Night of Despair

The gigantic face of Yu Hong suddenly emerged, swallowing the Golden Immortal and the floating city spaceship in one gulp. Taking advantage of the moment when everything around was frozen, he turned and fled, disappearing instantly before the pursuing Children of the Mother Tree could track him.

The two Children of the Mother Tree roared wildly, unconsciously releasing their power and directly annihilating the nearby subordinates.

Circles of dark green light spread out from their bodies, wantonly venting their anger.

The leaders of the various forces that had formed an array behind them scattered like birds and beasts, disappearing in a few moments.

Those who could choose to surrender were almost all people with unstable minds and self-serving tendencies, and it was impossible for them to continue the chase without benefit.

So in just two seconds, only the two Children of the Mother Tree remained among the pursuing forces.

The two humanoid figures with dark green wings on their backs rushed violently toward the empty space where Yu Hong had left.

Poof!

A soft, silvery mana like fine sand remained there.

It moved like clouds and mist, slowly flowing, set by Yu Hong to cover his retreat.

When the two Children of the Mother Tree collided with it.

The instant they touched that wisp of mana, their bodies trembled simultaneously, coming to a halt.

From extreme motion to extreme stillness, they had no buffer at all, as if forcibly paused, they froze within that wisp of mana.

One second, two seconds.

The dark red flames in the bodies of the two Children of the Mother Tree burned wildly, and the dark green branches and wings on their backs grew frantically, trying to break through the surrounding silver sand-like mana.

As their power erupted to fight back, the wisp of mana quickly diminished, faded, and disappeared.

By the sixth second!

That silver sand-like mana finally completely dissipated.

The two Children of the Mother Tree then broke free and regained their movement.

Roar!!

They roared again, but at this point, they were completely unable to find any trace of Yu Hong and his companions.

Further away, within the giant Holy Tower inside the Mother Tree.

The Tower Master Gesha quietly watched the distant scene. It was only when the two Children of the Mother Tree returned without success that he sighed softly.

"Such power... it seems the Heavenly Venerate System still has remnants of powerful individuals."

"It doesn't resemble the power of the Heavenly Venerate System," another grand voice spoke in confusion. "Rather, it seems like its higher positional power prevented the Children of the Mother Tree from breaking through, even immobilizing them for several seconds."

At their level, being paused for several seconds was enough for an enemy to kill them countless times.

The strong ones at the Golden Immortal Level could mostly manipulate time. Whether it was accelerating themselves or slowing down their opponents, they could stretch those few seconds into a much longer period of time.

Not to mention, their own speed was extremely fast...

"But with such a high positional power, why didn't he directly kill the Children of the Mother Tree? Why did he choose to leave with others?" Gesha asked again in puzzlement.

"Perhaps, he was injured?" the grand voice speculated. "High positional power only means he can ensure he doesn't get hurt, as ordinary low positional power can't affect him, but if his strength is insufficient, he can't intervene too much. Perhaps that's the state of the rescuer..."

"Maybe..." Gesha nodded.

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*

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Invisible Belt.

In the pure white light.

The gigantic face of Yu Hong opened its mouth and spat out the swallowed Golden Immortal Fu Bai and the Aus Academy spaceship.

The two rolled over dozens of times before barely releasing a force field to stabilize themselves.

Then, the face quickly shrank, faded, and disappeared from the spot.

In the white light, a dim and hazy, irregularly shaped black stone-like object appeared.

That object was the Black Black Spirit which had been deformed and unrecognizable after being hit all along the way.

In its current state, it looked like a chaotic and ragged meteorite.

"Senior, Martial Uncle."

Inside the Black Black Spirit.

A silver figure flashed suddenly, rushing out of the surface of the Black Black Spirit, trailing a long silver tail, flying towards the Aus Academy spaceship.

The next second, the figure teleported instantly, appearing directly within the spaceship.

In the Main Control Room.

Feng Xuezi and a group of Aus Academy mages, Ku Chan, and others were just coming to their senses from a dazed state.

Feng Xuezi was the first to recover, shaking his head, his Divine Sense spreading out. He immediately saw the silver figure that had flown into the spaceship.

The figure descended from the sky and automatically condensed into Yu Hong's tall form.

"It really is you! Zheng Rou!" Feng Xuezi laughed loudly. He stepped forward and hugged Yu Hong tightly, vigorously patting him on the back.

"Good lad! That move of yours just scared us half to death!!"

Bang bang bang bang bang!

In the midst of the loud collision sounds, sparks flew off Yu Hong's back from the slaps.

Now, his body's toughness far exceeded that of so-called top-tier alloys, and after being strengthened 180 times, his body's density was further enhanced by the circulation of high-level bloodline power.

With just his physical body, he could already rival the defense of an Array set up by a Returning Void Cultivator.

"Uncle Master, it's a good thing I arrived in time, otherwise the consequence of that hit just now would have been unimaginable...." Yu Hong sighed.

"Indeed, your move just now, while of very high rank, could still faintly be identified by its mana imprint. That's how I confirmed your identity." Feng Xuezi released him and sighed as well. "But how did you manage that move just now? Can you do it again?"

"Disciple accidentally awakened a dormant bloodline within my body during a life-and-death crisis, and I don't know how, but I can now use a peculiar ability. However, it's limited in use, and my actual cultivation is still only at the Mahayana Realm," Yu Hong explained.

"Awakening bloodline.... Mahayana Realm.... You, you're already at the Mahayana Realm!?" Feng Xuezi was stunned, words stuck in his throat, unable to speak.

He vaguely remembered hearing similar words sometime before...

Moreover, what kind of bloodline could instantly erupt with such high-level power while the cultivation remained at the Mahayana Realm?

A bloodline of such high level, yet it practices low-level Immortal Dao magical power... isn't this a pure waste of time?

"Forget it, I can't figure out your situation, as long as you're safe." Feng Xuezi couldn't understand and decided not to think about it.

"But since you have awakened a high-level bloodline, you can totally leverage it to cultivate corresponding high-level power. This is far quicker and more powerful than slowly following the Immortal Dao System."

"Hm? What does Uncle Master mean...!!?" Yu Hong was puzzled.

"We'll talk about it later. Go check on Ku Chan and Quan He first...." Feng Xuezi smiled.

Yu Hong nodded and quickly walked towards Yiyi, giving her a big hug.

At this moment, Fu Bai also teleported back, appearing beside Feng Xuezi.

Seeing Yu Hong and the others happily reunited, the two Golden Immortals also felt their tension ease.

"That power just now was very strong, but also very weak!" Fu Bai said softly.

"What do you mean?" Feng Xuezi asked.

"Zheng Rou should have just recently awakened his bloodline. Though the rank is high, the density is extremely thin. It could barely wrap around me, isolating everything else to protect me. But due to its thin density, it would quickly collapse if faced with a large amount of slightly lower-level power." Fu Bai explained.

"I noticed that too. Zheng Rou's situation doesn't follow the usual gradual climb through the Immortal Dao Realms. His body and Divine Sense were elevated to a very high level by the bloodline awakening, but due to the lack of a matching cultivation technique, he could only continue to practice low-level magical power." Feng Xuezi nodded.

"Give me the item." Fu Bai said.

"You have a solution?" Feng Xuezi tossed the lump to Fu Bai and watched as he pressed it on his back. The lump instantly swelled and expanded, returning to its original size.

"Years ago, I encountered this kind of naturally blessed Sacred Body. Their inherent strength is extremely high, with natural high-quality and high-level power within. But these Sacred Bodies have a problem. Their full potential, once exhausted, becomes their ultimate limit, unable to progress any further. Simply put, the Sacred Body's potential is its strength limit. Most Sacred Bodies lack corresponding cultivation techniques," Fu Bai explained.

"I also know a bit about Sacred Bodies. Their growth cycle is usually very long. Though they are powerful, they are too slow, not suitable for our current situation," Feng Xuezi agreed. "Do you have a method?"

"I have an idea. Many among the Heavenly Venerates possess Sacred Bodies. Among them, Shaohu Taixu Heavenly Venerate is quite similar to Zheng Rou, with high-level innate bloodline. After exhausting his potential and reaching the peak of Golden Immortal, he could not take the final step to become a Saint and achieve Heavenly Venerate. So he came up with a solution..." Fu Bai explained.

"You mean...." Feng Xuezi seemingly recognized the story of this Heavenly Venerate too.

"Nine Calculation Heavenly Extreme?"

"Exactly. I happen to possess this item, retrieved from the ruins of the Nine Calculation Heavenly Palace. Though it's damaged, I believe Zheng Rou has the ability to repair it." Fu Bai smiled, producing a black and gold cube from the lump on his back.

One sixth of the cube's edge was broken, and it had a crooked crack running through it.

Meanwhile, Yu Hong and Ku Chan, Quan He, and others were reuniting, sharing their experiences after parting ways.

"Come with us, don't be alone anymore. Even Senior Feng Xuezi's Array is now merged with the spaceship," Ku Chan seriously invited.

Yu Hong's smile slightly dimmed.

He wanted to say yes, but.... the dangerous encounter during the invisible belt calamity flashed in his mind.

He had to keep moving forward, forward, and forward, until he found the true land of vitality.

During this journey, no one could match his pace. They would encounter various extreme dangers and threats.

Even with a Heavenly Venerate-enhanced safehouse, it couldn't block all dangers.

After all, even Heavenly Venerates had perished in the Heartless Belt and Invisible Belt.

"It's better not to. I'll be in the front, leading the way. You can follow behind, providing support and contact, helping to strategize," Yu Hong replied.

"Indeed, we can no longer keep up with you... but with Senior Fu Bai and Uncle Master Feng Xuezi here, we can at least offer some support from behind, including supplies. Though you're strong now, you still need food and drink to sustain your body." Quan He sighed. She could no longer even grasp his magnitude...

"Alright, it's settled then. We'll form a formation. I'll lead in front, and you follow. If any trouble arises, I'll notify you, and once it's resolved, we'll continue forward," Yu Hong nodded.

Though it was uncertain how long this arrangement would last, it was the best mode of cooperation for now.

"Alright, everyone, come look. There's something new!" Feng Xuezi's voice interrupted the conversation.

The group followed Feng Xuezi to his side, looking at the giant light screen condensing in mid-air in front of him and Fu Bai.