Chapter 1027: Heaven Wants to Destroy Me

The King of the Wuyu Clan seemed far more interested in Fang Yue than in Captain Wu.

He sized Fang Yue up and down for a moment, then revealed an icy smile.

"I really don't know why that guy paid you so much attention, but it doesn't matter anymore — he no longer needs you."

The pressure on his neck gradually increased, the suffocation growing more and more obvious — this wasn't simply the inability to breathe, but the suppression and sealing of even his inner force and ghostly force alike; it was the pure crushing of a higher realm against a lower one.

Fang Yue felt the lantern show of his life beginning to surface — the destruction of Gu Yue Cun, the disaster at Mo Cun, the encounter at Qingsi County, the slaying of foes at Chunuan City…

His consciousness grew ever more blurred; only the parchment's clamor of voices cut straight into his soul, untouched by any image.

【Hey hey hey! Fang Yue, don't die!】

【Fang Yue, hold on! I'll grant you a boost of power, struggle to your feet!!】

【No good, this guy is too strong! The blackout that foresaw the killing of the First Prince of the Wuyu Clan earlier — it must have been because this guy killed us!】

【What do we do, what do we do…】

【Could it be… we really have to use that one move? I don't know if you can take it, Fang Yue…】

【Never mind that, Fang Yue, get ready—】

"Who dares touch my sworn brother!!"

A furious roar that rang through all of Jingcheng abruptly appeared, cutting off the parchment's words.

In the next instant, that suffocating sensation vanished entirely.

Fang Yue saw the King of the Wuyu Clan, who had been gripping his neck, for the first time reveal a look of panic — as if he had seen some terrifying existence — and instinctively loosen his grip and retreat explosively!

Squelch—

He retreated; indeed, he did retreat.

But he left an arm behind.

The arm that had been gripping Fang Yue, as if severed by something, remained in place, while only the man himself retreated explosively away.

Squelch!!

Only now did the black blood at the severed stump of the arm gush forth wildly.

The King of the Wuyu Clan, his face dark and grim, surveyed his surroundings; the Black Cloud above his head now rumbled with thunder.

Beneath the thunder, Fang Yue's eyes suddenly went wide.

He saw that all around him, at some unknown moment, densely packed floating leaves hovered in the air.

The color of those leaves was extremely similar to that of An Dong'er's spirit tree from before.

Combined with the voice just now, could it be…

Rumble rumble!

The ground surged, and a spirit tree burst from the soil, soaring skyward, appearing in front of Fang Yue!

"An Dong'er!!" Fang Yue shouted joyfully.

"An Dong'er?!" Captain Wu, who had fallen to the ground with only his upper body remaining, showed a look of delight.

The human face that appeared on the bark of that spirit tree was unmistakably An Dong'er — only now, compared to that time, An Dong'er's face was far more animated, vivid and lifelike, as if it possessed its own consciousness.

"Brother Ye, it's me!"

The bark-face shifted from the front to the back, facing Fang Yue, and revealed a sweet smile.

"Although I don't know what's happened, Grandpa said that you are my sworn brother, so from now on, you are the only family I still have in this world. So don't worry — I will definitely let you survive!"

Coming back to his senses, Fang Yue asked: "You've regained your own consciousness?"

"I'm not sure, but at this moment, I am clear-headed. Everything — from being captured by the Phoenix Organization, to you all coming to rescue me — I remember all of it!"

Fang Yue and Captain Wu, in order to rescue An Dong'er, had clashed with the Phoenix Organization many times and even killed quite a few high-ranking officers of the Twelve Seats; even without having made contact with An Dong'er, An Dong'er, while imprisoned, had heard some rumors and knew that they were striving to rescue her.

This was also why, upon regaining clarity, An Dong'er had rushed to save them at the first possible moment.

"Well, this really is a monster in the truest sense of the word."

The King of the Wuyu Clan gave his severed arm a shake, and at the stump flesh and blood immediately wove together to form a new right arm.

He stared coldly at An Dong'er, his face dark and grim.

The Ink Immortal Array's ultimate goal was to reach straight to the Immortal Grade — or even beyond the Immortal Grade!

As the product of the Ink Immortal Array, whether it succeeded or failed, after sacrificing such a vast range of living beings, An Dong'er's strength had already reached a level close to the Immortal Grade.

This person is qualified to be my opponent — and may even possibly… have surpassed me!

Drawing a deep breath, the King of the Wuyu Clan transformed Blood Rain into a sword and lunged toward An Dong'er.

An Dong'er merely glanced at him, and the sky-filling leaves surged toward him like razor-sharp blades, densely packed; the formation composed of sky-obscuring leaves left almost no gap through which one could slip.

Overwhelming force shatters finesse!

The King of the Wuyu Clan roared loudly, his blood-sword cleaving open the leaf formation and carving out a gap; his body slipped through, reaching An Dong'er, and he thrust his sword at An Dong'er's spirit-tree body.

"An Dong'er!?"

Captain Wu on the ground — a phoenix cry rang out, his body restored to its original state — tried to rise to lend An Dong'er a hand, but because of his injuries, his form paused for an instant and a look of pain crossed his face.

Strange… why has my recovery speed become so slow…

Captain Wu felt that the Golden Phoenix power within his body actually seemed to be withering and dissolving, and a hint of panic rose in his heart.

Fortunately, at this moment, Fang Yue had already positioned himself between the King of the Wuyu Clan and An Dong'er, blocking the King of the Wuyu Clan's attack.

【Ghostly!】 The Stilled World activated, causing the King of the Wuyu Clan to pause slightly.

【Break!】 A thrust of the sword — a small wound opened on the King of the Wuyu Clan's chest, and he retreated a single step!

【Slow!】 The King of the Wuyu Clan's speed slightly dropped; Fang Yue launched a flurry of strikes, trembled for a moment, and was beaten back, landing on the spirit tree.

"Don't panic, sworn brother! Let me handle this!"

Rumble rumble!!

Vines surged from the ground all around, whipping the King of the Wuyu Clan like maddened lashes.

Facing the enormous number of vines, the king of the Wu Yu clan dodged and wove repeatedly to parry, and for a time was actually at a disadvantage.

Whether it was the vines or the leaves, they all contained the unique power of the Ink Immortal Formation—a force reaching straight to the immortal grade—possessing a might that even the king of the Wu Yu clan could not easily bear head-on.

With such a vast number and such a dense offensive, even the king of the Wu Yu clan was caught off guard several times, his body struck and wounded.

"Spirit Tree, my lord!"

"The Spirit Tree is killing the enemy! The Spirit Tree is on our side!"

"The Nation-Protecting Spirit Tree! The Nation-Protecting Spirit Tree! The Nation-Protecting Spirit Tree!!"

The crowd below saw this scene and cried out in joyful surprise.

Just when everyone felt the situation had turned utterly in their favor…

The sky-filling vines suddenly froze.

Like a jammed bullet, they did not move at all.

This startled the king of the Wu Yu clan, who had been dodging at full speed.

Looking again at An Dong'er, he saw that the human face on An Dong'er was showing a look of terror, rapidly sinking into the tree trunk, and what emerged right after was Feng Wang's face—even the voice was Feng Wang's.

"Phew… did I finally succeed!"

All the vines stretched toward the expert, tangled with one another, and took the form of two hands.

"Master! Your disciple has succeeded! The formation you left behind back then has no problems—human will shall overcome heaven! Even without a Spirit Root, we too can become immortals!!"

Become immortals!

Become immortals!

Become immortals!

The mighty sound echoed throughout all of Jingcheng.

(End of this chapter)