Chapter 619: Corpse-Release Immortal

"Thus have I heard: when the Great Destroyer descended, the three thousand Buddhist realms and countless living beings all perished..."

Amidst the earthquake-like trampling sounds, chants of sutras rose one by one.

Even amidst infinite noise, they remained crystal clear.

Then, from the deep pit in the ground, a thousand-armed Bodhisattva statue suddenly emerged!

"The true Yang Shen has appeared!"

Fang Xing stared at Bai Fa Wang's "Thousand-Armed White Bodhisattva Yang Shen" and suddenly felt a chill of dread.

The thousand-armed Bodhisattva statue appeared half-destroyed, with at least hundreds of arms broken; its body was riddled with wounds, one eye long gone, half its mouth twisted into a peculiar smile.

The hundreds of arms of the maimed Bodhisattva suddenly slammed down, each gripping different seals, some holding wooden fish, prayer beads, demon-subduing staves, pure vases, willow branches—other ritual implements—flinging countless millennia-old tree men into the air.

"A high-level completion of the Annihilation Ritual!"

Fang Xing, witnessing this, murmured to himself.

The upper echelons of the Killing Sect had also undergone the "Annihilation Ritual"—and even more of them, far more brutal!

Yet, they had already reached Yang Shen cultivation; normally, they used their Yang Shen to repair their flesh bodies, appearing no different from ordinary people.

Only when unleashing their full combat power and revealing their true Yang Shen forms did they appear in such maimed states.

Of course, to these Killing Sect disciples, such maiming might even be seen as a mark of merit and honor.

"They say the Left Messenger's Yang Shen resembles a flesh body—could it be his five viscera?"

"But this still isn't the ultimate destruction. Only when the Yang Shen is killed, then reborn from death through 'Divine Liberation,' does one become a Semi-God—Corpse-Release Immortal."

This step was clearly extremely difficult.

It was one thing for the flesh body's vitality to cease—but if the Yuan Shen's vitality also vanished, how could one ever revive?

Thus, even now, the Killing Sect had only one Semi-God—Corpse-Release Immortal as its sect master.

If the Left and Right Messengers underwent the final Annihilation-Divine Liberation Ritual, the most likely outcome would be immediate death, leaving nothing behind...

These thoughts passed in an instant.

Fang Xing, in his Qiu Long body, soared through the clouds and unleashed another Divine Dragon's Tail strike.

Crack!

Dozens of the Thousand-Armed White Bodhisattva's arms shattered, yet Bai Fa Wang let out a mad laugh and lunged toward the White Jade Qiu Long.

"I declare..."

Fang Xing, soaring like a dragon in heaven, proclaimed in a solemn voice: "You are the enemy of Nature!"

Boom!

In an instant, bolts of lightning rained down, turning the surroundings into a lightning hell.

Countless electric flashes exploded, severing countless Bodhisattva arms.

Then, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, tornadoes—various "natural disasters"—phantasmal shadows appeared and struck the Thousand-Armed White Bodhisattva.

Puff!

The Yang Shen form of the Thousand-Armed White Bodhisattva instantly collapsed, revealing Bai Fa Wang's true form.

The stunning woman spat blood from her lips, unconscious, and was caught in the arms of a millennia-old tree man.

Vines instantly climbed up, forming a vine ball that completely sealed Bai Fa Wang.

These peculiar vines possessed inherent toughness and the ability to drain magical power; they were hard to destroy and continuously siphoned Bai Fa Wang's cultivation, acting as a seal, reinforced by a ring of millennia-old tree men guarding around her—ensuring she could not escape.

Fang Xing shed his Wildform and landed on the ground.

He glanced at a vast ruin and smiled: "Come out..."

"Grandmaster Fang..."

Fei Yong stepped forward, his face filled with reverence: "I never imagined... you've already ascended to Yang Shen?"

As for the transformation into a dragon, Fei Yong found it unremarkable.

After all, in the lands beyond the realm, many transformation arts existed—some even allowed one to don dog or tiger pelts and become a dog demon or tiger demon through the "Painted Skin Art!"

Of course, a snake skin with such dense dragon blood was exceedingly rare.

"But what do we do next?"

Fei Yong looked outside, his face filled with worry: "The force that came here was only a detachment of the Killing Sect's army—the main force remains intact..."

"We still negotiate."

Fang Xing smiled at Fei Yong: "I appoint you as envoy—go and speak with the Killing Sect. Earlier, they ignored a small squad; now that a Yang Shen guardian stands before them, perhaps they'll offer a price..."

Fei Yong: "..."

After sending Fei Yong off to risk his life, Fang Xing went to the battlefield.

The earth was split open, countless trees toppled.

He sighed, then stomped his left foot.

Boom!

The earth's wounds sealed shut instantly, and countless seeds of grass and flowers fell.

Under the Druid's care, the once-barren land was instantly covered in lawn.

Flowers of countless colors bloomed.

Had one not witnessed it before, no one would believe a Yang Shen battle had just occurred here.

After completing this, Fang Xing approached the tree man that sealed Bai Fa Wang: "Thank you for your efforts."

The tree man immediately extended a branch, like a ladder, allowing Fang Xing to reach the vine ball.

Vines curled back like pythons, revealing Bai Fa Wang's head.

"I hope this works."

In Fang Xing's eyes, two green lights emerged, piercing into Bai Fa Wang's eyes.

As a high-ranking member of the Killing Sect, Bai Fa Wang naturally knew many top-secret secrets of the sect.

But forcing her to speak was no easy task.

Yang Shen cultivators guarded their thoughts with unwavering focus, making soul-searching extremely difficult. Fortunately, mind-control techniques were not soul-searching—they relied mostly on suggestion.

Moreover, Bai Fa Wang had already been captured and could be manipulated at will.

News of the battle at Qingmu Ridge spread quickly.

According to Fang Xing's intelligence, Fei Yong was captured upon arriving at Yunlai Market and thrown into the Killing Sect's camp—his fate unknown, whether he'd be tortured or not.

The Killing Sect's camp remained stationed at Yunlai Market, seemingly hesitating whether to attack the Blood Shadow Sect or the Upper Divine Palace next—or whether to first deal with this thorn in their side.

What of the Top Ten Orthodox and Heretical Sects?

Several fearless ones had contacted him, even promising to make him one of the new Top Ten, on the condition he fully obstruct the Killing Sect's advance.

Yet, from Qingmu Ridge itself, Qingmu Lao Zu had remained silent—perhaps out of shame.

Fang Xing didn't care about any of this.

He seized every moment, expending cultivation energy daily to accelerate the growth of Changqing Trees—so long as it didn't cost him experience points, he kept planting.

Not a single word, not a single line, not a single detail was missed!

One had to admit: status determined what one could accomplish, entirely differently.

When he was merely the manager of Qingyu Garden, he dared only to plant trees in the valley, and never dared to accelerate growth beyond a few years.

As Deputy Head of Shennong Hall, he could plant trees in the neglected corners of entire ridges.

Now, as Lord of Qingmu Ridge, he could plant wherever he pleased—even if he planted Changqing Trees atop Qingmu Lao Zu's ancestral graves, no one would dare object.

This caused his tree-planting experience to skyrocket daily.

Conservatively estimated, in a few more years, he might break through the legendary barrier.

But clearly, this was too slow.

No faction would give him so much time to grow.

One day.

Fang Xing came as usual to the tree man that sealed Bai Fa Wang.

He activated his mind-control technique; Bai Fa Wang, once resolute, now had a dazed, unfocused gaze.

"Progress?"

"It seems yesterday's 'Soul-Dissolving Powder' really worked..."

As a plant-based Druid, occasionally studying herbs and doubling as an herbalist was perfectly reasonable.

The 'Soul-Dissolving Powder' excelled at dissolving spiritual power—it was a concoction Fang Xing developed out of boredom, by cultivating mutated spiritual herbs in Qingyu Garden, collecting them, and blending them.

In this Zhou world, it was a one-of-a-kind mind-altering drug.

Combined with the mind-control technique, he finally broke Bai Fa Wang's resistance.

She was one of the Killing Sect's Four Guardian Deities—she knew far too many secrets.

"What's your name? Where are you from?"

Fang Xing spoke, his voice low, avoiding her core secrets, beginning with superficial details and gradually delving deeper.

"Oh? You knew Hei Fa Wang well? What were his abilities?"

Moments later.

Fang Xing descended from a tree branch, his expression thoughtful.

He was very careful not to ask many questions about the deity, and even when the topic arose, he only approached it obliquely.

But taken together, the information he gathered was enough to stir unease in him:

"Has the deity of the Killing Sect run into trouble?"

"Their god hasn't responded to believers in a long time—if not for the fact that destruction sacrifices still grant divine favor, the Killing Sect might have already disbanded…"

"Precisely because of this, even after achieving brilliant victories, the Killing Sect has decided to shift part of its focus to the Outer Lands."

This Outer Land could also be called the 'Land Abandoned by the Gods.'

"This time, the Killing Sect's army is formidable…"

"The Black Dharma King is manageable—at most a Yangshen Mid-Stage cultivator, with one powerful chessboard artifact…"

"The real concern is the Left Messenger—Poisonous Hand Scholar!"

"This man isn't just a Yangshen Late-Stage cultivator—he has already sacrificed his five viscera and six bowels, and even his physical body, and is also a 'Divine Envoy'…"

A Divine Envoy represents the will of the deity, and may also be called a 'Divine Chosen' or 'Elect.'

If cornered, one can even invoke 'Divine Descent' to wield a portion of the Destruction Power!

Not to mention, he wields a divine artifact—the Hammer of Destruction!

This divine artifact possesses immense destructive power; when fueled by divine energy, it can withstand even a Half-God—Corpse Liberation Immortal for a long time.

"Within the Killing Sect, there are eight ranks: ordinary believers, priests, temple attendants, sacrificers, Grand Sacrificers, Protectors, Messengers, and the Sect Master… Advancement depends entirely on faith and loyalty, and the quantity of destruction offerings sacrificed…"

"Generally speaking, a Grand Sacrificer is the absolute leader of faith in a region."

"Yet for a mere Outer Land, they've sent a Messenger…"

Fang Xing shook his head, unsure whether to feel relieved or terrified.

He actually hoped the White Dharma King would unleash divine power, just so he could witness it.

To be honest, if not for his bloodline backup of the 'Flesh and Blood Regeneration' spiritual skill, he likely would have fled already.

After all, from any angle, choosing to hold fast to Qingmu Ridge now seems unwise.

(End of Chapter)