Chapter 260: The Treasury

Death did not frighten Dongbo Xueying.

Since his youth, he had been ruthless with himself. For his younger brother, he had dared to enter the Destruction Mountains and battle ferocious beasts! His character, forged in his youth, had only sharpened over time, making his heart as sharp as a blade. He was decisive in action and merciless toward himself. Even when cornered in a desperate situation, he remained calm, never giving up, desperately seeking even a sliver of hope for survival. Yet deep down, he also realized this time might be his end.

His parents were still alive, and his younger brother matured enough to care for them. Dongbo Xueying had no great worries about them. At this moment, however, his heart ached most for Jing Qiu—he felt he owed her the most.

Jing Qiu had always been by his side, from the Chiyun Mountain World to Xueshi Castle. Their relationship had never been grand or dramatic, yet they understood each other deeply. Sometimes, even without a word, a single glance was enough to convey their thoughts. But… he had never officially given her a name, never rushed to do so. They were both still so young among the Transcendents. Yet now, time seemed to have run out for them both.

“Jing Qiu, I’m sorry,” Dongbo Xueying murmured silently.

“But—”

“Killing me, Dongbo Xueying, won’t be that easy!” His eyes flared wildly, like burning flames, his very life force igniting. Gripping his Xingshi Huoyun Spear with both hands, he fought desperately to resist.

The spear twirled like the turning of stars and earth.

Was he to be defeated?

His spear darted like lightning, piercing the air with ultimate precision to counter the assault!

Yet the Wushen Sword surged forth like an unstoppable tide, its power overwhelming. Although Dongbo Xueying’s spear techniques subtly improved in this moment of crisis, it made no difference. Even if his Ultimate Penetration, Star True Intent, and Void True Intent had all reached the peak of the first realm, he still had no strength to resist before the Wushen Sword. The gap between them was simply too vast!

“Boom!” The Wushen Sword, wild and unyielding, tore through his divine armor—an azure jade armor transformed from his divine artifact—and struck against a protective water barrier. The barrier’s power was already waning.

“This protective item has already been consumed by half,” Dongbo Xueying thought grimly. The protective Purple Lightning had already been completely exhausted. Fortunately, when he had killed the High Priest Xi Yun, he had obtained countless treasures from the Demon God Cult’s headquarters. He had once told Palace Master Chen that they would divide the treasures after the mission. He had just returned Puyang Bo, and now he had been ambushed so soon.

The treasures from the Demon God Cult’s headquarters—those that could be destroyed had already been destroyed. There were countless unusable divine artifacts, a large number of semi-divine artifacts, Saint-tier weapons, and some unique treasures. For example, powerful formation tools capable of one-time use, similar to the ‘Protective Purple Lightning.’

Because they could be destroyed, High Priest Xi Yun had already destroyed most of them. Although Dongbo Xueying had obtained the entire treasure vault, he had only managed to recover six usable protective treasures.

Only six?

The Protective Purple Lightning had barely lasted ten seconds! The main reason it lasted that long was because the Wushen Sword was being manipulated in the Void Realm, making it difficult for Elder Orland. Even then, the Purple Lightning had barely held for ten seconds. How long could the remaining six treasures last? From what Dongbo Xueying had sensed, these six were not much stronger than the Purple Lightning—some slightly better, others even weaker.

“Xueying, you must hold on! We need only one teacup’s time! In one teacup’s time, we will definitely break the formation and rescue you. We will do our best to be faster. You must hold on!” The message from Palace Master Chen reached his mana projection.

“One teacup’s time?” Dongbo Xueying gritted his teeth.

In the past, one teacup’s time seemed incredibly short. But now, every second was unbearably long. One teacup’s time? Even if he used up all the protective treasures, he couldn’t even withstand half of it.

…

“Eastbow Xueying is approaching us!” Elder Orland, sensing Dongbo Xueying’s position through the Wushen Sword, noticed that while under attack, Dongbo Xueying was moving toward them through the Void Realm.

“Keep your distance from him,” Elder Orland transmitted, “he’s at his most desperate now. Under the suppression of the Wushen Sword, his flight speed is slower than ours. As long as we keep moving, he will never catch up.”

Elder Orland, along with the Azure Nightmare King, the Spider Empress, and the cold-hearted black-clad woman, all maintained a distance as they flew.

Whoosh.

Suddenly, a hand emerged from the void, and a black bottle flew out, its cap already removed. From the bottle poured forth a surge of raging black flames. These dark flames carried terrifying coldness, spreading wildly in all directions. In the blink of an eye, the black flames had filled a two-hundred-mile expanse.

“This is the Abyssal Demon Flame,” Elder Orland frowned.

“Fools from the Demon God Cult, unable to help themselves, only handing treasures to the Xia Clan!” The Azure Nightmare King sneered. “This flame isn’t being controlled deliberately; its power is spread across two hundred miles. I alone can block it. If it were manipulated by a dark-force cultivator, its power would be far greater. We might even have to retreat into the flying vessel.”

The Azure Nightmare King stood firm, his transcendent battle aura surging like roaring waves, expanding outward in all directions, completely shielding a hundred-meter radius around him! The black flames could not even approach.

…

Through the Void Realm, Dongbo Xueying observed the ease with which Elder Orland and the others blocked the demon flames. He merely furrowed his brow.

He did not cultivate dark energy, so he could only pull the cap and release the flame, unable to control it. That the Azure Nightmare King blocked it was beyond his control.

“Pity,” Dongbo Xueying sighed inwardly. He understood that among the powerful attack treasures, many were likely to be spell scrolls—which were easier to craft. But spell scrolls were also the easiest to destroy. Even if there were any left, Dongbo Xueying, not being a transcendent mage, couldn’t use them anyway.

“The Wushen Sword is too mighty to resist! Comparatively, Elder Orland and the others are weaker. Yet even so, the four of them together are still beyond my ability to fight. Moreover, even if they kill me, they will find ways to escape the pursuit of our Xia Clan’s Demi-Gods. They must have life-saving treasures. Killing Elder Orland and the others is simply not realistic!” Dongbo Xueying understood this clearly. He had thrown the Abyssal Demon Flame only because it was ‘better to throw it than let it go to waste.’ If he died, wouldn’t the treasures just fall into Elder Orland’s hands? Throwing it might still have some effect.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Wushen Sword, carrying its mighty power, continued its relentless assault.

Second by second passed…

Dongbo Xueying barely endured, relying on his azure jade armor and the protective treasures from the Demon God Cult’s headquarters.

“The protective treasures won’t last long. I’ll soon have to rely on my Demi-God robe!” Dongbo Xueying thought grimly. “I need to switch to a better one.”

His protective robe was exchanged from the Water Source Monastery using contribution points. It was a mid-grade Demi-God-tier robe—Water-Fire Shattering Cloud Robe.

Among Demi-God-tier robes, it was quite ordinary.

Back when he had eradicated a demon nest, he had killed a fifth-stage black-robed demon whose Demi-God-tier robe could fully protect every part of his body and was slightly superior to the Water-Fire Shattering Cloud Robe. However, it had been pierced by the Xingshi Huoyun Spear, leaving a huge hole, and was now ruined.

“Top-grade Demi-God-tier robe armor!” Dongbo Xueying immediately began selecting from the entire treasure vault he had obtained. These semi-divine artifacts were the hardest to destroy and had mostly fallen into his hands.

There were many top-grade Demi-God-tier robes!

Although—

Even wearing a top-grade Demi-God-tier robe, before the Wushen Sword, survival might still be unlikely. But if it could increase his chances of survival even slightly, he would try.

Dongbo Xueying willed his Water-Fire Shattering Cloud Robe to vanish from his body, and a new robe covered his skin—a full-body, deep purple-gold robe capable of protecting every vital part.

“Xueying!” Suddenly, a ripple reached Dongbo Xueying’s mind.

“Senior War-Battle!” Dongbo Xueying immediately recognized it was the Azure Armored Guard communicating with him.

“If you’re changing into a Demi-God-tier robe, I must warn you… These fully enclosed Demi-God-tier robes are soft and worn close to the skin. They can resist piercing! But against terrifying impact attacks… these robes are weak, perhaps only able to reduce one or two tenths of the force.” The Azure Armored Guard transmitted. “The Wushen Sword was once the sword of the Wushen himself, far more terrifying than ordinary divine artifacts. Even after multiple layers of weakening, if it strikes your Demi-God-tier robe, it might not pierce through—but the impact force it carries might instantly reduce your body to complete particle-like destruction!”

Dongbo Xueying’s face paled.

Yes.

He understood that. But at least this Demi-God-tier robe was far superior to his Water-Fire Shattering Cloud Robe.

“Should I switch to a fixed-shape armor?” Dongbo Xueying transmitted.

Fixed-shape Demi-God-tier armor was usually forged from precious materials, extremely durable. Its shape was fixed, able to slightly adjust in size. Its defense was formidable! However, such armor usually had many gaps—some even left the throat and face exposed—making it impossible to fully protect every part of the body.

“A fixed-shape Demi-God-tier armor might reduce seven or eight tenths of the impact force,” the Azure Armored Guard transmitted, “but if it doesn’t fully cover every part of your body, the Wushen Sword could instantly kill you at any unprotected spot.”

“Wearing either of these two major types of robes or armor, you will die for sure!” The Azure Armored Guard continued, “Besides these two major categories of Demi-God-tier robes, there are some special types.”

Protecting specific body parts?

Fully covering every part of the body?

These were the two most common categories.

“Special types?”

“Yes,” the Azure Armored Guard replied. “You must find one that can reduce impact force and is fully enclosed. In the Divine Realm, I once saw plant-based armors that could do both. Check the Demi-God-tier treasure vault of the Demon God Cult. If you can find one, you might still have a chance to survive!”