187: The Pearl of the Realm

"This pearl is called the boundary-containing pearl," the Gray-Robed Cultivator said with a calm smile. "It is my Lifebound Treasure, forged over a hundred years of painstaking effort, collecting the clear spiritual Qi of the Nine Heavens and the essence of the earth's veins, nourishing and refining it day and night within my Dantian. Today, I will let you experience it."

"Thousand-Jun Domain!"

Before the words died away, the Gray-Robed Cultivator pinched a spell seal, and the boundary-containing pearl suddenly erupted with brilliant white light.

Lin Feng knew something was wrong and immediately activated the azure flood dragon banner. The banner's surface surged with green light, and a lifelike phantom of an azure flood dragon roared and coiled around him, forming a green barrier of light.

"Trifling tricks," the Gray-Robed Cultivator sneered, and the golden patterns on the boundary-containing pearl shone brightly.

In an instant, Lin Feng felt his whole body sink, as if an invisible mountain were pressing down on him. The phantom of the azure flood dragon let out a painful hiss, twisting and deforming under the doubled gravity; the banner snapped in the wind, its spiritual light flickering violently. Even worse, this gravity Domain continued to intensify; the ground beneath his feet cracked with an unbearable "crack" sound.

"Within this Thousand-Jun Domain, gravity is doubled, and spiritual energy becomes sluggish," the Gray-Robed Cultivator said coldly. "Your movement techniques and casting speed will be greatly reduced. Let's see how you dodge now!"

The Gray-Robed Cultivator flicked his sword finger, and the autumn water sword turned into a condensed blue rainbow, stabbing straight at him.

"Roar!" Sensing the danger, the azure flood dragon phantom took the initiative to meet the sword light, but at the moment of contact, the banner was torn apart by the sharp Sword Qi with a "rip" sound, and the flagpole snapped inch by inch.

"A pity for a good Magic Treasure," the Gray-Robed Cultivator said in a detached tone. "Within the Thousand-Jun Domain, all defenses are futile."

Trapped in the Thousand-Jun Domain, Lin Feng felt the air around him thick as glue, and every step required immense effort. More troublesome was that the circulation of spiritual energy in his body became sluggish, as if it were not spiritual energy flowing through his Meridians, but heavy mercury.

He immediately dismissed the idea of using Mirror Flower Snow Moon to maneuver; under this terrifying gravity, moving or dodging was simply a pipe dream.

He activated the xuanming heavy water bead, forming a slowly rotating, thick water shield in front of him.

However, defense alone was far from enough. This strange gravity field was completely controlled by the boundary-containing pearl in the opponent's hand.

"Must interfere with that pearl!" A thought flashed through his mind. Enduring the heavy pressure that threatened to crush his internal organs, he secretly circulated his Yimu Sword Essence.

Several green vines barely broke through the hard ground, winding toward the Gray-Robed Cultivator's feet and his left hand holding the pearl. Under the doubled gravity, these vines moved pitifully slowly, posing no threat at all.

The Gray-Robed Cultivator didn't even move his feet, just snorted coldly, and waved the autumn water sword in his hand casually. A sharp Sword Qi swept past, cutting the vines at the roots.

"Futile struggle," he said in a detached tone, watching Lin Feng, who was struggling and forced to defend passively in the gravity Domain, believing the outcome was decided. "It's time to end this."

With true essence poured into it, the autumn water sword shone brilliantly, the tip pointing at Lin Feng. With the support of the Thousand-Jun Domain, the speed and power of this sword would be pushed to the peak, and he intended to use the Domain advantage to decide the outcome in one blow.

Just then, Lin Feng's Divine Sense moved slightly, and a phantom slipped out of his spirit beast pouch. It landed as light as a feather, without even stirring up a speck of dust—it was the Shadow Scale Snake.

What was even more astonishing was that under this terrifying gravity that would make an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator's bones creak, this Spirit Beast's movements seemed... largely unaffected.

The Gray-Robed Cultivator's pupils shrank suddenly, and his figure, about to activate his sword technique, stalled for a moment. The black-gold figure that slid out of Lin Feng's spirit beast pouch seemed completely unaware of the heavy pressure of the Thousand-Jun Domain. Its swift and agile movements formed a stark contrast to the heavy and sluggish environment around it.

"This... how is this possible?" An incredulous thought exploded in his heart. His Thousand-Jun Domain, set up by the boundary-containing pearl, would hinder even a Core Formation Cultivator. Why could this mere Spirit Beast of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator treat this Law of gravity as nothing?

Unless... unless this Spirit Beast's Bloodline talent involved some more fundamental Law of the world, a level that might even surpass his painstakingly refined Magic Treasure.

He couldn't help but think of certain supreme Spirit Beasts that only existed in ancient legends on the continent, those born with the ability to control space and ignore gravity... Could this inconspicuous little snake actually have a connection to such beings?

Just as the Shadow Scale Snake approached the Gray-Robed Cultivator, Lin Feng's Sword Essence moved with his thoughts, completing several changes in an instant.

First, the Yimu Sword Essence circulated quietly, and several green vines broke through the soil, wrapping around the Gray-Robed Cultivator's ankles, intending to briefly restrict his movement and exacerbate the brief panic caused by the Shadow Scale Snake's surprise attack.

Almost simultaneously, the scorching Bing-fire Sword Essence burst forth, and a hot sword aura stabbed straight at the opponent's face. The extremely Yang and rigid aura rushed toward him, forcing him to divert his attention and disrupting the rhythm of any counterattack he might launch against the Shadow Scale Snake.

Just as the Gray-Robed Cultivator waved his sword to deflect the fire aura, Lin Feng changed his sword technique again. The heavy Wu-earth Sword Essence turned into a dense Sword Qi, slashing at the ground beneath him. With a loud boom, the ground shook slightly, and rubble splashed, further interfering with his stability and line of sight.

Taking advantage of this gap, the incomparably sharp Geng-metal Sword Essence shot out, aiming directly at his right wrist holding the sword, forcing him to retract his sword to defend himself, making it difficult for him to attend to everything.

Immediately after, the gentle Gui-water Sword Essence surged out, silently shooting toward the Gray-Robed Cultivator's waist and soft ribs.

Before he could fully neutralize it, the biting cold Sword Essence followed, condensing ice crystals in the air. An ice-blue Sword Qi swept over with bone-chilling cold, slowing his movements and exacerbating the sluggishness of his spiritual energy circulation.

This series of attacks, like a storm, with different attributes and smooth transitions, although greatly reduced in power due to the gravity Domain, successfully dragged the Gray-Robed Cultivator into a flustered defensive position, greatly distracting his mind.

And just as the Gray-Robed Cultivator was busy dealing with this chain of attacks with unpredictable attributes while also defending against the Shadow Scale Snake's shadow-concealing surprise attack, Lin Feng compressed all his remaining thunder power to the extreme. A hair-thin, dark blue thunder arrow containing a destructive aura appeared in front of him.

It was the Seven Heavens Thunder Lure's thunder arrow piercing the air, with a speed exceeding all previous attacks, striking directly at the opening exposed by his distraction.

The Gray-Robed Cultivator had just barely neutralized the cold Sword Essence when the thunder arrow was already before his eyes. He was horrified and, in his haste, could only manage to block in front of him with the boundary-containing pearl.

"Puff!"

The thunder arrow collided violently with the treasure pearl. Although it was deflected, the violent thunder power still penetrated the pearl and slammed into his left arm.

"Crack!" The sound of the arm bone breaking was clearly audible.

"Ah!" Amidst the screams, the boundary-containing pearl flew out of his hand.

The Thousand-Jun Domain suddenly disappeared.

Once the pressure vanished, Lin Feng forcibly raised his last bit of spiritual energy, his figure shooting out like lightning. His left hand snatched the falling boundary-containing pearl, his Divine Sense instantly suppressing the restless original owner's mark inside the pearl, and he stored it in his ink jade bracelet.