Two Soul Transformation cultivators—no!
It was an exchange between five Soul Transformation grandmasters!
On the Mingyuan Sect's side, besides Patriarch Heize, the other two patriarchs were also present.
One borrowed the body of Di Tu; the other was anchored to the soul of Gao Chang.
Erupting in a coordinated ambush alongside Patriarch Heize, they encircled the Ancient Demon Di Tian in an instant.
Yet on Di Tian's side, he was not alone either; he had long since secretly invited Qinghexian, a Soul Transformation powerhouse who hailed from the Million Mountains.
The moment both sides clashed, a boundless amount of world essence was mobilized.
A ten-thousand-li radius around Mount Biyou was sealed off immediately.
The turbulent world essence turned the surrounding space into something akin to a quagmire; anyone below the Soul Transformation realm found it difficult even to take a step.
A clashing resonance like blades and swords rang out across tens of millions of li.
"Yuming, Tianyuan, Heize! To think that to deal with me, the grandmasters of the Mingyuan Sect would turn out in full force. You certainly hold this seat in high esteem!"
"Lord Pingshan, since you have stepped into the Netherworld Yellow Springs Diagram, do not think of leaving." It was Patriarch Heize's voice.
"Nor should you expect Qinghexian to come down to assist you. She attained the Dao not long ago and can barely protect herself."
"Surrender without resistance! Three against one, you cannot escape your demise!"
The latter two voices, augmented by vast and mighty magic power, turned into rolling sonic waves that swept across thousands upon ten thousands of li, shaking the minds of all who heard them.
To his enemies' call for surrender, the Ancient Demon Di Tian paid no heed whatsoever.
His only answer to them was a single phrase:
"Then let us fight!"
An ink-black scroll, bolstered by endless essence, began expanding madly.
A hundred zhang, a thousand zhang, ten thousand zhang...
A hundred li, a thousand li, ten thousand li...
Vast as a celestial canopy, it blotted out the azure vault of heaven.
Wherever it passed, rocks, earth, trees, beasts, and birds were all submerged within it.
Within the scroll, three figures stood at three separate positions in a triangle, encircling a colossal ball of platinum radiance.
And above the black canopy, high in the nine heavens, a sphere of green light shone with brilliant radiance.
Meeting her was an incomparably violent pool of thunder, along with dazzling celestial stars.
The world had no idea what had happened in such a short span of time.
Only the demon emperors and True Persons who had personally attended the Biyou negotiations knew the details of the startling upheaval.
Yet at this moment, no one paid any heed to that.
Every single individual was fleeing with every ounce of strength they possessed, terrified of being swallowed into the Netherworld Yellow Springs Diagram.
Having received Luo Chen's warning, Tianduzi was among the earliest to flee.
Three banners brimming with peerless baleful aura wrapped him securely as he bolted outward like a loosed arrow.
When the stars flared above the nine heavens, he glanced up subconsciously.
With just a single glance, his eyes nearly tore at the corners in rage!
That was the Great Array of All-Heaven Stars, one of the three Tier 5 formations of his Tiandu Sect!
To resist the demon invasion, he had deployed this formation at Lingtian Pass, specifically to prevent formidable demon emperors from launching sneak attacks from the highest heavens.
He never anticipated that cultivators of the Mingyuan Sect would secretly learn this formation.
Not only had they stolen it, but they had also made covert alterations.
Yet no matter how it was altered, the formation ultimately stemmed from the Great Array of All-Heaven Stars; thus, he recognized its operating principles in an instant.
Those shining stars were unmistakably Nascent Soul cultivators!
At a glance, there were fully thirty-six stars.
This meant that thirty-six Nascent Soul True Persons were stationed in the high heavens.
And as far as Tianduzi knew, they definitely included late Nascent Soul grand cultivators such as Castellan Lingtian and Master Chongxuan.
Six grand cultivators!
And among those six, Lei Daozi—who had comprehended the true meaning of law—was clearly at their head.
"Scheming after my sect's Tier 5 formation in the name of the two races' war, and then using the Great Array of All-Heaven Stars to bestow endless might upon Lei Daozi so his lightning law true meaning can suppress Qinghexian..."
"Good, good, good!"
"What a fine Mingyuan Sacred Land!"
Outrage filled Tianduzi's aged face, yet his feet did not slow in the slightest.
Yet fast as he was, someone was faster!
*Whew!*
Amid the violent turmoil of essence, a dark silhouette seemed utterly unaffected, overtaking him in an instant despite starting later.
"It's Shenyuan!" Tianduzi recognized the silhouette from behind, marveling inwardly. "We are both Nascent Soul cultivators, so why is he completely unaffected by the suppression of world essence?"
Naturally, the other party could not stop to answer him, his figure vanishing into tumbling clouds of black qi in the blink of an eye.
Tianduzi dared not linger in the Bikong Region either.
Because of the Netherworld Yellow Springs Diagram, this vast region was presently having its world essence crazily siphoned away.
In such a tempestuous environment, even Nascent Soul cultivators struggled to discern direction; they only knew they had to get away from the center of the storm.
With a thought, Tianduzi manifested another two banners bristling with biting baleful aura, enveloping his entire body.
"Leave this place first!"
Just as he prepared to flee the Bikong Region heedless of the magic power cost, he subconsciously looked in another direction.
*Chi...*
Firelight flared in the void.
A youthful figure stepped out from the flames.
The young man glanced at Tianduzi, giving a slight nod of acknowledgment, then pinched an incantation gesture and strode forward.
Taking a single step, the firelight flickered and died once more.
And his figure was already gone.
"What a brilliant Fire Escape Art! To think the Alchemy Grandmaster had such a technique!"
Tianduzi gasped in praise, but unable to care about anyone else, his form vanished like an arrow into the boundless haze of essence.
***
*Chi!*
A flash of fire, white robes fluttering.
He landed atop a mountain peak.
The moment Luo Chen steadied his footing, he picked up his gourd and poured a mouthful of Golden Wind and Jade Dew wine down his throat, rapidly replenishing his magic power.
This self-created Fire Escape Art was exceedingly powerful, but its drain on magic power surpassed even large-scale Tier 4 spells like Fire Phoenix Scorches the Plains or Descent of the Flame Dragon.
Even with his profound magic power, he could not sustain it for long.
Moreover, in this environment, he had to reserve a portion of his magic power for contingencies; having learned from prior lessons, he had been drinking Golden Wind and Jade Dew continuously.
As the strong liquor slid down his throat, it transformed into turbulent spiritual energy that surged into his violet palace.
As Luo Chen recovered his magic power, he surveyed his surroundings.
Winding, undulating mountain ranges, towering peaks piercing into the clouds...
"This is the Jiuling Domain!"
Luo Chen had not expected that in an environment where directions were nearly impossible to tell, he had originally set out toward Lingtian Pass, only to end up in the Jiuling Domain.
Sweeping his divine sense across several thousand li around him, he found no particularly formidable creatures.
Only then did Luo Chen relax slightly, turning back to gaze in the direction of the Bikong Region.
His gaze involuntarily fell upon that sun-blotting, sky-covering black shroud.
"The Netherworld Yellow Springs Diagram, one of the two great spirit treasures of the Mingyuan Sect!"
"To deal with the Ancient Demon Di Tian, Heize actually brought out this treasure. Adding in the two patriarchs Yuming and Tianyuan... Di Tian is most likely doomed."
Luo Chen sighed and shifted his gaze toward the highest heavens.
Those thirty-six shining stars were far too conspicuous.
Endless thunderous radiance, resembling a heavenly tribulation, firmly suppressed an incomparably resilient sphere of green light.
Luo Chen's brow furrowed.
Soul Transformation beings were at the absolute peak of this world, far beyond anything Nascent Soul cultivators could compare to.
Could thirty Nascent Soul True Persons plus six grand cultivators truly suppress a Soul Transformation grandmaster?
Wasn't that a bit too easy?
Luo Chen wished to observe further, but a horrifying tremor suddenly reached his ears.
*Rumble...*
Looking down, the gravel beneath his feet rolled and blue stones shook violently.
"Something's wrong!"
Without a second thought, Luo Chen stomped his foot and shot into the sky.
In the next instant, the mountain peak he had just been standing on collapsed with a deafening roar.
Boundless dust and smoke billowed up, and an immense surge of spiritual energy erupted from the subterranean spirit veins, rushing toward the Bikong Region.
Luo Chen's eyes narrowed slightly, his throat bobbing.
"Is this the might of a Soul Transformation existence?"
"When striking with full force, the range of essence being drawn upon is no longer confined to a single city or domain—even the adjacent Jiuling Domain has been dragged into the wake."
"And this is only because the Netherworld Yellow Springs Diagram has confined the battlefield. If Di Tian were unconstrained and both sides engaged in mobile warfare, wherever they passed, devastating calamity would befall all living beings!"
At this moment, Luo Chen finally understood why Soul Transformation grandmasters were forbidden from acting lightly.
Even if he had harbored conjectures about this in the past, experiencing it firsthand left an impression carved deep into his bones.
"I cannot stay here long!"
Without overthinking, Luo Chen unhesitatingly unleashed Ninety Thousand Li, flying toward the adjacent Taihu Domain.
The Netherworld Yellow Springs Diagram had already enveloped the Bikong Region!
And neighboring Fire Ridge, Blade Dominance Domain, and the Jiuling Domain were all within the affected range.
If they continued fighting, the affected area would only grow broader.
Taihu, Ancient Mist Isle, Piaomiao, Motian Cliff, perhaps even the Five Lingtian Domains...
Luo Chen did not know the limit of world essence that the three Mingyuan Sect patriarchs could siphon when joining forces, but he knew that the farther he was from the center of that storm, the better!
After his departure, the Jiuling Domain, where the Nine Spirits Sect once stood, began to undergo steady, undeniable change.
Countless peaks collapsed, and millennia-old trees groaned and fractured.
Rivers altered their courses, rushing madly toward Bikong.
The earth cracked open, and magma erupted from deep within the crust.
It all looked like the end of the world!
***
Luo Chen's self-created Fire Escape Art combined the spirit-fusing explosive burst of the Metal Escape Art with the principles of the Dieyun Sect's cloud patterns gathering and dispersing formlessly. Paired with his formidable physique, its activation was tremendously dramatic.
With such an escape technique, it served as a veritable life-saving trump card.
Unfortunately, the art was still in its embryonic stage and consumed a massive amount of magic power, leaving much room for refinement.
Yet even before mastering this art, Luo Chen's flight speed had been among the finest of his peer group.
Thus, flying at full throttle without regard for magic power expenditure, it took Luo Chen merely half a day to traverse the Jiuling Domain and arrive in the Taihu Domain.
*Weng...*
The tip of his toe tapped lightly on the lake's surface, sending ripples gently spreading outward.
The waters were tranquil.
Luo Chen poured a large mouthful of Golden Wind and Jade Dew into his mouth, then exhaled a heavy breath of liquor-laden air.
"The Taihu Domain is still relatively calm; the impact of the Soul Transformation grandmasters drawing upon world essence hasn't reached here yet. I can rest here for now."
Luo Chen spread his divine sense and soon settled on a direction.
He traveled onward, skirting past lakes that lay scattered like stars.
Eventually, he arrived at a place where countless palaces stood.
This had once been the seat of Taihu Palace, a great Nascent Soul upper sect!
Yet compared to Taihu Palace at its peak, only faint vestiges could be seen among these broken walls and ruined foundations.
A true pity.
Luo Chen sighed and stepped into a palace that was relatively well-preserved, though reeking with a foul, fishy stench.
A great demon had once resided here!
Luo Chen swiftly deduced the cause of the stench.
Not minding it, he waved his hand to cast a Cleansing Art, and the air immediately grew fresh.
Then, he sat cross-legged and set about rapidly restoring his magic power.
Golden Wind and Jade Dew was fine liquor indeed, but that pure spiritual energy was not yet imbued with his soul aura. If he drank too much without refining it, his Nascent Soul could easily become unstable.
Just as Luo Chen was peacefully meditating to refine the spiritual energy, deep within the great lake before Taihu Palace, a pair of eyes the size of lanterns slowly opened.
It seemed to have sensed a familiar scent.
Puzzled, it looked around, and finally raised its head to look upward.
***
*Hualala!*
A vast lake collapsed.
Tons of lake water turned into a surging torrent rushing forward toward the Bikong Region.
A figure clad in a yellow-green patterned robe, hands concealed within, skimmed over the torrent without halting for a single instant.
He moved at tremendous speed, the expression on his face so tense it was as if some soul-reaping terror were pursuing him from behind.
The patterned-robed man muttered to himself as he fled.
"Back then, I followed Ao Kuang in defying Di Tian, but looking at it now, that was a grave mistake."
"A Soul Transformation being is actually this terrifying!"
"If Di Tian dies, so be it; but if he survives, this Emperor will never oppose him again."
The battle in the Bikong Region had raged for a day and a night.
The world essence being drawn upon could no longer be sustained by merely the neighboring domains.
Even the Taihu Domain, nearly a hundred thousand li away, was now feeling the effects—a testament to how fierce the battle had become.
The patterned-robed man dared not stop at all, churning his magic power to flee toward a safer rear.
Like an arrow, he pressed on without pause.
Wherever he passed, reflections on the lakes flickered as his silhouette flashed in and out of sight.
Suddenly!
The patterned-robed figure stopped, his gaze falling upon a relatively intact palace.
At that very moment, a white-robed man walked out from inside the palace.
A calm gaze met his eyes, which were filled with startled delight.
"Baizu, you should not have stopped."
Commander Baizu laughed heartily. "I was wondering why the spiritual energy here was so much calmer than elsewhere—turns out you were cultivating here! Alchemy Grandmaster, come along with me on a little trip!"
With that, the right hand concealed within his robe suddenly shot forth, clawing toward the palace below.
As he reached out, his arm swelled thick and massive in an instant, turning into a sky-propping giant claw that lunged at Luo Chen.
A fierce gleam flashed in Luo Chen's eyes.
Come along on a little trip?
Everyone wanted to take him on a trip!
Even this beast dared make such boastful claims!
Mingyuan's Heize possessed profound cultivation and offered tempting rewards, so he could afford to treat Luo Chen casually—but what gave this creature the audacity to speak so brazenly?
The white-robed Daoist flicked his fingers.
In the next instant, a sea of sword qi soared into the heavens.
*Swish! Swish! Swish!*
Sword qi and giant hand collided in an instant.
Under the razor-sharp slicing, the clash was reduced to silence.
Baizu slowly withdrew his right hand. The sleeve over it was shredded to ribbons, and deep sword scores marked his arm.
Staring at these cuts, Baizu raised an eyebrow.
"So this is what you rely on?"
He smiled ferociously, showing no fear at all as he charged toward Luo Chen.
"I really want to see just how formidable that sword array Ao Kuang has been obsessing over actually is!"
With his wild laughter, boundless demon qi erupted explosively.
Luo Chen thrust both hands out, and even more sword qi burst from beneath the foundations of Taihu Palace.
Not only that, he moved to unfurl his Nascent Soul domain as well.
He intended to recreate the Triple Prison!
Yet the moment Luo Chen attempted to manipulate the world's spiritual energy, his expression shifted slightly.
*Boom!*
Luo Chen was blasted backward, his form fluttering like the spreading wings of a roc.
Meanwhile, the imposing palace he had been occupying was reduced entirely to fine powder.
Luo Chen beckoned with his hand, and five sword pellets spun through the air, returning to his grasp.
"The world essence here is in turmoil; the fire-attribute spiritual energy won't obey my control at all. I can't cast the Triple Prison."
A giant hand shot out from the swirling dust.
Luo Chen did not evade; his right hand slashed downward.
Blood light flared blindingly, cleaving the giant hand cleanly in two.
Amid the rubble, Baizu waved his arm, dispersing the smoke and dust to reveal a grotesque, hideous face.
"This sword array is nothing special—breakable with a wave of my hand."
"You have some tricks, but to avoid trouble down the line, I won't waste time playing games with you!"
As he spoke, two hands reached out from inside the patterned robe, peeling the yellow-green fabric down to rest half-draped around his waist.
What was revealed beneath was a dense mass of limbs covering his entire body.
Demon winds raged, and demon qi surged furiously.
His body began to swell and expand continuously.
Thick, muscular limbs supported the colossal frame, rendering him grotesque and terrifying.
Not only that, weapons vomited forth from his churning flesh, landing one by one in those hands.
Sabers, spears, staves, rods, swords, halberds, and giant battleaxes.
Viewed from afar, an enormous centipede stretching seven to eight hundred zhang across, wielding over a hundred magic treasures, lay sprawled across the ruins of the palace.
Clutching the Yuantu Blood Sword, Luo Chen watched the scene with a grave expression.
Inadvertently, his glance caught another dark silhouette swimming slowly beneath the churning waters of Lake Taihu.
Chapter 862