Chapter 117: Heaven-Connecting!
An oppressive, sealing force descended. The men's faces paled dramatically, for in this moment, they felt themselves lose control of their bodies. A terrifying sealing power had taken effect upon them.
The spiritual energy within their bodies began moving as slowly as a snail. In that short span, they could hardly mobilize a shred of it.
"Swoosh—"
While the men were trapped deep in the mire, several lightning-fast black vines, trailing afterimages, ruthlessly stabbed straight toward their throats.
"Pfft—"
With not a trace of resistance, the men's throats were pierced. The life force within them followed the black tree thorns, flowing toward the main body of the Bloodthirsty Demon King Vine.
As they sank into darkness, Jiang Yun's cold, detached expression was reflected in their eyes. They understood then. The Bloodthirsty Demon King Vine had not been suppressed—it was Jiang Yun deliberately controlling the outcome. As for his purpose...
"Swish—"
A soft sound accompanied a dazzling, blood-red light. From within the main trunk of the Bloodthirsty Demon King Vine, a fresh, blood-red tree heart slowly pulsed, exactly like a human heart.
A peculiar, wondrous fragrance wafted out, drawing Zi Yan's and Medusa's sidelong glances.
The instant it fully matured, Jiang Yun did not hesitate in the slightest. He reached out and pressed down. The stalled spiritual array resumed its operation. A terrifying suppressive force fell upon the Bloodthirsty Demon King Vine.
"Screech—" The omnipresent suppressing force made it emit a shrill, piercing shriek of agony.
"Boom—"
The several divine beasts, trailing long tails of spiritual energy light like shooting stars—their speed was extreme. In the span of a mere breath, they collided directly with the Bloodthirsty Demon King Vine below.
Dong!
A heaven-shaking, earth-shattering boom resounded. A dazzling mass of light, carrying a terrifying shockwave, was just about to spread outward at that moment.
The ranking system for Spiritual Array Masters turned somewhat elusive upon reaching the level of a Fifth-Grade Spiritual Array Master. At this level, taking one more step forward meant entering the ranks of Spiritual Array Grandmasters. Generally speaking, a Spiritual Array Grandmaster possessed strength comparable to a Sovereign.
Within Fifth-Grade Spiritual Array Masters, there was a massive gap between the strong and the weak. Some formidable Fifth-Grade Spiritual Array Masters could make even experts who had passed the Spiritual Power Tribulation, or even the Divine Soul Tribulation, wary and troubled.
Other, weaker Fifth-Grade Spiritual Array Masters would find even dealing with a Fleshly Tribulation expert extremely troublesome.
Back when Jiang Yun was at the Dou Wang level, he had, through the Heart Eye state, laid down a Fifth-Grade Spiritual Array—the Four Symbols Array. However, that array only possessed power comparable to the Heaven-Connecting Realm and had not yet reached the level of the Three Minor Sovereign Tribulations.
Later, he successively acquired Flame Sovereign Yao Tianhuo's Five-Wheel Separating Flame Array and the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint's Heaven-Refining Ancient Array, deriving essence from them. His comprehension of spiritual arrays advanced to a higher level. After perfecting his Four Symbols Array into the Five Spirits Array, this array reached the peak of Fifth-Grade Spiritual Arrays.
In Jiang Yun's hands, as long as he was given time to deploy the array, even someone at the Divine Soul Tribulation of the Three Minor Sovereign Tribulations would be trapped by it.
Using it now to deal with a mere Bloodthirsty Demon King Vine that was only comparable to the Spiritual Power Tribulation was naturally effortless.
Watching the massive commotion on the ground and the now lifeless Bloodthirsty Demon King Vine, Jiang Yun raised his hand and gave a light wave. The previously rampaging spiritual energy between heaven and earth instantly dissipated completely. The surrounding space returned to calm once more.
In midair, Jiang Yun sensed the spiritual energy within his body, now only thirty percent remaining. He clicked his tongue secretly. Spiritual arrays were excellent, but they had to be used cautiously!
Within his dantian, the devouring power of the Saint Demon Flame spun silently, boosting his cultivation art. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged madly into his body, replenishing his spent reserves.
Then, his figure slowly drifted down. Zi Yan and Medusa landed behind him.
"Let's go. Time to reap the harvest." Looking at the two women beside him, Jiang Yun beckoned as usual. The storage bracelets littering the ground flew before him. Then he stepped toward the Bloodthirsty Demon King Vine.
Getting closer, the three could truly feel the ferocious might radiating from this Bloodthirsty Demon King Vine. Looking at the blood-red fruit that resembled a heart, Jiang Yun smiled faintly. Reaching out, he prepared to pull it from the creature's body.
"Boom—"
Just as his palm was about to touch it, however, the wreathing, fragrant mist suddenly burst forth with an extremely violent gale.
The gale raged, mountain-heavy, blasting toward the trio furiously!
"Careful!"
Zi Yan and Medusa reacted swiftly. With a light shout, their graceful figures had already shot forward. Jade palms thrust out, carrying torrents of spiritual energy, slamming forth with a boom.
Instantly, the gale dispersed. The already broken, incomplete black forest around them once again suffered a vicious blow.
After shattering the spiritual energy gale, Zi Yan withdrew her hand. Then, a scrutinizing gaze fell upon Medusa. The other's reaction just now had been somewhat unexpected.
Wasn't this woman all about fighting and killing? Since when had she started caring about Xiao Yun's safety?
Detecting Zi Yan's stare, Medusa looked away as if nothing had happened, reaching out to toy with the tiny Nine-Colored Heaven-Devouring Python coiled on her shoulder.
Taking everything in, Jiang Yun chuckled inwardly. With a straight face, he raised his hand and drew the fruit into his grasp with a suction force.
The fruit, upon entering his hand, felt like jade, radiating vast, pure fluctuations of spiritual energy.
"Zi Yan, let's find a place and consume this later!" Handing the fruit to Zi Yan, Jiang Yun spoke.
"Alright!" Zi Yan did not stand on ceremony, accepting the fruit with a nod.
To Medusa, who had gained nothing this time, Jiang Yun said, "We've gathered quite a few spiritual herbs this time. If you refine them using the devouring power of your beast flame, it should be enough for you to advance one or two levels."
"Mm." Nodding, Medusa had no objections to Jiang Yun's distribution. The fruit wouldn't be of much use to her anyway. She had already evolved into a Nine-Colored Heaven-Devouring Python. If she wanted to elevate her bloodline once more, it wouldn't be something this fruit could accomplish.
With the distribution settled, the three swiftly vanished from the area. The forest returned to silence once more.
This was a desolate mountain range, permeated everywhere with a sense of bleakness. Jiang Yun's trio hid within a cave dwelling carved out halfway up the mountain.
An illusion array camouflaged the entrance. He had also managed to scavenge a few Spirit-Gathering Stones. Inside, Jiang Yun had even set up a Fifth-Grade Spirit-Gathering Array. At this moment, the cave was filled with spiritual energy so dense it had turned to mist. Aside from the poor surroundings, it seemed almost like an immortal's paradise.
By now, Medusa and Zi Yan had each taken their respective medicinal ingredients and were working on raising their strength.
Jiang Yun, meanwhile, examined a jade slip in his hand, sensing the spatial power within it. He pondered deeply. A long while later, he put the jade slip away. A soft murmur echoed within the cave dwelling.
"Interesting. So that's how it is. It seems the real competition has only just begun. I need to raise my strength as well!"
With that thought, he glanced at the two women, who were now progressing steadily. Jiang Yun no longer hesitated. Sitting cross-legged, he waved his hand. Jade bottle after jade bottle, stalk after stalk of spiritual herbs, and energy cores flew out, hovering in midair.
A rough estimate—no fewer than a hundred in total!
These were the spoils Jiang Yun's trio had gathered since arriving in this battlefield—everything that had not been given to Medusa for her breakthrough was right here.
"In that case—come!"
Retracting his gaze, a black-and-white flame burst from Jiang Yun's body, engulfing all these items completely.
His slender fingers intertwined and folded, hand seals shifting. Finally, several streaks of rainbow light shot from his palm, rushing up into the interwoven network of countless rays of light above.
Boom!
A low, muffled sound seemed to spread across the sky. The countless rays of light erupted with blinding brilliance. The Spirit-Gathering Array Jiang Yun had previously set up now appeared to spawn an array within an array, tightly enclosing him.
Immediately after, the items in midair shattered completely. Under the Saint Demon Flame's refinement, they were reduced to the purest spiritual liquid. Then, the rays of light converged, as if forming a vortex of radiance roughly a hundred zhang wide in the sky.
The vortex drew in the spiritual liquid from the air. Under its influence, it seemed as if an extremely vast amount of spiritual energy was within it, like a volcano about to erupt.
Seeing this, Jiang Yun hesitated no longer. Opening his mouth, he inhaled. The mass of light, which had created the spiritual energy vortex in midair, was instantly pulled into his mouth under the guidance of the Saint Demon Flame.
Dazzling, brilliant spiritual energy exploded violently within Jiang Yun's body. The terrifying spiritual energy formed a unique resonance with the spiritual energy outside. A massive vortex formed around Jiang Yun. Within this array-within-an-array, the spiritual energy was so dense it was nearly liquefying, making it impossible to see the scene inside clearly.
At this moment, within Jiang Yun's body, his cultivation art circulated at high speed, refining the vast spiritual energy inside him. In a place unseen by anyone, nine mysterious meridians within him radiated brilliant light.
Inside his dantian, within that mass of spiritual energy light, streams of spiritual energy rolled like waves toward his limbs and bones. As time passed, Jiang Yun's aura grew at a rapid pace.
Boom!
Those massive waves of spiritual energy grew fiercer with each pulse. Toward the end, it was practically a roaring flood, rampaging inside Jiang Yun's body. Had it been any other Heaven Transformation Realm cultivator, they would likely have exploded and died the moment they swallowed it.
But Jiang Yun, relying on the aid of the Nine Divine Veins and the Saint Demon Flame, completed this terrifying feat. And it was precisely when those spiritual energy waves reached their most ferocious extreme...
Suddenly, a soft shattering sound rang out. At that moment, a series of muffled, rumbling sounds came from within Jiang Yun's body—like the roar of tigers, the cry of dragons.
The roaring sounds rippled, containing exceptionally powerful spiritual energy within them.
In the next instant, a tiny, illusory figure, the size of an inch, flew out from his body. That was his soul—it could also be called his Divine Soul.
At this moment, his soul realm consequently stepped into the late Spirit Realm. His Divine Soul appeared exceptionally condensed and solid, brimming with a sense of power from head to toe.
Swoosh!
The Divine Soul abruptly shot skyward, transforming into a streak of light, shooting straight up into the ninth heaven. The surrounding vortex of energy, however, could not cause it much harm. It was as if it now possessed the great ability to soar through heaven and pierce the earth.
This was the sign of stepping into the Heaven-Connecting Realm—the Divine Soul, far from the physical body, roaming heaven and earth without perishing. This was what it meant to be Heaven-Connecting!
Jiang Yun had evidently broken through to the final realm of the Three Heaven Realms, the Heaven-Connecting Realm!
Moreover, his current aura was not that of the ordinary early Heaven-Connecting Realm. He had stepped into the middle stage peak of the Heaven-Connecting Realm. With just another month of secluded cultivation, he could enter the late Heaven-Connecting Realm at any time!
Just as Jiang Yun was breaking through to the Heaven-Connecting Realm, in a cave at the side of the mountain—also a spacious cavern—dense purple light and nine-colored radiance reflected off the cave walls, presenting a dreamlike scene.
Zi Yan and Medusa, like two peerless fairy blossoms, sat quietly in meditation within. Their features made even this crude, makeshift cultivation cave seem far more enchanting.
It was also at the very moment of Jiang Yun's breakthrough that the pent-up auras within Zi Yan and Medusa suddenly erupted, like a volcanic explosion, bursting forth.
Three terrifying auras intertwined, shaking the very mountain beneath their feet. Had Jiang Yun not set up arrays beforehand to isolate them, the three might very well have buried themselves alive!
While Jiang Yun's trio were in closed-door cultivation, at a place far, far away from them, a monumental upheaval had occurred.
"Crack—"
Along with a series of sounds, the blood-red dome of the sky was filled with fissures, as if it would shatter at any moment. Terrifying spatial rifts appeared one after another, radiating mighty void power, horrifying to the extreme.
As time passed, the great rifts were widening, growing ever more immense. This entire realm seemed about to be torn apart.
Boom!
A tremendous sound rang out. If one looked from outside, they would see giant palms, one after another, crossing the void to arrive, blasting against the dark-red membrane surrounding this continent fragment.
Someone was attacking the battlefield space from outside!
"Weng—"
Just as the membrane of the battlefield was about to shatter, within the void, a crimson-red flame drifted out.
The flame was dim, as if it could be extinguished at any moment. Yet at this instant, it blazed with an unprecedented light. An undying aura emanated from it, making the owners of those great palms shudder uncontrollably, all the hairs on their bodies standing on end.
The divine flames blazed brightly, illuminating the nine heavens, spanning the firmament. They burned the vault of heaven until it was resplendent and bright, making the surrounding void space seem dim by comparison.
"It's him, it's absolutely him!"
"After moving through multiple ruins, after salvaging who knows how many battlefield fragments—we've finally found it."
"The Myriad Flames Imperishable Body... is there still a chance for it to reform?"
"Everyone, with that undying will still present, we cannot enter this ruin. We might as well follow the plan. Let the younger generation contend for everything!"
"Agreed!"
Their discussion concluded, the several figures dispersed. The void returned to its eternal, age-old tranquility. Only the occasional void storm drifting through displayed the dangers of the void space.
After the few people left, within that illusory flame, a man bathed in divine flames woodenly swept his gaze over the surroundings. Then, he transformed back into flame and returned to the ruin battlefield.
No one knew how long passed. Within the void, a black flame blazed fiercely. Fearsome heat radiated outward, abruptly warping space itself.
A blood-red eye suddenly opened from within the flame. A flash of wild excitement darted through its depths. A cold voice echoed through the void.
"It's the ancestor's aura! Report this to the clan immediately! The ancestor's trail has been found..."
And just a few days later, within the void, streaks of rainbow light quietly skimmed past. The direction these rainbow lights were headed—was precisely the battlefield ruin where Jiang Yun and the others were.
The number of those rainbow lights was not small. And as they streaked across the sky, powerful spiritual energy fluctuations emanated from them. Clearly, these people were no weaklings.