Chapter 268: Incomparably Hard

"Sister, I deserve this fate for the situation I have fallen into."

Senior Sister Zhong's voice was like weeping and pleading: "Sister, I do not ask that you save us; your own safety is what is most important."

"Follow Young Master Lu well. If you can get out safely, please inform the elders of our clan so they may save us and allow our souls to enter the cycle of reincarnation."

Her physical body had already shattered; she only wished to enter the cycle of reincarnation.

Regrettably, she was controlled by this mulberry tree and unable to enter the cycle of reincarnation; this was the most painful thing of all.

"......"

Guo Zhuying's lips trembled, "How could it be, like this!"

Afterward, her expression became resolute: "Rest assured, I will definitely be able to save you all and get you out!"

Although she appeared cold and heartless on the surface, her heart was still very fragile, and she valued kinship and the camaraderie of her fellow disciples deeply.

The divine souls of over a dozen fellow disciples could not enter the cycle of reincarnation; no matter what, she had to take action.

Hum!

A sharp Sword Intent suddenly erupted from Guo Zhuying's body, and the surrounding air also turned icy cold.

Clang!

Her precious sword left its scabbard, ready to strike.

Lu Tianyu flashed to stand in front of Guo Zhuying: "Guo Zhuying, do not act alone; let us all join forces."

"This mulberry tree is strange; the true situation may not be as it seems."

"The mulberry tree controls their divine souls precisely to lure you into saving them, and then it will strike at you."

"Let us attack together and chop down this great mulberry tree!"

Guo Zhuying shook her head expressionlessly: "I know it is dangerous, but their divine souls are indeed being controlled; I cannot not save them."

"This matter was caused by me, so it should be handled by me; I cannot implicate you all!"

Her attitude was firm: "I have life-saving means given to me by my grandfather; at worst, I will use them."

Lu Tianyu knew her stubborn temper had flared up again and shook his head slightly: "You certainly cannot do it alone."

"Your senior brother and the others, over a dozen people, all had life-saving means and it was useless, let alone you by yourself!"

"You are throwing your life away, not saving people!"

"Listen to me, move further away first, and we will search for its weakness."

Hearing Lu Tianyu say this, the surging emotions of vengeance in Guo Zhuying faded significantly: "Many thanks, Young Master Lu!"

"Let me attack first to test it; if that fails, you all can strike."

As she spoke, she moved her figure and directly unleashed the Rainstorm Pear Blossom Sword.

Clang, clang, clang~

Countless sword Qi rushed toward the trunk of the great mulberry tree like scattered flowers from a goddess.

The sound of ding, ding, ding rang out as thousands of sword Qi struck the trunk and then vanished.

Looking again, not even a single trace had been left on the trunk.

Guo Zhuying was instantly stunned!

Although she had not used her full strength just now, using only eighty percent of her power, she had not even managed to pierce the skin of the great mulberry tree.

It was certain that an all-out attack would have the same result; it was impossible to break through the great mulberry tree's defense.

Seeing this, Ben Jieming shouted loudly: "Sword formation, kill!"

He gathered the power of the seven-person sword formation and slashed a sword toward the trunk of the great mulberry tree.

A ten-zhang-long sword Qi carried a sharp edge, and this space seemed to be torn open.

Yet regrettably, the sword Qi struck the great mulberry tree with a muffled boom.

Everyone looked over in unison and saw a shallow sword mark appear on the great mulberry tree, half a foot from the ground.

But this sword mark lasted for less than three breaths before it vanished, as if it had never appeared at all.

"This......"

Ben Jieming and the other six were instantly dumbfounded.

Ben Jieming had just unleashed the strongest combat power the seven-person sword formation could muster, yet it had only managed to carve out an insignificant sword mark.

This was truly too disappointing!

Shangguan Yu'er gritted her teeth and took out two black beads: "Everyone move aside, and watch the power of my Heavenly Mystery Sect's Thunderbolt Bead!"

After everyone retreated, she immediately threw the two Thunderbolt Beads into the tree canopy.

She felt that the tree body was not easy to damage, so it would be better to try blowing up the branches.

For such a large tree, if the top were blown away, it would also severely wound the great mulberry tree.

Boom, boom!

Two earth-shattering roars rang out, and a strange thing happened once again.

A crimson blood light emitted from the mulberry tree, but it flashed once and disappeared.

The mulberry tree's canopy only rustled and shook a few times, and then it remained motionless.

The great mulberry tree seemed not to have been hit by the Thunderbolt Beads at all; not even a single leaf had fallen.

"Hiss——"

Everyone gasped in unison: "How is this possible! Is the defense of this great mulberry tree too formidable?"

They had used their strongest attacks, yet they hadn't even managed to knock down a single leaf; the disparity was simply too great.

A thick sense of frustration rose in their hearts.

If things continued like this, they would never be able to break the mulberry tree's defense.

Finally, they all looked toward Lu Tianyu.

Just at this moment, an aged, low voice rang out: "A bunch of little brats, your attacks don't even qualify to scratch an itch for me; you truly disappoint me."

"I have been here for many years, constantly harassed by insects, so I first looked for someone who could scratch an itch for me."

"Those stupid demonic beasts wouldn't do, so I thought you humans would surely have a way, but after all these years, I have discovered that you humans are even worse than demonic beasts and do not possess the qualifications to scratch an itch for me."

"Forget it, forget it, I won't look for someone to scratch an itch for me anymore; wouldn't it be better if I just killed and ate all of you now that you've come!"

As the voice faded, the great mulberry tree began to tremble, and the leaves upon it flew out with a swishing sound, surrounding everyone tightly.

Buzz, buzz, buzz~

The scenery before their eyes shifted, and everyone unexpectedly appeared in a pitch-black space, without a sliver of light.

An extremely thick, bloody stench rushed toward them, making everyone dizzy and nauseated.

"Hahaha!"

"This is my Xue Ku; having the fortune to see my Xue Ku is a blessing you cultivated in your past lives, so enjoy it to your heart's content—your time is running out!"

Amidst a rumbling sound, the earth shook and the mountains swayed!

Above everyone's heads, a large, blood-red eyeball suddenly appeared, shooting out a dark red light that illuminated the entire Xue Ku.

"Ah!"

When everyone saw the situation before them clearly, they all widened their eyes and screamed in terror.

They moved toward Lu Tianyu one after another, trembling all over from fear, and had to support each other just to stand.

Ye Lingyun narrowed his eyes slightly.

This was a massive Xue Ku, and one could not see where its edges were at all.

The thick, bloody stench had almost condensed into a physical substance, floating in countless wisps that were within arm's reach.

The place where they stood was a blood-colored protrusion, not very large, but just enough to accommodate everyone.

Before them was a boundless Blood Pool, where fresh, viscous blood was constantly churning and boiling, as if it were being cooked.

A gurgling sound rang out incessantly as bubbles rose one after another from the Blood Pool, popping in the air with a 'pop, pop, pop' sound; it looked quite spectacular.

"Hahaha!"

The loud laughter rang out from overhead: "I'll give you one hour; once you've enjoyed enough, I will make my move!"