togophonebook Chapter 1561 Despair
Chapter 1561 Despair
Chapter 1561 Despair
All the powerful figures stared in the direction of the 'Eternal Great Universe', their eyes filled with shock, doubt, and a hint of barely perceptible fear—if the 'Eternal Great Universe' could truly nurture so many top-tier ferocious beasts, its potential would probably far exceed everyone's imagination, which would not be a good thing for these outside forces.
At this moment, the edge of the Divine Firmament Holy Court has long since become a shocking ruin.
The once magnificent palace complex is now reduced to half of its broken pillars. The white jade-paved ground is torn open with spiderweb-like cracks by the giant claws of ferocious beasts. What seeps out of the cracks is not dust, but the blood of the earth veins, which is tinged with black mist.
The air was thick with the stench of blood and the savage pressure unique to ferocious beasts. Even the sunlight that pierced through the clouds was tinged with dark purple, falling on the broken walls like a layer of congealed blood.
The three unscrupulous Taoist priests were surrounded by a dense horde of ferocious beasts, with nowhere to retreat. The beasts outside the protective barrier were so numerous that they blotted out the sky, and every surge of them caused the earth to tremble.
"What exactly did the ancestors of the Divine Firmament Holy Court do?"
The fat Taoist priest was covered in blood, and his left arm was twisted at an odd angle, a result of the bone injury he sustained while fighting off a giant bear at the early stage of the 'Tenth-Rank Immortal Emperor' realm.
He was in so much pain that sweat beaded on his forehead, but he still roared and slammed his right fist, which was wrapped in terrifying energy, into the head of another giant bear that was charging at him.
With a muffled thud, the ferocious beast, taller than a small mountain, was smashed into a daze. Its massive body crashed to the ground, but before it could even hit the ground, it was trampled underfoot by the horde of beasts that surged in from behind.
He wiped his face, panting heavily, his chest heaving like a bellows. Gazing at the ever-approaching tide of beasts, he couldn't help but look up to the sky and lament, "What kind of hellish place is their ancestor's tomb connected to?!"
He still can't understand how he managed to make such a huge mess just by trying to find some treasure.
The tomb of the patriarch of the Divine Firmament Holy Court is hidden beneath the 'Divine Firmament Platform' in the deepest part of the Holy Court's forbidden area. It took the three of them a great deal of effort to find it.
The protective array surrounding the forbidden area could automatically identify the aura of cultivators. The three of them worked together for three days to deduce that the array's core was under a 'deceiving grass'.
Afterwards, the chubby Taoist priest secretly covered the Deceiving Heaven Grass with a broken bowl, causing the formation to mistakenly identify it as 'unclaimed property', thus opening a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through.
The three of them crouched low and crawled into the forbidden area. It took them half a day to decipher the mechanisms of the Divine Firmament Platform before they finally found the sealed tomb door at the bottom of the platform.
The defensive runes on the tomb door are 'Heaven-Locking Patterns', each line of which absorbs and releases the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Not to mention a 'Ten-Turn Immortal Emperor', even a 'Heavenly Emperor-level' powerhouse would have to put in some effort.
It was the Second Fatty Taoist who discovered the flaw in the runes—although the Heaven-Locking Rune was powerful, it had left a 'Gate of Life' in the northwest corner, supposedly to allow the remnant soul of the ancestor to sense the outside world.
As the fat Taoist priest pried open the entrance to the tomb and the three of them crawled inside, they were still marveling at how meticulous the ancestors of the Divine Firmament Holy Court were.
The tomb did indeed contain a large number of treasures, including martial arts techniques depicted in the murals, elixirs in a flask next to the jade coffin, and magical artifacts piled up in the corner.
But when they worked together to pry open the jade coffin engraved with star patterns, they were all dumbfounded.
There was no corpse in the coffin, only a swirling blackish-purple vortex. Countless beast shadows could be vaguely seen roaring within the vortex. An aura more terrifying than all the treasures in the tomb combined emanated from the vortex, like an invisible hand gripping their souls, almost causing the three of them to be shaken to their core.
"Who the hell said, 'Go in and see if there's anything good there'?"
The chubby Taoist priest huddled in the corner of the broken bowl's protective glow, clutching his head. His voice was trembling with tears, and cold sweat soaked his bangs.
He remembered clearly that it was Fatty who patted his chest and said, "We should have an exploratory spirit; maybe there's a treasure hidden inside." As a result, the three of them had just jumped into the vortex when they saw a sight they would never forget—an endless black plain, crowded with ferocious beasts like a market. The lowest level were all early-stage 'Ten-Turn Immortal Emperors,' while mid-stage and late-stage ones were as numerous as cattle and sheep. Dozens of giant beasts with bodies like stars squatted at the edge of the plain, their every breath causing the void to collapse. Those were clearly 'Heavenly Emperor-level' ferocious beasts!
"How could I have known there were so many terrifying beasts inside? I thought those beast shadows were anomalies caused by a treasure."
The fat Taoist priest's face turned bright red, and he kicked away another winged wolf that was pouncing on him.
The winged wolf had bone spurs on its wings. After being kicked off, it let out a pitiful howl, but before it could even land, it was torn apart and devoured by the ferocious beasts behind it, its blood splattering a layer of light shield.
"Besides, isn't the stuff in that bronze jar a treasure? Didn't you secretly lick it just now?"
The bronze jar he mentioned was placed on a stone platform at the edge of the vortex. The golden liquid inside resembled melting sunlight, radiating a rich spiritual energy that could enable even 'Immortal Emperor' level cultivators to break through their bottlenecks.
Big Fatty thought to himself, "A thief should never leave empty-handed," so he grabbed the jar and ran. Little did he know that this action would stir up a hornet's nest—the ferocious beasts that had been lazily lying on the plains suddenly went berserk. The nine-headed Qilin beast at the head let out a deafening dragon roar, and all nine heads turned towards them at the same time, their golden vertical pupils filled with killing intent.
Immediately afterwards, all the ferocious beasts on the plains moved, chasing after the whirlpool like a black tide, which led to the current situation.
"What's the point of saying this now!"
The fat Taoist priest was sweating profusely with anxiety. His peach wood sword had long since broken into three pieces, and he could only resort to using the cracked tortoise shell.
The star patterns on the tortoise shell flickered, barely managing to block the beast's claws that attacked from the side, but each collision caused the tortoise shell to tremble, and a few more cracks appeared.
"Big Fatty, Second Fatty, what do we do?"
The chubby Taoist gritted his teeth, his hands forming hand seals so fast they became afterimages, causing the broken bowl to grow to a diameter of over ten zhang. The bowl was placed upside down on the ground, forming a pale blue light shield.
The ghostly patterns on the rim of the bowl swirled wildly, each one absorbing and exhaling the power of the void to resist the dense attacks from the outside.
But there were simply too many ferocious beasts—there were giant spiders with eight legs, whose silk was even tougher than a Celestial Emperor's artifact, snaking and corroding against the light shield with a "sizzling" sound, the barbs on the silk slowly piercing into the shield; there were raging bulls spewing magma from their mouths, the scalding magma crashing onto the light shield, causing the pale blue light to flicker like a candle flame that might be extinguished at any moment; and there were countless flying insects with sharp teeth, crashing into the light shield like a black cloud, making a "crackling" sound, the insect corpses falling to the ground, quickly covered by the flying insects behind them.
"wait!"
The fat Taoist leaned against the inner wall of the light barrier, took out the last healing pill, and stuffed it into his mouth.
The pill melted instantly upon entering his mouth, transforming into a warm current that flowed throughout his body, but it could only barely sustain his breath; the broken ribs still throbbed with excruciating pain.
He looked at the horde of beasts charging around outside and sighed helplessly, "What else can we do but wait?"
He knew in his heart that they had survived until now thanks to two strokes of luck.
Firstly, although these ferocious beasts are of a high level, they are not good at using the laws and can only rely on their physical strength and instinct to attack. If it were a cultivator of the same level, the collision of laws alone would be enough to crush them into particles.
Secondly, those 'Heavenly Emperor-level' ferocious beasts seemed to be wary of something, always standing at a distance, only using their aura to lock onto them, without actually making a move.
Otherwise, with the terrifying combat power of those 'Heavenly Emperor-level' ferocious beasts, a single divine light could shatter the broken bowl, let alone the lives of the three of them.
"Wait? Wait for whom?"
The chubby Taoist priest was stunned upon hearing this, and his eyes instantly dimmed, as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water.
He glanced at the ferocious beast, a late-stage 'Tenth-Rank Immortal Emperor,' scratching at the light barrier with its claws outside, and whispered, barely a whisper, "Who will come to save us?" "Besides Old Wang, who else could it be?"
The fat Taoist priest rolled his eyes at him, his tone filled with extreme certainty.
Besides Wang Xian, do they have any other friends?
Besides Wang Xian, will anyone else come to save them?
No!
If other powerful figures knew about their current situation, they would be incredibly grateful if they didn't come to their rescue, let alone fall into their predicament!
The chubby Taoist priest slumped to the ground, exhausted, muttering to himself, "Only Old Wang would come to our rescue..."
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The dull thuds continued, like heavy hammer blows to the heart.
Fine cracks began to appear on the light shield of the broken bowl, and faint black mist seeped out from the cracks—that was the void power of the bowl beginning to dissipate under the continuous attack of the ferocious beast.
The chubby Taoist priest's face grew paler and paler. He could clearly feel that the essence of the broken bowl was being rapidly depleted, and the ghost patterns on the rim of the bowl had already dimmed by half. In at most, after another incense stick's time, this only barrier would shatter.
"We can't hold on much longer!"
The chubby Taoist priest's voice trembled as he pressed his hands firmly against the bowl, trying to inject spiritual energy to repair the cracks.
But his spiritual energy was almost exhausted, and his dantian was empty like a tattered sack. The little energy injected was not even a drop in the ocean, and the cracks spread even faster along his fingertips.
"My broken bowl... is about to shatter..."
The fat Taoist priest approached, panting heavily. A section of his chest was sunken, and every breath carried the smell of blood—a terrible injury caused by being struck by that ferocious beast at the late stage of the 'Tenth-Rank Immortal Emperor' realm.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood, his voice hoarse: "If all else fails, we'll have no choice but to tear through space to escape."
Upon hearing this, both the second-fat Taoist priest and the little-fat Taoist priest fell silent.
Escape by tearing through space sounds simple, but they all knew the dangers involved.
Although these ferocious beasts cannot use the laws, their physical bodies are so powerful that they can shatter spatial barriers. Once they tear open a spatial rift, the other beasts will definitely follow, and with their brute force, they will definitely turn the rift into a complete mess.
They might be drawn into deeper spatial turbulence, a place even 'Heavenly Emperor' level experts dare not easily venture into.
What lies hidden in the turbulent currents of deep space is anyone's guess.
There are chaotic storms that can corrode immortal artifacts, leaving not even bone fragments when swept in; there are void phantoms that feed on divine souls, and once entangled, even reincarnation is difficult; there is also the possibility of falling directly into the spacetime rift, being crushed into particles, and even the trace of its existence disappears... It is almost a path of nine deaths and one life.
"That's all it can do."
The fat Taoist priest closed his eyes, as if he had made up his mind.
When he opened his eyes again, there was only determination in them. He took out the tortoise shell and ran his fingertips across it quickly. "I'll make my move just before the broken bowl shatters. I'll use the tortoise shell to deduce the safest direction of the crack, and try to get as many people out as possible... I hope Old Wang can get here soon, otherwise it will probably be too late to collect our bodies."
The fat Taoist priest didn't speak, but silently clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white from the force, and blood seeped from the open wound.
The chubby Taoist priest lowered his head, his fingers unconsciously tracing the ghost patterns on the inside of the broken bowl.
The beast horde's attacks grew increasingly frenzied. The Xuanwu beast, a late-stage 'Tenth-Rank Immortal Emperor', seemed to be enraged. It let out a low roar and slammed its massive body against the light barrier.
The broken bowl made a crisp 'crack' sound, and a crack suddenly appeared that ran through the entire light shield, spreading from the top to the bottom like a venomous snake.
The roars of the ferocious beasts outside became clearer instantly, and you could even see their drooling fangs.
"Prepare……"
The fat Taoist priest took a deep breath and began to form a spatial seal with his hands. Cold sweat seeped from his forehead and slid down his cheeks, dripping onto the tortoise shell and stirring up a faint halo.
Just then, a slight ripple suddenly came from the distant void.
The fluctuation was faint, yet it struck the hearts of the three like a thunderbolt—the fluctuation contained a familiar chaotic energy, as well as a faint, eerie spiritual power, which was unique to Wang Xian and Yao Yao!
The fat Taoist priest suddenly looked up, his previously dim eyes bursting with wild joy. He even forgot the sharp pain in his chest and roared in the direction from which the fluctuations came: "It's Old Wang! Old Wang is here!"
The beasts outside the light barrier seemed to have sensed something, and their attack rhythm became noticeably disrupted.
In the void, a nine-headed Qilin beast occupied a large area. Its middle head turned towards the void, and a hint of vigilance flashed in its golden vertical pupils. At the same time, all nine heads emitted a low roar, as if warning the newcomers.
Inside the light barrier, the three unscrupulous Taoist priests exchanged glances, their faces revealing smiles of relief for the first time, and even their breathing became easier.
Suddenly, a crisp 'crack' sound came from the void, and a spatial rift that stretched across the heavens and earth suddenly opened up. Chaotic air currents poured down like a waterfall, instantly overwhelming the savage pressure of the ferocious beast horde.
Wang Xian's figure stepped out of the crack, treading on golden light patterns. The Emperor Dragon Spear pointed diagonally at the ground, and the chaotic liquid dripping from the spear tip hit a ferocious beast at the early stage of the 'Tenth Revolution Immortal Emperor', actually corroding a hole in its head and causing the beast to let out a deafening roar.
"Pharaoh!"
Upon seeing Wang Xian, the chubby Taoist priest inside the light barrier let out a delighted scream.
After Wang Xian appeared, three ferocious beasts at the mid-stage of the 'Ten-Turn Immortal Emperor' level rushed at him simultaneously—on the left was a demonic bull with two horns on its head, its hooves shattering the void; on the right was a bone eagle with six wings on its back, its sharp claws flashing with a ghostly cold light; and in front of him was a nine-headed serpent as thick as a water bucket, each of its heads spewing out orbs of light of different attributes of the laws.
"roll!"
Wang Xian's eyes suddenly turned cold, and the Emperor Dragon Spear suddenly grew to a thousand feet in length. The chaotic power wrapped around the spear transformed into a chaotic divine dragon, emitting a deafening dragon roar.