Chapter 584

583. Chapter 578: Opening Heaven Geng Metal

Before the Cosmic Pot touched the ground, vast swarms of Thief Immortal Beetles tumbled down.

Then, like waves, they continued cascading downward in an unbroken chain.

Ji Xing and the others stared in stunned silence—what kind of divine art was this?

The teacher hadn't extended his domain or unleashed any divine art, yet these demonic beetles all fell away, one after another, as if prearranged.

A supreme sense of peril struck him; Ding Huan's spirit tensed.

"Brother Ji, quickly set up the Imprisonment and Annihilation Divine Array…"

After uttering those words, Ding Huan had already summoned the Wheel of Reincarnation Spear.

Almost the instant he summoned the Wheel of Reincarnation Spear, a blade spanning the heavens and earth slashed down.

That blade's radiance, nearly ten thousand zhang long, gave the first impression it would split this star continent clean in two.

The aura of death instantly locked this space; Ji Xing and the others turned deathly pale.

Though the terrifying blade had not yet descended, the crushing killing intent had already forced blood to trickle from their lips, as if their dantians were about to shatter.

Ding Huan's Wheel of Reincarnation Spear also whipped up a storm of killing intent and slammed forward.

In this hasty strike, he hadn't even time to summon the divine art's resonance.

Boom!

Crack!

Ding Huan spat a jet of blood from his mouth.

The Wheel of Reincarnation Spear snapped clean in two.

Ding Huan's bones shattered inch by inch; his body was blasted from the void and crashed to the ground, carving a deep trench hundreds of zhang long.

Blood kept gushing from his mouth—he had no capacity left to counterattack.

This was definitely stronger than Xie Kuangren; it surpassed the Immortal Emperor tier.

Ji Luo, experienced and shrewd, did not rush to save Ding Huan; instead, he continuously flung out array flags.

In just a short time, he had established a Level Three Imprisonment and Annihilation Divine Array.

Ding Huan frantically activated the Great Cosmic Art, trying to rise again.

But that single blow had already cracked his dantian.

Had he not possessed a Starry Mind Sea, his mind sea would have cracked at this moment too.

Patterns of fissures appeared in the void—clearly, the void itself had been scarred by the impact.

Before Ding Huan could rise again, the furious, terrifying killing intent surged down once more, engulfing all.

Ding Huan staggered to his feet once more, unleashing his Bone-Clinging Devouring Dao poison in wild waves.

He suspected his Gene Killing Law couldn't kill this Beetle King in a short time—he hadn't anticipated how terrifying this Beetle King was.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of thunderous explosions erupted in the void—Ji Luo's Level Three Imprisonment and Annihilation Divine Array finally took effect.

Ding Huan seized the chance to heal his wounds.

At this moment, he finally saw clearly—the monstrous Thief Immortal Beetle trapped within the array.

Ding Huan had one Thief Immortal Beetle in his ring; that one was a full zhang long, and he'd thought it a giant.

But this Beetle King's cutting leg, just now swung down, was a hundred zhang long; the killing aura it unleashed approached ten thousand zhang.

The zhang-long Thief Immortal Beetle in his ring was but a speck beside this one.

Had his body not been so resilient, that single blow would have shattered it.

If his body had shattered, Ji Xing and the others behind him would have left not even bone dust.

Crack! Crack!

More cracking sounds split the air.

Ding Huan watched Ji Luo's Primordial Spirit frantically flinging array flags to reinforce the Divine Array, his heart trembling in silent awe.

This was a Divine Array—and that hundred-zhang-tall Thief Immortal Beetle was tearing through it with crackling force.

And this was even after being affected by his Gene Killing Law, with his Bone-Clinging Devouring Dao Law seeping into the demon beetle's body.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have had a chance to fight back—or even to flee.

Ding Huan swiftly pulled out the half-god vein and implanted it into the array, then summoned a long blade, unleashing every ounce of his strength as he gathered Immortal Qi and slashed downward.

Indeed, with Ding Huan's half-god vein embedded, Ji Luo's Level Three Imprisonment and Annihilation Divine Array finally stabilized.

No matter how powerful this Thief Immortal Beetle was, it remained bound by the rules of the Immortal World.

Ding Huan's long blade carved a bloody curtain of light as it slashed toward the Beetle King's back.

The Thief Immortal Beetle sensed the danger of this strike; though still resisting Ji Luo's array, it swung one of its cutting legs to block.

Crack!

A gray-brown mist of blood exploded—Ding Huan's blade shattered again.

But this time, Ding Huan was not the only one who suffered—the Beetle King's cutting leg was also severed and fell to the ground.

Ding Huan was once again thrown to the ground by the violent backlash of Immortal Qi.

He had acted before his wounds had healed; this only made things worse.

Ding Huan was not alarmed—he was elated. In this second clash, he clearly felt the Thief Immortal Beetle's power had dropped one tier.

This proved his Gene Killing Law and Poison Dao Law were working.

Ding Huan silently lamented—if he could act now, he could surely slay this Thief Immortal Beetle.

But he couldn't—he still needed to heal.

To regain the ability to fight, he needed at least a dozen breaths.

The Dao-Thief Insect clearly sensed things were going badly; it could distinctly feel its own aura weakening.

A law of destruction and death raged within its body; moreover, a law of poison had seeped into its flesh.

Cannot stay here any longer—must leave immediately…

As soon as the Dao-Thief Insect conceived this thought, it abandoned its assault on the Imprison-and-Slay Divine Array and furiously tore at the void before it.

Even Ji Xing was stunned—this Dao-Thief Insect had truly torn open a fine fissure in the void.

Though the void had cracked under the impact of Immortal Qi before, cracks and fissures were two entirely different things.

Bad—this insect is trying to escape.

Though Ding Huan had not yet recovered at all, he still burned a mouthful of essence blood, this time drawing out the Flying Smoke Sword, then charged toward the Dao-Thief Insect.

The Flying Smoke Sword slashed down, unleashing a grayish haze of sword light.

? ￠o

"Puff!" A spray of gray-brown blood exploded—Ding Huan's Flying Smoke Sword severed nearly half the Dao-Thief Insect's tail and two of its scythe-like legs.

"Boom!" As Ding Huan was slammed into the ground for the third time, the Dao-Thief Insect plunged into the fissure it had torn open and vanished.

"Brother Ji, how did this thing tear open the void?" Ding Huan lay on the ground, blood continuously seeping from his lips; he still could not understand how the Dao-Thief Insect had escaped.

Logically, with the Imprison-and-Slay Divine Array locking the space, to tear the void one must first break the array.

"My array was poorly constructed—it malfunctioned," Ji Xing said, deeply ashamed.

He had underestimated this Dao-Thief Insect and overestimated his own Divine Array.

Ding Huan did not press further; this was not Ji Xing's fault.

Ji Xing's strength was less than a fraction of what it had been in his prime; it was no surprise his array failed.

Without Ji Xing's help, he might well have died on the insect's scythe-legs today.

This Dao-Thief Insect was simply too terrifying; no wonder Xie Kuangren had returned in defeat. Facing such a Dao-Thief Insect, Xie Kuangren losing was perfectly normal.

To win would be abnormal.

Against attacks from a Dao-Thief Insect, numbers mean nothing.

He had driven it off thanks to his Gene-Slaying Law and the Bone-Clinging Devouring-Dao Poison.

But the most effective factor was truly Ji Xing's Level-Three Imprison-and-Slay Divine Array.

"Teacher…" Ji Xing and the others, who had been pinned down, finally regained their breath and hurried over to inquire after Ding Huan's condition.

Ding Huan waved his hand: "No need to worry. There's no threat here now—you three can gather the celestial treasures. Pay special attention to items that restore the physical body and the Primordial Spirit."

Don't overlook the Semi-God Veins either. Once you've collected everything, meet up with me—I'll find a place to enter seclusion and cultivate soon."

Though the Dao-Thief Insect had occupied this land for years, it had not destroyed the treasures here.

If you don't gather them now, when hordes of cultivators flood in, the finest items will be snatched away in an instant.

"Yes." Ji Xing and the others immediately responded and scattered to act.

Ding Huan remained in place for over an hour, then collected the Semi-God Vein, controlled the Cosmic Cauldron, and headed toward the Dao-Thief Insect's lair.

Half a day later, Ding Huan halted at the edge of a vast lake, where he sensed dense heavenly and earthly Qi.

"Brother Ji, this place is perfect for restoring your physical body—it definitely has Semi-God Veins, and not just one."

Ding Huan's divine sense had long since covered this space; not only were there multiple Semi-God Veins here, he had also spotted a perfect pair-leafed Immortal Reed.

The pair-leafed Immortal Reed was a top-tier material for restoring the physical body, no worse than the Nine-Colored Void Lotus.

Most importantly, it was also a supreme treasure for body refinement—when undergoing bodily nirvana, nothing surpassed the pair-leafed Immortal Reed.

"Hah! Thank you, younger brother—I'm very satisfied with this place." Ji Xing was genuinely pleased.

Ding Huan pulled out the Nine-Colored Void Lotus, then paused and produced a clay pot, handing it to Ji Xing.

Ji Xing knew the jade box contained the Nine-Colored Void Lotus, but why was Ding Huan giving him a clay pot?

Seeing Ji Xing's confusion, Ding Huan explained: "Inside this pot is some soil—take a look and you'll understand."

Ji Xing removed the pot's sealing runes and swept his divine sense inside.

When he saw the pale purple soil, he asked in astonishment: "Is this Níngbǎo Soil—the soil that gives birth to divine artifacts?"

"Yes. Legend says this soil formed the Fēnbǎo Cliff—this is the earth beneath it. I thought you'd need it to refine your physical body."

"Hah! Not just good—it's perfect! Younger brother, don't worry—I'll take you across the universe once I've restored my body."

Ji Xing eagerly seized both items and rushed off to restore his physical body.

Ding Huan began setting up the protective array.

He paid no mind to Ji Xing's boast about taking him across the universe.

Ji Xing was good at bragging, but his actual strength was mediocre.

Who would rely on whom in the end remained to be seen.

Ji Xing's array art was indeed superior to his, but since Ji Xing's body was still unhealed, his protective array's laws were incomplete—he was better off setting up a Level-Nine Defensive Immortal Array himself.

One day later, Ding Huan collected the pair-leafed Immortal Reed and began healing.

Externally he showed no sign of injury, but in truth, his wounds from the battle with the Dao-Thief Insect were severe.

Yi-Chong Starland…

Or perhaps it could no longer be called Yi-Chong Starland—it was now Semi-God Starland.

Across the entire Semi-God Starland, the Dao-Thief Insects continued to die in waves.

Some Dao-Thief Insects that sensed danger tried to flee, but they died instantly before they could escape the Semi-God Starland.

Ji Xing and the other two were frantically gathering all manner of top-tier celestial treasures in this place.