the golden ape from all directions.
It was a horde of crimson ghostly creatures, each with a single horn on its head. The creatures had green eyes and sharp claws, and clouds of blood mist were surging all around them.
The giant golden ape stopped in its tracks, and golden light began to radiate from its body. At the same time, it was rapidly shrinking in size and was quickly concealed within the clouds of blood mist around it.
In the next instant, a clear cry rang out, and countless bursts of azure light erupted out of the blood mist. Fierce gusts of azure wind then swept through the surrounding area to sweep the blood mist away, revealing a giant azure bird.
The bird had azure feather crest on its head. Its wings were extremely wide, and when fully spread open, its wingspan exceeded the length of its body. There were also three long tail feathers trailing along behind it, giving it a majestic and mystical appearance.
With a vigorous flap of its wings, the giant azure bird released countless gusts of fierce wind, leaving hundreds of azure streaks in its wake before slashing into the oncoming horde of ghostly creatures.
Several dozen ghostly creatures were instantly sliced into shreds by the azure streaks, then exploded into clouds of blood mist.
The giant azure bird spread its wings once again, transforming into a blurry azure shadow that flew out of the encirclement of ghostly creatures in an extremely agile manner before racing toward the Blood Heavenly Ghost.
"This is... the Azure Luan Bird! Who are you?" the Blood Heavenly Ghost exclaimed, then hurriedly flapped its wings as it fled the scene.
However, the azure shadow was astonishingly fast, and it reached the Blood Heavenly Ghost in the blink of an eye before flying past amid a flash of azure light.
Three huge wounds that were deep enough to expose bone instantly appeared on the Blood Heavenly Ghost's chest, and blood erupted in all directions.
The Blood Heavenly Ghost reflexively turned around and raised its arms to retaliate, but by then, the azure shadow had already appeared behind it before flashing past its back.
Three huge wounds were instantly inflicted onto the Blood Heavenly Ghost's back, and blood splattered everywhere once again, while one of its bat wings was completely severed.
A furious crimson glow appeared in the Blood Heavenly Ghost's eyes, and it let loose an enraged roar as it lashed out at the azure shadow with its powerful claws.
Countless crimson claw projections were conjured up, then intertwined with one another to form a dense net.
However, the azure shadow suddenly vanished on the spot, then appeared to the right of the Blood Heavenly Ghost in the next instant as if by instantaneous teleportation, then pounced like lightning once again.
Three more deep wounds appeared on the Blood Heavenly Ghost's right arm, exposing its arm bones as blood erupted out of the wounds like a crimson fountain.
The Blood Heavenly Ghost let loose another furious roar as it attempted to retaliate, but unfortunately for it, it was completely unable to keep up with the azure shadow's speed.
A series of blurry azure shadows danced around the Blood Heavenly Ghost in a wraith-like manner, moving so rapidly that it was impossible to track with the naked eye.
The Blood Heavenly Ghost's body was instantly riddled with wounds, and its movements had also become quite sluggish.
If it weren't for the fact that the translucent bones in its body were extremely hard and resolute, it would've already been sliced into countless shreds.
A hint of fear finally flashed through the Blood Heavenly Ghost's eyes, and it threw its arms over its own head as it raced toward the sea of blood down below. At the same time, an enormous wave of viscous blood rose up to meet it.
Right at this moment, a clear cry rang out, and the azure shadow accelerated even further, dancing around the Blood Heavenly Ghost at an unfathomable speed, leaving trails of afterimages in its wake.
Ferocious gusts of wind were swept up, and countless long azure streaks appeared within the wind, filling the surrounding area in a radius of several kilometers as they tore viciously at everything.
The wave of blood had only just begun to rise up before it was instantly struck by dozens of azure streaks, causing it to disintegrate and tumble back into the sea of blood.