78: Chapter 78 The First Spiritual Root Appears? Mine, all mine!

"What?"

Holy Son Jindeng's hand, which was reaching for the Purple-Gold Fruit, froze in mid-air.

He slowly raised his head, his neck making a "creak-crack" sound like rusted gears.

The void above his head was torn open, and a radiant galley hung there with extreme dominance.

At the bow, a man with black hair cascading over his shoulders looked down at him from above.

That gaze was like looking at a cockroach trying to crawl onto the dining table to steal food.

Beside him was a Bear Kid with a large black pot on his back, holding a knife and fork, his eyes glowing green as he drooled at the spiritual root.

"Where did this rogue cultivator come from? How dare you compete with this Holy Son..."

Holy Son Jindeng hadn't even finished speaking, nor had he even fully formed his signature arrogant sneer.

*Slap!!!*

An incredibly crisp yet heavy-as-thunder slap rang out across Luofeng Slope.

There were no fancy divine abilities, nor any earth-shattering phenomena.

Just a large, ashen-gray hand, simple and unadorned, descending from the sky and swatting down like it was hitting a mosquito.

*Boom!!*

The earth shook violently, and dust billowed in all directions.

Holy Son Jindeng, who had been insufferably arrogant just a moment ago, claiming to be invincible among his peers and having ignited the Everlasting Golden Lamp within his body...

...along with the sect-leader-level soft armor on his body, claimed to have unparalleled defense, and the crimson divine sword in his hand that hadn't been fully drawn...

...under this single slap...

...instantly turned into a meat patty as thin as a cicada's wing.

That so-called "Everlasting Golden Lamp" was like a light bulb being stepped on.

With a soft "poof," before it could even emit light or heat, it was completely extinguished.

"Too much nonsense."

Wang Teng withdrew his hand, not even bothering to glance into the pit, and wiped it on his robes with a look of disgust.

"Golden lamp, silver lamp, whatever—not even as crunchy as that spider just now."

Luofeng Slope, which had been filled with earth-shattering battle cries and rivers of blood, instantly fell into a deathly silence.

The upper realm prodigies who had been massacring the lower realm cultivators were all like ducks being strangled by their necks.

Their weapons were still raised in the air, and their cruel smiles were frozen on their lips, but their eyes were filled with extreme terror and blankness.

"One... one slap?"

Someone broke the silence with a trembling voice.

"That was Holy Son Jindeng! A primary one with the potential to become a god! The personal disciple of a sect leader!"

"Just like that... he's gone?!"

Fear spread through the crowd like a plague.

Meanwhile, Wang Teng acted as if he had done something trivial.

He took a step forward, his figure instantly vanishing from the bow, and when he reappeared, he was already standing before the first spiritual root.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, it looks so succulent."

Wang Teng crouched down, looked at the crystal-clear Purple-Gold Fruit emitting the aura of the Source Great Dao, and took a deep breath.

The rich medicinal fragrance instantly entered his lungs, calming the blood and qi that had been somewhat restless from his forced breakthrough.

"Xiao Hao, how do we eat this tree? Pull it out by the roots?"

Wang Teng turned to ask the expert behind him.

Shi Hao could no longer contain himself; he pounced forward, wiping his drool as he said:

"Brother-in-law! Keep the tree to plant in the village as a bonsai! It can keep Sister Willow Deity company! We'll split the fruit! I want the biggest one!"

"Alright."

Wang Teng nodded and reached out to pluck the fruit.

Just then...

Among the terrified upper realm prodigies, one finally snapped out of it.

It was a purple-clothed girl from the Celestial Race. Although she was afraid, the first spiritual root was too important to her clan, so she summoned her courage and shouted:

"You... you can't take it! That's... that's what our sect leader specifically asked for..."

"Who are you? How dare you kill an upper realm primary one! Aren't you afraid of triggering a war between the two realms?!"

"Hmm?"

Wang Teng paused his movements and slowly turned his head.

Those ashen-gray Heaven-Born Pupils narrowed slightly as they scanned the dozen or so shivering upper realm prodigies.

"Your sect leader?"

Wang Teng suddenly laughed, a bright smile that revealed a row of gleaming white teeth.

"What a coincidence."

"I just met a few fellows who called themselves sect leaders."

"They seemed to have given me an immortal bell, a disk, and a pagoda."

Wang Teng pointed to the corner of the immortal bell faintly visible on the galley in the sky.

"Look, is it that one?"

The prodigies followed his finger.

When they saw the ancient bronze bell, which, though somewhat damaged, still radiated supreme immortal might...

...everyone instantly broke down.

"The... the Without End immortal bell?!"

"And... those are fragments of the six paths reincarnation disk?!"

"The demon king who eats disks?!!"

"Mommy!! Run!!!"

At this moment, to hell with the first spiritual root and the sect leader's mission!

This was the legendary Nine-Nether Ao who treated upper realm giants like takeout!!

"Run?"

Wang Teng shook his head, plucked the Purple-Gold Fruit, and rubbed it on his clothes.

"Since you're already here..."

"Just as well, I've eaten too much meat and need some..."

He glanced at the upper realm primary ones, who were brimming with spiritual energy and possessed extraordinary bloodlines.

"...need some side dishes to go with the meal."

"Xiao Hao!"

"Close the door!"

"You got it, Brother-in-law!!"

*Roar!!*

Just as Wang Teng and Shi Hao were about to start their "after-dinner snack" mode and take out the entire group of upper realm prodigies in one go...

*Buzz!*

An extremely eerie gray mist, filled with decay and mystery, suddenly spread around Luofeng Slope without warning.

This gray mist wasn't ordinary fog; it could isolate divine sense and even make space itself feel viscous.

Within this gray mist, even the vision of Wang Teng's ashen-gray Heaven-Born Pupils was slightly obstructed.

Immediately following...

...a cold, indifferent voice, sounding as if it came from ancient times, rang out from within the gray mist:

"This item is destined for me."

As the voice fell, a pale, bloodless, yet slender and jade-like hand reached out from the gray mist.

It grabbed directly for the Purple-Gold Fruit Wang Teng had just plucked.

The hand seemed slow, yet it contained an extremely profound technique of spatial folding.

Though it was clearly a hundred feet away, it instantly appeared right in front of Wang Teng!

"Hmm? You dare to snatch food from my mouth?"

Wang Teng raised an eyebrow, a cold light flaring in his eyes.

Instead of retreating, he advanced, the tianhuang great halberd instantly appearing in his palm as he slashed fiercely at the pale hand!

"Get the hell away!!"

*Clang!!*

A crisp sound of clashing metal rang out.

The tianhuang great halberd struck the hand but failed to sever it, instead kicking up a shower of sparks!

That hand was incredibly hard, as if cast from some kind of eternal, indestructible divine gold!

The gray mist churned.

A figure wearing tattered gray battle armor, with long hair covering their face and an ominous aura emanating from their entire body, slowly stepped out.

When that person raised their head and revealed their eyes, even Wang Teng couldn't help but feel a slight shock in his heart.

It was a pair of Heaven-Born Pupils.

But unlike Shi Yi's Heaven-Born Pupils, which were full of vitality and divinity, these eyes were filled with deathly stillness and chaos...

...and a grayish decay that had seen through the vicissitudes of eternity.

The Ancient Double-Pupil Woman!