Chapter 203 Refining Demon Spirit Flame (congratulations to the Silver Alliance! )
Chapter 203: Refining Demon Spiritual Flame (Congratulations to the Silver Grand Alliance Leader! )
Ancient incantations resonated, as if a grand sacrifice were being performed, with the Progenitor Demonic Tree as its central figure!
Darkness swept in!
Fang Xi's vision went black. His Purple Vein Bracelet instantly burst with spiritual light, and his mana consumption surged.
Crack!
Along with the sound of something shattering, a cool sensation permeated Fang Xi's mind, instantly clearing his thoughts.
What met his eyes, however, caused him a slight start.
"Where. . . where is this?"
Fang Xi released his Divine Consciousness, observing a hell of flesh and blood!
Zhang Minting, Liu Ru Yan, and Zhou Tong, the three Martial Gods, were long gone!
He looked at his wrist and found that the jade pendant, a Divine Consciousness-defending artifact, had already shattered, turning into powder and scattering in the wind.
Just now, it was this artifact that had exhausted its last shred of spiritual energy, giving Fang Xi a warning.
"As expected, the Progenitor Demonic Tree's demonic domain is far from simple. After its evolution. . . it can already rival a typical third-order forbidden array. . ."
A third-order forbidden array possesses the power of spatial displacement.
Simply put, it had teleported Fang Xi and the others to different locations and spaces, making it easier to defeat them one by one!
"This Progenitor Demonic Tree is already akin to a third-order demon beast. . . If not for its difficulty in movement and some other restrictions, I wouldn't dare to harbor designs on it. . ."
Fang Xi held the Green Reaping Sword reversed in his right hand, and in his left, he held the 'Vermilion Bird Ring' talisman treasure. He summoned a puppet and sent it to explore in one direction.
Rumble!
Rumble!
The enormous Golden Fur Ape King stomped across the fungal mat, its thighs sinking deep into the ground with every step, as if it were trudging through a quagmire of flesh and blood.
Before long, a wall of flesh appeared at the end of its path, blocking its way.
"Roar!"
The Golden Fur Ape roared, its hands snatching up a burst of yellow light that transformed into a massive boulder, which it hurled towards the wall.
Splat!
The wall easily cracked open, then, like a collapsing dam, a large quantity of dark red blood gushed forth.
The crimson river directly submerged the Golden Fur Ape King, seemingly possessing powerful corrosive properties.
Sizzle!
The Golden Fur Ape's incredibly tough fur rapidly melted, followed by its muscles, then its bones. . .
"Ugh. . ."
Fang Xi clutched his forehead, feeling a splitting headache.
The crimson river had come too fast; he hadn't had time to withdraw his Divine Consciousness, resulting in the loss of a strand of it.
While he could cultivate it back later, it was impossible at this moment.
"Puppet arts are useful, but against powerful enemies, they're still a bit weak. . ."
"Battle arrays and mobile arrays must be put on the agenda!"
Fang Xi secretly hardened his resolve, chose another direction, and dispatched a second-order puppet to explore once more.
...
In the same flesh-and-blood space.
A Martial God from the Martial God Gate was roaring furiously: "Get out here. . . Do you dare to fight? !"
He manifested his formidable and towering Martial God True Body, his giant hands equipped with sharp claws. With every strike, a massive pit would appear on the ground.
"Coward. . ."
This Martial God was named Shi Xie. He was once a Grandmaster of the wicked path. Later, hearing of the emergence of Martial Gods, he directly betrayed his sect, killing his master, mistress, senior brothers, and junior sisters. . . and joined the Martial God Gate alone. He accumulated merits extremely quickly, exchanging them for a Great Pill to break through.
At this moment, Shi Xie's eyes were slightly bloodshot. He manipulated his Martial God body, constantly digging through the flesh, allowing the flowing blood to continuously well up and submerge his legs. . .
"Haha. . . Kill. . . The path of a Martial God, there is only one word: Kill!"
Shi Xie's gaze grew more terrifying and more deranged.
But the next moment, he was horrified to find that he couldn't move.
He lowered his head, looking at his legs, and saw that countless tendrils had sprouted from his feet at some unknown point, like the roots of an old tree, deeply embedded in the flesh and blood earth.
Moreover, those roots were still creeping up his thighs, continuously climbing onto his chest, and his arms. . .
"Secret Technique: Heavenly Yin Conquers Evil!"
His eyes darkened, and he was about to unleash his blood-qi, but found that both his arms had stiffened, and a hint of fear involuntarily surfaced on his face.
Before Shi Xie, a figure had appeared at some unknown time—it was the nightmare deep in his heart, his junior sister.
"Senior. . . brother. . ."
The figure slowly materialized, revealing a charming and lovely girl, from whose seven orifices extended tree-like tendrils. . .
"Aah!"
Shi Xie screamed.
Only then did he realize that at some unknown point, he had been enveloped by an ancient tree, with only his face barely exposed to the outside world through a tree hole. . .
...
"Without thought, without form, without concepts. . ."
In another space, a bald Martial God sat cross-legged, unmoved by the various inner demons and nightmares that appeared around him.
"Demons are agglomerations of rules. . . In this place, one cannot listen, cannot see, cannot think. . ."
This person was Dajue Heshang, a Zen Grandmaster, who later joined the Martial God Gate and achieved the Martial God realm.
His Zen cultivation had long reached the state where his heart remained unmoved even as banners fluttered in the wind!
Even as nightmares appeared around him and tendrils crept up his knees, he still kept his hands pressed together, maintaining his state of reciting scriptures.
Gradually, his body merged into the fungal mat of flesh and blood, slowly disappearing. . .
"Good, I'm finally out."
In the dim sky, Dajue Heshang opened his eyes, his Zen-infused mind still without the slightest ripple: "Demons are indeed far more dangerous than demon beasts. I hope the Gate Master is safe. . ."
"Martial Gods of the Martial God Gate, retreat at once!"
Just then, a sharp cry emerged. Dajue Heshang looked and saw the Gate Master standing atop a flying sword. Amidst the flashing green light, a massive gash was torn open in the sky, revealing the sunlight from the outside world.
"As per your command!"
He clasped his hands together, manifested his golden body, and with a flap of his wings, immediately flew out of the rift, seeing the sun of the outside world.
But why did the sunlight carry traces of crimson?
"No. . . this isn't right. . ."
Dajue Heshang suddenly opened his eyes, realizing he had turned into a. . . tree?
"So. . . I never truly escaped the inner demons. . ."
A bitter smile appeared on his face, as if he had returned to his days as a young novice monk, asking the old abbot: "Master, what is Brahma?"
"Brahma is sacred enlightenment; the unity of Brahma and self, that is the supreme secret. . . " The old abbot replied, hands clasped.
"Brahma and self as one, Brahma and self as unified. . . A dream, thus it is. . ."
Dajue Heshang achieved great enlightenment, slowly closing his eyes.
...
"Assimilation?"
Fang Xi saw a Martial God before him.
For some unknown reason, this person had merged with an ancient tree, a fusion of flesh and plant that carried a strange sense of harmony and perfection.
"Truly bizarre. . ."
"Too bad. . . no matter how good the power of demons is, I only walk the path of immortality!"
He let out a cold laugh, pouring mana into the Green Reaping Sword.
Clang!
The Green Reaping Sword shot forth like a dragon, drawing a streak of blue-gold sword light dozens of feet long. With a single slash,
a rift seemed to tear open between heaven and earth. The 'Human-Tree' before Fang Xi was instantly and cleanly ripped in half down the middle.
"This place is dangerous. It seems I'll have to use my trump card early."
Fang Xi was already preparing to activate the 'Earth-Shaking Great Array'!
Moreover, if the 'Earth-Shaking Great Array' proved ineffective, he would simply flee back to the Southern Barrens and return after the demon tree had departed.
He had already sensed that this strange space seemed capable of inducing inner demons in cultivators!
Fortunately, Fang Xi's mana was profound, his foundation solid, and he had previously possessed that artifact protecting his mind, so he hadn't fully fallen into various delusions.
Just as he prepared to act, the world suddenly darkened!
The ancient sacrificial incantations once again echoed in his ears.
Fang Xi seemed to see an ordinary little sapling, rooting, sprouting, and growing in the mountains and forests. . . until it encountered the first trace of flesh and blood. . .
His vision shifted, and he seemed to arrive in ancient wilderness, where a group of people clad in animal skins were performing a bloody sacrifice to a tree draped in human skin. . .
The final image was of the massive Progenitor Demonic Tree.
On its enormous trunk, countless scales twisted and writhed. . . seemingly forming a human face.
Two lines of bloody tears streamed from this ancient face, its lips parting and closing, as if trying to say something. . .
But Fang Xi simply dared not listen further.
Chirp chirp!
In his palm, the 'Vermilion Bird Ring' talisman treasure spontaneously ignited without wind, releasing a reddish-yellow ring.
From within the ring, streaks of reddish-yellow flames flew out, shaped like Vermilion Birds, scorching everything around them!
South Bright Vermilion Bird Fire!
This spiritual flame was renowned throughout the cultivation world as the 'Refining Demon Fire', specializing in subduing all demonic and wicked treasures!
Sizzle!
In the void, wisps of willow-fluff-like things appeared, which were instantly incinerated into ash by the South Bright Vermilion Bird Fire.
A flaming Vermilion Bird emerged from the Vermilion Bird Ring, spreading a pair of wings blazing with fire, and lunged towards the ancient tree and the human face!
Rumble!
After a loud bang, heat waves swept in all directions.
Fang Xi saw the surrounding flesh walls rapidly shrinking and retreating, as if they possessed a life of their own.
And when he regained his senses, he found himself still standing on the city street.
Not far away was the city gate they had just entered. Everything that had happened seemed like an illusion!
"No. . . this is definitely not an illusion!"
Fang Xi gazed at the vanished jade pendant on his wrist, the Purple Vein Bracelet protecting him, and the Vermilion Bird Ring talisman treasure that had expended most of its power. A hint of horror rose in his heart.
"The South Bright Vermilion Bird Fire truly lives up to its name as a Refining Demon Spiritual Flame. . . It's a pity that after this, most of this talisman treasure's power has been consumed, and it can only be used once more at most."
He had no time to feel distressed about the talisman treasure and looked around.
He saw Zhou Tong, Liu Ru Yan, and Zhang Minting all in a daze, their bodies largely merged with ancient trees. It looked as if they were about to be devoured by the ancient roots growing from beneath the ground!
Moreover, those roots had even pierced through their flesh and fused with their heart meridians; carelessly tearing them off would only kill them!
"Indeed. . . after killing that three-headed demon beast just now, we all fell victim?"
"If this is what happened to us, the fate of the other Martial Gods won't be much better. . ."
Fang Xi pondered for a moment and then made a decision.
Behind him, the demon tree tattoo slowly writhed, causing vines to extend from his sleeves and fall upon the three individuals.
Two different types of roots actually began to entwine, battle, and devour each other. . .
Before long, the vines entwining the three were cleared, and even a dull gray seed was extracted from each of their bodies.
In the end, this battle was won by Fang Xi's demon tree.
After all, the demon tree on his body had been thoroughly refined, becoming like a part of him, and had absorbed a large amount of spiritual energy from the cultivation world, gaining evolution.
Dealing with a few sub-entities was still more than enough.
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