Chapter 699: Vengeance
Chapter 699: Vengeance
Boom!
Thunderclouds rolled for ten thousand miles, golden lightning serpents constantly dancing wildly.
In the blink of an eye, the External Avatar had already passed three layers of tribulation lightning!
"With several sixth-rank treasures, and the 'Hunyuan Heavenly Luo Umbrella' which can transform lightning, passing the Grand Heavenly Tribulation shouldn't be much of a problem. . ."
Fang Xi's Divine Consciousness swept briefly, then he paid it no further mind.
At this moment, his main focus was on the area surrounding the Qingjin Mountain Range.
Although the might of the Grand Heavenly Tribulation could scare away many wild beasts, if it were Primordial Ancient Beasts, they might very well be attracted, seeking to seize an advantage!
A Nascent Soul of a Return to Void cultivator tasted far better than that of a Soul Transformation cultivator, and for wild beasts and demonic beasts, it was an peerless spiritual panacea to increase their magic power!
The sixth bolt of golden lightning transformed into a ball of thunder, splitting open with a roar.
Above the external Avatar's cave-heaven dwelling, a colossal, sky-blue umbrella, like a sheet of water, appeared. Countless arcs of electricity bounced across its surface, slowly dissipating in the end. . .
"They're here!"
Just then, Fang Xi's main body's eyes flickered, and he flicked his finger.
An incomparably condensed Taiyi Green Wood Divine Light emerged, like a verdant divine sword capable of cleaving heaven and earth. Streaks of Taiyi Divine Lightning flickered upon it as it suddenly pierced into a spot of earth.
Rumble!
Like an earthquake, the earth churned, revealing a strange Primordial Ancient Beast.
This Primordial Ancient Beast resembled a brownish-yellow earthworm, but its body was covered in dense, sharp small claws, seemingly numbering in the tens of thousands.
It had no eyes on its head, only an open proboscis, within which were densely packed fangs, arranged like a swirling vortex.
"A Thousand-Claw Beast? This beast is an earth-attribute Primordial Ancient Beast, skilled in earth escape (earth escape). As expected. . ."
Recalling the wild beast bestiary from the Celestial Brahma Army, Fang Xi smiled slightly.
With his wood-attribute cultivation techniques and divine abilities, he naturally held a great advantage against earth-attribute cultivators or pure earth-attribute demonic beasts and wild beasts, whose attributes countered his own.
"Go!"
Fang Xi formed hand seals. The Taiyi Green Wood Divine Light transformed unpredictably, suddenly splitting apart to become numerous azure flying swords, disappearing into the void, seemingly intending to set up a sword formation.
With his current mastery of formation arts, even if a Primordial Ancient Beast were trapped within it, it would at least lose a layer of skin, if not its life.
The Thousand-Claw Beast let out a roar, and cracks actually appeared in the void.
Countless cracks converged, shattering like glass, emitting crisp cracking sounds!
As its thousand claws snatched, countless cracks spread, extending to the bodies of the flying swords that had not yet formed the sword formation.
Whoosh!
The azure wood flying swords let out mournful cries, incredibly shattering directly into pieces.
"It can even create void cracks. . . Could it be a mutated Thousand-Claw Beast?"
A look of keen interest appeared on Fang Xi's face, and his hand seals changed.
The Heavenly and Earthly Elemental Qi within ten thousand miles violently fluctuated, pouring into a single Taiyi Green Wood Divine Light.
That divine light suddenly soared to ten thousand zhang tall. Originally verdant as jade, it now glowed with a layer of crimson.
Crimson ancient seal characters appeared within the divine light, swimming erratically like tadpoles, transforming the divine light into a strange azure-crimson glow that erupted with terrifying spiritual pressure.
This mutated Taiyi Green Wood Divine Light was a secret technique Fang Xi had researched from the body of a Muan, used to amplify his own divine light. This was its first application in actual combat.
And for its first use, it was against a formidable foe like a Primordial Ancient Beast!
Whoosh!
The azure-crimson strange light shot forth abruptly, as if the very void was sliced open by it.
Whoosh!
The Thousand-Claw Beast's body suddenly flexed, forming a twisted arc that dodged the sharpest slash, but its edge was still grazed by the azure-crimson strange light.
Two of its claws smoothly detached from its body, revealing cuts as smooth as a mirror's surface.
At this moment, the External Avatar's ninth lightning tribulation also crashed down!
Witnessing this scene, the Thousand-Claw Beast immediately burrowed into the ground, attempting to escape using earth escape (earth escape) art.
Most wild beasts were of low intelligence, like savage beasts, but beasts were not fools.
Now that it couldn't gain any advantage and faced the risk of perishing, it naturally had to flee.
Seeing this, Fang Xi let out a cold laugh. A black light flashed in his hand, and a seal resembling black jade appeared — it was precisely the 'Life and Death Seal'!
This seal was his life-bound artifact. Although it had always seemed to only possess the function of assisting in the activation of the Withered Glory Mystic Light.
In reality, it had continuously received various forms of nourishment. It was the only artifact that had stayed by Fang Xi's side from beginning to end after his Core Formation.
Not to mention, even the Netherworld Banner and Divine Infant Sword had advanced to the sixth-rank. This seal, naturally, had also been nurtured and refined by Fang Xi with immortal source qi, having long since advanced to the level of a sixth-rank Return to Void treasure. By its mere material and artifact power alone, it could contend head-on with a Primordial Ancient Beast.
Most of Fang Xi's treasures were currently lent to his External Avatar for its tribulation. He didn't have another suitable artifact at hand, and the Qing He Sword (Fifth Generation) caused too much commotion and consumed too much, so he could only rely on it.
"Go!"
The Life and Death Seal roared, suddenly appearing in a spot in the void, radiating rays of light.
Upon the seal, a phantom image of a demonic tree appeared, its countless roots plunging into the earth, resembling a massive wooden cage.
Whoosh!
Countless clods of earth and stones splattered, transforming into earth cones and stone bullets. . . pelting against the wooden cage, yet unable to budge it in the slightest.
Even if the demonic tree's tendrils were damaged, new roots quickly emerged, intertwining into even sturdier bars.
"Fall!"
Fang Xi extended his right hand, as if wielding the demonic power to manipulate life and death, pressing gently.
Bang!
The Life and Death Seal suddenly expanded, transforming into a small black mountain, and crashed down heavily onto the Thousand-Claw Beast's head.
After a thunderous crash, the colossal wooden cage directly disintegrated.
Subsequently, a brownish-yellow Thousand-Claw Beast, with half its head caved in, appeared before Fang Xi.
Its head damaged, it crashed to the ground, its aura rapidly dissipating.
Seeing this, Fang Xi's face showed little joy.
A Taiyi Green Wood Divine Light descended, transforming into a jade blade that slid through the thousand-Claw Beast's body.
Its tough hide, capable of resisting attacks from Return to Void cultivators, now split open like paper, revealing a hollow interior and countless disgusting viscous fluids. . .
"A secret art similar to a cicada shedding its shell? This wild beast's innate divine ability is quite impressive. . ."
Fang Xi exclaimed in admiration, clasped his hands together, and a green rune appeared in his palm.
The phantom image of the Earthly Immortal Spiritual Realm transformed into a green light behind him, continuously expanding outwards. Along its edges, ancient, dark green seal characters flickered.
Spirit Domain. . . activate!
Buzz!
The void seemed to shift, and a Thousand-Claw Beast, one size smaller than before, abruptly appeared mid-air, its countless claws rustling.
"Hmph!"
But this time, Fang Xi gave it no chance whatsoever.
Amidst his cold snort, dark green chains appeared, layer upon layer, binding the Thousand-Claw Beast mid-air, hoisting it up.
Those dark green chains seemed to be composed of countless ancient seal characters, carrying an inexplicable might.
Subsequently, within the Earthly Immortal Spiritual Realm, the Kyushu Mechanized City roared!
Boundless Heavenly and Earthly Elemental Qi was instantly absorbed empty, and then, one after another, Kyushu World war weapons soared into the sky.
Several newly upgraded Primordial Spirit Magical Artifacts, backed by the Mechanized City, roared!
Sun-Slaying Extinction Beam!
Great Chaos Vortex Divine Light!
Twelve Yuan-Chen Chrono-Polar Divine Light!
...
Innumerable rays of light descended, forming a multicolored waterfall that submerged the Thousand-Claw Beast.
By the time the Heavenly and Earthly Elemental Qi had slightly returned to calm, only its mutilated corpse remained where it had been.
Behind Fang Xi, the Spirit Domain gradually vanished, and the Life and Death Seal also transformed into a stream of light, disappearing into his Dantian.
With a flick of his finger, a Taiyi Green Wood Divine Light flew out, transforming into an azure flying sword, and plunged into the Thousand-Claw Beast's body.
Not long after, he prised out a massive inner core!
This wild beast inner core was the size of a washbasin, its surface uneven, emitting strange profound light that alternated between black and white!
"Wild beasts are treasures from head to toe. This Thousand-Claw Beast's flesh and blood can be used in alchemy, its hide can be tanned into excellent spiritual armor. . . but the most precious item is this sixth-rank wild beast inner core."
An inner core of this rank could only be obtained through the combined efforts of several Return to Void cultivators, or the direct intervention of an Integration stage cultivator.
Not to mention, they mostly originated from the barbaric wilderness, with the journey itself fraught with danger.
Therefore, each one fetched a sky-high price. Even as the grand finale item at a major auction in a region like the Starry Sky Domain, it would be almost qualified.
After Fang Xi cleaned up the battlefield, the tribulation thunderclouds also vanished without a trace.
The External Avatar transformed into a demonic light, winding its way over, and tossed out several magical artifacts.
Fang Xi swept his sleeve, collecting the Hunyuan Heavenly Luo Umbrella and the other treasures. After a brief inspection, a hint of heartache appeared on his face: "The other two are fine, but this lightning-transforming treasure is truly effective. . . At least for minor Heavenly Tribulations in the mid and late stages of Return to Void, passing them with it will certainly not be much of a problem. . ."
The External Avatar's aura was slightly weak; clearly, facing the Grand Heavenly Tribulation had caused him some loss of vital energy.
At this moment, he said nothing, directly returning to his cave-heaven dwelling to sit cross-legged and recover his vital energy.
As he breathed and circulated his qi, Heavenly and Earthly Elemental Qi swarmed down, continuously transforming into strands of True Demonic Qi!
"A sixth-rank demon, in the demonic territories, would count as a significant figure, wouldn't they?"
Fang Xi rubbed his chin: "It is said that human demonic cultivators who cultivate True Demonic Qi, if they seek refuge with the demon race, will also be accepted. . ."
"After all, whether it's Heavenly Demons, True Immortals, or Heavenly Yao. . . they all ultimately ascend to the 'True Immortal World'!"
"Do the Three Thousand Great Daos all lead to the same destination?"
He smiled faintly, his figure vanishing directly with a flash of silver light.
The Earth Immortal path is complex; he needed to return to the countryside.
Cultivating and leveling up in the Human World, this rural place, and exploring other lower realms when bored—life wasn't bad at all.
As for struggling and striving?
Fang Xi's main body had already 'laid flat' (given up on striving), so he might as well let the External Avatar put in more effort.
...
"Finally, Return to Void. . ."
After an unknown period of secluded cultivation, Fang Xi's External Avatar opened his eyes.
With a wave of his hand, a streak of pitch-black aura emerged.
Compared to the pure demonic qi from before, this True Demonic Qi was even more terrifying; even a single wisp could potentially demonize a lower realm, creating an unknown number of ferocious demonic creatures.
"Compared to ordinary demonic qi, it's like the difference between charcoal and diamonds. . ."
Fang Xi sighed with emotion.
Propelled by this demonic qi, his various demonic secret arts and divine abilities had made considerable progress.
Not to mention that after advancing to Return to Void, he could begin cultivating the several Return to Void divine abilities and secret arts within the 'Myriad Manifestations True Demon Arts'.
It could be said. . . his strength had greatly increased!
"Now, I can openly redeem myself. . ."
"With the power of Return to Void, as long as I am careful, self-preservation in the Celestial Brahma Domain shouldn't be much of a problem. . ."
A dangerous glint flickered in Fang Xi's eyes.
He recalled the two Tri-Horned Prime Rhinos that had attacked the market.
Previously, he was only at perfected Soul Transformation, and that Primordial Ancient Beast had actually launched a sneak attack without regard for martial ethics.
This time, he absolutely had to get his revenge!
'Even if there are two of them. . . if I can't beat them, I can always call my main body. '
The External Avatar let out a sinister laugh, transforming into a demonic light that streaked across the sky. . .
...
A swamp.
As far as the eye could see, there was emerald green swamp water everywhere. Bubbles appeared, and after they burst, they revealed extremely poisonous Earthly Fiend Qi within.
"It's actually Nine Absolutes Extinction?" !"
Fu Wu'er stared at the swamp, a hint of fear surfacing on his face: "Daoist Yi, are you certain that item is here? This Nine Absolutes Extinction does contain a strange poison. While we Soul Transformation cultivators can touch a little temporarily without harm, if we stay too long, the fiendish qi entering our bodies could corrupt our Divine Consciousness and magic power."
Beside him was a young scholar, holding an ancient scroll. He appeared refined and courteous, and smiled: "How could I deceive Daoist Fu? There is indeed a 'Heavenly Yuan Sacred Fruit Tree' here. If we only consume one of these sacred fruits, our magic power will greatly increase, and it can also cure all poisons. . ."
"Indeed, the 'Heavenly Yuan Sacred Fruit' can cure all poisons, which is why it prefers to grow in places where miasma and toxins gather."
Fu Wu'er seemed well-versed in the habits of this kind of Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Root. Upon hearing this, he nodded, then looked at the scholar surnamed Yi: "Daoist, you sought me out, clearly unable to deal with the wild beast guarding this spiritual root, correct?"
"Daoist, your calculations are truly divine. . . " The scholar surnamed Yi gave a wry smile: "That place was somewhere I stumbled upon by chance while fleeing for my life that night, desperately trying to use this poisonous swamp to shake off the pursuing wild beasts. . . Otherwise, with the vastness of this swamp, stretching for thousands of miles, and the poisonous mist obscuring Divine Consciousness, finding the spiritual root would have been quite troublesome."
"What kind of wild beast is guarding this spiritual root? " Fu Wu'er asked.
"It's a 'Chaos Serpent'. . ."
The scholar surnamed Yi replied with a sigh.
"What?"
Fu Wu'er was startled: "That wild beast renowned for its extreme poison? It's rumored that it can even deploy 'Corpse Qi', a malicious divine ability that even Return to Void cultivators would avoid by a wide margin. . . How could we be its match?"
A smile suddenly appeared on the scholar surnamed Yi's face: "Others might not be able to, but Daoist Fu might. Furthermore, the 'Vast Righteous Scroll' I cultivate is an orthodox Confucian cultivation method, and its Vast Righteous Qi precisely counters Corpse Qi and toxic qi. Otherwise, I wouldn't have dared to delve deep into the swamp that night. Coupled with that Numinous Treasure, the 'Righteous Qi Palace', trapping the Chaos Serpent will be no problem. At that point, Daoist, you will need to unleash that Talisman Sword divine ability to settle the matter. . ."
Fu Wu'er's expression darkened: "Oh, so Daoist, you've been paying such close attention to me?"
This was his trump card, yet it had been unknowingly revealed. No matter which cultivator knew about it, their mood wouldn't be too good.
"If I hadn't accidentally learned that Daoist had cultivated that divine ability, I wouldn't have sought to share such an immense benefit with you. " The scholar surnamed Yi, thick-skinned as he was, said indifferently.
"There's some truth to that. . . " Fu Wu'er waved his hand, and seven talisman swords appeared.
These flying swords had ancient seal characters on their surfaces. Some seemed to be refined from paper talismans, while others were strung together with copper coins and red threads. All seven were distinct yet connected by a shared aura.
"The Seven Talisman Sword Array. . . This is a renowned divine ability of the Three Greens Workshop, known for a long time. It is said that if one could bear to destroy all the talismans in the end and fully unleash the sword array's power, it could unleash an attack no weaker than that of an early-stage Return to Void cultivator. . ."
The scholar surnamed Yi, being extremely knowledgeable, praised: "At that time, I will use my Confucian divine ability to trap the wild beast, and Daoist, you can deliver the final blow. We will certainly kill it, and the Heavenly Yuan Sacred Fruit will then be ours."
"Hehe. . . If I am to destroy the sword array, what will Daoist use to compensate me? Or, regarding the distribution of the sacred fruit, is Daoist willing to make concessions? !"
Fu Wu'er asked with a cold laugh.
The scholar surnamed Yi pondered for a moment, then replied: "How about 'Myriad Peoples Paper'? This is one of the very few types of talisman paper capable of bearing top-tier talismans. Even for me, refining a few sheets is extremely difficult. . ."
"Myriad Peoples Paper? That's a top-tier Confucian talisman-making material, quite good. . . But I'd need at least a dozen, ten sheets, and each sheet must have. . . " Fu Wu'er's eyes lit up. He cultivated the art of talismans and had a great demand for top-tier talisman paper, so he immediately began to haggle.
"Ten sheets are too many. Refining this paper would cause me a permanent loss of a portion of my cultivation. Although it's not impossible to cultivate back, it's extremely troublesome. . . How about seven sheets? " A hint of pain flashed across the scholar surnamed Yi's face.
As high-level cultivators, when it came to matters of real personal gain, they were actually not much different from those low-level rogue cultivators.
Just then, both of them were suddenly startled, sensing a cold Divine Consciousness sweep over them.
A demonic light whistled over, landing before the two, revealing a figure — it was Fang Xi!
"To think, I'd actually run into two Daoists. . ."
A hint of cold amusement appeared on Fang Xi's face.
He was merely on his usual journey, preparing to return to Black Rock Market for revenge, unexpectedly encountering Fu Wu'er.
"Fang Xi, you dare to appear before me?"
Fu Wu'er let out a cold laugh, his Divine Consciousness sweeping over him habitually, but then his expression suddenly changed, and he shrieked: "You. . . you're actually a Return to Void cultivator? !"
The scholar surnamed Yi managed a strained smile, wanting to say something to ease the atmosphere, when he saw Fang Xi shake the Netherworld Banner in his hand. A sixth-rank Return to Void flood dragon appeared, opening its maw to spew a cloud of poisonous mist, engulfing him entirely!
Although Fang Xi bore no animosity towards this scholar surnamed Yi, seeing him standing with Fu Wu'er, and recalling the previous attempts to rope him in, he naturally knew that this person and Fu Wu'er were birds of a feather (literally: snakes and rats from the same nest).
'No wonder Fu Wu'er was so aggressive, he was essentially playing the 'blackface' (villainous) role. . . If I hadn't already had a plan and been pressured by the Three Greens Workshop, I might really have accepted this Yi fellow's suggestion, and then I would have fallen into a trap instead. . . '
Against enemies, Fang Xi naturally would not hold back in the slightest.
After releasing the Netherworld Banner and trapping the scholar surnamed Yi, he already considered the opponent a dead man.
He then looked at Fu Wu'er, his expression carrying a hint of mockery.
Fu Wu'er shrieked, his ten fingers flicked repeatedly, and talisman swords appeared one after another, arranged in a Seven Stars formation, transforming into the 'Seven Talisman Sword Array'!
Countless runes flashed forth from within the sword array, tightly encircling and protecting him.
"What a fine sword array! The talisman swords are unique, and it blends with the Dao of formations. . . The concept is quite ingenious."
Fang Xi clasped his hands behind his back, calmly remarking: "But if you think this array can save your life, you're thinking too much."
"Senior Fang, this junior has offended you many times before, and is willing to atone. I beg Senior to spare this junior this time, for the sake of Senior Long!"
Cold sweat beaded on Fu Wu'er's forehead, his heart filled with endless regret.
Who could have imagined?
Back then, he had merely cooperated with this Yi fellow, slightly threatening an ascended cultivator, and as a result, after some time out of sight, the person had unreasonably achieved Return to Void!
Was the Return to Void chasm so easily crossed?
Even among ascended cultivators, there were countless who perished under the Grand Heavenly Tribulation!
What kind of fortuitous encounter had this person truly obtained?
"Even if that fellow surnamed Long were here today, I would kill him along with you."
As Fang Xi smiled, murderous intent radiated chillingly. Heavenly and Earthly Elemental Qi surged, repelling Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Energy.
Feeling the Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Energy outside abruptly dissipate, Fu Wu'er's expression turned ashen.
A Return to Void cultivator, by manipulating Heavenly and Earthly Elemental Qi to isolate Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Energy, could cripple more than half of a Soul Transformation cultivator's divine abilities.
Therefore, no matter how powerful a Soul Transformation cultivator was, they were absolutely no match for a Return to Void cultivator!
Fang Xi reached out and grabbed. A strand of True Demonic Qi gathered on each of his five fingers, forming a giant Heavenly Demon claw.
This claw frantically absorbed Heavenly and Earthly Elemental Qi, ancient and profound patterns appearing on its surface, as it slammed down with a roar.
Creeeaak!
The Seven Talisman Sword Array spun violently, the talismanic light on each talisman sword flashing explosively, continuously condensing streaks of radiance, desperately holding on under the giant claw.
'This Fang Xi's divine ability, it seems even a few shades superior to Senior Long's. . . '
Without the replenishment of Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Energy, he could only purely use his magic power to activate the sword array. Feeling the constant loss of the sword array's power, Fu Wu'er's heart was filled with incomparable terror:
"I'll fight to the death!"
Knowing that he had thoroughly offended Fang Xi and that turning hostility into friendship was impossible today, he gritted his teeth, about to unleash a secret art to activate the final transformation of the Seven Talisman Sword Array.
These talisman swords were both flying swords and talismans!
Since they were talismans, they had a method to unleash all their power in a single use!
Destroying seven talisman swords in one go, combined with the power of the sword array, could unleash an attack that threatened a Return to Void cultivator!
Of course, there was almost no chance of this attack killing a Return to Void cultivator.
What Fu Wu'er wanted to do was merely to cut open the Heavenly and Earthly Elemental Qi blockade, temporarily force Fang Xi back, so he could unleash a secret art to escape with his life.
"Trying to fight to the death, are we. . ."
Fang Xi chuckled, flicking his finger casually.
Streaks of True Demonic Qi condensed into the form of flying swords, each bearing faint crimson ancient seal characters within its blade. They suddenly transformed into numerous black-and-red flying swords, falling into the Seven Talisman Sword Array.
"This. . ."
Fu Wu'er was horrified to discover that all transformations of his sword array were locked down, as if countless wedges had been driven into it, nailing it firmly in place. He couldn't even control the array to self-destruct!
This astonished him even more than Fang Xi's advancement to Return to Void; he almost thought this person had seen his fundamental cultivation method!
He didn't know that Fang Xi's mastery of talismans and formations far exceeded his imagination. Finding a flaw in a formation and then injecting divine abilities to halt its operation was merely a trivial matter to Fang Xi.
With the Seven Talisman Sword Array broken, Fu Wu'er was just an ordinary Soul Transformation cultivator!
A black-and-red sword light flashed, slicing apart a Numinous Treasure shield on his body. The sword light then unfurled, sweeping his Dharma Body into it as well.
Upon the sword's body, streaks of silver radiance flashed, revealing the void power seal of the Phoenix Seal Script!
This prevented Fu Wu'er's Nascent Soul from instantly teleporting out and escaping, and it was directly cut into fragments within the sword light. . .
A Divine Transformation cultivator tragically perished!
At this moment, Fang Xi looked towards the poisonous mist emanating from the Netherworld Banner, letting out a sound of surprise and doubt, a look of profound interest appearing on his face. . .
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