Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
After being hit by the Ghost Lantern Cold Flame, the Nine Nether Wood that was struggling crazily stirred up the entire water body.
Jiang Li was completely unable to stabilize his figure, and he was swept away by the water flow.
If he wanted to throw out the Dragon Imprisoning Lock again, with the guidance of the Immortal Slaying Flying Sword, it would be barely accurate.
However, under the intense impact of the water current, his speed would still be severely affected.
In next to no time, the demonic statue had already struggled free from the tree. Because its speed was too swift, it did not hesitate to tear off a large portion of the tree bark.
The main body of the Nine Nether Wood, the other half of the statue, glanced at Jiang Li, and then it swayed its roots like a squid and pushed its enormous body down.
Although the other party was huge, its speed was not slow at all.
Jiang Li erupted with a large amount of spiritual qi, pushing away the surrounding river water. It was not easy for him to use this method in the churning river water to barely stabilize his body.
He was just about to rush forward again and add fuel to the fire.
However, more than ten puppets rushed up and wrapped around him tightly.
Nine Ghost Lantern Cold Flames appeared behind them and circled around their bodies, igniting all these puppets. It would not be long before they burned all the souls in their bodies.
However, there were too many puppets. They were not afraid of death at all and charged forward continuously. Group after group pounced forward, surrounding Jiang Li until he could not move at all.
After spending a lot of time, he struggled to break free from the restraints with the help of the flames and casually threw the corpses into the coffin.
Jiang Li raised his eyes to look again, and more than half of the Nine Nether Wood had already entered the riverbed.
Once it entered the unknown passageway, it would be difficult to find it again.
“Jiang Li, what are you doing! Do you have a death wish?!”
At this moment, the pig riding ancestor of the Scripture Storage Valley pierced through the water layer and a large number of tree roots to arrive by Jiang Li’s side, and he quickly pulled Jiang Li away.
Looking at his ragged clothes, he knew that he had paid a huge price to reach this place.
“Martial Ancestor, wait! That thing is running away! I have a way to deal with it! Don’t let it escape!”
Jiang Li hurriedly stopped him and pulled his ancestor to look at the turbid water.
“What nonsense are you talking about? How can you have a solution… Wait, this guy really wants to run!”
“When did you have such an ability?”
From the understanding of ordinary people, this was a monster that could not be suppressed even with several Soul Formation cultivators. Jiang Li was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, even if his strength was comparable to a Golden Core cultivator, so what?
However, with just a glance, he also noticed the abnormality of the Nine Nether Wood. While the tree that reversed the statue surprised him, the huge tree that was fleeing in panic and the demonic statue that had fallen from the tree and was already mostly covered in black flames shocked him.
What was the black flame that burned the Nine Nether Wood in pain? Looking at the black color, he could feel a slight pain from his soul.
The damage that the flames dealt to the Nine Nether Wood clearly far exceeded the total damage they dealt earlier.
Previously, no matter how talented Jiang Li was, he was far inferior to them. Therefore, this group of top cultivators did not have the mood to ask.
However, today, Jiang Li had done something that even they, a group of Soul Formation cultivators, could not do with his Foundation Establishment cultivation. Even a normal person would want to know the reason behind this.
“That flame… Forget it, now is not the time! Let’s stop it!”
Now was not the time indeed.
If he could give the strange tree another blow, they might really burn it to death.
On the river, a few top cultivators suddenly felt the pressure in their hands decrease greatly, and they also discovered the abnormality of the tree demon.
The Nine Nether Wood, which had been growing and expanding with a strong desire to attack, suddenly started to contract at this moment and sank into the water.
There was clearly no sign of weakness before, so why did it suddenly contract? Could it be that there was a plot?
“What’s with this monster?”
“Should we stop it?”
The top cultivators looked at each other.
This tree demon clearly had quite a bit of intelligence. They had all suffered quite a bit earlier. Now, they did not dare to take the initiative to get too close. It was likely that the tree demon wanted to lure them into a trap.
“Stop it, don’t let it escape!”
“Jiang Li has a way to deal with it!”
Martial Ancestor Zhu turned around and rushed out of the water. He took a risk and grabbed one of the main roots of the Nine Nether Wood, pulling it upwards.
At this moment, the Nine Nether Wood was in a hurry to escape. It suddenly discovered that something was holding it back. Immediately, more than ten tree roots wrapped around it, as if they were going to crush this rather powerful ant into pieces.
However, the nine Ghost Lantern Cold Flames appeared again. With just a light touch, they were all ignited.
The dozen or so tree roots that had been ignited twisted and jumped crazily like live fish on the shore.
Soon, it fell off the main trunk and was flung far away.
“Is that true? What shocking black flames!”
“Attack! Don’t let this tree demon escape!”
When the top cultivators of the other three sects saw Jiang Li’s miraculous methods, their confidence immediately increased greatly. They did not think too much and followed Ancestor Zhu to pull up the tree root.
The Nine Nether Wood still wanted to attack, but the moment Jiang Li’s cold flames attacked, it lost its mood to retaliate.
Being pulled by so many top-notch cultivators, the sinking speed suddenly slowed. The roots were burned one after another, and soon, they became sparse from their original density.
Eh? This was the Mu family’s flying ship?
As the tree roots continued to fall, Jiang Li discovered a tattered peachwood flying ship in a corner.
On a closer look, there was actually a thin membrane maintaining the interior of the ship. The Mu family cultivators inside were actually not dead yet.
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Li grabbed the flying ship and pulled it back fiercely.
How powerful was Jiang Li? It was not difficult for him to push a flying ship that had lost its momentum.
Their current location was already underwater. Although the peachwood flying ship was already tattered and could no longer be used, under the effect of the buoyancy, it still floated to the surface.
Ignoring them for the time being, Jiang Li finally approached the huge Nine Nether Wood with the help of the top cultivators.
He used the same method of burning the ghost soldiers on the Dragon Imprisoning Lock. He threw the flying sword chain at the other statue of the Nine Nether Wood.
As long as both statues were destroyed, this Nine Nether Wood would become an empty shell and no longer be a threat.
However, just as he was about to stab the Nine Nether Wood, a strange energy formed a ball and spread out from the Nine Nether Wood, instantly affecting everything nearby.
Then, the world spun!
This was not a description, but a sense of directional distortion. In all his senses, the top became the bottom, the left became the right, and the front became the back. Everything was the opposite of normal.
The most terrifying thing was that this effect did not only affect the senses of cultivators, but it seemed to have deceived this space!
In the range of the energy, the water in the Mother River seemed to have turned into a basin of dirty water. Countless tons of river water were splashed into the sky. Lying in the underwater graveyard was a corpse that had been there for several years. It broke free from the gravity and flew up freely.
In just two breaths, the river water around them had been completely emptied.
In this kind of extreme confusion of senses, Jiang Li was unable to smoothly control the flying sword. He made it advance and retreat, making it fly left and right, back and forth. Not to mention hitting the target, it was already very good that it did not injure his own people.
In the range of this space, everything seemed to be upside down. The only thing that was upright was the Nine Nether Wood.
This situation also happened to the top cultivators.
Even the Soul Formation cultivators with the top combat strength of the Great Mountain Region were unable to resist this influence. For a time, they could only adapt to the situation themselves and were no longer able to stop the giant tree.
They were also flung away by the roots of the Nine Nether Wood and collided with the mountains not far away. All of them vomited blood and were injured.
“This is… the Nine Nether Dao Scripture’s Back Yin Mountain chapter?”
Jiang Li felt the inverted feeling and suddenly recalled one of the cultivation methods he practiced.
Jiang Li cultivated the Nine Nether Dao Scripture, and this kind of intrinsic cultivation method passed down by a great figure usually did not have a certain cultivation route.
Apart from the initial Heaven Imparting of Dao Scripture as the Spiritual Root of Heaven and Earth, everything that the Nine Nether Wood experienced and comprehended while growing and cultivating would also be recorded.
For example, the legendary Dao Ancestor Hong Jun gave three lectures in the Yellow Court. Every lecture was completely different. Every lecture was a brand new understanding of oneself, and it could broaden the upper limit of the entire Primordial World’s strength.
This Nine Nether Wood was naturally far inferior to the Dao Ancestor, but all its comprehensions were supreme secret techniques to Wood-Yin cultivators.
This Back Yin Mountain was the birthplace of the Nine Nether Wood.
The unlucky Spiritual Root of Heaven and Earth, the Nine Nether Wood, was forcefully brought away by a certain mighty figure. Before it was transplanted to the netherworld, it actually lived on the Back Yin Mountain where everything was inverted.
This Back Yin Mountain had many bumps and hollow spots, and it was even more rugged. It was not a famous mountain in the world of the living, but it was a place of danger of extreme Yin.
Ghosts and monsters were hidden in the brambles, and the rocks were covered in phosphorus and sinister devils. One could not hear the sounds of beasts and birds, but could only see ghosts and demons.
In this place, there was no grass growing on the mountain, the peaks did not pierce the sky, the mountains were uninhabited, the caves did not welcome the clouds, and the streams did not flow. A cold wind blew, and black fog filled the air. There was no scenery in sight, and looking left and right, only death would eventually come.
The current scene was clearly the huge Nine Nether Wood utilizing a portion of the rules of the Back Yin Mountain chapter it had comprehended.
How could the cultivators who had always lived in the Nine Provinces Continent adapt to the strange inverted rules? They were tortured to a sorry state by this.
“Run! Don’t! Stop!”
Not only were Jiang Li’s words completely reversed, but he also threw out the Immortal Slaying Flying Sword. As a result, the flying sword pierced through his body and shot straight back.
Fortunately, this flying sword could hide in his body, so it could not injure him.
However, now, it was extremely difficult for him to attack the other party.
If not for his Ghost Lantern Cold Flame, which could rotate clockwise or counterclockwise to protect him, Jiang Li believed that the other party would definitely crush him to death first.
In the end, Jiang Li could only watch as the giant tree turned around and plunged into the exposed hole before swaggering off.
Only the Nine Nether statue that was still swallowed by the black flames and the burning roots on the ground were left.
In the end, it was all for naught.
He could not help but sigh. Those fools from the Mu family had alerted the enemy and destroyed the environment of the Ghost Lantern Fish, causing the Nine Nether Wood to appear prematurely.
His cultivation was still shallow, so he did not make full preparations before letting the Nine Nether Wood escape.
If they could wait until Jiang Li reached the Golden Core realm before exploring this underwater graveyard, then the outcome would probably be drastically different.
Damn the Mu family cultivators!
In addition, the Nine Nether Wood had already burrowed into the hole and disappeared without a trace. Why was this Back Yin Domain still unable to dissipate for a long time?
This domain could actually last so long? Or could it be that the fallen Nine Nether Demon Statue had been used as the final core to cast this domain? Before the energy in its body was exhausted and burned away, it was unable to undo this domain.
However, with their current situation, how could they leave this area?
Wait, he still could not adapt to such an inverted Back Yin Domain, but someone could.
Fortunately, the coffin was beside him.
As a fellow Nine Nether Wood clone, he should not be afraid of this reversal.
Lying in the distance, Green Mountain Ascetic closed his eyes and his consciousness returned to the main body in the coffin.
The coffin lid opened automatically, and four roots grew out to support the ground below. With these roots as tools, Jiang Li could finally move normally.
He used the roots to retrieve Green Mountain Ascetic and attached it to his body again. Jiang Li relaxed and did not move. He only relied on the wooden armor and roots on his body to move, and he was able to act according to his wishes.
“Elders and Dharma Protectors, please don’t resist. I’ll send you out.”
Many top-notch cultivators stumbled as they tried to stand up. However, how could they adapt to this reversal in a short period of time?
He grabbed them and sent them out of the area covered by the Back Yin Domain. Under the last defenseless situation, they were attacked at that level and were directly heavily injured.
Before they could say anything, he immediately sat cross-legged and adjusted his breathing. There was no reaction at all.
Jiang Li himself was also covered in injuries. It took him more than a minute to remove all the negative statuses and rely on the many buffs on his body to slowly recover.
The speed at which he became stronger was too fast. The recovery status on his body could not keep up with the current battle intensity. He had to get more recovery buffs again.
After a long time, the Nine Nether Demon Statue, which was originally as huge as a mountain, gradually shrunk under the burning of the Ghost Lantern Cold Flame and finally became the size of a palm.
It was struck by Jiang Li from afar and landed in his hand.
Only then did the invisible boundary slowly disappear.
The countless rivers and corpses that had flown into the sky fell back to the ground again.
The strange black rain of corpses landed on the devastated land, as if the mountains and rivers were crying in pain…