Volume 11, Chapter 767 – I, Am the Immortal Might (Part 6)

The gap was not large, but those fiendish specters still scrambled to surge out. They pressed against one another in a frenzy. Many had human forms, animal forms, even plant forms, yet when they squeezed through the narrow breach, their bodies twisted grotesquely, losing all semblance of their original shapes. Many were crushed and fused together, roaring as they lunged at Cheng Tian as though seeing the murderer of their parents.

Cheng Tian’s slender figure appeared insignificant, like an ant before the terrifying tide of specters. Yet she stood unmoving, her long hair billowing in the storm winds.

The women of Huarong Sect did not dare breathe too loudly. They knew the survival of their sect rested entirely on this moment. If their Holy Maiden failed, there would be no need for the Immortal Alliance to act, their enemies alone would grind Huarong Sect into dust.

The affiliated sects thought the same. Their reliance on Huarong Sect was absolute; if it fell, they too would share its fate.

ROAR!

The first wave of specters finally rushed to Cheng Tian. They gnashed their teeth, their eyes blazing viciously, saliva dripping at their mouths, bearing the crazed look of starving dogs who had gone half a month without food.

Qi Huang gave a calm smile. From afar, a Divine Sense of the Heavenly Tribulation Realm’s early stage descended, instantly shrouding Cheng Tian within it.

Squelch! Squelch!

The leading specters crashed headlong into the Divine Sense, instantly crushed to powder like bugs beneath carriage wheels.

The lesser specters knew no fear, so more immediately surged forward, endlessly hurling themselves into the Divine Sense like moths plunging into flames.

“Is that Immortal Might? Is that Immortal Might?”

The female disciples of Huarong Sect burst into tearful laughter, trembling with excitement.

But Hua Man and Hua Ruyi’s expressions remained flat. They could tell that Divine Sense had not yet reached the level of true Immortal Might.

“Look! That Divine Sense is so powerful, it seems to twist space so it must be Immortal Might, right? Could Huarong Sect’s Immortal Stele really be intact?”

“How shallow your sight is. The Divine Sense only slightly distorts space, at most early Heavenly Tribulation Realm. How could that be Immortal Might?”

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“Heavenly Tribulation early stage? Then is Elder Hua impersonating the Immortal Stele?”

“I’d say so. The Immortal Alliance’s news couldn’t be wrong.”

“If it’s Elder Hua faking, once the root of the Yin energy bursts out, she’ll be in grave danger.”

The surrounding onlookers gossiped, and many with broad knowledge quickly recognized the Divine Sense had not reached Immortal Might.

Hua Man frowned slightly at such words, for this was not her disguise at all. It was like taking the blame for nothing.

“Just who is releasing this so-called Immortal Might?”

She was vexed, and so searched along the flow of Divine Sense, not wanting to be wrongly accused, yet harboring a glimmer of hope: what if its source was a true “immortal”?

When Hua Man probed further, her heart stirred. She discovered the wielder was beyond the limits of her detection. That meant their Divine Sense was far stronger than her own.

“Hopefully it’s not that girl Qi Huang pretending!”

She secretly prayed. If it were Qi Huang, her Divine Sense would never pass as Immortal Might, especially under the gaze of millions.

BOOM! BOOM!

Specters continued pouring from the fissure, recklessly surging toward Cheng Tian. Among them appeared Golden Zombies, Golden Skeletons, and Fiendish Specters of the demonic realm. Yet none could approach within three zhang of her.

Then, suddenly, the specters ceased forcing their way out. Their roars died down, and they obediently retreated to the sides.

Shasha…

Just as everyone wondered, a strange crawling noise echoed… quiet, yet piercingly clear.

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ROAR!

With a monstrous screech, two gigantic hooked legs suddenly thrust from the fissure, seizing the Divine Sense barrier on either side and wrenching it apart.

RIP!

A crisp tearing sound rang out. The gap widened more than twofold. Its master emerged: a centipede, nearly a hundred zhang long. It had a pair of scarlet compound eyes, each made of dozens of fist-sized facets, turning in dizzying patterns. Its body was as thick as a house, covered in over twenty plates of dark red scale armor, each like a soldier’s shield, heavy and solid. Most terrifying were the twenty-some pairs of hooked legs along its sides, each shaped like massive scythes, bristling with coarse hairs sharp as steel needles.

“What a massive centipede! Has it become a spirit?”

“Not a spirit, corpse-transformed. Look at the resentment in its eyes, the Yin energy boiling from it. Those are the marks of a specter.”

“A specter? Impossible! Other than its eyes and Yin energy, it looks no different from an ordinary centipede, just a thousand times larger.”

“That’s the point. Specters cultivate to revive, to mimic life. This centipede appears so lifelike, yet tore open a Heavenly Tribulation Divine Sense barrier as if nothing. That alone proves its terrifying strength.”

“A centipede? I’ve heard the Yin energy source of Panyun Mountain’s Bottomless Pit is a centipede. Could this be it?”

“If it really is the Yin energy’s root, things will get exciting. Let’s see if Hua Man can save that arrogant Holy Maiden.”

The distant onlookers gasped and instinctively retreated.

The horrific centipede did not relent. Its flat head thrust out of the fissure, its compound eyes whirling in strange, intricate patterns that dazzled the eyes.

Cultivators instinctively followed those eyes, trying to keep pace. As time passed, their eyelids grew heavy, their minds spinning with dizziness.

“Not good! A mental attack! Close your eyes and retract your Divine Sense at once!”

Hua Man realized the danger and shouted to the disciples of Huarong Sect.

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Startled, the cultivators shut their eyes and pulled back their Divine Sense. But it was useless, the centipede had imprinted their minds with spiritual brands. Even with eyes shut, the lingering image of those compound eyes burned on their “retinas”, hypnotizing their minds like inescapable nightmares.

Their awareness dulled, their bodies lost the support of Divine Sense. One by one, they fell from the skies like birds with broken wings. Terror filled their hearts, but they could not muster any strength to resist.

Hua Man, too, was affected. Dizzy, she could not exert full Divine Sense, only barely enough to drag Huarong Sect’s disciples out of freefall.

“How amusing.”

Qi Huang praised with interest. She, too, was targeted, but her Divine Sense was so powerful that though affected, she felt no dizziness or fatigue. Cheng Tian, however, was not so fortunate. With only Incarnation Realm cultivation, she soon collapsed on the ground.

The monstrous centipede then reared upright, spreading its scythe-like legs and hooking into the Divine Sense barrier, wrenching it open.

RIP!

Another crisp tear. The barrier split open, dozens of zhang tall and over ten wide.

“ROAR!”

The specters surged once more, flooding out like a breaking dam, frenziedly lunging at Cheng Tian. Yet the weaker ones still perished instantly against the Divine Sense.

Hua Man swiftly reacted. She unsheathed her sword and slashed her own arm. The sting jolted her awake, clearing her mind. She shouted loudly: “Everyone! Use pain to dispel the centipede’s mental attack!”

Hearing this, those with scraps of clarity did the same, cutting their own flesh, even striking comrades beside them, using pain to scatter the haze in their minds.

“It works!”

Someone cheered. But too soon, for the lingering afterimage on their retinas remained. His mind soon clouded again, forcing him to slash himself once more.

The same happened to the others. None dared fall asleep in this battle, so they resorted to self-mutilation again and again. Pain bought brief lucidity, but blood loss worsened their plight.

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“Help me! My parents are counting on me to carry on the Zou family line. I can’t die here!”

“Wuwu, if I’d known, I’d never have come. I regret it so much!”

“Never thought I’d one day die by my own hand, what bitter injustice!”

“Damn this Huarong Sect! Claiming they could handle the specters and dragging us all to our doom!”

Countless cultivators wailed in despair.

By then, the massive centipede had lost patience. In a flash, it shot from the fissure, lunging straight at Cheng Tian.

Hua Man wanted to help, but for Huarong Sect’s future, she chose to place her trust in Qi Huang.

The horrific centipede closed on Cheng Tian in a blink. Its enormous black fangs spread wide, dripping with green corpse poison, snapping down with savage force.

“Hmph.”

Far away in Honghua Sect, Qi Huang gave a cold snort. Her overwhelming Divine Sense burst forth.

At the same time, a terrifying pressure of Divine Sense descended from above Panyun Mountain, shattering the very space along its path, crashing down upon the centipede with irresistible might.

BOOM!

With a deafening blast, the colossal centipede’s body was instantly pulverized into gore, spraying in all directions. Only a pitch-black “Bottomless Pit” remained at the spot.

The cultivators snapped awake from the mental assault. Seeing the horrific rift torn in space, they gasped: “Immortal Might! That is Immortal Might! Huarong Sect’s Immortal Stele truly remains unscathed!”