txolops Chapter 308 The Art of Berserk
Chapter 308 The Art of Berserk
His face was solemn. He raised his hands, his fingertips rapidly forming strange and complex hand seals, and he chanted incantations. A faint, blood-tinged dark red light emanated from his body.
With a low growl, the bearded man spat out two blood beads, about the size of pigeon eggs, dark red in color, with what appeared to be blood-red runes flowing inside!
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The two blood beads, as if alive, shot towards Han Li's Blood Jade Spider and Luo Ming's intact Snow Silkworm, respectively.
"Buzz—!"
The bodies of the two spirit beasts shuddered violently at the same time! Immediately afterwards, terrifying crimson light burst forth from their eyes! An aura far surpassing their previous one, filled with violence, erupted from their bodies like a volcanic eruption!
But correspondingly, there was excruciating pain emanating from within the Snow Silkworm's body, along with a feeling of weakness as its life essence was being frantically burned and drained! Its meridians were torn apart inch by inch under the impact of the violent power, and its soul also fell into a chaotic, violent, and almost irrational berserk state!
This berserk technique overdraws all the potential, lifespan, and even future of the spirit beast, exchanging irreversible damage for a brief burst of power! Afterwards, even if the spirit beast miraculously survives, it will be essentially crippled and almost impossible to recover.
Luo Ming was filled with rage. His spirit beast was being treated so cruelly and as a disposable item, which made him want to explode.
However, he knew very well that at this critical moment when Nascent Soul level monsters surrounded him and the Void Heaven Cauldron was right in front of him, if he dared to show the slightest dissatisfaction or utter a single word of "no," he wouldn't even have to wait for that old fellow, the Extreme Yin Ancestor, to make a move.
I'm afraid that my newly sworn "master," the seemingly rough but actually unpredictable man with a thick beard, would not hesitate to slap me, making me deeply understand what a terrible price would be to go against the will of a Nascent Soul cultivator and ruin his plans!
In the eyes of such old monsters, what difference is there between the lives and wills of Core Formation cultivators and ants? They are nothing more than tools to be used.
Strength! It's still not enough strength! A strong sense of resentment and a thirst for power surged within Luo Ming. If he possessed the cultivation of a Nascent Soul cultivator, how could he be controlled by others and helplessly watch his spirit beast be treated like this?
"Now! Get him—!" The bearded man's eyes flashed with ferocity as he roared again!
The two spirit beasts, enraged and surging with power, along with the fire python that had already been fed potential-enhancing pills by the Extreme Yin Ancestor, once again dragged the Void Heaven Cauldron with all their might!
"Boom—!"
The Void Cauldron trembled violently once more, and with the combined pull of all parties, it began to move upwards again, little by little, with difficulty! Its speed seemed to be even faster than before!
However, just as everyone was completely focused on dragging the Void Heaven Cauldron, their minds stretched to the limit—
"Buzz—!"
In the distance, outside the huge milky-white light shield above the stone platform, which had been blasted apart by the barbarian and was not yet fully restored, a slight but exceptionally clear spatial tremor suddenly resounded!
Immediately afterwards, the giant protective light shield that covered the entire Hanlitai seemed to be hit hard by an invisible hammer, shaking and trembling violently!
The runes on the surface of the light shield, which were already flowing due to the damage, became even more chaotic and flickering, and even a few fine cracks broke open at the edges!
"They're here!" Luo Ming's heart skipped a beat, a barely perceptible glint of joy flashing in his eyes. He thought to himself, "Those righteous guys have finally arrived!"
Only when the Nascent Soul cultivators from both the righteous and demonic sides completely break off relations and engage in a fierce battle, plunging the scene into utter chaos and stalemate, will a Core Formation cultivator like him have a chance to fish in troubled waters.
However, the reactions of the three—the Bearded Man, the Yin Ancestor, and the Qingyi Hermit—were completely different from Luo Ming's "expectations."
The moment they sensed the violent tremors of the outer barrier and the unusual spiritual energy fluctuations coming from afar, the three of them changed their expressions almost simultaneously!
"Not good! It's Wan Tianming and the others! They've actually come back! The Void Cauldron is getting harder and harder to move as we go on. We have to stop them and buy them some time." The bearded man's eyes flashed with a fierce light, yet also with a hint of solemnity. He reacted extremely quickly, almost without thinking, and suddenly patted the spirit beast pouch at his waist!
"roar--!"
A beam of earthy yellow light shot out from the bag, landed on the ground, and instantly expanded into a giant leopard nearly two zhang long, covered with dark yellow spots, exuding a fierce and brutal aura!
"A mutated three-eyed leopard!" Luo Ming's pupils contracted slightly. This was the mutated spirit beast that the bearded man had mentioned before, which could be ranked alongside Qingyi Jushi's Green Thorn Bird and Jiyin Laozu's Heavenly Capital Corpse as one of the "helpers" in the battle against the Cold Dragon and the Separating Turtle!
Without further hesitation, the Yin Ancestor suddenly flung his wide black sleeves!
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!"
A thick, eerie black mist, exuding a pungent stench and an aura of death, surged forth from his sleeve like a burst dam! The black mist churned and surged, instantly coalescing and taking shape around him, revealing a dozen or so figures!
These figures varied in height and build, but all had withered, ashen skin, flickering eerie green flames in their eye sockets, and were shrouded in a thick aura of death and resentment. They exuded a chilling aura, strong or weak, but at least at the mid-stage of the Core Formation realm! These were none other than the Heavenly Capital Corpse Puppets, the source of the Extreme Yin Ancestor's fame!
Judging by the number, there are as many as fifteen! Among them, three or four even have auras that have reached the late stage of Core Formation!
"Hiss—!" Luo Ming watched from the side, secretly shocked. This extremely yin old ghost was indeed ruthless and merciless! To refine so many Heavenly Capital Corpse Puppets, each with considerable cultivation, he must have slaughtered and refined countless cultivators!
The combined strength of these fifteen Core Formation stage corpse puppets, along with their fearlessness of pain and death and their insidious and troublesome nature, would likely be enough to entangle or even threaten an ordinary early Nascent Soul cultivator!
These Nascent Soul stage monsters are indeed not simple; each of them possesses astonishing depth and ruthless methods!
Just then, without warning, the vengeful spirit of the Extreme Yin Ancestor turned his cold, venomous gaze towards Luo Ming and said in a chilling voice:
"Luo boy! Stop slacking off with your two spirit beasts! Release them! Although their cultivation levels are a bit lower, they're enough to harass and restrain that Frost Dragon and the Separating Turtle."
Upon hearing this, Luo Ming inwardly cursed at the Extreme Yin Ancestor: "Old ghost! You've got your eye on me, haven't you?"
He made up his mind that if a fight broke out, he would have the two spirit beasts harass them from a distance, and would never engage in close combat. Under no circumstances could he let the two spirit beasts rush to the front and clash head-on with the righteous Nascent Soul cultivators! Otherwise, it would be troublesome if Wan Tianming and the others noticed them.
"Swish! Swish! Swish!"
Just as Luo Ming released his spirit beast and was making plans in his mind, several streaks of light of different colors shot over and suddenly stopped on the other side of the altar, in the open space facing the demonic cultivators!
Wan Tianming's gaze swept across the center of the altar like lightning, where the Void Cauldron was being slowly pulled up by several silk threads. Especially when he saw the Blood Jade Spider, his eyes suddenly burst with an uncontrollable heat and excitement!
"Good! Very good! Hahaha!" Wan Tianming couldn't help but laugh loudly several times!
"So that's why you old demonic cultivators led such a bunch of Core Formation stage juniors into this Cold Li Terrace to steal treasures. Turns out... you somehow managed to get your hands on these long-extinct Blood Jade Spiders! Tsk tsk, what good luck!"
He paused deliberately, enjoying the ugly expressions on the faces of the bearded man and the others, before continuing, his tone turning cold and unquestionable:
"However... now that I'm back, you can forget about keeping the Void Heaven Cauldron and its treasures for yourselves. I'll give you two choices: either I kill the Blood Jade Spider and no one gets the Void Heaven Cauldron, or you split the treasures inside equally."
After saying that, he fell silent, only staring coldly and threateningly at the blood jade spider, as if to say: If you agree, the treasure will be divided equally; if you don't agree, your hard work and hopes will be completely destroyed immediately!
On the cold, imminent platform, the atmosphere froze instantly! Tensions were high, and a conflict seemed imminent!
Upon hearing Wan Tianming's condescending and threatening "final ultimatum," the expressions of the three—Barbarian Beard, Old Ancestor of Extreme Yin, and Qingyi Hermit—all changed, each displaying a different demeanor.
A look of hesitation and weighing crossed the eyes of the Yin Ancestor and the Qingyi Hermit, as if they were quickly calculating the pros and cons of "accepting an equal share" versus "fighting to the death."
After all, the opponents were three Nascent Soul mid-stage cultivators in good condition, and two powerful spirit beasts, the Frost Dragon and the Departing Turtle, who were in their element here. In a head-on fight, although our side also had trump cards, the outcome was uncertain. Moreover, the Blood Jade Spider, the key to obtaining the treasure, was indeed fragile and could not withstand the aftershocks of a battle between Nascent Soul level cultivators.
However, the bearded man's reaction was completely different from theirs!
"You want to split it with me?!" The bearded man's eyes widened suddenly, flashing with a fierce light like two small, burning suns. A violent, tyrannical, and unassailable aura erupted from him! His copper-bell-like eyes were fixed on Wan Tianming, and his voice, like muffled thunder, made the air vibrate.
"You, Wan Tianming?! You think you're worthy to negotiate terms or talk about splitting things equally with me?! First, ask my fists if they'll allow it!"
Before he could finish speaking, the bearded man had already launched his attack!
"Roar—!" Just as the bearded man roared, the giant yellow-spotted leopard beside him with three eyes on its forehead suddenly opened its tightly closed, earth-yellow vertical pupil in the center of its forehead!
"Buzz—!"
The moment the vertical pupils opened, a blinding, earthy-yellow light erupted from the depths of the pupils! A heavy, strange fluctuation, seemingly capable of freezing everything, instantly spread out!
"Insolence!" Wan Tianming was both shocked and furious. He shouted angrily, but in his haste, he didn't have time to use any powerful divine abilities or summon any powerful magic weapons.
With a flick of his sleeve, he subconsciously summoned a shuttle-shaped magical artifact, only a foot long, wreathed in pale purple lightning and radiating considerable spiritual pressure. It transformed into a bolt of purple lightning, heading towards the strange yellow pillar of light, attempting to shatter or deflect it.
Then, something incredible happened!