Chapter 336: Chapter Eight: The Cultivator Team

“A superlimit-level Hive Worm has been born—this is too great a threat,” said the Lord of Yuanxiang Hall. “The key reason for Yulan City’s fall was that superlimit-level one.”

Luo Feng agreed.

It was nearly impossible for a city to be breached from the outside.

To breach it from within? You’d need a superlimit-level entity capable of infiltrating the city. Wei Yang’s death and Gai Tao’s escape were both due to that ‘superlimit-level’ Hive Worm.

“Therefore, this cultivation team will still arrive at Yulan City—and use our karmic ties with that Hive Worm to pinpoint its location,” said the Lord of Yuanxiang Hall. “We must eliminate it as soon as possible.”

Luo Feng smiled faintly: “My avatar is already hunting that Hive Worm. I suspect it will be defeated soon.”

The Lord of Yuanxiang Hall paused slightly, then smiled.

With Luo Feng’s power—capable of completely suppressing four opponents at once—chasing down a single superlimit-level Hive Worm was no challenge.

“Even if you kill that superlimit-level Hive Worm, I suspect this cultivation team will still come to Yulan City,” said the Lord of Yuanxiang Hall.

“Oh?” Luo Feng was slightly surprised.

“Their interest in you is likely far greater than their interest in the Hive Worm,” said the Lord of Yuanxiang Hall with a faint smile—he understood the thoughts of beings at the same level all too well.

The heavens and earth were vast and empty.

The superlimit-level Hive Worm had turned insubstantial, fleeing at superluminal speed.

“It’s over.”

Though the heavens and earth were vast, the superlimit-level Hive Worm felt only despair.

“All my offspring, scattered in escape, have been slain by Luo Feng’s avatar. He has been tracking me relentlessly behind; I cannot shake him off.” It had no recourse—though its mind-body was swift, it could not match Luo Feng’s ability to teleport short distances.

Its offspring were obliterated instantly before Luo Feng’s avatar. Only the mother worm could withstand Luo Feng’s pursuit.

“Once his avatar carrying the secret treasure arrives, I’m dead.”

At this moment, it was utterly powerless.

It could sense the enemy right behind it—and yet had no way to act.

The low-level Hunyuan life forces in the surrounding area, the few that survived, cannot stop Luo Feng.

“I knew it—ambush and assassination offer only one chance. Fail once, and it’s over.”

“No!”

Its heart trembled.

It sensed that the ‘Luo Feng’ behind it had suddenly accelerated, closing the distance rapidly.

It stopped fleeing—the speed gap was too great; escape was impossible.

Whoosh!

Far off, it saw a figure in black robes and black hair step forth from the rift between heaven and earth, already at close range.

“Superlimit-level Hive Worm,” said Luo Feng, gazing at it.

“Luo Feng—is this your strongest avatar?” the Hive Worm speculated.

Luo Feng nodded.

“Can you spare my life?” the Hive Worm looked at Luo Feng. “I was captured by terrifying beings among your cultivators and brought to the Nine Rivers Sacred Realm. Everything I’ve done was forced upon me by your terrifying cultivators.”

Luo Feng stared at it, expressionless, and extended one finger.

Luo Feng’s finger split heaven and earth, piercing through space and appearing instantly before the Hive Worm. His index finger transformed into a furry, razor-sharp claw, piercing the Hive Worm’s body and striking its life-core.

“Hum.”

As Luo Feng struck, his soul was simultaneously assaulted by an invisible force—disrupting his perception.

“Not even a moment’s hesitation?” the Hive Worm clung to despair even in death. Its plea was meant to shake Luo Feng’s heart, while its secret art, Mind-Delusion, sought to alter his cognition.

Had Luo Feng truly wavered, under the influence of the secret art, he might have genuinely believed: “This Hive Worm is innocent, pitiful—there’s no need to kill it.”

The innate secret art ‘Mind-Delusion’ worked precisely this way—subtly influencing thoughts and beliefs.

But Luo Feng’s heart remained utterly unmoved—giving it not the slightest opening.

“Whoosh.” After killing the Hive Worm, Luo Feng waved his hand and retrieved its corpse.

“Pity?”

Luo Feng’s gaze was icy.

He knew precisely when to show pity. To pity every single ‘target’ in life-or-death combat was an absurdly foolish act.

Cultivators and innate Hunyuan life forms were two opposing camps, each seeking the total annihilation of the other.

Some terrifying beings among the innate Hunyuan life forms even sought to devour source worlds; thus, the two camps were absolutely opposed.

Two camps, absolutely opposed, each determined to utterly exterminate the other. If you showed pity here, you would never have reached your current realm.

“Many cultivators have died at the hands of Hive Worms,” said Luo Feng after retrieving the corpse. He also discovered numerous spoils carried by the Hive Worm—likely taken from Wei Yang and several Elders.

“The Hive Worm is dealt with. The other three will be much easier.”

Luo Feng had dispatched avatars to shadow the other three superlimit-levels.

…

A vast, endless sea of blood engulfed the boundless heavens and earth—and the black, serpentine mountain-like creature within.

“Luo Feng, I pose no further threat to you—why won’t you grant me even a sliver of mercy?” the black mountain creature roared, struggling—but beneath the suppression of the Blood Sea Array, its struggles grew weaker.

“Actions demand consequences!” The colossal claw within the sea of blood, after dozens of strikes, finally located the life-core within the massive body and shattered it.

This colossal, mountain-like being was the strongest in physical form among the four superlimit-levels.

…

“Die—!”

Amidst a sea of blood, a colossal burst of thunder erupted, its might spreading across heaven and earth, even piercing through the blood sea and exploding fully.

The vast sea of blood coalesced into Luo Feng’s form.

“Dead?” Luo Feng frowned. His simulated Eye of Annihilation opened at his brow, meticulously observing all karmic traces. The karmic link between him and the thunder-tentacle creature had become exceedingly faint—but still lingered.

“A trace of karma remains.”

“It hasn’t truly died.”

“Its current location—I sense it’s incredibly distant, and shifting unpredictably, impossible to lock onto precisely,” said Luo Feng, slightly surprised.

The distance was as vast as the horizon!

And layered with heavy concealment—the remaining thread of karma was blurred, indeterminate.

“This thunder-tentacle creature must have prepared a contingency before the war,” Luo Feng thought. “Now it has activated that safeguard. What kind of race possesses such a survival technique?”

From Divine Emperor’s Peak to superlimit-level.

Some low-level Hunyuan life forms underwent transformations in their life forms, gaining innate abilities even the leaders lacked—making it difficult for cultivators to determine their original species.

“Forget it,” said Luo Feng, abandoning the pursuit.

There were already some superlimit-levels in the Nine Rivers Sacred Realm. Since he couldn’t track it, he didn’t press further.

“Let future cultivators handle it.” Luo Feng turned and continued hunting the final one—the Bird of Annihilation.

…

The Bird of Annihilation could transform into boundless annihilation energy—but all its energy had been suppressed within the Blood Sea Eye inside Luo Feng’s secret treasure, the Indestructible Heart.

The Blood Sea Eye resided within Luo Feng’s secret treasure, the Indestructible Heart. The Bird of Annihilation was trapped inside, unable to escape.

“Strange.”

Luo Feng gazed into the interior of the Indestructible Heart, at the boundless annihilation energy suppressed within the Blood Sea Eye.

“A superlimit-level being has fully transformed into mere energy.”

“I didn’t expect its body was the hardest to annihilate—it endured dozens of my claws and still remained so strong.” Luo Feng could have utterly erased the Bird of Annihilation with hundreds of strikes—but he did not rush.

“Its innate talent along the Path of Annihilation… is intriguing.”

Luo Feng took human form and temporarily imprisoned the Bird of Annihilation within the Blood Sea Eye of the Indestructible Heart.

“First, study its Path of Annihilation. Once I’ve studied it, I’ll destroy it.” He thought: he had already reached the late Divine Emperor stage of the Path of Creation and Destruction, and now he must begin attempting to elevate the Paths of Life and Annihilation to the Semi-Hunyuan level.

This Bird of Annihilation held value for contemplation.

Whoosh!

Luo Feng began his return journey.

In this battle at Yulan City, he encountered five superlimit-levels: one killed inside the city, three outside. The thunder-tentacle creature likely still survived.

A large, ancient-style vessel was flying through the heavens of the Nine Rivers Sacred Realm, moving at extreme speed.

Inside the vessel.

Three figures sat, chatting leisurely.

“Latest news,” said a feathered woman, her wings pure white without a single blemish. She smiled. “Lord Yuanxiang says the new lord of Yulan City, ‘Luo Feng,’ has already killed the superlimit-level Hive Worm.”

“Looks like our mission is complete,” said an old man, flipping through the book before him. “Though we didn’t act, since the superlimit-level Hive Worm died within three days, we still earn half the battle merit.”

Regardless of the reason, if the target died within three days, this team at least deserved credit for effort.

If it died after three days—and wasn’t killed by us—we’d get zero merit.

“This Luo Feng is quite formidable. He broke through at a critical moment, even as the city fell—and still turned the tide,” said a red-robed youth, sighing. “I heard he fought four superlimit-levels at once and held the upper hand. His strength surpasses mine!”

“I couldn’t do it. Facing four superlimit-levels, I could at best maintain balance,” said the old man.

“Very impressive,” said the feathered woman. “So strong right after breaking through—and he’s never even been to the Dark Sacred Realm.”

“Without training in the Dark Sacred Realm, without access to its special resources, and still this strong,” said the old man in awe. “If he enters the Dark Sacred Realm, he might reach the invincible level.”

The red-robed youth’s eyes held envy: “Every invincible-level cultivator is summoned by Elder Yuan and the others.”

“I heard those who reach invincible level are taken away—and most escape the cage. They become beings of another tier,” said the old man, also envious.

They were all cultivators who had mastered two Semi-Hunyuan Paths, their own cultivation perfected—but they were not called ‘invincible,’ nor qualified to be summoned by Yuan and the others.

“Are you returning?” asked the feathered woman with a smile. “I plan to go to Yulan City to meet this Luo Feng. If he becomes invincible, I may never get the chance to see him.”

"With such strength even without entering the Dark Sacred Realm, he is certainly worth meeting." The elder and the red-robed youth both nodded.

A being who might break free of the cage—they naturally wished to befriend him.

(End of Chapter)