Chapter 303 A Love Tribulation That's Hard to Overcome (Twenty-Six)
Although this peach branch saved most of the cultivation world, the various sects and families under the tree were not only related by distance and kinship, but also by old and new grudges. Even if someone like Chang Ping'an was willing to sacrifice their cultivation to block the black energy in front, it was hard to guarantee that their enemies wouldn't make a move. And how could they guarantee that the powerful figures wouldn't attack the weak and force them to the front...
Almost instantly, the crowd under the tree began to stir, turning their attention to their enemies.
"This is terrible." Lu Liyu whispered to Jiang Xiangyun, "We might as well all wait to die together. Just wait, something bad is bound to happen within half an incense stick's time. I'm afraid these people won't die in the black aura, but will instead die in their own infighting."
As Jiang Xiangyun listened to his words, he stepped forward to block Xiao Dan, who was about to attack Chang Ping'an.
Xiao Dan smiled and said, "Patriarch Jiang, you can stop me, but can you stop everyone else?"
"Not everyone," an aged voice rang out. "Disciples of the Yaoyan Temple, heed my command."
"Disciples are here," many disciples responded.
"Anyone who fails to ascend can have their cultivation abolished and be placed in front of the tree," the Grand Elder said slowly.
Wen Xiuji's pupils contracted sharply, and he said urgently, "Elder, you mustn't!"
"We were unlucky. The Chaos Core failed to ascend during its existence and became the so-called Half-Immortal Clan. Although the Chaos Core has now returned to the Upper Realm, our Half-Immortal Clan still has no hope of ascension." The Grand Elder said calmly, "Now, abandoning our cultivation and returning to our origin may not be without a glimmer of hope. If you want to waste your lives in this realm, I will not stop you. It is entirely up to you to decide."
As soon as he finished speaking, he had already destroyed his cultivation and stood alone in the black mist.
Seeing this, many more disciples of the Yaoyan Temple abandoned their cultivation and stood with him.
Meanwhile, many of Chang Ping'an's disciples had already followed their junior uncle's example, abandoning their cultivation and standing in front of everyone.
Wen Xiuji stared at these people in astonishment, utterly bewildered. However, he still had no intention of abandoning his cultivation. Although the Grand Elder's words had convinced many half-immortals, the hope was still too slim for him. Everyone has their own ambitions, and he would rather live a peaceful life in the lower realm. If his fellow clansmen were to ascend to immortality in the future, he would not regret it.
After thinking it over, he swung his longsword and stood behind the group of half-immortals, saying, "Since the Grand Elder insists on this, then I will protect you all. Let's see who dares to make a rash move."
Most of the semi-immortals live long lives, waiting in despair. Now, they would rather abandon their cultivation to gain an opportunity. There are also many righteous cultivators who are willing to sacrifice their cultivation to stand in front of everyone. But most cultivators watch all this in silence with complicated feelings.
But the number of people is still too small.
Upon seeing this, Wen Hanjiu immediately conjured a vine umbrella. The vines, which covered the sky and blocked out the sun, wrapped around the peach branch, filling most of the gap. Then, she abandoned her cultivation and merged with the peach branch.
“A-Jiu?” Chang Ping’an was taken aback. “You don’t need to do this.”
Wen Hanjiu cultivates neither the Dao of the Common People nor the Half-Immortal Clan. Moreover, he is a divine artifact secretly chosen by Jiang Gu. If he ascends to immortality in the future, a bright future awaits him.
“Saving people is also a meritorious deed. Even after I ascend to immortality, I should still do the same thing. In essence, it’s all the same. So what difference does it make if I do it before I ascend?” Wen Hanjiu could no longer transform into human form, and his consciousness was gradually returning to the vine’s original form. He smiled and said, “Ping An, I’m so happy to have a friend like you. I have no regrets in this life.”
Chang Ping'an looked down at the vines wrapped around his wrist, and after a long while said, "Me too."
Unfortunately, Wen Hanjiu can no longer hear it.
"Jiang family disciples, listen to my command! Protect the half-immortal cultivators! Anyone who dares to disturb them, kill them!" Jiang Xiangyun decisively gave the order upon seeing the situation, leading Lu Liyu and the Jiang family disciples to block the group of half-immortal cultivators and the enormous vine umbrella.
The terrifying black aura finally slowed its corrosive advance, forming a delicate balance with the peach blossom branch that was protecting everyone.
Meanwhile, in the Upper Realm, the Mihua Realm.
While holding back the entrance to the Mi Hua Realm with Zi Guang and the others, Jiang Gu kept a close eye on Wei Feng's situation. His divine sense had spread throughout the entire Mi Hua Realm, not missing a single move in the dead lands within its borders. Finally, he discovered that the turbid air was exceptionally faint in a certain place.
With a thought, he was already in front of him. Without hesitation, he reached out and, sure enough, pulled out a palm-sized, irregularly shaped object from the soil. Because it had absorbed the turbid air, the originally colorless and formless object had turned into a light black color, and its shape had been squeezed into a ball by the ghost patterns mixed in with the turbid air. He immediately fused this piece of formless wood into the magic array, and merged it with Wei Feng's half piece of immortal bone.
After the blinding light subsided, Jiang Gu found a completely black key in his palm.
Just when everyone thought he was going to use the key-shaped object to separate Wei Feng from the Chaos Core, he instead fused the key into his own primordial spirit.
"Master?!" Wei Feng was stunned for a moment, then sensed something was wrong. "What are you planning to do?"
“You previously devoured the container chosen by the Chaos Core, and for tens of thousands of years, the container has long been inseparable from you. Since you absorbed the Chaos Core, you have long since merged with it. For so long, the Heavenly Dao has tried every means to kill you, and no matter how many lightning tribulations it has sent down, it has been unable to separate you from the container. How could a mere piece of Formless Wood possibly do that?” Jiang Gu knew he was afraid, and while slowly absorbing the chaotic energy using the key, he patiently explained to him, “I took the Formless Wood not to separate the Chaos Core from you, but to obtain the power of the Chaos Core within you.”
Wei Feng was taken aback: "Why?"
He was simply puzzled, because if Jiang Gu Ruo really wanted the power of the Chaos Core, he would give it to her even if it meant giving up all his cultivation; there was no need for such trouble.
Jiang Gu smiled and said, "Naturally, it's because I want the Three Realms and the Nine Provinces, and even the entire Upper Heaven. The power of the Sixteen Heavenly Immortals is simply not enough for me. I started planning to descend to the mortal realm to undergo the tribulation of love, all for today. It's just that your memories of these things were left in this half of the immortal bone."
Wei Feng sensed something was wrong. He frowned and asked, "Master?"
He believed that his master wanted to unify the three realms, after all, Jiang Gu had never hidden his ambition and arrogance. But he didn't believe that his master would want the power of the Chaos Core in his body, after all, Jiang Gu was extremely arrogant and would not care about anything that was not his own.
Jiang Gu raised an eyebrow slightly, signaling him to calm down.
Wei Feng gritted his teeth and glared at him.
With enough chaotic energy within his body, Jiang Gu activated the key, and with a single sword strike, he cleaved a gash in the sky above the entire Mi Hua Realm. In an instant, the Mi Hua Realm expanded countless times, encompassing everyone in the Three Realms and Nine Provinces who were still unaware of what had happened. With his own power, he carried the entire Mi Hua Realm straight to the heavens. Wherever the Mi Hua Realm passed, no one was spared; they were all absorbed into it, and even the immortal power within their bodies rapidly dissipated.
"What's going on here?" Yong'an looked at the unfamiliar surroundings and grabbed a tree branch for support. But upon closer inspection, he realized it was the skeleton of a giant beast.
Yun Guang and Chao Su were also confused. Just a moment ago, they were pouring the power of chaos into the lower realm, but in the blink of an eye, the situation changed and they found themselves in a different place, with many soldiers and generals from the Three Realms behind them.
"Why is my power disappearing?" Yun Guang's expression changed drastically.
Yong'an panicked: "My immortal power—what on earth is going on?"
Everyone within the Mi Hua Realm panicked, because without exception, the immortal power within their bodies was rapidly dissipating. Only Wu Fang had a strange expression—his corrupted immortal bones were gradually beginning to recover as his power disappeared!
The immortals of Yaoshuo Palace, who were stationed in various places preparing to seal the entire upper realm at any time, were also puzzled. Yaoshuo had no choice but to show himself and signaled the immortals to calm down. Then, in a desolate place, he found his good son who should have been at the end of the Nine Provinces.
Before he could even speak to Jiang Gu, Jiang Gu had already landed steadily in front of the Divine Gate with the entire Mi Hua Realm. As the chaotic energy within his body increased, the power he absorbed also became more and more immense. Without exception, all of this power had passed through Wei Feng. However, at this moment, he could only act as a medium for converting power. If he made any rash moves, it would damage Jiang Gu's very foundation. But these terrifying powers made him tremble with fear—even if Jiang Gu was an immortal, he was far from being able to withstand so much immortal power and chaotic energy.
The sixteenth heaven is the end.
Ling Yin's avatar struggled to hold on, and just as the divine gate was about to break open, she closed her eyes, ready to accept her fate of destruction. But in the next instant, a golden hand, even larger than her avatar, covered the back of her avatar's hand and firmly closed the divine gate that was about to open.
"Mother," Jiang Gu's cold voice rang in her ear, "Leave this to me."
Ling Yin's expression changed drastically: "Why are you here?!"
Jiang Gu walked up to her in his true form and bowed to her: "Lord Ling Yin, as the Lord of the Sixteenth Heaven, I request that you withdraw from this place."
Ling Yin's face turned cold: "How dare you! I am ordered by Heaven to guard the Divine Gate. How dare you decide whether I stay or leave?"
“Not anymore.” Jiang Gu held her shoulders, turned around and pushed her behind him, throwing her into Yao Shuo’s arms as he rushed over.
Yao Shuo quickly caught his Daoist partner and said sternly, "Yao Yan, how could you lay a hand on your mother?"
"Not only Lingyin, but anyone who dares to stop me, I will kill." Jiang Gu pointed his long sword at Tiaoxu and slowly spoke in front of the immortals, "Immortal Tiaoxu, twenty thousand years ago you secretly pried open the seal barrier of the Chaos Core, causing the Chaos Core to fall into the lower realm, preventing anyone in that small world from successfully ascending for tens of thousands of years. All the ascension fortune of that realm went to you. Do you know your crime?"
Tiaoxu laughed and said, "Immortal Yaoyan, without any evidence, what makes you say such a thing?"
Jiang Gu looked down at him and said, "Now, in order to muddy the waters, you ordered Yong'an to sow discord between Yun Guang and Chao Su, and to introduce chaotic energy into the lower realm. Those cultivators whose fortune you stole have already exhausted their cultivation in order to protect themselves. The fortune on your body has also dissipated. How do you explain this?"
Tiao Xu's expression changed, but it was too late. His fortune was rapidly fading away, and the immortals present were no ordinary people. Despite his hasty attempt to conceal it, they had already clearly seen the source of his fortune—an immortal's fortune comes from governing various realms and would not be so singular and concentrated. He had obviously condensed the most powerful fortune of a realm into himself.
Before the crowd could discuss it, Jiang Gu said, "Since you have committed such a serious crime, you should pay the price for it."
Tiaoxu said in a deep voice, "You are just a minor immortal who is only a few tens of thousands of years old. Do you really think you can act lawlessly just because I call you a 'high immortal'?"
He raised his hand, and the surrounding immortal power gathered and rushed straight towards Jiang Gu, but it didn't even touch Jiang Gu's sleeve. The Dharma image and true body behind him turned into dust, and the primordial spirit and the original immortal god were held in Jiang Gu's Dharma image's hand.
The next instant, his primordial spirit turned into a wisp of green smoke and was sucked into the tightly closed divine gate.
"Immortal Tiaoxu has violated the Heavenly Rules by taking action against the mortal realm without authorization. He has now been sacrificed to the Divine Gate. Do any of you immortals have any objections?" Jiang Gu asked, looking around with his sword in hand.
The immortals all looked at each other, not daring to say anything.
After all, they could clearly feel the power within their bodies draining away, while the Dharma image behind Jiang Gu was growing larger and larger. Correspondingly, the divine gate that had been forcibly closed was also shaking more and more violently.
Jiang Gu twitched the corner of his mouth and turned to open the divine gate.
"Yao Yan!"
"Master!"
Wei Feng, Ling Yin, Yao Shuo, and others spoke up one after another.
"Yaoyan, what exactly do you want to do?" Ling Yin asked Jiang Gu with concern and sternness as he tried to stop the power within him from disappearing. "Do you know what's inside the Divine Gate?"
"Of course I know," Jiang Gu said calmly. "I urge the High God to lead all the immortals to guard the Upper Realm."
As soon as he finished speaking, a jet-black key appeared on the Dharma image behind him, and then he opened the divine gate without hesitation and leaped into the air.
Wei Feng, who was wrapped around the Seven Killing Flower Tree, suddenly narrowed his eyes. Fortunately, he was prepared and decisively abandoned the ghost patterns all over his body and followed him in. Relying on the ghost pattern that had been imprinted on Jiang Gu's lower back, he accurately found Jiang Gu's figure in the void and then hugged him tightly.
As Jiang Gu and Wei Feng leaped into the Divine Gate, the chaos within surged out in a frenzy. The immortals of the Upper Realm all paled and tried their best to resist, but their immortal power had already been largely absorbed by Jiang Gu without their knowledge. Faced with such immense power, they appeared so insignificant and vulnerable.
However, just when everyone thought their death was imminent, the terrifying power of chaos passed through their true bodies and primordial spirits, surging wildly into the Mi Hua Realm blocking the gate to the gods. This ancient divine realm, which had long since withered, became the best buffer zone, blocking the maximum destruction caused by the chaos. The entrance that Zi Guang, Feng Ji, and the others guarded had now become the outlet for the chaos. Dense ghost patterns wove a net with tiny holes, forcing the chaos to pour out slowly. The Seven Killing Flower Tree became the mainstay in blocking the chaos, firmly rooted at the end of the sixteenth heaven.
The endless sky fell into a chilling silence, as if there were no living things, and time and space stood still.
Tianmen, who was dozing off, slowly opened his eyes, looked in that direction, and suddenly froze.
The chaos did not pour down.
A petal of the Seven Killings Flower drifted leisurely to the Heavenly Gate. The Worry-Free Beast, which was fast asleep at its feet, flicked its tail, turned over, and continued to sleep.
The moment the petals fell to the ground, time seemed to stretch infinitely. The scene at the end of the sky appeared in the eyes of the Heavenly Gate in perfect detail. The desolate and barren land of Mihua Realm overlapped with the vibrant and spiritually rich space at the end of the sixteenth Heaven. Many immortals in the Upper Heaven stared in astonishment at the half-open divine gate in front of them. Ling Yin reached out her hand towards the divine gate with a sorrowful expression. Yao Shuo stopped her by the shoulder. The people who had fought in the Three Realms were dead and wounded, and they stood helplessly on the barren land, looking up at the divine gate. Many scattered immortals and demons from the Nine Provinces, who were also confused, also looked up, gazing at the magnificent and enormous divine gate that seemed so grand to them.
The enormous Seven Killing Flower Tree took root, and several young immortals guarded the exit of the Mi Hua Realm with all their might, trying their best to prevent the chaos from spilling out even a little bit, even though the ghost patterns around them were already stretched to the limit, as if they would break at any moment.
Beneath the Seven Killing Flower Tree, the scene of a small world below was reflected. Countless cultivators, having exhausted their cultivation, stood on the edge of a flower tree, blocking the invasion of chaotic energy. They looked so small and fragile, yet they forced the chaotic energy to stop advancing even a fraction further.
Looking across the entire upper realm, it had long since become empty and silent, devoid of any living creature.
Only in the Yaoyan Immortal Palace beneath the endless sky, two little immortals, sleeves tucked in, looked down at a koi swimming in the immortal pool, the ripples on the water frozen in this very moment.
The vibrant petals fell slowly, landing on the carefree beast's brow.
Time suddenly resumed its flow. The chaos that was about to break free from the ghost patterns seemed to be forcefully pulled back by an invisible force, rushing through everyone's bodies and surging back to the Divine Gate with lightning speed. It was so fast that it seemed to be just a fleeting illusion in everyone's haste. At almost the same time, the Seven Killing Flower Tree in the Upper Realm and the Peach Blossom Branch in the Lower Realm disappeared. Along with them, the chaotic energy that surged and spread between the Upper and Lower Realms also disappeared.
As the divine gate closed shut, the world suddenly became clear and bright.
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