Chapter 78

The thick powder covered the ground, making it indistinguishable from a field.

He retreated until there were still buildings before he could barely stop.

The battle between Shen Duheng and Ji Li continued. The two were separated by a major realm, and it was clear that Shen Duheng was at a disadvantage.

Even if Shen Duheng's sword techniques were more refined, without sufficient strength to support them, he would find it difficult to unleash his full power.

Shan Heyuan took a deep breath and released the power from his Dantian Small World directly towards the center of the battlefield.

The Dantian Small World possesses complete Heavenly Dao power, forming a domain wherever it goes. Within this domain, he is a god, and any power not protected by him will be greatly weakened.

However, each time he releases this power, it takes a great toll on him.

When Ji Li sensed this power, she was not angry but delighted. "I was previously informed that Senior Shan had created a small world, but I thought it was just an ordinary secret realm. I didn't expect it to be a complete source of the Heavenly Dao. Senior Shan, you are truly favored by the Heavenly Dao."

Shan Heyuan: "Of course, of course. Those who follow the right path receive much help, while those who stray from it receive little help; it has always been so."

Ji Li: "Hahaha, well said. But Senior Shan's divine assistance is going to be a stepping stone for me. Who will attain enlightenment and who will lose it will only be known after the dust settles."

They exchanged five or six more moves while they were talking.

Even when Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng were combined, they were still at a disadvantage against Ji Li.

Ji Li too powerful.

He was powerful to begin with; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to survive for thousands of years.

After absorbing the Spiritual Power of many people, even though his aura was chaotic, the Spiritual Power in his body had become much deeper.

Even combined, Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng are still a whole realm below him. Bridging that gap is simply too difficult.

Seeing this situation, Shan Heyuan didn't say much, but directly launched their second phase of the battle plan.

Before setting off, the two discussed what to do with Ji Li.

No matter what, there's a huge gap in their levels of understanding, so it's unlikely they can win no matter what they do.

Therefore, unable to improve themselves, the only thing they could think of was weakening their opponent.

Enveloping the entire region with Dantian Small World is the first layer of weakening.

If that doesn't work, then we need to move on to the second step.

Shan Heyuan drew upon the power of the Lightning Tribulation from his Dantian Small World and struck directly at Shen Duheng and Ji Li's heads.

Shen Duheng has reached his critical point. If we strike him, there's a good chance we'll draw down his Heavenly Tribulation.

Anyone who gets involved in the Heavenly Tribulation will be judged by the Heavenly Dao as Tribulation Transcendence. Ji Li is currently entangled with them and cannot get away. Shen Duheng is undergoing his Tribulation Transcendence now, and there is a certain possibility that he will drag Ji Li into the Heavenly Tribulation as well.

This is their plan, the most likely plan they could come up with using the resources at hand.

Seeing their movements, Ji Li said, "Again? Is this all you know how to do?!"

Shan Heyuan: "This one move is enough to deal with you!"

The Lightning Tribulation power within the Dantian Small World may seem unremarkable, but the rules within it are the most comprehensive.

Shen Duheng and Ji Li's swordplay froze for a moment after being struck. Seeing this, Shan Heyuan immediately followed up with another strike, successfully drawing blood from Ji Li.

Soon, Shen Duheng's Tribulation Lightning was also drawn down.

The world rules within Shen Duheng's Tribulation Lightning were not complete, but it was extremely violent. The purplish-black lightning poured down on Shen Duheng, rendering him completely immobile for a moment.

Ji Li, as someone caught in the Tribulation Lightning, shouldn't have faced such violent Tribulation Lightning. However, he was disliked by the Heavenly Dao, and the Heavenly Dao seemed to have seized an opportunity to retaliate, so it struck him just as fiercely.

Shan Heyuan was not implicated, but due to the excessive lightning at the scene, his sword moves frequently drifted, and because of the large difference in their cultivation levels, he was unable to inflict much damage on Ji Li.

The three struggled to move through the sea of lightning. Due to the weakening effect of the Lightning Tribulation and the Dantian Small World in Ji Li's dantian, the combat strength of the two sides narrowed once again.

The three of them had initially adapted to their fighting style under the Lightning Tribulation and resumed their battle.

The main battlefield was still Ji Li and Shen Duheng's side. Shan Heyuan could only play a supporting role, barely restraining Ji Li and preventing Shen Duheng from being seriously injured.

Of course, injuries were unavoidable; the combined damage from the Heavenly Tribulation and sword techniques left Shen Duheng covered in blood.

It is only because of the resolute nature of a swordsman like Shen Duheng that he can withstand the damage from one sword strike after another, and still deliver each strike without any distortion in his movements.

Shan Heyuan's sword techniques had long since been distorted during the battle, and he gradually became drowsy due to blood loss.

This can't go on.

Shan Heyuan realized that Ji Li's cultivation was higher than theirs, and even if Shen Duheng successfully overcame his tribulation, he probably wouldn't be able to defeat Ji Li.

We need to think of a solution.

A series of thoughts flashed through Shan Heyuan's mind, but his hands did not stop moving.

The battle had progressed to this point, and all three were injured, bleeding and falling onto the ground covered by the Dantian Small World.

If Shan Heyuan still has the strength, he will control the Dantian Small World, and this blood will not have any effect on him.

He no longer had the strength to care about any of that, Dantian Small World began to operate on its own, rapidly absorbing the blood that had fallen to the ground.

At their level of cultivation, the Spiritual Power contained in their blood is higher than that of ordinary spiritual herbs, so it's not surprising that it would be absorbed by their Dantian Small World.

The Dantian Small World is Shan Heyuan's own world. Now that he is Spirit Plant, his speed of absorbing Spiritual Power is much faster than before.

He didn't feel anything with just one or two drops of blood, but as more blood was drawn and quickly converted into Spiritual Power, he was rapidly replenished and his condition improved.

In other words, he, like Ji Li, could actually strengthen himself by absorbing the power of other cultivators?

Chapter 78

Since regaining consciousness, Shan Heyuan has been favored by Heavenly Dao.

Since he began cultivating, he has encountered no setbacks. After becoming Spirit Plant, his cultivation speed has increased even more. As long as he has enough Spiritual Power, his cultivation level can be improved rapidly without any bottlenecks.

This ability wouldn't seem like much under normal circumstances, since their resources are limited and they can't fully absorb Spirit Stone. Besides, the Spiritual Power contained in Spirit Stone is nothing to cultivators of their level, so even if they absorbed it freely, it wouldn't necessarily have a good effect.

Shan Heyuan is usually the kind of cultivator who takes things one step at a time and never thinks of taking shortcuts.

Now that we've reached this critical moment of life and death, we don't need to worry about any long-term consequences.

With this in mind, Shan Heyuan's thoughts suddenly opened up.

With so many spiritual herbs planted in his Dantian Small World, there's no need to be stingy now; let's convert them into Spiritual Power to help them through this crisis.

And what better time to use the Spirit Stone stored in the hut?

With a thought, Shan Heyuan transformed countless Spirit Plant, objects, Spirit Stone into Spiritual Power, which circulated within his Dantian Small World.

The sun disappeared, transforming back into the Pu Core Fire, and disappeared into the meridians.

The spiritual spring water transformed into Spiritual Power, which also flowed through the meridians.

Gradually, the entire Dantian Small World shrank smaller and smaller, leaving only the giant tree that Shan Heyuan had transformed into growing in the very center of his Dantian. Meanwhile, his aura continued to rise, from the Spirit Transformation Early Stage to the Middle Spirit Transformation Stage, and then towards the Spirit Transformation Late Stage.

Amidst the Lightning Tribulation, Shan Heyuan stopped moving, gripping his spirit sword, and stood still in place.

Through his figure, one could vaguely see a large tree behind him.

This large tree was lush and verdant; even a glimpse of it was enough to make one realize that it was no ordinary spirit tree.

The profound aura contained within it sent shivers down one's spine.

If things go wrong, this could become a Heaven-Supporting Tree.

Ji Li hadn't done much research on Spirit Plant before, but she had enough experience.

He quickly realized that this couldn't continue and he had to interrupt Shan Heyuan.

Shan Heyuan's cultivation level has risen too fast. If left unchecked, he might be able to directly break through to the Tribulation Transcendence Stage.

Shen Duheng is already troublesome enough; Ji Li has no intention of making Shan Heyuan a second Tribulation Transcendence Stage Transcending Stage cultivator.