CHAPTER 371: CHAPTER 371: DIVINE CREATION?

In mid-air, voices expressing teary gratitude floated by. Jiang Yuan was so dizzy that he didn’t even bother to glance at them. He held the Soul Refining Banner and fiercely smashed it against the peach tree.

"Heaven-Burning Flame!"

"Black Flame Storm!"

"Vast Mountains and Rivers!"

"Soul-Devouring Demon Skill!"

The skills collectively leveled up to Level One, and the effects were clear. Heaven-Burning Flame is self-explanatory, while Black Flame Storm’s cooldown time became two days, directly delivering a -40000 critical strike, slashing the Nine Nether Peach Tree’s health bar in half in an instant;

The hardest skill to gain experience, Vast Mountains and Rivers, increased to Level Two, immediately doubling its engulfing range. With one skill, the entire Wo Hu Temple was shrouded with the peach tree at its center. The collapsed ruins and dust were completely consumed, clearing the field entirely;

Soul-Devouring Demon Skill upgraded to Level Two felt more satisfying, as with a single skill, it could harvest around ten years of lifespan!

As he watched the attack power and speed comprehensively upgrade, Jiang Yuan felt exceedingly pleased in his heart. He pressed on the peach tree, prioritizing lifespan harvesting with Vast Mountains and Rivers as secondary, launching a furious two-button combo attack.

After upgrading, even the aura released by the skills became more grandiose. The entire graceful peach tree was buried under the overwhelming attack of evil energy. Coupled with the dazzling effects of the attack, Jiang Yuan’s regular skills deployed had no apparent sign to the courtyard members on the other side.

Yu Hu’s warriors split into two teams: one to save people and the other to follow him, encircling the peach tree and attacking with long blades in unison.

Although the roots of the Nine Nether Peach Tree spread across the whole Wo Hu Mountain, capable of simultaneously devouring the lifespan of tens of thousands of cultivators, it was still just a peach tree, unable to transform or strike back, only relying on a sufficiently long health bar to endure the hits.

"Hmm...this twist is interesting." Xie Chenyuan, who had cultivated to the Nascent Soul Realm, squinted slightly, able to discern some moves within the rolling black energy and could also sense the fiery smell mixed in the demonic energy.

But he wasn’t familiar with Jiang Yuan, nor could he have thought that the "monster" was just an exoskeleton suit. Initially, he couldn’t figure it out, but seeing the monster charging at the peach tree, he immediately found it very intriguing.

Definitely not the mastermind coming to reap the fruits since he didn’t see the peaches being picked. The other party instead acted by attacking...right! Before the cultivators all over the mountain were trapped, it was that barrier’s shattering that spread out with the white color.

To save people, one must eliminate the peach tree, which was the root of the disaster!

The question was why he and his subordinates weren’t being trapped?

The Corpse Ghost of the Ghost Bride was without life or spiritual power, therefore unaffected; Jiang Dao You’s Paperman and Paper Horse Skill probably didn’t use spiritual power, allowing him to save people so easily;

Was that monster a demon cultivator or a ghost cultivator? What species were those subordinates?

"Don’t rush." Hu Zhile patted Wan Mingchuan on the shoulder, comforting him: "Look, that monster is attacking the peach tree. It should not be the mastermind, nor a threat to the Venerable Family."

"Yes, the subordinates following him in armor and not appearing alive are aiding in rescuing the trapped cultivators." Bai Yunqi couldn’t figure it out. The more he looked, the more the "monster" seemed cobbled together.

Yun Mo had the clearest eyesight and whispered: "Senior Bai, don’t that monster’s two arms resemble the crab claws that sir steamed for us?"

Xie Chenyuan added: "The body is that of a Demon Tiger Beast, and certainly from a high realm. It has bestiality but no spiritual power, which is a bit odd."

"The head looks more like a mutated form of a ghost cultivator." Tang Qin sat gracefully in the bridal sedan chair and explained in a gentle voice: "Many ghost cultivators like to refine their pre-death bodies into magical treasures, and the more tragic and resentful their death, the more pronounced the aberrations. From the looks of it, it’s probably the head of a ghost cultivator at a realm not lower than mine."

Bai Yunqi cast uncertain eyes at Xie Chenyuan, "That monster just used an escape technique known to demon cultivators, right? Fierce ghost head, demon beast body, crab-claw-like arms, and its mount is unclear. How on earth is this monster assembled?"

"Madame, ghost cultivators and demon cultivators can swap hearts, livers, and lungs, but the body..." Hu Zhile looked towards Tang Qin and cautiously asked: "Can a corpse ghost be assembled in that way?"

She didn’t dare ask if cultivators could be pieced together like that. Intuition alone told her it was impossible, or else the Netherworld would be full of strangely shaped ghost cultivators.

Tang Qin shook her head with utmost certainty: "Swapping hearts, livers, and lungs is the limit, even a corpse ghost can’t be pieced together like that."

She paused before giving an example, "When I first found my uncle, his body was a wreck. I thought it would be too time-consuming to slowly restore it through cultivation, so I planned to find a strong body, swap his head onto it, and refine it into a single entity.

Just swapping for a similar head, I searched among predecessors proficient in this field and received responses that it was absolutely impossible. Forcible swaps would ultimately result in a body explosion. Moreover, with such disparate body parts, unless it’s through an Immortal’s methods, it’s beyond what a cultivator can do."

Could it be a creation of the gods?!

Xie Chenyuan’s eyes suddenly brightened. Staring at the monster pounding on the peach tree, he thought that this trip down the mountain was truly eye-opening and enlightening. Even among the numerous ancient texts in the Cloud Concealment Sect’s Library Pavilion, there was never such a record!

"Demons and demonic entities absorb energy differently. Initially, there might not be any distinction between good and bad among them. It’s just that some bad seeds strayed onto evil paths, leading most of their kind astray."

He observed that terrifying figure performing benevolent deeds and suddenly felt a heartfelt awakening, "For example, those demonic entities that like to devour negative emotions; as salvation stars purifying negative emotions, they save those in hopeless predicaments, devouring their fears and encouraging them to bravely move forward.

Yet they perversely enjoy the thrill of hunting and toying, personally creating great horror for humans to produce negative emotions and then absorb them, ultimately harming others and themselves.

Likewise, the most controversial evil cultivators. The creation of evil techniques implies the Heavenly Dao permits their existence. Isn’t the legendary cultivator who achieved the reverent position of Evil God achieved by quelling evil with evil, thus returning the world to a clean and clear state? It illustrates that what cultivation technique one practices doesn’t matter; cultivating a kind heart bears good fruit!"

The small team members nodded in agreement.

"Excuse me..." After agonizing for a while, the Bear Demon finally approached slightly nervously and asked: "Excuse me, where is Jiang Dao You who warned us? I heard his alert and narrowly escaped disaster. Coincidentally, I had the chance encounter with him at the market a few days ago and wanted to thank him in person."

The incident happened suddenly, and the scene was indeed tragic. The Bear Demon was so scared that his legs went limp for a good while before recovering, then he realized this was a ready-made excuse to strike up a conversation once more with the other party.

No form of gratitude for saving a life is excessive; after a few interactions, wouldn’t they become familiar?

"The Venerable Family is still at Wo Hu Mountain and hasn’t returned." Hu Zhile looked at him and then at the rescued cultivators, none of whom expressed worry for their savior, and thought highly of the Bear Demon’s gratitude, so he softly said: "If you’re sincere about thanking the Venerable Family for the rescue, please wait patiently here for a while.

It seems like that monster intends to destroy the peach tree. If successful, the trapped will be freed, and the Venerable Family should return quickly since there’d no longer be a need to save people."

The Bear Demon thanked courteously, thinking that being able to strike up a conversation was worth waiting as long as necessary!

Meanwhile, in a frenzied state, Jiang Yuan’s eyes turned blood-red, nearly losing the ability to think. By instinct alone, he delivered a fierce barrage, finally reducing the Nine Nether Peach Tree’s health bar to zero!

[Timed task completed, reward: Acceleration Card +5 issued]

[Perform a Good Deed: Luck +1; Lucky Draw *1]