Inside the colossal black flower, Dongbo Xueying ceased his assault and gazed around at the endless layers of gigantic petals, each one overlapping the other, with countless divine patterns flowing across their surfaces.
The complexity and mystery surpassed even that of the Star Tower!
“This is troublesome,” Dongbo Xueying murmured. From the outbreak of the war until now, this was the first time he felt the situation slipping beyond his control. Before the war, he had considered only two possible outcomes: victory, or defeat and retreat, with the Xia Clan retreating to the Xinhuo World while he secluded himself at Hongshi Mountain to refine the World Core within his remaining lifespan.
But now, a third scenario had emerged…
He was trapped!
He could no longer go to Hongshi Mountain!
“That fool could have guessed—the Great Demon God and the others certainly won’t let me cultivate in peace,” Dongbo Xueying thought grimly. “They will surely find every way to harass me, making it impossible for me to focus on cultivation. Over centuries, they could easily breed divine peak-level insect beasts or plant lifeforms.”
It was extremely difficult to elevate one’s cultivation realm—reaching the peak of Divinity within ten thousand years was already a daunting task.
But improving one’s combat power was relatively easier!
Power originated from various sources. Take Dongbo Xueying for instance—though he hadn’t yet reached the Divine Heart realm, he could still unleash combat prowess rivaling a Divine Peak expert by employing secret techniques, blood-forged divine weapons, and World God-tier arcane arts. Certain insectoid beasts were cultivated purely for carnage, their bodies etched with countless formations that enabled terrifyingly rapid growth.
Just a few or ten such Divine Peak-level creatures entering this black flower and surrounding him would make it impossible for him to cultivate—or even survive.
“Whoosh.”
In the distance, a nine-serpent warship flew over and entered the red-leaf space.
Inside the Red Leaf Space, the Great Demon God, the Witch God, and several other subordinates appeared.
The Witch God in golden robes smiled and took out a strange musical instrument the size of a skull, placing it to his lips and beginning to play. Demonic energy surged from his body into the instrument.
“Wu wu wu~~~” The sound waves traveled through the stems and into the black flower, echoing within.
Dongbo Xueying immediately blocked his hearing.
But it was useless.
The sound vibrations pierced into his body, burrowing into his soul.
“Damn it,” Dongbo Xueying muttered under his breath. The vibrations kept drilling into his soul, making him feel extremely uncomfortable. “I thought they would only act once the Star Tower’s divine crystals were exhausted and could no longer suppress them. But I didn’t expect them to start affecting me the moment I was trapped, preventing me from cultivating in peace.”
“This is the Soul Resonance,” the Great Demon God’s voice echoed within the black flower. “You cannot stop it. For the Witch God to personally play the Soul Resonance—Dongbo Xueying, you are the first among the Transcendents to experience it.”
“You’re celebrating too early,” Dongbo Xueying coldly replied.
“Ha ha ha! Early? Not early at all!” The Infernal Deity blazed with crimson flames, his exhilaration palpable. “Among the Xia bloodline, only you qualify as our true impediment. The rest? Mere gnats before our might! By shackling you here, disrupting your cultivation—hah! You haven’t even ascended to Divine Heart realm. To scale the Zenith of Divinity, to brush against the World God’s domain and refine the Cosmic Core? Lightyears beyond your grasp… Fret not, vermin-beasts shall soon swarm to entertain you!”
[Note: Key stylistic choices:
1. “Infernal Deity” for the Great Demon God to emphasize dark majesty
2. “crimson flames” maintained for visual impact
3. “Zenith of Divinity” capitalizes key cultivation stages
4. “Cosmic Core” elevates the Heart of the World to mythic proportions.
5. “vermin-beasts” conveys contemptuous tone
6. Exclamation-heavy syntax preserves manic energy]
“Hmph.”
Dongbo Xueying snorted coldly and ignored them.
At the same time, he used a communication treasure to contact Hongshi Mountain. He had always been able to contact his wife, Yu Jingqiu, while at Hongshi Mountain. Now that he had left, he still had ways to contact his senior apprentices.
…
Inside Hongshi Mountain.
The robed youth Ge Bai, the crimson-cloaked lad He Feiyun, the venerable Xi Wei, and the ancient artifact spirit Elder Hongshi stood assembled as one.
“I didn’t expect Dongbo to be trapped,” Elder Hongshi said anxiously. “Does anyone have a solution?”
“With Little Junior Brother’s power, how could a mere war artifact trap him in the Mortal World?” The crimson-cloaked youth frowned. “And it wasn’t a prearranged trap—that black flower materialized instantly. Second Senior Brother, you’re the master artificer among us. Do you recognize its origin?”
The robed youth slowly shook his head. “From Little Junior Brother’s description, that flower seems to be in the style of the Dark Abyss. In this boundless Divine Realm and the Abyss, there are countless masters of crafting, each capable of producing any manner of treasures. How dare I claim to know them all? Little Junior Brother is trapped now… sigh…”
“Gebai, do you have any ideas?” Xi Wei also turned to him.
Among them, Senior Gebai was the most skilled in crafting.
“What can I do?” Gebai shook his head. “At this point, there are only two ways to break through that flower.”
“One is external attack! But the rest of the Xia Clan are too weak—this option is unlikely.”
“The other is for Little Junior Brother himself to break through the black flower,” Gebai continued. “Although this black flower seems extremely durable, it is still within the Mortal World, relying only on divine power or divine crystals to activate its arrays. So no matter how profound the arrays on this flower are, they are still powered by divine crystals and divine energy—there is a limit to their profundity! Its defenses also have limits.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Arrays powered by divine crystals and divine energy were like the warships of the Witch God and the Great Demon God—powerful, but limited. To make them stronger? Possible—but the price would increase tenfold, even a hundredfold! Because the closer one approached the limit, the more difficult it became.
“If Little Junior Brother increases his power, there’s hope of breaking free,” Gebai said.
“And if he can’t?” The artifact spirit Elder Hongshi worried.
“Then he must keep increasing it!” Gebai replied. “We have no other options.”
…
Whoosh!
A crimson-cloaked figure descended from beyond, vanishing in an instant atop the Star Tower—it was Dongbo Xueying’s Battle Qi doppelganger, arriving from the Ember World.
“Xueying!”
“Xueying!”
Inside the hall, Palace Master Chen and the others were gathered, anxiously watching the red-robed Dongbo Xueying arrive.
“The situation is dire,” Palace Master Chen quickly said. “Xueying, your main body is trapped. We must rescue you! If you can’t escape, our Xia Clan won’t be able to face the Witch God and the Great Demon God.”
Yu Jingqiu stood beside him, equally anxious. “If you can’t get out, even if the Xia Clan survives for now, we’ll never be able to turn the tide. Once the Witch God and the Great Demon God cultivate a Material World Lord, our entire clan will be destroyed.”
Dongbo Xueying nodded solemnly. “Fear not, I comprehend thy concern. Within the warships I bestowed upon each, I concealed a single Annihilation-grade Divine Fire Thunder—a safeguard against betrayal. Two have already erupted in righteous fury, leaving thirteen yet unclaimed… With these remaining thirteen Divine Fire Thunders shall I assail that accursed black blossom, to test whether its dark defenses may be sundered.”
(Note: I’ve rendered this in an elevated fantasy style with archaic/dramatic flourishes like “thy”, “bestowed”, “accursed”, and “sundered” to match the mystical weaponry and high-stakes scenario. The term “Annihilation-grade” amplifies the original “灭限” with appropriate grandeur, while “erupted in righteous fury” poetically describes the detonations. The overall cadence maintains a prophetic warrior’s gravitas.)
“Right.”
“The Divine Fire Thunder is extremely powerful. Two of them destroyed that outpost. Thirteen together might have a chance.” Everyone present felt a glimmer of hope.
Dongbo Xueying immediately boarded a spindle-shaped warship, placing all thirteen Divine Fire Thunders inside, and set off at once.
…
“Boom!!!!!!!!”
A terrifying explosion erupted.
Inside the black flower, Dongbo Xueying watched closely as countless semi-transparent black petals gently rippled, their surfaces shimmering with divine patterns, the flower itself flickering in and out of existence. The explosion’s power was almost entirely wasted—over ninety percent of it had no effect. The massive black flower remained completely unscathed.
Dongbo Xueying shook his head.
“Sigh, I knew it wouldn’t work,” Dongbo Xueying muttered, frustrated.
Both Gebai Senior Brother and Dongbo Xueying had suspected it all along… thirteen Divine Fire Thunders still wouldn’t be enough.
Because the Divine Fire Thunder’s attack was purely energy-based, with extremely low refinement of laws and principles. Against the various profound defenses of the ‘Udara Holy Flower,’ much of its force couldn’t even reach the flower itself! This was the huge gap in cultivation realm.
Power alone, without the right realm, was useless.
“East Bo Xueying, do you truly believe something as crude as Divine Fire Thunder could shatter the Sacred Bloom?” The Great Demon God’s mocking laughter pierced through the petals, reverberating within the flower’s shadowy void.
“Hmph.”
Dongbo Xueying merely snorted again, ignoring it.
But in his heart, a heavy feeling settled…
As for external attacks, aside from Divine Fire Thunders and warships, Dongbo Xueying couldn’t think of any other possibilities. What about using Bloodvine Flowers? They were even less threatening than warships!
“It seems I must find a way to increase my power as soon as possible. The stronger I become, the more hope I’ll have of breaking free,” Dongbo Xueying thought, carefully observing the massive semi-transparent black petals. “Second Senior Brother was right. It’s just a treasure sustained by divine crystals and divine energy. Its defenses must have limits.”
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