John’s expression was grave. At this rate, he wouldn’t be able to kill Skybroke before his World-in-Hand was destroyed.
Reluctantly, he had no choice but to cease his attack and activate his divine skill, Creation and Destruction, in order to stabilize World-in-Hand.
Skybroke, momentarily given a breather, barely managed to block the incoming sword beams.
All around the ancient tree, the ground was littered with wood chips—broken roots and branches scattered about.
Boom! Boom!
The heart pulsed violently, and a streak of blood appeared on its surface.
Skybroke had failed to block all the sword beams, and he too had been injured.
“Kid, you’re truly a waste!” A weathered voice echoed, filled with regret and sorrow.
“Such a precious treasure of the heavens, a means to open up space. If I had your power, I would already be a Creator God. You are nothing but a useless fool!” he scoffed angrily.
John stood frozen for a moment. It was the first time someone had called him a waste.
He wasn’t angry; instead, he could sense the truth in Skybroke’s words. After a pause, he replied, “Why don’t you teach me?”
“Hmph, you think you’re worthy of that? Die!” Skybroke’s furious voice rang out as the sound of the heart’s beating grew louder.
Suddenly, the world fell into a deep silence, broken only by the ominous sound of the heart’s beat.
It was a soul attack!
John felt a cold chill rise from the depths of his being. Death was closing in.
“Golden Lotus Manifestation!” He instantly snapped to attention, hastily activating Golden Lotus Manifestation.
Within the depths of his soul, the Purple Flame Destruction Lotus spun, and a golden light enveloped him, protecting his soul.
Boom!
His mind exploded in a violent crash, and the golden light shattered instantly. The strange soul attack struck directly, severely injuring his soul.
Cough!
John’s face turned pale, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
“What a bizarre soul attack!” he thought, stunned.
Fortunately, Skybroke had targeted only him and hadn’t attacked the others. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to withstand it.
“Hm? What kind of soul defense is this?” Skybroke’s voice, full of astonishment, rang out. He hadn’t expected that John would be able to withstand his soul attack.
Cough!
John coughed up more blood, half-kneeling on the ground, his breath uneven.
Though he had managed to block Skybroke’s soul attack, his soul had still been severely damaged, leaving him seriously injured.
“John, leave the rest to me!” Gaka’s voice echoed, and he controlled The Tree of Life, sending hundreds of roots to entangle the ancient tree.
“Grandfather, I’ll help you,” Jean said, appearing under The Tree of Life to assist in dealing with Skybroke.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
More roots erupted from the ground, tangling with the ancient tree.
“Get away!” Skybroke’s voice became frantic. The roots of the ancient tree wildly lashed out, trying to free themselves.
But now, injured and weak, he had no strength to escape.
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Powerful forces flowed through the roots, being Devoured by The Tree of Life.
It was Skybroke’s power.
Boom! Boom!
The heart pulsed violently, trying to halt the loss of its power, but it was utterly futile.
Skybroke immediately panicked. “Human, we can talk about this!”
The heart was his source of power, and the ancient tree was his vessel. If either of them was damaged, he would face imminent destruction.
“Hmph, now you’re scared?” John sneered as he dispelled the Heaven and Earth Transformation state. His soul injuries had barely recovered, but his face remained pale.
Skybroke’s panicked voice echoed. “I can help you all leave Dark City.”
“Heh, no need,” John said coldly, not buying into his words. This guy was just a dying struggle.
Whoosh… whoosh…
The ancient tree began to wither, with yellowing leaves continuously falling.
Skybroke, seeing that John wasn’t falling for it, spoke in a cold, venomous tone, “Kid, even if I die, I’ll drag you all down with me!”
The heart beat violently again, and Skybroke was preparing to launch another soul attack.
“Hmph, do you think you’re the only one who can use soul attacks?” John had already been prepared. He too was ready to use a soul attack.
“Divine Mindless!” he shouted angrily, his powerful Spiritual power invading the beating heart, attempting to control it.
Boom!
With a loud crash, his soul attack was instantly shattered.
Skybroke’s disdainful voice rang out. “Hmph, you think you can stop me? You’re out of your depth!”
Cough!
John’s soul took another hit, and a terrifying aura of destruction spread through the air. This was just a Spiritual power attack.
His face turned grim, and he gritted his teeth. Golden light flickered around him as he transformed into a divine dragon.
“Dragon Soul Storm!” He once again concentrated his Spiritual power, turning it into a soul storm, hoping to intimidate Skybroke.
“Judgment!” Immediately afterward, a massive Spiritual power gathered. This was a soul attack imbued with the Heaven law.
Buzz…
The air hummed as two powerful Spiritual powers collided, temporarily suppressing Skybroke’s soul attack.
Skybroke was slightly stunned. “Kid, I didn’t expect you to also master a soul attack of the Heaven law. Unfortunately, it’s still too weak. Die!”
With an enraged shout, a vast Spiritual power exploded from him, easily crushing John’s soul attack and rapidly sweeping toward him.
John’s expression changed. The Purple Flame Destruction Lotus was fully activated, but it still couldn’t withstand this Spiritual power.
He quickly shouted, “Get out of my World-in-Hand!”
This time, Skybroke’s soul attack was a ranged skill, and Sini and the others couldn’t block it.
“Big brother!” The girls, seeing the situation, were frantic and didn’t intend to leave. They wanted to help John.
But their souls were weak, and the only one skilled in soul attacks, Sini, was far outclassed by him.
“Spoorate, give me the crown and Sea God’s trident!” came Gaka’s voice from within The Tree of Life.
“Got it!” Spoorate was stunned for a moment but immediately threw the Sea God’s trident and the golden crown toward The Tree of Life.
Whoosh!
A surge of life energy stirred, and in front of The Tree of Life, a phantom image of Gaka’s Dharmakaya formed.
He reached out and grabbed the Sea God’s trident, placing the crown on his head.
Whoosh!
A powerful wind howled as immense strength surged.
“The Sea Embraces All!” Gaka shouted fiercely, and suddenly, an enormous gravitational force erupted from him.
The massive Spiritual power and the energy within Skybroke were violently Devoured by him, then merged into the Tree of Life behind him.
“John, quickly withdraw your Spiritual power,” Gaka hurriedly called out.
The Sea Embraces All was powerful, but he couldn’t control the force of the Devour. It was an indiscriminate attack.
John understood immediately. Ignoring the backlash from the soul attack, he used Golden Lotus Manifestation to forcefully sever the soul attack.
Buzz!
The space trembled as he was once again hit by the backlash of the soul, but this time, it wasn’t life-threatening.
“Sea God Gaka, it really is you!” Skybroke’s terrified voice echoed. His heart beat violently as the life force was relentlessly Devoured.
“No…” He let out an unwilling roar as his soul began to dissipate. The giant heart beat twice more before completely losing its pulse.
Whoosh… whoosh…
The ancient tree instantly withered, leaving only a bare, lifeless trunk.
And that enormous heart was also Devoured by Gaka, merging into The Tree of Life.
John let out a long sigh of relief. Skybroke had been too strange, and it was fortunate that Gaka intervened; otherwise, things would have been dangerous.
Boom… boom…
Suddenly, a series of rumbling sounds reverberated through the air. His World-in-Hand was filled with a surge of powerful energy, rapidly expanding outward.
[You have advanced to Late Stage Five-Star The Overseer. All four basic attributes increased by 5,000,000.]
A prompt flashed before his eyes, and his The Overseer cultivation had once again been enhanced, his strength slightly improving.
“Senior, thank you.” He looked towards The Tree of Life, expressing his gratitude.
He could feel that it was Gaka who had absorbed Skybroke’s power and then transferred it back to World-in-Hand.
“You’re welcome. This power was beyond my ability to refine, so it’s better used to strengthen your World-in-Hand,” Gaka’s voice rang out. Afterward, the Dharmakaya phantom once again merged back into The Tree of Life.
He was no longer in danger of losing his life, but he was still unable to leave The Tree of Life.
However, by Devouring Skybroke’s heart, he would be able to reform his physical body faster.
“What is this ancient tree? It wasn’t destroyed?” Sword Demon, drawn to the ancient tree, stared at the bare trunk, still unable to fully comprehend its mystery.
He casually picked it up and gave it a couple of light swings, and it seemed pretty well-balanced.
“Cand-Dragon, see if you can destroy it,” he said, turning to Cand-Dragon.
“Alright!” Cand-Dragon’s eyes lit up with excitement. He quickly summoned a spear and thrust it hard into the trunk.
Boom!
With a violent impact, Cand-Dragon was sent flying backward.
“Damn, what is this thing?” Cand-Dragon exclaimed in shock as he flew toward Sword Demon, retracting his spear and staring in disbelief at the trunk.
He had almost used his full strength, yet the trunk remained completely unscathed, with not even the slightest mark left.
John and the others gathered around, equally curious.
“This is definitely a Divine Weapon,” Sword Demon said excitedly, swinging it a couple more times. But soon, his excitement turned to disappointment. He wasn’t skilled with polearms, so this weapon wasn’t suitable for him.
The others also shook their heads helplessly. None of them were proficient in using polearms.
“Let’s keep it for now,” John said, casually sticking it into the ground. He had more pressing matters to attend to.
It was time to subdue the people of Underground City, force them to their deaths, and destroy Dark City.
With a thought, he led the group out of World-in-Hand.
…
Underground City.
Yealper stood with his greatsword in hand, adopting a stance like the golden rooster standing alone, waiting in the spot where the ancient tree had once been, expecting Skybroke to appear.
He knew how powerful Skybroke was, and though John had some strange abilities, he was certain he was no match for Skybroke. His World-in-Hand would definitely be Devoured.
“They’re here!” Yealper sensed a slight disturbance in the Spatial power, and a smile appeared on his face as he prepared to bow and greet Skybroke.
But then, his smile froze.
What appeared before him was not the ancient tree, but John and the others.
“Hm? Where is Lord Skybroke?” Yealper glanced over at the group and, seeing no ancient tree, coldly asked.
“Dead!” Sword Demon spoke coldly, having long been irritated by this guy. Unfortunately, Yealper’s strength had kept him from taking action before.
“Dead? Impossible!” Yealper didn’t believe it. There was no way that John and the others could have killed Skybroke.
But he did not sense Skybroke’s presence. Could it be that what this human said was true?
John, uninterested in further conversation, coldly responded, “I’ll give you a chance to live—submit to me!”
“Dream on! I’ll show you what I’m capable of and see how you dare to speak so arrogantly here!” Yealper shouted in fury, unwilling to believe that something had happened to Skybroke. He assumed Skybroke was trapped in World-in-Hand.
With an angry shout, he charged toward John.