Chapter 334

BOOM!!!

Zuqiu Yang formed a hand seal with his right hand, summoning a phantom light in the void.

That phantom light took the shape of a book, a combat technique evolved from the Heavenly Scripture.

Vast energy surged like flickering heavenly flames, instantly illuminating the dark forest as bright as daylight.

At the same moment, the three Grand Masters of Shanhai Pavilion, the two Primaries of Lingjian Mountain, the two Palace Lords of Wenda Sect, the three Elders of the Chen Clan, and Lord Chai Hu of Changsheng Palace—eleven perfected Upper Fifth Realm cultivators—moved as one.

Eyebrow swords trembled the void, divine thunder coalescing from heavenly light…

The layers of clouds in the sky shattered instantly under the residual shockwaves, and heaven and earth continued to hum.

Those chasing behind them could barely open their eyes; even those with powerful spiritual senses felt needle-like pain at a single glance.

Yet amid that sky-splitting killing art, the dozen figures emerging from the forest stood like unshakable mountains, pressing forward with rolling black-red energy.

The earth trembled, as if a subterranean dragon had turned over; the quaking ground sent countless cultivators stumbling backward, their bodies wreathed in swirling dark light as they struggled against the crushing pressure.

The ensuing battle turned the nine heavens crimson.

Countless heavenly thunderbolts crushed down upon the black-red tide, only for it to rapidly coalesce again, as massive palms wrapped in thick smoke relentlessly slammed downward.

Perfected Upper Fifth Realm is the strongest realm ordinary cultivators of this age can attain.

At this realm, the stages of Spiritual Penetration, Dao Integration, Heaven Response, Boundless, and Soul Travel are refined into perfect harmony; the Dao itself now clings to them, placing them beyond the Upper Fifth Realm's scope.

In an instant, those dozens of towering figures vanished from their spots.

Yet the magnificent divine light did not dissipate—it continued to clash violently with the overwhelming black-red tide.

To the west, downstream of the endless Wujiang River lies the Great Wilderness Forest.

Amid the chaotic battle shaking all directions, Zuqiu Yang landed atop the mountain peak, golden light stirring in his eyes; his spiritual sense surged forward, struggling through dense malevolence toward the mountain, heading for that aura of the Linxian Realm.

The other greats also surged in from battle, landing one after another on the mountain, their eyes glowing with golden light.

After the Qiling Incident, all knew that malevolent energy naturally suppressed human cultivators.

Especially the higher one's cultivation base, the stronger the suppression.

But fortunately, they only needed to watch.

Along this journey, countless disciples from noble houses and academies had been watching for him, spotting enemies and drawing out ambushes.

Now, he began to watch for others.

Above the myriad mountain ridges, as countless spiritual senses pierced through the malevolence, an even more terrifying aura arrived from the south.

With the appearance of this aura, the gloomy, yellowish sky suddenly brightened—as if mist had cleared and the sun emerged, instantly sweeping away gloom and oppression.

But this brightness did not cease—it grew blinding in an instant.

Beneath the clouds, heavenly light surged and gathered, forming a vast phantom disc that spun like a vortex radiating golden light.

Indeed, there must be a Linxian Realm within the ruins.

Though none dared to imagine it during this journey, the fact was undeniable.

After all, during the days of Qiling, the Zheng family's patriarch had demonstrated the Linxian Realm's power to the world.

They needed to see him—to draw down the Dao's power through the Sacred Artifact.

High above, a terrifying figure bore the white light, surging with murderous intent.

As Zuqiu Yang and others forcibly breached the Great Wilderness Forest, the ten corrupted perfected Upper Fifth Realm cultivators pursued them, enveloped in endless black-red energy.

Chai Hu, Lord of Changsheng Palace, brought up his palm slightly from the rear; boundless divine light began to brew within him, finally coalescing into a massive ring behind his back.

Suddenly, air from all directions was sliced apart, as if peeled from the heavens, each cut marked by clear boundaries.

As his left hand descended, a crushing force fell from above, instantly silencing the swirling sands and the thick black-red tide with explosive pressure.

This was the field-art Chai Hu cultivated—his palm-flip could make heaven tilt.

At this moment, he held all four directions, his expression shifting from inscrutable to strained, yet he still struggled to sustain it, waiting for the divine light to descend.

But the long-prepared murderous intent never landed.

At this moment, the perfected Upper Fifth Realm cultivators surrounding the Great Wilderness Forest changed expression.

Deep within the boundless ruins, at the place once named Central Sacred Mountain, lay a monster—or rather, a pool of monster.

Its entire body was chaotic flesh, immense as a colossal serpent coiled upon the mountain.

Yet its flesh had withered, and if one must describe it, it resembled a string of dried grapes.

But countless present cultivators could clearly imagine its once-swollen form, for the Zheng family's patriarch had once achieved this grotesque physique.

The Linxian aura Zuqiu Yang and others sensed among the trees had come from it—but the problem was, this monster was near death, its aura barely lingering.

"Something like the Zheng patriarch? How did it become this?"

Chai Hu could not help but stare.

Zuqiu Yang spoke gravely: "They stirred up so much chaos—they couldn't have done it just to raise a half-dead monster."

"Could it have failed?"

"It was drained dry."

Zuqiu Yang turned to Chai Hu: "Do you remember what Ji You said about the Bai family?"

Chai Hu's eyes narrowed instantly: "Someone used it to achieve the Linxian Realm."

"We thought they needed time, which is why they fiercely blocked our approach to the ruins—but now it's clear they succeeded long ago, yet never revealed themselves."

"They caused such chaos across the world… just to become a Linxian who dares not show his face?"

Zuqiu Yang paused, then suddenly froze: "Where are the pursuers?"

Chai Hu snapped back, turning to look behind—and saw a violent explosion of black light far off.

That location was where they had flown in, where the disciples of the immortal sects now stood.

Deep in the dense forest, countless elders of the immortal sects had been reduced to blood rain under the crushing blows of perfected Upper Fifth Realm cultivators; the remaining disciples opened their eyes wide in despair under the overwhelming pressure.

They didn't know why their own greats had vanished, nor why the enemy's perfected Upper Fifth Realm cultivators had suddenly surged in to kill them.

Ji You was blasted a hundred zhang by the shockwave, crashing through several ancient trees before barely stopping, his face filled with stunned disbelief.

Actually, when the divine light surged high above, he had already breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Because, as he had told Ding Yao, their mission was merely to scout the ruins and purge the demonic seeds, forcing the demons to reveal themselves—but they had no part in the final battle.

And indeed, as he had predicted, when the Linxian aura in the mountain appeared, a sect-master-level figure hidden behind the scenes had acted.

Logically, those perfected Upper Fifth Realm demons should have fought desperately to prevent their approach to the ruins—but he never imagined they had abandoned their own lords and returned to slaughter them.

They were mere pawns, incapable of deciding anything major—he couldn't understand why the perfected Upper Fifth Realm cultivators were so determined to kill them.

"Father…"

At this moment, Bai Rulong's face turned deathly pale.

For amid the rising malevolence, he had finally seen his father.

When he left home, his father had been only at Soul Travel Realm—now he had reached perfected Upper Fifth Realm.

BOOM!!!!!

Bai Zhengze struck out in horror, his gathered black light instantly slaughtering disciples of Wenda Sect, Shanhai Pavilion, and others.

In the powerful palm force, Shang Xiyao and Huo Xingzhong crashed to the ground, buried deep in craters, blood pouring from their mouths, eyes tightly clenched.

Bai Zhengze walked coldly through the blood-soaked ruins of corpses, then lightly pointed—three imitation Sacred Artifacts instantly vibrated and hummed, as if struggling desperately, sparks of divine light flying.

But they were not true Sacred Artifacts; eventually, their murderous aura was ground away, and he clutched them tightly in his hand.

Without the protection of the Sacred Artifacts' essence, the four direct disciples' faces turned grim—they were only at Heaven Response Realm; without the artifacts, they could not withstand another blow.

But then, Bai Zhengze suddenly shot skyward—not to kill them, but clutching the three imitation Sacred Artifacts, he shot westward like a black meteor.

All who witnessed this froze.

Even the Soul Travel demons who had barely escaped death under the Grand Masters hesitated for a moment—as if they had never received this order.

Ji You opened his mouth slightly, and suddenly a face of peerless beauty appeared in his mind.