Chapter 681: Eruption, Successfully Obtained (2)

"He left?"

"Ming Jian allowed that High Immortal to leave?" Purple Secret asked.

"Ming Jian might have been able to trap him, but a Sixth Tribulation High Immortal's methods are unpredictable. If he focused solely on defense, it would likely be difficult to kill him," Metal Devil said in a low voice.

Purple Secret nodded in agreement.

Swish!

A white-robed figure appeared several hundred li away, quickly arriving at their side.

"Daoist Ming Jian." Purple Secret immediately approached him. “To force back a Sixth Tribulation High Immortal single-handedly, your strength is truly astonishing."

"Truly admirable! Daoist Ming Jian, your strength exceeds our imagination. You must be close to the level of an Archimmortal," Metal Devil sincerely marveled. "How embarrassing! Without you, we likely wouldn't have been able to complete this mission."

These were their true feelings. The power Wu Yuan had displayed was indeed beyond their imagination, worthy of being called the most powerful Earth Immortal they had ever seen.

"It was also because that High Immortal saw that Earth Immortal Yin Yan was doomed, thus he was willing to retreat," Wu Yuan smiled. "In a true life-or-death battle, I'm not confident I could kill him."

Wu Yuan didn't want to elaborate on the battle in the higher spatial dimension. Metal Devil and Purple Secret naturally didn't press further as well.

"Daoist Ming Jian, please look," Purple Secret waved her hand, and an icy chain slowly lowered a figure.

It was Earth Immortal Yin Yan. He was bound tightly in chains, unable to struggle or even make a sound. He looked at Wu Yuan, Metal Devil, and Purple Secret, eyes filled with terror and despair. If even High Immortal Zhuo Hao had been forced to retreat, what could he, a mere ordinary Earth Immortal, do?

"Loosen his restraints a bit," Wu Yuan said.

"Alright." Purple Secret nodded and the chains slackened slightly, making it slightly less uncomfortable.

"Yin Yan, I won't kill you. However, you must tell me everything you know about that High Immortal from earlier, as well as your relationship with him," Wu Yuan said calmly. "Don't even think about lying. If you lie, I'll make sure you live a fate worse than death, eternally trapped in hell."

Metal Devil and Purple Secret stood to the side, saying nothing.

"You won't kill me?" A glimmer of hope arose in Earth Immortal Yin Yan's heart.

Thinking back to earlier events, he realized that Wu Yuan and the others indeed hadn't tried to take his life. An instinctive desire for survival sprouted in his heart.

"Yes! This junior will speak immediately," Earth Immortal Yin Yan hastily said. "That person from earlier isn't actually an elder from my sect. His name is High Immortal Zhuo Hao, and he is... I followed his orders to forge Black Devil Pills using the blood of countless lives."

Earth Immortal Yin Yan quickly recounted everything about High Immortal Zhuo Hao. He didn’t feel the slightest guilt about selling him out. High Immortal Zhuo Hao had already abandoned him, and their relationship was purely based on mutual benefit. To save his life, he naturally dared not withhold anything.

"So, that High Immortal from earlier was actually the mastermind behind the slaughter of countless lives," Purple Secret transmitted. "No wonder he rushed over so urgently."

"It's a pity we couldn't kill him," Metal Devil's voice carried a hint of regret.

"Yin Yan is in your hands now," Wu Yuan's gaze swept over the two, transmitting his voice, "I promised not to kill him, so when the time comes, it'll be up to you to complete the mission.

I have matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave first. Let’s continue the conversation when we return to the Spacetime Island."

Before Metal Devil and Purple Secret could reply, Wu Yuan's figure had disappeared without a trace. He had clearly entered a higher spatial dimension.

"We'll do it?" Purple Secret transmitted.

"Ming Jian probably went off to find High Immortal Zhuo Hao. He likely wants to obtain that black divine pillar... or there might be other secrets," Metal Devil said. "The objectives of such a monstrous prodigy are beyond us."

Purple Secret nodded in agreement.

"However, if they clash and Ming Jian wins, that's fine. But if he loses, High Immortal Zhuo Hao might return in a fit of rage," Metal Devil transmitted. "We should take Earth Immortal Yin Yan away from this place first. When the time comes, we'll kill him and complete the mission, then return to the Spacetime Island."

"Alright."

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Without any hesitation, the two swiftly left with Earth Immortal Yin Yan, who still harbored a glimmer of hope for survival.

...

In the Fragmentary Spatial Layer, amidst the turbulent currents, a white-robed figure flashed back and forth at a speed of tens of thousands of li per second.

From the higher dimension, his eyes searched the Material Spatial Layer. It was Wu Yuan.

Hmm?

Wu Yuan suddenly halted.

He had spotted a figure in the Material Spatial Layer moving at a pitiful speed of thirty-five li per second. It was none other than High Immortal Zhuo Hao.

Slaughtering trillions of lives for no reason, you indeed deserve death.

Wu Yuan thought calmly.

But your greatest mistake was possessing the treasure I desire and flaunting it right before my eyes.

Wu Yuan disdained making excuses. The reason he would kill High Immortal Zhuo Hao was simple and direct—that black divine pillar!

The fact that this High Immortal Zhuo Hao was no benevolent being either merely meant Wu Yuan had no psychological burden slaying him.

Countless flying swords appeared, swiftly converging around Wu Yuan to form an incredibly powerful sword domain. Within the sword domain, a powerful celestial sword took shape.

Kill!

With a thought from Wu Yuan, the celestial sword howled as it descended from the higher spatial dimension, thrusting toward High Immortal Zhuo Hao.

Though they were in different dimensions, he appeared to be within arm's reach.

Hum~

An invisible spatial fluctuation enveloped Wu Yuan and the hundred li of space surrounding him. This corresponded to a region in the Material Spatial Layer spanning millions of li.

...

Whoosh!

High Immortal Zhuo Hao was flying at high speed through outer space, with eight flaming stars orbiting around him.

However, compared to his battle with Wu Yuan earlier, the power of these flaming stars seemed slightly weaker. Evidently, he had reined in some of his mana. Maintaining eight celestial artifacts in operation for an extended period was an immense burden, even for him.

I've flown tens of millions of li. He still hasn't caught up, I should be safe now.

High Immortal Zhuo Hao muttered to himself, not daring to let his guard down completely.

When facing an entity capable of traversing higher spatial dimensions, one could never be too cautious. Those who mastered Space True Intent were different from ordinary Archimmortals.

When Archimmortals entered higher spatial dimensions, they did so with brute force, creating a tremendous disturbance that was easily detectable.

But those who mastered Space True Intent did so while relying on their deep Dao comprehension, moving with such subtlety that they were nearly impossible to detect unless they unleashed their power.

Two hundred million li to the teleportation array. Once I reach it, I'll be safe.

High Immortal Zhuo Hao thought to himself.

Astral teleportation arrays transported matter through extremely high spatial dimensions, beyond the reach of ordinary Astral Monarchs. During the teleportation process, it was absolutely secure.

Whoosh!

At that very moment, a nearly transparent celestial sword suddenly pierced through space, appearing a thousand li away.

The power it held was immense, instantly breaking through layers of fiery barriers from a thousand li away.

It shot directly toward High Immortal Zhuo Hao.

Not good! It's him!

High Immortal Zhuo Hao's pupils constricted. As a Sixth Tribulation High Immortal, his reaction was incredibly swift.

In an instant, he activated the eight flaming stars surrounding his body and his aura began to surge violently.

“Screech!" In that split second, a piercing wail, like the howl of a malevolent ghost, suddenly exploded in High Immortal Zhuo Hao's mind.

The terrifying soul attack caused High Immortal Zhuo Hao's spirit to reel, momentarily stunning him. He was only dazed for an instant. But an instant could make all the difference between life and death.

Whoosh!

The celestial sword that silently appeared had already closed the thousand li gap, piercing through the defensive barrier of the fiery stars which had yet to fully form, and impaling High Immortal Zhuo Hao's chest.

"No!" High Immortal Zhuo Hao regained his senses, feeling waves of excruciating pain wash over him.

He instinctively reached for his chest.

Just as he was about to speak, sword qi erupted, instantly shredding and annihilating High Immortal Zhuo Hao's body, along with the remnants of his soul.

High Immortal Zhuo Hao's mana body was dead!

Hum~ Hum~

The auras of the eight star artifacts withdrew, returning to their inactive state. At the site of High Immortal Zhuo Hao's demise, only his battle armor and a few storage artifacts remained.

This region of outer space quickly fell silent once more.

Whoosh~

A figure in white robes stepped out from nothingness, collecting the various treasures left behind by High Immortal Zhuo Hao with a wave.

Expending a Ghost Soul Shock Talisman worth over a thousand divine crystals, combined with my soul attack, indeed produced a marvelous effect.

Wu Yuan thought calmly.

With a normal soul attack, he wouldn't have been able to jolt High Immortal Zhuo Hao's soul. At most, he would cause a slight disturbance, but not enough to make him lose focus for an instant.

However, Wu Yuan's mana body's soul was comparable to that of a normal ninth-stage Earth Immortal, while High Immortal Zhuo Hao's mana body had a soul far weaker than a normal High Immortal. Combined with a powerful soul attack talisman, it achieved the desired effect.

If this were all, it actually wouldn't have been enough to kill him. In normal combat between immortals, where the two were separated by tens or hundreds of thousands of li, what use was making an opponent lose their focus for an instant?

But, when Wu Yuan struck from a higher dimension to assassinate his opponent, that instant meant the difference between life and death.

You are the first Sixth Tribulation High Immortal I've killed. Even if it was just a mana body, it was still a Sixth Tribulation High Immortal.

A strange light flickered in Wu Yuan's eyes.

A Sixth Tribulation High Immortal, a top-tier existence below Archimmortals, had been slain by him just like that.

Without realizing it, my combat prowess has reached the pinnacle of immortal cultivators.

Wu Yuan mused.

Archimmortals? Once I break through to High Immortal, I should be able to challenge Archimmortals like Senior Brother Jiang Huan.

With their owner still alive, the aura imprints on the storage artifacts were still in effect. Thus, Wu Yuan deciphered each one, forcefully erasing them. Of course, what he cared about most was that black divine pillar, and he didn't pay much attention to the other treasures.

Finally, Wu Yuan found what he was looking for in an inconspicuous corner of one of the storage artifacts: a floating black divine pillar, surrounded by over a hundred black divine pills.

Can I claim ownership?

Wu Yuan's Soul Force surged into the storage artifact, attempting to imprint his aura onto the divine pillar.

Boom!

The moment he made contact, an immense wave of energy instantly struck Wu Yuan's mana body and soul.

Almost simultaneously, in the distant Spacetime Island, the black pagoda in the upper dantian lobe of his qi refiner self also began to tremble slightly.