Divine Transcendence

"Die."

Shi Dian hovered in mid-air, overjoyed at the sight before him. He mustered all his strength in his arms and ferociously swung the thunderous greatsword towards Yuan Ming’s back, intent on cleaving him in two.

However, Yuan Ming didn’t even turn his head in response to the attack. With a flick and snap of his fingers, the Cold Star Sword transformed into a streak of white light and shot out towards Sha Hao.

Just as the column of lightning was about to strike, a massive shadow suddenly appeared behind Yuan Ming.

It was the White Ape Vajra!

The Vajra opened its mouth in a roar, its thick arms reaching out towards the cyan lightning, palms turning to gold in an instant, and firmly grasped the blade of the descending greatsword.

In the next instant, a loud crackling sound erupted.

Countless cyan sparks danced within the White Ape’s palms, sending dense arcs of electricity flying, easily tearing through the golden light on the Vajra’s hands and charring them black.

The White Ape’s towering body trembled, but it refused to let go, no matter how hard Shi Dian tried, he couldn’t break free from its grip.

Shi Dian’s face showed shock. His thunder-patterned greatsword was an extremely rare thunder attribute superior magical instrument. All his past enemies, no matter how strong their cultivation, would lose their ability to move if struck by its cyan lightning. Yet, this White Ape was able to withstand it!

As he was about to increase the power of the cyan lightning in his sword, two robust golden ape arms burst out from the Vajra’s back, and their blade-like claws reached for Shi Dian’s chest and abdomen.

Shi Dian quickly let go of the greatsword and retreated, but not before two deep, bone-exposing wounds were carved into his torso.

Shi Dian narrowly escaped death and tried to flee to cast healing spells, but after only a few steps, the ground beneath him suddenly split open. Several vine-like tendrils shot out like venomous snakes, swiftly entangling his legs—it was the work of Hua Zhi.

It had been half-destroyed by the bronze thunder-patterned formation’s electric power, its vitality halved, but it was more than enough to handle the severely injured Shi Dian.

Shi Dian felt a numbness spread throughout his body, unable to move. The vines that bound him exerted a tremendous force, yanking him down.

His burly body was slammed heavily onto the ground, and more tendrils surged from the cracked earth, binding him and dragging him beneath the sands, vanishing in an instant.

"Monkey, thanks." Hua Zhi’s spiritual sense transmitted from underground.

From deep within the earth, a muffled and mournful howl sounded, quickly fading into silence.

Elsewhere, Sha Hao faced the green-glowing dagger thrown by Yuan Ming without any attempt to dodge.

As the dagger made contact, it passed directly through his body. Sha Hao’s figure shattered instantly, not in a spray of blood and flesh, but dissipating slowly like evaporating steam.

Sha Hao’s figure reappeared behind Yuan Ming, clutching a slender longsword, and slashed down at the Vajra.

The Vajra rolled away and, getting up, hurled a punch at Sha Hao.

However, the punch passed right through Sha Hao’s body, his form collapsing like a bubble once again—it was another illusion.

After swinging at empty air, the Vajra stood bewildered, looking around helplessly, caught in Sha Hao’s illusion.

Although the White Ape’s physical strength was formidable, it had no means to resist illusions.

Yuan Ming called out to the Vajra telepathically, to no avail, and with a sense of alarm, he immediately recalled the Cold Star Sword, which hovered in front of him in a glow of white light. He extended his divine consciousness, searching for Sha Hao’s whereabouts.

Yuan Ming suddenly turned to look to one side, where ripples of water appeared in the void, followed by the emergence of a figure—it was Sha Hao.

Yuan Ming instinctively released a surge of soul power, enveloping Sha Hao.

Sha Hao’s eyes flickered with confusion, but he quickly recovered.

"Illusions? Could it be you’re also a soul cultivator? Perhaps we share some connection." He lightly shook the black folding fan in his hand and, while speaking, swung it fiercely towards Yuan Ming.

"Whoosh!"

A howling gust of wind arose, and a black tornado, ten meters high like a twisting demonic dragon, bore down on Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming hastily waved through the void, and the Nine Rings Golden Saber clanged as it cleaved towards the silver light.

A flash of light on the Nine Rings Golden Saber sent forth a sharp edge, colliding with the silver light.

The golden saber light was no match for the silver light, bursting apart upon contact, while the silver light continued its descent, striking the Nine Rings Golden Saber with a loud boom.

The Nine Rings Golden Saber trembled violently, its nine golden rings shattering and scattering in all directions.

Yuan Ming’s hands shook violently, and upon inspecting the saber in his arms, he found it riddled with cracks, severely damaged.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, the ground suddenly shook, and earth and stones flew.

After killing Shi Dian, Hua Zhi burst from the ground, waving its arms forward, and dozens of vine-like tendrils, shrouded in cyan light, transformed into wooden flying swords, shooting straight towards Sha Hao.

Following the flying swords, Hua Zhi dragged the bronze greatsword, also chasing after Sha Hao.

However, before it could get close, a silver light pierced through, shredding all the wooden swords and aiming for its chest.

In a rush, Hua Zhi blocked with the greatsword in front and formed a shield of vines.

With a loud explosion, countless tendrils burst apart.

The bronze greatsword broke in two, and Hua Zhi itself was sent flying.

Hua Zhi, holding the broken sword, had just stood up, ready to attack again, but suddenly a flash of red light appeared, and it found itself surrounded by intense flames, with scorching fire on all sides, leaving no room to move.

It tried to contact Yuan Ming but found their connection severed, leaving it clueless as to Yuan Ming’s whereabouts.

Yuan Ming saw Hua Zhi standing still and realized it too had fallen into an illusion. He frowned deeply.

Hua Zhi and the White Ape were his two main supports, always prevailing in other situations, but now they were utterly restrained by Sha Hao’s illusions.

Although Yuan Ming was barely unaffected by the illusions, he had to be wary of the metallic silver sphere, which might be a top-grade magical instrument.

Yuan Ming glanced at the severely damaged Nine Rings Golden Saber in his hand and couldn’t help but consider retreating.

He took out a green feather fan and waved it forcefully.

A massive green storm erupted, carrying dust, leaves, and debris towards Sha Hao, shrouding the area within a dozen meters in chaos, obscuring all sight.

At the same time, he flicked his sleeve, and three slender black lights mixed with the stormy dust shot towards Sha Hao—three black daggers shaped like willow leaves.

This set of magical instruments, known as the Willow Leaf Chain Daggers, was obtained from the storage instruments of Zheng Da and others from the Zhen Ling Sect. Zheng Da and his companions were merely Gu Qiulong’s underlings, of modest means, and the only valuable item among the three’s storage instruments was this set of mid-grade magical instruments.

Sha Hao smiled, his black folding fan tracing a gentle arc, and a black light shield appeared before him, easily blocking the Willow Leaf Chain Daggers.

At this moment, Yuan Ming had disappeared.

Sha Hao hurriedly searched, but Yuan Ming, like a ghostly apparition, flashed and appeared at the heart of the commotion, retrieving the spirit beasts into his spirit beast bag.

Without a moment’s delay, he darted out again, heading straight for Hua Zhi.

Sha Hao then realized that Yuan Ming’s seemingly futile actions were to distract him, allowing him to rescue the two spirit beasts.

The White Ape and Hua Zhi were powerful; if Yuan Ming managed to rescue them, it would be a significant setback.

Sha Hao uttered a low shout, once again urging the silver sphere, sending a dazzling silver light speeding towards Hua Zhi.

Yuan Ming, having witnessed the power of the silver light, quickly summoned the Water Cloud Banner to block the blinding light.

With a sizzling sound, the mid-grade magical instrument that had accompanied Yuan Ming for years exploded into fragments. However, the silver light was deflected, grazing past Hua Zhi’s head.

Yuan Ming felt a pang of regret, grabbed Hua Zhi, and placed it into the spirit beast bag, then made a swift escape.

"Don’t you run!" Sha Hao, having been tricked, looked displeased and immediately gave chase.

At the same time, a vague blood shadow emerged from his brow, swirling with blood light—a blood-colored bat.

"Blood Bat! Is this his soul transformed? Just like the Great Elder’s." Yuan Ming’s heart chilled.

The blood-colored bat was incredibly fast, far surpassing the Soul Crow, and quickly closed in on Yuan Ming, about to catch up.

Suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed in the sky, and a purple lightning bolt the thickness of an arm struck down at the blood-colored bat. It was Lei Yu, who had returned at some unknown time. Now, Lei Yu had lost some feathers on its back, leaving a wound, and the white eagle that had been pursuing it was also flying in the distance.

The blood-colored bat, being a manifestation of the soul, was wary of lightning attacks. Sha Hao hurriedly maneuvered the bat to dodge.

Yuan Ming took the opportunity to recall the Willow Leaf Chain Daggers, summoned the White Jade Shuttle, and leaped onto it, channeling his magical power into the shuttle through his feet.

The White Jade Shuttle turned into a white rainbow, shooting up into the sky. Lei Yu circled and followed behind.

At this moment, within the spirit beast bag, Hua Zhi and the Vajra trembled and broke free from the illusion, regaining consciousness.

Yuan Ming sensed this and breathed a sigh of relief. He had been about to try breaking the illusion affecting the two beasts, but they had woken up on their own.

At this time, Sha Hao was not in as good a mood as Yuan Ming. He looked in the direction Yuan Ming had fled and flicked his finger into the sky.

A black light shot out from his sleeve, aiming for Lei Yu—a snake-shaped short spike, incredibly fast.

However, Lei Yu flapped its wings, making a sharp turn in the air, its body transforming into a black phantom, easily avoiding the spike’s attack, and continued to chase after Yuan Ming, effortlessly keeping pace with the White Jade Shuttle.