Chapter 233 - 230: The Might of the Treasure Artifact
The might of Soul Emergence,
swept in all directions.
The mere release of this aura—the aftershock from a vast Divine Soul—left the surrounding Cultivators feeling utterly stiff, as if they were paralyzed!
This was a suppression born from a higher level of existence!
The immense pressure from a Soul Emergence Divine Soul was enough to render Qi Introduction Realm Cultivators incapable of resistance, able to do nothing but watch their doom approach!
And this,
was precisely why the gap between the Qi Introduction Realm and the Soul Emergence Realm was like an impassable chasm!
Simply being able to move under the oppressive aura of a Soul Emergence Realm Cultivator’s Divine Soul was an achievement one could boast about for a lifetime.
And if one could not only move but also withstand a blow from such an expert, they would surely become famous throughout the land in a short time!
But obviously,
all of this applied only to ordinary Qi Introduction Realm Cultivators.
As it happened,
Shen Changchuan was no ordinary Cultivator.
The immense pressure from the Soul Emergence Realm,
for him,
wasn’t all that effective!
ZWING!
Just as the massive, pitch-black hand in the sky came crashing down, a cyan light erupted as if pouring from the void itself, and the clear ring of a sword echoed between heaven and earth!
Cyan Wood Sword Light!
The cyan sword light solidified as if it were tangible, radiating a brilliant glow.
And yet,
its terrifying aura of power seemed to be completely contained within the corporeal, Glazed Sword Light, with almost none of it leaking out.
As a result, it looked like
the vast, several-dozen-foot-long pitch-black hand above was slamming down with the power to shatter space, its terrifying momentum threatening to annihilate everything in its path,
while Shen Changchuan casually met it with a seemingly unremarkable flash of cyan sword light.
Was this a desperate, last-ditch struggle?
Of course not!
BOOM!!!
In an instant, the Cyan Wood Sword Light collided with the pitch-black hand.
A dazzling light bloomed in that moment.
It was followed by a tangible shockwave, visible to the naked eye, that swept out in all directions, and finally, a deafening roar that shook the very heavens!
The ground in a hundred-foot radius collapsed, and spiderweb-like cracks spread outward.
At the same time, the terrifying impact kicked up a frightening gale. Chunks of shattered earth were ripped from the ground, sent flying into the sky, and then pulverized into dust.
All buildings within a radius of several hundred feet were instantly obliterated. A horrific gale swept through the area, forcing even the distant Cultivators to retreat even farther back!
Meanwhile,
under the force of the powerful collision,
Shen Changchuan was driven back more than a dozen steps, the ground cracking open beneath his feet and leaving a trail of deep craters!
He let out a stifled grunt, his face turning pale. He had clearly suffered some injuries from the backlash of that immense power.
It was, after all, an expert of the Soul Emergence Realm.
Their strength
was completely beyond that of any Qi Introduction Realm Cultivator!
It was a gap that no Qi Introduction Realm Cultivator could simply cross at will!
But even though he was clearly outmatched,
a slight smile appeared on Shen Changchuan’s face.
The surrounding Cultivators, who had been dividing their attention between the fight and desperately searching for an escape route,
were all instantly frozen in place,
their Heart Spirits trembling as they stared in horror at Shen Changchuan in the center of the clearing.
Up in the sky,
the pupils of the Soul Emergence Demon Cultivator constricted.
’He blocked it!’
In that last strike, the black shadow had held nothing back, unleashing the full power of his Soul Emergence Realm.
And yet, this full-power attack from the Soul Emergence Level
had been stopped cold by Shen Changchuan!
A Qi Introduction Realm Cultivator contended with a Soul Emergence Realm expert, completely tanking a full-power strike without being grievously injured or even killed?
At this moment,
almost everyone stared in terror in Shen Changchuan’s direction, unable to stop themselves from sucking in another sharp breath of cold air.
So,
this young man of the Shen Family, who had been quietly cultivating in seclusion in Dawan Village, hadn’t overestimated himself—he truly had the strength to back up his confidence?
Not far away,
the few members of the Shen Family who had already helped Shen Shengliang up and retreated into the distance,
felt their Heart Spirits tremble even more, mixed with a sense of relief at having survived the ordeal.
According to what he’d said earlier,
before this,
someone had already set their sights on Dawan Village, only to be dealt with by him in secret.
’If this incident hadn’t happened, would we have been targeted and eliminated afterward as well?’
’It seems almost certain!’
In the span of just three to five breaths, from annihilating the swarms of roaming black-smoke skulls to now withstanding a strike from a Soul Emergence Demon Cultivator... the strength he had displayed was undoubtedly beyond anything they could ever hope to handle.
Shen Shengliang, whose breathing was ragged as they helped him up, stared intently in Shen Changchuan’s direction, his expression shifting unpredictably. It was impossible to know what he was thinking.
’This kid... his strength has improved again... It’s a good thing I ran into him now. Otherwise, he would surely grow to become my greatest enemy in the future!’
Compared to the others, he—as a Soul Emergence Realm expert who had fought him once before—saw far more!
His opponent’s Divine Sense was already strong enough for Soul Emergence and Body Separation. If that wasn’t one foot in the Soul Emergence Realm, it was at least a third of the way there!
Furthermore,
his opponent’s control over his separable Divine Soul and his application of Magical Power had both improved tremendously since their last fight.
Before,
that brat Shen Changchuan had to stack a single technique three times to withstand his full-power attack.
But this time,
by using his separable Divine Sense for deeper control over his Magical Power, he enhanced the might of his Sword Light Technique and achieved the same result with a single strike!
Although his own injuries were a factor,
the progress the boy had made and the innate Comprehension he’d shown undoubtedly filled him with deep unease!
The black shadow muttered to himself, "A patient and resolute mind, with extraordinary talent and genius... A man like you... if you don’t die today, I fear I’ll never have another peaceful night’s sleep!"
Without any more pointless chatter, he quickly formed a hand seal for a Technique.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
All across the battlefield,
the black-smoke skulls and Ghost Soul monsters, now stained crimson after passing through the Cultivators’ bodies, all began to fly toward him...
This was a Demon Secret Technique, one that stole the fortune and Vitality of others to nourish oneself.
This was also his purpose for coming to Dawan Village.
By absorbing the blood essence and Vitality of other Cultivators, he could replenish his own energy and recover from his injuries.
He planned to recover a little, then strike with the force of Thunder and kill this terrifying brat before him!
However,
at that very moment,
a cyan light shot into the sky like a great sun or a Meteor, shaking heaven and earth.
DONG!
A bell toll resounded through every corner of the void, and heavy, visible waves of cyan energy swept out in all directions.
The black shadow, who had been about to absorb the blood essence and Vitality, didn’t even have time to react.
He was suppressed for a moment by the rapidly enlarging Bronze Bell,
and then the Bronze Bell, like a falling Meteor, slammed viciously down upon him!
RUMBLE!!!