New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 130 Facing the Eight Great Heavenly Ranks Alone, He Still Retreats Calmly!

The spectacular scene of the five insects exploding simultaneously had just ended when the combined attack from the two Heavenly Realm experts, along with the attack from the first Heavenly Realm expert who arrived first despite being delayed, landed directly in front of Yuan Zhu.

"Open the Heavenly Gate!" ×3
The three attributes are completely different, yet they are mutually attracted by each other's energy, secretly conforming to the profound truth of the universe. They collide and combine with each other, locking Yuan Zhu firmly in place, leaving him with no way to escape or avoid it.

Finally, a controllable nightmare rift tore open directly in front of him, instantly unleashing a terrifying suction force. Immediately afterward, strands of Qi intertwined to form three giant claws with nightmare attributes, which emerged from the fleeting rift and reached out to grab Yuan Zhu, attempting to pull him into the [Nightmare Dimension] for exile.

Since it's impossible to eliminate the opponent in a short time, the correct solution is to release it back into the Nightmare Layer in order to reduce the harm to Cicada City.

At the same time, more Qi threads and ghostly claws, like deadly chains, burst forth from the nightmare rift, attempting to banish the remaining 'Shadow Demon Insects (time bombs)' that couldn't escape in time.

At this moment, witnessing the three armored cultivators joining forces to 'open the Heavenly Gate and unleash their ultimate attack,' Yuan Zhu felt a strange sense of déjà vu. Little Spicy Strip preemptively remarked, 'This is [Athena's Sigh]!'

Spicy Strips, obsessed with repeatedly browsing and watching his older brother's childhood memories, is quite knowledgeable about anime and manga. He immediately recognized that the scene of these three Heavenly Rank Masked Saints unleashing a combined attack, tearing the sky and shattering the earth to deliver a god-slaying blow, was strikingly similar to the Golden Masked Saint Knight!
click!
As Spicy Strips expressed his feelings, Yuan Zhu, who was enveloped by the shadow, used his backhand to block the [Shadow Dream Hole] in front of him and pushed it hard, wedging it in the temporarily opened Nightmare Rift, interfering with and blocking the attacks of the Three Innate Ones.

Then it flung out another 'Shadow Demon Insect' to serve as a scapegoat, blocking the giant claw's grasp. The giant hand dared not use too much force, fearing it would crush the demon insect and trigger another round of 'Holy Cough Explosion', so it had no choice but to quickly retract, intending to throw the demon insect into the Nightmare Layer.

But just as half of the demonic insect's body fell into the Nightmare Rift, while the other half remained in Cicada City, Yuan Zhu decisively gave the order: "Destroy, my cockroach!"

The spicy snack, in perfect coordination, played a sad children's song again: "Goodbye, Daddy, tonight I'm setting sail. Don't worry about me, I'll self-destruct and return to the land of cockroaches."

boom!
The 'Controllable Nightmare Rift', which was originally going to heal in a flash, was torn apart and enlarged by the eighth round of [Holy Cough Explosion] in this instant.

This self-destruction was even more devastating than the previous 'five-round simultaneous explosion'. Although it only had the power of a single explosion, it completed a harmonious chorus with the 'Heaven-Opening Combined Strike' of the three innate beings.

It's equivalent to three Heavenly Realm experts joining forces to open a 'Nightmare Rift' for him, and then Yuan Zhu igniting the [Holy Cough Bomb] to widen the rift and combine it with the 'Holy Light Vulnerability' created by the previous seven explosions.

This wave not only further shook the foundation of [Cicada City], but also merged the nightmare rift torn by the 'Eighth Holy Light Impact' with the previous impact, reinforcing the [rift].

If we consider the underground space where [Cicada City] is located as a container, then a new [Holy Light Contaminated Spatial Rift] has appeared in the 'spatial barrier,' and water has begun to seep from the outside ([Nightmare Layer])...

At the same time, a familiar feeling of déjà vu surged into my heart once again.

He quickly recalled that the last time he had a similar feeling was when he transformed into a tiger demon and infiltrated Cicada City. He looked up and saw 'Dream Hole' being bewitched by the bubble world, which instigated him to break through the [Shadow Dimension] and create his own [Shadow Dream Hole].

Now, that feeling is back!
Gazing upon the 'Holy Light Attribute Nightmare Rift,' the will of the Bubble World descended once more, urging him to blast open the rift with purer and more intense [Holy Light], creating a brand new [Holy Dream Hole]!
"Damn it, here we go again?!"

However, Yuan Zhu, who was driven by reason, did not cooperate with Bubble World this time.

The reason is simple: the [Boss Template] behind the Tiger Demon is very strong, has the potential to open the Dream Hole, has the [Shadow Dimension] to reduce the difficulty, and has the World Will to cooperate from the inside and outside, which is why the [Shadow Dream Hole] can be opened.

However, the Holy Light of a human body is far inferior. He's merely a lowly 1st-level cultivator, unable to even condense a Soul Crystal. In the cultivation world, he's just a Qi Refining apprentice who hasn't even established his foundation yet. The purity of his Holy Light is extremely poor. How could he possibly open a Holy Dream Hole?

The reason he was able to create this 'Holy Contamination Rift' at this moment was not because of his own strength.

Instead, it was the selfless dedication of one after another 'self-destructing demonic insect' after another, reaching the pinnacle of power. In essence, it was still the Tiger Demon who exerted his strength, cooperating with the three Heavenly Ranks to jointly blast open the world barrier.

This proves once again that only the [Tiger Demon] has the power to open the Dream Hole! His human form is purely a matter of using trickery to his advantage. His seemingly impressive victories are shockingly exaggerated.

Not only was he incapable of creating a new [Dream Hole] and bringing it under his control, but even if he could, he wouldn't dare to act recklessly. The appearance of this crack had already put [Cicada City] on red alert.

The three innate beings ignored Yuan Zhu and instead joined forces to suppress the deep-seated damage that the [Holy Cough Rift] was causing to the dungeon.

At the same time, in the instant the 'Holy Light Rift' was blasted open, Yuan Zhu, with the help of the [Shadow Dream Hole], made a fleeting observation of the Nightmare Dimension outside Cicada City.

Or rather, it wasn't that he actively observed it, but rather that at a certain moment, the bubble world released a scene or some knowledge from the depths of the [Cicada City] and poured it into the [Shadow Dream Hole], allowing him to passively comprehend some hidden cultivation knowledge.

In that instant, he witnessed a strange scene:
At the true core of 【Cicada City】, the city lord who opened up his own Dream Hole, along with the other four deputy city lords who refined and mastered the Dream Hole, were all in seclusion meditating.

These five individuals, each a standard human, dressed in ancient robes and exuding the aura of true cultivators, were meditating in seclusion. He guessed that this was the standard attire of cultivators from the Kunlun sect.

However, all five of them exuded a strange aura that was both celestial and demonic. They possessed the ethereal immortality of immortals and the demonic nature of insects, like immortal insects wearing human skin, now one with humans and insects, indistinguishable from each other.

Is this what the "Ascension to Immortality" is like?

The five [Supreme Celestials] were all sitting cross-legged with their eyes closed, meditating and breathing, in a state of astral projection.

From the top of each of their heads extends an invisible thread woven from millions of strands of Qi, like flying a kite, channeling their essence, energy, and spirit into the depths of the Nightmare Dimension. Using their physical bodies as anchors, they simultaneously inhale and exhale spiritual energy, infusing the kite string with true Qi energy.

In the world of nightmares, five [Masked Immortal Armor (Armored Nightmare Creatures)] exuding powerful 'nightmare aura' protect their inner 'essence, energy, and spirit'. Like kites, they are pulled by 'qi threads', floating and lost in the endless depths of nightmares, drifting with the current, exploring, killing, and cultivating...

This brief moment was fleeting; as he tried to see more clearly, it all vanished.

However, with just that one glance, he grasped a great deal of useless advanced knowledge.

For example, the purpose of the bubble world encouraging him to open a 'dream hole'. Every cultivator who opens a 'personalized dream hole' in the underground world can escape into the depths of the nightmare for a highly difficult task.

The 'Dream Hole' is a safe passage, using the physical body as an anchor, armor as a raft, and Qi threads as a guide... to allow the primordial spirit to escape into the Nightmare dimension, seize its essence, and bring it back to the Bubble World. Using the endless resources, rules, and polluted energy of the [Nightmare Layer], the world itself is repaired, optimized, and perfected. Just a glimpse reveals that [Cicada City] has five 'gatherers' engaged in high-difficulty operations deep within the Nightmare; therefore, there are many more Insect Cities, many more Holes, and many more Nightmare laborers serving the 'Bubble World'.

Therefore, the world of bubbles yearns for more and more innovative dream holes (shadow dream holes) to bring surprises and changes to this world.

Furthermore, after merely witnessing this scene, Yuan Zhu's mind was flooded with techniques for imbuing himself with 'nightmare aura' and disguising himself as a nightmare creature; techniques for crafting 'kite string' using Qi threads he didn't possess; and techniques for forging 'armor' using the essence of nightmares...

It was only after witnessing this scene that he realized the gravity of the situation.

He seemed to have the upper hand, but in reality, he only managed to intimidate the three crippled innate beings in front of him by randomly unleashing the 'Holy Cough Explosion'.

These three didn't receive the 'Dream Hole,' so they had the armor but couldn't fully utilize it. Yuan Zhu's frenzied, relentless self-destruction completely intimidated the enemy, preventing them from easily starting another fight. This monster truly self-destructs at the slightest provocation! Its temper is easily ignited and explosive.

The other party is a beneficiary of the existing power structure in Cicada City, and there are still a large number of unclaimed 'Dream Holes' in the sky above the city waiting to be divided and inherited. That's why they didn't want to break the pots and pans at home.

If Yuan Zhu continues his reckless destruction, truly pushing the other side to the brink, shaking the foundation of Chan City, and damaging other 'Dream Holes,' this will sever people's path to enlightenment!
So these Heavenly Realm experts are truly willing to disregard their property and safety to launch a counterattack. It's not as simple as a 1v3 situation. Especially after the 'Holy Cough Rift' appeared, severely disrupting and threatening the foundation of Cicada City, the five supreme experts whose primordial spirits had traveled through nightmares also piloted their armor back to the mortal world, preparing to unleash a brutal attack on themselves.

So Yuan Zhu knew when to stop, abandoning his previous arrogant and domineering attitude, and released ten more Shadow Demon Insects, keeping them hidden from explosion.

He then switched back to his Tiger Demon form, retrieved the slightly damaged [Shadow Dream Hole] embedded in the 'Holy Cough Rift', grabbed two demonic insects to use as grenades to intimidate his opponents, and finally activated the [Ultimate Shadow Escape Mode], remaining silent and only running away.

His record is just too impressive; I have no confidence in surpassing it. What's the point of fighting then? Let him retire with this honor!
While fleeing, it also sent a threatening and intimidating signal to the three innate beings who were trying to suppress the expansion of the [Holy Cough Rift] space:

If it allows itself to escape, it will no longer provoke [Cicada City] and will not detonate the remaining demonic insects, allowing them to be banished. Otherwise…

The three Celestial Realm experts who received the Tiger Demon's threatening signal felt a surge of displeasure. If they truly went all out, any one of them would dare to take on this bizarre 'nightmare monster' one-on-one. But its 'contaminated self-destruction' was genuinely disgusting.

The Nightmare Rift was blasted open with an unprecedented and extremely threatening 'power (Holy Light),' polluting and shaking the foundations of Cicada City. It must be cleaned up as soon as possible.

Therefore, they were unwilling to provoke the Tiger Demon too much, forcing it to explode in the city center and pollute the hard-won 'Cicada City'.

If any other innate force from any other 'Insect City' were to invade and launch a sneak attack, they wouldn't have caused such a huge mess. It was entirely due to the overwhelming advantage brought about by the 'Holy Light Contamination' that they had never encountered before. Once the opponent came into contact with and became familiar with the 'Holy Light,' and made preparations, they would never be able to reproduce such an exaggerated record.

Knowing this, the Tiger Demon ran wildly through the shadowy layers and soon arrived at the exit of a passage that was sealed off by layers of 'city-protecting formations'.

Faced with the heavily fortified wall of copper and iron, Tiger Demon didn't hesitate. He put on his skeletal armor, grabbed a Shadow Demon Insect in his palm, detonated the Holy Cough Particles inside it, and then slammed it with a [Holy Cough Rasengan].

boom!
Another 'Holy Light Little Sun', so familiar to the residents of Cicada City, lit up a corner at the edge of the underground city, blasting the protective array that blocked the safety exit into pieces and burning a gap through it.

The tiger demon's body twisted and deformed, transforming into a black cat silhouette as it darted away.

On the other side, the three innate beings who held control of the city's protective formation, after a brief hesitation, chose to let the demons leave and stop polluting Chan City!

As the Tiger Demon sped away from the central city and entered the barren and poorly managed upper city, it saw that the entire [Cicada City] was in chaos.

Nine consecutive rounds of the "Holy Cough Explosion" have had a huge impact on this insect city. It not only triggered a small-scale "earthquake," plunging the central district into panic.

At the same time, the foundation of the city's protective array was shaken, and a large number of 'Holy Cough Particles' leaked into the central city through the root pipes... Meanwhile, the polluted spiritual energy also spread wildly on a small scale, causing the air quality of Chan City to drop significantly, and 'Immortal Zombie Beard, Iron Poison, and Demonization' triggered a small peak in outbreaks.

At this moment, the Tiger Demon had successfully escaped the territory of [Cicada City] and disappeared into the long, unclaimed wild tunnel section. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

About 10 minutes after the Tiger Demon fled, five terrifying and dreadful auras erupted from the 'Dream Hole', soaring into the sky and rapidly infiltrating the enormous 'Immortal Tree Roots', scattering and destroying all the 'Shadow Pollution and Holy Cough Particles' within the root channels.

In the blink of an eye, he brought the root network covering the entire [Cicada City] under control, repeatedly cleansed and disinfected it with his own true qi, and joined forces to suppress and repair the holes blasted by the [Holy Cough Explosion] and the [Holy Light Crack].

An angry voice demanded, its echo reverberating throughout the city: "Who? Who did this?!"

"A power never seen before?"

"It's [Holy Light]!"

"[Holy Light]?"

"The information flowing from the depths of the nightmare reveals an evil force no weaker than the [Immortal Path], adept at corrupting and twisting souls, ruthlessly plundering and burning life, and destroying everything. And there's the [Great Moth], the destined nemesis of the Ascended Immortals, a despicable and shameless traitor!"

The five rulers of Cicada City conducted in-depth searches of the insect city, attempting to uncover the enemy. However, they only managed to capture a few 'Shadow Demon Insects,' crushing them with their bare hands. They then compressed the re-emerging [Holy Cough Explosion] into a small, glowing ball within their five fingers, which they then placed into their [Dream Hole] to refine and absorb.

Thus, the five rulers successively analyzed the Holy Cough Particles using their own Nightmare Power. Even without refining and absorbing them, they summarized a set of targeted True Qi Defense Techniques and attempted to deduce an Anti-Holy Light Martial Art to better counter enemies in the future.

On the other side, the Tiger Demon, who had returned victorious and unscathed, also went back to the secluded [Pastoral Village], stuffed the treasure-filled [Shadow Dream Hole] back into the core gap of the Shadow Domain, and got the camp running again.

Then, with its belly full of pills, it felt waves of satiety and drowsiness. This meal was truly all-you-can-eat, so delicious it made it want to sit up straight.

After a brief exchange, he handed over the management of [Pastoral Village] to Shopkeeper Lu and then fell into a deep sleep to begin his arduous seclusion and leveling up.

(End of this chapter)