194: Qiao Zimo, full of hatred

Half a day later.

Xiao Zhuo's feet landed on a stretch of yellow earth.

This was the dividing line between the core area and the Medicinal Garden Area of the Myriad Ages Evergreen Realm.

Before his eyes was a colossal, verdant barrier/boundary that reached from the ground to the sky, truly a masterpiece of a True Immortal. Xiao Zhuo had already observed this barrier/boundary with his Divine Eye; it was connected to the entire Myriad Ages Evergreen Realm, and without the power to shatter a realm, it was impossible to break.

However, Xiao Zhuo had long known what needed to be done to enter the core area.

This barrier/boundary had four large gates, each with a test. Only by passing the test could one enter, and the reason Xiao Zhuo hadn't moved yet was that he was waiting for Qiao Zimo.

He was already very close to Xiao Zhuo, about to meet up.

Xiao Zhuo looked at a colorful vortex about ten li away, embedded in the luminous wall of the barrier/boundary.

That was one of the four large gates to the core area.

According to the experience of predecessors, the moment one entered the gate, they would be pulled into an illusion. Only by passing through it could they emerge.

The tests in the illusion were bizarre and varied. Some people comprehended the Dao for a hundred years in the illusion before breaking through, while others, upon entering, faced endless slaughter until all enemies were killed to pass. There were also stages involving solving chess games, refining Magical Artifacts, or Medicinal Pills.

In short, many things encountered on the path of cultivation could become a test.

When he first learned of this, Xiao Zhuo was still astonished by the miraculous methods of the Evergreen True Immortal.

Truly formidable.

His reverence for True Immortals grew by more than just a little.

True Immortals, he feared, were far more powerful than Blood Heaven of the Half-step True Immortal (Quasi-Immortal) level he had seen in the Void Soul illusion.

By now, Xiao Zhuo knew that True Immortals in the Lower Realm were likely at least beings who had comprehended their own Dao Principles. Although he didn't know if the higher-level Major Thousand Worlds all contained such terrifying True Immortals, according to what Xiao Zhuo knew, every True Immortal from the Blood Demon Realm renowned throughout the ages was a dazzling genius who overshadowed their peers.

Perhaps they all held some unknown secrets.

Thinking of this, Xiao Zhuo also thought of Blood Heaven, who was now very likely to have advanced to the True Immortal Realm. The slight disdain he had initially felt due to the panel had long since vanished.

Blood Heaven was a being who dared to plan the dimension ascension of the Blood Demon Realm and subdue an entire realm with his own power. He was not necessarily weaker than Lu Tianyuan or the Evergreen True Immortal who created the Myriad Ages Evergreen Realm, and might even be stronger.

Just as Xiao Zhuo's thoughts were racing, a thunderous explosion echoed in the distance.

A pink-haired young man had a silver treasure pearl above his head, on which spatial energy continuously flowed, boosting his speed and allowing him to move unhindered by spatial Restrictions. He flew at full speed, pursued by over a hundred Cultivators of varying cultivation levels, the lowest being Void Refinement Peak and the highest reaching the Tribulation Crossing Realm.

Seeing this, Xiao Zhuo's mouth twitched.

He was speechless. This Qiao Zimo was truly a disaster magnet. He wondered how a mere Void Refining Realm Cultivator could attract so many powerful enemies.

If not for the space treasure pearl he had given him, which was an extremely powerful spatial treasure, even an Integration Stage Cultivator could have taken his life. Now, however, he had attracted one Tribulation Crossing Realm Cultivator, a dozen Integration Stage Cultivators, and nearly a hundred Void Refining Realm Cultivators.

Qiao Zimo in the distance had already spotted Xiao Zhuo from afar. Perhaps seeking his master's help had become a habit, as a bitter smile appeared on Qiao Zimo's handsome face, and he unhesitatingly rushed towards Xiao Zhuo.

In less than three breaths, he had already hidden behind Xiao Zhuo.

Xiao Zhuo merely glanced at him speechlessly, then turned to shield him, looking at the hundred or so pursuers.

"Little thief! You even have an accomplice! Die for me!" An Integration Stage Cultivator, fuming with rage, saw the little thief he had been chasing for half a day, always out of reach, hide behind a young man. Without another word, he summoned a brown great seal and ruthlessly pressed it down towards Xiao Zhuo and the other person.

Xiao Zhuo, however, remained unfazed. He pointed a finger, and a golden soul weapon instantly materialized.

"Hiss!"

The great seal was pierced and shattered, and the attacking Integration Stage Cultivator was simultaneously pierced through the glabella by the sword-shaped soul weapon, his Divine Soul utterly destroyed.

The tragic sight of the Integration Stage Cultivator, like a dousing of ice water, caused the hundred-strong pursuing party, who had been in a frenzy, to suddenly halt.

The boisterous shouts ceased abruptly, leaving only the faint hum of the space treasure pearl and heavy breathing.

"Who is Your Excellency? Why do you harbor this scoundrel!" The leading Middle Tribulation Crossing Stage Cultivator, a Red Armored Big Man with a fierce aura, stepped forward, his eyes fixed on Xiao Zhuo with suspicion and uncertainty.

He could feel the unfathomable aura emanating from Xiao Zhuo, indicating a formidable opponent. This set off alarm bells in his heart, but the greed of the hundred people behind him and the unimaginable wealth on Qiao Zimo prevented him from easily retreating.

Xiao Zhuo stood with his hands behind his back, his expression indifferent, as if he had merely brushed away a speck of dust: "He is my servant. Your pursuit of him is to make an enemy of me."

"Servant?" The Red Armored Big Man's pupils constricted slightly, then he sharply retorted: "So what if he is your servant? This villain, relying on his spatial treasure, could ignore the Restrictions of the medicinal garden and, in just half a day, successively pilfer seven medicinal gardens that had not yet been breached! Seven! At least three of those medicinal gardens contained ten-thousand-year Spiritual Roots! And who knows how many ten-thousand-year Spirit Medicines! Some of them were even medicinal gardens we were in the process of breaking the Restrictions on. Such an act is seizing our Opportunity and severing our path to the Dao! In the Myriad Ages Evergreen Realm, everyone has the right to kill him!"

"That's right! Hand over that little thief and all the Spirit Medicine on him!"

"Hand over the space treasure pearl! Otherwise, don't even think about leaving today!"

"No matter how strong he is, he's only one person. With a hundred of us fellow Daoists, we can exhaust him to death!"

The Red Armored Big Man's words instantly ignited the suppressed greed and anger of the crowd.

Seven medicinal gardens! Three or more ten-thousand-year Spiritual Roots! An unknown quantity of ten-thousand-year Spirit Medicine! And that miraculous treasure pearl that could ignore Restrictions! The immense temptation instantly overwhelmed the fear caused by Xiao Zhuo's instant kill of an Integration Stage Cultivator.

A hundred gazes turned crimson, greed almost materializing as they locked onto Qiao Zimo behind Xiao Zhuo.

Qiao Zimo's face turned pale, clutching the silver space treasure pearl tightly, and he whispered, "Master... I..."

Xiao Zhuo raised his hand, signaling him not to speak further. His gaze swept over the agitated crowd, his voice as cold as ten thousand years of ice: "I'll say it again: scram. Otherwise, die."

"Arrogant!" the Red Armored Big Man roared. He believed that no matter how strong Xiao Zhuo was, he couldn't withstand the siege of over a hundred Cultivators, especially with a dozen Integration Stage experts and himself, a Middle Tribulation Crossing Stage Cultivator, among them! "Fellow Daoists, follow me and kill! Reclaim the Spirit Medicine! Slay this villain!"

"Kill—!"

Greed completely overwhelmed reason. Over a hundred Cultivators, like a breached dam, summoned their Magic Treasures and activated their Divine Abilities. A torrent of multicolored spiritual light, Sword Qi, saber gleams, and Spells, carrying destructive aura, surged overwhelmingly towards Xiao Zhuo and Qiao Zimo!

The momentum was so vast that it could instantly destroy a mountain.

The cold light in Xiao Zhuo's eyes intensified, his killing intent no longer concealed in the slightest.

"Blood Fiend Domain · Triple! Activate!"

Boom—!

A monstrous Blood Fiend Qi, like a materialized sea of blood, erupted with Xiao Zhuo at its center!

The Domain instantly enveloped the dozens of people rushing at the forefront! Within the Domain, the air was as viscous as blood plasma, filled with a nauseatingly sweet stench and endless resentment and wails.

The violent Blood Fiend Qi, like billions of steel needles, furiously corroded the Physical Bodies, Meridians, and even Divine Souls of the intruders!

"Ah! My magical power is dissipating!"

"It hurts so much! My protective Magic Treasure can't stop it!"

"What kind of hellish Domain is this?!"

The Cultivators who rushed into the Domain were like those who had fallen into the Blood Prison.

Void Refining Realm Cultivators bore the brunt; their protective spiritual light shattered like paper under the impact of the Blood Fiend Qi!