Divine Root Bone

A mournful wind howled through the sky, and a heavy black fog pressed down on the alley.

Amidst the ruins, Zhang Yang lay frozen on the ground, covered in blood, completely unconscious.

The evil spirit's clone stood silently before the crumbling wall, its dark, empty eyes indifferently sweeping over the fallen youth. It watched as the youth's Dao Foundation spiritual power completely dissipated and all the golden Dao patterns were extinguished, and watched as the only opponent who could stand against it fell into complete silence.

A cold, mocking, and condescending cruel smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

Foundation building?

That's all there is to it.

One punch was all it took to crush him.

The next moment, he slowly turned his head.

Those lifeless, empty, pitch-black eyes suddenly pierced through the ruins and the puppets scattered everywhere, coldly casting their gaze upon the trembling, desperately resisting group of cultivators behind them.

that moment.

Everyone in the audience felt a chill run down their spines, their scalps tingle, and their bodies go numb!

Despite the endless, relentless tide of puppets charging towards them, all the cultivators instinctively froze, their hair standing on end.

The suffocating feeling of being locked on by a top predator and completely stared at by death made everyone's heart stop!

Extreme tension! Utter panic! Desperate climb to the top!

"He...he's looking over here!!"

"The evil spirits are coming!!"

Someone in the crowd trembled and lost their voice, their voice cracking, carrying the strains of a near-collapse.

The black-clad evil spirit lifted its foot and slowly walked towards the crowd.

His steps were slow, yet every step he took resonated deeply in everyone's hearts.

A three-foot-long, unwavering protective shield of dan yuan surrounded him, with billowing black mist following him. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth was frantically devoured, suppressed, and annihilated by it, and all the yin energy, evil energy, and death energy of the entire old alley converged on him.

As he slowly approached, the countless puppets seemed to receive a kill order and instantly surged in number!

The silent, stiff-laughing mortal puppets and the bloodthirsty, roaring evil cultivator puppets all accelerated, fearlessly and relentlessly rushing towards the remaining cultivator formation!

The cultivator team, which had already suffered heavy casualties and numbered less than a hundred, was now completely overwhelmed by the crushing force of the puppet horde. Everyone was injured, their spiritual energy depleted, and they were exhausted both physically and mentally.

Screams erupted instantly, echoing throughout the old alley!

Pfft—!

A low-level rogue cultivator, unable to dodge in time, had his protective aura torn apart by several puppets in an instant. Sharp claws pierced his body, blood gushed out, and his body was forcibly knocked down and torn apart on the spot.

Another outer disciple was unable to dodge in time and was entangled by the evil puppet's black mist. His body quickly withered and his life force was forcibly drained. He screamed twice and then fell straight to the ground and died.

In just a few breaths!

Twenty or thirty cultivators died tragically one after another, their blood staining the streets!

Limbs and bones were scattered everywhere, and blood was dripping all over the bluestone slabs. The already tragic formation was torn apart even further!

There are fewer and fewer living people!

The path to survival is getting narrower and narrower!

Despair overwhelmed me like a black flood!

Seeing that everyone was about to be wiped out in this deadly place, a rogue cultivator at the peak of Qi Refining, covered in blood and with a severed arm and injuries, suddenly roared out with bloodshot eyes!

"I'm going to die either way!!"

"Senior Zhang Yang dared to confront a Golden Core demon head-on with his Foundation Establishment cultivation! Why shouldn't we dare to fight back!"

"There's no way out! There's nowhere to retreat! I might as well die a worthy death! I'll fight to the death! Every second counts! If I can buy everyone a chance to live, I'll die for it!!"

That roar, hoarse and desperate, shattered all despair!

It instantly ignited the last vestiges of fighting spirit in everyone who remained!

Correct!

Either way, it's death!

Rather than waiting to die, being devoured by puppets, or being slaughtered at will by evil spirits, it's better to charge forward with all your might!

Even if it's like a mantis trying to stop a chariot! Even if it's like a moth drawn to a flame!

moment!

The dozen or so remaining Qi Refining Stage 7 or 8 cultivators and Qi Refining Peak cultivators had bloodshot eyes. With gritted teeth and a resolute heart, they completely abandoned any fear of death. Carrying their broken magic weapons and blood-stained blades, they fearlessly charged towards the slowly approaching Golden Core evil spirit!

More than a dozen figures charged forward desperately, their killing intent shaking the heavens!

But reality is cruel enough to be suffocating.

The weapons, fists, and magical artifacts of the cultivators all slammed heavily into the eternal three-foot-long protective shield of the evil spirit—

Ding ding ding ding—!

A dense, ear-piercing clang of metal clashing and exploding resounded continuously!

Can!

Not a trace!

Not a ripple!

Even the black mist ripples on the surface of the shield did not tremble in the slightest!

All attacks are ineffective!

Absolutely impenetrable!

Like a swarm of ants frantically crashing against a towering mountain, it's laughable, insignificant, powerless, and hopeless.

The black-clad evil spirit had an indifferent gaze, not even bothering to lift his eyelids, as if looking at a swarm of disturbing insects. He walked forward casually and nonchalantly, his eyes filled with extreme contempt and mockery.

"A bunch of ants."

"What's the use of bringing more?"

His voice was cold and devoid of any emotion.

He casually threw a punch.

boom!

The seemingly casual punch, imbued with a trace of Dan Yuan power, precisely struck the chest of the leading Qi Refining Peak rogue cultivator at the forefront of the charge.

There was no earth-shattering roar, only a dull thud of flesh tearing apart.

The rogue cultivator who had just roared and inspired the crowd, his bloodlust surging, suddenly had his chest cave in, his ribs shattered, and his flesh and internal organs burst apart. He was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, raining blood down from the sky. He landed on the ground, completely dead, and died on the spot.

Cruel, decisive, and crushing!

Immediately afterwards, the evil spirit stepped to the side and delivered a casual side kick with its right leg!

Snap!

A clear, piercing sound of bones cracking rang in everyone's ears!

Before the other Qi Refining Peak cultivator could even scream, his entire right leg snapped and broke off from the thigh, the white bone piercing through the flesh, its jagged outline exposed, and blood gushing out like a fountain!

The man collapsed to the ground instantly, the excruciating pain piercing his soul. His heart-wrenching screams tore at his heart, but he didn't even have the strength to struggle to his feet. He could only convulse in despair in a pool of blood.

Everyone in the audience felt a chill run through them, their limbs stiffened, and their hearts pounded with fear!

But the tragedy did not stop!

A female rogue cultivator, now only at the eighth level of Qi Refining, witnessed the tragic death of her companion, her eyes filled with a mixture of fear and despair.

With tears in her eyes, she summoned the mid-grade spiritual sword, the greatest opportunity of her life and her only protective weapon. She desperately pushed the sword's spiritual light to its limit and charged forward, fiercely stabbing at the evil spirit's protective shield!

"Break it—!!"

Clang!

A piercingly sharp crack shattered the sky!

The Dan Yuan protective shield is indestructible and has remained unmoved since time immemorial!

The force of the recoil was terrifyingly immense!

The top-grade spirit sword shattered instantly, exploding into countless tiny sword fragments and sharp iron dust!

Countless tiny, sharp fragments of sword energy instantly bounced back!

Puff puff puff—!

Countless metal fragments pierced the woman's face, eyes, and skin!

Her eyes were instantly pierced and ripped open by shards of metal, her face was covered in bloody holes, and she was instantly covered in blood. The excruciating pain prevented her from even screaming.

The evil spirit's gaze turned slightly cold, as if it was growing impatient with the repeated collisions of these ants.

He threw a casual, straight punch.

Silently, it landed on the female cultivator's head.

Bang-!

A head exploded into a shower of blood and flesh right in the pool of blood!

Clean and efficient, extremely bloody!

A moment of deathly silence!

All the cultivators who rushed forward were killed, severely injured, or annihilated!

The remaining surviving cultivators froze in place, none daring to take another step forward.

Fear has taken root deep in my heart!

It's impossible to win!

They're not even in the same dimension!

This is pure, absolute, and overwhelming despair!

……

Just when the entire arena was on the verge of complete annihilation and everyone's spirits were shattered.

Amidst ruins, rubble, and pools of blood.

Zhang Yang, who had been beaten unconscious, trembled slightly at the tip of his finger.

His heavy eyelids struggled to open a crack, and his hazy consciousness slowly returned from the depths of darkness.

Excruciating pain!

A tearing pain shot through his entire body, his arms were numb and stiff, his chest was churning with blood and qi, his foundation was severely damaged, and every breath aggravated his internal injuries.

He turned his head with difficulty, his vision blurred as he looked toward the battlefield.

What you see at first glance—

The puppet slaughterhouse was a bloodbath. Fellow disciples were wounded, and everyone was in despair. Cultivators died one after another. The black-clad evil spirit stood above all living beings, slaughtering at will and treating human life as worthless.

An unprecedented, profound sense of powerlessness gripped his heart.

That's too strong...

The power of the Golden Core is as vast as the heavens and the abyss.

Just as his mind sank to the bottom, a glimpse suddenly appeared in the corner of his eye!

Three storage bags lay quietly among the rubble not far from him!

It was a storage bag that I took from a high-ranking member of the Black Fiend Sect when I wiped him out!

The battle had been intense and the situation dangerous, so there had been no time to check on it. Afterwards, no one in the sect, including Su Qingyao, mentioned it. It seemed that everyone had subconsciously forgotten about this spoil of war and tacitly agreed that it belonged to him.

Despite the excruciating pain throughout his body, Zhang Yang gritted his teeth and crawled laboriously, slowly retrieving all three storage bags from his hands.

He leaned against the broken wall, panting heavily, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Enduring the excruciating pain of his internal organs being torn apart, he raised his hand and opened the first storage bag.

As soon as the bag was opened, a dazzling, pure, and boundless spiritual energy rushed out!

Inside, there were no clutter or miscellaneous items, only more than thirty round, full, and pure spirit stones of the highest quality, quietly stacked together!

Apart from that, there were only a few discarded clothes and useless miscellaneous items.

Zhang Yang's eyes flickered, and he casually put the second storage bag aside.

The bag contained mostly low-level magical artifacts, broken flying swords, and ordinary low-level spiritual herbs, all of mediocre quality and of no help whatsoever in the current battle.

He ignored it and opened the last, and most inconspicuous, third storage bag.

The bag contained very few spirit stones, far less than the previous two bags.

But just as he casually rummaged through the bag to the bottom corner, in the most inconspicuous crevice—

A heavy, diamond-shaped token, entirely black, exceptionally thick, and with a very strong feel, lay quietly at the bottom of the bag.

The token has four regular edges and a raised diamond shape in the center. It is dark and dull all over, and its material is neither gold nor stone. It is extremely heavy and feels very heavy in the hand.

At the very center of the token is a powerful, domineering, and ferocious ancient seal script character: Demon!

Zhang Yang stroked the token with his fingertips, his brows furrowing slightly.

Unfamiliar, eerie, and heavy.

He couldn't discern its origin, its purpose, or distinguish whether it was a demonic sect token, an ancient sect's keepsake, or a mysterious treasure.

The current situation is perilous, and there is no time to delve into it further.

He temporarily put the black magic token back into the bag and placed all three storage bags on the ground beside him.

And at this very moment—

Deep within a body wracked with excruciating pain and on the verge of death from severe injuries!

Within the dantian, the foundation of Dao!

A long-dormant and accumulated opportunity for a breakthrough suddenly and violently stirred up!

The pressure of great battle, life-or-death crisis, extreme life-or-death pressure, the erosion of the Golden Core's might, and the tempering in the face of near death!

Surprisingly, this seemingly hopeless situation turned out to be a blessing in disguise, allowing him to break through the barrier!

Zhang Yang was utterly shocked!

He knew it perfectly well.

Breaking through now is extremely dangerous!

Surrounded by murderous intent, with evil spirits within reach, and puppets slaughtering everywhere, there is always the possibility of being ambushed and interrupted!

But he knew even more clearly—

If we don't break through to the next level, everyone will die!

With his current Foundation Establishment Level 2 combat power, he couldn't even break through the opponent's passive Dan Yuan protection, so there was absolutely no chance of turning the tide!

Only a breakthrough!

Only by reaching the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment or even higher!

Only by surging his spiritual power, solidifying his foundation, and enhancing his combat strength could he possibly find a weakness, turn the tide, and protect everyone behind him!

There was no choice!

There is no way out!

A resolute, death-defying light instantly ignited in Zhang Yang's eyes!

His mind raced through the thoughts—

He once possessed four Time Jade Essences, but after handing over two to the sect, he still had two Time Jade Essences left!

In addition, there are more than thirty top-grade spirit stones that were just seized!

Resources are plentiful! The opportunity has arrived! Breakthrough!

It's now!

Zhang Yang gritted his teeth and endured the excruciating pain that felt like his internal organs were being torn apart, struggling to sit cross-legged amidst the pool of blood and rubble.

He took out all the top-grade spirit stones and arranged them around his body, then gripped two Time Jade Essences tightly, completely resetting his mind.

This moment.

He must navigate amidst the overwhelming killing intent and deadly traps—

Breaking through adversity! A breakthrough against all odds!