Chapter 545 - A Dire Situation
There was a fragment of the realm core right before their eyes, but none of them were able to struggle free from the branches binding their bodies.
Who would have thought that even Tobias would be held captive here…
Merlin looked at the well-built man with the buzz cut before sighing with emotion.
Tobias was the leader of the Blood Tribe Return to Void group, and at the pinnacle of Return to Void Intermediate Stage, he was also the most powerful cultivator of the group.
“Once we get free, we should let him taste the joy of being purified!” Cassidy suggested.
Those were An Lin’s exact thoughts. “I’ll leave him to you then!”
“Don’t worry, Master, I’ll get the job done!” Cassidy smiled sweetly.
Nice! Five milliliters of holy blood here I come!
Merlin came to his senses as a remorseful expression appeared on his face. He had let slip a golden opportunity.
He could only turn his attention to the other two Return to Void Stage cultivators there. After all, killing one Return to Void Stage cultivator and handing over their storage ring to An Lin would earn him five milliliters of blood as well. Return to Void Stage cultivators were quite rare even on Tai Chu Continent, and it was quite a small circle, so Merlin recognized these two Return to Void Stage mighty figures.
Mi Ya, a Spirit Fish Clan mighty figure of Return to Void Intermediate Stage cultivation base and also the Southern Priest of the West Sea sea monsters.
Qin Sheng, a mighty figure from the Garden of Eden at the pinnacle of Return to Void Intermediate Stage. He was most likely the leader of the Light Wing Clan Return to Void team.
Hmm… It didn’t appear as if he could defeat either of them…
Merlin was struck by a profound sense of disappointment upon arriving at this conclusion.
“Our top priority now is to break free from these strange black branches. Do you guys have any ideas?” An Lin asked.
Cassidy and Merlin both furrowed their brows and fell silent.
Xue Zhantian immediately sprang into action as he bared his two sharp canine teeth before biting down on the black tree branch. However, the branches were extremely tough, and he was unable to bite through them no matter how hard he tried.
“Oh? You’ve already woken up?”
A voice suddenly sounded, startling everyone in the process.
A short and stocky elder man in a red robe suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
An Lin’s expression shifted drastically as a thought occurred to him.
They were all screwed!
The elderly man did not seem surprised that An Lin and the others had woken up. He was merely curious. “Why did you wake up? Was that world not enough to keep you happy?”
“It wasn’t! The holy blood from our Master in that world was completely bland and tasteless,” Cassidy replied earnestly.
“I can testify to that! I took a massive gulp, ptui! It tasted like sh*t!” Merlin chimed in with disgust on his face.
The elderly man’s lips twitched upon hearing this. What kind of response was this? He didn’t have a clue what they were talking about.
An Lin: “…”
The elderly man recovered his composure before clearing his throat. “Even if you’re all awake, there’s no point in struggling. These Dark Realm Vines have sealed away your powers, so you won’t be able to break free.”
“What are you trying to achieve?” An Lin asked in a heavy voice.
“There’s no harm in telling you since you’re all participants in this plan.” The stocky elderly man looked at everyone as a hint of emotion crept into his eyes. He then said, “My plan is to use the fragment of the realm core to reconstruct a new world and resurrect Qi Lou City!”
“Resurrect?” An Lin was a little perplexed.
“That’s right! Resurrection! To resurrect all the living beings that once walked this earth! To restore Qi Lou City to its former glory!” the stocky old man replied with a smile.
“You’re out of your mind! Constructing a new world is feasible, but resurrecting dead beings is absolutely impossible,” Cassidy retorted as she stared at the elderly man as if he had gone insane.
The elderly man was not enraged by her retort. Instead, he continued to elaborate on his plan in a slow and methodical voice, “What if I tell you that the beings of this world haven’t actually completely died yet?”
“Not completely dead?” Merlin furrowed his brows as he asked, “What do you mean by that?”
“Those wandering spirits.” The stocky old man pointed out toward the ancient city as he spoke, “Those spirits that have wandered this city for countless years, they have always existed and have not actually died. It’s just that their world was destroyed, so they no longer have bodies to bind themselves to…
“I can use the fragment of the realm core to transform illusion into reality, thereby crafting a new world. However, in order to give new life to the wandering spirits, I require living beings to give up their bodies as vessels…” He turned his eyes upon An Lin and the others as he spoke, and a sinister smile appeared on his face.
A chill ran down An Lin’s spine upon seeing the elderly man’s expression.
Cassidy and Merlin’s expressions were also extremely grim. They knew that it was very likely that they were going to die here.
“Death is the beginning of a new life, so you need not worry,” said another voice that appeared out of nowhere.
Immediately afterward, a tall and thin elderly man in a white robe appeared before them.
“You will live on in the Qi Lou City with your new lives as the gods who rule over the city!” He looked at An Lin and the others before raising his hands high into the air. He then added, “There have already been nine predecessors who have paved the way for you. You are the final batch, and Qi Lou City is going to resurrected today!”
The fragment of the realm core began to glow with a blinding light as his voice fell.
Boom!
A series of crimson-veined patterns suddenly appeared beneath the black tower, and these patterns stretched outward until they encompassed the entirety of Qi Lou City, thus basking the whole ancient city in a peculiar crimson light.
A white pillar of light shot forth into the sky from the top of the tower, as if it were threatening to pierce through the heavens.
A mysterious ripple proliferated outward from the tip of the tower, triggering a resonance with the entire heaven and earth.
White light shone down upon the world below, bringing with it infinite possibilities.
Meanwhile, a few hundred kilometers away.
“Huh? That light is so bright! There’s definitely some super awesome treasure about to appear over there!” a petite young woman in a pink dress pointed up at the pillar of white light before yelling with excitement.
A handsome male Sword Immortal with a boundless aura emanating from his body looked into the distance with a grim expression. Despite his cautious expression, he still tore open a spatial gate. “Liu Chuchu, you have to stay behind me at all times and never run off on your own!”
“No problem, Senior Lü Dongbin, I’ll be very obedient!” Liu Chuchu clutched onto Xue Mengmeng as she walked into the spatial gate behind the man while wearing an excited expression on her face.
Elsewhere, two snow maidens with silver hair and white robes suddenly looked up into the sky. Their expressions shifted drastically. One of the snow maidens had a little ice doll in her hand that was pointing toward the faint white light flashing in the distance as it made a series of unintelligible noises.
“That’s a fragment of the realm core! We’ve finally found it!” A Holy Palace Leader was both ecstatic and anxious upon seeing the flash of white light. She then said, “We have to go there now in case someone else gets there first!”
“Shouldn’t we wait for Rou Gu first? We’ve already organized to meet her here, so she should be on her way.”
“There must be many cultivators from different powers converging on the fragment of the realm core at once. With our power levels, it’s very likely that we’ll be swept away by cultivators from other powers if we get there too early,” the other tall and slender snow maiden voiced her opinion with a hesitant expression.
“There’s no time to waste!” The snow maiden with the ice doll in her hand tore open a spatial gate before stepping into it.
The tall and slender snow maiden heaved a light sigh as she shook her head, but she could only tear open a spatial gate of her own to follow along.