313: Chapter 313 It Should Be So

Gu Changsheng strode forward, walking unhurriedly toward the location of the primordial wood's golden essence in the deepest part of the Grotto-Heaven.

Chen Mu trailed behind, dragging his half-reconstructed body step by step.

Blue-purple vines writhed frantically at the site of his broken bones.

Liu Feng clung tightly to his notched greatsword, wishing he could shrink his entire body into the mud.

This Treasure-Seeking Rat was now completely numb with shock.

The remnants of ancient killing Formations ahead were constantly erupting with residual light; a mere brush against them would turn him to ash.

But every time he was about to step on a 'landmine', Gu Changsheng would casually flick out a wisp of Wither and Flourish Death Qi.

The Death Qi would pin itself accurately into the array eye.

The violent killing Formation would instantly turn into a pool of stagnant water, failing to raise even the slightest ripple.

Coal Ball lay on Gu Changsheng's shoulder and let out an incredibly loud burp.

He exhaled a breath of turbid air mixed with spatial fragments.

The dark red miasma ahead had become so dense it was almost solid.

Gu Changsheng pushed forward with one hand.

Wither-Bloom Magic Power transformed into an invisible blade, brutally slicing through the thick poisonous fog.

A dilapidated ancient bronze divine temple suddenly crashed into their field of vision.

The surface of the temple was covered in dark purple moss.

Between the mottled copper-green patches, a suffocating ancient pressure emanated.

The surrounding Void Realm was being squeezed by this pressure, cracking inch by inch.

Gu Changsheng stopped his pace.

A grayish-white halo completely hid the three people and the cat behind a massive piece of carbonized rotten wood.

On the open ground outside the temple, over twenty pillars of Purple Mansion Qi soared into the sky, shredding the clouds above into pieces.

Every single one was at least at the Middle Stage of the Purple Mansion!

Six robed old monsters from the Central State Alliance occupied the eastern side.

The leading old monster had a face full of scars and rough flesh; his crimson Fire-element True Yuan had completely dried up the swamp beneath his feet.

The area for dozens of yards around had turned into a cracked, scorched wasteland.

He held a small crimson tower burning with flames in one hand, his fingertips moving rapidly across it.

Blood Fiend Master from the Southern Border's Wan Sha Hall stood atop a blood-colored giant blade the size of a door plank.

From within the rolling Evil Qi, the shrill wails of ten thousand vengeful souls could faintly be heard.

This old ghost was surrounded by dense blood-light, forcibly pushing back the surrounding Wood-element Spiritual Qi by three feet.

In the camp of the Eastern Wasteland's Qingsong Daoist Academy, Old Ancestor Songfeng wore a green Eight Trigrams robe and held a jade-green Ruyi scepter.

This old dog had previously been severely injured by Gu Changsheng's long-distance backlash, but he was now forcibly suppressing his injuries.

The Jiamu True Essence swirling around him was violent to the extreme.

Behind him followed two trembling Early Stage Purple Mansion Elders, clearly frightened out of their wits by the recent news of Master Liemu's death.

Over twenty titans who dominated their respective regions had the bronze divine temple tightly surrounded.

They stood in a mutual standoff.

No one dared to be the first to step onto the temple steps.

The flickering primordial wood killing Formation surrounding the temple emitted terrifying fluctuations capable of strangling a Late Stage Purple Mansion Cultivator.

Several shabbily dressed Loose Cultivators of the Purple Mansion realm, who had no background, were being brutally pushed to the very front by the pressure of the three major camps.

They were caught in a dilemma, their bodies soaked in cold sweat.

A stalemate.

A deathly stalemate.

Old Ancestor Songfeng was the first to break the silence.

He took a half-step forward, lightly tapping the Ruyi scepter against his palm.

"Fellow Daoists."

Old Ancestor Songfeng's voice was loud, carrying a tone of hollow compassion for the world.

"This primordial wood killing Formation outside the temple is certainly not something a single person can break."

"If we continue this internal attrition, I fear none of us will even touch the edge of that golden essence."

"Why don't we temporarily set aside our weapons and join forces to blast open the Restriction?"

"As for the opportunities inside, we shall each rely on our own abilities. What do you say?"

Blood Fiend Master let out an incredibly piercing, eccentric laugh.

"Old Ghost Songfeng, you certainly have a sharp mind for calculation."

"However, I agree."

The leading old monster from the Central State Alliance also stroked his beard and nodded.

"As it should be."

"We are all Sect Masters of our respective regions; we cannot act like those low-level Loose Cultivators, tearing at each other without any dignity."

Within just three breaths, the atmosphere became strangely harmonious.

Several Purple Mansion old monsters, who just moments ago wanted nothing more than to extract each other's souls, were now calling each other 'Fellow Daoist' and repeatedly cupping their hands in greeting.

Gu Changsheng stood behind the rotten wood.

Green Qi circulated rapidly in his left eye.

With the enhancement of his information gathering, he saw through the true nature of these old monsters clearly.

Inside Old Ancestor Songfeng's wide sleeves, he was tightly clutching three Jiamu Divine Lightning beads that could be detonated instantly.

Jiamu True Essence was already being compressed frantically inside the lightning beads, ready to be unleashed at any moment.

At the edge of the blood-colored giant blade beneath Blood Fiend Master's feet, it was already silently filled with enough Corpse Emperor Evil Water to foul a person's dao foundation.

If anyone dared to be the first to step onto the stairs, this pool of Evil Water would definitely corrode right through that person's spine.

The old monster from the Central State Alliance had his left hand behind his back, gripping a stack of peak Fourth-Grade Armor-Piercing Talismans between his fingers.

The cinnabar patterns on the Talismans had already been completely lit up by True Yuan.

Calling each other brothers was a lie.

Being ready to stab someone in the back at any moment was the truth.

Gu Changsheng's face twitched, letting out an extremely cold sneer.

These old things who had lived for hundreds of years even fooled themselves when they acted.

On the surface, they acted for the sake of the big picture; in reality, they were full of schemes that would devour people whole.

Master Sect Master Youquan, who had been hiding in a corner, saw Gu Changsheng trot over.

With over twenty monsters above the Middle Stage of the Purple Mansion gathered together...

Any random wisp of combat aftershock would be enough to give him a hard time.

"Old Ancestor..."

Master Sect Master Youquan swallowed hard with great difficulty.

"This lineup is too large. Should we perhaps retreat for a bit?"

Gu Changsheng kept one hand behind his back, his knuckles lightly tapping the back of his other hand.

"Retreat?"

"The good show has only just begun."

Gu Changsheng's gaze passed over Old Ancestor Songfeng and landed on those few Loose Cultivator Purple Mansions at the very front.

"Look closely."

"That old dog's proposal to join forces is nothing more than using those backgroundless Loose Cultivators as cannon fodder to break the Formation."

"Once the temple's Restriction is triggered, the backlash will surely seek out those with the weakest cultivation and those standing furthest forward first."

"Paving the way with the bones of others—these 'orthodox' famous sects play this game better than anyone."

Master Sect Master Youquan shuddered as the realization hit him.

Looking at those Loose Cultivator Purple Mansions being forced to the front, he felt a chilling sense of empathy for their plight.

If he hadn't latched onto the thigh of Old Ancestor Protracting Purity, his current fate would definitely be more miserable than those Loose Cultivators.

Gu Changsheng turned his head slightly, looking down at Liu Feng, who was lying in the mud, and Chen Mu, who was half-kneeling.

"Without my command, none of you are allowed to make a move."

Chen Mu nodded.

Liu Feng went as far as to forcibly suppress his heartbeat to its limit.

The Fate [The Fish that Slipped the Net] was fully activated, reducing his presence to the freezing point.

Old Ancestor Songfeng raised his Ruyi scepter and pointed it from afar at one of the Loose Cultivator Purple Mansions at the front.

"This Fellow Daoist."

"Since we have already formed an alliance, you shall lead the charge and test the reality of this Formation."

That Loose Cultivator Purple Mansion's legs shook violently as he retreated repeatedly.

"Senior Songfeng, this Junior's cultivation is low. This kind of ancient killing Formation..."

"Cut the nonsense!"

The Central State old monster barked out, his crimson Fire-element True Yuan transforming into a fiery whip that lashed hard against the mud at the Loose Cultivator's feet.

"Go when you're told to go! If you dare to mutter another word, I will hack you alive right now!"

Under the terrifying pressure of over twenty Purple Mansion Great Cultivators, that Loose Cultivator had no room for resistance at all.

He gritted his teeth and summoned a battered tortoise shell shield.

He moved with extreme slowness toward the first step of the bronze divine temple.

One step.

Two steps.

The breathing of all the old monsters stagnated at this moment, their eyes fixed on the Loose Cultivator's toes.

Just as the sole of the Loose Cultivator's foot was about to touch the step.

A sudden change occurred.

The two heavy bronze doors of the temple, which had been tightly shut for tens of thousands of years, suddenly bulged outward from the inside without any warning.

Boom!

A deafening explosion tore through the sky.

The bronze doors exploded into a sky full of sharp bronze fragments.

Carrying destructive void astral winds, they sprayed outward frantically in a fan shape.

The three Loose Cultivator Purple Mansions standing at the very front bore the brunt of it.

That battered tortoise shell shield didn't even last half a breath before exploding into powder on the spot.

The three Purple Mansion Cultivators didn't even have time to fully deploy their Protective Aura before they were instantly sliced into clouds of exploding blood mist by the fragments.

Severed limbs and broken arms, mixed with internal organs, rained down upon the three major camps behind them.

Immediately following that...

A wisp of green light, pure to the extreme and carrying an aura of immortality, soared into the sky from the depths of the temple.

The violent primordial wood Origin transformed into physical ripples, brutally washing over every inch of space within a hundred-mile radius.

The entire dark red sky was completely dyed emerald green in that instant!

All things were revitalized.

Between the cracks of the withered bones on the ground, fresh green sprouts actually forced their way out.

The surrounding dry, rotten wood, under the illumination of the green light, instantly erupted with terrifying vitality and grew frantically.

primordial wood golden essence!

This immortal aura, sufficient to drive any Purple Mansion Cultivator into a frenzy, was revealed without reservation before everyone.

The moment the golden essence soared into the sky...

The over twenty Purple Mansion Great Cultivators, who just moments ago were all smiles and calling each other 'Fellow Daoist', completely tore away all their disguises.