Jiang Yun looked at the four spirit pearls flying toward him, his heart filled with delight. He had never expected the Wood Spirit Pearl to appear in this way.
Ao Yun, who had followed him over, watched as Jiang Yun casually brought out three Innate Spiritual Treasures. Then those three treasures drew out another treasure, leaving him completely stunned. Were all these big shots this wealthy? It was simply unimaginable!
Jiang Yun raised a hand and collected all four spirit pearls before him. Then he turned his gaze toward the giant tree. Since it could withstand the nourishment of the Wood Spirit Pearl, it was definitely no ordinary plant. Moreover, he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity with it. He wondered what grade of spiritual root it was.
When he reached the tree and carefully examined it, Jiang Yun's footsteps suddenly stopped. His gaze locked tightly onto the strange spiritual root before him, as if drawn by a lodestone. His eyes flashed with uncontrollable shock and delight.
He found a matching image of the tree before him among the fragments of memory in his mind.
Jiang Yun's lips trembled slightly as boundless excitement churned in his heart. "This... this is the High-grade Innate Spiritual Root, Kunlun Wood!"
At that moment, Jiang Yun felt that he truly was the favored son of fortune. Whenever he needed something, he could always obtain it.
When he had found the Gengjin Grape last time, he had managed to locate such a concealed cave. Although part of the reason was that things of the same origin had attracted one another, this time he had truly relied entirely on fortune's favor.
With this high-grade spiritual root, Kunlun Wood, his Root Foundation could be improved once more. The Wood Spirit Pearl he had obtained could also increase his cultivation.
Jiang Yun collected Kunlun Wood, roots, soil, and all, into his Inner World. Then he called out to Ao Yun, who was still standing blankly nearby, and prepared to return to the Northern Sea Dragon Palace.
He had far exceeded his goal for this trip. He needed to find a suitable place quickly so he could absorb Kunlun Wood's source and improve his Root Foundation, as well as refine his spiritual treasures and advance his cultivation!
Just as the two were preparing to leave, several streaks of rainbow light flew over from behind. The rainbow lights scattered and landed around them, surrounding the pair.
The leader was a Nine-headed Chiwen. Its body resembled a fish but was not a fish, and resembled a dragon but was not a dragon. It had nine heads, each with different expressions and abilities. Its body was covered in dark-blue scales. Even after undergoing Form Transformation, it remained enormous. Its cultivation was comparable to Jiang Yun's, and it faced him head-on.
Four others surrounded them from different directions. On the left was a Rabbit Spirit whose Form Transformation was incomplete. Two long ears still protruded from its head, and its split rabbit lips made anyone who saw them uncomfortable. It was at the mid-stage of the Mystic Immortal realm. On the right was a Profound Ice Thunder Python. The moment it opened its mouth, it flicked out a long forked tongue. Its eyes were narrow and its gaze icy, while occasional bursts of lightning exploded across its body. It was at the early stage of the Golden Immortal realm. Behind them were two Ice Armor Profound Turtles. Their thick shells had not retracted with their Form Transformation but remained worn on their bodies like plate armor. They appeared to possess formidable defenses and were probably at the perfected Mystic Immortal realm.
Ao Yun looked at the people surrounding them. Even the weakest had cultivation on par with his, while all the others were stronger. He grew tense, worried that he would hold Jiang Yun back.
He moved closer to Jiang Yun and quietly transmitted, "Senior Yunya, these people clearly mean us harm. They were probably drawn here by the spiritual light emitted when the treasures appeared. My cultivation is low. If you find yourself unable to defeat them later, remember to run first. Don't let me drag you down. Otherwise, neither of us will escape."
Jiang Yun was speechless after hearing this. The fight had not even begun, and this fellow was already making arrangements for what came after. How little confidence did he have in Jiang Yun's strength? With only a few worthless stragglers like these, Jiang Yun could easily crush them with his physical body alone without using any treasures. Still, this fellow had a good heart and had even taken the initiative to tell Jiang Yun to escape first. For that alone, Jiang Yun could not mistreat him after this matter was over!
"All right, you don't need to worry. I don't care about this trash. Just watch from here. Don't interfere." Jiang Yun did not transmit the words privately. He simply spoke to Ao Yun openly and casually.
The few people surrounding them were instantly enraged when they heard this.
Their group had always operated in the outer reaches of the North Sea, frequently engaging in murder and plunder. The Rabbit Spirit had joined them only recently, after they encountered it on an island in the North Sea.
They had originally planned to kill the rabbit when they happened upon it. Instead, the rabbit had decisively joined them and then voluntarily led them to a treasure site, allowing them to obtain a low-grade Innate Spiritual Root—the Three Lights Grass. That was what had saved its life, after which it joined their group.
This spiritual root could gather the Three Lights of the sun, moon, and stars, condensing one drop of Three Lights Divine Water each year. For people in their line of work, it was an exceptionally valuable treasure that could save their lives at a critical moment.
They had just happened to be passing nearby when the Wood Spirit Pearl emerged. The four spirit pearls had emitted dazzling spiritual light, alerting them to its presence. That was why they had rushed over and surrounded the two.
Who would have thought that before they could even threaten the pair, they would be looked down upon instead? This was utterly intolerable. They had to teach the two a lesson.
The leading Nine-headed Chiwen shouted, "Who's in control of the situation now? We've crushed at least eight hundred or a thousand people with cultivation like yours. If you know what's good for you, hand over the treasure that just appeared and kneel down to apologize. If we're in a good mood, we might even leave you a complete corpse. Otherwise, we'll grind your bones to dust and scatter your ashes, make your soul scatter, and erase you from the Primordial World!"
All nine of its heads spoke at once, creating an imposing spectacle. It certainly looked convincing.
Jiang Yun looked disdainful. He dug at his ear and mocked, "If you want to fight, then fight. Why all the nonsense?"
With that, he directly activated his Star Dharma Form. A massive upper-body dharma image immediately enveloped him and Ao Yun. The little gang that had surrounded them now looked like four ants before the enormous dharma image.
Jiang Yun did not waste words. He directly urged the dharma image forward, striking the leading Nine-headed Chiwen with one hand and sweeping toward the others with the other. His habit of attacking without warning clearly caught the other side off guard.
The few followers on the other side were far too weak. A casual sweep from Jiang Yun left them severely wounded. The Nine-headed Chiwen, however, surprised Jiang Yun by withstanding that casual palm strike.
It seemed that anything in the Primordial World capable of growing nine heads had something special about it. Their bloodlines were all extraordinary. Xiangliu, Jiu Ying, Jiu Feng, and the Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage had all made considerable names for themselves. Thinking of this, perhaps the Nine-headed Chiwen's earlier boasting had not been entirely false!
But whether it had been boasting or not, crushing Jiang Yun to death was certainly not something it could accomplish with words alone.
Jiang Yun increased the pressure of his hand. In the next moment, however, the Nine-headed Chiwen suddenly pushed back with all its strength, forcing the palm away. Then it blurred and appeared outside the range covered by Jiang Yun's hand. Jiang Yun's palm struck the island's surface, leaving a deep handprint in the ground.
After escaping the attack's range, the Nine-headed Chiwen did not flee. Instead, it used a divine ability resembling Heaven and Earth Manifestation, growing even taller than Jiang Yun's dharma image. Seeing this, Jiang Yun increased his magic power and activated the second stage. The lower half of the dharma image instantly appeared, making it just as tall as its opponent.
The Nine-headed Chiwen's nine heads then unleashed their respective abilities. Some spat out freezing flames, some released lightning, and some spewed Poisonous Miasma that corroded everything... The attacks surged toward Jiang Yun one after another. His dharma image possessed powerful defenses. Facing the attacks of all nine heads, its surface was merely battered with a few small dents. Meanwhile, the dharma image's two arms moved like they were swatting flies, striking one palm after another and sending the Nine-headed Chiwen's nine heads reeling in all directions until it was dizzy and disoriented.
The battle between the two created an immense disturbance, splitting the surrounding land into several pieces.
Although the Nine-headed Chiwen was beaten bloody, it suffered no fatal injuries. Its physical body far surpassed its cultivation realm. Otherwise, it could not have wreaked havoc in the North Sea for so many years or killed so many opponents in the same realm.
Seeing this, Jiang Yun unleashed several more Star Seals. Only then did he beat his opponent until its bones were broken and its sinews torn. At that point, the other side finally realized how powerful Jiang Yun was.
"Your strength is decent, but I don't want to play with you anymore."
Jiang Yun stretched his muscles thoroughly. He did not want to waste any more time, so he directly activated the third stage of his dharma image. A long blade condensed in its hand, the blade gathering the power of countless stars.
He used the Shrink Ground to Inch technique to move instantly before his opponent, then swung the blade down. Before the Nine-headed Chiwen could react, the strike cleaved it in two from head to toe. Even its soul was shattered by the stellar force. The blade's energy carved a massive gorge into the island, nearly splitting it in half.
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