Chapter 547 - 60: Golden Divine Tree

Venerable Red Hair had been drawn over by the fluctuations from the battle between Fang Cheng and the black-robed old man.

When he saw the "familiar" Sword Array and Profound Celestial Divine Puppet, his heart surged with turmoil.

His two great Profound Embryo Incarnations had fallen at this man’s hands.

The man before him had mysterious origins and astonishing methods. It seemed he possessed a Secret Technique capable of sensing the Taichu Divine Stone.

Unfortunately, he had no confidence he could capture this person.

After two millennia of cultivation, he, an existence nearly invincible on the Cangwu Continent, now hesitated as he looked upon the towering figure of the "Celestial Venerable of Universal Transformation."

The two of them stared at each other for a moment.

Venerable Red Hair suddenly let out a laugh, turned, and left.

Fang Cheng watched him depart, not letting his guard down in the slightest.

This Venerable Red Hair’s cultivation was even greater than the black-robed old man’s. Even within the Red Profound Association, he would rank among the top three.

Fang Cheng deduced he was likely at the Four- or Five-Tribulation level.

Moreover, the man had refined Profound Embryo Incarnations, and each one possessed power no less than that of a cultivator who had just entered the Tribulation Realm, or even a One-Tribulation Great Power.

Just like Venerable Red Hair, Fang Cheng also lacked the confidence of certain victory.

...

「Half a day later.」

Somewhere in the Black Sun Wind Disaster, Fang Cheng and Qiu Wen Si stood on the Bridge of Helplessness. Not far behind them was a black hurricane that stretched from heaven to earth.

At that moment, Fang Cheng was directing a beam of sword light, trapping a giant, patterned python with two wings on its back and calmly slaying it.

It was a fourth-rank ancient demon.

Fang Cheng made a grabbing motion with his right hand from a distance. The Demon Soul within the patterned python flew out, continuously morphing and shrinking amidst the Demonic Light. By the time it reached Fang Cheng, it was only about a foot long.

Qiu Wen Si extended a fair hand and gently touched the fourth-rank Demon Soul.

A dark green vortex appeared out of thin air behind her. As the vortex spun, it generated a powerful Devouring Power that sucked the python’s Demon Soul inside.

At the same time, the strange fragrance on Qiu Wen Si’s body grew even more intense.

In Fang Cheng’s eyes, not only was she exuding an alluring fragrance, but she had also become indescribably beautiful, stirring an irrepressible desire for possession from the depths of his soul.

Fang Cheng slapped Qiu Wen Si’s back, and a surge of vast and majestic Magical Power poured into her Qi Sea, helping her regulate the flow of energy in her body and refine the Demon Soul.

The power of the Demon Soul immediately merged with Qiu Wen Si’s own Magical Power.

Her Magical Power skyrocketed, quickly breaking through one barrier after another until she broke into the Dharma Realm.

An incomparably holy, pure white divine light emerged from Qiu Wen Si’s body, slowly coalescing into the form of a cold, proud, and majestic Goddess, which began absorbing the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

This was the heritage of the Yu Yang Sect.

With Fang Cheng’s help, Qiu Wen Si had successively devoured the Demon Souls of four ancient demons, finally breaking through to this new realm.

Fang Cheng couldn’t help but marvel at the potential of the "Spirit Vortex Dharma Body"; it was simply heaven-defying.

No wonder the black-robed old man had called it a rarity in this world!

The strange fragrance on Qiu Wen Si’s body could, by itself, attract all sorts of ancient demons and Celestial Demons.

With the help of an expert like Fang Cheng, Qiu Wen Si could almost endlessly devour all kinds of Demon Souls and rapidly increase her cultivation.

Even breaking through to the Tribulation Realm wouldn’t be out of the question.

"Alright, that’s enough for now. You’ve just entered the Dharma Realm, and your foundation is unstable. Wait until your cultivation stabilizes before you seek out more Demon Souls to refine."

Fang Cheng said.

In the years Qiu Wen Si had worked for him, she had been diligent and conscientious, so helping her with this was a simple matter.

The urgent matter at hand was still the search for the Golden Divine Tree.

"Thank you, Benefactor."

Qiu Wen Si withdrew her Dharma Aspect and gave Fang Cheng a graceful bow, her gratitude plain to see.

’When had she ever imagined that she, one day, would be able to touch the threshold of the Tribulation Realm?’

But now that she had cultivated a Dharma Aspect, her ambitions had risen with her power.

’Which cultivator in the world wouldn’t want to become a Tribulation Realm Great Power?’

’Her Spirit Vortex Dharma Body could devour and accommodate all kinds of Demon Souls. If she could find a Cultivation Technique for refining them, it would be like adding wings to a tiger, allowing her to soar to the heavens.’

’Of course, the most ideal situation would be to engage in Dual Cultivation. Not only could it help sort out the complex energies in her body and refine the power of the Demon Souls, but it would also benefit both parties.’

’No wonder that black-robed old man said I was an exceptional, Top-grade Tripod Furnace...’

Qiu Wen Si’s mind was a whirlwind of thoughts as she glanced at Fang Cheng, her expression unreadable.

’Relying on her own strength to explore the path to the Tribulation Realm would still be fraught with immense difficulties.’

’But if she could get her Benefactor’s help, breaking through to the Tribulation Realm would no longer be a difficult matter.’

’To her, Fang Cheng had already become her supreme "immortal opportunity" for breaking through to the Tribulation Realm in a short time.’

Fang Cheng didn’t notice the thoughts in the beautiful woman’s mind. He sealed her strange fragrance once more, then activated the Bridge of Helplessness to continue his search within the Black Sun Wind Disaster.

Although the Black Sun Wind Disaster was fraught with danger and bizarre occurrences, it was no match for experts like him and Venerable Red Hair.

Several days later, Fang Cheng encountered a fifth-rank ancient demon comparable to a Tribulation Realm Cultivator.

Without using the Feather Divine Soldiers, he relied on his cultivation and numerous Fifth-rank Magical Artifacts to slay it.

He also captured and stored the ancient demon’s Demon Soul.

Unfortunately, he still had no leads regarding the Golden Divine Tree.

To this end, Fang Cheng successively used three of the auspicious gods from the Four Pillar Divine Fiends—the Heavenly Virtue Nobleman, the Blessed Star, and the Moon Virtue—hoping to increase his good fortune and find the Demon-Suppressing Immortal Cicada sooner.

Several more days passed like this.

Seeing that the tornadoes between heaven and earth were about to dissipate and the light of the great sun from the outside world was faintly filtering in, Fang Cheng knew the Black Sun Wind Disaster was about to end. He couldn’t help but let out a long sigh and give up his search for now.

’I’ll just have to wait for the next time the Black Sun Wind Disaster appears.’

He brought the Bridge of Helplessness to a halt and stood upon it with his hands clasped behind his back, watching the various strange phenomena between heaven and earth gradually fade away and feeling this supreme power.

But at that moment, intense fluctuations from a battle of magical powers came from the distance.

Fang Cheng looked up, slightly surprised.

There had been no shortage of intense battles within the Black Sun Wind Disaster these past days, but this one was the most ferocious yet.

"At least five Tribulation Realm experts are clashing!"

"What kind of treasure could attract so many experts..."

Fang Cheng looked into the distance with great interest.

Qiu Wen Si asked, "Benefactor, should we go take a look?"

Fang Cheng smiled. "We have nothing else to do anyway. Why not go broaden our horizons?"

With that, he brought out the Feather Divine Soldiers again and led Qiu Wen Si into the cockpit.

The Feather Divine Soldiers transformed into a bolt of lightning, flashed suddenly, and tore through the sky.

In just a moment, Fang Cheng arrived at the site of the battle.

A flash of golden radiance entered his vision, causing his eyes to light up.

In the sky, a jet-black tornado was about to dissipate, and within it stood a massive, entirely golden tree.

"Of course! How could I have forgotten to search inside the tornadoes!"

Fang Cheng slapped his thigh in a moment of sudden realization.

The trunk of the Golden Divine Tree looked as if it were cast from gold, its bark covered with countless Dragon Scale Threads. On its lush crown, innumerable golden leaves swayed, divine light flowing through their veins. One look was enough to know it was no ordinary object.

Beneath the tree was a Floating Island, covered in fragrant green grass and dotted with strange rocks, creating a strong visual contrast with the Golden Divine Tree.

At this very moment, five Tribulation Realm Great Powers were fighting over this tree.

Fang Cheng had seen two of them before: Venerable Red Hair and the black-robed old man.

After being killed by Fang Cheng, the black-robed old man had managed to recover through a bizarre Divine Technique of rebirth from a drop of blood, but his cultivation had already fallen to the level of someone who had just entered the Tribulation Realm. He was the weakest of the five.

Venerable Red Hair’s expression was grim. Standing on a vast cloud of blood, he scattered bolts of Blood Thunder with every move, fighting one against four without falling into a disadvantage.

Among the remaining three—two men and a woman—Fang Cheng recognized two of them from the texts and jade slips given to him by the Divine Image Sect over the years.

One was the Sect Leader of the Cyan Emperor Sect, and the other was the Bamboo Immortal Sect Master.

The Cyan Emperor Sect’s Sect Leader was a burly and imposing middle-aged man. Spiritual light rippled around him as volatile energy collided, shaking the very void.

Three Fifth-grade Talismans circled around him, each possessing a different Divine Technique for either offense or defense, tying up half of Venerable Red Hair’s attention.

The Bamboo Immortal Sect Master was a dignified and beautiful mature woman. Standing on a verdant bamboo raft, she controlled twelve swords made of golden thunder bamboo, forming a Sword Array to attack Venerable Red Hair in concert with the Cyan Emperor Sect’s Sect Leader.

The last man gave Fang Cheng a very strange feeling. He wore a suit of Profound Gold Battle Armor, his entire body encased in Profound Iron Immortal Gold. Even his eyes were covered by Glazed Beads, and only his build indicated he was a man.

This man wielded a Fangtian Halberd and possessed outstanding combat power, yet he was unwilling to go all out in killing Venerable Red Hair. He clearly had other concerns, worried that after Venerable Red Hair was defeated, the Golden Divine Tree would be snatched up by the Cyan Emperor Sect’s Sect Leader and the Bamboo Immortal Sect Master.

As for the black-robed old man, he was even more erratic, flitting about with the same idea as the armored man—pretending to fight while conserving his strength, waiting for an opportunity to snatch the treasure.

When Fang Cheng arrived, all five people on the field grew wary and became vigilant.

Fang Cheng frowned as he looked at the dissipating black hurricane.

Although he wasn’t interested in the Golden Divine Tree, searching for the Taichu Divine Stone beneath it meant he would have to face the siege of these five people.

Unless...

At this thought, an idea sparked. The "Celestial Venerable of Universal Transformation" opened its massive hand, and a lustrous golden cauldron of strange and ancient design materialized out of thin air!

The moment the cauldron appeared, the strange birds and exotic beasts carved upon its body instantly let out countless cries—chirps, squawks, roars, and howls all mixed together into a deafening chorus.

He stayed far from the five-person battle, summoned the Nine Yi Cauldron, and aimed it at the Golden Divine Tree from a distance.

The cauldron’s lid opened, and boundless golden specks and red threads shot out like a spinning wheel of lightning, erupting in a thousand streams of auspicious energy mixed with ten thousand points of golden starlight, all hurtling toward the Golden Divine Tree.

The radiant light was so intense that even the Tribulation Realm Great Powers on the field found it too dazzling to keep their eyes open.

Venerable Red Hair let out a furious roar as his blood cloud swept out to meet the radiant light of the Nine Yi Cauldron.

BOOM!

The void trembled violently. The Golden Divine Tree was uprooted by the pulling force, but the blood cloud’s interference caused it to be flung in the direction of the Cyan Emperor Sect’s Sect Leader instead.

The Cyan Emperor Sect’s Sect Leader was overjoyed. He quickly summoned a verdant talisman, and thousands of green vines shot out from the void, wrapping tightly around the Golden Divine Tree.

The next instant, a talisman behind him manifested the phantom image of a Kun-Peng spreading its wings. An endless astral wind swept him up, carrying him swiftly into the distant sky.

The Bamboo Immortal Sect Master did her utmost to block Venerable Red Hair, buying time for the Cyan Emperor Sect’s Sect Leader.

The remaining black-robed old man and the man in Profound Armor chased after the Cyan Emperor Sect’s Sect Leader.

Venerable Red Hair snorted coldly. A seven-colored brilliance flashed behind him, and two Profound Embryo Incarnations stepped out to confront the Bamboo Immortal Sect Master.

Then, ignoring the beautiful woman, his blood cloud flickered and shot off in the direction the Cyan Emperor Sect’s Sect Leader had disappeared.

Judging by his speed, he was several degrees faster than both the black-robed old man and the man in Profound Armor.

Fang Cheng steered the Feather Divine Soldiers, taking advantage of the moment the hurricane was about to dissipate. He charged onto the Floating Island, and countless sword beams descended, instantly breaking the island apart. The Feather Divine Soldiers snatched three pieces of the Taichu Divine Stone from within the debris.

...