Chapter 294 – Corrupted Spirit Veins, Essence of Forbidden Land's Power

Taisui, a special existence nearly akin to ‘Hundun’.

In Lu Chen’s current experiences, he had only heard one account regarding ‘Taisui’.

That was the Mountains and Seas Scroll given by the Shanhai Bureau to its cultivators, which seemed to be crafted from Taisui Flesh.

As for the Black Taisui now appearing before Lu Chen, though he didn’t know its relationship with the Taisui from the Shanhai Bureau,

Lu Chen instinctively sensed vast Ancient Fiend Power emanating from it.

He speculated that this Black Taisui before him might be different from the Taisui in his understanding.

It was likely a being similar to Ancient Fiend flesh.

Otherwise, how could it continuously generate Ancient Fiend Power within the Immortal Alliance filled with Spiritual Power,

ignoring the purifying effects of Spiritual Power on itself?

This was not something ordinary Ancient Fiend objects could achieve.

Seeing one spot reveals the whole leopard; through this Black Taisui, Lu Chen thought of the four great Forbidden Lands outside the Immortal Alliance.

Perhaps the reason those Forbidden Lands could exist was because they contained large quantities of ‘Black Taisui’.

Just as within the Immortal Alliance’s territory, there existed countless Spiritual Veins.

Maybe this Black Taisui served the Ancient Fiends in the same way Spiritual Veins served cultivators.

But these matters remained too distant for Lu Chen at present.

What he needed to do now was quickly activate his Nine Realms Token and complete the main quest within the game.

He had a feeling that once his main quest reached a certain stage,

many previously unclear matters might gradually find answers.

With this thought, Lu Chen immediately looked up at the black flesh-tree before him.

Perhaps sensing the danger from Lu Chen, Black Taisui’s trunk began shaking violently.

The next moment, massive amounts of forbidden power started radiating from Black Taisui’s body,

causing the entire underground space to tremble fiercely.

Elsewhere in the underground factory.

“Uncle Jiang, where’s Xiao Lu?”

Mu Xiaoye, bringing along several captured Black Lotus Cultists, found Jiang Yuanshan who had just dealt with the three-headed rat beast.

The three-headed rat beast was no longer as imposing as before; not only were its three heads blown apart,

but its body was also torn to pieces and charred black.

Clearly indicating what it had endured before death.

And this was only about a minute after Lu Chen had left.

To eliminate a Golden Core Stage aberrant creature in just one minute—

Jiang Yuanshan’s strength was evident.

In response to Mu Xiaoye’s question, Jiang Yuanshan pointed toward a nearby direction.

That was precisely the area the three-headed rat beast had been guarding initially.

Just as Mu Xiaoye intended to follow Jiang Yuanshan’s direction to see if she could assist Lu Chen,

the entire underground space began shaking violently.

Moreover, Mu Xiaoye and Jiang Yuanshan felt a terrifying, heart-palpitating aura spreading from the depths of the underground factory.

Jiang Yuanshan and Mu Xiaoye exchanged glances, both seeing solemn expressions in each other’s eyes.

Without a doubt, something had happened on Lu Chen’s side.

Although both firmly believed in Lu Chen’s capabilities,

that aura was far too bizarre.

If they had to describe it in words, the feeling it gave Jiang Yuanshan and Mu Xiaoye was like a cold, abyssal deep pool—devouring all things.”Let’s go, this place is about to collapse!”

Jiang Yuanshan shouted, extending his hand to cast a Spiritual Power barrier over the nearby Mountain and Sea Walkers he had brought with him.

Then he led the group, flying directly upward through the underground factory.

The solid concrete walls along the way crumbled like tofu before this powerful Golden Core Stage Scripture Master, and they quickly broke through to the surface.

On the other side, although Mu Xiaoye was only at the Foundation Establishment Stage,

she emerged from underground almost simultaneously with Jiang Yuanshan.

The Phoenix Calamity Fire enveloping her was the reason she could accomplish this.

As the group escaped the underground factory, they quickly saw the source of the earlier earthquake.

The original underground factory had completely vanished,

replaced by a bizarre, enormous flesh tree.

This flesh tree stood a hundred meters tall, its canopy covered with heads of various creatures.

Just one glance filled Jiang Yuanshan and Mu Xiaoye with an indescribable palpitation,

as if this flesh tree and Cultivators like them were natural enemies.

“What… what is this?”

Mu Xiaoye stared at the black flesh tree, asking in stunned amazement.

“The Forbidden Ancient Tree, a unique plant species found only in Forbidden Lands.”

“However, for such trees, the Spiritual Power pervasive throughout the Immortal Alliance is like poison – absorbing just a little would cause them to wither on the spot. That’s why Forbidden Ancient Trees have almost no place to survive within the Immortal Alliance.”

“Yet what stands before us is undoubtedly a Forbidden Ancient Tree. Something’s wrong here – there’s trickery at play.”

“How has this Forbidden Ancient Tree survived in District 17 until now?”

“And who brought this Forbidden Ancient Tree to District 17? Without cooperation from certain people within District 17, or even Nanli City itself, this Forbidden Ancient Tree could never have bypassed the city gates guarded by the Vermillion Bird Army.”

Hearing Jiang Yuanshan’s words, Mu Xiaoye’s expression turned extremely grave.

She could infer much from his words.

Perhaps Nanli City was far less stable than she had imagined.

Although this Forbidden Ancient Tree had an astonishing Aura, neither Mu Xiaoye nor Jiang Yuanshan rushed to attack.

Because standing opposite the Forbidden Ancient Tree, a figure wearing a Trigram Celestial Robe had already isolated the forbidden power around it,

confining the Forbidden Ancient Tree’s influence to a very limited area.

The one isolating the Forbidden Ancient Tree was none other than Lu Chen, who had activated his ‘Supreme Purity Numinous Treasure Heavenly Lord Dharma Body’.

[Black Taisui]

[Grade: Nascent Soul Stage]

[Description: A unique plant species from the Ancient Fiend Nine Realms, capable of devouring all things and emitting forbidden power]

Facing the nearby Black Taisui, Lu Chen didn’t rush to attack.

Although this tree-like Black Taisui had reached Nascent Soul Stage cultivation,

it possessed little intelligence and knew few spells or Divine Abilities.

All it could rely on was its own bizarre forbidden power.

But this forbidden power was completely ineffective against Lu Chen.

Moreover, Lu Chen discovered that his Primordial Qi

seemed to be an extremely counteractive force against this Black Taisui.

Even though it sensed the lethal threat emanating from him, the Black Taisui still didn’t dare approach Lu Chen recklessly.It was clearly quite wary of the Primordial Qi emanating from him.

However, wariness aside, upon realizing it was trapped in a peculiar space with no means of escape, Black Taisui’s intense survival instinct ultimately overcame his fear, and he decisively launched an attack on Lu Chen.

A vast amount of black mist began to emanate from his surroundings.

This black mist churned incessantly, with numerous ghostly spirits faintly visible within it.

Together with the mist, they charged ferociously towards Lu Chen, their faces twisted in malevolence.

Facing this eerie black mist, Lu Chen slowly raised his hand.

In the next moment, countless Flying Swords materialized from Primordial Qi appeared around him.

These Flying Swords differed slightly from the Qi-formed swords Lu Chen had previously conjured.

Before, Lu Chen had merely condensed Spiritual Power into the form of flying swords to use as a means of attack.

But with the empowerment of the Supreme Purity Numinous Treasure Heavenly Lord Dharma Body, Lu Chen’s Qi-formed swords had undergone further transformations.

Though these swords were formed from Qi, their effects and power were no different from ordinary Magical Artifacts or Magic Treasures.

“Go.”

At Lu Chen’s command, thousands of Qi swords surged forth like a hundred boats striving in a race, assaulting the black mist released by Black Taisui.

Streak after streak of Qi swords sliced through the air, piercing into the black mist.

Immediately, agonized screams erupted from within the mist.

These Magic Swords, condensed from Primordial Qi, demonstrated an absolute suppression over demonic heresies like Black Taisui.

The forbidden power that instilled such dread in ordinary people began to dissolve like ice and snow upon mere contact with Lu Chen’s Magic Swords.

Thus, in the blink of an eye, the forbidden black mist unleashed by Black Taisui was riddled with countless holes.

After piercing through the forbidden black mist, these Magic Swords swiftly flew towards Black Taisui’s main body.

Though lacking much intelligence, Black Taisui was not entirely defenseless.

The trunk of Black Taisui writhed, and numerous branches transformed into various bizarre beasts or Cultivators.

Facing the onslaught of Magic Swords resembling a torrential downpour,

these half-human, half-ghost creatures each displayed their unique Divine Abilities, much like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea.

Bang, bang, bang…

Upon contact, Lu Chen’s Magic Swords quickly pierced through some of these creatures.

However, more of the swords were shattered by their diverse spells and Divine Abilities.

To Lu Chen’s surprise,

the monsters growing from the canopy of Black Taisui seemed nearly impossible to kill.

Even if their bodies, sprouting from the trunk, were completely destroyed by Lu Chen,

they could regenerate in a very short time.

Only a few that were severed by Lu Chen let out agonized screams upon hitting the ground before turning into piles of ashes.

Witnessing this, Lu Chen understood how to deal with these creatures.

He began deliberately controlling the Flying Swords, focusing his attacks on severing their connection to Black Taisui.

As a result, a large number of monsters were severed from Black Taisui amidst their agonized cries.

Despite Black Taisui being at the Nascent Soul Stage and Lu Chen at the Golden Core Stage,

the dynamics of the battle and the ease with which Lu Chen fought

made it seem as though their positions were reversed.

This scene immediately astonished Jiang Yuanshan and the few Mountain and Sea Walkers he had brought along.

Putting themselves in the situation, they contemplated facing Lu Chen’s tens of thousands of Flying Swords, each comparable to a Magic Treasure.Even a veteran Golden Core Stage cultivator like Jiang Yuanshan might not gain any advantage against this.

And this was merely Lu Chen’s probing attack.

Originally, they had thought this mission would be a collaboration between Lu Chen and themselves.

That both sides would join forces to complete the task.

But now it seemed that even without them, Lu Chen could have accomplished this mission alone.

This was no mere young prodigy who had just stepped into the Golden Core Stage.

Many veteran Golden Core Stage cultivators didn’t possess such terrifying strength, alright?

Perhaps realizing that continuing like this would only lead to his eventual demise at Lu Chen’s hands,

Black Taisui’s trunk began to writhe once more.

His flesh-like bark gradually developed scale-like patterns,

while his crown merged and transformed into a ferocious dragon head after a series of fusion.

In an instant, Black Taisui underwent a complete one-eighty transformation, becoming a Corpse Dragon with half its body rooted in the ground.

Seeing Black Taisui’s transformation into a Corpse Dragon, Lu Chen’s suspicions were confirmed once again.

Everything aligned with his deductions.

The so-called forbidden power was essentially a form of contaminated spiritual power.

And Black Taisui’s true nature was that of a polluted spiritual vein.

This also explained why Black Taisui feared his Primordial Qi so profoundly.

Because Primordial Qi and forbidden power were, in a sense, forces of the same origin.

But Primordial Qi existed at a higher level than forbidden power.

Thus when the two made contact, the inferior force naturally stood no chance, shattering instantly.

Having confirmed everything he wanted to know, Lu Chen decided to stop playing around with Black Taisui.

Boom!

In the calm sky, a thick dark cloud materialized directly above Black Taisui.

Countless golden lightning bolts danced wildly within the cloud formation.

“He-Heavenly Tribulation?!”

Jiang Yuanshan exclaimed in shock at the sudden appearance of the dark cloud.

Summoning Heavenly Tribulation with mortal power—even the Chu Clan of Shenxiao might not be capable of such a feat!

Under the complex gazes of Jiang Yuanshan and the others, the Heavenly Tribulation hovering above Black Taisui… descended.

Boom!

The golden Lightning Tribulation struck Black Taisui, eliciting piercing screams of agony.

Lu Chen appeared completely deaf to the cries, continuously controlling the descent of the Heavenly Tribulation.

Faced with this ultimate yang-aligned Heavenly Tribulation, Black Taisui stood utterly defenseless.

Before long, its dragon-form body was charred black by the lightning strikes.

Even its dragon head now lay fallen on the ground, barely clinging to life.

Complete and utter domination.

Witnessing Lu Chen’s absolute suppression of Black Taisui from start to finish,

Jiang Yuanshan contemplated what he would do in that situation.

If it were him, forget about defeating Black Taisui so effortlessly—

whether he could even survive against Black Taisui would remain uncertain.

After all, he neither possessed the Primordial Qi that countered Black Taisui,

nor mastered the Lightning Tribulation method specifically effective against evil spirits.

If he were to face Black Taisui, he’d likely struggle to survive even the first wave of black mist.

At this realization, Jiang Yuanshan couldn’t help but sigh at how he’d aged.

There was good reason why Lu Chen had become a Scripture Master before them.

As the final Lightning Tribulation struck,

Black Taisui’s body shattered into countless fragments, turning to ashes.And a black flesh-and-blood heart appeared amidst these ashes.

Lu Chen reached out his hand, and the flesh-and-blood heart immediately flew toward him.

At the same time, Lu Chen could feel the Nine Realms Token in his Storage Bag becoming restless.

It seemed eager to devour this flesh-and-blood heart.

(End of Chapter)