At the top of this peculiar fruit tree, the gray eye continued to exude its ancient, overwhelming pressure, unchanged for countless eons. Its internal structure was even more unfathomably profound. What level had Dongbo Xueying reached now? Even a speck of dust, under his gaze, could expand into what seemed like a vast continent, revealing the deepest layers of its composition—manifestations of the rules governing the operation of a Source World in material form.
And now!
As Dongbo Xueying observed this gray eye, an expression of shock involuntarily crossed his face. Compelled by fascination, he immediately focused his attention on scrutinizing it.
The gray eye rapidly expanded in his vision, growing larger and larger—until it became boundless!
The very structure of this gray eye was ineffably mysterious.
Dongbo Xueying’s physical body, comparable to that of a ‘Cosmos God at the pinnacle of body-refinement,’ contained countless wonders—every drop of blood, every cell brimming with profound mysteries. By the same token, this ‘gray eye’ was even more enigmatic than his own flesh.
“Exquisite,” he murmured, utterly entranced. “The pinnacle of beauty.”
“Emperor Feixue, we are preparing to depart. Do you wish to accompany us?” A voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
Dongbo Xueying glanced at His Highness Bloodflame Ji, who was locked in combat with the ‘Monarch’ of the Deathless Clan.
“Leave? Are you certain?” Dongbo Xueying transmitted back, surprised. Escaping the floating island’s territory would take considerable time.
“We have our methods,” Bloodflame Ji replied. “We are about to act. Will you join us?”
“No need to worry about me. This is merely one of my many avatars,” Dongbo Xueying responded calmly. With countless avatars at his disposal, the loss of one mattered little. Besides, he still wished to study the gray eye further.
“Emperor Feixue, the Bloodflame Clan will not forget your aid today. We shall meet again beyond this floating island,” Bloodflame Ji transmitted.
“Very well. Until then,” Dongbo Xueying acknowledged.
At the same time, he was deeply curious.
The native inhabitants were desperately charging toward the peculiar fruit tree, while the ‘Monarch’ of the Deathless Clan relentlessly obstructed them, focusing most of his fury on Bloodflame Ji.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!” The towering, shadowy giant struck with unimaginable force, though his techniques were crude and direct. Bloodflame Ji foolishly met each blow head-on, barely enduring only because Dongbo Xueying’s illusions suppressed the Monarch’s strength to seventy percent of its usual might.
“His endurance is astounding,” Dongbo Xueying thought, inwardly awed.
At full power, the shadowy giant’s might rivaled that of ‘Undying Netherworld Emperor’ during his desperate assault on Feixue City. Yet even the Undying Netherworld Emperor couldn’t sustain such terrifying power indefinitely. In a direct confrontation, the Emperor might briefly gain the upper hand, but over time, he would inevitably be overwhelmed—though self-preservation would remain within his grasp.
“To think that even an ordinary floating island in the vast Broken Tooth Mountain Range harbors such strength,” Dongbo Xueying mused, shaken.
While cultivators excelled in esoteric techniques, granting them greater survivability at lower power levels, absolute force could still crush all finesse.
When the disparity in power reached a certain threshold, even the most refined techniques would be swept aside.
“The native clans are said to carry a trace of the bloodline of Primordial Chaos lifeforms, granting them absurdly powerful bodies. And this Bloodflame Ji’s physique is even more terrifying,” Dongbo Xueying assessed.
After a brief observation, he returned his attention to the gray eye, studying it intently, lost in contemplation. A faint smile even crept onto his face.
—
Meanwhile, the ‘Monarch’ seethed with rage—rage directed at Dongbo Xueying.
It was this accursed cultivator who forced him to divert his focus, weakening his strength! Yet none of his subordinates—not even the Grand Elder—had come to his aid. The Grand Elder had sent word that he was tracking that sword-wielding cultivator instead.
Alone, the Monarch struggled to fend off Bloodflame Ji and his four battle formations, each of which rivaled Bloodflame Ji in power. Distracted, he couldn’t spare a strike against Dongbo Xueying, lest the natives seize the opportunity to plunder the Netherspirit Fruits.
“Boom!”
One of Bloodflame Ji’s battle formations suddenly erupted with power.
The three warriors within it each donned strange crimson armor. As the armor’s runes merged, the formation’s might surged—reaching the level of the Grand Elder himself, surpassing even Bloodflame Ji. Empowered, the formation lunged toward the fruit tree.
“The Bloodflame Clan even brought their ancestral treasure?” the Monarch exclaimed in disbelief.
The Bloodflame Sacred Armor—three sets in total—was the clan’s most prized relic. In eras without a supreme powerhouse to protect the clan, three elders would wield these armors, combining their strength to safeguard their people.
Such a treasure was never to be risked lightly. Yet here they were, venturing into the floating island with it! Had the white-robed cultivator not appeared, and had the Grand Elder and others not been present, the Bloodflame Clan’s situation would have been far worse. Defeat would mean losing their sacred armor forever!
“Have the Bloodflame Clan gone mad?” the Monarch wondered. He had clashed with them many times over the ages, for the Netherspirit Fruits were crucial to awakening their bloodline power. But never had they been so reckless!
“Damn it all!”
Hampered by his weakened state, the Monarch found Bloodflame Ji and the four formations formidable opponents—especially now that one formation had grown even stronger. Unlike the Grand Elder, the Monarch excelled in close combat, lacking wide-area techniques to control the battlefield. In an instant, the empowered formation broke through his defenses.
“Now!”
With their comrades covering them, the formation reached the fruit tree in a flash.
“No!” the Monarch roared, but it was too late.
The tree bore only two fruits. Almost simultaneously, the Monarch and the formation each seized one.
“You dare take them before they’re ripe?” the Monarch bellowed.
“Wait until they ripen, and they’d be yours alone!”
Bloodflame Ji and his men were ecstatic. Though unripe, the fruits still held half their potency.
“Retreat!”
The Bloodflame Clan forces converged, their formations dissolving until only Bloodflame Ji remained. He crushed a withered leaf in his hand.
A ripple of energy enveloped him. With a final glance and a faint smile toward Dongbo Xueying, he vanished.
“Damn you! Damn you all!!!” The Monarch’s furious roar shook the Elder Hall, its shockwaves battering Dongbo Xueying, who hastily retreated. Fortunately, his combat prowess and physique allowed him to withstand the outburst—though barely.
“Fleeing?”
The Monarch turned his wrath toward Dongbo Xueying, charging at him with terrifying speed.
This cultivator had robbed him of his subordinates, leaving him alone to face the Bloodflame Clan. Had his forces remained, he could have easily crushed them. Now, with only one unripe fruit—useless to him, though still valuable to lesser ‘Kings’—he faced an agonizing wait for the next harvest.
“Too fast!”
Despite Dongbo Xueying’s swift escape, the Monarch could teleport at will. Previously occupied with the natives, he now closed the distance in an instant. A massive, shadowy palm descended, leaving Dongbo Xueying no room to evade. His defensive techniques were laughable against such might.
“Boom.”
Against an invincible existence like the Monarch, even Dongbo Xueying’s primary combat avatar would be crippled in a single strike. Only someone like Bloodflame Ji—with invincible-level power and an indomitable physique—could endure for so long, and even he had suffered grievous injuries.
Under the overwhelming force, Dongbo Xueying’s avatar disintegrated without a trace. Yet as it vanished, he remained composed, even smiling faintly. With tens of thousands of avatars, the loss of one meant nothing to him.
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