Chapter 414: Crushing Devastation
Chapter 414: Crushing Devastation
Stunned and speechless!
Fang Yuan gazed at the scene within the formation array's light curtain, the tragic spectacle of the Spirit Folk settlement, leaving him in a state of utter disbelief.
He had accompanied numerous Grandmasters in attacks on large settlements before and understood their tenacity. These settlements occupied vast areas, often located at the intersections of Seekwood branches, where Tree Seeking Power surged endlessly, making it nearly impossible to deplete. Breaking through the protective formations condensed by Tree Seeking Power was an incredibly challenging feat.
But Chen Mu!
With just one move, he pierced through the array's light curtain!
Although this didn't completely destroy the formation, the surging Tree Seeking Power continued to rush forth, attempting to fill the void. The fact that Chen Mu shattered the light curtain to this extent with a single move indicated that its strength was no match for Chen Mu's power.
"How could he be this strong..."
Fang Yuan couldn't help but mutter to himself.
He knew Chen Mu was extremely powerful, rivaling the Blood Replacement Realm, but he never imagined Chen Mu's strength would reach this level. After all, he was an established Grandmaster, and even if his strength didn't match the supreme Grandmasters, his experience was vast. At a glance, he could discern Chen Mu's power, which was far beyond the threshold of the Blood Replacement Realm; he could even be a formidable force within it!
Even the Supreme Elder, Yin Heng, who had dominated for over a century, might pale in comparison to Chen Mu's current strength. Moreover, Chen Mu executed this move with his bare hands, without the aid of a Spirit Weapon.
Yuwen Hao?
The Celestial Demon Ancestor?
Individuals of their caliber, if they were to encounter Chen Mu now, would find it challenging to even retreat unscathed, let alone confront him. The gap in strength, while not an abyss, had at least surpassed two minor stages.
Could it be that Chen Mu, upon returning from the Earth Abyss, had fully digested his gains from the abyss, further enhancing his strength?
This thought seemed reasonable.
Yet, Fang Yuan still found it somewhat unbelievable. No matter what, Chen Mu was currently only at the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm!
Most Grandmasters, like Fang Yuan, had already reached their limits at this stage. To surpass the threshold of supreme Grandmasters was often an insurmountable challenge, as it was predetermined by one's foundational cultivation. To transcend this, one would need to forge a new path, like Jiang Changsheng, which was an incredibly rare and difficult feat.
Reaching perfection in Bone Marrow Cleansing and cultivating one's concept into a domain was akin to reaching a Grandmaster's upper limit. Any further progress, even with the aid of various Heaven-Earth Spirit Artifacts, would only result in minor enhancements to the martial body and domain. These improvements were often negligible, making it challenging to achieve a significant breakthrough.
But Chen Mu?
Fang Yuan didn't know when Chen Mu had entered the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm, but his strength seemed boundless. It was as if he had been growing continuously. During the previous attack on the Celestial Demon Sect's headquarters, he hadn't reached the level of rivaling the Blood Replacement Realm, but after his journey to the Earth Abyss, he surpassed it, and now, he could even be a formidable force within that realm. Such growth was almost inconceivable.
"Elder Chen's foundation is far stronger than ordinary people, and he cultivates the Heaven-Earth Way, possessing the mightiest Heaven-Earth Martial Body. But could it be that after tempering his quintessence a few times and his six bowels a bit more, he has reached this level?"
Fang Yuan's heart was filled with doubts and confusion.
The first four realms of body refinement had limits, but the latter four were believed to have none. Could it be that Chen Mu had reached the limits of the quintessence and six bowels realms? If so, he would be unparalleled in history, as no one in the martial world had ever truly touched the limits of these realms, and it was unclear if such limits even existed.
Many martial artists believed that the first four realms of body refinement had limits, while the latter four had none.
This notion might be challenged in the future.
Chen Mu would likely not reveal his cultivation secrets now, but if he were to become the ruler of the world, rewriting the 'Martial Canon' to advance the body refinement path in this generation, it wouldn't be surprising.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As Fang Yuan's thoughts wandered, Chen Mu showed no signs of stopping. He didn't forcefully enter the large settlement but continued to attack from the outside.
With each strike, the emerald formation array curtain was pierced, shattering a large section, and his fist seal pressed into the settlement below, causing widespread destruction.
Tree Seeking Power surged, repairing the breaches Chen Mu had created, but its speed couldn't keep up with his relentless attacks. In less than a quarter of an hour, a significant portion of the emerald formation array curtain had been reduced to a sieve by Chen Mu's palm and fist seals.
The entire settlement was in chaos.
Even when facing a large group of Grandmasters and their followers, the array defenses would ensure that the interior of a large settlement wouldn't descend into chaos. Instead, a group of elite cultivators, each rivaling the Five Viscera and Six Bowels Realm, would quickly gather and unite to counter the attack.
The Spirit Folk all cultivated the same path, making it easier for their aura to resonate and combine. Over a hundred elites at the Five Viscera and Six Bowels Realm was a force to be reckoned with, capable of causing significant interference. This was a strategy they had honed over thousands of years, and it was one of the reasons why large settlements were difficult to conquer.
However, this strategy, forged through numerous battles, was now completely useless.
No one could get close to Chen Mu's position, and no one dared to approach. Those who attempted to get near were swiftly killed by Chen Mu. The array light curtain on this side was almost shredded to pieces, and Chen Mu could step into it at any moment. Without the array's protection, his full-power attack would crush even a hundred Five Viscera and Six Bowels Realm cultivators.
Creak! Creak!
As Chen Mu continued to destroy the array, the light curtain of the large settlement finally emitted a sound of unbearable burden. The cracks in the collapsing curtain spread, eventually covering the entire curtain, and finally, like a shattered mirror, it exploded completely!
The entire array was almost entirely destroyed by Chen Mu's relentless onslaught.
Fang Yuan could only marvel at the spectacle.
As he watched Chen Mu finally step into the settlement, Fang Yuan emerged from his hiding place and quickly followed.
...
In a certain place.
A Grandmaster was fleeing in panic.
Suddenly, a powerful aura rapidly approached, unconcealed and surging with Spirit Energy. As it entered a certain range, the Seekwood under his feet trembled, and a large amount of emerald-colored branches twisted and entangled towards the Grandmaster.
"Damn it!"
The Grandmaster struck out repeatedly, destroying the obstructing branches, but this also caused his speed to drop significantly.
As bloodshot eyes appeared in his gaze, Ling Huan approached from behind, expressionless. With a sweep of the Seekwood Heart Branch in his hand, a surge of unstoppable Spirit Energy followed.
"Argh!"
The Grandmaster didn't give up and tried to struggle, letting out a roar. He seemed to have used some kind of technique, as his aura suddenly intensified, attempting to continue his escape.
However, as Ling Huan's Seekwood Heart Branch fell, a jade plaque appeared on the Grandmaster's body, emitting a black and white aura. The plaque shattered with a 'pa' sound, releasing a howling black and white energy—a surging Yin-Yang power. This slowed Ling Huan's attack slightly, allowing the Grandmaster to escape from the Seekwood Heart Branch for a moment.
Nevertheless, Ling Huan's expression remained unchanged.
These life-saving techniques might be extremely useful against opponents of the same level, but to him, they were mere futile struggles. He continued to sweep the Seekwood Heart Branch, eradicating the black and white Yin-Yang energy. Then, as he watched the Grandmaster flee dozens of zhang away, Ling Huan threw the Seekwood Heart Branch in his hand.
Whoosh!
The Seekwood Heart Branch flew like an arrow, piercing through the air.
The Grandmaster had used all his life-saving techniques, and now, facing this attack from behind, he could no longer defend himself. With a roar, he exerted all his strength to unleash the Primordial Energy, trying to block the attack, but he was still crushed like dry wood and dead ashes. His entire body was pierced by the emerald-colored branch, flying forward dozens of zhang, and finally impaled on a standing Seekwood branch!
Ling Huan took two steps forward, arriving beside the Grandmaster's corpse. With a light pull, he extracted the Seekwood Heart Branch, its body still emerald green, like crystal jade, unstained by a single drop of blood.
Crack! Crack!
The Grandmaster's corpse stiffened, as if all life had been drained from it, leaving behind a gray stone-like body with cracks on its surface. Finally, it crumbled into pieces.
After killing the Grandmaster, Ling Huan showed no further action. He turned around, as if searching for something.
Soon, a figure approached from the distance, quickly drawing near. The Spirit Energy around him surged, only slightly inferior to Ling Huan's. It was the newly promoted Spirit Ancestor of the Spirit Folk, Ling Ji.
"Ancestor."
Ling Ji quickly reached Ling Huan's side, his face slightly shadowed. In a deep voice, he said, "The Nine Unions Tribe has been breached. It must be the person you mentioned, Ancestor. This person has gathered a group of followers..."
In the end, the truth was revealed through a book and a glance, with no room for error!
Originally, for this extraterrestrial invasion, the plan was for Ling Ji to guard the forbidden land, while Ling Huan would take on the invaders. If necessary, Ling Huan would even use the forbidden technique of mutual destruction to eliminate as many of the extraterrestrial invaders as possible.
(End of Chapter)
The position of the Spirit People's Ancestor was passed down from generation to generation, and the Seekwood Heavenly Realm could not accommodate two Ancestors. Moreover, Spirit Huan's lifespan had reached its limit, and it wouldn't be long before he would pass away, granting him more inheritance and allowing him to carry more Tree Seeking Power.
However, the extraterrestrial invaders who attacked the Seekwood Realm were somewhat unexpected. Among them was a powerful individual who could confront Spirit Huan head-on. According to expectations, a figure of such Ancestor-level should not have been able to enter their Seekwood Realm!
It was the appearance of such a formidable figure that made Spirit Huan feel threatened. He also sensed something amiss, so he joined forces with Spirit Huan to eradicate the invaders from beyond the heavens.
Currently, Chen Mu was wreaking havoc in the Seekwood Realm. Without the presence of Spirit Huan or himself to hold the fort, large settlements were virtually defenseless against Chen Mu. Except for the Central Domain, almost everywhere else was like lambs waiting to be slaughtered before Chen Mu.
"Ancestor, should we..." Ling Ji spoke in a low voice, addressing Spirit Huan.
Ling Ji couldn't accept Chen Mu's rampant behavior, even though the latter was powerful enough to confront Spirit Huan directly. However, the combined strength of Ling Ji and Spirit Huan might be enough to defeat Chen Mu, or at least severely wound him, causing Chen Mu to become wary and retreat to recover, preventing him from acting recklessly in the short term.
Although Ling Ji's strength was significantly weaker than Spirit Huan's, if Chen Mu attacked a large settlement, and Ling Ji secretly took control of the settlement's formation, he might even surpass Spirit Huan's power. With such a sudden attack, catching Chen Mu off guard, there was still a good chance of success.
However, Spirit Huan shook his head at this moment.
"Let's not go after him for now."
He understood Ling Ji's plan, but Chen Mu's ability to confront Spirit Huan directly and reach such a level of power meant that defeating him was easier than killing him. Even following Ling Ji's plan, and with Chen Mu completely unprepared, it was uncertain if they could truly wound him severely. He would recover within a few days.
Moreover, finding the right opportunity to deal with Chen Mu was more challenging. Unlike dealing with Grandmaster teams, they didn't need to wait for the right moment; they could handle them one by one.
Under these circumstances, it was not very meaningful to get entangled with Chen Mu. It was better to inflict damage on other enemies as much as possible.
Currently, the other teams had received varying degrees of information and showed signs of converging. In this situation, they had to act before them—as for Chen Mu...temporarily letting him go was a helpless decision.
After hearing Spirit Huan's words, Ling Ji glanced in the direction of the Nine Unions Tribe, and a hint of killing intent flashed in his eyes, but it eventually faded away. He followed Spirit Huan's actions and quickly disappeared from their original location.
...
In the center of a ravaged and desolate settlement, a suspended emerald branch hung upside down. Its bottom was crystal clear, as if adorned with a drop of emerald Spirit Liquid. Below it was a sunken Spirit Pool, but it was empty, devoid of any Spirit Liquid.
Along the central forbidden area, chaos reigned, and further ahead, there were even traces of Spirit People fleeing in panic. Among them, an elderly figure carried something on his back, emitting a rich and unmistakable Wood Seeking Power.
Swish! Chen Mu's figure appeared silently behind him, and with a light finger, he pierced through the old Spirit Person's skull, leaving a hole in his head and causing his escaping figure to suddenly freeze. He staggered and fell to one side.
Chen Mu waved his hand, and the bundle on the man's back burst open, revealing a wooden bottle. The bottle drew an arc in the air and landed directly in Chen Mu's hand.
He removed the wooden cork, revealing the contents—a bottle filled with Wood Seeking Spirit Liquid, so enticing it seemed ready to drip.
This large settlement had offered no resistance, as all the Spirit People had already scattered. However, the scent of the Wood Seeking Spirit Liquid was hard to conceal, and trying to take it right under Chen Mu's nose was nearly impossible.
This bottle weighed a full fifteen jin, but it wasn't the entire stock of this large settlement.
Chen Mu waved his hand again, putting away the bottle of Wood Seeking Spirit Liquid, and then his gaze shifted. He strode towards another direction.
(End)
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