Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 963: Silent Annihilation Immortal, Don’t Even Think About Deceiving One!
“Earth Calamity.”
With a mere thought, the Great Venerable Dragon Mandate caused three stars to descend from the lightning tribulation, hurtling toward the Midheaven Emperor-Lord clone.
These were not true tribulation lightning bolts but stars that had been compressed and transformed through the Tribulation Mandate Dao Fruit. Originally, each star was so enormous that a single one would fill the entire space. After compression, three could strike the Midheaven Emperor-Lord’s clone simultaneously with attacks that were astonishingly dense, exceedingly hard, and more devastating than the original stars.
If it were the Devil-Vanquishing Divine Lord, who was currently locked in fierce combat outside, one such falling star would be all it took to shatter his Vajra body, let alone three.
Numerous black vortices materialized around the Midheaven Emperor-Lord clone. The three stars descended and exploded, shaking the entirety of the small world. The black vortices dug a hole straight through the stars, and the Midheaven Emperor-Lord clone emerged from the hole, still completely unscathed.
But the Great Venerable Dragon Mandate had now ascertained the nature of the Midheaven Emperor-Lord’s Dao Fruit.
“As I thought, it is a devouring-type Dao Fruit.”
Had it been a transferring- or space-type Dao Fruit, it would not have drilled a hole through the stars—it would have made them disappear into thin air. Transferring an entire star would be far easier than transferring only a portion.
“How’s that, Immortal Venerable?” The voice that emerged from the Midheaven Emperor-Lord clone was suddenly the Specter Lord’s, dripping with ridicule and derision.
If the Specter Lord hadn’t known that the Midheaven Emperor-Lord’s Dao Fruit could devour all manner of heavenly tribulations, he would not have been so confident.
“Trite and unworthy of mention. When Qilin withstood my heavenly tribulations, he grew stronger. Mere devouring is nothing,” the Great Venerable Dragon Mandate commented coldly, unmoved.
“Let’s hope you can still say that in the face of death, Immortal Venerable.”
Fire Calamity, Water Calamity, Wind Calamity—the three calamities with the world-annihilating power descended in succession, interwoven with various lightning tribulations. All were devoured by the Midheaven Emperor-Lord clone.
“You dare approach one?” The Great Venerable Dragon Mandate extended a dragon claw toward the clone.
Having lost his physical body, this was a pure soul attack. The Specter Lord hidden within the Midheaven Emperor-Lord clone would absolutely be unable to withstand such a blow. Rather than engaging in a contest of Dao Fruits, directly attacking the Specter Lord’s soul was far easier.
Yet, the moment the dragon claw touched the Midheaven Emperor-Lord clone, a vortex appeared beside the clone once more and devoured the whole of the claw!
The Devouring Dao Fruit had devoured a soul!
From how the Devouring Dao Fruit had behaved earlier, its devouring speed was certainly not this fast. Some portion of the soul attack should have reached the Specter Lord.
Unless the Devouring Dao Fruit now devours souls faster than it devours matter!
“Immortal Venerable, why not guess why my master’s clone devoured me?” The Specter Lord’s mocking laugh rang out once more from the Midheaven Emperor-Lord clone.
During the Great Qian era, the Specter Lord’s divine office was to govern ghosts, ensuring they perished in an orderly manner without affecting the mortal realm. As a result, though his Incipient Dao Fruit belonged to the lineage of the Soul Dao Fruit, it was not simply connected to souls in a general sense—it focused on restraining and consuming them.
After the Devouring Dao Fruit devoured the Specter Lord, its speed at devouring souls had been enhanced.
The Great Venerable Dragon Mandate could no longer attack with his soul!
Dragon roars echoed through the sky as the Great Venerable Dragon Mandate and the Midheaven Emperor-Lord clone engaged in an increasingly terrifying contest. The clone fought with growing ferocity, while the Great Venerable Dragon Mandate began to show signs of fatigue, as if on the verge of defeat.
“Immortal Venerable, it seems your abilities aren’t as formidable as the legends would have it.” The Specter Lord laughed heartily, glancing disdainfully at the Great Venerable Dragon Mandate. To overpower an ancient personage and even slay him—there is nothing more satisfying.
“Is that all you have? Nothing special at all!
“Are you too weak, or is my master’s clone too strong?
“The victor becomes the king, and the loser becomes a bandit. I’ll be taking the Tribulation Mandate Dao Fruit!”
Just when the Specter Lord believed the outcome was decided, the Great Venerable Dragon Mandate, who had covered the sky, suddenly contracted inward, condensing into a man who bore the bearing of both an emperor and an ethereal immortal. The two completely different auras coexisted on him without the slightest incongruity.
“So this is your true form, Immortal Venerable? Shrinking to facilitate escape...” The Specter Lord thought nothing of it and continued to jeer. But before he could finish, the Heaven Mandate Immortal instantly teleported to the Midheaven Emperor-Lord’s clone with unimaginable speed, seizing him by the throat.
“You...you have a physical form!” The Specter Lord stared at the true Heaven Mandate Immortal in disbelief, completely devoid of his earlier arrogance.
The Heaven Mandate Immortal gazed coldly at the Specter Lord hiding within the Midheaven Emperor-Lord clone and said calmly, “Fool. Since you know I am the progenitor of artifact refinement, did it never occur to you that I could forge a body from immortal metal?”
That said, he had only forged a portion of an immortal body from immortal metal; many parts still lacked a physical form.
But against this clone, it’s more than sufficient.
“If not for one’s worry that unleashing stronger heavenly tribulations would shatter this small world and attract Silent Annihilation, how could the mere Devouring Dao Fruit possessed by this clone have devoured one’s heavenly tribulations?
“Remember, this is the tribulation of arrogance and hubris.”
“You...you cannot kill me! Killing me will make you an enemy of the Great Qian Dynasty! My master will not spare you!” The Specter Lord panicked, realizing he had significantly underestimated the Heaven Mandate Immortal’s prowess.
This is not an entity I can scheme against!
“Long-winded.” The Heaven Mandate Immortal’s right hand tightened, and a lightning tribulation condensed to the extreme appeared in his palm.
The Midheaven Emperor-Lord clone was instantly sundered into pieces. The Specter Lord did not even have time to cry out.
~~~
“Strange. The third infiltrator had a token inscribed with “Heaven Mandate” and was about to attack that lass Jinghong when he got sucked into the ancient ring.”
A thought struck Lu Yang. “Could there be clues about Senior Heaven Mandate inside that ancient ring? And isn’t there a senior’s soul inside it? Could that senior be in danger?”
“Xiao Yangzi, go and check on the situation.”
Lu Yang hurried to Jinghong’s side. Having heard her shifu’s warning, Jinghong realized that a great battle was unfolding within the ancient ring. She was so terrified that she could barely speak coherently.
After all, unlike Lu Yang, she had never experienced an immortal battle at such close range.
“Immortal Fairy, this...”
“Simple. I’ll pull both of you in.”
Without a second word, the Everlasting Immortal Fairy pulled Lu Yang and Jinghong into the ancient ring’s small world.
The small world within the ring was a scene of utter devastation, clearly having been ravaged by a great battle. Lu Yang and the Everlasting Immortal Fairy looked up at the sky, seeming to have sensed something.
In the sky, the Midheaven Emperor-Lord clone was slowly crumbling to dust in the Heaven Mandate Immortal’s grasp, fading with the wind.
“Heaven Mandate Immortal!” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy pointed at him, her face lighting up with joy. I’ve finally encountered someone alive.
Lu Yang hadn’t expected the Heaven Mandate Immortal to be here. He had thought there would at most be some clues about him.
“Helpers?!” The Heaven Mandate Immortal sensed people barging into the ancient ring and assumed they were reinforcements from the Great Qian Dynasty.
He looked down and saw the Everlasting Immortal Fairy. His heart sank. As I thought, I still attracted the enemy I had hoped to avoid. “Silent Annihilation Immortal!”
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy flew into the air and excitedly waved at the Heaven Mandate Immortal. “What do you mean, 'Silent Annihilation Immortal'? It’s me, Everlasting!”
To her dismay, the Heaven Mandate Immortal refused to believe her, rebuking sternly. “What Everlasting? You’re genuinely looking down on one, Silent Annihilation. You’ve already deceived me once. Do you think I would fall for it again?!”
He had not fought with his full strength earlier, fearing the small world would collapse and attract the Silent Annihilation Immortal. But now that she’s already here, there is no more reason to hold back.
The small world was now filled with the power of heavenly tribulations. Countless heavenly tribulations appeared, terrifying beyond measure.
“Why won’t you believe me? Oh, I know, I’ll self-detonate for you!” Seeing that the Heaven Mandate Immortal refused to believe her, the Everlasting Immortal Fairy had a sudden flash of inspiration. Without hesitation, she prepared to self-detonate as proof.
The Heaven Mandate Immortal’s expression changed drastically. This self-detonation doesn’t look fake!
He hastily withdrew the heavenly tribulation power and called out, “Wait! One—eh, no—I believe—”
BOOM!
