Chapter 847: Return from Treading the Heavens |
Every time the enemy attacked, there were cultivators who perished in battle.
This time, it was simply his turn. Wang Ding felt no fear in his heart, only calmness and relaxation.
Cultivation should follow one's heart.
Although one must be alive to cultivate, when something's value surpasses life itself, he would not hesitate to face death.
Daoist Sparrow summoned the Thousand Mechanisms Grand Formation and sat cross-legged at the center of the chessboard.
One figure after another appeared on the board, like chess pieces, representing the ancestors of the Divine Puppet Sect, each occupying a key position in the formation.
Then, Daoist Sparrow raised his hand and pointed, causing all the pieces to move forward, attacking the four cultivators at the Great Perfection of the Divine Transformation Stage, trapping them within the formation.
The others controlled the sect-protecting formation, battling thousands of other cultivators.
The cultivators of the Divine Puppet Sect excelled in the art of puppetry and mechanisms, which was highly effective when outnumbered.
The sect-protecting formation was not omnipotent; it could only provide auxiliary protection, relying more on individual adaptability.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
All the cultivators of the Divine Puppet Sect unleashed their magical treasures and puppets, engaging in fierce combat with the enemies outside the formation.
The Divine Puppet Sect's allies, Yu Huang, Shi Lan, and Shi Kun, used the formation's cover to engage the enemy from a distance.
Ye Li from Medicine King Valley treated the wounded.
Night Owl transformed into a shadow, dealing with those who attempted to sneak attack, preventing the formation from being destroyed.
"Whoosh!!"
Suddenly, a sword pierced through the void from behind Night Owl, breaking through space as if teleporting directly into his body.
The attacker was a mid-stage Divine Transformation sword cultivator.
"Crash!!"
Night Owl's body shattered into countless crows, scattering in all directions, launching a brilliant counterattack against the sword cultivator who struck from behind.
"Boom boom boom..."
Various lights from magical treasures bombarded over, as more than ten Divine Transformation cultivators simultaneously attacked Night Owl's crows, aiming to cover the sword cultivator.
But all these attacks were blocked by the sect-protecting formation.
"Moon-Slicing Slash!"
The crows converged, transforming into a crescent blade, slashing down and instantly cutting the mid-stage Divine Transformation sword cultivator in half, destroying even his primordial spirit, causing him to fall on the spot.
Yet Night Owl felt no joy, as he had just slain a formidable enemy and had not yet taken his next action.
All his crows froze in place.
On each crow's body, at some unknown time, a silver needle had been inserted, immobilizing them in mid-air.
"Grand Elder of the Divine Puppet Sect, after so many encounters, you still haven't improved at all!"
A sinister laugh echoed nearby.
The speaker was a man wearing a ghostly mask, with a gaunt and skeletal figure, exuding an air of malevolence. He was none other than Gu Yue, the Grand Elder of the Ancient Tomb Sect.
This man was the son of the former Grand Elder Gu Xiao, surpassing his father in cultivation, having reached the late-stage Divine Transformation, with divine abilities and magical treasures far exceeding his predecessor.
"That person just now was bait..." Night Owl said in a deep voice.
"Exactly, I've used this trick on you once before, sacrificing a mid-stage Divine Transformation cultivator to severely wound you! Now it's the second time, and you've fallen for it again!"
Gu Yue's sinister smile revealed a row of white teeth beneath his mask. "But this time, it's not just a severe wound."
"I want you... dead!"
A chilling voice echoed.
Night Owl's combat prowess was well-known, second only to Daoist Sparrow, who controlled the Thousand Mechanisms Grand Formation.
His elusive movements, appearing and disappearing without a trace, had resolved numerous crises for the Divine Puppet Sect. The sect's survival until now was at least half due to his efforts.
If not for him, the remaining thirty members would have been annihilated years ago.
To kill Night Owl, the alliance had exhausted all means, even resorting to sacrificing Divine Transformation stage allies!
This move was greatly endorsed by the Blood Refining Sect and proved effective, successfully inflicting severe damage on Night Owl.
"Destroy him!"
Gu Yue clenched his fist, and every flying needle he had launched emitted a pitch-black glow, frantically absorbing the primordial spirit power within the crows.
After many encounters, they discovered that each of Night Owl's crows contained a fragment of his primordial spirit.
These flying needles were specifically designed to target primordial spirits, known as Soul-Extinguishing Needles.
In an instant, the primordial spirits of over a thousand crows were extinguished, falling powerlessly and dissipating into nothingness.
The remaining crows broke free from the needles' restraints, reuniting into Night Owl's form, but he was visibly smaller, at least two-tenths weaker than before.
"Finally, you've appeared. Now, it's your time to die!"
Gu Yue formed another hand seal, and countless crisscrossing threads appeared around Night Owl, connecting to his body, with each thread ending in a Soul-Extinguishing Needle.
The needles were aimed at Night Owl.
"Swish swish swish..."
The Soul-Extinguishing Needles fired simultaneously, shooting towards Night Owl, the threads connecting them, locking him in place, leaving no room to escape.
"Distance of a Thousand Miles!"
A black and white boundary line appeared at Night Owl's brow, encircling his entire body. Although the approaching needles continued to move, they could not get within half an inch of him.
The distance of a thousand miles seemed short, yet infinitely far! The boundary line around Night Owl was like an insurmountable barrier, separating the ends of the earth!
Even though he was locked on, he could not be hit.
"At this point, you still dare to burn your primordial spirit?"
Seeing this, Gu Yue was not angry but delighted.
He was not afraid of Night Owl's resistance; the more he resisted, the more he burned his primordial spirit, the sooner his death would come. Because the Divine Puppet Sect no longer had pills to heal primordial spirits.
Once the primordial spirit was burned, it was a permanent injury, forever losing combat capability!
They had plenty of people and resources to slowly wear him down to death.
"Yin-Yang Boundary!"
Suddenly, Night Owl burned his primordial spirit again, using the Yin-Yang Boundary, but this time he drew the boundary line behind Gu Yue.
He and Gu Yue were in the same realm.
The others were in another realm!
A circle of white light surrounded them at the center, while the outer circle was pitch black, obscuring everything.
"What do you mean?"
Gu Yue was suddenly shocked, staring at Night Owl, feeling a sense of foreboding.
"Didn't you want to exchange life for injury? Now, as you wish!" Night Owl simply uttered a sentence and approached.
Gu Yue pulled his hands apart, and countless Soul-Extinguishing Needles shot out from his body, covering all directions without any blind spots, yet they all missed.
"Explode!"
With a thought, Gu Yue detonated all the Soul-Extinguishing Needles, enveloping an area of a hundred thousand miles, with every corner of the white light circle being a kill zone!
Gu Yue sneered inwardly, thinking he would be afraid of a one-on-one fight?
This all-encompassing soul extinction would hit Night Owl no matter how he dodged, and a repeatedly injured, primordial spirit-burning person, what could he use to fight him?
"Swish!"
Suddenly, Gu Yue felt a chill in his body, as if something had been extracted from within.
Looking down, he saw his skin turning black, rapidly spreading over his entire body, as if a shadow was enveloping his surface.
"What is happening?!"
Gu Yue was horrified.
He wanted to move but couldn't, his limbs unresponsive, even his primordial spirit unable to ignite. The shadow grew larger, covering his entire body.
"No..." Gu Yue wanted to scream, but no sound came out.
Because Night Owl had already entered his body, transforming into a shadow, sealing all his meridians.
"Pop pop pop..."
In the next second, Gu Yue's body shattered into pieces, from his physical body to his primordial spirit, completely annihilated, wiped out entirely.
The late-stage Divine Transformation Gu Yue was slain by Night Owl!
The Four Sects Alliance lost yet another general!
The Yin-Yang Boundary dissipated, and the battle outside continued, but when everyone saw Night Owl reappear and Gu Yue dead, they all showed expressions of disbelief.
"Gu Yue is dead too!"
"Damn it! How many of us has this Night Owl killed!"
"Even a late-stage Divine Transformation cultivator is dead, how can he be so strong!"
Over the years, Night Owl had slain numerous Divine Transformation cultivators, but this was the first time he had killed a late-stage one.
They didn't know what had happened on the other side of the Yin-Yang Boundary, nor did they know how he killed.
"He has a big secret!"
Wei Wudao stared at Night Owl's position, a cold gleam in his eyes.
He glanced back at the distance, puzzled: "Strange, where did the Blood Refining Sect people go?"
He was used to the Blood Refining Sect not participating in battles, but this time, not even a spectator was present, which was unusual.
He was also frustrated, as the Blood Refining Sect had latched onto Elder Mo's support, a glory that should have belonged to the Ancient Tomb Sect.
"Swish!!"
Yu Huang wielded a spear, like a flood dragon emerging from the sea, charging to the edge of the sect-protecting formation, catching up with the fleeing Tianhen Sword Sect cultivator, piercing through with one thrust.
"Watch out!"
A hurried shout came from behind.
A sharp blade, at some unknown time, teleported over, slashing towards the back of Yu Huang's head.
Wang Ding quickly formed a hand seal, causing the seemingly inevitable strike to deviate by half an inch, slicing off a part of Yu Huang's head but not fatally. Yu Huang retaliated with a spear, turning the assailant into dust.
"The third time."
Wang Ding panted heavily, the death aura at his brow spreading to his neck.
"Swish!!"
A long halberd flew over, piercing through Xiao Chou's body, pinning him to the wall.
Wang Ding formed another hand seal, but the death aura had spread to his chest, and he fell straight down.
Ye Li hurriedly approached, activating the divine ability of Spring's Rejuvenation, but the death aura was untreatable.
"Boom!!"
A gap was smashed in the sect-protecting formation, followed by a giant hammer flying in, shattering Xiao Chou's body. Only his head remained, eyes lifelessly gazing at the sky.
The sect-protecting formation was quickly repaired, but Xiao Chou could never stand again.
Death had become commonplace in their eyes.
Each of them was prepared for death.
Ye Li's senior sister Gu Yunxi, Xiao Chou's senior brother Xu Qingfeng, Zhang Tie, the Merman Clan leader Gong Jiang from Sea Star, the many heroes of Heavenly Sand Star, and countless unnamed cultivators had all perished in the wars over the years.
In comparison, Xiao Chou's death was just an insignificant moment.
"Don't die, don't die! Hold on!"
Ye Li rushed to Xiao Chou, her palm emitting a gentle light, enveloping his shattered body.
Xiao Chou's Elemental Infant in his dantian was already shattered, beyond saving. He just quietly looked at Ye Li, gazing at her.
He wanted to thank her, but he could no longer speak. His consciousness slowly faded, drifting away from this world.
"Turns out, she is the most beautiful woman in the world."
"Turns out, someone cares about me."
Xiao Chou suddenly felt that he had no regrets in this life.
In the last moment of his fading consciousness, he saw a familiar face.
It was a big black snake, swaying its head, staring at him.
"Senior Xu Hei, it's you!"
Xiao Chou reached out with an illusory hand, trying to grasp something, but caught nothing. It was all a fleeting vision.
"Boom..."
Suddenly, a thunderous rumble echoed from the sky.
This thunder, seemingly ordinary, carried a hint of fury, shaking the souls of those present. Though the battle continued, a part of their attention turned towards the distance.
"Crack crack crack..."
At the exit of the outer battlefield, a vortex appeared in the once calm sky.
Before the vortex could fully form, a massive hand reached out, grabbing the space, violently tearing it open, expanding the rift to ten thousand feet.
Such a sight, if seen by outsiders, would surely leave them in shock.
In the next moment, a foot stepped out from the rift, treading on the void.
A young man with black hair and a white robe emerged, standing in the air, overlooking the land.
He took a deep breath, feeling the familiar space, the familiar spiritual qi, the familiar scent. Xu Hei's nose tingled, and his eyes reddened.
"Divine Continent Star, I'm back!"
"From now on, all invaders will be annihilated, not a single one left!"
Xu Hei stepped forward, creating an astonishing rift in the void. The laws of the mortal realm descended, attempting to suppress him. Xu Hei soared into the sky, crossing eighty thousand miles in an instant, rushing towards the Divine Puppet Sect.
Too fast, incredibly fast!
The power Xu Hei unleashed as he advanced had already triggered the suppression of the laws. Waves of visible spatial ripples continuously struck his body.
But Xu Hei paid no heed, getting closer and closer, directly charging towards the distant battlefield.
"Who is that?"
"Something is coming!"
In an instant, exclamations of surprise echoed across the battlefield.
The alliance members looked up, their gazes turning towards the distance. They couldn't clearly see the approaching figure, only feeling a fierce storm crashing towards them.
At the center of the storm was a figure so small it seemed insignificant, yet it contained world-destroying power.