Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1044: Chapter 88: Where in the World Is There an Immortal’s Path (50) — Calamity

Their faces revealed a multitude of peculiar black patterns, with purple pupils emanating a piercing cold light.

Each Gaia, the magnificent purple gown, started to contract, transform, and finally turned into a unique combat uniform clinging to every inch of their skin.

This made their bodies appear more slender, like legs with golden ratios and slightly raised chests… and enormous claws completely disproportionate to Belgian standards.

Their hands grew symmetrically arranged light wings, and behind the wings, a ring full of intricate patterns emerged.

They lined up in mid-air like an army.

“Simply like combat automatons…”

It’s unclear if the voice below belonged to the Taoist or monster… because now, all eyes were fixed on these Gaia.

However, the Daoist Association and Yao Association had little time left to think and react, because… all the Gaia, after completing their mode transformations, swooped down together!

“Not good!”

True Person Huanyang shouted loudly at this moment—because these Gaia were incredibly fast!

In front of True Person Huanyang, a Gaia struck with both claws! In this instant, True Person Huanyang only managed to wave his magic artifact, barely blocking this Gaia’s attack… His legs immediately sank into the mud!

He barely had time to consider anything else!

And right then, beside True Person Huanyang, cries of agony continually resonated. He couldn’t even distinguish whether the cries came from the Daoist Association or the monsters!

How many people, under this wave of Gaia’s dive, were torn apart like Immortal Luanchi, and how many managed to block the attacks?

True Person Huanyang dared not think much, and he had no time for his thoughts to be scattered—because the Gaia attacking him gave him no respite!

Like the most skilled Martial Artist, when True Person Huanyang blocked the first strike, Gaia was already moving again… Her body defied the laws of physics, accelerating to an unbelievable speed in an instant!

True Person Huanyang felt a terrifying pain from his abdomen!

The Gaia in front of him, with scarlet metallic claws fully grounded his hand holding the magic sword, while her body bent backward, then her legs kicked out together, ‘stamping’ on True Person Huanyang’s abdomen!

Bang—!

Retreating, retreating, crashing through countless ancient trees, until True Person Huanyang’s body embedded into a rock.

He felt as if his bones at this moment were like those of an elderly with osteoporosis, seemingly ready to snap with just a move. True Person Huanyang spat out a mouthful of old blood, and his vision went slightly blurry.

Glancing ahead—where he had retreated while smashing, the lush ancient forest was punched through, leaving a long ‘hole’… But where was Gaia?

In the midst of his dark thoughts, True Person Huanyang’s vision blurred, as the terrifying Gaia appeared right before him.

Gaia’s expression was cold, and her scarlet giant metallic claws swung toward True Person Huanyang once again!

This Gaia… No, if all Gaia possessed similar power, then wouldn’t the many Dao Monsters here be…

True Person Huanyang shivered instinctively, swinging the magic sword towards Gaia’s metallic giant claws to slash—ding!!

The magic sword hit Gaia’s scarlet claws… What made True Person Huanyang despair was that this magic sword that had accompanied him for years only left a shallow mark on Gaia’s scarlet claws, whereas his magic sword directly shattered!

True Person Huanyang’s expression shifted slightly; he hurriedly struck two seals onto his legs… Godly Walk!

The Taoist magic enhancing the speed of his legs made True Person Huanyang’s body lightened several times; he retreated directly, opening up distance with Gaia!

With his magic sword shattered and rendered useless, even more useless than an ordinary broken sword, True Person Huanyang had to reluctantly discard it onto the ground.

But no matter what, within the Taoism-cultivated field, he was infinitely close to the Inquiry Phase cultivator.

Across the Shenzhou Dao Realm, True Person Huanyang confidently ranked within the top twenty, considered one of the world’s strongest Taoists, cultivated for hundreds of years, having undergone numerous arduous battles… He quickly recovered, adjusting his state.

A Taoist’s strength doesn’t lie in martial prowess… Martial arts are merely for self-defense. A Taoist’s true power naturally comes from cultivating potent Taoist magic art.

And the Gaia in front of him, at this moment, leaned towards close-combat type…

As long as he could block her, not allowing close proximity, maybe there’s another way to win… It’s unknown what situation Daoist Bai Jie and the others were in now.

Yet at that instant of True Person Huanyang’s distraction, the Gaia before him raised a scarlet claw!

In True Person Huanyang’s astonishment, the raised scarlet claws began another shape change!

Splitting, contracting, rotating, recombining… how long did it take? One second? Two seconds? Or three seconds?

After transforming, the original scarlet claws vanished, replaced by a massive circular cannon muzzle!

Upon that cannon muzzle, large quantities of short beams rapidly gathered, and in the next instant were directly fired!

Damn it!

Who said these horrifying beings only possessed melee capability!

Blazing white beams shot out from Gaia’s cannon muzzle, a flash of strong light flickered; True Person Huanyang relied purely on instinct, using an iron bridge trick to dodging that beam attack!

True Person Huanyang even felt lucky to have escaped, with a bit of luck mixed in… Yet after this beam brush past him, it didn’t vanish along a straight path in the range’s end, ultimately disappearing due to consuming energy!

That beam acted like a living thing, twisting sharply at range’s end, making an arc heading straight into the sky!

The moment it shot up into the air, the beam split into hundreds, twisting in midair, then cascading downward!

Large-scale AOE attack!

Like a falling meteor shower!

Boom Boom Boom Boom—!

At this moment, True Person Huanyang is precisely feeling the essence of despair.

And at this moment, above the jungle, not only True Person Huanyang suffered this blow… Tens of Gaia simultaneously charged into the sky.

Their scarlet claws had transformed, with that terrifying light beam condensed within their cannon muzzles… Hundreds, thousands of subdivided beams now fell like torrential rain, with such density that offered no room to dodge.

Only the continuous sound of despair echoed—Boom Boom Boom—!

It’s unclear how long the bombardment lasted, but these Gaia finally ceased their assault—and the jungle below had been leveled flat.

The treasures coveted by the Dao and Demon Realms, as well as the primeval ancient jungle, had completely vanished without a trace.

What remained was merely a barren reddish-yellow land, its uneven surface resembling the surface of the moon… At this moment, some Gaia hovered mid-air, while others stood on the thoroughly devastated ground.

Their eyes incessantly flickered, complex symbols continuously emerged within their pupils—seemingly they were probing for any surviving beings.

The Gaia’s gaze passed over one fallen figure after another on the ground—when one Gaia’s sight fixed upon a figure, it stopped right away.

This fellow lay on the ground, still conscious, struggling to get up… Yet he was so weak, his face smeared with filth, and his left arm had been severed during the last bombardment.

Engulfed in this horrendous battleground, his eyes were filled with fear, facing these cold ‘beings,’ his psyche was nearing collapse—a realization dawned when he found one of the Gaia staring directly at him, prompting him to do just one thing… scream in terror.

He screamed in terror, his eyes wide with fear, pushing himself backward frantically.

But at this moment, the Gaia had raised the cannon on her left arm, her gaze emotionless, a beam of light shot straight out—leaving a tiny hole at the center of his forehead.

He fell directly to the ground. And with this, he would likely never stand again…

The remaining Gaia continued their search… They seemed not to want to stop.

Because, the number of people from the Dao and Demon Realms lying here did not match the initial count—under their concentrated attacks, at least a dozen managed to escape.

Likely hiding in the forest ahead.

So, a dozen Gaia flew directly into the forest ahead, while the remaining Gaia started to fly toward a common goal… continually merging, finally changing back into a single entity.

The lone remaining Gaia now glanced at the destructed environment around her, seemingly lost in thought.

[Restoration]

This seemed to be the conclusion she arrived at after thinking.

So, she slowly extended her right hand, and beside her, a distorted space opened—a peculiar container was taken out from it… like a watering can.

The container had a small screen and a control interface.

Gaia pressed a button on the interface, and the container projected a beam of pale white light. Gaia held the container, using the emitted light to scan the surroundings that had been destroyed.

Soon after, Gaia flew into the air, pouring from the container in her hand, colorful light rain began to spill out.

And on the ground below, absorbing this light rain, vibrant green vegetation started to grow rapidly… nature’s resurgence.

…

He could already hear the sound of his heartbeat… so clear, so rapid.

He hid in an unknown patch of grass, feeling as if his throat was scorched by fire; at the same time, intense pain emanated from his shoulder—the shoulder now bore a wound the width of a wrist, bleeding profusely.

That terrifying, widespread assault!

Before those around him could even react, those incredibly powerful beams had directly wiped away their bodies… his one solace was knowing the earth escape magic technique, allowing him to plunge into the ground before the attack arrived, thus narrowly escaping disaster—yet his shoulder was still hit by those beams!

Cautiously, through the dense foliage, he peeped at the fragmented sky… knowing that at least around twenty of ‘those things’ had entered the forest, prowling.

Perhaps he wasn’t the only one who managed to escape beneath that catastrophic assault.

Something must be done… he must leave this horrific place!

At this moment, even if just half a meter outside where he was hiding, there was a rare treasure growing, he had no inclination to take it… or rather, he no longer dared entertain any thoughts of taking it!

Fearful that once greed took hold, ‘that thing’ would be lured in. At that time, the only thing awaiting him might be death.

His breathing had dropped to its lowest level, he needed to calm his breath rapidly—despite the fear-induced rapid heartbeat.

Still lying on the ground, he crawled forward step by step, creeping through the knee-high dense grass.

Yet at this moment, his body felt as if being absorbed by something—he only felt as though he fell into somewhere—a completely black place!

The entire process didn’t last long.

When he realized the fall had stopped, he saw several figures coming toward him.

“Stay away!! Stay!”

He screamed in fear, his mind on the brink of collapse, unable to maintain itself… Despite a hundred years of Taoist cultivation, forgetting all his skills, flailing his arms like a drowning man.

“Calm down, Daoist Huang Mu! Look clearly, it’s me!”

In this dim place, a light appeared, and he… Daoist Huang Mu’s eyes, after a sharp pain, finally recognized several familiar faces.

Daoist Bai Jie, True Person Huanyang… Ming Tus from the demon clan, and a member of the Daoist Association, along with a monster.

“President! Vice President!” Daoist Huang Mu felt a mixed sense of sadness and joy, a feeling of surviving calamity, couldn’t help but weep.

“Try not to make too much noise.” Ming Tus Mountain cautioned the emotional survivor, “Those things are still around… the old man doesn’t know if they can discover us.”

Daoist Huang Mu took a deep breath, starting to examine his surroundings.

The space here isn’t large, only about twenty square meters or so… like a room.

“Where exactly… is this?” Daoist Huang Mu couldn’t help but ask subconsciously.

Ming Tus Mountain said: “You’re within the shell of the old man’s tortoise shell… considered the old man’s little survival skill. It can help us sneak underground and isolate inside from external contact. During our sneaking, we found you, so we hurriedly brought you in.”

“Thanks to Companion Tu Shan’s treasure.” Daoist Bai Jie couldn’t help but express with emotion.

“I only escaped, if you all hadn’t escaped, no one could have been saved.” Ming Tus Mountain shook his head: “Being alive after such calamity is naturally everyone’s own skill.”

Skill?

Looking at the few remaining ‘companions,’ then at the tortoise shell of Ming Tus Mountain… Skill?

In a mere instant, so many spirits from the Dao and Demon Realms nearly all slaughtered by ‘those things.’ Now what’s left, likely only those inside this tortoise shell.

What’s so-called skill about that?