Chapter 146: The Heavens Have Opened! The Power of Heaven and Earth!

"This... what realm is this..."

Under the darkened thunderclouds, Lü Baitian stood atop his magical weapon, his face filled with fear as he gazed at the colossal Ephemeral Blossom Mother Tree, muttering to himself.

Even with his cultivation at the ninth level of the Body Fusion Realm, he felt such terror, let alone those with lower cultivation levels beneath him.

The disciples of the Tai Xuan Sect below felt as though they were being pressed down by an invisible weight of ten thousand pounds, forcing them to the ground. Their formations were forcibly broken as they fell.

"What are we even facing..."

"This can't be possible... Can it really be that the Ephemeral Blossom Sect has an immortal?"

"What should we do... Are we truly doomed with no chance of victory?"

"We still have the Sword Master of the Dao, perhaps there's still a sliver of hope when he arrives..."

While the disciples of the Tai Xuan Sect still clung to a thread of hope, the other sects had already fallen into complete despair.

Tianshu Daoist of Three Purities Mountain stared at the Ephemeral Blossom Mother Tree, his face pale. He calculated with his fingers, yet no matter how much he tried, he couldn't find any hope.

"It's unavoidable..."

He muttered to himself as the immense righteous energy that usually surrounded him began to dissipate.

As Jing Tuxian's terrifying aura blanketed the Tai Chen Dynasty, the morale of the Nine Dynasties' cultivators instantly collapsed.

There were still some who refused to give up. The Grand Cultivator of the Cang Tian Sect continued to fight valiantly, displaying the true might of a leader in the Nine Dynasties Alliance.

An Hao and Wu Jue sped through the sky. Their cultivations were weak, and for the time being, no one paid attention to them. They quickly flew into Wanji Forest, aiming to rescue the people who had been captured as sacrifices. However, as soon as they landed, strands of blood energy quickly coiled around their feet.

Before they could react, the runes at their feet burst forth with an astounding blood light, spreading rapidly across the entire Tai Chen Dynasty. Every living creature within the Tai Chen Dynasty's borders was instantly immobilized, including the high-ranking cultivators in the sky.

Even the Grand Cultivators at the Profound Heart Realm were suppressed. Although they could still move, their movements became incredibly slow, as if they were leaves drifting through the air. This slow, floating pace left those who had hoped to flee filled with despair.

Suddenly, the vast Tai Chen Dynasty seemed boundless to them.

On a cliff, Li Xuandao, Lü Xian, Yi Liuyun, and a group of other imposing cultivators were all frozen in place.

"What is this thing?" A cultivator stared in horror at the mysterious bloodlines entangling his legs, his voice trembling with fear.

He struggled to break free, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't escape. The most despairing part was the growing sense that he was losing control over his own body.

Lü Xian glanced downward, his expression one of shock.

Li Xuandao gazed into the distance, his face calm, seemingly unafraid of the impending catastrophe.

"This is the Six Paths Mahayana Formation. It requires the power of a Mahayana Realm cultivator to activate. Do you even understand what it means to be at the Mahayana Realm?"

Jing Tuxian's voice echoed throughout the heavens, chilling the world.

Li Xuandao's eyes flickered as he processed the words.

Meanwhile...

Lu Lingjun hovered in midair, also bound by the mysterious bloodlines. These bloodlines appeared out of nowhere, impossible to defend against.

Below her, the White Spirit Demon Emperor wailed, "We're done for!"

Lu Lingjun turned her gaze toward the Ephemeral Blossom Mother Tree, where she could see a figure slowly stepping out of the black crack.

It was Jing Tuxian!

Dressed in black robes that flapped violently, the sleeves and hem of his robes had torn, making his attire appear like black flames. His pale face bore a twisted grin, his gaze filled with contempt for all living beings. Two malevolent ghost marks adorned his forehead, almost as if they might leap out at any moment.

Boom—

The earth shook violently as a blood-red light surged from Wanji Forest, making the sparse trees look insignificant, like mere weeds.

More and more Ephemeral Blossom Sect cultivators descended, kneeling on the ground, fanatically gazing up at him.

"The Sword Master of the Dao from the Tai Xuan Sect, why don't you show yourself?"

"The Longevity Daoist from Three Purities Mountain, where are your chants now?"

"Didn't someone from the Cang Tian Sect once boast that leveling the Ephemeral Blossom Sect would be easy?"

"Why haven't you appeared? If you don't come soon, all these millions of living beings will be drawn into the Six Paths, helping me ascend to immortality!"

Jing Tuxian's voice rang out repeatedly, each sentence extinguishing more hope in the hearts of the Nine Dynasties' cultivators. More and more of them succumbed to despair.

In his blood-red eyes, illusions of Ephemeral Blossoms reflected back. Behind him, the human face on the Ephemeral Blossom Mother Tree opened its mouth, spitting out a massive blossom that floated toward Jing Tuxian's feet, carrying him upward.

As he ascended into the sky, everyone within the Tai Chen Dynasty felt the very essence of their life force being drained. This only deepened the despair that consumed them.

Far away in the Xuan Valley, Gu An's heart trembled.

This guy's power is terrifying!

It feels like he's approaching the peak of the Mahayana Realm!

Fortunately, I broke through earlier and reached the ninth level of the Nirvana Realm.

Gu An's divine sense locked onto Xuanmiao Zhenren.

With the help of Gu An's power, Xuanmiao Zhenren was speeding toward the Tai Chen Dynasty, his pace far quicker than before.

He too had heard Jing Tuxian's voice and was growing more anxious by the second. He had never felt his speed to be so slow.

"Mountain God! There's no time!"

Xuanmiao Zhenren roared internally, gripping the wooden figure of the Mountain God so tightly that his arms trembled.

"If there's no time, then throw it out," Gu An's voice echoed in his mind.

Without hesitation, Xuanmiao Zhenren hurled the wooden figure ahead of him.

The wooden figure flew for just two heartbeats before it suddenly exploded with terrifying speed, transforming into a streak of azure light that shot toward Wanji Forest with unstoppable force.

In nearly an instant, Jing Tuxian sensed something, turning his gaze to the horizon.

Lu Lingjun, standing directly in his line of sight, felt her heart tremble under his gaze. The White Spirit Demon Emperor under her feet shivered even more violently.

For a moment, Lu Lingjun seemed to sense something. On instinct, she turned her head.

Time seemed to freeze. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a streak of azure light streaking through the sky. Within the light, she could just barely make out the silhouette of a small figure.

An Hao, still struggling against the bloodlines, looked up just in time to see the azure light flash above his head, racing by at an unimaginable speed.

On the cliff, Li Xuandao glimpsed the streak of azure light speeding across the horizon, almost making him doubt his vision.

In the eyes of millions of sacrifices, their despair deepening, the streak of azure light broke through the gloomy sky, bringing a ray of light to their eyes.

Jing Tuxian reacted faster than anyone else in the Tai Chen Dynasty. He raised his hand to block, unleashing terrifying spiritual energy that manifested as black light, fiercely attempting to intercept the incoming azure streak.

His expression changed slightly, and he spoke coldly, "A Mahayana Realm cultivator? Who are you?"

Within the azure light, the small wooden figure turned to face Jing Tuxian.

The wooden figure raised its hand, pointing directly at Jing Tuxian.

Jing Tuxian's eyes narrowed. His right hand clenched into a fist, and the terrifying black light formed a demonic claw, reaching out to crush the wooden figure.

Boom!

A massive azure beam suddenly shot out from behind the wooden figure, traveling at an incomprehensible speed as it engulfed Jing Tuxian.

It was too fast!

Even Jing Tuxian, at the peak of the Mahayana Realm, had no time to react!

The massive Ephemeral Blossom Mother Tree was instantly pierced by the azure beam, its trunk turning to ash. The thunderclouds above were scattered, and bright sunlight flooded the sky, so intense that countless people instinctively closed their eyes.

The azure light around the wooden figure began to fade.

For a brief moment, the world fell into silence.

The Grand Cultivators of the Nine Dynasties, as well as the elders of the Ephemeral Blossom Sect, all stared in stunned silence toward where the Ephemeral Blossom Mother Tree had been, their minds utterly blank as they watched its massive trunk gradually disappear.

The wooden figure turned, its body trembling slightly.

And in that instant, the roar of battle exploded back into life!

The ground fractured, and countless trees surged upward with astonishing speed, charging toward the cultivators of the Ephemeral Blossom Sect. The Grand Cultivators, who had moments ago been thinking of escape, were now bound by the grasping trees.

Outside the Six Paths Mahayana Formation, the trees rose endlessly, forming walls of wood on all sides.

Inside the formation, the faces of the Ephemeral Blossom Sect's cultivators turned pale. One after another, they attempted to leap into the air, hoping to escape the enclosing tree walls. But as soon as they took flight, thick vines lashed out, binding them tightly and dragging them back into the earth.

"No—"

"What is this? Who?!"

"Lord Sect Master, save me!"

"Please, spare me!"

Desperate screams and agonized cries echoed throughout the land, filling the battlefield with terror and chaos.

However, the cultivators of the Nine Dynasties, who had been terrified just moments earlier, soon realized that the vines and trees were bypassing them entirely, only targeting the disciples of the Ephemeral Blossom Sect.

Hovering high above, Tianshu Daoist of Three Purities Mountain looked down, witnessing the incredible scene below. Vast clouds of dust and debris rose like an ocean, covering everything in sight, while the towering trees writhed like massive green dragons. The mysterious and awe-inspiring display left the experienced Profound Heart Realm cultivator speechless.

He couldn't fathom the origin of such overwhelming power.

It was as though Heaven and Earth themselves had decided to punish the Ephemeral Blossom Sect.

And he wasn't the only one. Every Grand Cultivator from the Nine Dynasties watched in disbelief, their eyes locked onto the scene of devastation unfolding before them. Even when they flew higher and higher, there seemed to be no end to the sea of trees, as if the entire world had been consumed by nature's fury.

Lu Lingjun stood frozen, her mind unable to process what she was seeing.

"The power of Heaven and Earth... The Heavens have opened their eyes!" the White Spirit Demon Emperor shrieked in excitement. The bloodlines binding its body began to dissolve, and it regained control over its form.

Far away, on the summit of a windswept cliff in the North Sea Mountains, Gu An stood, his figure tall and majestic, embodying the essence of an immortal. He looked out over the distant horizon, his expression calm, yet determined.

The small wooden figure he had given to Xuanmiao Zhenren had been nothing more than a ruse, meant to make Jing Tuxian believe that a mere Mahayana Realm cultivator was approaching. Using the power hidden within the figure, Gu An had locked onto Jing Tuxian's location from afar, and with one devastating strike, he had obliterated the Mahayana cultivator.

Though the plan had seemed perilous, it had been executed in a flash.

As notification after notification flickered before his eyes, Gu An shifted his right foot ever so slightly.

Far away, in the Tai Chen Dynasty, the towering trees that had sprung up like the ribs of the earth came to an abrupt halt. The tree walls, as high as mountains, stood still, leaving the people of the dynasty breathless with awe and relief.

Gu An turned his back to the scene, the wind tugging at his black hair as he strode into the forest, disappearing into the shadows as though he had never been there at all.

On the other side...

Xuanmiao Zhenren was still speeding toward the Tai Chen Dynasty. When he finally crossed the border, his pace slowed, his eyes widening in shock as he beheld the towering trees that loomed like mountains before him.

"Could this be the power of the Mountain God?" he muttered to himself, descending slowly onto a cliff, mirroring the spot where Gu An had stood earlier. The wind buffeted his face as he stood at the precipice.

Unlike Gu An's calm demeanor, Xuanmiao Zhenren's face was filled with disbelief.

His heart swelled with both joy and reverence.

And fear.

He now realized just how fortunate he was to have been spared by the Mountain God, despite his earlier transgressions.

The contrast between the small wooden figure and the awe-inspiring display of power he now witnessed was too stark, too jarring, leaving his mind reeling.

Slowly, he knelt down, his knees just inches from the edge of the cliff.

"To serve as your slave for life... is my greatest honor," Xuanmiao Zhenren whispered, his voice filled with awe and respect.