Slaying Demons: Starting with Upgrading my Calligraphy-Chapter 374 - 341: Longevity Star Realm! _2
But even a skilled cook cannot prepare a meal without rice. This Longevity Star Realm is just a Hengsha Microcosm, where Yuan energy is scarce. Without enough Yuan energy to support me, I wouldn’t be able to use my sky-reaching abilities, even if I possessed them.
As Qi Xiu gradually took in the entirety of the Longevity Star Realm, he gained some understanding of this domain beyond his own, drawing upon ancient records he had previously read concerning such lands. The outer domains are divided into: the Great Thousand Worlds, the Xiaoqian Worlds, and the Hengsha Microcosms. As the saying goes: "Three thousand Great Worlds, eight hundred Xiaoqian Worlds, and countless Hengsha Microcosms." There are a vast number of Hengsha Microcosms, incalculable in number, but due to their small scale, they are mostly barren and desolate. The Great Dao is lacking, and the Heavenly Dao is incomplete. The upper limit of power that the creatures of these worlds can possess is also lower. Therefore, when faced with invaders that surpass their own power ceiling, they find themselves in a predicament that they fundamentally cannot resolve.
As he flew over the lush and continuous peach forests below him, halfway through the journey, the peach forests started to change. The originally normal peach trees began to twist grotesquely; the grey-brown trunks sprouted many flesh-like growths that were white and red and still slowly writhing. The crystal-clear, tender peaches became terrifying and fierce, turning into pouches covered in coarse, long blood vessels and pus-filled blisters.
"Why not destroy these infected and aberrant peach trees? Aren’t you afraid of them spreading?" Qi Xiu asked, withdrawing his gaze from those disgusting and ugly peach trees to look at Tao Guyun by his side.
"The peach trees here are nurtured by the very lifeblood of our clan members. If they are destroyed, our people will also suffer. Many of these infected and mutated trees belong to our elders; destroying the trees might hasten their deaths." With a gloomy gaze, Tao Guyun revealed the reason.
"Hesitation when decisive action is needed breeds false hope; if putrid flesh is not cut away, disaster will strike the entire body." Giving Tao Guyun a faint glance, Qi Xiu spoke slowly.
Qi Xiu could understand Tao Guyun’s feelings; after all, they were his clan members. Moreover, the Taogong Clan was now dwindling, so wanting to preserve more of his clanspeople was not wrong. But since he was prepared to help them, some things still needed to be said clearly; otherwise, it would just bring trouble upon himself.
Trembling at Qi Xiu’s words, Tao Guyun’s expression twisted with struggle, and his mustache and eyebrows quivered involuntarily. Having lived for over a thousand years, how could Tao Guyun not comprehend Qi Xiu’s words? Even he himself knew that this was a necessary step, but... but he just could not bring himself to be ruthless.
"Immortal, please... help this old fool..." With a voice that trembled as though piercing through marrow, Tao Guyun didn’t even dare to turn around, only lowering his head and hunching his shoulders, his tone begging.
"Alright." Nodding slowly, Qi Xiu waved his large sleeve, and a sea of flames, eight hundred li wide, rose into the sky. As the sea of fire descended, the flames surged like a wildly dancing dragon, enveloping those mutated peach trees. Under the firelight’s reflection, the valley lit up, and those once tainted impurities howled and struggled in the fierce flames, ultimately turning to ash. The purple fire rolled, like a requiem for life, each spark a farewell to the past.
When the last wisp of smoke dissipated, an almost imperceptible sigh seemed to echo between heaven and earth. It was like the breath of nature, or a quiet chant from the cosmos. This sigh was both a release and a sorrow, a letting go of past pain and an anticipation of rebirth. On this purified land, the seeds of hope were perhaps silently sprouting.
With a slight movement in his eyes, Qi Xiu looked up at his surroundings; he faintly heard a sigh of relief. The next instant, a very faint glimmer of light entered the back of his head.
Did he stumble upon it accidentally?
With a look of surprise on his face, Qi Xiu’s lips curled slightly.
It made sense. After all, his Purple Sky True Fire was the fire of extreme yang and purity, capable of annihilating all otherworldly powers. These peach trees had been corrupted and mutated but had not been promptly cleared away. Their roots extended deep into the earth, allowing the power of corruption and mutation to also spread, eroding this land. Burning this peach forest to the ground was akin to ’sterilizing and disinfecting’ this land.
Tao Guyun also perceived the subtle changes in this realm. He was first taken aback, then quickly turned to look at Qi Xiu, becoming even more certain in his heart. This Immortal truly is the savior of the Longevity Star Realm!
After the corrupted peach grove was burned down, it didn’t take long for Qi Xiu to see at the horizon’s end a peach tree that rose from the ground, colossal and immense, like a pillar supporting the heavens. It was an ancient peach tree, its bark etched with the wrinkles of time, as if narrating an endless history. But at this moment, it bore not a hint of the green of life, replaced instead by the grey-brown of death, as if it had entered a state of torpor. The canopy, which should have been lush like an umbrella, now bore only bare branches, like a giant bird with broken wings, weakly stretching towards the sky.
The tree’s body was densely covered in millstone-sized black-red cysts. These spread like tumors, squeezing its inherent Life Force. These cysts had coarse surfaces, their dark color secretly stealing the tree’s vitality, making the entire tree appear all the more decrepit and desolate. Every crack and swollen lump silently screamed of pain and struggle. The peach tree, like a towering mountain, stood solitary and solemn. Though eroded by disease, it still stood strong, displaying life’s tenacity and resilience.
Looking at the Taizu Holy Tree before him, Tao Guyun’s face was filled with sorrow. For the Taogong Clan, the Taizu Holy Tree was like their mother. All of them were born of this Holy Tree. But now their mother was being tortured so painfully, and they were helpless, their inner agony and torment beyond words.
"Is this the Taizu Holy Tree?" With sleeves gathered, Qi Xiu narrowed his eyes as he stared at the vast peach tree before him.
Something wasn’t right. This peach tree, though vast, clearly differed from the one he had seen in the images passed on from the ancient Dragon Scales. In terms of sheer size alone, this peach tree was a size smaller. Moreover, the tree he had seen sported a very distinct feature—a swirl-like pattern at the exact center of its trunk. But on this tree, there was none.
"Is there only one peach tree of this size in the Longevity Star Realm?" After a moment of silence, Qi Xiu asked Tao Guyun who stood by his side.
"Yes, there is only one Taizu Holy Tree." Surprised at Qi Xiu’s question, Tao Guyun looked stunned but still responded.
Could it be that the extraterrestrial object caused the original Taizu Holy Tree to shrink, and the swirl-like pattern on its trunk was also worn away? After thinking it over, Qi Xiu felt this was the only possibility. After all, Tao Guyun had also said that there was only one tree of this caliber in the entire Longevity Star Realm. The only problem, then, must lie with that extraterrestrial object.
With a rough outline in mind, Qi Xiu immediately moved closer to the Taizu Holy Tree. Tao Guyun promptly opened his mouth to warn him. "Immortal, be cautious! Those cysts on the tree will react if they sense living beings nearby. They will transform and become extremely dangerous."
Before Tao Guyun’s words could finish, Qi Xiu had already arrived in front of the Taizu Holy Tree.
Then, with a series of SQUELCHING and RIPPING sounds, the black-red cysts, deeply embedded in the Taizu Holy Tree, suddenly burst open. From them emerged countless two-headed, four-armed demons, roaring with malice, wielding weapons with hideous ferocity as they charged out. In the blink of an eye, Qi Xiu found himself surrounded by layers upon layers of enemies.
"Hmph!" With an indifferent expression, Qi Xiu let out a cold snort as he gathered his sleeves.
Though the sound was formless and insubstantial, it struck like thunder, carrying an irresistible, terrifying pressure that suddenly descended. This scoff was like an invisible mountain, ten thousand meters high, instantly collapsing. Its weight was so immense it could make the heavens and earth change color. The demons surrounding him, frenziedly charging towards him, were crushed under this pressure as easily as ants before an elephant, mercilessly pulverized against the ground. Their bodies, as if crushed by giant boulders, began to explode one after another. The explosions made ghastly sounds, like firecrackers ignited in the silence, instantly dyeing the surroundings into a black and red Blood Sea. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
But at the moment when Qi Xiu killed them with a single Dragon Might Spell, a dense sucking sound suddenly came from the Taizu Holy Tree. The shriveled black-red cysts swelled up again, and one after another, two-headed, four-armed demons roared as they broke forth.
The scene was identical, as if time had been rewound.
