Inside the cave...
"Received an unknown signal. It says to come inside Center Island," Chunqiu said, clinging to Chen Beixun's shoulder.
"Inside Center Island?" Chen Beixun asked, puzzled but cautious.
"Try contacting him and see if you can get any useful information out of him."
"Yes."
Chen Beixun frowned slightly, rubbing the Gold Soul Stone in his hand as he pondered. "An Immortal Level treasure must be fraught with danger. If I can receive the signal, so can others."
"Better to be cautious."
"Master, three Universe Levels are approaching from a distance. The strongest has reached Universe Level Six!" Demon Island Vine reported through their mental connection.
Chen Beixun was taken aback, then instructed it, "They're probably just passing by. Keep watching them. If they cross the warning line twenty-four kilometers away, kill them immediately!"
"Yes, Master," Demon Island Vine replied.
Chen Beixun rose to his feet, several flying blades circling him, his gaze sharp as lightning. "No matter what, I'm getting that Immortal treasure!"
Chen Beixun said coldly, "Chunqiu, how far away are they?"
"Fifty-two kilometers!" Chunqiu replied.
"Mm." Chen Beixun nodded, then glanced at the fine red tendrils emerging from his armor and said, "Don't rush, Demon Island Vine."
"Forty kilometers!"
"Thirty-five kilometers!"
Chen Beixun's gaze turned icy as he rubbed his hands together. The flying blades hovering beside him trembled slightly.
"Twenty-three kilometers!"
"Demon Island Vine!" Chen Beixun barked. With a wave of his hand, he unleashed the second form of the Tianqu Cone, sending it hurtling toward the three figures in the distance.
The Demon Island Vine armor on his body instantly swelled, sending countless vines reaching into the clouds.
"What's that?" The three figures in the air stopped. A burly man clad in silver-white armor stared in horror.
"Immortal Realm!" The female warrior among them turned pale and immediately fled.
The calmest of the three, Emperor Jing, hurriedly called out, "Come back, Emperor Yun!"
A white point of light, like a falling star, flashed past. It was the Tianqu Cone, surging toward Emperor Yun with tremendous force.
Emperor Yun had no time to react. The Tianqu Cone blasted him to pieces, scattering chunks of flesh and black armor through the air.
The stench of blood filled the other two's nostrils.
The Tianqu Cone hadn't gone after them, which puzzled them both.
"Emperor Jing, what do we do now?" the burly man asked telepathically.
Emperor Jing stared at the distant Demon Island Vine, unable to calm himself. Behind him, the Tianqu Cone let out a series of piercing shrieks.
"Is it toying with us?" Emperor Jing wondered. But when he saw the Demon Island Vine's movements, he cried out in alarm, "It's surrounding us!"
"Emperor Jing, looks like we're finished."
Emperor Jing's face stiffened. He lowered his head slightly, his gaze shifting toward the countless crimson Demon Island Vine tendrils in the distance.
"That's Emperor Jing." Chen Beixun flew swiftly through the air on the Gold Cloud Shuttle, thinking to himself.
"Should I kill him, or let Demon Island Vine do it? I only need one alive to interrogate."
Chen Beixun's hand clenched involuntarily. His Demon Island Vine armor had grown dim after a large portion of it had split off.
Chen Beixun wasn't softhearted, but neither was he utterly heartless. Unfortunately, fate had forced his hand; if he wanted to seize this opportunity and break through, he had no choice.
"I want a peaceful life too. I want a few friends I can trust with my life, people to explore the world with!"
"Right now, all I want is to take the treasure here! I don't give a damn who lives or dies!"
Chen Beixun's gaze was resolute, his teeth clenched as he communicated with Demon Island Vine.
"Demon Island Vine, kill one of them however you like. I'll deal with the other."
"Yes, Master!" Demon Island Vine replied.
Dozens of massive vines separated Emperor Meng and Emperor Jing, sending terrifying waves of force surging through the air.
"Damn it!" Emperor Meng swung his battle axe at a crimson vine. A deafening crack echoed through the air. His eyes bulged in disbelief as he stared at the handle left in his hands. The axe head had already shattered into several pieces.
"What?!"
Emperor Meng glanced at the crimson vine beside him. A sense of foreboding welled up inside him, and he managed to choke out a few words.
"Wait..."
Demon Island Vine hadn't expected this tiny being to dare act so boldly. Before Emperor Meng could react, the crimson vine lashed out at him at incredible speed, like a snapped ship's rope.
"Argh!"
The sudden blow sent Emperor Meng flying, and he couldn't help but cry out.
Demon Island Vine showed no mercy. Several vines lashed him furiously, each strike powerful enough to split mountains and shatter the earth. If Demon Island Vine had wanted to kill him with a single blow, it could have. It was only torturing him.
Emperor Jing hovered in the air, his golden eyes fixed on Demon Island Vine. When he heard Emperor Meng's cries, despair filled his heart.
By now, Emperor Meng had been reduced to a cloud of blood mist. Only his hand, still gripping the axe handle, fell to the ground.
"I... I have to survive. If I die, what will happen to my people?" Emperor Jing roared inwardly.
His eyes darted around. His face was ashen, and the veins stood out on the hand gripping his massive hammer. If he had been holding anything else, it would have crumbled to dust long ago.
Suddenly, a shout rang out.
"Emperor Jing!"
Emperor Jing froze at the sound, then quickly reacted. His eyes flashed as he located the source. In the next instant, he burst into action and shot toward Chen Beixun, intent on killing him.
Chen Beixun's mental force stirred, and he flew backward on the Gold Cloud Shuttle.
Emperor Jing missed. Less than a second later, he shot forward again, attacking Chen Beixun.
"If I can take him hostage, maybe those vines will hesitate to act," Emperor Jing thought. It was the only idea in his mind.
Less than 0.2 seconds passed between Chen Beixun calling out and Emperor Jing's attack.
"Desperate struggle!" Chen Beixun's gaze turned cold as he deployed a Soul Secret Technique.
The three crystals in his sea of consciousness silently burrowed into Emperor Jing's.
Emperor Jing's pupils contracted violently as he desperately activated the Soul Defense Secret Technique, Starry Sky Tower, to stop them.
The formation created by the crystal did nothing against Starry Sky Tower, which guarded his soul.
"A Soul Defense Secret Technique!" Chen Beixun's eyes widened in shock. He immediately flew away on the Gold Cloud Shuttle.
He stared at Emperor Jing in astonishment. "This guy actually has a Soul Defense Secret Technique!"
"Demon Island Vine, keep him trapped," Chen Beixun said.
Then he reconsidered. "Heh, I was being stupid. There's no way he could escape."
"Heh, this is perfect. I can use him to practice the Twilight Art!" Chen Beixun unleashed his full power. Nine crystals formed a massive array, relentlessly attacking Starry Sky Tower.
With a thought, Chen Beixun arranged the nine crystals in a line like a fleet of ships and slammed them into Starry Sky Tower. The tower merely shuddered, continuing to guard his soul firmly.
"What incredible durability!" Chen Beixun's gaze paused. Then he summoned the Tianqu Cone and sent it flying toward Emperor Jing.
Emperor Jing stood still with his eyes closed. Sensing murderous intent, he abruptly opened them, gripped his massive hammer, and met the attack head-on.
Blue arcs of electricity crackled through the frozen landscape. The sky was dark and gloomy, the land blanketed in white for a thousand miles. Two streaks of light, one white and one blue, clashed in the distance.
Chen Beixun controlled the Tianqu Cone to unleash the first form, the Flying Wheel. It tore through the air, surrounded by waves of icy cold,
its razor-sharp edge gleaming in the gloomy sky. In an instant, it was right in front of Emperor Jing.
Emperor Jing transformed into a streak of blue lightning and dodged. The Flying Wheel turned at a ninety-degree angle and continued after him. Electricity danced across Emperor Jing's body as he swung his massive hammer at it with all his might.
The Flying Wheel collided with the hammer. Extreme cold and lightning merged into a thunderous ice sculpture stretching from the clouds to the ground.
The shock waves from their attacks raised a snowstorm hundreds of meters high, surging outward in every direction like a tsunami.
Emperor Jing had lost an arm. His hammer lay in a massive crater, and half his body was frozen.
Chen Beixun flew up to Emperor Jing on the Gold Cloud Shuttle, then said, "Give me the technique, and I'll spare your people. I'll even step in to protect them a few times."
Emperor Jing smiled faintly. "You could just kill me and take the technique. Why bother?"
Chen Beixun sent the blades of the Tianqu Cone to surround Emperor Jing and replied, "That's exactly what I intend to do."
"But..." Chen Beixun stared at Emperor Jing and said coldly, "Would you carry the technique around with you?"
Emperor Jing, who had his people's welfare in mind, certainly wouldn't. He had already realized how special the technique was and hidden it in his people's treasury.
Chen Beixun had taken this into account.
"It's in my people's treasury. Elder Heng can retrieve it for you. Please, don't harm my people," Emperor Jing pleaded.
Chen Beixun pondered briefly, then said, "Lower the technique's protection. Then don't resist."
An invisible force burrowed into Emperor Jing's mind and rushed toward his soul. After searching through it, Chen Beixun raised an eyebrow.
"You really didn't lie to me. I'll leave your body intact." Chen Beixun's expression remained calm as the nine crystals in his sea of consciousness rapidly destroyed Emperor Jing's soul. Emperor Jing's eyes went blank, and he collapsed to the ground.
Chen Beixun looked around. Snowflakes swirled through the air, with a few arcs of electricity flickering among them. Beneath him lay a silver-white expanse, a white wasteland.