Seeking Immortality in a Bizarre World-Chapter 657 - 651 Destruction of the World? Void-level Strange Creature_1

"Finally, we escaped that freak!" one of them exclaimed.

"Is he really a Nascent Soul period cultivator? I never want to see that guy again!" another lamented.

"Thankfully, he didn’t chase us. This is a stroke of luck amidst misfortune. Time to find another Cultivation World..." a third sighed.

The group felt a lingering fear as they recalled the terrifying figure who had instantly killed a Mahayana Stage Cultivator and shattered a Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasure. Their gazes towards Tulushan were filled with a hint of resentment. Why didn’t you make it clear earlier?! If we had known Jia Ren was so fearsome, we would never have provoked that monster!

Tulushan understood their thoughts and felt deeply wronged. He had already stated that Jia Ren’s combat prowess was extraordinary, but no one had believed him. The fact that other sects possessing Mahayana Stage Cultivators had been successively obliterated, with only the Lingbao Sect remaining, was the best proof. However, what he hadn’t anticipated was that Jia Ren’s strength far exceeded his expectations. He had initially believed that the Wushan Alliance’s thirteen Mahayana Stage Cultivators and nine Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasures would be more than enough to deal with Jia Ren alone. It had seemed like a guaranteed victory. Yet, the outcome was vastly different from their predictions, ultimately forcing them to flee the Mysterious Realm. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Ultimately, the Golden-Winged Peng Bird’s speed was simply too great. Combined with Jia Ren’s devastating power, they were an insurmountable force. Once Jia Ren locked onto a target, he would gradually wear them down, and it wouldn’t take long before they were slaughtered.

Fortunately, we’re safe... Just as this thought surfaced in their minds, an intense sense of threat washed over them.

Aboard the Yuxu Flying Boat, which was in its Ethereal Form, a colossal golden figure swooped down from above, observing the Jade Void Divine Boat with keen interest. Under the dim, ghostly light, the Jade Void Divine Boat’s ethereal silhouette gradually became discernible. We’ve been discovered!

The twelve Mahayana Stage Cultivators felt an inexplicable pressure. Without any warning, a golden divine light slashed down, striking the Jade Void Divine Boat. The Ethereal Form was supposed to be impervious to harm. However, once it came into contact with that probing light, the Jade Void Divine Boat was no longer intangible. The golden light slammed into the Jade Void Divine Boat. Four lights—jade, silver, stone, and white—swirled around it, staunchly protecting the vessel.

BOOM!

The four protective lights twisted and warped as the Jade Void Divine Boat was sent flying. Groans echoed from within, clearly indicating the vessel was struggling under the strain, a sound that pained everyone present. The Jade Void Divine Boat was their key to traversing the Void and reaching other Cultivation Worlds. Without it, they would be trapped in a single realm, just like the Xuan Realm Cultivators. In such a scenario, sects would inevitably fight amongst themselves for resources, leading to a gradual decline in their overall strength. This was a stark contrast to their current situation, where multiple sects had united to form the Wushan Alliance.

"Fellow Daoist, please stay your hand! We can discuss this," Luo Zongqi said, his voice tinged with helplessness as he adopted a more conciliatory stance. "The Wushan Alliance is willing to offer compensation. Furthermore, we possess intelligence regarding other Cultivation Worlds and Bizarre Demons. If you continue this conflict, it will only lead to mutual destruction. Why don’t we both take a step back? A wider path will surely open up for us."

The Wushan Alliance had never imagined they would be brought so low by a mere Nascent Soul period cultivator, forced to humble themselves.

"Mutual destruction?" Jia Ren scoffed. "I don’t think so." He wasn’t sure what trump cards the Wushan Alliance still held, but relying on his extreme speed, he could attack or retreat at will. They could only be on the receiving end. Even if they possessed powerful killing moves, they first had to be able to touch him. He was determined to fight them to the bitter end, confident in his ability to dismantle the Wushan Alliance.

"Though you are powerful," Luo Zongqi argued, "your State of Law, Heaven, and Earth cannot be maintained indefinitely. To achieve power surpassing that of an ordinary Mahayana Stage Cultivator while only at the Body Integration Realm, the amount of nature’s spiritual energy you consume with every breath must be astronomical. We just need to drag this out until your State of Law, Heaven, and Earth expires. At that point, the victor will be far from certain. Our enmity isn’t so deep that it cannot be resolved. How about this: we provide you with intelligence on Bizarre Demons, and in return, we will depart from the Mysterious Realm, never to set foot here again. Is that agreeable?"

Luo Zongqi was well-informed. With cultivators from the Dharma Image Sect among their ranks, the Wushan Alliance understood the immense consumption of nature’s spiritual energy required to maintain the State of Law, Heaven, and Earth. Jia Ren’s use of an unknown Great Divine Power to absorb Spiritual Energy and offset his own consumption was indeed a brilliant tactic, effectively raising the operational limits of his State of Law, Heaven, and Earth. However, they were currently in the Void, a place where nature’s spiritual energy could not be replenished. If they could prolong the fight, they, too, had a chance of victory.

The primary concern was Jia Ren’s terrifying combat strength. The Wushan Alliance feared he might destroy the Jade Void Divine Boat. If anything happened to the vessel, the Wushan Alliance would lose its ability to navigate the Void. This was an enormous risk, as all the Low-Order and Mid-Order Cultivators accompanying them would perish in the Void—a price they were unwilling to pay.

"No Spiritual Energy?" Jia Ren sneered. "Do you really think I came unprepared?"

The Heaven and Earth Mountain and Sea Pearl materialized before him. A ceaseless torrent of nature’s spiritual energy surged into his body, replenishing his every expenditure. Only then did the expressions of the Wushan Alliance cultivators change drastically. Jia Ren possessed the means for sustained combat, making him an even greater threat. The Jade Void Divine Boat was now in genuine peril of destruction.

"Information about other Cultivation Worlds and Bizarre Demons isn’t enough," Jia Ren declared, his tone shifting abruptly as he brought up compensation. "I also demand four Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasures."

Luo Zongqi is right, my dual State of Law, Heaven, and Earth can’t last forever. The Spiritual Power consumption is terrifying. In the Void, there’s no nature’s spiritual energy to draw upon. The Spiritual Energy within the Heaven and Earth Mountain and Sea Pearl can sustain me for a while, but not indefinitely. Besides, there’s the problem with Phoenix Yi. Her adult-stage power, granted by elixirs and formations, is temporary and now nearly depleted. The Demon-Sealing Spirit Tower holds numerous Complete Form Bizarre Persons. They are all potential threats that require the suppressive power of an adult Phoenix’s Flame. Afterward, I’ll need to set up separate sealing formations to prevent them from breaching the Demon-Sealing Spirit Tower. The longer this drags on, the greater the risk of these Complete Form Bizarre Persons escaping. Should I try to kill all the Wushan Alliance cultivators? I can’t be sure if they have powerful, unused trump cards. If this turns into a war of attrition, even if I manage to kill them all, my Lifebound Spirit Treasure, the Demon-Sealing Spirit Tower, will likely be destroyed in the process. Without the suppression from an adult Phoenix’s Flame, I’m no match for over twenty Complete Form Bizarre Persons. If I can get intelligence on Cultivation Worlds and Bizarre Demons, plus four Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasures... Securing these benefits while reducing my risks seems like the most sensible choice.

"Four Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasures?!" one of the Wushan Alliance cultivators exclaimed, nearly jumping in anger. "Do you think Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasures are as common as cabbages?! Not just in the Mysterious Realm, but in other Cultivation Worlds too, Ascenders take them to the Immortal Realm. Their numbers are constantly dwindling! These nine Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasures represent millennia of accumulation by our Wushan Alliance! The most we can offer is one!"

The sheer power of the man before them, however, had left an indelible mark on the Wushan Alliance. With the Jade Void Divine Boat at risk, they were unwilling to gamble. If not for this, they wouldn’t have even considered offering a single Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasure.

"Four! Otherwise, I’ll just kill you all and take them myself!" Jia Ren’s stance was aggressive, making it clear that if negotiations failed, he would resort to slaughter and plunder. This declaration intensified the pressure on the Wushan Alliance cultivators.

"One is the maximum!" The Wushan Alliance stood firm, unwilling to yield further.

"Then I’ll just have to kill you and take your treasures!" Jia Ren retorted. If I back down now, I’ll end up with one or two fewer Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasures. I must maintain a strong stance.

Behind him, Jia Ren’s wings beat. Golden feathers materialized one after another, appearing to coalesce into divine swords. An even more terrifying pressure than before bore down on them.

"Two Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasures at most! This is our final concession! Otherwise, we’ll fight to the bitter end, and it will be mutual destruction!"

Each Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasure was a painful sacrifice to part with; losing one meant a Mahayana Stage Cultivator would lose a precious treasure. Including the one already destroyed, giving away two more would mean losing a third of their total. The cultivators of the Wushan Alliance seemed united, but in truth, they were not a monolithic entity. If too many Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasures were conceded, even Luo Zongqi would lose his ability to control the situation.

Their eyes met. Jia Ren seemed to understand the unspoken message in Luo Zongqi’s gaze. This is their absolute limit. If I continue to press them, there will be no turning back from all-out war.

Jia Ren had demanded four Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasures not because he expected to receive that many, but merely as an opening gambit to start the bidding high. Two Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasures, in addition to the Zijin Xuanren he had already acquired, meant a total of three. This outcome is acceptable.

"These are the spatial coordinates of the Cultivation Worlds the Wushan Alliance has journeyed to. Several of these Cultivation Worlds have already been destroyed."

Destroyed?! Jia Ren watched as a Jade Slip, enveloped in Spiritual Power to shield it from the corrosive Void Force, flew towards him. Only after confirming it held no hidden dangers did he probe its contents with his divine sense. Inside, over a dozen spatial coordinates were recorded, most of them exceedingly distant from the Mysterious Realm. Many were marked with the annotation "Destroyed": the Huangshan Realm, the Taixu Realm, and... the Wushan Realm.

"The Wushan Alliance was once far stronger than the Mysterious Realm," Luo Zongqi explained, his voice heavy as he and Jia Ren regarded each other across the Void. "We plundered resources from over a dozen Cultivation Worlds. At our peak, we had more than thirty Mahayana Stage Cultivators. The others... they were all buried along with the Wushan Realm. We have lost our home; we are now merely wandering souls adrift in the Void. This era is different. The strongest entities were never cultivators. From the very beginning, they have always been... Bizarre Demons!"

The other eleven Mahayana Stage Cultivators also recalled their past, their faces etched with sorrow.

The strongest are Bizarre Demons?! Are there Bizarre Demons capable of destroying entire Cultivation Worlds? Jia Ren was momentarily stunned, his gaze sweeping over them in disbelief.

It’s true that Complete Form Bizarre Persons are incredibly powerful, each one difficult for even Mahayana Stage Cultivators to handle. However, I possess the Phoenix Flame and can seal them. The situation isn’t entirely hopeless. Perhaps the era of unsolvable Bizarre Demons is coming to an end. The Mysterious Realm will surely seal these Bizarre Demons once more and return to its former peace.

"You believe that the complete form of a Bizarre Demon is its strongest state, but that is not true," Luo Zongqi stated grimly. "The Complete Cryptids we are familiar with... are themselves merely fragments cleaved from even more powerful entities, entities that were then sealed across the Myriad Heavens and Worlds. We tentatively categorize the Bizarre Demons we know into three types: remnant bizarre, Spirit-level Bizarre Demons, and Void-level Bizarre Demons. The remnant bizarre are the commonly seen, incomplete Bizarre Demons, often those that have been further divided and sealed by cultivators. Spirit-level Bizarre Demons are what your Mysterious Realm refers to as Complete Cryptids. Void-level Bizarre Demons, however... they are formidable entities capable of traversing the Void, roaming the Myriad Heavens and Worlds, sensing and devouring others of their kind. The Void-level Bizarre Demons we’ve encountered had grown powerful enough to destroy entire Cultivation Worlds. Their combat strength is likely something only powerful Immortals descending to the mortal realm could hope to match."