Joining Forces
Joining Forces
In that case, this towering ancient tree was undoubtedly the Great Terra Tree.
The Great Terra Tree had taken a hundred years to grow, two hundred years to mature and another three hundred years to bear the Great Terra Fruits. No wonder the area around it had become a land of desolation, the essence of the Great Earth was constantly being absorbed by this gigantic tree.
And the demonic beast protecting the Great Terra Tree was undoubtedly the Great Earth Ox King.
“Human, scram.” The Earth Ox scrutinized Qin Wentian with its gaze, as a sense of heaviness beyond comparison bore down onto him. In that instant, Qin Wentian was assailed by an illusion, and he felt that even lifting his feet would be difficult. The overwhelming gravity from the Mandate of Great Earth caused his body to feel as though he weighed more than a few thousand jin heavier.
The Ox King had guarded this place for hundreds of years. Now that the Great Terra Tree had borne fruit, naturally it wouldn't allow humans to steal them away. It had already consumed a few of the Terra Fruits and for the remainder, it would wait until its increase in strength stabilized before consuming them. How could it allow others to take the fruits away?
“These fruits are borne from the essence of the Great Earth. Ox King, you've already eaten some and gained immense benefits. Isn't it a little too greedy wanting to possess all of them?” that young woman spoke. The Ox King’s response was to stomp on the ground with its hooves, and instantly the earth surrounding them began to tremble as a terrifying rhythmic pressure pressed down on them. Qin Wentian could feel his inner organs shuddering from the impact.
Qin Wentian’s countenance grew heavy—he dared not underestimate this opponent in the slightest.
Demonic beasts possessed a powerful vitality, with robust physiques. In terms of their strength and defensive attributes, they were innately more perfect compared to humans.
“My name is Ji Xue, this is my senior brother, Xu Feng. Can we know your name now?” The young woman stared at Qin Wentian, as she asked with a laugh.
“Qin Wentian,” he replied.
“Brother Qin, this Ox demon has the ability to create an earthen prison, its insight into the Mandate of Great Earth has already reached an unfathomable level. However, with the three of us joining forces, there shouldn't be any problem dealing with it. Let me take charge of controlling its movements, while you break its defenses, and my senior brother, since he has the strongest attack power among us, will handle our offensive.” Ji Xue smiled.
“Sure.” Qin Wentian nodded.
“Alright then, let's act.” Ji Xue released her Astral Nova, which was in the form of an immortal chain. Instantly the chain swept out, the Ox King had clearly seen through the power of this chain. It roared in anger, and the earth shook, while incomparably sharp blades made from the earth’s essence shot out from the ground to penetrate all three of them.
Qin Wentian and Xu Feng soared up into the skies but with a wrathful roar, the Ox King manifested a formidable prison made from the essence of the Great Earth, entrapping them completely.
“Break!” Both Qin Wentian and Xu Feng held long spears in their hands. Their attacks penetrated the void and pierced the earthen prison. Several deadly-looking swords appeared around Ji Xue, who directed/maneuvered them to impale certain spots of the earthen prison. A moment later, the defense of the earthen prison couldn't stand up to the flurry of attacks, and ended up shattering with a thunderous boom. Her immortal chain shot directly towards the Ox King, tightly binding its form. It had no way to escape.
The immortal binding chains were like a formless net. It had no attack strength and functioned as a purely supportive tool. No attacks could sever it.
“BANG!” The Ox King soared up into the skies and Ji Xue was helplessly dragged along with it—her strength could hardly compare to that of the Ox King’s.
“Brother Qin!” Ji Xue screamed. By then, Qin Wentian had already broken through the earthen prison. His body whistled through the air as terrifying amounts of demonic qi exuded from him, wielding a huge, black-colored sword in his hands.
The Ox King’s defenses were too terrifying—the laceration effects of his Sword Melody wouldn’t be enough to defeat it.
The principle behind his Sword Melody was that its attacks were fast yet light. It focused on sharpness and speed, at the cost of/rather than the damage meted out from each attack. It could easily deal with humans, but had a weaker effect against demonic beasts who excelled in defense, just like the demonic Ox King towering before them.
Of course, if one was discussing pure attack power, then Qin Wentian’s strength could be further augmented by his Mandate of Force and Mandate of Demons. If he struck out using the second level insights he comprehended in the Mandate of Force, Void Vibration, his attack could ignore his opponent’s defenses and forcefully jolt their inner organs until their death. He could even throw long-range attacks, sending out vibrational shockwaves to kill.
Although the Ox King’s defense was insanely high, its weakness lay in its speed. This weakness was highlighted further now that it was unable to move freely because of the immortal binding chains.
Upon seeing Qin Wentian lunging over, the Ox King glared at him before howling in rage. Within moments, Qin Wentian felt a terrifying force pressing down on him, as if wanting to bury him right where he stood. His strength had no way to erupt forth.
“Truly powerful indeed.” Qin Wentian stared at the Ox King as the demonic qi from his body towered to the heavens. The power of his bloodline thrummed as he executed Stellar Transposition, instantly appearing before the Ox King right before he smashed down his gigantic sword.
The Ox King roared in madness as a screen of light enveloped it, earthen and yellowed in color. This was its strongest defensive technique—ordinary fifth-level Heavenly Dipper Sovereigns wouldn't be able to smash through it.
“BREAK!” Qin Wentian coldly snorted, slamming the incredibly heavy black sword directly onto that screen of light. His attack was further coated with the will of his Mandate of Swords, layering it with a terrifying sharpness. In the next instant, powerful vibrational shockwaves shot out, each wave filled with sharpness as they cracked apart the screen of light, causing it to collapse completely.
Even with Qin Wentian’s strength, he could only breach its defenses. The leftover power from his strike carried forward and slammed into the Ox King, but was unable to inflict significant injuries.
But, Xu Feng, who from the beginning had been waiting in the shadows for an opportunity, acted instantly. He was like a bolt of lightning shooting down from the skies. A new screen of light manifested, but even before it could completely envelop the Ox King, Xu Feng’s long spear had already penetrated it through its eyes, stabbing into its brain. The Ox King howled in despair and started thrashing about in excruciating agony, causing the surrounding earth to tremble violently alongside its death throes.
Xu Feng pulled out his spear, and Qin Wentian retreated together with him. The aura of the maddened Ox King grew increasingly weaker. Its ice-cold eyes flashed with resignation, before gradually falling to the ground, dead.
“Whew, it's finally over.” Ji Xue heaved a sigh of relief. This demonic Ox King had been truly tough to deal with. Earlier, despite the overwhelming strength of her senior, they’d had no chance to kill the Ox King. She hadn't expected Qin Wentian to be so powerful, being able to destroy the demonic ox’s defenses with a single attack, thereby creating an opportunity for them to gain victory.
“Awesome.” Ji Xue turned and praised Qin Wentian. Qin Wentian didn't reply. After which, Ji Xue and her senior brother turned their gazes on the tree as their expressions abruptly froze. That snowy puppy was lying on the ground—it had already plucked two Great Terra Fruits and was currently chomping on one of them.
Qin Wentian rolled his eyes, while he was risking his life in battle earlier, this Little Rascal had already started to sneakily eat the fruits.
Xu Feng’s silhouette flickered, he landed on the tree and started to pluck the Great Terra Fruits.
Ji Xue mirrored his actions. After which, she turned and spoke to Qin Wentian. “There are a total of seven fruits. Is it okay if we divide it this way? Three fruits for you and your puppy, while my senior and I will take two fruits each.”
Xu Feng frowned slightly when he heard this. However, when he thought of the incident with the Blood Shadow Herb, he refrained from rejecting his junior sister’s suggestion. Although, they had already obtained the Great Terra Fruits, the fruits weren't personally beneficial for them. What they truly wanted was to use the fruits for trading.
However right at this moment, a raging wind gusted by as about seven to eight silhouettes appeared in the area. The eyes of the leader of the newcomers flashed with a strange glow when he noticed Xu Feng and Ji Xue.
“Brother Xu Feng and Lady Ji Xue, who would have thought that you would be in this hidden realm as well.” That person clasped his hands, appearing extremely polite.
Those behind him stared at Qin Wentian, as expressions of recognition flashed on some of their faces. After a series of voice transmissions, the leader turned his gaze onto Qin Wentian as his eyes flickered with a sinister light. So it was this young man who offended Shang Yue in the Treasure Seizing Assembly and even ‘abused’ Jin Zhan and Yin Cheng. To think that he’d somehow sneaked past the guards and entered the hidden realm as well.
“Xie Yu from the Ecliptic Sect.” Xu Feng glanced at the young man leading the group. These people were from the Ecliptic Sect, a major power in the Xuan King City. Xie Yu was one of the demon-level genius characters of his generation.It seemed like the major powers in Xuan King City were all participating in this hidden realm.
“Brother Xu Feng, we discovered an extremely valuable treasure inside the hidden realm that cost the lives of more than ten of my brothers. Since we’ve come across each other, how about joining forces?” Xie Yu inquired. Qin Wentian and the other two noticed that the auras of these people were fluctuating and unstable, as though they had just been through a great battle.
Xu Feng and Ji Xue locked gazes for a moment as though in silent communication. Xu Feng then asked, “What is that item?”
“I can’t be sure yet, but the location of this treasure is within a meteor stone mine. Not only that, we discovered that the astral energy from the Yuan Meteor Stones in the mine were all completely absorbed. Because of some unknown reason, the mine became a stone mountain with a naturally formed cavern. Within the cavern, there were several extremely fearsome demonic beasts guarding something. My men were all killed by the beasts.”
Xie Yu spoke, his words causing Xu Feng and Ji Xue’s hearts to turn heavy. Indeed, as they’d expected, the meteor stone mine had been discovered by others. Back then when Ji Xue was injured, it was precisely because the two of them had attempted to barge into the very place Xie Yu had mentioned. After she had recovered from her injuries, the two of them entered the hidden realm again but this time around, they did so with caution, instead of foolishly rushing headlong inside.
“If the demonic beasts were so powerful, wouldn’t it be useless even if our parties joined forces?” Xu Feng asked in a probing manner.
“That place isn’t too hard to find. Other than myself, I believe the other powers will soon discover it as well. And by that time, the major powers will be pressured into suggesting an alliance. But if a priceless treasure truly appears and in-fighting occurs, joining forces with the two of you now could be said to be my insurance plan,” Xie Yu slowly explained. These people were all intelligent men, it was naturally easier to speak honestly and seek mutual benefits.
“Fine.” Xu Feng nodded in agreement. He also wanted to know what treasure was hidden inside.
“Brother Qin, how about joining us as well?” Ji Xue looked to Qin Wentian.
Qin Wentian contemplated for a moment before nodding in agreement. If Xie Yu and his men had no way to acquire the treasure, it would be foolhardy to assume that he would be successful alone. Ji Xue had a kind temperament, there was no need to worry if he was working together with her. Not only that, he had the spatial brush in his hands—that was his greatest insurance. Even if they truly met with danger, Qin Wentian had nothing to fear!