Promise!

Chapter 295, Ji Ling

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

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Jin retreated instead of advancing.

For the three great families, this half-step Vajra Realm spirit is a threat, but aren't they themselves a threat?

If they truly believed it, instead of making a "deal" and getting entangled with it, being "accidentally" taken away together would be a double blessing for them.

Even if he dies, the payment he promised to make by cutting off his own flesh can be saved.

This isn't about fighting amongst ourselves before even dealing with the enemy; rather, it's about always being wary of others. Zhuang Jin never hesitates to speculate about people's hearts with the utmost malice.

Of course, it was impossible to get entangled with him. He sacrificed himself by covering the area with the eight layers of the Eight Gates Sword Formation. However, Zhuang Jin also understood the overall situation and made a move from a distance.

"go with!"

He and Shangguan Yunchang were still in the state of "Yin Yang Fusion Divine Technique". With a thought, the eight sword domains rotated and merged into one, and the power of the five elements and the three talents were fused into one, bursting out with chaotic light.

Swish!
Such a concentrated sword strike, dazzling yet carrying a thunderous and heavy momentum, seemed to be carrying the power to topple the heavens as it slashed through the air.

Meanwhile, the gray-blue giant was actually a strange and monstrous creature. The previous Jiazi Demon Extermination had already left a shadow in its heart, so how could it not know the terror of the Suspended Sky Mirror?
"Roar!"

The first target was Shangguan Jinfeng, Cen Chongxuan, and Ge Daoqian. This roar caused ripples in the void, enough to shake one's soul. Then, he flashed away, squeezing the air and creating a sonic boom. On the way, he faced Zhuang Jin's sword strike that combined eight swords. His arm flashed with dark golden light, and he raised his hand and slapped the sword away like a fly.

The eight swords, once united, disintegrated and scattered in a ring amidst a humming sound, unable to bear the weight.

—This half-step Vajra Realm spirit has already possessed some of the indestructible characteristics of the first stage of the Vajra Realm.

The Great Vajra Realm of Mythical Beasts has three levels: Indestructible, Undying, and Primordial Chaos, which correspond to the three levels of Yang God Realm of Martial Artists: Spiritual Illumination, Heart Furnace, and Pure Yang. This step is already the pinnacle in the entire Great Qian Dynasty!

Here.

hum!
Faced with the roaring sound waves that were enough to shake one's soul, the Suspended Sky Mirror activated its 'Separate Worlds' function. Shangguan Jinfeng, Cen Chongxuan, and Ge Daoqian were not affected, proving that they still had power to spare.

However, facing the main body behind it, a half-step Great Vajra Realm spirit entity that is almost a true unity of spirit and flesh and has opened up an inner world, it is impossible to resist, and it is even highly likely that it will 'die before it even gets started', and its moves will be interrupted before they are completed.

"Congeal!"

At this critical moment, Zhuang Jin decisively mobilized the energy stored in the Holy Spirit Pearl, and a purple light flew out, merging with the eight swords of the Eight Gates Sword Formation that had been previously knocked away. Like a gear spinning, it transformed into a barrier in front of Shangguan Jinfeng and the other two.

At this moment, Zhuang Jin and Shangguan Yunchang had briefly entered the third level of Yin God Realm - Void Extreme. They had also subtly mobilized and devoured the energy of the Void Realm Stone and sublimated the Holy Spirit Pearl once. The strength of this barrier had even faintly exceeded the limit of the third level of Yin God Realm. However, when the grayish-blue monster collided with it, cracks still broke out and large areas of it split open amidst the loud noise.

However, they managed to block it in the end, buying themselves a moment, which was enough.

"Please, for the sake of our friendship today, show some consideration for the Ge family!" This was Ge Daoqian's last message.

It turned out that, after Shangguan Jinfeng, Cen Chongxuan, and Ge Daoqian used the authority of the Suspended Heaven Mirror and injected their own essence into it, Shangguan Jinfeng and Cen Chongxuan, who had clearly severed their three corpses and possessed flawless bodies that were neither old nor decaying, both grew white hair, and Ge Daoqian, whose lifespan was not long, even passed away on the spot.

Instead, the Mirror of Heaven shone brightly, producing mysterious changes.

Under the pull of the three origins of Shangguan Jinfeng, Cen Chongxuan, and Ge Daoqian, as the dodecahedron of the Suspended Mirror rotated, a cone-shaped light screen descended, revealing a holographic, almost realistic, dazzling phantom.

boom!
The bluish-gray monster smashed through the barrier, and Zhuang Jin's eight swords flew out again, crashing into the holographic phantom. However, as the phantom raised its sleeve, Zhuang Jin was sent flying backward.

"what?!"

Zhuang Jin originally thought that the three great families' trump cards were something like the 'Jiazi Demon Slayer', a powerful brick-throwing attack like a comet, but he didn't expect it to be like that.

However, he quickly realized that the 'Jiazi Demon Slayer' was the energy accumulated by the Suspended Sky Mirror over the Jiazi year. It had already been used before, so where would he find the missing energy to make up for it if he wanted to reproduce it?

'No, the Mirror of Heaven might still contain this missing energy!'

At this moment, Zhuang Jin's soul was still connected with Shangguan Yunchang, while Shangguan Yunchang still retained three-tenths of the Suspended Heaven Mirror's authority, sensing the enormous energy dormant within the Suspended Heaven Mirror. In fact, the origins of Shangguan Jinfeng, Cen Chongxuan, and Ge Daoqian were not the fuel supporting that illusory figure, but rather served as a catalyst.

As expected, Shangguan Yunchang transmitted a message directly through her divine soul fluctuations, confirming Zhuang Jin's thoughts: 'Over the past eight hundred years, many heads of the three great families have used the Suspended Heaven Mirror to break through their limits, and after their deaths, their power is also brought back by the Suspended Heaven Mirror's essence.'

Therefore, it is clear that the Mirror of Heaven is indeed accumulating terrifying energy.

The trump card of the three great families is precisely to use their own origin as a guide, and with the help of the original source imprint that once returned, to reflect the illusory image of an ancestor in the Yang God Realm, which is called 'Yesterday Reappears'.

'I just didn't want it to be this one.'

At this moment, Shangguan Jinfeng, Cen Chongxuan, and Shangguan Yunchang all had the same thought.

The next moment, a message about this illusory figure was also transmitted by Shangguan Yunchang: Cen Xuantong, the ancestor of the Cen family during the founding of the Great Qian Dynasty, was at the first level of the Yang God Realm. With his self-created ultimate skill "Twenty-Three Swords of Wind and Cloud", he was not weak even among those at the Yang God Realm. The most terrifying sword, the twenty-third sword - Six Annihilation of Self, had even killed a Great Vajra Realm beast.

As Cen Xuantong's illusory figure appeared, the next moment, he descended upon the Sword Realm.

If the Innate Corpse-Slaying Realm is the merging of spiritual power with heaven and earth to form a 'momentum', and the Yin Spirit Realm is the merging of Yin Spirit power with heaven and earth to form a 'domain', then the Yang Spirit Realm is the assimilation of divine soul power with heaven and earth to form a 'boundary'.

Compared to the realm of Yin gods, the power of Yang gods represents a deeper and more profound control over heaven and earth.

hum!
At this moment, time and space seemed to freeze. Whether it was Shangguan Jinfeng, Cen Chongxuan, Xuanyuan Zhengji, or Zhuang Jin and Shangguan Yunchang, they all felt unable to move at all, with only their thoughts and ideas still running slowly.

They were only affected by the impact; the pressure on the gray-blue spirit that was directly targeted was unimaginable. The endless sword energy around Cen Xuantong's illusory figure transformed into distorted streams of light, as if traversing time and space to arrive in front of the gray-blue spirit. He pointed his fingers like a sword and slowly but firmly stabbed down.

The bluish-gray monster's face showed a human-like fear, which then turned into determination. A crystal blue light spot flickered between its brows, and a crystal blue light sphere emerged, which was the higher-level energy that it had previously refined spiritual energy to trigger the explosion of its Vajra Relic.

boom!
The half-step Vajra Realm spirit exploded, and Cen Xuantong was ultimately just a phantom reflected by the Suspended Sky Mirror mark. It flickered and shattered instantly. Then, after the 'Vajra Relic' of the Chunling Qiu Monster shattered, its essence was released, transforming into a beam of emerald green light that shot into the sky and scattered like shooting stars.

hum!
After Cen Xuantong's illusory image shattered, Zhuang Jin instantly regained his mobility, mobilized the energy of the Holy Spirit Pearl to form a barrier to block the aftershocks of the self-destruction, and at the same time, his own Eight Gates Sword Formation's eight swords flew out again, ascended into the air and opened their domains to intercept the source of the Chunling monster, instantly killing most of them.

Shangguan Jinfeng and Cen Chongxuan used the Suspended Sky Mirror to 'isolate the two realms' and protect them from the aftershocks. Xuanyuan Zhengji had already retreated to a distance and was only slightly affected. At this moment, he also made a move to annihilate its origin.

Even if some are missed, it would only be one or two out of a hundred. They probably wouldn't even reach the level of Yin Gods, so they are no longer a threat and can be dealt with slowly later.

...With the death of the monstrous Chunling Qiu, its origin was almost completely wiped out. Zhuang Jin, Shangguan Yunchang, Shangguan Jinfeng, Cen Chongxuan, and Xuanyuan Zhengji all breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.

However, after many twists and turns, another unexpected change occurred.

Swish!
After the illusory image of Cen Xuantong was summoned by the Hanging Mirror shattered, it did not fall silent. Seemingly drawn by resonance, it transformed into a stream of light and flew to the sky above the Thousand Cliff of the Second Pass of the Funiu Mountains, the place where the Prism Beast refracted energy before.

At this moment, it shone brightly, triggering a response from heaven and earth. The Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, encompassing the entire Funiu Mountains, reappeared, with strands of energy descending.

'What are Shangguan Jinfeng and Cen Chongxuan doing?! No, the Suspended Mirror isn't under their control right now!'

Zhuang Jin saw that Shangguan Jinfeng and Cen Chongxuan both had surprised expressions on their faces.

At this moment, he was still connected to Shangguan Yunchang through the Yin-Yang Union Technique. With the help of her three-thirds authority and his own powerful divine soul, he sensed an extremely subtle and hidden fluctuation in the Suspended Mirror.

A thought suddenly occurred to me: 'There's a spirit in the mirror!'

This is simply terrifying!
The three great families have always believed that the Suspended Mirror is nothing but an inanimate object, and that their source authority is controlled by them. But if there is a spirit in the mirror, then their authority is probably not source authority either.

—If that's the case, just as they can ban or strip Zhuang Jin and Xuan Yuanzhengji of their Dragon Token privileges, when it comes to certain crucial moments, they might also be able to ban or strip them of their so-called root privileges.

Even more terrifying is the presence of a spirit in the mirror, and the meaning behind this.

This means that the immortal from eight hundred years ago left behind a contingency plan that is far more complex than it appears on the surface. There are still direct means of intervention today. In fact, to think more conspiratorially, has there been a pair of eyes watching behind the powerful clans and aristocratic families all these years, or even a powerful hand manipulating things behind the scenes?

Shangguan Jinfeng and Cen Chongxuan, whose spiritual strength was far inferior to Zhuang Jin's, did not sense the subtle fluctuations. However, after their surprise at the sudden loss of control of the Suspended Mirror, they each had their own guesses.

However, that's not the most important thing right now.

After the Suspended Mirror flew over the Thousand Cliffs and underwent some kind of change, the strange energy in the void, which was already dissipating more and more slowly, namely the free spiritual energy, was rapidly shrinking and even being cut off. The remaining free spiritual energy became the existing amount.

Worse still, the wandering spiritual energy seems to be degenerating, combining with the yin-yang and five elements to degenerate into different types of primordial energy.

This made Zhuang Jin and the others temporarily suppress their thoughts, and they all sat cross-legged, vying for the free spiritual energy in the void.

"Yun Chang, absorb the spiritual energy first!"

Zhuang Jin and Shangguan Yunchang transmitted their voices to each other, without severing their soul connection. They remained in the state of the "Yin Yang Union Technique," jointly practicing the technique and absorbing spiritual energy.

—They have experience that in this state, cultivation is fastest and the absorption of the primordial energy of heaven and earth is more efficient, and the same should be true for spiritual energy.

The two had originally anticipated that the reason their physical transformation was being hindered was due to a lack of free spiritual energy. Now that they had this item, it was like rain after a long drought, with free spiritual energy pouring in like swallows returning to their nests.

However, true absorption is not simple. Even if it is not a mirage or impossible to absorb, it is still barely absorbed. After passing through the body, only a very small, negligible amount is retained.

It's like someone dying of thirst facing the ocean, only to be able to drink the dew condensed from the water vapor; or like someone working in a bank, handling billions of dollars, only to receive a basic salary.

It wasn't that Zhuang Jin and Shangguan Yunchang were so inefficient; Shangguan Jinfeng, Cen Chongxuan, and Xuanyuan Zhengji were all struggling just as much, or even less efficient, probably around 50% to 80% of what they were doing. Only the giant spirit tree seemed to be more efficient than them.

Even so, this is a rare and precious opportunity. No matter how low the efficiency, a little bit can still be left after inhalation to support the subtle transformation of the physical body.

This process is like constantly hearing notifications in your ear: Lifespan credited: +1, +3, +7, +5...

After a short while, the Suspended Mirror returned, dim and silent, and was put away by Shangguan Jinfeng and Cen Chongxuan. At this time, all the wandering spiritual energy in the air also disappeared.

"We owe this disaster to Xiao Zhuang!"

"Fellow Daoist Zhuang, the Cen family will definitely deliver the resources that were promised before, as well as the share for Governor Xuanyuan."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony. Speaking of which, this trip, just the opportunity to roam the spiritual energy just now, has been worthwhile."

"We have made considerable gains, but Cangzhou City is still in dire straits. We should return to Pingding as soon as possible."

"That's right. We must return quickly to deal with the aftermath of the beast tide, and also the Ge family... Fellow Daoist Ge, alas, what a pity!"

……

At this moment, the group felt relaxed and pleased that they had nipped the crisis in the bud, but they also felt worried and anxious about their home city, Cangzhou.

At the same time, due to the changes in the Hanging Mirror, people have become more cautious and careful in their words and actions.

—At least there was no doubt, discussion, or condemnation regarding the previous anomaly of the Suspended Mirror and the sealing off of the dissipation of wandering spiritual energy.

At this time, Zhuang Jinliu... oh, after Ge Daoqian passed away, there were only five people left. The five of them had not even communicated with each other through telepathy, relying entirely on tacit understanding.

It can only be said that everyone who has reached this level is exceptional; they are all naturally gifted actors. Zhuang Jin was no exception. He silently sealed and put away the Holy Spirit Pearl and returned together with the others.

……

When Zhuang Jin and his group returned to Cangzhou City, the beasts that had been controlled by the 'Chunxu' and formed the beast tide were perhaps only a hundred or so left because the Chunling spirits had escaped their origins and were no longer enough to control them. Or perhaps they were worried that Zhuang Jin and his group would reverse their location and completely wipe out their remaining origins...

In short, these controlled beasts seemed to have lost their leader, like headless flies, each going its own way.

This made suppression easier, not only against the strange beasts, but also against the fools who jumped out of the city during the previous chaos.

That's a matter for the subordinates to handle. However, with Zhuang Jin's return, there will inevitably be social interactions, and he will meet with some old acquaintances and subordinates to reassure them.

After all this, citing the severe damage to the Third Ring Road, he temporarily stayed in a courtyard and a quiet room within the Fourth Ring Road.

hum!
Zhuang Jin released the Holy Spirit Pearl, within which, in addition to the pure and abundant ice attribute energy, there was also a small crystalline blue energy. Under the control of his divine soul power, it soared like a small dragon, extremely profound, which was the gathering of spiritual energy.

……

(End of this chapter)