vstars Chapter 45, page 1 of the Heavenly Void Jade Book
Chapter 45, page 1 of the Heavenly Void Jade Book
Wang Tianlong spent another day wandering and exploring the labyrinthine Void Heaven Palace. During this time, he also sensed the auras of other Nascent Soul cultivators in the distance. Both sides were extremely cautious, facing off for a moment. After confirming that the other was not an easy opponent and there were no clear signs of treasures, they each withdrew to avoid unnecessary conflict. In such a place, unless there was a direct conflict of interest, no one was willing to easily start a life-or-death battle with an uncertain outcome.
However, just as he was passing through the ruins of a nearly destroyed courtyard and preparing to enter another corridor, a strong surge of magical energy and the sounds of clashing weapons and booming spells suddenly came from not far ahead!
"Someone's fighting! And judging from the commotion, they're at least at the Nascent Soul level, and there are more than two of them!" Wang Tianlong's heart tightened, and he immediately concealed all his aura, maximizing the concealment ability of the "Wind-Treading Technique." He moved silently towards the direction from which the fluctuations came, like a breeze without any physical form.
After passing several broken walls and rubble, and through a short corridor dusted up by the aftershocks of the battle, a relatively open plaza in front of the palace appeared ahead.
At this moment, the square was in a mess, and five figures were fighting fiercely. Spiritual light, demonic energy, and phantom images of magical treasures crisscrossed and roared continuously.
The two sides in the battle consisted of three cultivators dressed in earth-yellow robes, exuding a deep and heavy aura, with ancient faces and bronze skin. Judging from their cultivation methods and attire, they were likely Nascent Soul cultivators from the Tian Sha Continent. The leader was at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, while the other two were at the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage. They cooperated seamlessly, and their cultivation methods seemed to originate from the same source, displaying a well-structured approach to offense and defense.
On the other side were two Nascent Soul stage demon cultivators exuding overwhelming demonic aura. One was a winged tiger demon with a tiger's head and a human body, and wings on its back; the other was a lizard demon covered in blue scales and with a lizard-like physique. Both were at the early Nascent Soul stage. They were currently leaning against the door of a side hall, struggling to hold on. They had several wounds on their bodies, dripping with demonic blood, and were clearly at a disadvantage. However, relying on the naturally strong physique and regenerative abilities of the demon race, coupled with the fierce fighting spirit of cornered beasts, they had not been defeated for the time being.
Wang Tianlong concealed himself in the shadow of a broken, massive stone pillar at the edge of the plaza. His gaze swept across the battlefield and was immediately drawn to the scene vaguely visible inside the open door of the side hall.
On the jade platform in the center of the hall, three objects shimmering with spiritual light were clearly visible:
A long spear, entirely crimson, shaped like a flying shuttle, and wreathed in raging flames, exudes an incomparably sharp fire-attribute spiritual pressure—clearly another offensive Heavenly Treasure (low-grade)!
A strange talisman, entirely silver-white, as thin as a cicada's wing, and covered with countless intricate and dazzling golden runes, floated silently. It did not emit any strong spiritual energy fluctuations, but it gave people an extremely dangerous feeling, as if it could pierce through the void.
Finally, there was another palm-sized, shimmering silver page with uneven edges, covered in swimming tadpole-like characters! It was exactly the same as the half-page of the "Heavenly Void Jade Book" in Wang Tianlong's arms, and the page that the rat demon had obtained!
"So that's how it is... another battle for treasure." Wang Tianlong instantly understood the cause and effect. Judging from the situation, the two demon cultivators must have discovered this side hall protected by a restriction first and tried to break it. As a result, the restriction had just been broken, and before they could take the treasure, they were discovered by these three cultivators from the Tiansha Continent who happened to be passing by. The two sides clashed without a word. The Tiansha Continent cultivators had the advantage in numbers and cultivation, and quickly gained the upper hand.
"A spear, a talisman, a page of the Heavenly Void Jade Book..." Wang Tianlong's eyes flickered. The fire-attribute spear didn't attract him much, but the silver-white talisman gave him an extremely extraordinary feeling, seemingly involving space or some kind of extremely powerful sealing or attacking force. As for the other page of the "Heavenly Void Jade Book"... he knew its value perfectly well.
"Three against two, it's only a matter of time before the demon cultivators are defeated. Once they're wiped out or escape, the treasure will belong to the three from the Heavenly Sand Continent..." Wang Tianlong quickly calculated in his mind, "If I intervene now, should I help the demon cultivators repel the humans and then fight them for it? Or should I wait until they're both exhausted before seizing the treasure?"
Either choice carries significant risks. The three from Tiansha Continent cooperate seamlessly and are quite powerful. While the demon cultivator is at a disadvantage, if pushed to the brink, he could self-destruct or use a secret technique to perish together with the demon, which would also be extremely troublesome.
Just as he was weighing his options, the situation on the field changed again!
The leading Nascent Soul cultivator from the Tian Sha Continent, seemingly unwilling to delay any longer, suddenly shouted, "Junior brothers, form the 'Three Talents Thick Earth Formation'! Let's finish this quickly!"
"Yes, Senior Brother!"
Upon hearing this, the other two Tian Sha cultivators immediately moved swiftly, forming a triangle with the mid-stage cultivator. Simultaneously, they formed hand seals, and a dense, earth-yellow spiritual light erupted from their bodies! The three beams of light instantly connected, forming a stable triangular light array that firmly trapped the two demon cultivators in the center! Within the light array, gravity increased dramatically, and the earth and rocks writhed and compressed like living things, restricting the demon cultivators' movements. Furthermore, thick earthen walls and spikes continuously sprang up out of thin air, attacking the demon cultivators!
"Not good! It's a combined attack formation!" The winged tiger demon was shocked and furious. It flapped its wings wildly, slashing at the earthen wall with countless wind blades, but to little avail. The lizard demon was even more forced to dodge in a sorry state by the earth spikes that suddenly pierced out from under its feet.
The two demon cultivators were in grave danger under the suppression of the formation, and their defeat was imminent!
Wang Tianlong knew he couldn't wait any longer!
His gaze sharpened, locking onto the weakest of the three Tian Sha cultivators, the one at the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage, who was positioned in a corner of the formation and was doing his best to maintain its operation.
"Break their footwork first!"
In the blink of an eye, Wang Tianlong vanished from the shadows! The next moment, he appeared like a ghost, several feet behind the Tian Sha cultivator. With his right index and middle fingers joined together, a highly refined, almost invisible "spiritual thorn" shot out silently, aiming straight for the back of the opponent's head! At the same time, he raised his left hand, and several high-level "wind blade talismans" that he had already held in his hand transformed into a sky full of azure blades, whistling as they enveloped the other two slightly distracted cultivators!
"Watch out behind you!" The mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator Tian Sha reacted extremely quickly. Sensing the fierce killing intent and divine sense attack coming from behind, he turned around in horror and shouted!
Wang Tianlong seized the moment when the Tian Sha cultivator was fully focused on maintaining the formation and launched a surprise attack from the shadows! A fierce and unparalleled "spiritual thorn" aimed straight at the back of the cultivator's head, while wind blade talismans rained down, disrupting the other two.
The early-stage peak cultivator of the Heavenly Sand Realm, focused on maintaining the formation, was fully circulating his magic power, integrating it into the cycle of the "Three Talents Thick Earth Formation." His perception of the outside world was already slightly scattered due to the formation's influence. By the time he sensed something amiss behind him, an incomparably sharp divine sense attack had already reached him!
"puff!"
The "spiritual thorn" struck him squarely in the back of the head! Although he was a Nascent Soul cultivator with a strong soul, and his protective magic treasure automatically activated its spiritual light to offer some resistance, this sudden, soul-targeting sneak attack still felt like a heavy blow. A "buzz" echoed in his head, a sharp pain surged through him, his vision went black, and the flow of his internal magic power instantly became chaotic. He couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood! The spiritual light maintaining the formation also flickered violently and dimmed!
"Ah! Senior brother, save me!" he cried out in agony, staggering forward.
Almost simultaneously, the countless azure blades formed from the "Wind Blade Talismans" that Wang Tianlong had thrown out also came whistling in! Although these wind blades were not powerful enough to seriously injure a Nascent Soul cultivator, their large number, wide coverage, and tricky angles successfully interfered with the vision and response of the other two slightly distracted cultivators, forcing them to divert their attention to defend or dodge.
The "Three Talents Thick Earth Formation" instantly revealed a fatal flaw! The earth-yellow light shield, which had been fluctuating violently due to the injury to its master, flickered and its suppressive power against the two demon cultivators was greatly reduced!
"A golden opportunity!" The winged tiger demon and the lizard demon trapped in the formation were both seasoned warriors, how could they miss this once-in-a-lifetime chance to escape? The two roared in unison, their demonic energy soaring into the sky!
The winged tiger demon flapped its wings violently, no longer attacking the earthen wall, but instead gathering all its demonic power to transform into a huge tiger claw phantom wrapped in wind and thunder power, which slammed hard into the dimmest corner of the formation—the very spot where the injured Tian Sha cultivator was!
The lizard demon swayed, its blue scales gleaming brightly, and it temporarily withstood several attacks from the ground spikes. Its long tail, like a steel whip, swept across the other side, carrying a sharp whistling sound as it tried to stabilize the formation.
"Damn it! Who dares to launch a sneak attack!" The leading mid-stage Tian Sha cultivator was both shocked and furious. He hadn't expected such a powerful expert to be lurking in the shadows, and that his attack had targeted the very core of their formation! He couldn't afford to pursue Wang Tianlong (who had retreated after his attack, disappearing back into the wind, his aura elusive and hard to discern), and hurriedly channeled his magic power, attempting to stabilize the crumbling formation. He unleashed a heavy, earthen-yellow palm print at the illusory claws of the winged tiger demon, shouting at the same time, "Junior brother, be careful!"
"Boom! Crack!"
The winged tiger demon's full-force attack struck the weakest point of the formation squarely! The already damaged and unstable formation shield could no longer withstand the pressure and shattered with a loud cracking sound! The violent backlash of spiritual energy caused the three Tian Sha cultivators to sway, their blood churning. The cultivator who had been ambushed by the "Mental Spike" was especially badly injured, his aura weakened.
The lizard demon's steel tail sweep was blocked by an earthen shield hastily conjured by the early-stage Heavenly Sand cultivator, but the immense force still sent him staggering back several steps.
Once the formation was broken, the two demon cultivators were freed and the pressure was greatly reduced. They immediately distanced themselves from the three Tian Sha cultivators, eyeing them menacingly while looking with suspicion in the direction where Wang Tianlong had just appeared (and then disappeared).
The situation on the field reversed instantly! From a three-on-two suppression, it turned into a chaotic three-way standoff! The formation of the three-man group from Tiansha Continent was broken, one of them was injured, and their morale was dampened; although the two demon cultivators escaped, they were also greatly exhausted and injured; and the most mysterious of all was the "third party" who attacked and retreated, whose whereabouts were elusive!