On the airship, there was a deathly silence.
All the cultivators froze on the spot, their pupils trembling as they stared intently at the figure in pure white. The expressions on their faces were frozen between horror and disbelief, as if they were witnessing an illusion that should never exist in this world.
Just moments before, they were surrounded by dozens of ferocious earth dragons, and death was imminent.
The roars of those colossal beasts still echoed in my ears, their foul breath almost spraying my face, their sharp claws capable of tearing their protective aura to shreds with a mere flick of their wrists.
But in the blink of an eye, the situation reversed.
That black flame...
That sword that tore through the void...
That seemingly casual slash...
A hundred-foot-long earth dragon was reduced to ashes, and the remaining ferocious beasts were so terrified that they fled in a frenzy!
"This...this is impossible..."
A young monk's lips trembled, his voice barely audible.
His fingers dug deep into his palms, yet he felt no pain. Only the drifting black ash before his eyes reminded him that what had just happened was not an illusion.
They were not unfamiliar with extraordinary talents. The sect's senior disciple, who could cleave a river with a single sword strike, was already a once-in-a-century genius; and Chu Wuchen, who had betrayed his sect, had once used his Golden Core body to slay a Nascent Soul cultivator, making him famous far and wide.
Even such a prodigy could never, like Bai Ying before him, so easily obliterate the earth dragon!
"She just said... she could keep us safe..." another female cultivator murmured, her eyes glazed over. Just a short while ago, they had scoffed at Bai Ying's promise, even secretly mocking her arrogance. But now...
Now they realized that it wasn't arrogance at all, but a very simple fact.
Upon realizing this, everyone's hearts instantly stirred with excitement.
perhaps......
perhaps......
They really were able to pick all the Dao Source Fruits.
This is something that none of the people present dared to even imagine!
The flying boat pierced through the clouds and finally arrived at the valley where the Daoyuan Ancient Tree was located.
It was an ancient tree that reached to the heavens and the earth, its trunk as thick as a mountain, its bark cracked like dragon scales, each line seemingly engraved with the ultimate truths of heaven and earth. Its crown soared into the clouds, and a faint golden halo flowed among its branches and leaves. From afar, the entire ancient tree resembled a deity standing between heaven and earth.
Amidst the lush foliage, ten Dao Source Fruits radiated a dazzling golden light. Their translucent peels revealed glimpses of the nectar flowing within. A rich, fragrant aroma filled the air; a single whiff was enough to clear one's mind and subtly stir one's spiritual energy!
"The Dao Source Fruit... is ripe!"
The cultivators on the flying boat suddenly became heavy-handed, their eyes blazing with fervent light. They had thought that they were already incredibly lucky to have arrived here alive, but now, ten supreme treasures capable of changing their fate were right before their eyes!
"Hurry and pick them! Now that there are no other sects around, all these fruits are ours!"
A cultivator shouted first, his eyes flashing with a crazed light. Before he finished speaking, dozens of figures pounced on the Dao Source Tree like hungry wolves, and various magical treasures and spiritual lights intertwined in the air to form a dazzling net of light.
However--
"Clang!"
A clear and melodious sword cry suddenly pierced the sky, followed by a terrifying pressure that crashed down like the collapse of the heavens!
Those cultivators who were at the forefront suddenly stopped, as if they had crashed into an invisible wall of bronze and iron. Their faces turned red, and they staggered back several steps.
Bai Ying's figure had appeared before the ancient tree at some unknown time, her fair hand lightly touching the hilt of her sword, her clothes fluttering without wind.
Her cold gaze swept over everyone, sending a chill down their spines.
"It's a trap."
Before she finished speaking, her long sword was already drawn, and a sharp sword light cleaved straight into the trunk of the ancient tree!
"Stop! What are you doing?!"
An elderly cultivator shouted with eyes wide open, "That's a Dao Source Ancient Tree, a once-in-a-millennium find!"
However, in the next instant, everyone froze in place.
"boom!!"
The moment the sword light struck, the entire "ancient tree" suddenly twisted and deformed, its thick trunk wriggled and contracted, and its lush branches and leaves turned into sticky skin.
To everyone's horror, the towering ancient tree transformed into a small, mountain-sized, green-eyed golden toad!
The golden toad was dark gold in color, and its back was covered with disgusting pustules. The faint image of the Dao Source Fruit could be seen in each pustule.
Its large, emerald-green eyes, as big as millstones, were coldly watching the crowd, while its barbed tongue slowly moved in and out, emitting a foul-smelling poisonous mist.
"It's... fake!"
The young cultivators turned ashen-faced, finally realizing that the fruity fragrance they had just experienced was merely an illusion created by the demonic beast.
What's even more terrifying is that the aura emanating from this green-eyed golden toad has reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage!
Bai Ying's longsword pointed diagonally at the ground, black flames flickering on its blade.
Without turning her head, she said coldly, "Step back. Leave this beast to me."
Suddenly, the green-eyed toad opened its blood-red maw and let out a deafening "croak" sound.
Wherever the sound wave passed, the ground cracked inch by inch, and several cultivators who could not dodge in time bled from all seven orifices on the spot!
With a gentle wave of her white hand, Bai Ying sent a cyan array disc spinning down beneath everyone's feet, instantly unfolding into an octagonal light screen.
"Enter the formation."
Before she finished speaking, the survivors scrambled into the formation's area.
"Hehehe..." The golden toad's bumpy Adam's apple bobbed, emitting a hoarse human voice: "A hundred years... Finally, someone has come for me to enjoy again."
Its emerald eyes darted across the crowd, its barbed tongue slowly licking its lips. "I didn't expect the illusion to be seen through. But..." A foul-smelling sap suddenly seeped from the pustules. "Since you're here, you'll all stay and become my food."
Its emerald eyes darted around, suddenly locking onto Bai Ying, "Especially you... your Nascent Soul stage body exudes an aura even more alluring than that of a Deity Transformation stage cultivator. It smells so good..."
The pustules on the golden toad's back suddenly began to writhe violently, and a distorted human face emerged from each pustules. These were the remnant souls of cultivators it had once devoured, now emitting silent wails.
The overwhelming pressure emanating from it, typical of a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, descended like a collapsing mountain. The array's light barrier trembled violently, and the cultivators inside all knelt on the ground.
"Late-stage Nascent Soul Realm..." An old man in the formation said, his face ashen. "This demonic beast is only one step away from breaking through to the Void Refinement Realm! It wants to use our life essence to complete its final transformation!"
Suddenly, the golden toad stood upright, its abdomen swollen like a ball. With a piercing "gurgle," it spewed out a cloud of poisonous mist. Wherever the mist passed, vegetation instantly rotted into pus, and even rocks were corroded into countless holes.
"Little girl, let me taste you!"
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