That was... the Undying Fire? Someone in the crowd muttered, and instantly the gazes of the dozens of people present grew burning hot.
Green branches and vines of towering ancient trees emerged atop the five massive stone pillars of the Five Finger Mountain, and in the dark corners beneath those stone pillars, wisps of scorching fluctuations tugged at everyone's heartstrings. Based on this extremely terrifying power, it was easy to tell that that thing was abruptly-
The Undying Fire!
Legend had it that obtaining the Undying Fire allowed one to truly achieve immortality in the truest sense. As for the truth of the matter, it was probably impossible to know, yet a Holy Flame ranked in the top twenty possessed enough attraction.
The powerful figures present were also the heaven-chosen pride of the younger generation from the Five Academies of the Lihun Domain, yet they did not act rashly. The fundamental reason for this was that the green branches filled the ancient trees spanning the entire Five Finger Mountain.
The abstruse gray patterns on the ancient tree made even these powerful figures feel a sense of powerlessness.
The origins of this towering ancient tree are definitely extraordinary, Xiao Yan thought, standing vigilantly to the side while keeping his distance from the ancient tree.
That special power atop the ancient tree was actually continuously suppressing everyone, filling their chests and even their Dou Qi with an extremely uncomfortable sense of depression. Moreover, who was to say that the existence of this ancient tree existed to protect or suppress the Undying Fire!
Coupled with the fact that Xiao Yan, relying on his formidable soul power, could not make sense of those obscure patterns on the tree branches, he had arrived at this conclusion.
"According to my master's records, these patterns originate from the writing of the ancient era. With our current experience and knowledge, probably no one can recognize them, let alone crack them," You Er leaned toward Xiao Yan and Aileen, speaking up.
At this point, the crowd had already split into four factions: the faction of Xiao Yan, Aileen, and You Er; the faction of the two people from the Tribunal and the Adjudication Court; the various factions forming the Five Sects Alliance; and five figures in black robes-totaling five factions.
"These things, according to my master's records, are the final line of defense protecting the Undying Fire. Only by breaking them can one truly reach the Undying Fire; otherwise, with the protection of these things, we cannot approach it, let alone whether we can subdue the Holy Flame," Aileen spoke up at this moment.
"Don't act rashly for a moment. Follow those fellows," Xiao Yan had a thoughtful look on his face, lightly pointing his finger toward the five black-robed figures as he spoke to the two women. Whether out of intuition or something else, he somehow felt that the background of these five black-robed figures was not simple.
"Alright," the two women agreed immediately upon hearing this.
"This is..."
"It's actually an ancient formation, the Five-Point Mountain Finger Formation!" Amidst the whispered discussions among the various experts, Deng Qing of the Tribunal immediately asked in confusion.
"Make your move!"
"These are all good things," right at that moment, the five black-robed figures suddenly spoke up, their voices filled with a death-like stillness.
"Swish, swish, swish!" As soon as the voices fell, four of the five black-robed figures stepped forward with straight figures. The four of them formed a pincer formation, tightly enveloping the towering ancient tree.
"What are they..." Seeing such a bizarre scene from the four of them, the gazes of the experts present instantly turned solemn in unison.
The backgrounds and strengths of these five people were unknown, and their current actions were extremely bizarre, leaving the others with no choice but to be on guard.
"Awaken spirits!" With a sudden shout, the four spoke in unison.
"Not good, stop them!" At the same time, Deng Qing of the Tribunal suddenly sensed something and blurted out, after which the brilliant silver Dou Qi surging over his figure turned into a lightning net and lunged straight at them!
"Hmph!"
"I'll hold them off, you three, make your move!"
"Wushuang, preserve your strength," just as the words fell, one of the four black-robed figures with a menacing aura spoke up. The moment the voice died down, the other three formed a triangular stance, and endless gloomy auras continuously emerged. By utilizing this, the gray patterns on the ancient tree seemed to slowly awaken, radiating a power of boundless majesty.
"This fellow's strength is so strong," standing before the three factional teams, the black-robed figure stood slightly erect as the other experts spoke out.
"This place has already been occupied by us. You'd all better go back the way you came," the man said flatly, not intending to engage in too much idle chatter with them.
"In your dreams!"
"Attack!" Deng Qing and Yu Xiao exchanged a glance, and without a word, the Dou Qi within both of their bodies surged violently.
Lightning attribute and shadow attribute!
"You two are experts at the peak of the Five-Star Dou Xian Early Stage. The two of you should be the strongest among everyone here."
"So be it. Once I defeat you, the remaining fellows will naturally collapse on their own," the black-robed man sneered, seemingly unconcerned with the strength of the two.
"Do we need to make a move?" The five members of the Five Sects Alliance exchanged glances and asked.
"Not for now," Zhao Guang shook his head. At this moment, the battle situation was shifting unpredictably, and the Undying Fire had not yet been completely exposed. Obviously, preserving their strength was the best course of action.
"What should we do?" You Er asked from the side.
"You stay here. These three fellows seem to have designs on this ancient tree, but I won't let them succeed so easily," Xiao Yan finished speaking, his shadow and body suddenly separating behind him, and his figure vanished from the sight of the crowd.
"You fellow, acting all mysterious. Today, I, on behalf of our Tribunal, shall bring you to justice right here and now," Deng Qing's entire body flashed with silver lightning, resembling a god of thunder, his momentum soaring like a rainbow.
"Hahaha!"
"Today, the proud talents of the Five Academies are all gathered here, which suits my wishes perfectly."
"Today, not only will the Undying Fire fall into our hands, but you experts of the Five Academies will also suffer heavy losses!"
"Rustle, rustle!" The gloomy voice sounded like demonic music, thoroughly echoing across this void.
"Hum, hum, hum!" At the same time, as Xiao Yan concealed himself in the shadows and headed toward the three dark figures, his internal organs churned violently. Two Holy Flames shook frantically, and even the Holy Flame Heart in his chest heaved up and down.
Could these fellows really be from the Outer Realm Evil Clan... sensing such abnormal movements, Xiao Yan also held his breath, stopped moving, and gazed at the dark figures blocking Deng Qing and Yu Xiao. From beneath those dark shadows, he seemed to catch the scent of a very peculiar power.
This power was somewhat similar to the power of light, yet it contained an extremely terrifying evil aura.
"Light Demon?" The next moment, an illusory figure on the edge of the void was also jolted awake and spoke up.
This fellow was naturally the overlord of the Monster Realm who had been tailing Xiao Yan, the Black Fiend Dragon Wolf!
This place indeed permitted only those with strength below the Five-Star Dou Xian Early Stage to enter, but unfortunately, that rule did not apply to the Monster Realm. This fellow had used some mysterious methods to plunge only his peak Five-Star Dou Xian Early Stage strength into the Undying Sacred Pool, while his remaining power lingered outside the Undying Sacred Pool. The reason he did this was precisely to protect Xiao Yan.
"Shadow!" Yu Xiao let out a cold snort, his figure vanishing directly from the sight of the crowd.
"Mischief!"
"Power of light!" Seeing such a maneuver from Yu Xiao, the dark shadow showed utter disdain. With a sudden tremor, the gloomy aura inside his body vanished instantly, and a blinding white radiance akin to a blazing sun filled the entire void.
"How... how is this possible?"
"A Light Element expert?" Seeing the black-robed man's actions, the experts present were all left dumbstruck!
No matter what, they could never have imagined that the figure who had just been wrapped in a gloomy and evil aura would, the very next moment, directly transform into the sacred and inviolable Light Element attribute. The contrast left everyone's minds deeply unsettled!
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