Chapter 324: One Wave Not Yet Subsided, Another Rises

The Wuji Hall was shrouded in a strange black object; it was unclear whether it was a piece of witchcraft or some magical artifact, but the people on the martial arts arena had no time to care. After all, the falling fire was scattering, and the disciples were already unable to look after themselves.

Liu Xia naturally saw the situation at the Wuji Hall as well. Lingxiang and Long Qi had both gone there, and now, seeing it in this state, he could not help but feel worried.

However, now was not the time to be distracted. It was unknown what had happened in the sky, but after a flash of light, a great deal of heavenly fire had inexplicably flown out. Although this heavenly fire did indeed smash many of the Demon Race to death, the disciples of the Yuanqing Sect and the Taishang Sect had suffered the same fate.

The heavenly fire continued incessantly, and the rumbling in the mountains never ceased, but the miserable screams of those disciples were even more piercing.

Fire was already raging all around the practitioners. Even a single disciple could extinguish such flames by pinching a finger incantation. However, with the fire falling continuously and a constant stream of demon creatures at their sides, everyone was unable to look after themselves and could only let this great fire spread.

Everyone had already lost their composure; if things continued like this, would it not get worse and worse?

No, it cannot go on like this!

Seeing Liu Xia dodge a bolt of heavenly fire and then slay a demon creature, he faced the scorching wind, planted his feet in a horse stance, and began to pinch hand incantations while holding the Huasheng Sword.

A stream of energy burst forth from Liu Xia's entire body, and then everyone felt the surroundings suddenly dim, as if they were inside a huge shadow. Following that shadow, they saw that a towering giant tree had inexplicably appeared on the martial arts arena.

It was impossible to say exactly what kind of tree it was, only that the leaves were lush and green, the bark resembled snake skin, and the vines were winding and twisting. It looked full of vitality, and one could almost faintly hear the chirping of birds among the branches, but following the branches, this tree actually had no trunk.

The part that should have been the trunk was actually Liu Xia, who was firmly planted in a horse stance.

Everyone was astonished at the sight, sighing at what kind of witchcraft this was to be so spectacular.

In fact, this was no strange art or bizarre incantation; it was simply Liu Xia manifesting the true form of the Huasheng Sword.

West of the Juyu, above the Weak Water, there is a tree of great stature; its shape is like an ox, its skin can be pulled, the skin is like a tassel or a snake, the leaves are like a sieve, the fruit is like a luan, and the wood is like a gui; it is called the Jianmu.

In the West Kunlun Void, there is a tree called the Muhe; its shape is like an umbrella, its stem is like scales, it bears fruit once every thousand years, and eating it grants immortality; it is called the Immortality Tree.

It is rumored that the Jianmu is a Divine Tree that connects heaven and earth, and the ancient emperors all descended to the mortal world through the Jianmu. The Immortality Tree is a Divine Tree on Kunlun Mountain, owned by Xiwangmu.

Both of these are innate Spirit Roots. When Wuwei Laozu was traveling in his early years, he obtained the seeds of both trees by chance. Although he did not know exactly what they were, he saw that they were overflowing with Spirit Qi, so he refined the two seeds together. On the forty-ninth day, a sword broke out of the cauldron; that was the Huasheng Sword.

Furthermore, during the battle at Ding'anju, Liu Xia understood what Chengxin Zhenren had said and accepted the Huasheng Sword. Thus, in his spare time, he attempted to achieve Spirit Communication with the Huasheng Sword, which was when he discovered its formidable power.

However, although he was amazed in his heart, he had never used it before. This was the first time, and he had not expected it to be so powerful.

The branches were incredibly vigorous, constantly spreading and scattering. As it spread, leaf after leaf shook and grew, moving without wind, but strangely, despite such dense foliage, there was not the slightest sound.

Never mind the branches and leaves; wherever the foliage covered, it was incredibly silent beneath the tree. Whether it was the roars of demon creatures or the painful cries of the wounded, there was not a single sound.

Strange, truly strange.

However, it was thanks to Liu Xia that the continuous falling fire from the sky and the endless stream of demon monsters were all blocked out one by one. The disciples present finally had a chance to catch their breath, and after slaying the remaining demon creatures, they either treated the wounded or performed arts to extinguish the fire.

However, although he was releasing the true form of the Huasheng Sword, at its core, it was still guided by Liu Xia's own Spirit Power. Yet, Liu Xia had only just stepped into the Foundation Establishment realm, so doing this was extremely taxing.

Liu Xia knelt on one knee, forcing himself to support the giant tree. Although not a sound could be heard beneath the giant tree, he could feel the vibrations of the falling fire striking outside the giant tree through his hands.

Looking at it this way, the falling fire was still continuing, so he could not stop. But given his cultivation, he feared he would not be able to hold on for long.

It was at this moment that a palm strike landed on Liu Xia's back. He immediately felt much lighter. Looking back, it was Huiyan who was channeling Spirit Power, and behind him, more people were constantly coming forward to help.

Whether in blue or gray, even though their Daoist Robe styles were different, they were all doing their utmost to support Liu Xia. Although no one spoke, at this moment, silence spoke louder than words.

The disciples each performed their own duties, doing what they were supposed to do. Everything looked calm and peaceful, but in the dark not far away, a pair of eyes was staring fiercely at Liu Xia.

Although those eyes were bloodshot, they were a dark brown, unlike a normal person's, as if they had been dead for a long time. Yet, the surging murderous intent in them made one feel as if they had fallen into the depths of winter, shivering with fear.

These eyes were full of hatred and unwillingness, yet they also seemed to hold an inexplicable excitement and madness.

Just as everyone's spirits were relaxed, the person in the dark suddenly lunged out, charging straight toward Liu Xia.

It was silent under the tree, and Liu Xia was concentrating fully on maintaining the true form of the Huasheng Sword, so he did not notice the impending danger at all. Huiyan did see it, but he did not know who the person was; the attacker had a strange appearance and a fierce expression, and with the ferocity of the charge, Huiyan did not react in time. By the time he came to his senses, it was already too late.

If he withdrew his strength now, not only would Liu Xia suffer internal injuries, but the group of people behind him would likely suffer a backlash as well.

The person who had come was none other than Huiwu, and the reason Huiyan did not recognize him was that Huiwu's face had changed drastically after falling into the demonic path, which was why he could not identify him.

How could he have known he would see Huiwu again, and how could he have known that this person would fall into the demonic path?

Seeing the attacker getting closer and closer, what was to be done?

Huiyan was overwhelmed with emotions, and Huiwu was also incredibly insane. Although he could not make a sound, he still opened his mouth and roared: "I'm going to succeed! I'm going to succeed!"

Just at this lightning-fast moment, just as Huiwu's sharp claws were about to strike Liu Xia, a figure blocked his path.

Huiwu had thought he was about to succeed, but he did not expect a streak of ink to flash before his eyes. Just as he was distracted, his eagle-like sharp claws slammed into a Talisman Array.

That Talisman Array seemed to have been drawn out of thin air; the ink marks were clearly visible, flowing and moving incessantly, forming a wall.

Liu Xia naturally saw Huiwu at this time, but he had not expected Huiwu to suddenly attack. Previously outside Ding'anju, Liu Xia had also exhausted all his efforts to force him back, but if it were Banxia, he feared...

Banxia only had Body Tempering cultivation!

Perhaps in response to Liu Xia's thoughts, as Huiwu's sharp claws embedded into it, the Talisman Array developed cracks.

The cracks continued to spread, and although there was no sound, Liu Xia felt as if he could hear the crisp sound of breaking.

"Crack... crack..."

Like the surface of ice shattering, it was heart-wrenching.

Sure enough, Banxia could finally no longer hold on. The wall of ink talismans shattered violently, and a pair of sharp claws pierced into Banxia's body.

"Banxia!"