The woman didn’t answer. She merely coldly said, “I don’t want to be your enemy. Let me and Medusa go.”
John sneered. He had already offended the Church of Light and Medusa. They would never let him off.
He glanced at the woman, still unable to confirm her identity. She was an energy body formed from Spiritual Power, but her aura of Light was overwhelming.
She was most likely a member of the Church of Light.
He spoke, “I can let you go, but Medusa must die!”
The woman frowned slightly, staring coldly at him.
Medusa, weak and frail, said, “Dan, you’re no match for them. You and I are not related. You should leave now.”
“No relation?” The woman, Dan, turned her head to look at him. Her expression was filled with sorrow. She gritted her teeth and said, “No matter what, today I will take you away!”
Boom!
The power of Light surged as a sword of light condensed and slashed toward John and his group.
This woman was incredibly powerful. If she had a physical body, they might not even be her match. But now, she was just an energy form, and couldn’t pose any real threat to them.
John easily blocked the sword’s attack. He couldn’t be bothered to waste time talking. His longsword swung, releasing a slash of sword light that cut through the sky and rushed toward her.
Nine Heavens Sword!
The woman’s expression changed slightly. As an energy body, she was incapable of defending herself, but she still stood her ground, showing no intention of evading.
“Run!” Medusa, with the last of her strength, pushed the woman away.
Poof…
The massive sword light fell, blood spraying in the air. Medusa’s enormous body was cleaved in two.
“No!” The woman screamed in horror, hurriedly kneeling on the ground, tightly holding Medusa’s head. Her slender body trembled with grief.
Medusa’s breath was faint. Struggling, he opened his eyes and stared at the woman, forcing out a few words, “It’s not worth it. Go… quickly…”
His body went completely limp, and a snake’s heart slowly floated out.
“Ah!” The woman roared, her expression wild with fury. She fixed her eyes on John. “Human, I will never rest until you are dead!”
She waved her hand, retrieving the snake’s heart, her figure flickering and vanishing without a trace.
She was an energy body, so there was no way for them to stop her.
[You have killed Serpent King Medusa. Plunder Talent Activated.]
[+10,000 to Four Basic Attributes, +10% Space Law Insight, gained SSS-level Talent: Space Travel.]
[Space Perception: SSS-level Space Travel. Can sense spatial flaws, break through spatial barriers. Requires mental energy.]
A flashing notification appeared, and John had actually plundered 10% of the Space Law Insight and obtained an SSS-level Space Travel talent.
He thought about Medusa’s ability to freely travel through the World-in-Hand and the Tower of Death.
It must be related to this Space Travel talent.
“What a powerful talent!” he thought, delighted in his heart.
In Medusa’s hands, this talent might have only been a last-ditch escape tool, but now that he had it, he could use it with much greater power.
He mastered the divine skill to create worlds. Apart from the perfectly integrated World-in-Hand, which he could not destroy, no other world of The Overseer could withstand his attacks.
If he encountered a Nine-Star powerhouse again, he could directly enter their World-in-Hand and destroy it.
“I didn’t expect Medusa to have such a side to her,” Cand-Dragon couldn’t help but remark.
They all realized that what Medusa had done in the end was to save the mysterious woman.
“Too bad that woman escaped,” Sini said thoughtfully.
If the root wasn’t eradicated, there would be endless troubles. Plus, she could feel that the woman’s identity was anything but simple, and she was definitely related to the Church of Light.
“Let’s deal with the current problem first. What should we do now?” Sword Demon glanced at Medusa’s body on the ground and spoke helplessly.
Gran City was destroyed, Medusa was dead, and most crucially, the key to the Mountains of Immortals was nowhere to be found. It seemed like they were trapped in this wasteland once again.
John scanned his surroundings. Gran City and the oasis were both gone, and all that lay before them was an endless expanse of yellow sand.
They had once again lost their way.
He spoke, “Let’s ask Elder Gaka. Maybe he has a solution.”
A thought crossed his mind, and he led the others into his World-in-Hand.
Gaka, sensing their arrival, quickly asked, “Has Medusa been killed? Did you get the key to the Mountains of Immortals?”
John replied, “Elder, Medusa is dead, but the key wasn’t with him. He said it was taken by someone named Leviathan.”
“Leviathan?” Gaka exclaimed in surprise. “That’s impossible. I killed him myself!”
John looked at The Tree of Life in confusion. He could sense that Medusa didn’t seem to be lying at the end.
Gran City had been destroyed, Medusa was dead, and they hadn’t found the key to the Mountains of Immortals.
Gaka’s voice grew serious. “If Leviathan is still alive, this could be troublesome.”
John asked curiously, “Elder, is Leviathan very strong?”
“Very strong,” Gaka continued. “He’s a giant serpent, an ancient magical beast. Over a thousand years ago, he was already a Nine-Star late-stage powerhouse. At the time, I discovered he had sinister intentions, so I took action and killed him. It seems he didn’t die after all.”
He recalled the strange circumstances of that battle. After killing Leviathan, a Heart of the Continent had appeared, but there was no magic core.
That guy must have destroyed his own World-in-Hand, faking his death to deceive him.
A Nine-Star late-stage powerhouse?
John found the situation somewhat tricky, but not entirely unmanageable.
He continued asking, “So, how do we find that guy?”
“He must have gotten the key, so he’s definitely entered the Mountains of Immortals,” Gaka replied, then added with some confusion, “If he’s entered the Mountains of Immortals, why hasn’t he refined this World-in-Hand yet?”
John speculated, “Could it have something to do with him destroying his World-in-Hand?”
“Possible,” Gaka realized. “Without a World-in-Hand, it would be impossible to refine the Endless Sea.”
But once he acquired a World-in-Hand, it would be a different story.
With Leviathan’s strength, if he obtained a complete Heart of the Continent, he could easily become The Overseer again.
But why hadn’t he done so?
There had to be some secret behind it.
Gaka continued, “I suspect that guy is hiding in the Mountains of Immortals.”
John asked, “But how do we get into the Mountains of Immortals?”
The key to entering the Mountains of Immortals was to have the key.
And now, that key was in Leviathan’s hands.
Gaka seemed at a loss. After a long pause, he spoke, “Didn’t you encounter the Mountains of Immortals before? Maybe you’ll come across it again.”
John was speechless. It seemed like, just like with Gran City, they’d have to rely on luck.
The group left the World-in-Hand and continued wandering aimlessly through the endless desert.
John had already given up hope. As long as they could leave this wasteland, it would be enough.
…
Before they knew it, more than half a month had passed as they continued to roam the desert.
Around them, there was nothing but yellow sand, and the horizon seemed endless.
“Master, I’m going to crack, how big is this desert?” Avis said weakly, lying in the sand, mentally exhausted.
At this point, he didn’t care about finding the Mountains of Immortals. He just wanted to get out of this cursed place.
John, equally exhausted, rested his back against Avis.
In the past few days, they hadn’t even encountered a mirage. Your next chapter is on empire
“Hey, why is it so dark over there?” Tracy suddenly noticed something and pointed at the distant horizon, surprised.
Where the yellow sand met the sky, the horizon was completely dark, and faint flashes of lightning could be seen flickering.
The group was immediately drawn to it.
“Could it be another sandstorm?” Sword Demon asked in confusion. Over the past few days, they had already witnessed the harsh environment of the desert.
But the dark clouds in the distance felt different; there was something terrifying about the power emanating from them.
“Let’s go take a look,” John said as he jumped onto Avis’s back.
The others also became interested.
Avis spread his wings and took to the sky once more.
Whoosh…
The fierce wind howled, lifting up sand and stones, which hit them like knives, covering them in a brutal storm.
Avis struggled to fly but quickly found it impossible.
The wind was too strong, and flying was simply not an option.
The group had no choice but to land, braving the yellow sand, and proceed on foot.
As they drew closer, they saw that the dark mass was indeed a vast cloud, dense enough to obscure the sun.
Underneath the heavy clouds, lightning flickered, thunder cracked, and a terrifying pressure filled the air.
The group began to feel as though they could hardly breathe.
“What is this thing?” John couldn’t help but stop, his soul trembling. Even facing Emperor-level power, he had never felt such a sensation.
“Could it be… a Heavenly Tribulation?” Sword Demon asked, his voice trembling as he gazed at the vast, dark clouds in the distance.
“Heavenly Tribulation?” Cand-Dragon asked, puzzled.
Sword Demon swallowed hard and explained, “When a Nine-Star powerhouse breaks through to become a Ten-Star Emperor, there is not only the improvement in cultivation but also a perilous test: the Heavenly Tribulation. Only by surviving the Heavenly Tribulation can one become a Ten-Star Emperor.”
He stared at the distant clouds, continuing, “The power of the Heavenly Tribulation is terrifying. Even Emperor-level powerhouses face a near-death experience when they encounter it. I’ve heard that one of the Seven Kings, the Heavenly King, had already reached the ability to break through to Ten-Star Emperor but hesitated because he couldn’t withstand the Heavenly Tribulation.”
“Heavenly Tribulation?” John muttered to himself. He hadn’t expected there to be such a test for reaching Ten-Star Emperor.
No wonder Emperor-level powerhouses were so rare on this continent.
Tracy asked, puzzled, “But who would be breaking through to Ten-Star Emperor here, attracting the Heavenly Tribulation?”
Spoorate spoke up, “Could it be Leviathan?”
In this Endless Desert, aside from the fallen Medusa, the only other mysterious powerhouse seemed to be Leviathan.
The group’s eyes lit up.
It was entirely possible.
“Let’s go, let’s get closer,” John said, braving the howling wind and the overwhelming pressure, slowly moving forward.
With immense effort, they reached the edge of the dark cloud, unwilling to take another step closer.
The terrifying pressure spread out, filling the air with an apocalyptic energy.
John felt as if, with one more step, he would be torn apart by the horrifying force, his Divine Soul utterly destroyed. Even his Undying and Immortal talent might not activate in such an environment.
“Roar…”
Suddenly, a deafening roar echoed, and the clouds churned violently. A massive black shadow appeared, barely visible in the swirling storm.
It was a giant black serpent.