https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-424-The-Heavenly-Realm-Within-and-Without/13027775/
Chapter 425: The Heart of the Seekwood
Chapter 425: The Heart of the Seekwood
Within the Seekwood Heavenly Realm, the central forbidden ground.
Countless spirit runes intertwined and spread, converging on the foundation stones of the formation array, but at this moment, all the foundation stones showed signs of fracture and were covered in cracks, seemingly on the verge of collapse.
The most terrifying sight was Ling Ji, who sat in the center, orchestrating the entire formation array. His body was also covered in fine cracks, from which traces of crimson blood seeped. He looked like a shattered porcelain vase, about to break into pieces, and even his eyes were filled with bloodshot veins, turning them a deep red.
Fourteen days!
Even though the core area's Seekwood Grand Array was incredibly resilient, having accumulated over a thousand years of heritage, it was deeply connected to the main trunk of the Seekwood, with an endless supply of spirit energy. It was impossible to destroy, but the issue lay with the structures and foundation stones that supported the array's operation. They couldn't withstand the prolonged bombardment and impact from Chen Mu, a warrior whose strength rivaled the heavens, and over a hundred grandmasters for half a month.
Even if he were in his prime, his internal organs had been injured and hadn't healed yet, and now he had also reached his limit.
"I can't hold on any longer..."
Ling Ji's face, covered in cracks, was terrifying, with bloodshot eyes and an extremely pale complexion.
Two days.
At most, they could hold on for another two days before Chen Mu and the others would have to retreat!
But now, both he and the foundation stones supporting the array were at their limits.
These last two days were an insurmountable boundary. He didn't know how much longer he could hold on, maybe just a quarter of an hour, maybe a few hours, but definitely not a day or two.
At this moment, the bombardment from outside continued.
Yan Hong, Jiang Han, and over a hundred other grandmasters showed signs of fatigue, but none of them stopped their offensive. They combined their techniques, displaying various sword, spear, and halberd skills, as well as spirit armaments, like a raging storm, relentlessly pounding the array's light curtain.
Although the light curtain seemed no different from the beginning of the attack and still gave off an incredibly stable feeling, everyone present was a grandmaster, and they all understood that the array had reached its limit!
The reason was simple.
If the array could withstand their attacks with ease, or even have the strength to counterattack, the Spirit Folk would have already used the array's power to launch a counteroffensive, putting pressure on or even injuring them.
Or, they could have used the array to block and heal their injuries, giving them ample time.
But the Spirit Folk hadn't done so, indicating that they were also under immense pressure and had no spare strength. Judging by the subtle fluctuations in the array's flow, it seemed they were also at their limit!
In the sky above.
Chen Mu continued to attack.
He had the clearest understanding of the Seekwood Grand Array's condition. Every time he struck, he shook the entire array, exerting tremendous pressure and restraining most of its power.
Through this intense confrontation, he gained a deeper understanding of the array's strengths and weaknesses.
"Heaven and Earth Seal!"
Chen Mu continuously struck with his finger seals, causing the array's light curtain to ripple with wave-like patterns. After holding out for half an hour, at a certain moment, his eyes suddenly lit up.
It was now!
After a relentless assault lasting half a month, he finally sensed a hint of sluggishness and delay in the array's power, indicating that it had truly reached its limit, and the foundation stones might have already been damaged!
This slight delay and sluggishness might have gone unnoticed by Yan Hong and the other grandmasters, but not by him.
Whoosh!
Chen Mu stepped forward in the void, approaching the array's light curtain. A heaven and earth essence rose from his body, instantly changing the color of the sky.
The vast power of heaven and earth, along with various forces of fire and wind, surged towards him, encircling and converging at his side. In an instant, he raised his hand and punched downward with all his might.
Heaven and Earth Unity!
Once again, he unleashed the ultimate move of the Heaven and Earth Wheel Seal!
His punch landed on the surface of the light curtain, causing it to ripple with waves, but it quickly returned to stillness, and the entire sky became silent, as if nothing had happened.
The originally restless light curtain had now solidified, without any further disturbance.
"Shatter!"
Just as the numerous grandmasters below were stunned, Chen Mu's voice slowly echoed.
As the words fell, it seemed to validate Chen Mu's words and actions. A crack suddenly appeared on the completely solidified array light curtain, spreading rapidly in all directions from the point where Chen Mu's fist landed.
The entire array light curtain, now resembling a solidified piece of pottery, began to crack like a spider web, spreading faster and faster. In a brief moment, the cracks covered an area of several dozen miles, enveloping the entire structure.
Finally, with a resounding crack, it was as if the heavens and earth had shattered.
The vast and majestic Seekwood Grand Array, which had dominated an area of several dozen miles, finally crumbled with a thunderous boom! The battlefield, which had been intensely fighting, fell into a brief moment of stillness. The various grandmasters, who had been mentally exhausted, quickly recovered and their eyes lit up with excitement.
The array was broken!
On the other side, the numerous elite members of the Spirit People and the nearly ten grandmaster-level elders, who had been relying on the array to resist, were now all in a daze.
"Kill."
Jiang Han was the first to recover from his excitement, a fierce look flashing in his eyes as he suddenly lunged forward, charging towards the Spirit People's elites.
Not only did he want to quickly disperse the remaining resistance of the Spirit People, but he also needed to rush into their central settlement to plunder resources. After all, there were too many grandmasters present, and any delay could mean missing out on the spoils.
"Die."
Hong Shida also unleashed a powerful attack, charging forward. With his world-defying grandmaster strength, the Spirit People, who had previously relied on the array to hold their ground, now found themselves like lambs to the slaughter.
Hundreds of grandmasters roared and charged in, overwhelming their opponents, creating a scene of utter carnage.
Chen Mu did not pay attention to the battle below. After shattering the array light curtain with his 'Unity of Heaven and Earth' technique, he turned his gaze towards the forbidden ground at the center of the core settlement, where the main trunk of the towering Seekwood tree was located.
Swish.
In a single step, he vanished from the sky.
Some people, like Yan Hong, were also watching Chen Mu's movements, but after seeing him disappear, none of them pursued him. At this point, everyone had a tacit understanding: no one would compete with Chen Mu for resources.
Or rather, they couldn't compete, and even if they tried, they wouldn't stand a chance. No matter how valuable the Heaven-Earth Spirit Artifacts in the core settlement were, Chen Mu would be the first to choose, and others could only vie for the leftovers.
...
A distance of several dozen miles was nothing to Chen Mu. The Spirit People in the core settlement posed no threat to him. Most of them were still gazing at the sky, staring in disbelief at the shattered array light curtain, and none of them noticed Chen Mu passing by.
Chen Mu had no interest in wanton slaughter. His only concern was the resources in the core settlement of the Spirit People. With the time left before leaving the Seekwood Heavenly Realm running out, he did not want to waste a single moment.
Swish.
In an instant, Chen Mu arrived at the very center of the Seekwood Heavenly Realm, beneath the trunk of the towering tree. Looking up, he could see that the trunk of this giant tree was as majestic as a mountain.
Even with his current realm, Chen Mu felt his own insignificance and weakness when he looked up at the towering tree, whose canopy could cover tens of thousands of miles. His Marrow Washing Realm Heaven-Earth Body seemed far inferior to it in terms of the level of life. After all, this was a life that could support an entire world, something almost unimaginable.
Although the Seekwood Grand Array had been destroyed, it was because the array itself was formed by many array foundation stones, which drew and regulated the power of the Seekwood. It was not the Seekwood itself, and the power it drew was only a fraction of the Seekwood's total strength.
The destruction of the array had no impact on the Seekwood itself.
Even as Chen Mu approached, he could sense that the main trunk of the Seekwood was entirely different from its roots and branches. Even with his current strength, he doubted he could leave any mark on its surface, no matter how hard he tried!
"An incomprehensible life."
Ripples appeared in Chen Mu's eyes, and a wave of emotion surged in his heart.
As a martial cultivator, Chen Mu had experienced the vastness of heaven and earth, the grandeur of mountains and rivers, and the magnificence of oceans and seas. He constantly felt his own insignificance and understood the vastness of the world and the fragility of mortals.
However, all the things that made him feel insignificant were non-living entities—the vast mountains, rivers, and oceans, and the boundless heavens.
But Seekwood...
It was a giant tree, a living being! Even when extracting Seekwood Spirit Liquid from its roots or roaming its canopy, he hadn't felt this direct sense of awe. Only upon reaching the base of this colossal tree and gazing up at its trunk did he truly comprehend the immense power it possessed.
How could life reach such a level? Chen Mu couldn't fathom it. If this Seekwood tree had consciousness, how terrifying would it be? Even a Heaven-Earth Master would seem like an ant before it, easily swept away with a single gesture.
After all, the so-called unity of Heaven-Earth Masters is, at most, the fusion of their mind and body with the surrounding thousand li of heaven and earth. They can't even control the power of heaven and earth within that range; they can only sense it. The actual control and manipulation of heaven and earth's power is only a few times greater than that of an average Blood Replacement Realm cultivator's Martial Domain.
What kind of existence was this Seekwood tree?
Its mere physical presence was enough to cover a ten-thousand-li expanse of heaven and earth!
Calling it a part of heaven and earth itself wouldn't be an exaggeration, and it shouldn't be a level that life could attain. It seemed more like a natural wonder of heaven and earth. Most astonishingly, it grew in the Seekwood Heavenly Realm.
Chen Mu found it hard to believe that even in the vast Daxuan world, a tree like this would be an extraordinary sight. Its canopy alone could cover an entire state with a radius of ten thousand li. Its presence in the Seekwood Heavenly Realm was truly bizarre.
The most direct experience was...
The Seekwood Heavenly Realm shouldn't have been able to support such a massive life form.
Chen Mu couldn't imagine that, long ago, a tiny sapling had taken root in the Seekwood Heavenly Realm, growing and drawing strength from it, eventually reaching its current size.
It was common knowledge that the Seekwood Heavenly Realm was a level lower than the Daxuan world. It couldn't even accommodate the transformation of the Blood Replacement Realm, nor could it draw upon the power of heaven and earth to temper and refine blood. How could it possibly nurture something like the Seekwood tree?
At this moment, Chen Mu thought...
Instead of the Seekwood Heavenly Realm nurturing the Seekwood tree, it seemed more like the tree had created the realm, opening up a world in the void and sheltering the land within.
"This Seekwood tree is definitely not something this Heavenly Realm could have nurtured..." Chen Mu muttered to himself.
He even believed that a world as vast as the Daxuan world, with its ninety-nine states, would struggle to support the existence of such a life form. The birthplace of the Seekwood tree must be even more expansive than the Daxuan world.
However, Chen Mu quickly composed his thoughts. Whether or not there existed a world more vast than Daxuan wasn't a question he needed to delve into at this time. It was still far from the moment when he should deeply ponder such matters.
Chen Mu turned his gaze to the trunk of the Seekwood tree, quickly scanning its surface. At the very bottom, near the roots, he found a cave leading into the interior of the trunk.
He also sensed that within was the foundation of the broken Seekwood Grand Array he had encountered earlier.
Undoubtedly, this was the true core of the Spirit Folk's most sacred forbidden ground.
Chen Mu took two steps forward, descending from the air and arriving at the entrance of the pitch-black passage leading to the forbidden area. He peered inside, carefully examining the surroundings, and, finding no immediate danger, slowly stepped into the darkness.
As he walked along the passage, it suddenly opened up into a much wider space, illuminated by a verdant glow. It was a tree hollow located deep within the trunk of the Seekwood tree.
There, scattered around the tree hollow, were numerous broken foundation stones, the remnants of the Seekwood Grand Array.
And at the center of the hollow, a Spirit Pond stretched about a zhang in diameter, brimming with vibrant life force and Spirit Energy. Every drop of liquid within was verdant, forming an entire pond of Seekwood Spirit Liquid, amounting to thousands or even tens of thousands of jin!
Beside the pond, a figure sat cross-legged, covered in cracks, with blood flowing from the fissures and pooling beneath them, forming a small blood pool. It was Ling Ji, the new Spirit Ancestor of the Spirit Folk, seemingly lifeless with his head bowed, like a corpse.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
