A Thrilling Escape

Lin Yi felt a chill run down his spine, and his heart nearly leaped out of his chest.

It wasn't just because of the sudden exposure, but also because of the deep green light curtain!

He also possessed this power, but not in his Main Body, but in an avatar.

It is precisely because we share the same knowledge that we understand how terrifying it is.

Because this is Divine Kingdom Projection!

One of the most direct manifestations of the power of a god-level being is its ability to project its own Divine Kingdom, temporarily bringing a portion of the real world under its absolute control through its own laws.

Although battles between gods usually do not involve the Divine Kingdom Projection, as the power is dispersed and often only wastes divine power, this method is invariably effective against beings below the god level.

"Run!"

Lin Yi roared, not having time to say anything more. Twenty-one star domains within his body roared simultaneously, and the power of spacetime flickered violently on his body, attempting to tear apart the "shadow of laws" that shrouded heaven and earth.

However, Lin Yi instantly sensed the enormous gap between them.

His spacetime manipulation abilities became incredibly difficult, as if stuck in the thickest swamp.

But Lin Yi did not give up.

"Just break through a tiny crack."

His forehead veins bulged, and his internal energy surged wildly as he tried to "cut" a slit in the deep green light screen in front of him.

Buzz!

The space rippled violently, and a thin, silvery-gray crack appeared on the ripple. However, it lasted for less than a fraction of a second before the deep green light around the crack surged in like mercury, instantly smoothing it out.

Just as Lin Yi attempted to break free of the confinement, the dense, almost impenetrable, pale green energy cloud above the platform suddenly surged.

The next instant, the clouds suddenly parted to the sides, and two enormous hands, made of pure wood grain and with Life Law runes flowing across their surfaces, slowly reached down.

Every detail of these two hands is crystal clear; the wood grain resembles ancient mountain ravines, exuding a vast vitality.

The mere presence of the structure caused the platform below to tremble violently, and a groan of unbearable strain filled the air.

The first giant hand, with a clear objective, grasped the tree spirit at the peak of the Derivation Realm entirely, and then began to retract upwards without hesitation, shrinking back into the surging pale green clouds.

The second giant hand, following closely behind the first, casually patted down on Paslan and Xikan on the platform.

Paslan and Xikan had already stopped attacking; the two hovered in mid-air, their eyes filled with horror.

The light of the laws surrounding them dimmed considerably, and under the dual suppression of the Divine Kingdom Projection and the giant hand's pressure, even maintaining flight became extremely difficult.

"No!"

Paslan let out a furious roar of resentment, and his three pairs of light wings suddenly burst into flames. His longsword erupted with dazzling light, transforming into a huge beam of light that slashed upwards.

Xikan also let out a shriek, and the light spots around him spun wildly, causing the space to twist violently, attempting to form a distorted gravitational barrier to slow down the giant hand's strike.

However, when the giant hand fell, the seemingly powerful sword light shattered instantly, and the distorted gravitational barrier, like fragile glass, crumbled inch by inch with the slightest touch of the giant hand.

"Bang!" "Bang!"

Two dull thuds sounded almost simultaneously.

The protective aura emanating from Paslan and Xikan's bodies shattered like paper. As if struck head-on by a meteorite, the two coughed up blood, their armor instantly cracked, and their aura plummeted to freezing point.

Immediately afterwards, brilliant colored light burst forth from the chests of both of them.

That was a sign that the life-saving seal bestowed upon him by the high-ranking members of the Spirit Race upon entering the secret realm had been activated by a deadly threat.

Colorful light enveloped the two severely injured and dying bodies, and with a slight flash, it forcefully broke through the barrier of the surrounding Divine Kingdom Projection and instantly disappeared from the spot.

They were directly kicked out of the secret realm!

The two giant hands moved with fluid grace; one grabbed the Tree Spirit at the Perfected Realm, while the other slapped away two top prodigies, all within a mere two or three seconds.

Then, the giant hand that had swatted Paslan and Xikan paused slightly in mid-air, its five fingers spread out, and it turned to strike again at Lin Yi and Yaxi, who had exposed themselves and were also firmly imprisoned by the dark green light barrier.

The shadow of death, like an icy tide, instantly engulfed the two completely.

Even before the giant hand arrived, the terrifying pressure that crushed everything made Lin Yi's bones crack, the circulation of his internal energy almost came to a standstill, and his soul seemed to be frozen.

He gritted his teeth, trying to gather the power of spacetime once more, even if it was just to create a slight disturbance and seize a sliver of hope.

However, the suppression from the Divine Kingdom Projection was too strong; his power was like an insect trapped in Amber, his struggles appearing pale and powerless.

Yaxi was not far from Lin Yi. Her delicate face was also pale, and her emerald eyes reflected the massive wooden hand that slammed down like a cloak of the sky.

The Phantom Light surrounding her had already shattered when the deep green light curtain descended, and she was now also under immense pressure.

"It's over."

This thought inevitably flashed through Yaxi's mind.

Faced with an existence of this level, all concepts like Illusory Law and hidden clones become meaningless.

In the face of absolute power and the suppression of rules, skill seems utterly laughable.

As she watched the massive hand slam down, thoughts raced through her mind.

"Fortunately, we only have one day left to stay. Even without this unexpected incident, we would have been expelled from the secret realm soon anyway. But..."

Yaxi glanced out of the corner of her eye at the black-haired human youth not far away.

"Lin Yi's spacetime laws are indeed powerful; he was able to briefly shake the Divine Kingdom Projection just now. No wonder he's hailed as the First Heavenly Prodigy of the Pan-Spirit Alliance. However, he still has a full thirty days left in his secret realm! If he's also forced out, the losses will be incalculable. On the contrary, if we can help him escape..."

"Even if I were to use the secret technique on myself, at most I would only struggle in vain like Paslan and Xikan. But if I help Lin Yi, with his strength in the laws of space and time, he might be able to seize the opportunity!"

In a flash, Yaxi made up her mind.

There was no time for further communication or explanation. She gave a low shout in her heart, and her eyes suddenly burst forth with an unprecedentedly brilliant light. Her source energy surged wildly within her body, and she directly used her trump card.

Buzz!

Strange fluctuations of law surged from Yaxi's body, transforming into an extremely complex pale purple rune in the air.

It is neither attack nor defense, but rather like something that exists simultaneously on countless superimposed illusory levels.

The pale purple rune flashed by in an instant, not flying towards Yaxi, but instead precisely imprinting itself on a certain point in the void surrounding Lin Yi, which was shrouded in a deep green light curtain.

In an instant, the deep green light screen on that point rippled slightly.

It's like a speck of dust being thrown into a calm lake, creating almost invisible ripples.

The Divine Kingdom Projection's suppression of Lin Yi loosened for a negligible moment.

It might only be one-hundredth of a second, or even less!

However, for Lin Yi, who had been focusing all his senses on fighting against the confinement and searching for a weakness, this moment was like a spark suddenly igniting in the darkness.

He noticed it almost at the same moment the restraints loosened.

Without thinking, without hesitating, and without even glancing at Yaxi beside him whose aura had suddenly plummeted.

His survival instinct and absolute grasp of timing led him to make the only correct choice.

"Break!"

Lin Yi roared inwardly, his source energy surging into the spacetime law imprint like a burst dam, regardless of the cost, concentrating all his power on the tiny "loosening" node created by Yaxi using a secret technique.

The power of spacetime, like the sharpest awl, pierced deep into the center of those rippling waves.

Bang!

A sharp buzzing sound came from the space.

Lin Yi's figure suddenly became blurry just before the giant wooden hand struck down.

Beside her, Yaxi, who had exhausted all her strength to use her secret technique to create an opportunity for Lin Yi, was now at her last gasp.

She made no further futile resistance, but simply hovered there quietly, looking up at the giant hand that blocked out all the light as it descended.

A giant hand slammed down.

Yaxi's body trembled violently, and the last remaining Phantom Light on her body completely vanished. She clearly heard the sound of her bones breaking, and blood gushed uncontrollably from her mouth.

Sensing that its host was on the verge of death, the life-saving talisman erupted with intense colored light, enveloping her severely injured body.

Bathed in the colorful light, Yaxi seemed to see Lin Yi's figure glance briefly in her direction before disappearing.

That look in her eyes was complex, containing shock, realization, and perhaps a hint of emotion she couldn't quite discern.

Then, a flash of colorful light appeared.

Yaxi's figure also disappeared from the platform shrouded in a deep green light curtain.

The giant hand slammed into empty space, leaving a deep palm print, then slowly rose and retracted into the swirling pale green clouds above.

The deep green light curtain receded like the tide, as if the breathtaking scene just now was nothing but a dream.

--

The Sacred Tree Secret Realm, Lower Level.

The space twisted violently, as if something was trying to force its way out.

Puff!

With a muffled thud, a figure whose aura was extremely weak was thrown out as if by an invisible force, staggering out of the distorted space, crashing heavily onto the surface of the Qi Root, then sliding down, barely managing to stay upright by kneeling on one knee.

It was Lin Yi.

His condition was extremely bad at the moment.

Not only was his face as pale as paper, his forehead covered in cold sweat, and blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, but even his azure battle suit was torn in several places, revealing the purplish-blue marks left by the terrifying pressure beneath.

Clearly, although he wasn't directly struck by the giant hand, the backlash from forcibly breaking through the spatial confinement still injured him.

In addition, there is the consumption of source energy.

In order to seize the moment created by Yaxi's secret technique and force a long-distance, "breakthrough" spatial jump under the suppression of the Divine Kingdom Projection, he almost drained all the source energy reserves in his twenty-one star domains.

At this moment, Lin Yi felt completely empty inside his body, his Source Sea was almost dried up, and only a few star fields in his body still had a faint flow of source energy.

Even with his current recovery ability, such a level of depletion would take him quite a while to return to peak condition without external assistance.

"Cough cough."

Lin Yi coughed up some foul breath mixed with blood, leaning against the cold, hard air root, breathing heavily.

But he dared not relax in the slightest, enduring his weakness and pain, his soul perception like the most vigilant radar, scanning the surrounding tens of thousands of kilometers area again and again.

After confirming that this was a relatively safe "lower" area and there were no signs of powerful tree spirits for the time being, he breathed a slight sigh of relief and began to check his worst-case scenario.

"The energy source is almost exhausted." Lin Yi smiled bitterly to himself.

In order to seize that fleeting opportunity, he almost drained all the reserves of twenty-one star domains. At this moment, his body was empty, with only a few core star domains still slowly generating a weak flow of new source energy.

Even with his current recovery ability, such a level of depletion would require several days to barely regain his mobility without external assistance.

The most urgent task is to restore our strength as soon as possible.

Lin Yi managed to retrieve two tiny crystals, each only the size of a thumb, from the depths of his storage space. Inside, however, were sealed crystals that shimmered with light like a liquid galaxy.

This is the Lanyuan Crystals, and the source energy it contains is enough to quickly restore an ordinary Star Domain level expert to full strength.

These were supplies he exchanged from the War Merit Treasury before entering the secret realm, and they were quite valuable.

But now is clearly not the time to be frugal.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Yi directly grasped the two Lanyuan Crystals in his palm. The pure, abundant, and easily absorbed gentle source energy flowed out of the crystals like a gushing spring and was absorbed into his dried-up Source Sea.

The recovery process takes time, but Lin Yi's thinking did not stop.

He guided the flow of energy while mentally reviewing the events.

God-level!

To my utter misfortune, I encountered a god-like being.

He was so close, so very close, that he was knocked out of the room.

It's Yaxi.

The final scene flashed through Lin Yi's mind; clearly, it was Yaxi who had helped him, giving him that sliver of hope.

Why?

Lin Yi pondered silently for a while and roughly guessed the reason.

Yaxi only has one day left to stay. Even if she uses a secret technique, the probability of successfully escaping under the Divine Kingdom Projection is extremely low. The greater possibility is that she will be kicked out as well.

Giving the opportunity to this "ally" who still has thirty days left is undoubtedly an extremely worthwhile deal—using one's own soon-to-be-extinguished opportunity, which is likely to fail, to gamble on a favor.

Very rational and decisive.

Although Yaxi most likely made her choice after analyzing the pros and cons, the result was that without her help, she wouldn't have been able to escape.

I truly owe this favor.

Furthermore, the appearance of this god-level tree spirit is also somewhat strange.

The probability of a divine-level tree spirit appearing in the Sacred Tree Secret Realm is extremely low. Why then, precisely when they were dealing with that perfected Realm Tree Spirit, did the Divine Kingdom Projection descend without warning?

The timing was perfect!

Moreover, the way that god-level tree spirit made its move was quite intriguing.

Two giant wooden hands appeared. One grabbed the Tree Spirit who had reached the Perfected Realm, while the other swatted Paslan and Xikan away, before striking him and Yaxi.

For tree spirits at the peak of the evolutionary realm, they were captured; for these prodigies, they were "killed," their methods ruthless, directly triggering their life-saving talismans.

This differential treatment

A cold glint flashed in Lin Yi's eyes, and a bold guess surfaced in his mind.

That platform with the Sacred Source Fruit grove and a large piece of Sacred Source Crystals —that area might actually be the "territory" or "private property" of the god-level tree spirit who made the move!

That tree spirit at the peak of the Transformation Realm likely has some connection with it, perhaps it is its descendant, subordinate, or a "guardian" it left there specifically to watch over the treasure!

That is why, when the guards were about to be overwhelmed, the "master" hidden in a higher area descended his Divine Kingdom Projection, personally intervened, and took away the damaged guards.

Only in this way can we explain why the appearance of a god-level being was so coincidental, and its drastically different attitudes toward the Perfected Tree Spirit of the Derivation Realm and these prodigies.

The former means "recycling," and the latter means "cleaning."

This conjecture made Lin Yi fall into deep thought.

This trip not only yielded nothing, but also left Yaxi with a favor, a truly huge loss.

He wouldn't just silently admit defeat; that's not his style.

"We can't beat a god-level being, that's a difference in level, but that tree spirit at the peak of the Derivation Realm, along with that cluster of Sacred Source Fruit and Sacred Source Crystals, might not be entirely without a chance!"

Lin Yi was thinking rapidly in his mind.

Judging from the brief observation of the battle, Paslan and Xikan did not fight the Perfected Tree Spirit of the Realm for long. Although the Tree Spirit was at a disadvantage, it did not suffer fatal damage.

It is only when it is clearly at a disadvantage, starting to be slowly chipped away at its health, and feeling hopeless about turning the tide, that it might seek help from its higher-level "master" through some means, perhaps through blood ties or special markings.

This means that, if planned properly, a swift and decisive surprise attack could potentially eliminate them before they can call for help again.

Paslan and Xikan could suppress him together. Although Yaxi is no longer here, if he were to undergo another thirty days of improvement, he might still have a chance.

The key is "speed"!

It was so fast that it didn't have time to react, didn't have time to call for help, or even if it did call for help, the god-like being wouldn't have time to come to its rescue.

Of course, this is all on the premise that the tree spirit that has reached the pinnacle of its evolutionary realm will return to that platform.

If my guess is correct, that place is the "private property" of a god-level being, and it has sent guards to protect it. It is highly unlikely that it will easily give up that precious cluster of Sacred Source Fruit and Sacred Source Crystals.

After eliminating the "intruder," it will likely allow the guardian of the perfected realm to return to his post, or send a new guardian over.

In either case, as long as there are still guardians and treasures of the World Derivation level there, there is room for maneuver.

Lin Yi quickly formulated a plan in his mind.

Prioritize restoring your strength and getting yourself into peak condition.

Then, leave that dangerous place, venture to a more remote area, continue hunting, and improve your strength.

He currently only has twenty-one star domains within his body, leaving considerable room for improvement. More source energy means stronger explosive power and sustained combat capability, which is the foundation for implementing the next step of the plan.

After maximizing your strength, before your time in the secret realm expires, find an opportunity to quietly sneak back to that area to investigate.

If the tree spirit at the peak of the Derivation Realm, or other World Derivation level guardians, returned, it would confirm the speculation.

At that moment, the opportunity arose!

"The most urgent task is to recover and become stronger."

Lin Yi focused his mind and concentrated on guiding the energy within the crystal.

After about three standard hours, the two Lanyuan Crystals turned into powder and slipped from between his fingers. Lin Yi took out two more and continued to absorb them.

While having far superior Source Energy compared to others of the same level is an advantage, it is troublesome to recover once the source energy is depleted.

Half a day later, Lin Yi opened his eyes, exhaled a long breath, and his eyes regained their sharp light.

The source energy has been restored to 80%, which no longer affects the battle.

The remaining 20% and some minor internal injuries can be gradually replenished through subsequent hunts and recovery.

Lin Yi stood up, and the twenty-one star domains within his body hummed slightly, as a powerful sense of strength returned.

Without delay, he activated the Veil of Delusion once more, his figure blurring as he blended into the surrounding environment.

Then, Lin Yi sped uphill.

He needs to return to the area where the Tree Spirits were active around the middle stage of the Derivation Realm.

For him, that place offered the highest hunting efficiency and relatively controllable risks. It allowed him to quickly improve his strength by obtaining World Derivation level Sacred Source Fruit and further hone his surging power through actual combat.

The next day.

A giant, branching area covered with countless glowing mosses, resembling an emerald corridor.

Lin Yi's figure appeared like a ghost behind an aerial root, his gaze fixed on a tree spirit not far ahead, slowly absorbing the life energy of the Sacred Source Fruit.

The tree spirit's Life Law fluctuations were steady and profound, reaching the level of the late stage of the Derivation Realm.

"I'll use you as an example."

With a slight thought, Lin Yi's spatial and temporal power subtly shifted. He needed to practice how to efficiently defeat his opponent when he couldn't completely freeze time and space.

Instead of teleporting to the tree spirit, he made a precise spatial jump, appearing near the intersection of the roots of several main energy vines on the side of the tree spirit.

Upon appearing, Lin Yi also activated the laws of time with all his might, interfering with the flow of time.

The tree spirit's reaction was a beat too slow, and the circulation of energy within its body became momentarily disordered.

It tried to twist and lash out in alarm and anger, waving its vines.

But Lin Yi's fist had already been thrown.

This punch lacked any flashy light; on the fist's edge, the power of spacetime was highly compressed, forming countless extremely fine, constantly appearing and disappearing spatial cracks and temporal faults.

They are not designed to tear apart external objects, but rather to inject violent spacetime destructive force directly into the target's body at the moment of impact, disrupting the structural stability of its Internal World at the most microscopic level.

"Spacetime Blast - Internal Derivative!"

The fist landed silently on the tree spirit's bluish-gray trunk.

Bang!

A deep, rumbling sound, like muffled thunder, came from within the tree spirit.

The tree spirit's massive body stiffened abruptly. The wooden surface of the part that was struck instantly cracked with countless fine gray lines, which spread rapidly outwards like a spider web.

Wherever the cracks passed, the tree spirit's incredibly resilient body seemed to lose all vitality, quickly turning ashen.

"Roar!"

The tree spirit let out a shrill, short roar, its movements abruptly frozen, and its soul fire instantly extinguished.

The battle is over.

Lin Yi stood still, feeling the depletion of his internal energy, which was about 35%.

"The control over power needs to be more refined, and the application of spacetime power also needs to be more direct and effective."

Although the entire process from activation to the tree spirit's collapse took less than five seconds, Lin Yi was not entirely satisfied with his performance.

Lin Yi silently reviewed the situation in his mind for a while before stepping forward to collect the crystal core and valuable remains, and then picking the Sacred Source Fruit guarded by the tree spirit.

In the days that followed, Lin Yi entered a new cycle of hunting.

Practice makes perfect.

As each World Derivation level Sacred Source Fruit was absorbed, the number of star vortexes in various star regions within Lin Yi's body steadily increased. More importantly, his control over his surging power became increasingly refined, and his application of the laws of spacetime in actual combat became increasingly cunning and ruthless.

He was like a patient yet dangerous cheetah, lurking in the shadows of the jungle, sharpening his claws and gathering strength.