Chapter 246

"Aargh!"

The earth technique cultivator screamed hoarsely, staggering backward.

Yang Lingrui seized this moment to make his second decisive move.

He steadied himself and began forcibly breaking through to the twelfth-level Gathering Qi despite his injuries.

Refining the pair of hands solely with his own spiritual power proved too slow – he needed to channel natural spiritual energy into himself to speed up the refining process.

Before the earth technique cultivator could curse, he gaped at Yang Lingrui’s reckless action.

Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined this youngster would attempt a breakthrough right before his eyes!

"Impudent fool! Today I’ll slay you here and eliminate future troubles!"

"Rock Spirit Overturn!"

Clapping his palms together, he made the ground beneath them quake violently.

Yang Lingrui fought to keep his footing, but the crumbling earth forced him to halt refining and focus on survival.

The surrounding Rock Walls stood hundreds of feet tall, their sheer surfaces offering no handholds.

With no alternatives, he let himself drop downward, using falling debris as makeshift platforms to avoid burial.

Watching the struggling youth, the hovering cultivator sneered, "Futile resistance! Against others you might escape, but my confinement arts leave no possibility of flight."

"CRUSH!"

He slammed his palm downward again.

Yang Lingrui’s body turned leaden, plummeting into the deepening pit.

Upon impact, he channeled every drop of his spiritual power into the twin hands, forming a protective barrier around himself.

Though temporary, this shield offered better survival chances than being crushed outright.

Rumbling earth and stone swiftly buried the young cultivator.

Clutching his wounded abdomen, the earth technique cultivator glared at the collapsed pit.

Twice fooled before, he now kept his distance – victory would come when the boy’s spiritual power depleted.

"To force such measures… you’ve earned the genius title indeed."

"Fear not – after claiming your precious hands, I’ll regale all with tales of your valor!"

His face twisted into a greedy grin at the thought of obtaining the Spirit Communication avatar hands.

The triumph proved short-lived.

"What’s this colored light?"

His head snapped upward to discover the sky blanketed by radiant auroras – not merely locally, but across the entire northern front!

"What is this?"

A sense of foreboding suddenly gripped the earth technique cultivator.

"I can’t delay—I’ll seize them myself!"

Fearing complications, he ignored the risk of Yang Lingrui ambushing him again and plunged downward. Channeling true essence, he formed a luminous beam to dig through the earthen layer and snatch the two hands.

*Whoosh—*

A razor-thin golden light streaked from the heavens, scattering his true essence in one blow.

"A… gold thread?"

As he recognized the golden light, cold dread crawled up his spine. He hastily activated a defensive technique.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

He narrowly dodged, the gold thread technique nearly impaling him. Drenched in cold sweat, he turned to look—only to freeze in terror.

The colorful clouds above had split open as though space itself were tearing. Through the rift descended golden-robed cultivators radiating immense power, soaring toward battlefields across the land.

Meanwhile, in the eastern region palace of the Eastern Wilderness…

Great Prince gaped at the scene displayed in the precious mirror, rooted to the spot. Beside him, the female cultivator in red gasped.

"That’s the Murong Family’s blessed land of colorful clouds!"

Great Prince slammed his hand against the mirror. "Madness! That Tiger-Chasing old fool has dragged his entire lineage to the battlefield! Does he want his royal line exterminated?!"

Doubt crept into his heart—could he still win? He’d assumed sheer numbers guaranteed victory, but Tiger-Chasing wasn’t just fighting for land—they were staking everything. This wasn’t a border skirmish, but full-scale war!

His resolve crumbled until the red-clad cultivator pulled him close, soothing his mind with a technique. "Fear not, Your Majesty. Let Tiger-Chasing keep the southwest. We’ll take the Third Prince’s lands first."

"Right," Great Prince steadied himself. "No need to match their madness. Order the troops to withdraw and regroup! We strike the northwest instead!"

—

Northern front, battle zone.

A golden-robed woman descended along the glowing gold thread. Though not at the Condensing Essence stage, the golden light granted her the ability to control the wind.

The earth technique cultivator saw through her cultivation level but hesitated to attack. He yearned to flee yet couldn’t abandon the prize within reach.

"Greetings, elder." The woman spoke first. "I am Murong Qiuhan."

"Murong?!" The cultivator abandoned all pretense and bolted eastward.

"Leaving so soon?" Murong Qiuhan raised a jade seal. "You harmed our clan’s genius. This won’t end well."

*Go.*

The seal flew from her palm.

*BOOM!*

It swelled instantly into a mountain-sized colossus.

*Crush.*

The seal slammed earthward. Compared to its might, the cultivator’s technique resembled a pebble—instantly pulverized.

Daily check-in