Chapter 990: A United Will is an Impregnable Stronghold (II)

The Noble Dharma had refined the Tree of Longevity's Yang Wood with his divine abilities, and it was extraordinarily tough. Earlier in the battle, very few of the cultivators' divine abilities were effective against it; the only exception was Di Nufeng's Samadhi True Fire. Now that Chu Liang's assault was proving to be a real threat to the Tree of Longevity, it was only natural for everyone to assist him with everything they had.

All the cultivators present were battle-hardened veterans. It took no more than a moment for them to form a tacit understanding about what they were going to do next.

The General's Supreme Constellation Disc hovered above Chu Liang's head, unleashing countless streaks of starlight that blasted open a path ahead.

Wenren Yue yelled, "Protect Young Hero Chu!"

Yet, only a breath later, over a dozen huge buddha palms extended from the Tree of Longevity and pushed the Constellation Disc aside.

Then in the next instant, the Chunyang Ancient Sword sliced all those buddha palms cleanly in half.

With his long gray beard fluttering and wide sleeves billowing in the wind, Sword Saint Li Ba bellowed, "Let's see who dares to touch you!"

Chu Liang called out in warning, "Be careful, Esteemed Senior Sword Saint!"

Right then, a viper-like green vine shot out from the Tree of Longevity and snared the old man. Li Ba slashed it apart, but in that moment of delay, a huge buddha palm slammed him against the tree trunk.

Wham!

Chu Liang couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.

Just watching that hurt.

He continued to stick close to the Tree of Longevity's surface while several huge buddha palms loomed toward him, shrouding the sky.

Chu Liang wasn't without fear, but he knew that if he let go of Deity Pan's Bone now, it might be impossible to break through the Noble Dharma's defenses again.

No matter what, Chu Liang had to make the most of this opportunity and drain the Noble Dharma of all his blood—even if it meant getting hit by one of those buddha palms.

If the leading cultivators of the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten could clear a path for Chu Liang, then that would be the best possible scenario. This was the only gambit that could decide the battle. He was not simply placing his trust in them to do it; rather, it was because they were the last hope he had!

Fortunately, these powerful cultivators did not let him down!

Boom!

Just after Sword Saint Li Ba was slammed into the Tree of Longevity, a bronze ship shot out from the side. It drifted into view with a sharp turn and stopped right in front of Chu Liang.

Daoist Yan masterfully executed her unparalleled ship-manipulating technique.

She yelled to Chu Liang, "I'll clear the way for you!"

The Mount Shu Sect's Vessel of God charged ahead. Chu Liang followed close behind, still gripping Deity Pan's Bone. He had already carved through over half the Tree of Longevity's circumference. The specks of light sprayed out behind him and splashed onto the fractured earth, causing lush green plants to sprout from the barren ground.

The Tree of Longevity absorbed the vital energy that was dispersed in the earth and channeled it into its trunk to sustain the Noble Dharma. That was a highly concentrated form of vitality, which explained how he had managed to have such a long lifespan. His immortality all depended on the existence of this Tree of Longevity.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

With the Mount Shu Sect's Vessel of God clearing the way ahead and the Seven-Star Sword covering him from behind, Chu Liang managed to cut through a long stretch of the trunk. However, after getting hit repeatedly, the Vessel of God was eventually knocked down.

The path ahead of Chu Liang lay wide open again, exposing him to frontal attacks. Countless thorny vines rushed toward him, about to swallow him whole.

Then suddenly, a beam of rainbow light shone down on him.

Whoosh.

Chu Liang turned translucent, allowing the Yang Wood vines to pass straight through him without causing him even the slightest bit of harm.

It was the Dharma Lotus Platform! At this moment, it showed just how invaluable it was as a legendary artifact meant for support in battle.

Then came the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams. A golden beam shone down and drew a circle around Chu Liang, granting him a fortified Metallic Body. Now, no evil spirit or demonic entity could approach him. He charged forward without hindrance.

A united will was an impregnable stronghold!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Amid deafening blasts echoing through the sky, Chu Liang finally completed a full circle around the Tree of Longevity. The cut he had made with Deity Pan's Bone didn't even pierce one ten-thousandth of the tree's thickness, yet the moment the circle was completed, the entire tree seemed to suffer a catastrophic blow.

Whoosh.

Countless streams of gray light poured down the trunk, and the towering, cloud-piercing tree began to tremble. It looked like it was about to snap in half from the point where the wound had been drawn!

"AAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" the Noble Dharma roared hysterically. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!"

The Tree of Longevity fell with a thunderous rumble, smashing down onto hundreds of li of land. A shadowy figure burst out from its trunk. It was the Noble Dharma, his eyes scarlet with rage.

He had believed this battle would mark the annihilation of the immortal sects and his triumphant return as master of the mortal realm. Yet, this little scumbag had appeared with a legendary artifact capable of piercing the Tree of Longevity. Worse still, the little scumbag seemed to know it was his weakness.

With the aid of the other cultivators, that little scumbag had destroyed his tree and centuries of his cultivation!

The Noble Dharma gathered the surrounding Yang Wood in midair and transformed it into a Heaven-Devouring Python. The python lunged viciously at Chu Liang. That Heaven-Devouring Python was made of Yang wood, but if it were to swallow him, Chu Liang would instantly be reduced to nothing but dissipating spiritual qi!

Chu Liang had just pulled Deity Pan's Bone free and was struck by the torrent of spiritual qi that the Tree of Longevity unleashed. He was exhausted, and now this vicious python, the embodiment of the Noble Dharma's rage, was about to swallow him in a single gulp.

In a moment of desperation, he thrust a finger forward!

Whoosh.

His mastery of the Great Dao of Creation was far from complete. The only transformations he had managed thus far were simple ones: turning stone to gold, wood to gold, water to gold, fire to gold, earth to gold... straightforward and unembellished.

As the Yang Wood python was about to devour him, Chu Liang jabbed forward. The power of creation surged from his fingertip. In an instant, the python began turning to gold, starting from its head and extending down until it covered half of its massive body.

Chu Liang hadn't transformed the entire python, but half was all he needed. With its upper body turned to gold, the python froze in place and crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom. It landed on Chu Liang, but it failed to devour him.

Meanwhile, the Noble Dharma could no longer pay attention to Chu Liang because he was now surrounded by legendary artifacts!

"You decrepit old bastard, your time is up!" Di Nufeng yelled.

She was standing at the bow of the Vessel of God, leading another charge from the Mount Shu Sect's Vessel of God.

All the other legendary artifacts struck as well. Few had ever been worthy of such treatment. Before him, there had only been the Demon God and Evil Ksitigarbha. Now, the Noble Dharma had earned the same rare "honor" of being subjected to a siege from numerous legendary artifacts.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

As a brilliant display of blinding lights filled the sky, the Noble Dharma didn't even have time to let out a final scream, nor did he leave behind even a shred of his robe. When the dust finally settled, there was nothing left in the sky where he had stood.

"Is it over?"

Those words echoed in Chu Liang's mind.

Yet, something about this ending felt off.

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Just then, the token in his robe vibrated. Chu Yi had sent him another message.

[Chu Yi]: "The Noble Dharma buried his ninth-realm corporeal body beneath the Tree of Longevity. Senior Brother, act quickly before someone else takes it."

Oh, right.

Chu Liang finally recalled that the Noble Dharma had taken away his ninth-realm corporeal body, which he had left behind at the Buddhist Cloud Monastery. If he had merged with it, he would've become no weaker than Evil Ksitigarbha.

The cultivators present at the battlefield were, on average, at the eighth realm in terms of combat power, and Heavenly Origin Terminators were at the eighth-and-a-half realm. The untouchable Hallowed Ones were at the ninth realm. Evil Ksitigarbha had come incredibly close to the level of a Hallowed One, possessing the strength of a being who had taken half a step into the ninth realm.

The Noble Dharma they had just defeated had been incredibly powerful, but he had been some steps behind Evil Ksitigarbha. He had not been able to completely overpower legendary artifacts the way that a Hallowed One could.

It seemed the Noble Dharma hadn't merged with his old corporeal body. Could something have gone wrong?

Regardless, a ninth-realm corporeal body was without a doubt a treasure of the mortal realm. After all, Evil Ksitigarbha's corporeal body alone had been powerful enough to be treated as a legendary artifact.

Upon reading Chu Yi's message, Chu Liang rolled over and slipped into the earth, spreading his divine sense across the vast network of roots beneath the Tree of Longevity. Unsurprisingly, only thirty percent of the Tree of Longevity had been aboveground. The underground portion was terrifyingly enormous.

However, after several careful sweeps back and forth, Chu Liang couldn't find a single trace of the ninth-realm corporeal body.

The body... has disappeared?