Chapter 588: You Myriad Races... Are All a Bunch of Fools

Above the Tushan clan's lands, the great battle continued.

Though the Tushan clan's great formation array offered some protection, lessening the aftershocks of the battle, regardless, this was a battle among a whole host of Upper Three Realms cultivators, and the protection of the Tushan clan's array was, in the end, limited.

More and more Upper Three Realms cultivators were pierced through by the Moon Spirit Tree's vines, transformed into nourishment for the tree.

Seeing that the situation had turned dire, Gui Ning and Cun Caiguang had already made their move.

Gui Ning transformed into his fearsome true form, and, wielding the power of the Eight Wildernesses, struck at the Moon Spirit Tree with all his might.

At the same time, Yun Xi and the Serpent clan's chieftain also struck together, attempting to shake the Moon Spirit Tree!

The entire Tushan clan's lands trembled ever more violently yet the Moon Spirit Tree remained utterly unmoved but this was not without cost.

No small number of the Tushan clan's cultivators, each time the Moon Spirit Tree suffered harm, were instantly transformed into mist of blood.

"Tushan Meng, have you gone mad? What are you trying to do? Do you mean to sacrifice the entire Tushan clan for this?"

Gui Ning, having realized that the Moon Spirit Tree was now linked, through the formation array, to the very fortune of the Tushan clan's cultivators, furrowed his brow tightly.

In other words, Tushan Meng had already turned the entire Tushan fox clan into a form of expendable resource, offsetting every injury the Moon Spirit Tree suffered with the lives of her own clan.

He could not understand it.

In Gui Ning's heart, Tushan Meng had always, from childhood onward, been an extremely rational person, her heart set on nothing but the continuation of the Tushan clan, on building the entire clan ever stronger.

To her, the Tushan clan had always been everything yet now, Tushan Meng seemed to have gone entirely mad, willing to sacrifice the entire Tushan clan as the price.

What exactly did she want?

What could possibly drive her to such lengths?

Tushan Meng still gave no answer to Gui Ning's words.

Only more and more of the Moon Spirit Tree's vines lashed out at Gui Ning and the others.

Half an incense stick's time later.

Tushan Meng appeared beneath the Moon Spirit Tree.

She looked calmly at Yuan, who sat cross-legged upon the ground, and asked, "How is it going?"

"Enough Jade Simplicity realm cultivators have died. As for the Immortal realm cultivators, only three or four remain before they're all gone as well. But the Ascension realm cultivators are still troublesome. A total of three Ascension realm cultivators must die, and that doesn't look so easy." Yuan answered slowly.

"No rush. A meal must be eaten one bite at a time, and people, too, must naturally be killed one at a time..." Tushan Meng replied.

And the very moment Tushan Meng's words fell, the overwhelming pressure of the Ascension realm suddenly descended over Yuan.

The next instant, one of Tushan Meng's snow-white long tails, like a sharp blade, pierced through Yuan's chest without the slightest warning.

Yuan lowered her head, glancing at the tail that had pierced through her own chest.

Her own blood had already stained that long tail red, like a calligraphy brush dipped in cinnabar ink.

Tushan Meng withdrew her tail, walking step by step toward Yuan.

"Tushan Meng, what exactly do you mean by this?"

Yuan gazed coldly at Tushan Meng, blood flowing ceaselessly from the corner of her mouth.

"Nothing in particular. I simply feel that, using you, Senior, as nourishment instead, the effect might well be even better."

Tushan Meng smiled faintly.

"Could it be that you believe you can control this formation array without me?" Yuan's tone remained just as calm as ever, as though she had not even registered her own brush with death.

"Why not?"

Tushan Meng stepped forward, drawing a glazed bottle from her sleeve.

Within that bottle was a vivid red liquid, blood.

"Don't forget, I personally oversaw the construction of this formation array. And we of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox clan possess a talent for soul techniques and formation arrays that no other race can match. I have already reviewed this array's diagram, together with the other elders, more times than I can count."

Tushan Meng looked at Yuan.

"While this array was being built, we had already altered its configuration long ago. You use the Moon Spirit Tree to link the entire array together, and I have lived at the Tushan clan's lands since childhood. As the chieftain of the Tushan clan, I hold a natural affinity with the Moon Spirit Tree as well. Why should I not be able to take your place in controlling it?"

"The only thing that gave me a headache was that you bound the array's activation to your own resonance of the Dao."

"But now, the array has been activated, and you no longer have any need to remain alive. From here on, I shall handle things myself."

"Heh heh heh..." Yuan laughed coldly. "The Grand Elder truly does have quite the method."

"Merely an ordinary trick."

Tushan Meng gazed at that towering tree, her tone indifferent.

"Jingci kept trying to persuade me before, telling me not to trust you, an outsider. In truth, how could I possibly have trusted you so easily? In this life of mine, I will never again place my trust in anyone so lightly, let alone a woman of unknown origin."

Tushan Meng withdrew her gaze, continuing to look at Yuan, “Though I still don't know your true identity, don't know how many years ago your remnant soul came from, still, these past months, you've worked hard, Senior."

As her words fell, a cold glint flashed through Tushan Meng's eyes.

Sword after sword of ice condensed above Yuan's head.

As Tushan Meng pressed her palm downward, in an instant, all those ice swords plunged down upon Yuan like a torrential downpour.

In less than two breaths' time, Yuan had been reduced to a mass of pulped flesh.

Worried that Yuan's soul might escape, Tushan Meng drew out once more a "Soul-Extinguishing Lamp."

The Soul-Extinguishing Lamp descended over Yuan's soul, and soul and remains alike were swiftly reduced to ash.

Having dealt with Yuan, Tushan Meng let the blood from the glazed bottle drip down onto the roots of the Moon Spirit Tree.

She reached out a hand, pressing her palm against the Moon Spirit Tree yet just as Tushan Meng attempted to connect with the Moon Spirit Tree herself, she clearly felt the tree resisting her and Tushan Meng had originally believed she had thoroughly seen through every pattern and inscription of this great formation array.

She had, indeed, examined this array many times before.

Tushan Meng had felt that she was just as familiar with this new great array as she had been with the former mountain-protecting array yet now, everything this array presented felt utterly unfamiliar to Tushan Meng.

This feeling was like seeing an old friend, someone who looked exactly the same as before, and yet whose very being had been entirely taken over by another and just as Tushan Meng's heart filled with confusion.

Suddenly, Tushan Meng felt a searing pain in her chest!

Tushan Meng opened her eyes, and saw that her own chest had already been pierced through by a branch of the Moon Spirit Tree!

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Tushan Meng coughed up two mouthfuls of blood, opening her eyes, staring in disbelief at her own chest.

"I did say, you myriad races... are all a bunch of fools. And the higher your cultivation, the more foolish you become, the more you think yourselves clever. And my own sister, of all people, refused to trust me..."

Not far off, Yuan's voice rang out.

Tushan Meng turned her head to look.

There stood Yuan, entirely unharmed, gazing at Tushan Meng with an expression somewhere between amusement and mockery.

Within her eyes lay nothing but scorn, as though looking upon a mere ant.