Promise!

Chapter 294, Seven Kills
Rumble!
Zhuang Jin's sword light split into two giant fleshy balls, flashing a scarlet light as they fell and exploded. The mountainside where they landed instantly collapsed, clearing out the densely packed, controlled beasts within a radius of two or three miles, and creating two large craters with a diameter of more than ten feet.

Such power made Xuanyuan Zhengji break out in a cold sweat. If he had actually been hit by it and self-destructed, his Yin God Domain, which had been reduced in size for protection, probably wouldn't have been able to withstand it.

Even the Yin God warriors themselves were in a sorry state. To make matters worse, their two Blood Exchange Realm mounts, the Sky-Splitting Dragon King and the Phoenix King, were doomed, which would be much more troublesome.

"Be careful, this is a Chaos Worm, shaped like a fleshy ball with tentacles. It can suck flesh and blood and transform into clones. As long as the main body is not destroyed, the clones will never disappear. What you just saw was not its main body."

Shangguan Jinfeng transmitted her voice.

Sure enough, the crimson flesh and blood splattered from the explosion absorbed the corpses of the dead beasts, wriggling and coalescing into balls. As they rolled rapidly, they devoured the controlled beasts, growing larger like a snowball, forming several huge fleshy balls that bounced and spurred at each other like bouncy balls, flashing red light as they were about to self-destruct.

"Let me do it!"

Zhuang Jin knew that once they ventured deep into the Funiu Mountains, the omnipresent network of strange beasts controlled by the ailanthus would inevitably be monitored and observed by the spirit ailanthus. Therefore, he simply offered to take action himself without considering any collaboration with Shangguan Yunchang, and directly entered the 'Transparent World' with a single thought.

In this state, the control over the primordial energy of heaven and earth becomes more refined. With optimized arrangement, the strength of the Yin spirit domain varies greatly, just like graphite and diamond, both composed of carbon atoms.

hum!
Several enormous chaotic insect clones, nearly at the level of Yin Gods, were directly frozen and solidified under the now vastly different Yin God domain, turning into ice balls that fell and shattered upon landing.

At the same time, the eight swords that had previously flown out of the unified state also received the amplification of the heaven and earth's energy under the 'Transparent World' state, and the power of their moves increased exponentially, disappearing in a flash of light.

Swish!
Several miles away, a strange beast, condensed to the size of a watermelon, constantly rolling and hiding itself, was passed through, annihilating all life and vitality. It was the hidden Chaos Worm itself.

"What a trick!"

Upon seeing this, Shangguan Jinfeng, Cen Chongxuan, and Ge Daoqian couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

With the blessing of the Suspended Sky Mirror, the three of them weren't incapable of dealing with this Chaos Worm at the Vajra Realm level, but it wouldn't be as easy as Zhuang Jin's decisive and efficient method.

Under normal circumstances, Zhuang Jin's display of this strength would only inspire fear, but the current critical situation has given them even more confidence in what lies ahead.

"Excessive praise."

Zhuang Jin didn't stand on ceremony. He took the Vajra Relic that had killed the Chaos Worm and put it away. He said to them, "This must be a test from that Spirit Tree. If it fails once, it will be on guard and probably won't do it again. Let's hurry up and get to the final battle!"

Just as he said, the other party is not stupid. It is impossible for them to save their grandfather by sending out the Vajra Realm beasts under their control one by one to be defeated and killed.

"good!"

Shangguan Jinfeng, Cen Chongxuan, and Ge Daoqian all nodded in agreement with Zhuang Jin's view.

Zhuang Jin's move just now demonstrated the strongest individual strength among the six, making him the de facto center of the group.

Next, the Sky-Splitting Dragon King and the Phoenix King unleashed their acceleration, while Shangguan Jinfeng, Cen Chongxuan, and Ge Daoqian prepared in advance, and Zhuang Jin and Shangguan Yunchang also exchanged their energy and made preparations.

With the extreme speed of the two Blood Exchange Realm beasts, from the moment Zhuang Jin and his group set off, to the battle just now, and now to their arrival, it had only been about a hundred breaths.

We have now arrived at our destination.

……

In the center of the three dead zones of the Funiu Mountains, the hundred-foot-tall spirit tree that had been seen in the light screen earlier was now several hundred feet tall, its canopy forming a magnificent canopy, shimmering with an eerie scarlet light.

The strange beasts controlled by its 'tu xu' parasitized and gathered in dense swarms, stretching as far as the eye could see. There were probably hundreds of thousands or even millions of them, like insects in a nest, crowding together without any gaps, almost giving one a phobia of trypophobia.

Even more bizarrely, many of these strange beasts, who are natural enemies and even on each other's food chains, are now living together peacefully, as if they are holding a grand sacrifice around this sacred tree.

Wow!
The roots of the Spirit Tree spread out from the ground like a series of automated assembly line machines, their dense, intertwined branches churning and protruding. The controlled beasts took turns moving forward, being pierced into its bodies and draining its flesh and blood.

The strange beasts that had been drained by the roots of the Spirit Tree instantly became shriveled, like withered corpses.

Nourished by the flesh and blood of tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of strange beasts, an oval-shaped cocoon of blood-red light could be seen in the translucent trunk of the Spirit Tree. With the support of the intricate, vein-like branches, it visibly expanded rapidly, and the appearance of the monster became clearer and clearer.

If an ordinary person saw this scene, they would definitely feel uneasy and get goosebumps. However, in the eyes of Zhuang Jin and his group, who were well-informed, it was not only commonplace, but they were at least not frightened. In fact, at this moment, part of their attention was also focused on another matter.

The strange energy they sensed was now approaching, and their bodies were craving it more and more clearly. They were almost certain that this was the legendary free-floating spiritual energy—an indispensable element for the physical body to undergo further transformation after reaching the Yin God realm. Amidst their shock, joy arose in their hearts.

Even Xuanyuan Zhengji was like this. He was originally forced to join the Liangshan bandits and was coerced into coming here. At this moment, he had no more reluctance.

However, no matter how fortunate we are, we must first get rid of this sacred tree.

Similarly, as soon as Zhuang Jin and his group appeared, before they could look around or think much, the remaining six Vajra Realm beasts that were on high alert and guarding the Spirit Tree—the Chaotic Ape King, Qiongqi, Taotie, Yingyu, Feiyi, and Zheng—all looked at them at once, their terrifying, interconnected auras pressing down like an overwhelming tidal wave.

Judging from the auras of these six Vajra Realm beast puppets, four of them are at the first to third level, equivalent to the first level of the Yin Spirit Realm of a martial artist, and the other two are at the fourth to sixth level, equivalent to the second level of the Yin Spirit Realm of a martial artist. None of them are at the seventh to ninth level of the Vajra Realm.

—The Spirit Tree's control over the Vajra Realm beast through the Three Elements Fruit method also has its flaws. Once it becomes a puppet, it can no longer actively cultivate and improve unless the Spirit Tree is willing to stop and slow down its growth rate, nurture it over a long period of time, or temporarily improve it in a short period of time through a method similar to that Prism Beast.

The four Vajra Realm puppets that Lingchun initially subdued were all at the first to third level; later, as her realm improved, she subdued the two at the fourth to sixth level; as for those at the seventh level or above, Lingchun does not allow them to appear in the Funiu Mountains, because that would lead to the possibility of them going out of control.

Furthermore, its methods of enhancing Prism Beasts are also limited; it cannot be used continuously in a short period of time. Also, it is currently transforming its form and cannot spare more mental energy to achieve precise control. It can only fight based on the level and power of these puppets themselves.

It can be said that Zhuang Jin and his group were not fooled. Instead of slowing down the beast tide, they acted decisively and caught it off guard.

At this moment, the two sides faced each other without exchanging words, and immediately began to fight, with the battle escalating to a fever pitch.

……

"Proceed according to plan!" After leaving this telepathic message, Zhuang Jin and Shangguan Yunchang tacitly activated the secret technique of the Yin-Yang Union Divine Art, their energy merging and a connection being established between their souls.

hum!
With Shangguan Yunchang's assistance and support, Zhuang Jin felt his spiritual power increase exponentially, and his consciousness penetrated deep into the sea of ​​his soul. After reaching a state of tranquility, he continued to descend rapidly until he reached the deepest point, briefly entering another realm.

If the first level of Yin Spirit, the state of stillness and meditation, is like floating on the surface of the sea of ​​souls, then the second level of Yin Spirit, the state of tranquility and serenity, is like reaching the deepest part of the sea of ​​souls.

So, the Yin Spirit Three Realms of Emptiness is to arrive at the bottom of the Sea of ​​Souls and enter an extreme state of emptiness and utmost.

The Taoists have a saying that praises this state: "Attain utmost emptiness, maintain steadfast stillness!"

During his brief entry into the Void Realm, Zhuang Jin himself moved from the 'Transparent World' to a deeper level of 'Stillness', as if he had merged with the primordial energy of heaven and earth.

At this moment, the Eight Gates Sword Formation, which was already at the limit of its peak, instantly crossed the final step after reaching the temporary peak, and reached perfection without any bottleneck.

The Eight Gates Sword Formation is complete. The eight swords—Rest, Life, Injury, Block, View, Death, Shock, and Open—each form a domain. The eight swords whizzed out in the eight trigrams, and the eight domains rotated, instantly encompassing the six Vajra Realm beasts: the Chaotic Ape King, Qiongqi, Taotie, Yingyu, Feiyi, and Zheng.

Swish!
The Sky-Splitting Dragon King, ridden by Shangguan Jinfeng, Cen Chongxuan, Ge Daoqian, and Xuanyuan Zhengji, accelerated past after Zhuang Jin and Shangguan Yunchang combined their strength to encompass the six Vajra Realm beasts. It flew out from behind them, and with the close-range enhancement of the Suspended Sky Mirror, the three of them condensed their wind, thunder, and ice powers of cyan, purple, and frost white into a chaotic light sphere that crashed into the dragon.

Click!
boom!
The roots of the Spirit Tree, like coiled dragons, rolled and formed a barrier, but it shattered in an instant. The chaotic light sphere hit it directly, causing its trunk to shake and its branches and leaves to fly. It even paused in absorbing the energy of flesh and blood, and its whole body flickered with light.

Wow!
The broken tree roots, stained with chaotic flames, burned fiercely, igniting any strange beasts they touched that had been controlled and gathered together.

Before Lingchun could recover and stabilize, Shangguan Jinfeng, Cen Chongxuan, and Ge Daoqian joined forces to seize the opportunity and kill it, and a chaotic light sphere was condensed once again.

Here, Zhuang Jin and Shangguan Yunchang combined their secret techniques to encompass six Vajra Realm beasts: the Chaotic Ape King, Qiongqi, Taotie, Yingyu, Feiyi, and Zheng. The eight swords—Xiu, Sheng, Shang, Du, Jing, Si, Jing, and Kai—represent the five elements and three powers of metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, thunder, and ice, each displaying its power.

The first Vajra Realm beast, Qiongqi, was filled with malevolent thoughts, billowing out like black smoke, encompassing its inner world and attempting to corrupt and strip away this territory.

Within this realm, the sword of the 'Life' gate, representing wood-attribute energy, contends with and counters its power.

The second Vajra Realm beast, the Taotie, opened its massive maw amidst cries like those of an infant, and the invisible power of its domain was swallowed up like flowing water.

Within this realm, the sword of the 'Rest' gate, representing the metallic energy, multiplies into countless forms, each with unparalleled sharpness, inflicting damage from within by integrating the power of the domain.

The third beast, the Yingyu, a Vajra Realm beast, was adept at manipulating water. It could create raging waves in the void, attempting to burst this domain apart.

Within this realm, the two swords, Death and Du, representing wind and fire, burn fiercely, their wind fueled by the fire, causing the steaming water to transform into endless mist.

The fourth Vajra Realm beast, Fei Yi, has six legs and four wings. It is skilled in using fire-attribute power and can cause severe droughts.

Within this realm, the two swords representing water and ice elemental energies, Injury and Opening, freeze and seal.

The fifth Vajra Realm beast, Zheng, spoke with a sound like striking stone, emitting waves of sound as it tried to break through the domain.

Within this realm, the 'Jing' Gate Sword, representing earth-elemental energy, isolates and absorbs it.

The final old rival, the Chaotic Ape King, has appeared in the Heaven and Earth Formation, attempting to expand and break through the domain.

Within this realm, the 'Surprising' Gate Sword, representing lightning-attribute energy, not only severed the soul but also killed the physical body. Enveloped in myriad lightning bolts, it instantly revealed its true form, showing signs of defeat and death.

It can be said that given some time, Zhuang Jin could kill all six Vajra Realm beasts with the assistance of Shangguan Yunchang, without needing help from Shangguan Jinfeng.

The situation was extremely unfavorable, and the spirit tree was already impatient. It gave orders to control itself, and the auras of the six Vajra Realm beasts surged, preparing to self-destruct at the same time.

hum!
Zhuang Jin sensed it in advance and released the Holy Spirit Pearl to suppress it. The eight swords rotated, and the power of the Five Elements and Three Powers, along with the Qimen Bagua, alternated and rotated to guide the terrifying power of these strange beasts' self-destruction, transforming it into a pillar of light and shifting it towards the Spirit Chun's main body.

At the same time, Shangguan Jinfeng and the other two also condensed another chaotic colored light sphere and threw it.

Click!
boom!
The sacred tree was attacked twice, both times hitting it. Its enormous, sky-covering body hummed and cracked, then suddenly broke and collapsed, looking like the world tree had been destroyed.

Is it over?!

Zhuang Jin, Shangguan Yunchang, Shangguan Jinfeng, Cen Chongxuan, Ge Daoqian, and Xuanyuan Zhengji all had this thought in their hearts, but the next moment, their expressions all changed.

From the collapsed and broken body of the spirit tree, a grayish-blue monster, seventy or eighty feet tall with a blue face and fangs, appeared. A dark golden light flickered on its skin, bringing an extremely powerful pressure.

It is obvious that Zhuang Jin's group's operation was both a success and a failure.

Successful in one respect is that it disrupted the Lingchun Plan, causing its transformation to be incomplete and prematurely emerging, stopping at the half-step Great Vajra Realm; unsuccessful in another respect is that it failed to completely eliminate the opponent, as the half-step Great Vajra Realm monster form is also a huge problem.

……

'It's finally come to this.'

Upon witnessing this scene, Shangguan Jinfeng, Cen Chongxuan, and Ge Daoqian made their decision to unleash the trump card of the three great families.

The reason we didn't use it before was because we were worried that Chunling Qiu might have other tricks up her sleeve and cause further complications. Now that the other party has exhausted all her tricks, we no longer have this concern.

Another point is that the trump card is quite risky. Putting aside Shangguan Jinfeng and Cen Chongxuan, if Ge Daoqian, who doesn't have much lifespan left, were to use that move, he probably wouldn't survive. It would be better not to use that move, but that's clearly impossible now.

"Please, Fellow Daoist Zhuang, block it for a moment!"

……

(End of this chapter)