Section 55: Mysterious Expert
February 9, 2013 Author: Gu Zhenren
The flower branches, which had been continuously firing attack rays at Chu Yun, suddenly fell silent, treating Chu Yun as if he weren’t there.
“It worked,” Chu Yun shouted inwardly, a boundless sense of ecstasy surging through him.
As he climbed, he had been using his King-level intellect to desperately ponder a strategy to break through. He finally conceived this idea: using the demonic energy of the Lishan Dragon Eye Flower Branch to conceal his aura, making the surrounding flower branches mistake him for one of their own, thus ceasing their attacks.
Of course, this was just his guess, and only by taking a perilous gamble and putting it into practice could he prove it.
Fortunately, Chu Yun succeeded.
With the Lishan Dragon Eye Flower Branch’s protection, he moved as if no one were there, quickening his pace towards the mountaintop.
“Damn it, that brat got away.”
“Just a little bit more, how infuriating.”
“That brat actually used the demonic energy of the Lishan Dragon Eye Flower Branch in his hand for protection, avoiding the attacks of the surrounding flower branches…”
The Three Kings exchanged glances, seeing nothing but helplessness and bitterness in each other’s eyes.
Undoubtedly, Chu Yun had discovered an excellent method to traverse Lishan, but the key was possessing a Lishan Dragon Eye Flower Branch. And none of the Three Kings had one.
Although surrounded by flower branches, they had wanted to pluck one as soon as they reached the foot of the mountain, only to discover that each Lishan Dragon Eye Flower Branch had the closest connection to Lishan.
In other words, they were possessed items.
Only by killing the owner of the demonic creature, returning it to an unpossessed state, could one then attempt to acquire it.
There was also the Spirit Snake.
But what made the Three Kings utterly exasperated was that they didn’t have the Spirit Snake either; it was also in Chu Yun’s possession.
Watching helplessly as Chu Yun weaved freely through the dense flower branches, his figure receding further and further, the Ghost King gnashed his teeth.
The Ice Sword King exuded an increasingly bone-chilling aura.
The Yin Yang King’s expression also changed. “Continue the pursuit. As long as we don’t face an overwhelming assault from too many flower branches, we can still reach the summit. It will just take more time. Number One was right; I also feel it. With our combined strength, pursuing him is still this troublesome. If we let him grow in strength in the future, he will absolutely be a menace.”
“Lishan is extraordinary. Although it is a Dragon Clan Graveyard, it is born from death, giving rise to the flower branch forest that spreads across the entire mountain. Nature is truly vast and profound, possessing infinite mysteries that are difficult for human effort to fathom!” The closer Chu Yun got to the summit and the more Dragon Eye Fruits he saw, with their increasing quality, the more awestruck he became.
He had temporarily escaped danger and was now advancing beyond the mountainside towards the peak.
Along the way, the cultivation of the Lishan Dragon Eye Flower Branches grew increasingly profound. From the young and lesser demons at the foot of the mountain to the great demons on the mountainside, and now to spirit monsters, even at the peak of spirit monster cultivation.
Relying on the concealment of the Lishan Dragon Eye Flower Branch’s demonic energy, Chu Yun not only outran his pursuers but also harvested a large number of Dragon Eye Fruits.
Having recognized him as one of their own, these flower branches allowed him to pick freely without any reaction.
Chu Yun had eaten many Dragon Eye Fruits before, and consuming too many of the same type would render them ineffective. However, he couldn’t resist the sheer abundance and variety available here.
Chu Yun ate as he walked, and his physical constitution, originally at the early King level, reached the middle King level by the time he ascended the peak.
“I’m so full… I’ve eaten all the Dragon Eye Fruits in the world. Consuming them again will have no effect. However, the Dragon Eye Fruits in my Immortal Pouch are piled so high that they form a small mountain. If I can escape this tribulation and return to Huode City, I can surely bring about rapid improvement for my friends and family.”
Chu Yun patted his stomach and looked back. The Three Kings were more than three hundred zhang away and their progress was slowing. He felt a slight sense of relief but then frowned, a cloud of worry hanging over him. “I’m almost at the summit. With their King-level strength, they will eventually break through. What will I do then?”
Chu Yun continued to advance, and suddenly, a complex emotion of surprise and joy flickered in his eyes. After climbing for so long, he had finally encountered the first Lishan Dragon Eye Flower Branch with Tribulation Demon cultivation.
Its branches were lush and abundant, like a towering ancient tree. Countless Dragon Eye Fruits weighed down its branches. The dragon eyes sparkled, slowly turning with Chu Yun’s footsteps.
Chu Yun inwardly marveled, feeling immense pressure. At this moment, he felt as if he were being stared at by hundreds, even thousands, of demon dragons.
The Lishan Dragon Eye Flower Branch in his hand also trembled, its demonic energy becoming unstable. This was due to the immense suppression between demonic plants of different ranks.
Chu Yun dared not approach this Tribulation Demon Flower Branch too closely. He skirted around it from a distance, continuing his ascent towards the summit.
The second, the third, the fourth…
He discovered more and more Tribulation Demon Flower Branches. Among those he saw on this path alone, there were eighteen. Most were ten-thousand-year Tribulation Demons, with a few possessing the imposing aura of hundred-thousand-year Tribulation Demons.
Chu Yun treaded as if on thin ice, slowing his pace as he passed between the flower branches.
The summit was now within sight. At its peak stood a Flower Branch King, its aura vast and unfathomable, undoubtedly possessing cultivation of over ten million years.
Aside from the Rumor Vine Dragon King, this was the second ten-million-year demonic plant Chu Yun had seen.
“Strange, this Flower Branch King isn’t an Innate Demonic Creature, so why is it unaffected by the Heavenly Tribulation?” Chu Yun wondered. Just then, he suddenly stopped, his eyes widening. “What do I see? There’s a person sitting beneath the flower branch!”
For a moment, Chu Yun’s body froze, his heart skipping a beat.
At the peak of Lishan, beneath a ten-million-year-old demonic plant, a person was seated, seemingly meditating. What did this imply?
“Hoo…” But soon, Chu Yun exhaled a turbid breath, his body relaxing.
He realized it was a false alarm. Upon closer inspection, the figure was not a real person but a stone statue.
Upon discovering this, an even stronger emotion surged through Chu Yun’s heart.
Chu Yun was extremely curious. Why was there a stone statue at the summit of Lishan? What secrets did this stone statue hold?
He wanted to approach but dared not. By this point, the flower branch in his hand was trembling violently, and its demonic energy was unstable. If he were to get any closer and his identity was exposed, Chu Yun would face an attack from a ten-million-year Flower Branch, and in his current state, he would be instantly annihilated.
Chu Yun could only observe from afar. The stone statue was blood-red all over, seemingly made from the dragon blood red earth of Lishan.
The statue depicted a middle-aged man, broad-shouldered and strong, with a majestic physique. His eyes were closed as he sat cross-legged, yet he exuded a mountain-like grandeur.
“This stone statue is too lifelike, as if it were alive,” Chu Yun marveled. Suddenly, a thought struck him. “Why not use my Heavenly Eye to take a look?”
He opened his eyes and gazed intently.
The next moment, the stone statue’s eyes snapped open.
…
Sounds of dying screams, the gruesome noises of flesh and bone separating, and the splashing of waves as they fell into the sea became the dominant sounds of the current battlefield.
Two massive aerial forces were locked in a fierce entanglement high in the sky.
The tragic scene left the spectators dumbfounded.
The Yin Bat army suffered heavy losses.
Shu Family’s foremost general, Bai Mian, charged through the air, leading his subordinates in a sweeping advance.
“I never expected the Shu Family to still have such a massive trump card!”
“The Celestial Horse Elite Soldiers, reappearing as the top elite soldiers of Xingzhou’s past!”
“Although the Ghost Vine Country’s Yin Bat army is numerous, they are no match for the Celestial Horse Elite Soldiers and can’t even touch their clothes…”
The various hegemons were moved, craning their necks to look at the sky, their eyes filled with profound shock.
In the sky, celestial horses flapped their wings, soaring high and forming a white feathered spearhead. They occasionally unleashed their innate Dao methods, constantly teleporting through the air. The Yin Bat Elite Soldiers, like bulky, slow-moving obese figures, were toyed with by the Celestial Horse Elite Soldiers, with little ability to resist.
“I thought that with over ten thousand Yin Bat Elite Soldiers appearing, victory would be assured. I never expected the Shu Family to be so deeply hidden, possessing a Celestial Horse Elite Soldier regiment of three thousand.”
“The Ghost Vine Country wanted to get a piece of the pie, but this Yin Bat army is destined for annihilation here. Truly, trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice, the losses are immense.”
“The Shu Family is too patient. They even kept this trump card hidden when attacking the East Sea Faction. Looking back, this move was incredibly wise. Otherwise, if the Yin Bat army had gained the initiative, the Shu Family would have had no chance of turning the tide.”
“The possibility of them patiently holding back is small. It’s likely that the appearance of the East Sea Faction’s Nine Heavens Divine Light Tower formation disrupted the Celestial Horse Elite Soldiers’ attack plan. Celestial Horse Elite Soldiers are not shock troops, but are skilled in mobility, killing, and disruption. Using them to attack the colorful clouds of mist would result in too great a loss, truly not worth it.”
The various powerful figures expressed their opinions.
“They’ve actually assembled a Celestial Horse Elite Soldier regiment. It seems they acquired it in the Dragon Gate World. Damn it! The Sleeping Old Man obscured the heavenly secrets, preventing me from calculating this force.” The mysterious Dream Oracle felt a chilling aura; this development had caught him off guard. The Shu Family was too patient, still possessing such a trump card after their fierce battle with the Land Whale King.
“Cold Sword King, Ghost King, Yin Yang King, why haven’t you succeeded yet? Act quickly. Something has changed here, and the Yin Bat Elite Soldiers will have great use in the future. They cannot suffer too many losses. I’m running out of time.” The mysterious Dream Oracle sent a distress call to the Three Kings.
Just then, a sudden anomaly occurred.
An indescribable spiritual pressure suddenly erupted from the depths of the tribulation clouds.
The spiritual pressure was vast and majestic, like an ocean, like the sky.
It was filled with a power so supreme that it looked down upon the world, a power that traversed the primordial wilderness.
At this moment, everyone present felt as if a giant had awakened from chaos, about to cleave the heavens and shake the universe.
The mysterious Dream Oracle cried out in shock, “Emperor-level spiritual pressure!”
Boom—
The spiritual pressure was exceedingly potent, forming a torrent of waves that forcefully pushed aside the dense tribulation clouds in the sky.
The Tribulation Demon Tribulation of the Lishan Dragon Eye Flower Branches had already lasted for a long time. Now, struck by this spiritual pressure, it instantly dissipated into nothingness.
The sky brightened, and golden sunlight streamed down. Those below looked up to see a colossal Lishan, quietly suspended in the Nine Heavens. The mountain was covered in Dragon Eye Flower Branches, a riot of colors, breathtakingly brilliant.
A figure stood at the summit, his aura surging and vast. His form was as tall as a mountain, overlooking Xingzhou, his gaze fixed upon the heavens.
