Chapter 375: Extinguished but Unfinished

Tattered and mottled.

Du En stepped once more into the reverse side of the surface space, arriving at the area corresponding to the central camp; the moment he entered, this was the desolate scene that met his eyes.

The previous great battle between Chang Lingfeng and Luo Heng had directly shattered this place, with many parts already reduced to powder, only held back by the measures laid out in advance by that Holy Sect Master, which prevented it from spreading and poisoning the front side.

"This kind of method, that Master of the Blood Demon Holy Sect had also displayed before; they..."

Du En noted this point, but for now, he only cast a glance, knowing the general idea, and moved straight ahead, arriving directly at the current main target: the very center of this devastated landscape.

On the ground lay a great gate, already tottering and covered in cracks; one more kick would be enough to easily smash it to pieces! He, of course, kicked down without the slightest hesitation.

Boom! The gate shattered.

"Ah!!!"

A terrifying shriek erupted from within. The Spirit Mother hiding behind the gate seemed to have been prepared; it directly unleashed its evil nature, surging forth with clusters of white trees made of hands, each one with wide-staring eyeballs radiating evil light, about to drown Du En's side.

He merely lifted his eyes slightly, his Primordial Spirit's pressure combined with great Dharma power, directly crushing these superficial attacks into fine powder! He then reached out and grabbed through the air; earth and stone surged, and a massive, giant arm was formed. It reached into the space behind the gate, grabbed hold of something, and dragged it out, pulling the roaring Spirit Mother's main body out violently, just like a mangy dog.

"Audacious! Audacious! How audacious!!!"

"Disrespecting the Spirit Mother shall bring divine punishment!!!"

Rumble!

An evil light like thunder crashed down, barely shattering the Giant Spirit Arm.

The freed Spirit Mother fell and hovered in mid-air.

At this moment, it looked completely different from before; eight arms were coiled into a humanoid shape, draped in rags of clothing, and from the palms, clusters of pale hands grew frantically, each hand covered in slick, greasy eyeballs.

It was clear at a glance that its true main body was leaking out of its old shell! However, because it lacked sufficient nourishment, this metamorphosis was fragile; its true main body still could not withstand the trials of the outside world. Although it kept surging out, it also kept aging and solidifying at the ends, turning into a lifeless posture like a withered tree in a desert.

Even so, it was stronger than before! It was a strength worthy of Du En using his Daoist arts! Thus, he moved his thoughts.

Rumble!

This reverse space suddenly shook violently. The Spirit Mother was momentarily panicked because its spreading evil nature was being suppressed by surging spiritual Qi, while Du En's Dharma power continued to pour in.

Rip!

Accompanied by the sound of tearing evil nature, the ground was broken open. Clusters of green grass, trees, all kinds of exotic flowers and herbs, and various towering giant trees invaded and crowded this place, transforming it into a domain of wood!

Wood Domain!

Don't look at how this Daoist art was covered up in a single exchange before; in fact, it could also cover the enemy and display great divine power—for instance, right now! The Spirit Mother's meat-trees that kept growing and surging, those clusters of arms and eyeballs, were climbed over and drowned by emerald green and bright red flowers and trees.

Cover! Squeeze! Destroy!

The Wood Domain constantly absorbed spiritual Qi and consumed Dharma power, while also continuously expanding, engaging in a surging quantitative struggle with the endless Spirit Mother thicket.

"Ah! Ah!! Ah!!!"

The Spirit Mother screamed incessantly, its voice incomparably shrill, feeling that the situation was dire.

Because the hateful person opposite had a reserve of Dharma power like an abyss, bottomless; compared to the shallow pit of evil nature on its side, whether in total volume or output, he was far ahead! It must...

The thought was suddenly interrupted.

Click, click~

Frost covered the area, and under Du En's calm gaze, the Cold Soul froze it.

The Wood Domain took the opportunity to grow, shredding all of its thicket of eight arms! The Spirit Mother instinctively realized the opponent's intention.

To force it back into its old shell, glue it shut, and then annihilate and grind it away!

How could I let you have your way!!!

The evil nature called out, the evil nature erupted. Although intercepted by Du En, some still transformed into tentacles, spreading toward the outside world to seize nourishment.

Even if it were mixed, turbid sewage or foul water, it no longer cared; it only wanted to shed its shell completely and then torture and kill such a rebellious person as Du En!

Then, it lunged at empty air!

Because Luo Heng was in action!

The Spirit Mother shrieked wildly, shattering the ice seal, still struggling.

And Du En had already seized the moment, taking the spatial fulcrum trapped by the Ink-Rule Chain—one of the Spirit Mother's power tentacles—and driving it directly into its main body.

Ding, ding, ding~ A crisp metallic clashing sound rang out. Before the Spirit Mother could react, the power tentacle that led the way brought the Ink-Rule chains into the very center of its core.

"No, no, no, what, what is this?!"

Its thicket of eight arms no longer surged with hands and eyes, but with crisp, clashing chains. The two seemed to be of the same origin, and for the moment, the Ink-Rule method surpassed the untransformed Spirit Mother, so it directly converted it! Chains coiled and swirled, actively connecting to Du En's Wood Domain, and in a tangle, they formed an airtight net, with the Spirit Mother as the small insect caught within.

A dark hole was pulled open by the chains. Through this hole, one could see its deepest part: a vague, humanoid-like existence, covered in dead-gray, blind eyes, appearing to poke its head out in confusion.

The true core of the Spirit Mother, the form of resentment and evil, trapped and stuck in its old shell like a fetus not yet fully developed in the womb!

It seemed to be shrieking silently. The erupting evil nature far exceeded its outer shell; it was a formed mass. The Ink-Rule method was inferior and thus could not assimilate it, only presenting it before Du En.

His eyes turned crimson, his pupils shining brilliantly. True Flame, wrapped in the fire of hatred, was ready to strike! The Phoenix's lingering hatred seemed to perceive that what was to be burned this time was the filthiest, most turbid, greatest, most evil, and most unforgivable sin in this world; it actually did not resist much, appearing to cooperate by releasing its fire of hatred.

Of course, whether Du En could withstand it was none of its concern! Two streams of blood tears flowed down, and as they flowed, they turned into flowers of flame; frantic shrieks erupted continuously within them.

The form of resentment was touched by this and seemed to feel fear; it released even more of its evil and malice, strangling the heavy chains at the edge of the dark hole, wanting to heal it and cover itself up once more.

The great net of Ink-Rule chains and the Wood Domain serving as the foundation were both shaking incessantly, clearly bearing unspeakable pressure.

However, there was enough time!

Du En had only brewed for a moment before it burst forth!

The fire was divided into three parts: two of hatred, one of righteousness, like an arrow of flowing light, crossing space and time to penetrate deep into the dark hole!

The heavy chains moved in response, blocking the dark hole.

Thud! "Ah..."

Accompanied by a sudden expansion of the ball of chains, the Spirit Mother let out only one shrill, final cry. Then, an annihilation point appeared, sweeping in all the Ink-Rule chains; it also instantly severed its connection with the Wood Domain, all of it plunging into the void. Silently, it vanished and was annihilated.

Du En suddenly raised an eyebrow and reached out his hand, making a catching motion.

In the empty space before him, a lock fell out of thin air, with black as the base and chaotic, shifting-colored flame patterns circling the keyhole in the middle.

"The resentment of evil, the holder of malice, the delusion of obsession, in the end, it falls to me... Take it away. Whether for myself or for others, I shall lock the various changes of its external form at the moment of its destruction within this; perhaps by studying it, one may obtain a method to control such evil..."

An aged voice rang in his ears, sounding completely devoid of emotion, merely stating facts plainly, yet also as if it were brimming with emotion, only impossible to discern.

Mo Ju.

This thought swirled in Du En's mind; he nodded calmly and tucked it away properly.

It was not that he had no other thoughts.

"The Twin Dao Fetus said I am very much like him, but isn't this completely different? I am merely calm by nature; my emotions rise and settle, but they are not absent, and I have never concealed them..."

Regarding this great cultivator, he only had this sort of weighing and comparison, then shook his head inwardly, feeling he had been slightly slandered, but his expression remained unchanged.

Because it was naturally so!

"Youngster, young man..."

At this moment, a voice, transmitted along the projection of divine sense, reached Du En's ears.

It was the old Deity Transformation cultivator he had met once before, who claimed to be from the End-Stop Immortal Gate! There were also several other stammering sounds, carrying joy and excitement, but they had not yet recovered enough and could only use their squeezed-out remaining strength to express their emotions.

"It is truly embarrassing, we really cannot get down on our own now, we hope you, young man, can come and help us, haha."

The old Deity Transformation cultivator's words were somewhat awkward, and the others with some remaining strength also responded with whimpers, clearly truly unable to do so and needing someone else to help.

Du En then turned his head, and in his eyes, which had not yet recovered from the burning, golden light emerged.

Fiery Eyes Golden Gaze!

Through space and the array, he saw the location of the old Deity Transformation cultivator.

That was in a nearby area on the reverse side, where there was an incomparably twisted, leafless, large tree, its whole body seemingly coated in grease, still growing straight there, its roots planted into deeper space.

Previously, it had attempted to spread its roots to grow behind the gate where the Spirit Mother was, but now that the Spirit Mother had been freed from her predicament, she was already dead, and its roots, which had not yet connected or made contact, were just turning when they completely lost their target.

It seemed somewhat bewildered, drifting beneath the surface space, and because of this, the destruction of the Spirit Mother just now did not affect it, thus making it the last remaining piece of the Spirit Mother's evil in this light-deprived underground!

Du En's gaze shifted, looking at that strange large tree; on its wantonly and hideously growing branches hung person after person, their clothes stripped away, their bodies oozing thick grease, making them look like blocks of lard, permeating an evil nature, constantly dripping into the empty large vats entwined by the roots.

What dripped was Spirit Paste, the "gift" of the Spirit Mother, the holy object of the Light-Deprived Sect...

"A bit strange."

He spoke with extreme calmness, his Wood Domain already spreading toward that side, seemingly carrying an extra meaning, making the old Deity Transformation cultivator's heart skip a beat, and the other poor fellows who were shaking also grew anxious.

Having finally seen a path to survival, how could they let it go?! "Young man, you, what do you want to say?"

The old Deity Transformation cultivator feigned composure, also having his own confidence, "Rather than killing us people from hostile immortal gates here, don't you think it would be more valuable to save us alive and take us back?"

"Although we are all old fellows, those of us with remaining strength and I are also middle-level members of our immortal gates, and it is only natural that we know some hidden matters; such things are often planned for many years and will not easily change course, so we believe we can still provide quite a lot of good intelligence!"

"Of course, considering necessary concerns and the like, we are willing to hand over a bit of our true spirit for you and your sect to hold; this is also only natural, we have self-awareness!"

Since no one from their own side had come to rescue them, leaving them to suffer here, looking like human medicine in the demonic path, they had long held resentment in their hearts, so now they all wore an expression of being deeply righteous.

"Wuwuwu!"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

The others also struggled and swayed, one after another expressing their agreement.

They were Deity Transformation great cultivators, how could they die here?

If they were to die, they had to have some dignity! In short, as long as Du En saved them, everything was negotiable! And it was not that Du En did not want to save them, but...

"You are not fools either; the reason you are so urgent, as expected, is because you have sensed a crisis approaching, right?"

He stated it plainly, and the old Deity Transformation cultivator and the others froze instantly.

The situation was actually very obvious and simple.

Luo Heng's Clearing the Source and Returning to Rectitude could not possibly have failed to consider that large tree! But now, the Spirit Mother had been destroyed by Du En, and all the poison in the surface space inside and out had been gathered and erased, yet only this place wrapped in an array remained, unaffected and exceptionally intact.

The great cultivators on the tree who still had thoughts and remaining strength naturally sensed that something was wrong at the first moment, and in their urgent impatience, they wanted Du En to save them, even willing to give up a bit of their true spirit.

That was the truth of the spirit, the source of the soul; after a cultivator cultivates a Primordial Spirit, they can actively make it emerge from its depths, and its importance is self-evident. Once grasped by someone of the same rank, the other party can easily trace the source and origin, penetrate the foundation of the Primordial Spirit, and killing them would be as easy as turning over one's hand!

"But, is there really enough time for me?"

Du En asked calmly.

The old Deity Transformation cultivator and the others screamed out in alarm.

"Young man, youngster, hurry up, damn it! Can't you just hurry up! Why can't you be faster!!!"

His face, soaked and covered in grease, suddenly turned hideous.

The others with remaining strength were also incomparably agitated; if they could speak, they would have cursed Du En to death long ago.

However, this posturing could not hide the fear they had deeply buried that was now surfacing!

"Ah, ahhh, ah!!!"

The old Deity Transformation cultivator was terrified beyond measure, wailing in extreme horror.

Because as Du En spoke bluntly and refused to be deceived, the large tree stopped pretending, and with a sudden, violent suction, these cultivators on the tree, who had long been squeezed until only a layer of skin remained, along with the grease oozing from their bodies, were instantly devoured clean by a vast, swallowing force.

*Pop—* The large tree and the people withered and turned to dust, vanishing into thin air.

One person appeared out of thin air, wearing an expression of gratification, possessing the arrogance of a scheme successfully executed, their entire body's magic power surging as they rushed toward the realm of breakthrough.

(End of chapter)