A thunderous explosion shook the heavens, resounding across the entire imperial city.
In the sky, Hun Miesheng raised his hand, retracting the chains. In his palm appeared a small, multicolored serpent, no larger than his palm, violently struggling.
Yet each flick of its tail carried crushing weight—every strike packed force comparable to a mountain's might.
However, to Hun Miesheng, who had fused with Primordial Heavy Water, this was nothing at all.
Queen Medusa lay on the ground, now reduced to a hollow shell. The soul form of the Nine-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python had been forged by the fusion of her own soul and that of the Violet Nether Flame Serpent.
Hun Miesheng forcibly pressed the python's soul back into Queen Medusa's body.
A surge of soul power at the peak of the Heavenly Realm poured forth, stabbing deep into the soul of the Nine-Colored Python like a thousand needles—forceful soul splitting!
He forcibly designated Queen Medusa's soul as the dominant one, compelling full integration.
Though this method would undoubtedly harm her, with the aid of Chaos Purple Qi, Hun Miesheng paid no mind—so long as she didn't die, it was acceptable.
The Nine-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python's shrieks grew weaker. Its soul, forcibly suppressed, was eventually subdued and merged into Medusa's body as a subordinate entity.
Mm...
Queen Medusa groaned, slowly regaining consciousness.
Hun Miesheng watched her with keen interest.
She gasped upon seeing him, then quickly blushed in embarrassment.
She had completely taken on a human form, and her long, white legs were fully exposed under Hun Miesheng's gaze.
"Get lost!"
Her voice exploded with fury. With a wave of her hand, her powerful Dou Qi tore a rift in the surrounding space.
Hun Miesheng casually dissolved her attack, clicking his tongue in admiration.
"One breakthrough of the Nine-Colored bloodline... and you step directly into Dou Zun!"
Tsk, tsk, truly enviable
His voice echoed through the chamber as his figure vanished without a trace.
Queen Medusa stared at her palm, stunned in disbelief.
Four-Star Dou Zun!
She had ascended directly from peak Dou Huang to four-star Dou Zun in a single step.
She had awakened the full potential of the Nine-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python's bloodline.
Even ordinary peak Dou Zun might not be her match now.
Could it have been... him?
She exhaled deeply, a rosy hue still on her cheeks. She clenched her teeth. Her feelings were a tangled mess of confusion, gratitude, and anger.
Meanwhile, high in the sky, Hun Miesheng hovered in the void, stretching out his palm.
Two balls of flame—one a defective Bone-Chilling Flame, the other the pale cyan Core Flame of the Green Lotus—struggled violently, enclosed in a swirling mist of water vapor.
"Still not enough..."
He shook his head.
To break through from peak Five-Star Dou Sheng to Six-Star, the energy required far exceeded what these two flames could provide.
But before heading to Jia Nan Academy, he had other matters to handle.
His eyes grew thoughtful as he turned to gaze at the earth below.
The Gate of Life and Death.
Ding, system notification: detected abnormal wood attribute energy.
Energy level: Three and a half stars
"Interesting..."
With a light laugh, Hun Miesheng struck out with his palm.
A black palm imprint plummeted toward the stone cave.
Yet before it landed, the surrounding space warped and twisted, instantly devouring all its force.
Without hesitation, Hun Miesheng's figure vanished into the distortion.
The next moment, with a soft thud, he stepped into a shadowy underground world.
Covered in Dou Qi, his eyes adapted instantly to the darkness, taking in every detail.
Intertwining vines stretched across hundreds of li of subterranean space, exuding boundless vitality from every emerald strand.
"Young one, why have you trespassed into this old one's domain?"
A deep, ancient voice echoed through the cavern, reverberating endlessly.
Hun Miesheng looked toward the center.
A towering, entirely emerald tree stood, its branches and vines stretching out for hundreds of li, encasing the underground realm like a sphere.
He let out a soft laugh.
"Young one?"
"I don't know how you, this ancient thing, gained sentience..."
"But with only low-rank Half-Saint strength, where do you get the guts to speak to me that way?"
His expression was mocking. Around him, waves of Nihility Devouring Flames began to spread.
"Indeed, your strength surpasses mine. I admit it."
"But this old man has lived for ten thousand years. Compared to you, a Dou Sheng, you're no more than a toddler."
The old tree chuckled, and a human face emerged from the trunk.
"And besides... your tiny flame won't burn me to death!"
"Is that so?"
Hun Miesheng sneered. The next instant, the Nihility Devouring Flames fell upon the massive tree.
"Let me show you just how powerful my 'tiny' flame really is!"
In a heartbeat, black fire engulfed the expansive greenery. The flames erupted, devouring everything.
The roaring inferno spread across the tree's form in a breath's time.
"A mere showpiece."
Hun Miesheng was about to shake his head, but his eyes suddenly narrowed.
The burnt branches began to regenerate rapidly, pulsing with vibrant green light. Their growth speed even outpaced the flames' ability to burn them.
And soon, the Nihility Devouring Flames were slowly smothered?
Fire overcoming wood had been reversed?
"Heh, heh... This old man is the companion spirit of the Celestial Sage himself. Your little flame can't hurt me."
Hun Miesheng's face darkened. He recalled the flames.
"You say you've lived for ten thousand years?"
"Yet you're just a low-rank Half-Saint. No matter what kind of tree spirit you are, that shouldn't be possible."
He placed a hand on the tree's trunk, feeling the immense vitality pulsing within.
Suddenly, a possibility occurred to him.
A true wood-type spiritual source.
"Young one, that's just your ignorance talking."
"Have you heard of the Yunmeng Immortal Marsh?"
The old tree's expression turned proud, then bitter with rage.
"If it weren't for that damned bastard stealing me from the marsh..."
"My lifespan wouldn't be limited to ten thousand years. Thirty thousand... even a hundred thousand would've been possible!"
The tree spirit fell into madness, thrashing its branches wildly against the cavern walls.
Booming crashes echoed for thousands of li.
Even the earth began to shake.
Clearly, this was its greatest lifelong grief.
"It was Yun Potian who stole you?"
The tree calmed somewhat, then shook its head.
Yun Potian?
There was a poor talent who leached off my life essence for decades and eventually reached peak Dou Zun. Then he left seeking a chance to break into Saint Rank and never returned."
Hun Miesheng thought for a moment and nodded.
Based on the timeline, this must've occurred just as the origin energy of the Dou Qi continent began to dry up ten thousand years ago.
Though the tree's vitality seemed boundless, Hun Miesheng could see clearly—the decay had reached its core. Its life was nearing its end.
He didn't care about its tragic history.
He only cared about one thing.
"Where is this Yunmeng Immortal Marsh?"
"And how does one enter it?"
He stared straight into the tree spirit's eyes, unleashing his full soul force.
Soul Seizing Technique.
Caught off guard, the tree froze. Its soul was instantly seized by Hun Miesheng.
Only the dead... can enter
(End of Chapter)