Chapter 617: Walking Right Into the Trap
“Then came the madness of the demon beasts, losing their rationality, tearing up the ceasefire agreement, both sides going to war, humanity changing their cultivation strategy, all becoming body refiners.”
“Based on the body refinement methods you collected, there’s nothing wrong with them either, just a bit crude compared to orthodox body refiners.”
“And since records began, when living beings die they return to the earth, so people here don’t see any problem with this method of handling corpses after death.”
“Now it seems the biggest issues are two points: where did the Unity Stage cultivators go, and why do living beings dissolve into the earth.”
Steward Fang frowned, unable to figure it out despite much thought.
Suddenly, an aged voice sounded: “Don’t understand? Then let me tell you the reason.”
“Who’s there!” Steward Fang abruptly stood up. This voice was faint and ethereal, actually evading his spiritual sense.
“I am the Unity Stage cultivator you’re looking for. Didn’t you want to find me? I’ve come.” An old man, hunched over, slowly appeared before everyone.
Only then did everyone realize that without noticing, the library had emptied, leaving only them.
“I noticed you the moment you arrived. Tell me, how did you get here? Teach me the method and I’ll spare your lives!” The old man revealed a greedy expression.
He never expected that just following the plan to have a group of humans die in the dense forest would bring such an unexpected delight.
A Spirit Transformation cultivator, bringing along a few Core Formation youngsters, barging in here. From their conversation, these people came from another world.
Excellent, finally he could leave this damned place.
His lifespan was nearly exhausted now, he needed to find heaven-and-earth treasures to prolong his life. There was nothing left in their world that he could consume.
“Spare our lives? Why must you be so aggressive, sir?” Steward Fang placed his hand behind his back, gripping the Summoning Talisman.
“Hah, when the strong speak to the weak, why be polite? Sparing your lives is my greatest mercy.” The old man radiated killing intent. In his era, when the weak had good things, they should offer them to the strong. What reasoning was there to speak of?
Steward Fang realized the other party had no intention of letting them live at all.
Indeed, no matter how careful you are, you still can’t detect when a high-level cultivator is watching you.
Steward Fang felt he hadn’t done anything wrong, but who could have thought the place they arrived just happened to be within the spiritual sense range of a Unity Stage cultivator.
What kind of luck was this?
The disciples realized the seriousness of the situation, feeling a chill in their hearts. They were born in peaceful times and had never faced life-and-death trials before.
They came out with a sightseeing mentality, never expecting to encounter danger.
Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu didn’t forget they were Core Formation cultivators. Following procedure, they should be trembling with fear.
So the two shook like sieves.
“What’s that in your hand? A talisman for escaping?”
The old man reached out, a suction force appearing in his palm that pulled the Summoning Talisman over, then tore it apart, grinning fiercely: “Escape? Not so easy!”
But what the old man didn’t know was that the way to use the Summoning Talisman was to tear it open.
A light circle appeared before the old man, and from the other side came a voice: “I’d like to see who dares to bully people from our Spirit Plant Sect.”
A green-robed cultivator appeared before everyone, brimming with vitality. Where his footprints landed, flowers and tender grass grew.
“Sect Leader!” Steward Fang and the disciples rejoiced.
The Spirit Plant Sect Leader, mid Unity Stage cultivation.
Steward Fang transmitted his spiritual sense, quickly explaining the whole story.
“You’re only early Unity Stage, with declining vitality and dried-up lifespan, already at the end of your rope, yet you still want to kill witnesses, seize by force, bully our Spirit Plant Sect as if we have no one?” The Spirit Plant Sect Leader grew furious. He glared, releasing his Unity Stage aura, his robust vitality forcing the old man back three stumbling steps.
The old man had never encountered other Unity Stage cultivators before. He never imagined there could be such a huge gap between Unity Stage cultivators.
Since the old man showed no courtesy to their Spirit Plant Sect members, the Spirit Plant Sect Leader saw no reason to be courteous to him either.
“Tree rise.”
A towering tree burst from the ground, lifting the entire library. The Spirit Plant Sect Leader didn’t want the battle to affect other living beings.
“Azure Green Style.” The Spirit Plant Sect Leader drew his sword, sweeping out a green sword energy.
The old man instinctively blocked it, only to discover this sword energy actually absorbed his already limited vitality, frightening him into quickly dodging away.
After obtaining vitality, the green sword energy seemed to come alive, transforming into a swimming dragon that attacked the old man.
The Spirit Plant Sect Leader threw out a handful of seeds that landed on the old man’s body, taking root and sprouting.
The old man used a fire technique to burn away the green sprouts on his body.
He felt a chill—his opponent’s methods revealed an evil aura that was hard to guard against.
“Luo Zhi’s methods truly live up to his origins in the demonic path,” Bai Hongtu muttered quietly nearby.
Luo Zhi was the Spirit Plant Sect Leader. He was born six hundred years ago into a demonic path family. From birth he displayed exceptional talent, mastering demonic path methods of absorbing vitality, which delighted his family.
Later, the Old Human Sovereign purged Luo Zhi’s family. Seeing that Luo Zhi was still young and hadn’t committed evil deeds, he spared him.
The Spirit Plant Sect’s Grand Elder Zhang Sen was also present and proposed adopting Luo Zhi.
Luo Zhi flourished in the Spirit Plant Sect like a fish in water. He planted trees, drawing vitality from them as combat methods, becoming a rare combat cultivator in the Spirit Plant Sect.
In the demonic path family, Luo Zhi experienced cold interest exchange, while in the Spirit Plant Sect, he felt the warmth of home, thus viewing all sect members as his family.
Now that his sect members were threatened in another world, he didn’t mind using demonic path methods to express his anger.
The old man was completely overwhelmed by Luo Zhi’s attacks. Covered in wounds, vomiting blood repeatedly, his vitality was rapidly draining away.
The old man revealed teeth that had been knocked half out, his throat emitting a crow-like laugh: “Such vigorous vitality, the Master will definitely like it.”
Luo Zhi remained unmoved, throwing out two seeds that instantly grew into two long spears that pierced through the old man’s shoulders.
The spears carried immense force, carrying the old man flying toward the cosmos.
Suddenly, the spears stopped, as if stuck at the boundary of the universe.
The universe boundary squirmed, secreting an unknown liquid that melted the spears away.
“I told you, the Master will like you,” the old man laughed. He regained vitality from the unknown liquid secreted by the “universe boundary.”
Luo Zhi frowned, realizing something was wrong. He expanded his spiritual sense, then his body trembled.
This wasn’t the cosmos at all—they were all inside the belly of some colossal creature.
If someone pulled their perspective back, they would see a massive creature lying in the cosmos, surrounded by shattered stars that it used to grind its teeth.
And inside the massive creature’s belly was a self-contained world, full of vitality, where Mad Demons and humans warred, the winners surviving and the losers being absorbed by the massive creature’s stomach.
What Steward Fang and the others stood on wasn’t earth at all, but this creature’s stomach wall!
“Starfield Colossus?” Luo Zhi recognized the massive creature’s origin.