Word Count: 2,413 Words
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"Xiao Yan, what should we do now?" Yun Yun's beautiful eyes reflected grave concern as she surveyed the scene.
She cared little for the Bodhisattva Heart itself. If not for Xiao Yan's need, she likely wouldn't have brought the Flower Sect's experts here at all.
Xiao Yan found himself momentarily at a loss. Five Half-Saints blocked their path, and the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree itself radiated an eerie menace. Anyone with eyes could see something was deeply wrong.
Gu Qing Yang's expression tensed with gravity. Five Half-Saint experts... 'terrifying' was the only word to describe such a lineup. Xiao Yan possessed the strength to kill Nine-Change Dou Venerate Tian He Zi, true enough, but that old thing probably couldn't have withstood even a single palm strike from a Half-Saint. Even with Xun Er and the others combined, they would struggle against opponents of this caliber.
Xiao Yan's brows furrowed as his gaze swept toward the radiant glow emanating from within the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree's trunk. The Bodhisattva Heart lay right before his eyes. To give up so easily would leave him deeply unwilling!
"Xiao Yan, I think we should let the others handle some of the Half-Saint tree slaves. Once we break through this obstacle, we can deal with everything else." Cai Lin exchanged a meaningful glance with him and gestured toward the other groups.
Xiao Yan nodded in agreement. Having their group face all five tree slaves was clearly impossible. And even if he could desperately fight his way through, wouldn't that just hand Hun Yu and the others the spoils for free?
"Everyone, since none of us intend to leave, I doubt anyone here can handle all the Half-Saint tree slaves alone." He turned to address the assembled experts after a moment's consideration. "My group will deal with one Half-Saint tree slave. The rest, you can divide among yourselves."
Hun Yu and Jiu Feng exchanged glances. Jiu Feng's Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe had brought the most people, nearly twenty Dou Venerates. The Hun Clan had fewer numbers but boasted the strongest overall strength. Additionally, four reclusive factions were present, two of them vassal clans affiliated with the Yan and Lei Clans.
Though the Yan and Lei Clans hadn't dispatched core members, they had sent their affiliated vassal clans, whose strength was far from weak.
As the saying goes, 'men die for wealth as birds die for food.' Those Dou Ancestors killed by the beast tide might have looked foolish, but everyone here was just as reckless. Not a single one considered running away, even knowing the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree could slay Half-Saints. Greed overwhelmed reason.
Of course, it wasn't purely greed that emboldened them. Every faction present possessed trump cards: Half-Saint spatial jade slips and other life-saving measures. Even Xiao Yan's group had their escape methods.
It was precisely this sense of security that made them bolder!
"Good! My Hun Clan will handle our clan's Half-Saint ancestor." Hun Yu was the first to agree. To him, the Bodhisattva Heart was equivalent to the position of Clan Head. How could he possibly let it slip away!
"My Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe can also handle one."
The remaining factions nodded heavily and selected their targets.
"Nalan Yanran, Old Hai, your strength is relatively weak. Stay out of the fighting and keep watch on the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree. If it makes any move whatsoever, crush your soul spatial jade slips immediately." Xiao Yan transmitted the order to his entire group.
Nalan Yanran was somewhat unwilling, but she nodded all the same. This wasn't the time to argue with his decision. Maintaining vigilance and securing their escape route was the wisest course.
The atmosphere shifted in an instant. Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed, and nearly everyone present locked onto their chosen Half-Saint tree slave simultaneously before unleashing a barrage of devastating attacks. Streaks of Dou Qi shot forth like divine punishment raining from the heavens.
Xiao Yan unfurled his Ancient Phoenix Wings, achieving blinding speed as Heavenly Flame gathered on his right fist. A resonant hum filled the air as the Vajra Glass Body erupted, instantly transforming him into a ninety-nine-foot golden giant. His booming voice thundered across the battlefield: "Vajra Glass Fist!"
Octane Blast shed a tear; it had been abandoned after all! Now that Xiao Yan had cultivated the Vajra Glass Body to major mastery, he could employ this body-refining technique's complementary strikes.
Heavenly Flame enveloped his massive fist, which resembled a small mountain peak as it smashed toward the rightmost Half-Saint.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The fist wind howled ferociously. Even without using Skyfire Three Mysterious Change to activate his Clan Mark, this single punch made space itself tremble. Its power left observers speechless.
The tree slave, dead for who knew how many years, suddenly snapped its eyes open. Its mouth gaped in a roar that completely shattered every Dou Qi streak launched by Little Fairy Doctor and the others.
Against Xiao Yan's mountain-like fist, the Half-Saint responded with a punch of its own. No technique variations. No Dou Techniques or Dou Qi. Just the simplest, most ordinary fist.
BOOM!!
Fist met fist. Xiao Yan's eyes contracted sharply.
Crack crack crack!!
The golden fist formed by his Vajra Glass Body shattered inch by inch as an indescribably terrifying force transmitted through his entire body.
In this clash of pure physical might, he was completely outmatched by the Half-Saint's most basic punch!
BOOM!
The earth shook and mountains trembled as space itself ruptured. A Half-Saint's might operated on an entirely different plane from even Nine-Change Dou Venerates like Tian He Zi. The two weren't remotely comparable!
After achieving nine changes, the fusion process remained extremely difficult, requiring vast amounts of time to merge into a true Half-Saint.
This single punch thoroughly taught Xiao Yan the gap between Saint and Venerate. Truly heaven and earth apart!
"Xiao Yan ge-ge, let me help you!" Xun Er stepped to his side in a single stride, her Nine-Change Dou Venerate cultivation erupting forth.
"Don't overexert yourself," Xiao Yan transmitted quietly.
Xun Er gave a subtle nod, naturally understanding his meaning. Though this Half-Saint tree slave was formidable, if she unleashed her full power, soloing it wasn't impossible. However, expending too much Dou Qi now would leave them at a disadvantage when competing for the Bodhisattva Heart afterward.
Her hands formed seals before a single finger pointed skyward. The Great Silent Destruction Finger descended from above, carrying an aura that annihilated all existence.
Gu Qing Yang and the others didn't remain idle either, all unleashing Low Tian Class Great Silent Destruction Fingers of their own. At their level, Low Tian Class Dou Techniques were no longer rare.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
One Tian Class technique after another erupted forth. The energy of the world swirled like a vortex, fusing into their attacks as they bombarded the Half-Saint tree slave.
Hun Yu's group also exploded with tremendous strength. The disparity between Dou God Clans and other factions immediately became crystal clear.
Though the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe boasted superior numbers, they possessed few Tian Class techniques. Only Jiu Feng's beast techniques could damage the Half-Saint tree slave; the other elders all reverted to their true forms to attack.
A single counterattack from the Half-Saint tree slave, however, left them grievously wounded from the aftershocks alone. Without their Demon Phoenix Bell defensive beast technique, they would have been slaughtered en masse.
"Strike its head!"
Xiao Yan roared as the Dragon Phoenix Ancient Armor enveloped his body. After several exchanges, he had sensed that these Half-Saint tree slaves contained no Dou Qi whatsoever. Instead, a strange seed had taken root and sprouted within their skulls, and it was this seed that controlled their bodies.
"Ha!" His Ancient Phoenix Wings flashed as he appeared behind the tree slave, and the Heavy Xuan Ruler crashed down heavily on its crown.
Clang!
The metallic reverberation left Xiao Yan's arms numb. Still, the blow achieved some effect: it cracked the Half-Saint tree slave's skull slightly.
The Half-Saint tree slave erupted in fury, spinning to unleash a devastating palm strike. Xiao Yan's mind stirred, and his Ancient Phoenix Wings wrapped protectively around him. The newly fused Heavenly Flame, merged from Ten Thousand Beast Flame, Wind and Thunder Fury Flame, and Nine Dragon Lightning Flame, ignited in an instant. The illusory figure of an incomparably beautiful giant bird wreathed in wind, thunder, and flame materialized to shield him.
BOOM! CLANG!
The Ancient Phoenix Bell released reverberating sonic waves. The shockwaves caused the Half-Saint tree slave's features to contort in agony, as the sound waves penetrated flesh and bone to directly assault the seed within its skull.
Jiu Feng's eyes gleamed with covetous desire upon witnessing Xiao Yan's Ancient Phoenix Wings surpassing even his own.
'That Tian Class technique has actually reached the bloodline strength of the Ancient Heaven Phoenix royal line!'
In that instant of distraction, the Half-Saint puppet the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe faced flashed before him. Five fingers formed claws and thrust viciously, as if to tear out his heart and lungs and claim his life.
Jiu Feng sensed mortal danger and his multicolored pupils erupted with blinding radiance. In the next second, a Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe elder mysteriously appeared before him, taking the blow in his stead!
"Young Tribe Leader!" The elder never imagined Jiu Feng would manipulate him to serve as a human shield!
"Rest easy, Elder Huang Yi. I'll ensure you receive a proper burial. Your death won't be in vain." Jiu Feng's voice was ice.
Poof!
Under the Half-Saint's claw strike, this Seven-Star Dou Venerate elder exploded into blood mist. Even his Monster Core and soul were obliterated into nothing, not a single bone left behind!
Xiao Yan naturally noticed Jiu Feng's attention on him and shook his head, gaining a new appreciation for the man's ruthlessness. He glanced at Feng Qing Er, forgotten at the sidelines. This poor little phoenix will surely face difficult days when she returns to the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe.
BOOM!
Overhead, multicolored lightning coalesced into a single devastating bolt and hammered down onto the Half-Saint tree slave. It was Cai Lin's seven-colored heavenly thunder.
For a time, the space before the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree erupted in extremely fierce combat across five separate battlefields. The fighting involving the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe and the four reclusive factions could only be described as brutal.
"Strike together!" Xiao Yan transmitted urgently. He had just used the God Seal Technique, combining five seals into the Ancient God Seal, to blast a deep fissure into the tree slave's skull, though its counterattack had sent him flying while coughing blood.
Everyone nodded at his command and unleashed their most powerful techniques.
They struck with near-perfect coordination, their terrifying attacks converging on the Half-Saint tree slave's head at the exact same instant. Under such devastating assault, the tree slave's body trembled violently. Then its skull, already riddled with fissures from Xiao Yan's bombardment, exploded like a watermelon hitting the ground.
Bang!
The instant the seed within its brain was destroyed, the headless tree slave ceased all movement. Its body emitted crackling sounds before dissolving into white ash that drifted down before everyone's eyes.
This nameless Half-Saint expert thus vanished forever, leaving not a single trace behind.
Xiao Yan exhaled deeply and wiped cold sweat from his forehead before surveying their situation. Aside from Xun Er, the strongest among them, everyone bore injuries. Even elite experts like Gu Qing Yang and himself had suffered internal wounds from trading blows with the Half-Saint puppet.
'These Half-Saint tree slaves are truly terrifying. Real Half-Saints must be even more fearsome.'
He flicked his fingers, sending pills flying from his storage ring to hover before each person.
"Rest and recover briefly. I'll stand guard." His voice was low and steady.
No one objected. They swallowed the pills and quickly sat cross-legged, seizing every moment to enter a cultivation state. In such a perilous place, maintaining full Dou Qi reserves at all times was essential for keeping one's life.
"Xiao Yan ge-ge, should we intervene?" Xun Er approached his side, her beautiful eyes surveying the other battle circles as she asked softly.
None of those battles were proceeding smoothly. Even Hun Yu's group had already lost one Hall of Souls expert whose heart was shattered by their Half-Saint puppet.
Though their overall strength fell short of Xiao Yan's group, those Half-Saint tree slaves clearly couldn't hold out much longer either.
The Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe's battlefield and the other two presented rather tragic scenes. The Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe had lost three elders with half their remaining members wounded, though they had managed to inflict a massive gash on their tree slave.
The final two battle circles, however, appeared catastrophically worse by comparison. The four teams were hastily assembled coalitions that, despite individual strength, completely lacked cooperative coordination. Several Dou Venerate-level experts had already perished under the Half-Saint puppets' assault, making this by far the area with the most severe casualties.
Moreover, once these tree slaves locked onto enemies, the fight became one to the death. Escape was nearly impossible.
"No need. Focus on ourselves. That Bodhisattva Ancient Tree is definitely not simple. Use this time to recover some Dou Qi."
Xiao Yan's eyes flickered before he shook his head. This wasn't the moment for compassion. These people were all competitors.
If not for fearing that reckless attacks might draw the Half-Saint tree slaves' hostility toward them, he would already be launching sneak attacks on these groups!
There was only one Bodhisattva Heart!
Soon, the Hun Clan eliminated their Half-Saint tree slave after sacrificing one Three-Change Dou Venerate and severely injuring two others. They glanced toward Xiao Yan's group, understanding the need to recover quickly.
Next came Jiu Feng's Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe. After losing three elders and leaving most of the survivors heavily wounded, Jiu Feng barely managed the kill.
After recovering for some time, Xiao Yan turned his gaze toward the final two battlefields. They still hadn't finished. Though the Half-Saint tree slaves were covered in wounds, their opponents looked unlikely to claim victory.
Xiao Yan and Xun Er exchanged glances before striking in unison. Both unleashed God Seal Techniques in surprise attacks. A thunderous explosion rang out as they blew apart a tree slave's skull, and without pausing for a breath they wheeled toward the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree.
Almost simultaneously, Cai Lin, Little Fairy Doctor, and the others, having coordinated beforehand, surged toward the ancient tree as well.