Just as Li Mu was removing the strange poison for several extreme Cultivators, in the Immortal Spirit Realm, Celestial Phoenix Immortal Domain.
Xiao Chenzi stood on the clouds, his white robe flapping, and the sword pattern on his brow slightly glowing. He looked down at the Celestial Phoenix Immortal Domain, which should have been prosperous, his brows tightly furrowed.
"Something's not right," he muttered, a wisp of Sword Qi condensing on his fingertip, drawing a fine line in the Void Realm.
Normally, as the core territory of a major power, the Celestial Phoenix Immortal Domain should be filled with flying immortal birds and auspicious clouds at this moment. However, the scene before him was one of eerie silence.
The outlines of the immortal cities were still there, but no Cultivators were seen coming and going; the spiritual fields were still neatly divided, but no one was working in them. Most unsettling was the almost invisible grayish-white particles floating in the air, gently rising and falling with the rhythm of breathing, like some living thing.
"What are these?" Xiao Chenzi flicked his sword finger, and his Divine Sense captured a grayish-white particle. The moment the particle landed on his fingertip, it grew hair-thin roots, attempting to burrow into his skin.
"Hmph!" Sword Qi burst forth, and the particle instantly turned to dust. But Xiao Chenzi's expression grew even more solemn—these particles could actually corrode an immortal body. If his cultivation hadn't been profound, he might have already been affected.
Xiao Chenzi cautiously lowered his altitude, landing outside an immortal city.
The city gates were wide open, but unguarded. Storefronts along the streets were open, goods neatly arranged, as if the owners had only temporarily left. But the Storage Pouches and Magic Treasures scattered on the ground indicated that the people here had left in an extreme hurry.
"Even the city-protecting grand formation has stopped operating," Xiao Chenzi's gaze swept over the formation bases at the four corners of the city wall, finding that the spiritual light that should have been flowing had extinguished, and the formation patterns were covered with a layer of grayish-white mycelium.
Just as he was about to investigate further, two sharp whistling sounds suddenly came from the sky. Xiao Chenzi's figure flickered, disappearing into the shadows, only to see two streaks of starlight, one after another, cut through the sky and fall onto a hill three miles outside the city.
"Xing Yu, Xing Huang?" Xiao Chenzi recognized the aura of two Cultivators of the same rank, and asked in surprise, "Why are people from the Star Turtle Clan here?"
Xiao Chenzi pondered for a moment, deciding to go meet them. If there was indeed a major change in the Celestial Phoenix Immortal Domain, having two more powerful Cultivators accompany him would be safer.
On the hill, Xing Yu was kneeling on one knee, his Meteorite Great Blade plunged three inches into the ground, dark red Star Power flowing into the earth's Spiritual Veins along the blade.
"The Spiritual Veins are polluted," Xing Yu said coldly, the collapsing star image in his left eye becoming more intense. "Some foreign substance has mixed into the Spiritual Veins and is spreading outwards."
Xing Huang held a jade ruler, sketching a complex star map in the air: "The heavenly secrets are heavily obscured, even star positioning is interfered with. Old Ancestor was right, there is indeed a problem here."
"Fellow Daoists," Xiao Chenzi appeared and cupped his hands, "Xiao Chenzi of the Tai Xuan Sword Sect. May I ask why you two Fellow Daoists are here?"
Xing Yu suddenly turned around, his great blade stirring up a gust of wind: "Who?"
Upon seeing who it was, Xing Huang pressed his companion's arm and nodded slightly: "So it's Elder Xiao Chen. We are here by Old Ancestor's command to investigate the unusual celestial phenomena in the Celestial Phoenix Immortal Domain."
"Unusual celestial phenomena?" Xiao Chenzi raised an eyebrow. "I am here by Sword Venerable's command to investigate the fall of the Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor. It seems our goals align."
The three exchanged information they knew, their expressions growing more solemn. Xing Huang lightly waved his jade ruler, manifesting a star map in the air: "Three days ago, the star 軌 from the Celestial Phoenix Emperor Palace suddenly twisted, and all divinations pointing there would suffer backlash. Old Ancestor suspects that something of the Strange Dao has appeared."
Xiao Chenzi recalled the grayish-white patterns on Sword Venerable's arm: "During the Demon Abyss calamity fifty years ago, weren't these things all Sealed?"
Xing Yu sneered: "Seals will break, and evil will arise. If it truly shares the same origin as the Demon Abyss, it saves me the trouble of identifying it—just cut it down."
Just as the three were discussing, a sudden strange sound came from the distant immortal city. They all turned their heads simultaneously, only to see the cultivation transmission tower in the center of the city slowly tilting, its body covered in grayish-white vines. Those vines wriggled as if alive, slowly crushing and devouring the entire stone tower.
"Let's go see!" Xing Yu was the first to charge out, his great blade dragging a dark red trail behind him.
The three arrived before the ruins of the cultivation transmission tower, and the sight before them sent shivers down their spines—dozens of Cultivator corpses were wrapped within the vines. Their skin had turned to wood, and their facial expressions were frozen in a state of extreme terror. Even more horrifying, the eyes of these "corpses" were still rolling, and their mouths opened and closed, but no sound came out.
"They're still alive," Xing Huang's jade ruler trembled, saying in shock, "but their Divine Souls have been imprisoned in their bodies by some force and are being slowly digested."
Xiao Chenzi brought his sword finger together, severing a vine. Instead of sap, thick, nerve-containing blood spurted from the cut. The severed vine limb, after falling to the ground, actually wriggled on its own, quickly growing roots and burrowing into the ground.
"Be careful! Do not touch it directly!" Xing Huang waved his jade ruler, and starlight fell, burning the severed vine to ashes.
At this moment, the ground of the entire immortal city suddenly trembled. The three stood back to back vigilantly, only to see countless grayish-white tree roots rising from all directions, forming a circle of encirclement.
"We've been discovered." Xing Yu gripped his great blade horizontally, Battle Intent burning in his eyes.
Xiao Chenzi's white robe moved without wind, and nine sword shadows appeared around him: "Not just discovered now, but trapped from the very beginning."
Xing Huang quickly made calculations, his face changing drastically: "Not good! The entire outer perimeter of the Immortal Domain has been surrounded by tree roots. We triggered some kind of alert mechanism when we entered!"
As if to confirm his words, continuous "cracking" sounds came from afar—the sound of space being forcibly twisted by tree roots. The clouds in the sky were torn apart by an invisible force, revealing a dense grayish-white tree net behind them, enveloping the entire Celestial Phoenix Immortal Domain.
"Trying to catch us like turtles in a jar?" Xing Yu sneered, his great blade suddenly striking the ground: "Starfall Earthshake!"
Violent Star Power poured into the ground, and the ground within a hundred zhang collapsed in response. However, what was revealed from underground was not soil, but giant tree roots intertwined into a net. The surface of these roots was covered with pulsating blood vessels, greedily absorbing the energy of Xing Yu's attack.
"It's absorbing our power!" Xiao Chenzi warned sharply, while simultaneously unleashing nine swords, forming a sword formation to protect the three of them.
Xing Huang raised his jade ruler, activating the Star Power of the Zhou Tian: "We must break through! Once completely surrounded, we will also become those 'living corpses'!"
The three simultaneously exerted their strength, rushing towards the edge of the Immortal Domain. However, with every step they took, the tree roots in front of them grew thicker. What was even more terrifying was that those tree roots began to mimic their attack methods—Xing Yu's great blade slashes were bounced back by the tree roots at the same angle; Xiao Chenzi's Sword Qi was replicated into grayish-white sword shadows and counterattacked; Xing Huang's star arts were twisted into eerie grayish-white light beams.
"It's learning from us..." Xing Huang's forehead was covered in sweat: "This monster's strange power is terrifying!"
Suddenly, all the tree roots simultaneously stood still. Then the ground violently shook, and a hundred-meter-tall grayish-white giant tree burst out of the ground from the center of the three! A huge mouth split open on the trunk, lined with seven rows of sharp teeth, emitting a deafening shriek.
Amidst the shriek, countless grayish-white moth swarms surged from the tree crown, and their wings were clearly imprinted with the faces of the three of them!
"Hold your breath! Don't inhale the pollen!" Xiao Chenzi's sword formation rotated, cutting down large numbers of moths. But a few stragglers still got close, and the "Xiao Chenzi" faces on their wings suddenly revealed eerie smiles, then self-destructed into a cloud of gray mist.
Xiao Chenzi accidentally inhaled a wisp, and immediately felt a sharp pain in his left arm—the skin there was being corroded!
"Senior Brother, be careful!" Xing Huang's jade ruler pointed out a star beam, temporarily suppressing the anomaly for him, while Xing Yu roared and leaped up, his great blade carrying the force of a collapsing mountain as he slashed towards the giant mouth on the tree trunk.
"Don't!" Xiao Chenzi cried out, but it was too late.
The great blade indeed cut into the tree trunk, but the blade was instantly enveloped in viscous tree sap. What was even more terrifying was that grayish-white replicas identical to Xing Yu rapidly grew from the wound on the tree trunk, even the great blade was exactly the same!
The replica grinned, attacking Xing Yu's main body with the exact same Move. The two fought in a tangled mess, their Moves, power, and even fighting habits were completely identical, making it difficult to distinguish who was superior in a short time.
"It's replicating our abilities!" Xing Huang finally understood: "This monster can gain the opponent's power through contact!"
Xiao Chenzi endured the anomaly in his left arm, his sword finger moving: "Then use a Move it doesn't have time to replicate! Nine Heavens Sword Formation - Heavenly Net Earthly Web!"
Nine Flying Swords simultaneously burst forth with dazzling light, transforming into countless sword threads interwoven into a net, temporarily trapping the giant tree. Seizing this opportunity, Xing Huang bit his fingertip and drew complex blood talismans on the jade ruler: "Summoning Star Grand Formation - Yin and Yang Reversal!"
The jade ruler erupted with dazzling starlight, forcibly tearing open a gap in the tree root encirclement.
"Go!" Xiao Chenzi grabbed Xing Yu, who was still entangled with the replica, and the three sped towards the gap.
Just as they were about to rush out, countless vines suddenly hung down from the gap, each vine tip growing a human face—it was precisely those Cultivators they had seen along the way! These human faces simultaneously opened their mouths, emitting piercing, sharp laughter:
"Since you've come, don't leave... become a part of us..."
The foremost vine suddenly opened, revealing sharp, tooth-like structures inside, and covered the three from above!
"New nourishment..."
A low, hoarse voice echoed through heaven and earth. In an instant, countless grayish-white roots attacked through the Void Realm, like thousands of tentacles, trying to drag the three into the abyss!
Xiao Chenzi's right leg was entangled by a grayish-white vine, his flesh and blood were corroded, and strange white patterns rapidly spread. The sword light in his eyes surged, and he let out a low cry: "Sword Domain - Open!"
In an instant, with him as the center, an area of a thousand zhang suddenly transformed into a world of swords—countless Sword Qi condensed from the Void Realm, each wisp containing the sharpness to sever Law. The moment the Sword Domain unfolded, the vines wrapped around him snapped inch by inch, emitting a mournful shriek. Those grayish-white roots tried to regenerate, but were shredded into dust by the Sword Qi, unable to heal again.
Xiao Chenzi stood in the center of the Sword Domain, his white robe stained with blood, but the sword pattern on his brow was as brilliant as the scorching sun. He formed a hand Seal with one hand, and nine Flying Swords revolved around him, each sword transforming into a thousand-zhang giant shadow. Wherever the sword edge pointed, the grayish-white tree roots disintegrated one after another.
"Sword Domain - Myriad Tribulations Slash!"
Nine swords merged into one, transforming into a sword light that spanned heaven and earth, directly slashing towards the hundred-meter-tall Strange Tree's main body!
At the same time, Xing Yu roared, and his great blade suddenly plunged into the ground, dark red Star Power erupting like a volcanic eruption.
"Starfall - Burning Heaven!"
His left eye completely transformed into a collapsing star vortex, and countless star illusions appeared around him, each star burning with destructive starlight. The ground cracked, and scorching Star Power flowed like lava. Wherever it passed, the grayish-white tree roots turned charred and carbonized, and even the spores were completely incinerated.
Xing Yu took a step, sweeping his great blade horizontally. Wherever the blade passed, space was torn open with black cracks. The grayish-white replicas that tried to mimic his Moves were slow under the Star Domain's suppression, and he cut them down one by one.
"Starfall - Realm Shattering Slash!"
The great blade struck down, and the Strange Tree's main trunk was forcefully split open with an abyssal crack. Viscous tree sap gushed out, actually emitting a mournful wail similar to a living creature.
Seeing the two of them unleash their full power, Xing Huang no longer held back. He formed hand Seals, and fragments of his jade ruler floated before him, transforming into three hundred and sixty brilliant stars, arranged in an ancient star map.
"Summoning Star - Zhou Tian Demon Suppression!"
Starlight fell, forming a cage that enveloped the entire battlefield. Xing Huang's Star Domain was different from ordinary Cultivators; it was not merely an offensive technique, but a Seal—his Star Power could temporarily freeze the Strange Tree's evolution and replication abilities, preventing it from continuing to mimic the three's Moves.
"Fellow Daoists, make a quick decision!" Xing Huang gritted his teeth and shouted: "My star formation can only last for ten breaths!"
With the three great Dao Domains fully unleashed, the Strange Tree finally suffered heavy damage. Its roots broke under the sword light, its main trunk burned in the starlight, and the replicated grayish-white Cultivators' movements became sluggish under the Star Domain's suppression.
However, just as the three thought victory was in their grasp—
"Giggle giggle... you... can't kill me..."
On the Strange Tree's trunk, the twisted human face suddenly split open, revealing an even more terrifying giant mouth. Deep within the giant mouth, a grayish-white... Dao Fruit actually appeared.
"Dao Fruit?" Xiao Chenzi's pupils constricted.
Xing Huang's face changed drastically: "Not good! It devoured the Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor's Dao Fruit! It's advancing!"
In the next instant, the Spiritual Veins of the entire Celestial Phoenix Immortal Domain violently trembled, and countless grayish-white roots shot up from underground, coiling towards the three like millions of tentacles.
What was even more terrifying was that on those roots, sword patterns and star marks actually began to appear! It had already begun to mimic the three's Dao Domains!
"It wants to devour our Dao Domains!" Xing Huang's voice was almost a 撕裂, and starlight-like blood oozed from his seven orifices. The Zhou Tian Star Formation violently trembled, and starlight chains snapped one by one—the Strange Tree's roots were analyzing his Star Domain Law!
Xiao Chenzi's Sword Domain contracted, and the nine Flying Swords hummed incessantly, grayish-white patterns even beginning to crawl over their bodies. He suddenly bit his tongue, spitting a mouthful of essence blood onto the sword formation: "Tai Xuan Sword Heart - Suppress!"
Blood stained the sword edges, and the sword light surged, temporarily suppressing the corrosion. But Xiao Chenzi knew this was only a temporary measure—the Strange Tree had already touched the threshold of the "Sword Dao." If they dragged on, it could even replicate a complete Sword Domain!
"Xing Yu!" Xiao Chenzi roared: "Cut down its Dao Fruit!"
Xing Yu's left eye had completely transformed into a black hole-like vortex, and his natal star was collapsing. He laughed wildly and leaped up, his great blade carrying the power of collapsing stars: "I don't even care about my Star Domain anymore, let's see how you learn!—Starfall - World Annihilation!"
The moment the blade light struck down, his left eye exploded with a bang! A black star mark pierced through heaven and earth, and wherever it passed, space was annihilated inch by inch. This was a true "Dao Annihilation" technique—at the cost of self-destructing his Dao foundation, he unleashed an attack that transcended Law!
"Boom—!"
The Strange Tree's main trunk was pierced by the black star mark, and the grayish-white Dao Fruit violently trembled, with spiderweb-like cracks appearing on its surface. Countless human faces on the tree crown simultaneously let out mournful wails, and the Spiritual Veins of the entire Immortal Domain convulsed like a living creature. (End of Chapter)
