noffsinger Chapter 26 Anomaly
Chapter 26 Anomaly
Wang Tianlong suppressed the churning blood and the stinging pain in his soul, knowing full well that this was no place to linger. He dared not delay and immediately flew to the Qinglan Fruit Tree atop the cliff.
The tree was about ten feet tall, its branches gnarled and twisted like jade, its leaves resembling maple leaves yet shimmering with a faint blue halo. Three longan-sized, pure white spiritual fruits, their surfaces adorned with fine, flowing energy as if alive, hung quietly from the branches, emitting a delightful fragrance and a powerful, pure wind spirit energy. These were ripe, ten-thousand-year-old Azure Mist Fruits!
With a firm resolve, Wang Tianlong dared not delay. He quickly took out three jade boxes that he had prepared beforehand, meticulously carved from ten-thousand-year-old warm jade and covered with spirit-sealing runes. He carefully and precisely plucked the three Azure Cloud Fruits one by one, placed them in the jade boxes, and immediately affixed several restrictive talismans to ensure that their spiritual energy was not leaked at all. Only then did he solemnly store them in the deepest part of his storage bag.
Having done all this, he felt a little relieved and turned to use his escape technique to leave this troublesome place.
However, just as he turned around—
"Click...click click..."
A faint, yet clearly penetrating sound of shattering echoed from behind me without warning!
Wang Tianlong turned around abruptly, his pupils suddenly contracting!
The Azure Orchid Fruit Tree, which should have been still vibrant after the harvest, was now like shattered glass, instantly covered with countless cracks from its top to its roots! Within the cracks, instead of wood fibers, there was a dazzling bluish-white light!
Not only that, the entire island began to shake violently, and countless cracks emitting a bluish-white light appeared on the ground! It was as if the island and the fruit tree were originally one, and the departure of the fruit had broken a delicate balance that had been maintained for thousands of years!
"This is bad!" A warning screamed in Wang Tianlong's heart!
He had no time to think. The remaining magic power in his body surged into the Sky-Stepping Boots, and his figure transformed into a streak of light, shooting out recklessly in the direction he had come from!
Almost at the same instant his body started moving—
"boom!!!"
The entire island, along with the shattered fruit tree, exploded with a deafening roar! An unparalleled bluish-white storm, mixed with fragments of shattered space, swept outwards in all directions like a raging torrent of destruction! Its power was ten or even a hundred times more terrifying than the Nine Heavens Gale outside!
Wang Tianlong felt the destructive energy eruption behind him. He had no time to think. Driven by his survival instinct, he poured all his remaining magic power into the Heavenly Treasure Boots beneath his feet without regard for the cost!
"Buzz!"
The Sky-Stepping Boots erupted with an unprecedentedly dazzling azure light, and his speed instantly reached its limit, transforming into a streak of azure lightning that tore through space, rushing desperately towards the outer edge of the island and the direction where Master Qingmu was!
At this moment, the collapse of the island triggered a chain reaction. The already raging Nine Heavens Gale seemed to be enraged, becoming even more rampant. Countless spatial rifts emerged, spread, and intertwined like wildly growing black thorns, turning that area into a true death zone!
Outside, Master Aoki's expression changed drastically! He clearly saw a blinding bluish-white light erupt from the direction of the island. Immediately afterward, the gale wall in front of him suddenly expanded and became agitated, and the spatial rifts increased and widened at an alarming rate, with an aura of destruction rushing towards him!
"Fellow Daoist Wang!" Qingmu Shangren's heart tightened, both worried about Wang Tianlong's safety and terrified by the sudden change in the power of heaven and earth. He summoned several defensive magic treasures to protect himself, his feet flashing with escape light, already hesitating whether to retreat to a safer area first. After all, judging from the situation, Wang Tianlong's hope of survival was...slim.
Just as he gritted his teeth and prepared to make his escape—
"Sizzle!"
A blood-soaked and disheveled figure burst forth like a cannonball from the almost impassable barrier of destruction, composed of raging gales and dense spatial rifts!
It was Wang Tianlong!
But his current state was utterly wretched. His blue robe had been torn to shreds, barely covering his body. His exposed skin was covered with wounds of varying depths, the most horrifying of which was a gruesome cut on his left chest, smooth as a mirror, its edges shimmering with spatial fluctuations, almost piercing through his chest. Although the blood had temporarily congealed due to the extreme cold and magical power, the internal injuries were clearly extremely severe. His face was ashen, and his breath was utterly feeble.
As soon as Wang Tianlong rushed out, before he could even catch his breath, he hoarsely roared at Qingmu Shangren, "Fellow Daoist Qingmu! Run!! This place is about to collapse!"
Before he finished speaking, he once again forcefully activated the little magic power he had left. The spiritual light of the Sky-Stepping Boots under his feet dimmed (obviously they were badly damaged), but they still dragged him into a dim streak of light, fleeing desperately towards the direction they came from, towards the outer edge of the Heavenly Wind Sea!
Seeing this, Master Qingmu dared not hesitate for a moment! He stomped his foot and pushed his movement technique to the limit. Following closely behind Wang Tianlong's shaky escape light, he also turned into a stream of light and desperately fled outwards!
Behind them, the destructive storm that had swallowed the island was expanding outward at an alarming speed, like a giant beast that had awakened and opened its bloody maw!
At this moment, Wang Tianlong and Qingmu Shangren no longer cared about being cautious or avoiding risks! The earth-shattering energy surge behind them was like a roaring beast, devouring everything at a visible speed. Space shattered like a broken mirror, and the Nine Heavens Gale and spatial cracks mixed into a chaotic mess of destruction, spreading wildly!
"Charge!" Wang Tianlong roared hoarsely, blood continuously spilling from his mouth, but he poured all his last strength into the Sky-Stepping Boots. The boots groaned under the strain, their spiritual light flashing violently, but their speed increased instead of decreasing, forcefully tearing through the chaotic airflow in front of them.
Master Qingmu gritted his teeth and unleashed several of his most treasured defensive magic treasures as if they were free, protecting the two of them. He also continuously threw out high-level talismans in front of him, which transformed into fireballs, ice spikes, and earthen walls. They managed to break through the raging gale and the spatial rifts that appeared from time to time. The magic treasures and talismans shattered and annihilated one after another, making a series of explosions, but the two of them were completely unable to care about the loss at this moment.
Run! Run for your life!
Like two shooting stars burning with life, they recklessly crashed into the already chaotic inner area, moving against their original path at a speed and with far greater danger. Occasionally, a sudden gust of wind or a tiny spatial rift would graz them, leaving new wounds. Wang Tianlong's horrific wound on his left chest continued to bleed, and his aura grew increasingly weak.
Finally, they broke through the most dangerous area of the core zone and entered the relatively "calmer" inner perimeter. However, looking back, both of them felt a chill run down their spines—the destructive wave had not stopped; on the contrary, it seemed to have been completely enraged, still surging outwards! Wherever it passed, space shattered inch by inch, and the Nine Heavens Gale Winds were completely out of control, forming a deathly forbidden zone that was constantly expanding and devouring everything!
"Don't stop! Keep going!" Wang Tianlong coughed up a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs, but his eyes gleamed with an almost beastly will to survive. He swallowed the last life-saving pill, drained every last bit of magical power from his meridians, and continued to fly outwards.
Master Qingmu was also deathly pale, his magical power nearly exhausted, relying entirely on pills to keep going, and he followed closely behind Wang Tianlong.
Their desperate escape was not an isolated incident. At this moment, the entire inner perimeter of the Heavenly Wind Sea was plunged into immense panic. Those Nascent Soul and Core Formation cultivators who had originally ventured here in search of opportunities all sensed the soul-chilling destructive fluctuations emanating from the core area, as well as the rapidly spreading scene of spatial collapse!
"Natural disaster! Run!"
"The core has collapsed! Space is about to crumble!"
"Run!"
Countless panicked streaks of light, like startled fish, emerged from every corner of the inner perimeter, desperately fleeing towards the outer sea. The scene was chaotic, even erupting into several brief clashes over who could get to the right. But everyone understood one fact: a moment's hesitation meant death!
Wang Tianlong and Master Qingmu mingled in the torrent of escape, relying on their higher cultivation level and stronger will to survive, forcibly surpassing many cultivators and continuing their desperate flight towards the relatively safer outer perimeter. Behind them, the sky and sea were being rapidly swallowed up by a dark blue-black chaos and silvery-white spatial rifts.