Withered Tree, Wandering Dragon
Inside the cave.
The dragon-faced cultivator looked at Ning Qi and the other two.
The eyes hidden behind the mask instantly shot out six Divine Intent blades of intent, slashing towards the three.
The three were only fifty meters away from the dragon-faced cultivator. Fifty meters is such a short distance that the divine blade of Divine Intent crossed space almost instantly and landed in front of them.
Even more terrifying was that the six Divine Intent blades shattered the space between the two sides, a shattering so severe it was practically obliterating everything, as if carrying a spatial torrent towards the three.
If any other cultivator at the Dao Integration stage were to face this Divine Intent blade, they would have no chance of escape and would be instantly killed. Moreover, their Dao Integration body would be obliterated by the oncoming spatial torrent.
However, Ning Qi and his two companions' combat strength had already surpassed that of ordinary Dao Integration cultivators.
Before Ning Qi could make a move, the Holy Ancestor's clone preemptively clenched his right hand beneath his sleeve.
The six Divine Intent blades that were attacking, as well as the torrent of shattered space, froze instantly, as if time had stopped.
This space is his and the will of the Vast Realm's home ground. It is unwise for the dragon-faced cultivator to choose to fight them on their home ground!
The will of the Vast Realm also joined the attack.
His grand will descended upon the cave space, and the entire space seemed to come alive at that moment.
The space that had been shattered by the opponent instantly returned to its original state as if time had reversed, and the six invisible Divine Intent blades hovered in front of the three, unable to advance any further.
Upon seeing this, the dragon-faced cultivator narrowed his eyes slightly, but showed no intention of retreating or even fleeing.
The light in his eyes intensified, and the six floating Divine Intent blades, whose originally formless surfaces flashed with a stream of light, emitted a violent clang in the void.
Whoosh!
The next second, to the disbelief of the Holy Ancestor's avatar and the Vast Realm, the Divine Intent Will Blade broke through their suppression and continued to slash towards the three of them.
"This is the power of immortality..."
The Holy Ancestor's avatar was startled. Suddenly, a golden aura emanated from his body, instantly enveloping the will of the Vast Realm and Ning Qi beside him.
Bite!
The Divine Intent blade struck the golden flames, sparks flying and the metallic clang of a physical collision echoing through the air.
The next second, the Divine Intent Blade actually pierced into the aura, heading straight for the three people's faces.
Fortunately, the Holy Ancestor's avatar and the will of the Vast Realm worked together perfectly, and since it was their home turf, the golden flames suddenly surged forward, transforming into countless densely packed giant hands that gripped the six Divine Intent blades from head to toe, as firmly as tight bands.
Ning Qi remained calm throughout.
His eyes, clear and bright, took in the entire battle between the two sides.
Upon seeing the Divine Intent blade and the giant hand formed from the aura of the Holy Ancestor's avatar, both exuded an aura of immortality.
Ning Qi became even more curious: just who was this dragon-faced cultivator sent by the Mountain Ancestor?
In the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, the true powerhouses are nothing more than the Two Ancestors of Mountain and Sea plus the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm.
The will of the Mountain and Sea Realm has become the spirit of the Mountain and Sea within Ning Qi's True Martial Spirit World, while the Sea Ancestor is trapped within the illusory image of Mount Buzhou, and the Mountain Ancestor is also controlling the illusory image of Mount Buzhou...
Ning Qi didn't believe there were any powerful figures within the Mountain and Sea Realm he didn't know about. Even if there were, the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm couldn't possibly be unaware of them; it would have alerted him long ago.
Recalling the other party's voice and the somewhat familiar aura, the identity of the dragon-faced cultivator before him was almost obvious.
Ning Qi almost instantly confirmed the identity of the person in front of him, but he was still somewhat unsure, after all, it was too astonishing.
Could the opponent really control such a powerful Mount Buzhou while simultaneously battling the Sea Ancestor and Saint Ancestor, and still manage to spare some power to enter the Vast Realm?
Ning Qi was searching for the other party's identity, as were the Holy Ancestor's avatar and the will of the Vast Realm.
Now, the Divine Intent blade and the giant hand formed from the aura are locked in a stalemate, both casting spells from a distance, neither giving way.
The dragon-faced attendant's eyes gleamed, and he still appeared completely at ease.
However, the Holy Ancestor's avatar and the will of the Vast Realm were on their home turf, so they were ultimately in a stronger position.
Click!
A series of shattering sounds rang out, and the next second, the six Divine Intent blades were crushed one by one in the palm of the giant hand.
The power of immortality dissipated, transforming into streaks of light that returned to the dragon-faced cultivator.
The golden hand formed by the Holy Ancestor's avatar relentlessly pursued the dragon-faced cultivator, traversing the void and grabbing at him from various angles.
At the same time, those golden hands continued to multiply, with hundreds of hands emerging from the void, some large, some small, some grabbing, some smashing, some capturing, some holding, filling the entire space.
"Who exactly are you? Now that you're here before us, why hide your identity any longer?"
The Holy Ancestor's avatar said coldly.
Although he had some suspicions, like Ning Qi, he found it hard to believe without truly uncovering the other party's true intentions.
The will and power of the Vast Realm emanated and merged into the golden palms formed by the Saint Ancestor's avatar, continuing to cooperate with the Saint Ancestor's avatar to suppress the dragon-faced cultivator.
The dragon-faced cultivator remained standing calmly in front of him.
He gave a slight smile and said:
"Ha, don't you already have the answer in your hearts? Why ask when you already know the answer? Is this answer really that hard for you to accept?"
His tone was full of arrogance and condescension.
It seems that breaking into the core of the Vast Realm, seizing the true copy of the Ancient Dao Sacred Map, and now being discovered are not such big deals.
Boom!
Hundreds and thousands of golden palms slammed into the dragon-faced cultivator at the center, and that place was completely engulfed by endless golden light, making the dragon-faced cultivator's figure no longer visible.
"Devouring Dragon of the Realm!"
Suddenly, a cold shout rang out.
Within the golden light, a brownish-yellow Black Shadow rose up, constantly coiling and expanding.
In an instant, the golden light dimmed and was then completely swallowed up by the Black Shadow within.
Ning Qi and the other two looked around and were all taken aback.
The dragon-faced cultivator reappeared, still standing in the same spot, his body clean and unharmed, and around him appeared the shadow of a yellowish-brown dragon.
The dragon's shadow grew larger and larger, spiraling upwards to protect the dragon-faced cultivator within.
"Roar!"
The dragon roared, its sound echoing throughout the entire space.
If it were any other cultivator present, that dragon's roar alone would have knocked them unconscious.
Ning Qi and the other two looked at the dragon shadow and the dragon-faced cultivator inside, their expressions changing slightly.
The golden hands of the Holy Ancestor's avatar, brimming with immortal aura, were all devoured by this dragon shadow.
The Holy Ancestor's avatar and the will of the Vast Realm instantly felt a terrifying sense of loss of their own power.
Ning Qi observed even more carefully.
The brownish-yellow dragon was not entirely formed from Law Power; a treasure supported its body.
Ning Qi was not unfamiliar with that treasure; on the contrary, he was quite familiar with it.
His gaze fell upon the treasure, which floated and sank in the center of the dragon's head within the dragon's body. It was a withered yellow branch, the very branch that had been cut from the sapling of the Jianmu tree.
Previously, the dragon-faced cultivator used this tree branch to easily enter the Vast Realm, deceiving the Holy Ancestor's avatar and the will of the Vast Realm, and even arrived here, easily obtaining the true copy of the Ancient Dao Sacred Map.
If it weren't for Ning Qi's arrival and his discovery of its location through the Origin connection between the withered leaves and the tree branches...
It seems the dragon-faced cultivator can continue to hide in the shadows and do some terrible things.
Just look at how the Dragon Shadow is currently devouring the Holy Ancestor's avatar and the energy of the Vast Realm, and you'll know that.
Ning Qi stared at the withered branch.
The withered branches emitted a dull yellow light, which tinged the dragon's shadow with the same color.
He hadn't expected that the other party could use the branches of the Jianmu seedling in this way.
This also proves from another perspective that the Inheritance of Mount Buzhou is extremely formidable.
"Zhili, quickly sever your connection with those energies and withdraw your power from the illusory Mount Buzhou. Focus all your strength on dealing with this person, or the Vast Realm will be in grave danger!"
The Holy Ancestor's avatar shouted!
Upon hearing this, the will of the Vast Realm paused briefly before saying, "Teacher, if I withdraw my power, won't it be even more difficult for you to deal with the Mountain Ancestor?"
"If the Vast Realm is destroyed, we won't even be able to cope!"
The Holy Ancestor's avatar looked extremely anxious.
He had severed his mental connection with those golden hands.
At their level, they can unleash Divine Ability with a single thought. Their mind and Divine Ability are in harmony, and their will is their spirit. Therefore, when they saw that the dragon could devour their power, they immediately made a cut.
However, this cut immediately gave the dragon-faced cultivator the upper hand.
The entire cave space at this moment resembled minerals being roasted in high temperatures.
The ever-expanding dragon became like a hot coal, baking the entire cave space until it softened, even to the point of melting.
The dragon grew increasingly solid, continuously drawing in and devouring the energy within it.
The dragon-faced cultivator, hidden within the dragon's shadow, calmly gazed at Ning Qi and the other two, and slowly said:
"Stop struggling! No matter how much you struggle, it's all in vain!"
The Holy Ancestor's avatar erupted with dazzling golden light.
Suddenly, a spatial passage opened behind him, from which the sound of flowing water seemed to emanate.
Immediately following, a waterfall flowed into the cave space through the spatial passage, as if reinforcing something.
Ning Qi sensed that these waterfalls were from the space where the Holy Ancestor lived in seclusion, the same waterfalls they encountered before entering the cave space.
The waterfall flows into the cave space, resembling both water and air, instantly filling the entire space.
Meanwhile, the will of the Vast Realm also withdrew its power from the Mount Buzhou. Apart from reserving a portion of its power to continue maintaining the operation of the Vast Realm and to resist the phantom of Mount Buzhou that had just adhered to the Vast Realm, it pulled all the remaining power into the cave space.
As the Holy Ancestor's avatar and the will of the Vast Realm mobilized their full power, the speed at which the dragon devoured energy instantly slowed down.
The dragon-faced cultivator narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Hmph, do you think this will stop me?"
He pointed a finger at the dragon's body, and a stream of pure immortal energy flowed into it.
Instantly, the withered branch of the Jianmu tree at the dragon's head rustled, and withered leaves detached from it, rapidly enlarging and flying to various parts of the dragon's body, becoming dragon scales.
Each dragon scale shimmered with a mysterious light, ever-changing and giving rise to various different Dao Patterns.
The dragon immediately became much more realistic, its body moving and emanating a terrifying Devouring Power.
This caused the previously slowed-down absorption speed to pick up again instantly, and even faster than before.
The Holy Ancestor's avatar and the will of the Vast Realm were startled.
Ning Qi suddenly transmitted his voice to the two of them, "Trust me this once, let the will of the Vast Realm draw some energy from the Boundary Sea and integrate it into this space."
Upon hearing this, both hesitated slightly, then the Holy Ancestor's avatar said to the will of the Vast Realm, "Listen to Ning Qi!"
The will of the Vast Realm instantly and quietly opened the hidden passage in the cave space that connected to the Boundary Sea, connecting it to the Boundary Sea Boundary Sea and immediately drawing a large amount of the Boundary Sea energy into the cave space.
In the next instant, the entire cave space seemed to be shrouded in a layer of gray mist.
The dragon tumbled and rolled within, its body suddenly shrinking, and its energy absorption rate slowed down again, gradually weakening.
Upon seeing this, the dragon-faced cultivator standing in the center was clearly taken aback by what he saw.
He glanced at the three of them with surprise and said, "The boundary water that has been integrated with the energy of the Boundary Sea? You were able to come up with a way to slow down my Devouring World Dragon so quickly; I underestimated you!"
He wasn't sure if the other party truly knew the Devouring Dragon's weakness, or if it was just pure luck.
In short, the dragon-faced cultivator was clearly no longer as calm as before.
"Does it really work?"
The Holy Ancestor's avatar and the will of the Vast Realm were delighted to see this.
They were simply following Ning Qi's orders without understanding the underlying principles.
Ning Qi stood behind the two men, not yet making a move in this battle, more like a wise man strategizing from behind the scenes.
Although the Holy Ancestor's avatar and the will of the Vast Realm withdrew their full strength, the devouring by the wandering dragon had shrunk the space by about one-twentieth.
At this moment, inside the dragon's body, the dragon-faced attendant's hands were constantly forming Dao seals, as if he was about to unleash some kind of Divine Ability.
The two sides are now locked in a stalemate.
Ning Qi took a moment to ask, "How's it outside?"
The will of the Vast Realm said, "The illusory image of Mount Buzhou has completely adhered to the Vast Realm, and the boundary wall connected to it is being constantly worn down. I am mobilizing my power to resist it."
Ning Qi felt slightly relieved upon hearing this.
Sword Ancestor Zhao Yujun and the others should be stationed in the vicinity of the intersection of the Vast Realm and the War Realm. If the Mountain Ancestor were to destroy the boundary wall of the Vast Realm, then the Sword Ancestor and the others would probably be instantly sucked into the phantom of Mount Buzhou, following in the footsteps of Gong Heavenly Dao and the others, becoming the objects of sacrifice for the Mountain Ancestor.
Of course, even if they weren't there, but were in a place further back in the Vast Realm, they might not be able to escape.
Once the Mountain Ancestor breaches the defenses of the Vast Realm, it's likely that none of the cultivators within will be able to escape.
Moreover, the dragon-faced cultivators before them have now arrived in the core area of the Vast Realm, with one outside and the other inside, cooperating with each other. This is actually more dangerous than the situation they faced in the Mountain and Sea Realm before.
Ning Qi glanced at the dragon-faced cultivator protected by the dragon shadow; it was time for him to make his move.
At that moment, the dragon-faced cultivator also completed the hand seals.
The will of the Vast Realm and the avatar of the Holy Ancestor joined forces to drive all their power to suppress the dragon-faced cultivator.
They had just sensed that the dragon seemed somewhat afraid of the energy of the Boundary Sea, so they drew even more from the Boundary Sea.
However, as soon as the dragon-faced cultivator finished forming the hand seals, the entire dragon suddenly stretched out its body, instantly filling the entire cave space!