Chapter 358: Deterrence

On a five-colored auspicious cloud, the four human Fifth-grade Immortal Cultivators—Yin Jiuji, Zhao Jingang, Feng Datong, and Wang Momei—each sat on one side, joining forces to execute the Cloud Riding Technique, flying toward the outskirts of Luolong County at maximum speed.

"It is said that Meng Yifan is merely a Fifth-grade Lower-tier Immortal Cultivator; how did he manage to finish off the Level 5 Peak Great Demon Ao Bi'an?" Feng Datong asked, puzzled.

He was also a Fifth-grade Lower-tier Immortal Cultivator and had once crossed paths with Ao Bi'an, only to be severely wounded after holding out for two moves; had it not been for Yin Jiuji's timely rescue, Feng Datong would have perished right then.

And that was even with Ao Bi'an not having unleashed his World Prototype; otherwise, Feng Datong likely wouldn't have survived a single move.

It was precisely because he had fought Ao Bi'an that Feng Datong knew all the better how terrifying Ao Bi'an was.

When he learned that Ao Bi'an had taken Lang Batian to go cause trouble for Meng Yifan, Feng Datong thought Meng Yifan was surely dead, yet the final result left him dumbfounded.

Not only did Meng Yifan not die, but he had instead blown Ao Bi'an to death; this was simply an Arabian Nights tale, the greatest absurdity under Heaven.

"Haha, why bother with all that? No matter how Meng Yifan managed it, I, old Zhao, respect him as a hero. Have you forgotten how many human cities Ao Bi'an slaughtered? At least over a million humans died miserably under his claws. Meng Yifan finishing off Ao Bi'an can be considered avenging those million-plus humans."

Zhao Jingang admired Meng Yifan endlessly; among the Level 5 Great Demons outside Dongzhou City, Ao Bi'an was the most deranged, and his favorite thing to do was slaughter cities.

Zhao Jingang had a temperament like raging fire and had long hated Ao Bi'an to the bone; in the several clashes between human and Demon Beast experts, it was always Zhao Jingang who used his Earth-style Cultivation Method to go head-to-head with Ao Bi'an.

Zhao Jingang had strong defensive power, but the disparity in strength between the two was vast, and every time he was beaten until his bones were broken and tendons snapped.

However, Zhao Jingang's Supernatural Secret Art was very unique, exceptionally resistant to beatings, and his battlefield survivability was high; he was like a piece of dog-skin plaster—as long as he had a breath left, he would pester Ao Bi'an, preventing Ao Bi'an from joining forces with another Level 5 Peak Demon Beast to surround and attack Yin Jiuji.

It was precisely because Zhao Jingang could desperately pester Ao Bi'an that the battles between humans and the Demon Race within Dongzhou Province did not present a one-sided situation.

"Meng Yifan is human after all. If he is willing to join forces with us, we could crush the Level 5 Great Demons of Dongzhou Province. Elder Yin, regardless of whether Meng Yifan is a reincarnated great power, and regardless of whether there is Innate Spirit Essence within his Divine Soul Origin, we must not make an enemy of Meng Yifan. If we force him to join forces with the Demon Race, all four of us will die without a burial ground."

Wang Momei stared at Yin Jiuji and said with deep meaning.

Wang Momei was a Fifth-grade High-level Immortal Cultivator, her strength second only to Yin Jiuji; she had long seen that Yin Jiuji's lifespan was nearing its end, and he was also very interested in the Innate Spirit Essence within Meng Yifan's body.

But now, with the great enemy of the Demon Race before them, they absolutely must not have a conflict with Meng Yifan, otherwise, the human situation in Dongzhou would be in dire jeopardy.

More importantly, Wang Momei was even more interested in the World Source; if they could join forces with Meng Yifan, human experts could gain the upper hand over the Demon Race experts in this Secret Realm exploration, and perhaps they could be the first to obtain the World Origin.

Yin Jiuji looked at Wang Momei with some dissatisfaction, light flickering in his eyes, emitting waves of cold, gloomy aura.

Wang Momei did not show weakness, her eyes suffused with a deep blue luster, like a pair of bottomless clear springs.

The two pairs of eyes locked for a moment, and two powerful energies collided, causing the surrounding space to ripple, a suffocating sense of oppression enveloping the area.

Zhao Jingang and Feng Datong were both terrified, fearing that these two big shots would start fighting.

"Hmph! Elder Wang should just mind herself. This old man knows how to do things; I don't need you to teach me." Yin Jiuji snorted coldly, turned his head, and ignored Wang Momei.

The speed of the Fifth-grade experts' Cloud Riding Technique was very fast; before long, the human and Demon Race Fifth-grade experts entered the territory of Dongchuan Prefecture and saw that massive scroll covering the sky and sun.

"Eh! Is that a Cloud Thunder Spirit Fruit?" Yin Jiuji stared in surprise at the scroll, where in a ruined mountain range, there was a tree over thirty meters tall, wreathed in clouds and mist.

The mountain wind blew, the clouds and mist shifted, revealing the tree's bare branches and the three fruits of varying sizes growing at the top of the tree.

The smallest fruit was only the size of a thumb, its skin green, while another fruit was the size of a walnut, its skin half green and half golden-yellow.

The largest fruit was the size of a fist and was entirely golden-yellow; even more surprising was that this golden-yellow fruit seemed to be breathing, constantly expanding and contracting, and between each contraction, a bolt of purple lightning circled around the fruit, shining brilliantly and standing out from the rest.

"There is actually a ripe Cloud Thunder Spirit Fruit in the Secret Realm; this is truly great. If I can consume this Cloud Thunder Spirit Fruit, my lifespan can be extended by a hundred years." Yin Jiuji made up his mind that no matter what, he had to snatch the Cloud Thunder Spirit Fruit.

Soon, the human Fifth-grade Immortal Cultivators arrived first at the Valley outside Luolong City and felt the nuclear radiation that was everywhere in the surroundings.

Two Mushroom Bombs and one Hydrogen Balloon had been detonated here in succession, the explosive yield greater each time, and the nuclear radiation within this Valley had reached an astonishing level.

If an ordinary person approached within three kilometers of this Valley, they would soon become dizzy, vomit, have diarrhea, and even get cancer; if an ordinary person walked into this Valley, they would die completely in less than a minute.

Even a Martial Artist below the Third Grade would suffer fatal injuries if they stayed in this Valley for too long.

This Valley had already become a forbidden zone and would remain barren for many years; only experts above the Fourth Grade could ignore the nuclear radiation and survive within the Valley.

The remains of Ao Bi'an were scattered everywhere in the Valley, and Ao Bi'an's skull was being placed on Meng Yifan's fingertip, spinning constantly.

Meng Yifan doing this was precisely to intimidate these Fifth-grade experts.

Many experts now thought that Meng Yifan had Innate Spirit Essence on him, and everyone wanted to snatch it; if everyone swarmed him, Meng Yifan and the brothers Lang Batian really couldn't hold them off.

But looking at Ao Bi'an's skull, these experts would have to weigh things in their hearts before making a move.

If they made a move, would they end up with the same fate as Ao Bi'an?

Yin Jiuji looked at the scattered remains of Ao Bi'an on the ground, then looked at the skull in Meng Yifan's hand, feeling his heart jump with fear.

Even if he unleashed his full strength, he could only barely fight Ao Bi'an to a draw, yet now Ao Bi'an had been finished off by Meng Yifan.

Meng Yifan being able to finish off Ao Bi'an meant he could also finish off him, Yin Jiuji.

Therefore, although the energy fluctuation on Meng Yifan was only Fifth-grade Middle Tier, it made the Fifth-grade Peak Yin Jiuji extremely wary.