In front of the greenish fog, forces from both sides were keeping a distance from each other. Anyone could see that there was something unusual about this place.
The good thing was, this building was spacious and empty. It was not crowded, even with several hundred people from both sides gathered there.
Those who dared to go there were mostly top fighters of the Nine-Step Saint King rank who wanted to get their hands on the Divine Sky-Connecting Tree.
“That’s a rich concentration of Qi of the Divine Tree. Is that ancient towering tree the Divine Sky-Connecting Tree mentioned in the legend? It is truly extraordinary! But why are its leaves yellowish brown?”
Ten-Eyed Qiankun Insect came up, his eyes flashing.
If he could get his hands on the Divine Sky-Connecting Tree, he would no longer be the Six Fatals of the Fane of Youshen, but the most powerful among the younger generation. He would trample Cang Long and Ruan Ling under his feet. He could ascend into divinity by self-cultivation, becoming the second-in-command of the Fane of Youshen.
Back then, it was because of the presence of the Divine Sky-Connecting Tree that many deities were born. So everything thought that the Divine Sky-Connecting Tree possessed the secret to divinity.
“Why can’t we move past this point?”
Ten-Eyed Qiankun Insect looked puzzled.
Just like what happened to Zhang Ruochen before, a strange force was preventing Ten-Eyed Qiankun Insect from entering. The Divine Sky-Connecting Tree was within view, but he just could not touch it.
“Break!”
Ten-Eyed Qiankun Insect made a move. He opened his ten eyes and focused them all at one point, then turned that focal point into a brilliant saint light to strike the invisible barrier in front of him.
“Don’t do anything stupid!”
Someone tried to stop him, but it was too late.
Bang!
A slight tremor ripped through the dimension, creating ripples and causing the saint light to dissipate quickly.
Some strange sounds came from within the tree trunk as groups of blue flames appeared. there were so many of them that when looking from afar, it appeared like the beautiful blue starlight in the night sky.
Each flame was a God-Eater Bug.
“Where are so many God-Eater Bugs from?”
Ten-Eyed Qiankun Insect’s face changed, and he quickly retreated.
Looking over, there were thousands of God-Eater Bugs inside the tree trunk. Not all the bugs were the size of the nail of a finger, some as large as a fist and water basin. There were even larger ones still hidden inside the deep part of the trunk.
Any of these God-Eater Bugs could pose a grave threat to Saint King fighters. Those bigger ones could even threaten Supreme Saint fighters.
More God-Eater Bugs flew out of the trunk of the Divine Sky-Connecting Tree, passing through the invisible barrier, and swarmed into the building where the fighters were.
Everyone freaked out at seeing what happened.
Just when Zhang Ruochen was about to perform a Spatial Domain, Ji Fanxin was one step ahead of him. She directed the tamed God-Eater Bugs to disperse and created a special shield around them.
With this special shield, those God-Eater Bugs coming out of the tree trunk ignored them and flew toward other people.
“Dummy!”
Someone could not hold back his anger.
But it was not the time to make an issue of it. Everyone was focusing on protecting themselves while attacking the God-Eater Bugs.
There is always strength in numbers. As the number of God-Eater Bugs grew, those Saint King fighters would be quickly overwhelmed.
Screams rose as some fighters had failed to ward off the God-Eater Bugs’ attack.
There were more screams followed.
It did not take long before ashes piled up on the ground.
A God-Eater Bug the size of a water basin flew out and ate one of the bugs circling Zhang Ruochen and Ji Fanxin.
Apparently, this large bug had sensed something wrong. It devoured its own kind.
Zhang Ruochen needed to act. Using his flaming Fire God’s Gauntlet and Bracers, he hit the larger God-Eater Bug.
He did not perform any saint technique in this move, just his physical strength. This was to prevent something worse from happening.
With his current level of bodily strength and power, a punch was powerful enough to destroy a higher-order Thousand-Inscription Sacred Artifact.
But a punch like this could only deflect the bug, not hurting it.
The larger bug was apparently pissed, judging by the more intense blue flames burning on its body as it charged at him.
Zhang Ruochen did not dodge. With a precise calculation of timing, he triggered the Qiankun Realm as soon as the God-Eater Bug approached. The bug was powerful and should be able to get itself out of trouble.
But when it sensed the air of the sapling of the Divine Sky-Connecting Tree, its eyes brightened up, and it flew toward the Qiankun Realm.
The dimension contorted slightly to suck the God-Eater Bug into the Qiankun Realm.
Before this, Zhang Ruochen had communicated with the sapling, and was confident of taming this larger God-Eater Bug. After all, God-Eating Bugs were nurtured in the Divine Sky-Connecting Tree.
Even though the Divine Sky-Connecting Tree in the Qiankun Realm was still small, it was the same with those Divine Sky-Connecting Trees back then. Most likely, the bug would not resist it.
God-Eater Bugs were extraordinary creatures. It would be nice if he could tame them for his own use.
After a few moments, the larger God-Eater Bug had calmed down. It burrowed into the root of the Divine Sky-Connecting Tree.
“I can only pacify the God-Eater Bug temporarily, Zhang Ruochen. I need more time to tame it,” said the sapling of the Divine Sky-Connecting Tree.
There was a smile on Zhang Ruochen’s face. That was all he needed.
He immediately opened up the Qiankun Realm to let in more God-Eater Bugs.
He wanted to capture enough God-Eater Bugs so he could form a terrifying army composed of these bugs. It would be another trump card for him.
In just a few moments, other than those God-Eater Bugs that were killed, and those tamed by Pan Ruo, Zhang Ruochen had captured over 3,000 of them, including seven the size of a water basin.
All eyes were on him suddenly. It surprised them to see he could so effortlessly capture thousands of God-Eater Bugs.
“Why didn’t you do this earlier since you can capture the bugs, Zhang Ruochen? Many people didn’t have to die,” said Shi Lingkun.
A fist-sized God-Eater Bug bit his arm just now, and he had to cut off that arm to save his life.
This was the reason he was upset, wanting to confront Zhang Ruochen for his suffering.
But Zhang Ruochen was not nonchalant. “First, it was not my responsibility to protect anyone. Second, who told you I could effortlessly capture those God-Eater Bugs? If you are not happy with me, I can release them back out.”
Shi Lingkun’s face changed upon hearing that. And he dared not say anything else.
If Zhang Ruochen wanted to pick on him, he might not make it out of here alive.
After a round of God-Eater Bug attacks, both sides suffered great casualties. Everyone’s face looked gloomy.
Meanwhile, Ten-Eyed Qiankun Insect had retreated to the rear and dared not show his face again. After all, he knew he was the one who caused this tragedy, and he was responsible for it.
Right now, there were still many God-Eater Bugs inside the trunk of the Divine Sky-Connecting Tree. They were giving out beautiful blue flames and could come out at any moment.
In this circumstance, no one dared to act recklessly for fear that it would trigger another round of God-Eater Bug attack.
“Now I see.”
Pan Ruo suddenly spoke.
“What have you found, Pan Ruo?” asked Yuanmo Shenzi.
Pan Ruo pointed a finger upward. “It is that thing that forms the strange barrier.”
Everyone looked up at the ceiling at once.
On the dome of the building was what might look like an old bronzed compass. It slowly spun and emitted a strange energy.
“Isn’t that the Xianji Compass?” There was a hint of surprise in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes.
From what he had heard, the Xianji Sect had an heirloom that was known as Xianji Compass. It was a powerful Supreme Artifact that had existed since time immemorial.
After the fall of the Xianji Sect, the entire Xianji Mountain had been sealed off. No one went in. Many people coveted the Xianjin Compass, but no one knew where it was.
“It is Xianji Compass, the heirloom of the Xianji Sect!”
Someone exclaimed in surprise.
Apparently, the Celestial Realm cultivators who had entered the Kunlun Realm had learned a lot of information about the Kunlun Realm.
After the Xianji Sect was wiped out, people thought the Xianji Compass must have fallen in the hands of the Deathkin. Little did they expect the compass was still in Xianji Mountain.
People’s eyes started to light up in excitement. They all could not wait to keep the Xianji Compass to themselves.
Different Supreme Artifacts had different levels of power. Sometimes, the gaps could be very huge. The Xianji Compass was a top-class Supreme Artifact, which meant it would give the holder an incredible power.
An ancient, eternal macroworld like the Kunlun Realm had few top-of-the-lines Supreme Artifacts even in its glorious days.
Those weaker macroworlds might not even have a single piece of top-tier Supreme Artifact.
“I happen to be short of a Supreme Artifact. This Xianji Compass looks right to me.” Pan Ruo reached out her hand to grab at the Xianji Compass remotely.
“Not so easy!” Xuanyuan Liekong shouted.
“No one can take the thing that Pan Ruo wants.” Yuanmo Shenzi hissed.
He waved his Demonic Spear, gathering his Supreme Power to strike Xuanyuan Liekong.
Just like the Demonic Saber of Qi Yang, Yuanmo Shenzi’s Demonic Spear was a newly forged Supreme Artifact. It was flawless and had a higher level of strength.
But Xuanyuan Liekong did not budge. He swung his Sky-Piercer Halberd to meet Yuanmo Shenzi.
The Sky-Piercer Halberd was also a Supreme Artifact, the strength of which was no less than Yuanmo Shenzi’s Demonic Spear.
Without this weapon, how could Xuanyuan Liekong sit at the helm of Northern Region Base, and challenge Yuanmo Shenzi?
At this time, others also made their moves, starting fighting for the top-tier Supreme Artifact.
The presence of the Xianji Compass here had significant meaning. Who knows, if they could get the compass, they could also take the Divine Sky-Connecting Tree, too?
Shi Lingkun was staring greedily at the Xianji Compass in a corner.
While everyone fought, he performed a secret technique of the Blackdemon Realm, hiding in the shadow, and quietly made his way up to the dome.
“The Xianji Compass is mine!”
His heart fluttered as he drew close to the Xianji Compass.
As soon as he got the Xianji Compass, he would immediately leave with the help of a talisman, then find a place to refine the Xianji Compass. No one could do anything about him by then.
Just then, five God-Eater Bugs flew out of the Gate of Destiny behind Pan Ruo, landed on the back of Shi Lingkun in a flash before burrowing into his body.
“No—”
He howled in fear, his voice filled with indignation.
He fell straight down from the dome. He tried to fight back, but could just do so for a few seconds before the God-Eater Bugs burned him into ashes.
Seeing what happened to Shi Lingkun, the fighters from the Blackdemon Realm looked grave. They had wanted to charge at Pan Ruo, but they were also wary of her and could do nothing about her.
