Immortal Path to Heaven

More black mists were inverting from the sky above the Forest of Death. They spiraled quickly and formed a cyclone that was wide at the top but narrow at the bottom.

If one looked from afar, the cyclone looked like a funnel that was standing upside down above the forest. Electric lights were vaguely flickering below the vortex, and they interlaced into an extremely shocking net.

The universe was dead silent. Wang Haobin was slowly advancing when he stepped and broke a dried branch, causing a “crack” to be heard beneath his foot.

He wore a red outfit, and he was accompanied by 5 elders in luxurious clothes. Their auras were significantly strong.

All of a sudden, an intense fluctuation appeared in the sky. He looked up as he was surprised, then he sneered. “I can’t believe that someone gave a ferocious beast the chance to devour dead Qi; it’s simply suicidal. We’re in the Forest of Death now, where danger is everywhere.”

One of the elders in an extravagant outfit walked over to him and asked, “Young Master, should we go and take a look? A mutated blood crystal has a special effect.”

Wang Haobin paused but sighed. “Judging from its mightiness, it’s probably a high-rank vicious beast. It won’t be easy to kill it since it devoured dead Qi, and its defense is incredibly strong, so let’s not cause more problems.”

Right after that, he looked around and smiled wickedly as he asked a completely unrelated question, “Do you know why I like to wear red clothes?”

The elders in costly clothes were stunned and before they could answer him, he grabbed the air with his right hand and released suction force to seize a bright-colored poisonous insect. Afterward, his physical power was unleashed to crush the insect. While blood splattered everywhere, he answered himself, “It’s because blood is red, and my outfit is also red…”

Following that, he went deep inside the Forest of Death.

Outside the Forest of Death, below the Water Suspension Tablet, everyone looked at the vortex in the sky with grim looks on their faces.

“What’s happening?” Someone exclaimed!

“Yes, why does it look like the black mists are being swallowed by a monster/” A rogue cultivator asked.

Xue Heran’s face darkened a little. He stroked his beard and explained, “That’s the sign of a mutation. When a savage beast in the forest becomes severely injured but isn’t dead, there’s a very small chance that it’ll mutate. If it does, its defensive power will become fearsome, and one’s strength will have to increase by a rank to break the beast’s defense.”

“Increase by a rank!”

Everyone tensed up, and their pupils shrunk inward.

The vortex dispersed very quickly. Whether it was the disciples from the aristocratic families or the rogue cultivators, they shifted their gaze back to the Water Suspension Tablet.

There were eventually clear gaps between the ranks, and the words on the tablet were clear to see. The empty spots behind the names from before were now filled with words as red as blood.

First place, Wang Haobin, 16 blood crystals.

Second place, Su Tianqian, 6 blood crystals.

Third place, Li Tianyu¹, 4 blood crystals.

…

“Brother Wang, the Wang family has a great chance of being the winner this time!”

“You flatter me. The Hunting Meet has just begun and will last for a month. It’s only the first day now, so this can’t be taken too seriously yet. Besides, your clan—the Chen family—sent 3 Advanced Spiritualists this year, whereas my clan has only 2 including Haobin.”

These 2 people looked like they were in their thirties or forties and were influential people in Guixun City. They wore luxurious clothes and were well-spoken. After grinning at each other, they stopped talking and looked at the Water Suspension Tablet again.

As for Yu Tianrui’s name, it was dim at the bottom of the stone tablet. Thousands of male and female cultivators surrounded the tablet but none of them paid attention to it.

The Forest of Death was deep and dark…

Before long, Ou Yangming had set up a simple Illusion Formation to trap the Black-winged Centipede inside, but the dead Qi above the forest kept gushing into its body. The second Xue Boren got close, the wound on its head was fully recovered.

The beast’s appearance changed drastically, and its aura became more valiant. Its body was giving off black vapor while 3-meters-long spurs grew all over its body. They looked like countless white hooks that were forcibly extended out, and they were closely packed and sharp. In particular, an awe-inspiring white bone on the centipede’s back connected its head and tail. It was covered with fine and dense holes, which released multicolored mists that were clearly poisonous.

Xue Boren wielded his sabers together like horned dragons setting out to the sea. He slashed them at the Black-winged Centipede’s head directly.

Concurrently, a white crystal light flickered in Ou Yangming’s hand. It was the Illusion Formation’s hub, which controlled all of the rune nodes. By gently pressing the white crystal, all of the rune nodes lit up. Mists surged from far to near and transformed into a giant vortex. Silver flying swords filled the sky, then they rang before they were shot out.

The Black-winged Centipede roared angrily and increased its momentum. Its eyes were bloodshot while its spurs stood up like countless sharp sabers.

Without bothering about the cold flying swords at all, it crushed them right away.

Xue Boren’s sabers were also easily resolved by the Black-winged Centipede. At the same time, it swept its power outward. Consequently, the overbearing power caused the elder to stagger backward.

It would be fine if that was all, but the Black-winged Centipede tried to bite Xue Boren with its jagged teeth. Its humongous body became very nimble like a carp swimming in a lake, and it became close to the elder in a flash.

“Hmph, do you think I’m afraid of you!” A cold light also flashed in Xue Boren’s eyes. His Qi momentum surged as he lowered his center of gravity. His body became blurry and unpredictable while the sabers in his hands moved faster, such that numerous magnanimous saber-lights condensed in front of him. When the elder pushed and swept his hands, the accumulated saber-lights charged at the Black-winged Centipede’s heard like 2 giant pythons. It was worth noting that the elder had used his spiritual power wonderfully and with ease.

Xue Xuanle’s beautiful eyes lit up as she exclaimed, “Dual Blade Rushing Dragons…” She was envious as she did not know this technique.

“Boom…” A ring was heard, then the saber-lights surged with furious rage and struck the Black-winged Centipede’s head.

A fleeting black light was seen on the centipede’s head, then the cold and majestic saber-lights disintegrated as though they were eroded by the black vapor. An average airwave spread outward and dispersed many of the mists inside the Illusion Formation.

Xue Boren’s face changed. He staggered as he was appalled. “This brute’s defensive power is probably approaching that of a top-grade spirit beast without a limit now!”

The Dual Blade Rushing Dragon adopted the surging intent of a river rushing into an ocean. Very few people in the Xue family could master it, but it failed to break through the centipede’s defense at the moment. When Xue Boren leaped gently to the right, Ou Yangming pointed with his finger and made a rune node block in front of him. This helped him to retreat from the battlefield and return to the young fellow’s side.

“I didn’t think that we’d come across this when it has such a low probability of happening…” Xue Boren smiled bitterly.

Ou Yangming asked while he controlled the Illusion Formation, “Senior, what do you mean?”

Xue Boren explained in a deep voice as he watched the surging sea of mists, “It’s already very unlikely for us to stumble upon a high-rank ferocious beast at the Forest of Death’s periphery. Fierce beasts above middle rank have an instinct to absorb dead Qi when they’re almost dead, but their success rate is so low that they’ll have a slim chance of surviving. That said, misfortune and blessing come hand in hand. If such a spirit beast succeeds, it’ll be tough to kill it in the Forest of Death as it’ll constantly recover from its injuries and have far greater destructive power than its peers.”

Ou Yangming’s face darkened. He looked at the Black-winged Centipede, which was shrieking continuously in the Illusion Formation, and asked, “What’s with the dead Qi?”

“I have no idea!” Xue Boren shook his head. He pondered for a long time before he added, “I only know that the dead Qi existed since ancient times. This forest is too massive and has too many secrets, so I can’t explain everything.”

He looked into the distance rather regretfully and breathed in some cold air before he suggested, “Let’s leave now. We’ll be in trouble if this brute breaks out from your formation!”

Ou Yangming did not respond to him. He began to wonder.

The young fellow lamented, ‘Now that Xue Xuanli and Xue Boren are here with me, they’ll be suspicious if my martial arts is too great. If not, I could’ve activated the Path Intent Spear with the Huge Avalanche. I don’t believe that this high-rank spirit beast will be able to take it.’

Indeed, that would be his trump card—especially the Huge Avalanche.

As Ou Yangming visualized the snow mountain every day, the snow had become thicker. The longer he visualized it, the mightier it became. Once the snow mountain reached a certain height, it would not even be odd for him to kill at Venerable One as a Spiritualist. Of course, the time needed for him to achieve that would also be unimaginable.

At the spur of the moment, a timely thought crossed Ou Yangming’s mind.

‘Since this beast has such a notable defensive power, why don’t I strike it with my mental power?’ He could not suppress the thought as soon as it appeared.

With that, Ou Yangming cupped his hands and asked, “Senior, let me try!”

Xue Boren was struck dumb at first, then he had a strange look on his face. “Younger Brother Tianrui, this formation’s formidable, but it’s an Illusion Formation, after all. This brute’s defense is too great, and it keeps recovering from its injuries…” He did not finish his sentence, but what he was trying to say was clear.

The young lady also tugged at the corner of Ou Yangming’s shirt and looked at him with worry.

Ou Yangming could not help but laugh. Instead of answering them, he breathed out some cold air and pointed at the air. “Illusion!”

As his voice echoed, the mists in the Illusion Formation surged in reverse and gathered with the Black-winged Centipede as the center.

The Black-winged Centipede was evidently dazed for a while. Ou Yangming was elated when he saw this, thus he struck it with his tyrannical mental power, which stirred up a blizzard and caused explosive sounds in the space in front.

Xue Boren was dumbfounded when he sensed the mental power fluctuation. He sighed and thought, ‘This mental power’s similar to that of an Advanced Spiritualist.’

The mental power was invisible, and it was difficult to be guarded against.

While the Black-winged Centipede was powerful, it did not have wisdom, so it could not resist the attack at all. The light in its eyes eventually dispersed, and its body released black vapor. After swaying several times, it collapsed to the ground and caused the ground to shake.

“It really died!”

Xue Xuanle and Xue Boren stared at one another and noticed how shocked each other was.

The cold wind whistled in the air for about 10 breaths.

Xue Boren finally came back to his senses. He gulped and praised the young fellow, “Younger Brother Tianrui, I didn’t think that you could use your mental power so marvelously. I’m in admiration.”