Open the Door and Release the Bird

The Domain Lord of Yinhu Island had a grim expression, yet while dodging the crisscrossing black light, he still had the presence of mind to speak: "I never expected the Jiuyuan Holy Land to actually give you the Wushen Thorn."

The Wushen Thorn was a trophy seized from the outer-space battlefield by the only Immortal God in the history of the Lingtong Race.

Back then, the most legendary genius in the history of the Lingtong Race, who had entered the Guluo Secret Realm of the Xuanshang Universe Kingdom, had gone to the outer-space battlefield for training while at the World Lord level, only to fall in battle.

The Lingtong Race's Immortal God, in a fit of rage, also entered the outer-space battlefield to avenge that genius, but unexpectedly, the Lingtong Immortal's strength surged greatly there, and he even made many divine companions.

After avenging the fallen, he never left the outer-space battlefield for many years, simultaneously bringing back many treasures and secret techniques for the Lingtong Race, allowing them to leap to become the wealthiest of the six holy lands.

The Wushen Thorn was one of the precious treasures of an alien race that the Lingtong Immortal had brought back from the outer-space battlefield.

The outside world did not know the true name of the Wushen Thorn, nor did they understand its principles; some guessed it was coated in a poison produced by an alien race, while others said the material of the Wushen Thorn was some kind of special metal.

But regardless of what it actually was, the immense power of the Wushen Thorn was beyond doubt; even a World Lord would have a large portion of their world energy corroded if struck by it, and their internal world would even be severely damaged, let alone a Domain Lord—if even grazed, their body would instantly collapse.

Meng Yi did not reply, instead focusing on controlling the Wushen Thorn as it traced mysterious trajectories, continuously stabbing toward the Domain Lord of Yinhu Island.

The roles of attacker and defender had reversed; now it was his turn to force the opponent into a corner. Given enough time, a flaw would inevitably emerge, and as long as they were grazed by the Wushen Thorn, no matter how powerful the Domain Lord was, there would be no saving them.

But suddenly, Meng Yi's expression changed drastically, his focus shifting to the starry sky ten thousand miles away.

That was where Prose, Kuman, and the other young geniuses of the clan were located.

A streak of blood-red appeared in the silent, dark cosmic void.

Deep red, thin vines and leaves grew from small to large in an extremely short time, turning into a behemoth several kilometers long in the blink of an eye! With dense, massive roots and 24 long vines lashing about, it looked like a terrifying monster!

"Moyun Vine!"

This was both Meng Yi's cry of astonishment and the near-moaning terror of Prose and the others!

Although it was Jiang Yao's first time seeing this plant, he recognized it almost at the same time as Prose, Kuman, and the others.

This was because the Moyun Vine was absolutely considered the most popular defensive plant life in the universe.

Although primarily for defense, it was also more than capable of trapping and killing people, making it an essential piece of equipment for those traveling the universe.

The only drawback was that it was too expensive.

It was too expensive to cultivate.

Usually, only large factions could afford to raise one.

The Universe-level Moyun Vine, now the size of a comet in front of Jiang Yao, had likely consumed enough resources to cultivate dozens of Universe-level experts.

In fact, from the moment Meng Yi leaped out of the spaceship with Jiang Yao and the others to the sudden appearance of the Moyun Vine, only a dozen seconds had passed.

Most people hadn't even recovered from the rapid exchange between Meng Yi and the mysterious Domain Lord.

Despair had already appeared on Prose's face; never mind a Universe-level Moyun Vine, even a Stellar-level one was not something they could shake off in a short time.

Ten thousand miles away, the moment Meng Yi sensed the appearance of the Moyun Vine, he immediately rushed toward Prose and the others.

But before he could fly a hundred meters, a silver light flashed, and the Domain Lord of Yinhu Island, with a cold expression, had already closed the distance and slashed at him.

Meng Yi reacted quickly and once again unleashed his bloodline innate ability, but he was still knocked back over a thousand meters by the strike, and the black light that followed was once again dodged by the Domain Lord of Yinhu Island!

Not only did Meng Yi fail to close the distance to Prose and the others, but the gap between them had grown even wider.

"You have a backup plan, but since I dared to come and intercept you, I naturally came well-prepared!"

Meng Yi was nearly splitting his eyes in rage; he had the Wushen Thorn and stood in an invincible position, but the opponent had practiced the two ultimate arts of Fengpo Liuguang and Xingyin Blade to the extreme, also standing in an invincible position.

The only ones suffering were the Stellar-level geniuses of his clan, like Prose.

The Domain Lord of Yinhu Island sneered as he dealt with the frantic Meng Yi, still finding opportunities to restrain him and force him back.

There was a reason his teacher chose to send him to execute this mission; among the Domain Lords of Yinhu Island, there was truly no one else who could cultivate the two ultimate arts of the Origin Law of Wind to this level—he was truly capable of both offense and defense.

Although he couldn't silence the witnesses this time because of the sudden appearance of the Wushen Thorn, wiping out all of their Stellar-level geniuses would be an unexpected bonus.

The two sides clashed like lightning and flint.

Ten thousand miles away, the Moyun Vine had already begun to wrap around Jiang Yao and the others with its kilometers-long vines.

The Messenger twitched his pig-like nose and asked curiously, "Eh? The other party isn't trying to kill you?"

Jiang Yao looked with a bitter smile at Prose, Kuman, and the others, who were attacking the vines frantically, yet failing to even scratch the skin of this behemoth.

Whether they wanted to kill or capture them, he had no other choice.

"Jiang Yao! What are you doing?!"

Seeing that Jiang Yao was not participating in the attack, Prose and the others roared via spiritual transmission; in their eyes, it seemed that this top genius of the Lingtong Race had already resigned himself to his fate and given up.

But Jiang Yao had already sat cross-legged in meditation.

What am I doing?

Opening the door and letting the bird out!

Prose seemed to realize what Jiang Yao was about to do, but he held no hope; he knew that the bloodline innate ability Jiang Yao activated was indeed extraordinary, but this was a Universe-level Moyun Vine!

Never mind his Stellar-level bloodline ability, even if the old patriarch currently being restrained by the enemy came to break through the Moyun Vine, it would take time; their desperate attacks were only meant to buy a little time for the old patriarch to save them.

However, if Jiang Yao's bloodline ability could buy even a little more time, that would be good.

The next instant, Jiang Yao opened his eyes.

Inside the dark space already completely enveloped into a sphere by the 24 vines of the Moyun Vine, light suddenly pierced through the darkness, driving it away entirely and illuminating every shadow and corner.

His eyes seemed to hide a small star each, with infinite light and heat flooding the spherical space.

Prose and the others, who had already ceased their attacks, stared at Jiang Yao in astonishment; they even had to use their spiritual force to block the rapidly rising temperature.

Beams of incandescent white light shot out from every gap in the spherical vine, which had grown to several kilometers in size, making the Moyun Vine look like a hedgehog.

Even Meng Yi and the Domain Lord of Yinhu Island, who were locked in a fierce battle ten thousand miles away, diverted some of their attention to watch the Moyun Vine in amazement.

The Domain Lord of Yinhu Island, who had previously held the situation in the palm of his hand, now wore a grave expression, his heart filled with trepidation.

Meng Yi, who had been in a state of desperate madness, suddenly felt a glimmer of hope.

Something must have happened over there.

A crane's cry!

A sound that seemed to come from the ancient past resounded through the void, as if the will of a slumbering entity had awakened.

Even the vacuum, which could not transmit sound, could not hinder the spread of this crane's cry; it was as if it were ringing directly within everyone's soul.

The cry carried a heart-stopping cruelty and tyranny, seemingly filled with an endless desire for destruction and slaughter!

And a bone-chilling hunger!

As the originally formless will of Bizhang flew out of the Xu Yuan Space and out of Jiang Yao's eyes, the Origin Law of Fire and the Origin Law of Light in the cosmic space seemed to be activated, fluctuating wildly.

Under the blessing of the two great origin laws, the will of the Desolate God Bizhang transformed from formless to tangible, with the head of a crane, the beak of an eagle, and wings spread wide!

The moment the will of Bizhang appeared, the entire Moyun Vine froze instantly.

Then, as if it had encountered a natural predator, the 24 vines that had wrapped into a sphere suddenly flailed and unfurled, releasing Jiang Yao and the other six.

"Go!"

Jiang Yao struggled to transmit his voice to Prose and the others using spiritual force.

Among the stunned group, Kuman was the first to react, expanding his domain to carry the others as they flew rapidly into the distance.

The Moyun Vine acted as if it had gone mad, thrashing its vines and struggling and rolling incessantly.

But all of this was to no avail.

Within its body, from fibers to cells, from origin energy to genes, from moisture to consciousness, everything seemed to have turned into fuel, its only purpose now to feed the combustion.

Every part of its body, every component, seemed to be burning without exception.

The incandescent white flame started from one vine and instantly surged through the entire main vine, which was several kilometers long, spreading toward the root system and the other vines; no power could stop it!

"Pull it back! Don't let it keep consuming!"

The little pig inside the Taihuan Token roared.

Jiang Yao's consciousness was also furious: "You think I don't know that?!"

"Do or die!"

With his soul presiding over the Xu Yuan Space, Jiang Yao burned his soul under the blessing of god-like power; his origin energy, spiritual force, domain, and will combined completely, connecting with the universe to erupt with his greatest strength.

Powerful energy extended like chains, hooking onto the will of Bizhang—which existed between the tangible and the intangible—and pulling it back with all his might.

Ten thousand miles away, the Domain Lord of Yinhu Island subconsciously flashed a streak of black light in disbelief. Before he could react, a trace of horror flashed in his eyes, and his whole body seemed to freeze.

A trace of the fierce, tyrannical will from the consciousness of the Moyun Vine, following the mysterious connection, had actually intruded into the soul of the Moyun Vine's master!

Although the Domain Lord of Yinhu Island, in his horror, concentrated all his will to expel it immediately, his body remained frozen for a split second.

Meng Yi, who had been lost in confusion and ecstasy, did not miss this opportunity; a streak of black light flashed like lightning across the shoulder of the Domain Lord of Yinhu Island.

The next instant, the Domain Lord of Yinhu Island collapsed in horror, his entire body turning into dust!

Meng Yi did not delay for a second, turning and flying rapidly toward Prose and the others.

In his shocked gaze, a bird, existing between the tangible and intangible and burning with incandescent white flames, was being dragged back into Jiang Yao's eyes bit by bit.