Cultivation: I Can Traverse Otherworlds

It was unclear whether it was a coincidence or if the Rock Armor Demon Crocodile had done it on purpose.

Its wild rampage had blasted open a vast, empty space in the underground cavern, an area dozens of acres wide. Over a hundred thick stone pillars supported the dome above, making it resemble a colossal subterranean palace.

In the center of this ’palace’...

...was the stone platform where Elder Song’s body sat cross-legged.

The Rock Armor Demon Crocodile, over thirty meters long, lay prone not far from the stone platform, licking its wounds.

This Tier Three Demon Beast had an earthen-yellow, rock-like shell that looked incredibly hard.

Lying on the ground, it resembled a small mountain. Its majestic and vast aura made the faces of the two people pacing on the stone platform turn pale.

Despair filled Pei Jingque’s eyes.

Neither she nor Zhu Ju was weak, but compared to the Rock Armor Demon Crocodile, they were like children before a grown man.

No!

They were children before a ferocious tiger.

Even if the children held a blade that could wound the tiger, how could they possibly be its match?

The tiger had only to move its body, and the children would be powerless to resist.

Fortunately, the Rock Armor Demon Crocodile’s rampage had caused the swarm of Spirit-Devouring Ants to vanish. That, at least, was a small bit of good news.

In Pei Jingque’s view,

rather than fighting together, it would be better to flee separately. At least then, one of them might have a chance to escape.

’If I go all out to attract the Rock Armor Demon Crocodile’s attention and create an opportunity for my junior brother to escape, it might just work.’

As the thought formed, Pei Jingque looked at Zhu Ju. Their eyes met, and the plan in her heart quietly dissolved.

’Forget it.’

’Just forget it.’

’My junior brother would never agree to such a plan. Even if we are fated to die here, at least I’ll have him with me and won’t be alone. It’s just a pity that I won’t be able to fulfill the task entrusted to me by the Sect elders.’

Taking a deep breath, she suppressed the turmoil in her heart and nodded slowly at Zhu Ju.

”Since you insist on fighting, Junior Brother, then I’ll risk my life right alongside you.”

”Don’t be so disheartened, Senior Sister. I should be able to hold it off for ten breaths,” Zhu Ju said.

”Senior Sister.”

”I’ll be counting on you then.”

Ten breaths?

Pei Jingque’s beautiful eyes lit up. Hope rippled through her once-resigned heart, and her voice trembled as she spoke.

”Really?”

”It shouldn’t be a problem.” Zhu Ju looked at the Tier Three Demon Beast in the distance and nodded slowly.

”I have a unique treasure that can trap it for a time.”

As he spoke,

he extended one hand, and The Investiture of the Gods materialized in his palm.

As The Investiture of the Gods slowly unfurled, an incomplete version of the Inverted Five Elements Illusion Array sank into the ground.

An Array!

A look of astonishment crossed Pei Jingque’s face.

She had never seen, or even heard of, a treasure that could be used to deploy an Array so easily.

There was a similar item known as an ’Array Plate.’

However, an Array Plate was merely the core. Setting up a complete Array required many other materials, and even with everything on hand, it took time to deploy. Moreover, such Arrays couldn’t be overly complex.

But...

’There’s a chance!’

Arrays were perfect for allowing the weak to overcome the strong. Even a Tier Two Array might be able to stall an injured Tier Three Demon Beast for a moment.

”Phew...”

Seeing that deploying The Investiture of the Gods hadn’t disturbed the Rock Armor Demon Crocodile, Zhu Ju slowly let out a sigh of relief.

He then took out the Innate Spiritual Milk.

”Senior Sister.”

”One drop each.”

”Mm.” Pei Jingque nodded, taking a drop and consuming it. Her True Essence Magical Power was instantly replenished.

Not only that,

a massive amount of True Essence surged through her Meridians, making her feel as if her body might burst.

Innate Spiritual Milk could fully restore the Magical Power of a Golden Core Grandmaster, making it almost too much for a Dao Foundation Cultivator to handle. But now was not the time to worry about such things. They had to use every tool at their disposal.

Zhu Ju lowered his gaze, forming a Seal Technique with one hand.

Blood-Burning Curse!

BOOM!

As his blood essence burned, his True Essence Magical Power skyrocketed, breaking past the limits of the Early Stage Dao Foundation and into the Mid-Stage Dao Foundation Realm. His Divine Soul Power rose with it.

Pei Jingque’s beautiful eyes narrowed. Her aura suddenly fell, then surged. It fluctuated like this nine times, and with each surge, her aura grew stronger than before.

In just a few moments, her Cultivation neared the Late-Stage Dao Foundation. Clearly, she had also used some kind of Secret Technique.

VMM...

A flame pattern appeared between her brows, its light flickering faintly as a profound power stirred within her.

”Junior Brother,”

boosted by her Secret Technique and with her Essence, Qi, and Spirit raised to their peak, Pei Jingque looked at Zhu Ju and spoke slowly,

”If I hadn’t insisted on coming here, you wouldn’t be in this predicament. Do you resent me for it?”

”Senior Sister, there’s no point in saying that now.” Zhu Ju shook his head. Seeing her intense gaze, he couldn’t help but chuckle. ”We’ll be fine. I...”

”...and I don’t resent you.”

Hearing this,

Pei Jingque gave a dazzling smile, like a flower in full bloom, revealing a beauty far greater than ever before.

”Junior Brother.”

Pushing all other thoughts from her mind, her expression hardened as she said solemnly,

”It’s time to act!”

”Alright.”

A divine light flashed in Zhu Ju’s eyes. He thrust his right hand downward, and The Investiture of the Gods instantly expanded at an astonishing speed.

In an instant,

the Array from The Investiture of the Gods expanded to cover dozens of acres, enveloping the entire subterranean ’palace’.

Hmm?

The Rock Armor Demon Crocodile, in the middle of licking its wounds, suddenly raised its head. Confusion flickered in its man-sized pupils.

BOOM!

Fierce Flames and Golden Sabers materialized high above, while flowing water and muddy pits appeared below. A sinister wind raged everywhere.

Zhu Ju’s Inverted Five Elements Illusion Array was only an incomplete remnant, containing just three of the Five Elements Arrays.

It was a Tier Two Middle Grade Array.

It was more than enough to trap and kill a Late-Stage Dao Foundation Cultivator, but against a Tier Three Demon Beast, it was lacking.

The Rock Armor Demon Crocodile merely shifted its body, and the Array immediately showed signs of instability.

Zhu Ju’s expression remained unchanged as he poured all his effort into powering the Array.

The three arrays represented three types of transformations, as well as three layers of evolution. The Array’s power would be at its greatest if he could push it to the third layer, which was why he didn’t attack immediately.

Fierce Flame!

Golden Saber!

Earth!

...

The Rock Armor Demon Crocodile was no inanimate object. After its initial confusion, it powerfully slammed its forelimbs down.

BOOM!

The ground trembled.

The Power of the Earth Element instantly turned violent, and the surrounding Golden Saber Fierce Flames flickered unsteadily.

But it was, after all, severely injured, its strength greatly diminished. This casual strike failed to shatter the Array.

”Rise!”

By now, Zhu Ju was ready. His eyes flew open as he roared,

”Bind!”

Instantly,

countless ropes of mud and water shot out from the ground, wrapping around the Rock Armor Demon Crocodile and binding it tight.

At the same time, innumerable Golden Saber Fierce Flames rained down from the sky like meteors imbued with immense power.

BANG!

BOOM...

An assault of this level was clearly not enough to truly harm a Tier Three Demon Beast.

The storm of Golden Saber Fierce Flames exploded like cannonballs but couldn’t even break the Demon Beast’s skin. The impacts only made it stumble, causing its old wounds to tear open.

”ROAR!”

The Rock Armor Demon Crocodile roared at the sky, its eyes blazing with fury as a violent Divine Thought swept out in all directions.

”Thief!”

”Thief!”

...

It wasn’t actually speaking human words; these were the natural fluctuations carried by the power of its Divine Thought.

At the same time,

the Power of the Earth Element permeating the void suddenly erupted.

As a Tier Three Demon Beast, its intelligence was no less than a human’s. Furthermore, it had followed a Golden Core master for several hundred years.

Faced with the Array, it chose to attack its core directly.

The Rock Armor Demon Crocodile forcibly seized the Power of the Earth Element from the Array’s Power of the Five Elements, then detonated it like gunpowder.

BOOM!

The Power of the Five Elements was instantly thrown into chaos, and the Array immediately grew unstable.

Just as it was about to continue its assault and shatter the Array, a crimson glow shot toward it from the void ahead.

”Hmm?”

A sense of danger welled up in its mind.

Pei Jingque had, at some point, leaped from the stone platform. A fan wreathed in fiery light had appeared in her hand.

A Magical Treasure!

The Three-Flame Simurgh Fan!

As the Sect Leader of the Bright Void Sect and the inheritor of the Dragon Head Lineage’s legacy, how could she be without treasures?

Not only did she have them,

but they were also incredibly powerful.

KREEE!

As Pei Jingque struggled to wave the Three-Flame Simurgh Fan, a Simurgh Bird formed of coalescing flames flew out.

But that wasn’t all.

With a low cry, the flame pattern between her brows burst with dazzling Spiritual Light, and a line of fire shot out, merging into the Simurgh Bird.

The next moment,

the flames on the Simurgh Bird’s body changed subtly, and a flicker of Spirituality appeared in its once-lifeless eyes.

Four Symbols Divine Techniques—Vermilion Bird Heaven-Burning Flame!

SWOOSH!

The massive Simurgh Bird, dozens of feet long, flapped its wings once and abruptly appeared before the Rock Armor Demon Crocodile.

At such an incredible speed, the distance between them was negligible.

The Fire Simurgh and the Rock Armor Demon Crocodile crashed into each other.

One was a grievously wounded Tier Three Demon Beast; the other, an Illusion manifested from a Secret Divine Power and the Spiritual Light of a Magical Treasure.

BANG!

The two giant ’monsters’ collided and began to tear into each other savagely.

The smaller Simurgh Bird was clearly at a disadvantage, pinned to the ground and viciously savaged by the Rock Armor Demon Crocodile.

But it was merely a manifestation of the Magical Treasure’s power and cared nothing for its own survival. Its talons and beak attacked relentlessly, tearing new gashes on the Rock Armor Demon Crocodile’s body. Flames seared the creature’s old wounds, widening them further.

”ROAR!”

The Rock Armor Demon Crocodile roared in pain and anger, bringing its head down like a sledgehammer onto the Simurgh Bird below.

BANG!

BANG!

BOOM...

The Simurgh Bird shrieked, but it ultimately couldn’t withstand the immense force of the blows. Its body dissolved into wisps of flame.

At this moment,

the second wave of attacks from Zhu Ju and Pei Jingque arrived.

Wind and Thunder Blade Wings!

Hundreds of palm-sized Curved Sabers spun rapidly like sharp gears, slashing toward the Demon Beast’s wounds.

SWOOSH!

Pei Jingque raised her hands, and two ancient, yellowed pieces of paper hovered in the air.

Tier Three Spirit Talismans!

”Go!”

She barked a low command and pointed forward.

One of the talismans trembled, and a dim yellow light exploded around the Rock Armor Demon Crocodile’s head.

A Tier Three Spirit Talisman—Nightmare Storm!

This was a Tier Three Magic that directly attacked the Divine Soul. Although the Spirit Talisman was only Tier Three Low Grade, its unique properties made it as valuable as a Tier Three Middle Grade talisman.

In Zhu Ju’s perception, countless Ghost-like entities surged into the Rock Armor Demon Crocodile’s mind and began to wreak havoc.

The Rock Armor Demon Crocodile’s body went rigid.

’An opening!’

His eyes lit up. He furiously drove the Wind and Thunder Blade Wings to slash at the Rock Armor Demon Crocodile’s wounds.

KRRR-CRACK...

Even with the power of his Magical Treasure striking an existing wound, it was an arduous task with slow progress.

TCHING!

Suddenly,

a black and a white ray of light flashed past, intersecting as they slashed and instantly deepening the Rock Armor Demon Crocodile’s wound significantly.

Tier Three Magic—Profound Mystic Spiritual Light Slash!

’Excellent!’

Zhu Ju’s eyes lit up.

’As expected of Pei Jingque, the Sect Leader of the Bright Void Sect!’ he thought. ’First the Fire Simurgh, then a Tier Three Spirit Talisman. She’s seriously wounded the Tier Three Demon Beast.’

”ROAR!”

The Rock Armor Demon Crocodile roared in pain, its consciousness breaking free from the Nightmare Storm as it bellowed at the cavern ceiling.

’Something’s wrong!’

Zhu Ju’s heart hammered in his chest and the hairs on his body stood on end. A sense of imminent crisis washed over him.

SHING!

The battered Vajra Ming King Armor instantly enveloped his entire body.

At the same time,

he instantly activated dozens of Spirit Talismans, and his Physical Body assumed a defensive stance from the Human Immortal Martial Arts.

He even quickly recalled the Wind and Thunder Blade Wings.

While he was casting his defenses, the Rock Armor Demon Crocodile’s massive body suddenly swelled. Its skin and muscles tensed as the Demonic Power within it surged to its absolute peak.

”ROAR!”

A visible shockwave erupted from its mouth, colliding with the scattered Power of the Earth Element in the area and setting off a chain reaction.

The Power of the Earth Element began to vibrate violently, like ripples on water or the spreading cracks on a shattering mirror. Countless streams of energy collided and resonated in an instant, encompassing an area several miles wide.

BOOM!

A ferocious power swept over everything.

A Tier Three Divine Power—Earth Dragon Shattering Sky Burst!