Chapter 681: Eruption, Successfully Obtained (2)
"He left?"
"Ming Jian allowed that High Immortal to leave?" Purple Secret asked.
"Ming Jian might have been able to trap him, but a Sixth Tribulation High Immortal's methods are unpredictable. If he focused solely on defense, it would likely be difficult to kill him," Metal Devil said in a low voice.
Purple Secret nodded in agreement.
Swish! A white-robed figure appeared several hundred li away, quickly arriving at their side.
"Daoist Ming Jian." Purple Secret immediately approached him. “To force back a Sixth Tribulation High Immortal single-handedly, your strength is truly astonishing."
"Truly admirable! Daoist Ming Jian, your strength exceeds our imagination. You must be close to the level of an Archimmortal," Metal Devil sincerely marveled. "How embarrassing! Without you, we likely wouldn't have been able to complete this mission."
These were their true feelings. The power Wu Yuan had displayed was indeed beyond their imagination, worthy of being called the most powerful Earth Immortal they had ever seen.
"It was also because that High Immortal saw that Earth Immortal Yin Yan was doomed, thus he was willing to retreat," Wu Yuan smiled. "In a true life-or-death battle, I'm not confident I could kill him."
Wu Yuan didn't want to elaborate on the battle in the higher spatial dimension. Metal Devil and Purple Secret naturally didn't press further as well.
"Daoist Ming Jian, please look," Purple Secret waved her hand, and an icy chain slowly lowered a figure.
It was Earth Immortal Yin Yan. He was bound tightly in chains, unable to struggle or even make a sound. He looked at Wu Yuan, Metal Devil, and Purple Secret, eyes filled with terror and despair. If even High Immortal Zhuo Hao had been forced to retreat, what could he, a mere ordinary Earth Immortal, do?
"Loosen his restraints a bit," Wu Yuan said.
"Alright." Purple Secret nodded and the chains slackened slightly, making it slightly less uncomfortable.
"Yin Yan, I won't kill you. However, you must tell me everything you know about that High Immortal from earlier, as well as your relationship with him," Wu Yuan said calmly. "Don't even think about lying. If you lie, I'll make sure you live a fate worse than death, eternally trapped in hell."
Metal Devil and Purple Secret stood to the side, saying nothing.
"You won't kill me?" A glimmer of hope arose in Earth Immortal Yin Yan's heart.
Thinking back to earlier events, he realized that Wu Yuan and the others indeed hadn't tried to take his life. An instinctive desire for survival sprouted in his heart.
"Yes! This junior will speak immediately," Earth Immortal Yin Yan hastily said. "That person from earlier isn't actually an elder from my sect. His name is High Immortal Zhuo Hao, and he is... I followed his orders to forge Black Devil Pills using the blood of countless lives."
Earth Immortal Yin Yan quickly recounted everything about High Immortal Zhuo Hao. He didn’t feel the slightest guilt about selling him out. High Immortal Zhuo Hao had already abandoned him, and their relationship was purely based on mutual benefit. To save his life, he naturally dared not withhold anything.
"So, that High Immortal from earlier was actually the mastermind behind the slaughter of countless lives," Purple Secret transmitted. "No wonder he rushed over so urgently."
"It's a pity we couldn't kill him," Metal Devil's voice carried a hint of regret.
"Yin Yan is in your hands now," Wu Yuan's gaze swept over the two, transmitting his voice, "I promised not to kill him, so when the time comes, it'll be up to you to complete the mission.
I have matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave first. Let’s continue the conversation when we return to the Spacetime Island."
Before Metal Devil and Purple Secret could reply, Wu Yuan's figure had disappeared without a trace. He had clearly entered a higher spatial dimension.
"We'll do it?" Purple Secret transmitted.
The power it held was immense, instantly breaking through layers of fiery barriers from a thousand li away.
It shot directly toward High Immortal Zhuo Hao.
Not good! It's him! High Immortal Zhuo Hao's pupils constricted. As a Sixth Tribulation High Immortal, his reaction was incredibly swift.
In an instant, he activated the eight flaming stars surrounding his body and his aura began to surge violently.
“Screech!" In that split second, a piercing wail, like the howl of a malevolent ghost, suddenly exploded in High Immortal Zhuo Hao's mind.
The terrifying soul attack caused High Immortal Zhuo Hao's spirit to reel, momentarily stunning him. He was only dazed for an instant. But an instant could make all the difference between life and death.
Whoosh! The celestial sword that silently appeared had already closed the thousand li gap, piercing through the defensive barrier of the fiery stars which had yet to fully form, and impaling High Immortal Zhuo Hao's chest.
"No!" High Immortal Zhuo Hao regained his senses, feeling waves of excruciating pain wash over him.
He instinctively reached for his chest.
Just as he was about to speak, sword qi erupted, instantly shredding and annihilating High Immortal Zhuo Hao's body, along with the remnants of his soul.
High Immortal Zhuo Hao's mana body was dead!
Hum~ Hum~ The auras of the eight star artifacts withdrew, returning to their inactive state. At the site of High Immortal Zhuo Hao's demise, only his battle armor and a few storage artifacts remained.
This region of outer space quickly fell silent once more.
Whoosh~ A figure in white robes stepped out from nothingness, collecting the various treasures left behind by High Immortal Zhuo Hao with a wave.
Expending a Ghost Soul Shock Talisman worth over a thousand divine crystals, combined with my soul attack, indeed produced a marvelous effect. Wu Yuan thought calmly.
With a normal soul attack, he wouldn't have been able to jolt High Immortal Zhuo Hao's soul. At most, he would cause a slight disturbance, but not enough to make him lose focus for an instant.
However, Wu Yuan's mana body's soul was comparable to that of a normal ninth-stage Earth Immortal, while High Immortal Zhuo Hao's mana body had a soul far weaker than a normal High Immortal. Combined with a powerful soul attack talisman, it achieved the desired effect.
If this were all, it actually wouldn't have been enough to kill him. In normal combat between immortals, where the two were separated by tens or hundreds of thousands of li, what use was making an opponent lose their focus for an instant?
But, when Wu Yuan struck from a higher dimension to assassinate his opponent, that instant meant the difference between life and death.
You are the first Sixth Tribulation High Immortal I've killed. Even if it was just a mana body, it was still a Sixth Tribulation High Immortal. A strange light flickered in Wu Yuan's eyes.
A Sixth Tribulation High Immortal, a top-tier existence below Archimmortals, had been slain by him just like that.
Without realizing it, my combat prowess has reached the pinnacle of immortal cultivators. Wu Yuan mused. Archimmortals? Once I break through to High Immortal, I should be able to challenge Archimmortals like Senior Brother Jiang Huan.
With their owner still alive, the aura imprints on the storage artifacts were still in effect. Thus, Wu Yuan deciphered each one, forcefully erasing them. Of course, what he cared about most was that black divine pillar, and he didn't pay much attention to the other treasures.
Finally, Wu Yuan found what he was looking for in an inconspicuous corner of one of the storage artifacts: a floating black divine pillar, surrounded by over a hundred black divine pills.
Can I claim ownership? Wu Yuan's Soul Force surged into the storage artifact, attempting to imprint his aura onto the divine pillar.
Boom! The moment he made contact, an immense wave of energy instantly struck Wu Yuan's mana body and soul.
Almost simultaneously, in the distant Spacetime Island, the black pagoda in the upper dantian lobe of his qi refiner self also began to tremble slightly.