Chapter 120: Uninvited Guest!
The Pill Beast struggled more and more madly, but the binding force also continuously intensified, stacking layer upon layer upon its body.
In just a few dozen breaths, the flood-dragon Pill Beast's movements became extremely sluggish. Its appearance was as if it had sunk deep into the restraints of a swamp.
Had it been a human with sentience, they would likely have long since tried every means to escape. Yet the flood-dragon Pill Beast only knew to struggle with increasingly terrifying force, but the result was that it sank deeper and deeper.
"This is a trapping array. It's extremely practical against opponents with powerful physical bodies. Once trapped deep inside, the more one struggles, the stronger the binding force becomes. Moreover, this array also has an illusion-inducing effect. If one cannot break free in time, the trapped can only be drained of spiritual energy alive and captured without a fight!"
Looking at the trapped Pill Beast, Jiang Yun chuckled lightly and explained to Zi Yan and Medusa beside him.
"The path of spiritual arrays is indeed profoundly mysterious!" Medusa sighed softly, her tone unable to hide her astonishment. In a direct frontal clash, even with her and Zi Yan joining forces, after a fair bit of effort, defeating this flood-dragon Pill Beast would require an intense, fierce battle—and even then, victory wouldn't be certain in the end.
But now, with Jiang Yun making a move, just a single array rendered the Pill Beast completely harmless. Coupled with Jiang Yun's utterly relaxed demeanor, as if done casually, a surge of envy rose within Medusa's heart.
If not for being 'not close' to Jiang Yun, she would likely have asked him to lay down several profound arrays for the snake-people. That way, even when she was no longer in the clan in the future, she wouldn't have to worry.
As for why she would no longer be in the clan—only she herself knew that...
In truth, if it were a true Divine Soul Tribulation expert, even a Fifth-Grade spiritual array would struggle to achieve such an effect. Unfortunately, the opponent was a Pill Beast of low intelligence.
Possessing brute force alone without matching intellect, it was naturally handled with ease by Jiang Yun.
"What do we do next?" At this point, Zi Yan had been watching for quite a while but still couldn't figure out where the pill was hidden. She looked at Jiang Yun, puzzled.
"We strike together and shatter it, and that will do!"
Rumble—
Toward Jiang Yun's judgment, Medusa and Zi Yan naturally did not question it. The three's terrifying attacks descended one after another. Streak after streak of overwhelmingly fierce spiritual energy attacks came sweeping over.
Moments later, the Pill Beast was shattered into pieces. A small, snow-white flood dragon appeared, its entire body devoid of any energy fluctuations, like an ordinary demonic beast.
Seeing this, Zi Yan and Medusa both looked at Jiang Yun with puzzled expressions!
"Grab it! That is the pill!" As his voice fell, paying no mind to the stunned Medusa and Zi Yan beside him, Jiang Yun's feet flickered, and he had already reached the little flood dragon's side. His palm reached out to secure it into his possession.
Right at that moment, a sudden pull of suction force burst forth violently. The little flood dragon immediately slipped from Jiang Yun's grasp, about to be yanked upward.
Swoosh—
"Insolence!"
Two delicate shouts rang out. In the next instant, the space around the escaping little dragon instantly solidified. Jiang Yun's palm smoothly scooped the little flood dragon into his hand. Ignoring its resistance, flames gathered in his hand, recompressing it into a pill, which he stored in a jade bottle.
At the exact same moment, the sound of a ringing sword echoed. A wave of sword light spread out from beside him. This sword light was sharp beyond description, even slicing fine, dense cracks into space itself.
"Bang—"
After a great crash, a figure slowly emerged. Somewhat unsightly, he looked at the red mark on his palm, staring at Medusa as he spoke: "What sharp sword energy!"
"Hand over the divine pill, and I may spare your lives!" The man warily swept his gaze over Medusa and Zi Yan. Though the situation had somewhat exceeded expectations, he was not worried.
These two women were powerful, true, but their cultivation was ultimately their fatal weakness!
And as for Jiang Yun... although his spiritual array attainment was indeed astonishing, Spiritual Array Masters needed time to set up their arrays. He would not give Jiang Yun that time.
"Who might you be?" Jiang Yun frowned, looking at the man before him. The vast spiritual energy within the man's body was practically suffocating—this was an expert at the Spiritual Power Tribulation.
"I am Wu Tong!" Wu Tong spoke indifferently. Seeing Jiang Yun had no intention of handing over the pill, his face darkened, and he said, "Since you refuse to give up the divine pill, then go die!"
Boom—
Vast spiritual energy howled, waves of powerful oppressive force surging forward. On Wu Tong's body, black lightning flickered to life. His skin also turned dark and glossy. On his exposed skin, lightning markings slowly surfaced one after another.
His internal spiritual energy driven to the extreme, Wu Tong's sharp gaze gathered like the edge of a blade. He grinned savagely, and the sole of his foot abruptly stepped forward.
Boom—
It was as if lightning exploded beneath his feet. Black electric arcs flickered. His figure had, in that instant, shot forward violently.
"Careful!"
Medusa and Zi Yan had been on guard against him from the beginning. The moment they saw him make a move, they immediately shouted. But they were still a step too slow. Wu Tong's speed was simply too fast. The lightning attribute was inherently a property of immense offensive power, and it also possessed explosively violent speed.
Thus, just as Medusa and Zi Yan made their first move, Wu Tong had already reached Jiang Yun's immediate vicinity. Spiritual energy, as vast and deep as the ocean, swept and surged forth, as if even the air was being compressed to the point of detonation.
Jiang Yun reacted just as swiftly. The spiritual energy within him erupted, and he threw a punch directly at the opponent.
Boom—
Spiritual energy, vigorous to the extreme, howled past like seawater. Two figures collided heavily together.
"Bang—"
The instant they clashed, a storm of gale-force wind swept out, tearing crack after crack into the surrounding ground.
"Your physical body and spiritual energy—neither seems like what the Heaven-Connecting Realm should possess. Where do you come from?"
Sensing the power transmitted from the point of collision, Wu Tong's expression changed, and he spoke with gravity.
"Swoosh—"
Before Jiang Yun could answer, Zi Yan and Medusa behind him had already charged forward. A terrifying spear gleam and a razor-sharp sword aura were already slashing toward Wu Tong.
Seeing this, Wu Tong's five fingers instantly clenched into a fist. Without the slightest hesitation, he threw a fierce punch toward his flank.
Bang!
Vast spiritual energy swept out. Wu Tong's fist also gleamed with a jade-like luster. This punch was packed with power. Wu Tong had actually easily shattered Zi Yan's and Medusa's joint attack.
"Life-Death Great Hand Seal!"
Jiang Yun was not a beat slower. Hand seals condensed in his grasp. Black-and-white spiritual energy shot skyward. A massive black-and-white hand, as if reaching out from the depths of the Nine Nether, suddenly thrust forth, then seemed to traverse space itself, covering everything as it descended.
The giant black-and-white hand was as if it covered all of heaven and earth, front and back, left and right—leaving one absolutely nowhere to flee.
"A Divine Art!"
Wu Tong's face instantly paled, for the first time sensing mortal danger!
"Thunder Tribulation Finger!"
Wu Tong bellowed. Two fingers straightened and aligned. At their tips, lightning seemed to flicker. In the next instant, he pointed through the air. Lightning surged. A tremendous pitch-black thunderbolt spurted directly from his fingertip, like a torrent, spanning the void.
The lightning bolt streaked rapidly across the sky, colliding ferociously with the massive descending hand seal.
Rumble!
The instant they collided, a thunderous boom resounded. Two immense forces crashed against each other, then swept outward.
Facing that fearsome shockwave, void power flickered over Jiang Yun's body. His entire person seemed to merge into the void, letting the shockwave wash over and past him.
Instead of retreating, he advanced, rapidly closing in on Wu Tong. Those shockwaves, upon nearing his body, acted as if they had no target, utterly unable to strike him.
On the opposite side, Wu Tong waved both palms. Vast spiritual energy formed a giant barrier before him. However, a hasty spiritual energy barrier was incapable of completely withstanding such terrifying impact.
Thus, it was very quickly blasted apart by sheer force. His body also shot backward somewhat unsteadily.
Before he could even stabilize himself, Jiang Yun had already flashed right up to him. Lifting a hand and waving, in an instant, a monstrous sea of flames spread across the sky. Terrifying heat immediately radiated outward. Even the starry ceiling of the pill chamber grew somewhat faint and thin.
"Fire Phoenix, condense!"
As his shout fell, the sea of flames formed by the Undying Sacred Flame rapidly writhed. A moment later, a fire phoenix the size of a mountain peak materialized in the sky.
"What—!"
Wu Tong stared at the swooping fire phoenix, his eyes dark and cold. He had never anticipated Jiang Yun would have such a method, capable of evading the earlier shockwave. No time to react, in haste, a bracelet was flung from his hand.
"Weng—"
A peculiar fluctuation spread outward. At the last moment, an illusory barrier shrouded Wu Tong's front.
"Hm?" Seeing this, Jiang Yun's eyes narrowed slightly. "A protective spirit artifact!"
That utterly unremarkable bracelet was a unique spirit artifact. Judging by its fluctuations, it likely reached the level of a high-grade spirit artifact. With this, a guaranteed kill was no longer possible.
"Boom—"
The fire phoenix slammed into the barrier, instantly erupting with astonishing spiritual energy waves.
The fiery light dispersed. Wu Tong stood with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, a lingering fear in his heart as he looked at the cracked and fissured space. In his palm, he clutched a bracelet now covered in cracks. His eyes, exceptionally cold and sinister, fixed on Jiang Yun's trio. Lightning flickered at his fingertips. A hoarse voice rang out, unable to conceal the surging killing intent: "Good! Very good! I underestimated you. Now, let me show you firsthand just how vast the gap is between you and an expert who has passed the Spiritual Power Tribulation!"
As his voice fell, the void space around Wu Tong seemed to ripple with wave after wave. Then, his hands formed a peculiar seal at that moment. Simultaneously, a fearsome spiritual energy fluctuation, which even made the three pale slightly, erupted like a volcano between heaven and earth!
"Thunder Path—Nine Heavens!"
As Wu Tong's icy voice echoed within the pill chamber, everyone could feel an indescribable, torrential spiritual energy sweeping out from within Wu Tong's body like a volcano at that instant. The gales spawned by those spiritual energy waves howled madly through the great hall.
"This is... an expert at the Spiritual Power Tribulation!"
"It's them! They actually provoked a Spiritual Power Tribulation expert! Heh heh, they're in big trouble now!"
"What a pity. Those two beauties will probably be buried along with that brat!"
The terrifying spiritual energy storm startled the crowd still grinding away at the Pill Beasts. Seeing the horrifying spiritual energy storm facing Jiang Yun's trio, malicious voices immediately rang out.
Only Zhong Shan and the few others at the Fleshly Tribulation struck even more ruthlessly. A Spiritual Power Tribulation had already appeared. If they didn't get the divine pills soon, something might go wrong.
"Xiao Yun, trouble!"
Zi Yan and Medusa looked gravely at that terrifying spiritual energy storm, their expressions unprecedentedly solemn. No matter how confident they were, they felt the difficulty this time.
"Indeed, a bit troublesome," Jiang Yun also spoke, rubbing his palm. Yet, judging by his expression, he seemed utterly composed, as if the scene before him couldn't stir his heart in the slightest.
"Weng!"
A peculiar sound rang out. Wu Tong's hands shifted through bizarre seals. Behind him, torrential spiritual energy condensed madly. Lightning blazed. Within just a dozen or so breaths, that sky-surging spiritual energy had actually coalesced into a terrifying sea of thunder behind him.
Thick bolts of lightning, like thunder dragons, churned within. Vast spiritual energy seeped out, vaguely appearing somewhat savage.
"Thunder Path—Nine Heavens, kill!"
Wu Tong looked at Jiang Yun, a savage grin curling at the corner of his mouth. He slowly raised his finger, then pointed at Jiang Yun through the air. His eyes were filled with a blade-like, bone-chilling coldness.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
The sea of thunder in the sky erupted with dazzling light. Terrifying thunder dragons shot forth violently, like heavenly punishment, shrouding Jiang Yun's trio.
Bang bang!
The air in this entire area exploded completely at that moment, waves of air billowing outward.
"Li Fire Burns the Heavens!"
Stopping Zi Yan and Medusa, who wanted to make a move, Jiang Yun watched the piercing thunderbolts and pointed. The sky full of flames swirled violently.
"Roar—"
Five enormous fire spirits rapidly condensed. The five colossal fire spirits formed an unusual array across the horizon, with Jiang Yun positioned at the array's eye.
Watching the descending thunder dragons, Jiang Yun pointed. In an instant, the five surrounding giant fire spirits each roared toward the heavens, then abruptly began spinning at high speed, ultimately transforming into a massive white fire disk two hundred zhang wide.
The fire disk hovered above Jiang Yun's head, spinning at high speed, emitting bursts of sonic booms. The terrifying energy radiating outward made even Wu Tong across from him pale.
"A Spiritual Array Master!" Gritting his teeth as he stared at the white fire disk, his expression suddenly twisted savagely. "So what if you're a Spiritual Array Master? Kill!"
In the next instant, two colossal attacks, like meteorites, streaked across the sky. Under countless gazes of shock, they collided with a boom!
Instantly, a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering roar erupted. The entire space trembled at that moment.
On the ground, cracks about a zhang wide spread rapidly like spiderwebs. That destructive power was exceedingly astonishing.
"Swoosh!"
A figure, its entire body shrouded in black-and-white profound light, in Wu Tong's appalled gaze, easily passed through the sea of fire, through the lightning, arriving right before his eyes.
A dazzling fiery light blazed. Wu Tong's world instantly plunged into pitch-black darkness!
In the moment before death, he had but a single thought: Why couldn't those attacks touch him? He hadn't sensed any spatial fluctuations. And in such a terrifying collision, what level of spatial mastery would be required to accomplish such a feat?
Could it be... that the Divine Art I cultivate is a fake?