Chapter 485: From Behind the Scenes to the Forefront

"Do not pin your hopes on your enemies, my friend, whose name and surname I do not know."

Facing the bewilderment and shock before Zhu Qinglin's death, Sheng Zhaoshui only murmured this in a cold voice; watching the ashes vanish, he immediately put on his usual flippant air again, turning his head to speak to his companions, intending to say something about why they had struck so ruthlessly again, and that now there was no one left to question.

He was just that kind of guy: seemingly sloppy and casual in his demeanor, but if you truly thought he was easy to talk to or had any openings, you would only end up dying a miserable death.

However, perhaps even the soil and rocks could not stand his behavior and speech, for before Sheng Zhaoshui could even finish his words, the ground beneath his feet suddenly began to shake violently.

?! The two people and one god immediately soared into the air, their reactions extremely fast; in a flash, they flew out of the basin and continued to rise in altitude, but then suddenly stopped, shifting instead to move parallel, pulling away a distance with great momentum.

Because the firmament had quietly been covered in a blood-red hue, the bright moon suddenly transformed into a dripping, crimson star, radiating a thick, bewitching, and evil aura; at its edges, it even seemed to have fine tentacles, constantly twisting and struggling.

At the same time, on the ground, the earth was shaking more and more violently, unable to calm down; the range was extremely vast, from this side of the basin to Jiuyun City, then to the Xu family ancestral graves, and even further to the Liuyun Mountain Range—almost half of the Xuwei Continent was shaking violently.

The heavens changed and the earth moved, a sign of the apocalypse! Crack, crack, crack! The ground began to show terrifying cracks, bottomless and deep, with a hint of gray-white faintly visible.

Bang, bang, bang! Amidst a series of shattering sounds, gray-white, withered branches burst out from within.

Rumble, rumble, rumble! The block of the basin centered on the Gate of the Upper Realm was hoisted up beneath the blood-red crimson star.

Du En and the other two had already stopped at this moment, because branches like dragons were lashing out from all directions amidst the roar of breaking air; in an instant, they were trapped within, wrapped and surrounded. Except for a burst of thumping sounds at the beginning, there was no movement afterward as the wrapping deepened, with only a few muffled sounds faintly audible, as if they were resisting.

The changes continued, and the proliferation spread.

Beneath the blood-red firmament, the normal habitat was overturned.

The Profound Dust Sandstorm shattered, and all sorts of things became unstoppable.

Everywhere was filled with evil, and the grotesque quietly sprouted.

"Hahahaha!"

Arrogant laughter rang out high above, as if it were coming from within the blood-red crimson star, but only upon closer inspection could one see that it was a person's figure quietly standing in front of the Gate of the Upper Realm that had been hoisted into the sky; it was he who was laughing wildly, his satisfied gaze looking down from on high, watching the ravaged and trampled earth, listening to the painful wails of all living things.

However, there was none.

It was completely empty and quiet.

Although the earth was riddled with holes, covered in various gray-white tentacle-like branches.

Although the crimson star hung high and bewitching, wantonly spilling its strange red radiance.

Yet, in this abnormal, bewitching red and ghastly white, there was uniquely no fresh, mixed, and normal blood-stained smear; everywhere was empty, as if what he had destroyed was merely a wasteland devoid of life, and there would be no situation of mass slaughter regardless of what happened.

"What is going on?!"

The development of the situation was truly unexpected; the arrogant one who had walked from behind the scenes to the front could not help but change his expression, stopping his arrogance and turning to look around nervously.

Were there any other accomplices or cohorts of those three people from the Upper Realm?

But that shouldn't be; what kind of person could quietly move away the people of half the Xuwei Continent right under his nose?

An ordinary Void Refinement stage True Person certainly could not do it; could it be a Heaven's Pride True Person, or perhaps, a True Monarch...

Bang! A violent shattering sound rang out, and the arrogant one was startled, immediately turning his head to look.

He only saw a verdant green, starkly different from the gray-white and capable of resisting the crimson, suddenly surging and expanding; in a short time, it had already erected a True Domain, isolating the various anomalies outside and clashing and consuming them.

Creak, creak.

Bang, bang, bang, bang.

Various noises rang out incessantly.

Du En, the culprit who catalyzed the magic and exerted power, had a face of calm at this moment, glancing at Sheng Zhaoshui and saying: "This was done well; it seems that True Monarch Chengru really has sincerity this time."

"How should I put it? Seeing you go to such great lengths to create a sandstorm to cover the city, I couldn't pretend not to notice, but how did you conclude that I possessed the means to clear the field?"

Sheng Zhaoshui found this strange, inevitably feeling that True Monarch Chengru must have told him the specific situation, otherwise how would he know about the Cave Heaven Dharma Treasure he currently held.

The Golden Flower Origin Mirror, leading directly to the Golden Flower Cave Origin Heaven, ranked at the seventh grade, possessing extraordinary qualities; within it lay a vast territory, which could be called a human paradise. Now, it not only contained the living beings of the Xuwei Continent but actually the entirety of the whole Green Profound Star Realm.

Taking advantage of the sandstorm that blotted out the sky and sun, obscuring vision and consciousness, Sheng Zhaoshui used the secret technique taught by True Monarch Yi, casting it across stages, and utilized the various marks left behind from walking this realm in secret previously, only then being able to load all living beings in without a sound, while leaving behind a false illusion in place to fool people.

Because the enemy's focus was on the three of them, and the commotion they created was also very large, they did not notice the clues of the situation until just now, when they were still suspicious and uncertain, thinking it was some True Monarch who had acted in secret, until Du En laid it out plainly.

No!

This fellow looks calm and sincere, but is actually full of bad intentions; who knows if what he says is true or false! Moreover, normally no one would speak of this directly, so one absolutely cannot believe it!

The one behind the scenes was very suspicious and did not dare to be negligent, still trying to search for the potentially existing True Monarch expert.

Du En, however, answered sincerely and directly: "There wasn't much consideration; mainly, the Supreme's plot is laid out there, and I don't want to continue adding fuel to the fire. Of course, one must do a good job of clearing the field. After all, with that True Monarch's ability, this is not something that cannot be done."

Since it could be done, there was no reason not to do it.

A very simple principle.

Sheng Zhaoshui nodded, feeling it was indeed very simple.

Their attitude appeared calm and casual, which made the one behind the scenes furious.

I am still here!

You bunch of people from the Upper Realm, can you not be so arrogant?!

Anshen felt that he had been affected; clearly, his gaze had always been on the enemy, and the fatigue in his eyes had almost disappeared by now, showing a very solemn and serious posture, ready to strike again.

"Speaking of which, this pillar and these gray-white roots look really familiar!"

Sheng Zhaoshui's gaze secretly became steady at this moment, revealing a look of shock and caution, carefully examining everything on the ground outside the True Domain, having quietly used a method of peeping and investigation.

"Hehehehahahaha!"

The one behind the scenes laughed wildly again at this moment, seemingly having let go of his wariness and search for the suspected True Monarch, because he simply could not find them, and continuing would only be a waste of time.

At the same time, as if influenced by this side, he actually became outspoken: "Green leaves, purple stems, black flowers, yellow fruits; beneath them, there is no sound, and standing, there is no shadow!" "What?!"

This description immediately shocked Sheng Zhaoshui, and he could not help but question: "What point of the divine tree you describe is similar to this gray-white, decayed thing that is as withered as stone?!"

"Hehehehe, precisely because it is completely unlike, and even diametrically opposite, it is the true ladder that can lead to the true Upper Realm!"

"Tsk! Your mouth is quite tight!"

Sheng Zhaoshui clicked his tongue, his expression also showing gravity.

At this time, Du En and Anshen also found the relevant references from the corners of their knowledge based on that description.

A hundred fathoms without branches, with nine nodes, and nine gourds below; its fruits are like hemp, and its leaves are like awns.

Located beneath it, casting no shadow at midday, making no sound when called, it is the center of Heaven and Earth.

Connecting Heaven and Earth, allowing passage between immortal and mortal, the various Emperors travel up and down...

This is, the Heaven-Reaching Jian Wood?! An Shen was immediately filled with doubt and suspicion; truly, the gray stone branches before their eyes did not match the description in any way, yet once this realization took hold, it was like a maggot in the bone, impossible to shake off.

It was as if some hidden principle in the dark was responding, telling them that this was indeed the Jian Wood, that Heaven-Reaching Jian Wood!

Does Venerable Luoyu wish to rely on the power of the Jian Wood to replace the Ascension Ladder and reach before the Heavenly Gate? Du En could not help but associate this with those two key points, and a look of slight surprise appeared on their face, but that was all, because they noticed a small detail mentioned by Sheng Zhaoshui.

"Not branches or twigs, but root fibers?"

"... Inverted Jian Wood, the proper order is in chaos."

Sheng Zhaoshui nodded, but the explanation was quite vague.

How exactly they discerned this was not explained.

It was a bit mysterious; could they have seen a normal Heaven-Reaching Jian Wood in the past? Considering factors like True Monarch Chengru, it was not an impossible thing.

Thinking further, the Heaven-Reaching Jian Wood has such a great reputation; after the Immortal Path was severed back then, the great powers of various races should have long remembered it and attempted to use it to replace the Ascension Ladder.

Up until now, since no one has succeeded in knocking on the gate and ascending to immortality, it is likely that using it in the ordinary way cannot succeed, which is why it must be made to grow in reverse? Where exactly does Venerable Luoyu want it to lead?

Is it truly the Immortal World, that upper realm that lives up to its name? In short, regardless of what their intention or scheme is, since the Heaven-Reaching Jian Wood has appeared before their eyes in such a form, there is only one thing that needs to be done now, without a doubt.

That is to destroy it!

It is fortunate that it was turned into this evil, inverted form; otherwise, they might have harbored internal discord, engaged in infighting, and lost their footing.

"If you can do it, then by all means come and try!"

Sensing the tacit movement here, the mastermind stepped forward, the Red Star hanging behind them, their hair blood-bathed and red, moving without wind, appearing wanton and arrogant; their full Dharma power was no longer concealed, surging, increasing, and exploding, rushing all the way to the Nascent Soul Perfection.

Then, with the continued support of the Red Star and the gray wood, both tangible and intangible, their talent rose with the tide: strong genius, weak heaven-pride, heaven-pride!

Power, powerful strength was being unleashed, making that face, which Du En and the others were very familiar with, become vastly different, becoming more mature, yet faintly revealing a touch of aging.

Bai Ji...

That medical cultivator was problematic as expected, and so significantly and prominently so; the previous Nine Clouds Superior Xu Tianci, and even the fierce beast Hundun, were nothing more than their pawns, and there was even the accomplice Zhu Qing lurking in the shadows; it is unknown when this began, and even the adoption of Zhu Yi was a predetermined plan, they were their people from the very beginning.

In short, their purpose actually boils down to one point.

The Gate to the Upper Realm!

The top of the main root of the Inverted Jian Wood, that upright gate!

Because the key to the gate fell into their hands by a twist of fate, they had to scheme and arrange around this; they feigned being abducted, but were actually waiting in the dark, just waiting for them to try to open the gate, so they could strike from within and without, suddenly erupting in a surprise attack.

Unfortunately, they were never fooled; instead, after a series of lures and a ruthless offensive, they wiped out the problematic mole Zhu Qing, leaving Bai Ji a lone wolf, forced to manifest the Inverted Jian Wood and summon the descent of the Red Star.

Supporting themselves to gain surging strength.

Even if the plan went awry and the pawns were lost, having to face the enemy alone, they could still suppress the heaven-pride and ascend to the true Upper Realm! Boom! It was not that Bai Ji had some sudden eruption, but that Du En chose to self-detonate their True Domain!

Exploding the Jia Wood True Domain with a profound sacrificial method without the slightest hesitation or mercy, making their companion Sheng Zhaoshui click their tongue in secret; with this self-detonation power that expanded dozens of times in an instant, it naturally tore open the various constraints and pressures brought by the Inverted Jian Wood!

The path is clear, they can advance.

Bai Ji only felt a blur before their eyes, and the figures of those two people plus one rhombic mirror had already appeared before them; they were immediately shocked and fiercely chose to strike.

The Dharma power, a mixture of red smelting and gray-white, expanded and then suddenly contracted; it was not that they used some technique to accumulate power for an explosion, but that a black and white rope appeared abruptly, driven by the three of them, and they bound them without delay.

Qiankun Rope, the proper pivot controls the evil!

Hmm... this guy doesn't seem that evil?

Bai Ji was shocked at first, but then discovered that this sixth-rank treasure did not restrict them that much, at most constraining their movements and two or three tenths of their strength, so they immediately revealed a cold smile.

"Out of tricks? Then die!"

The Dharma power was raised and expanded, the red and gray-white separated; the dense color rose, turning into stars in the night sky, as if a thousand stars were flickering, beginning to fall upon the mortal world.

The light color fell, immediately causing the Inverted Jian Wood to vibrate; gray-white branches and leaves hung down abruptly, breaking out of the soil from the star body, replacing the still-stagnant parts of the root system, and launching endless attacks on the enemies.

For a moment, the situation was changing.

At this very moment, a rhombic mirror hung high, then began to unfold; new rhombic mirrors appeared, spreading out across the sky in the blink of an eye, blocking the light of the Red Star, emitting a silver-white color, echoing the starry sky from afar, with groups of stars lighting up, outshining the Red Star and casting their own power.

Thousand Prisms Ten Thousand Stars Array Strike!

An Shen's strike blocked the descent of the Red Star, causing Bai Ji's expression to change slightly; they never expected that they would have such a powerful means, capable of setting up an array anywhere and at any time, a true fusion of spell and array.

In reality, the three of them had long considered the possibility of lurkers in the dark, so they had each been hiding their true strength all along.

(End of chapter)