Although the old dragon was willing to activate the mutually destructive formation in his place, in the end, it was still the formation that he had set up.
If the Flame Realm were to perish because of this, could he truly remain indifferent? Asking himself honestly, Xiao Wenbing knew he couldn't. If he did such a thing, he would feel deep guilt, and it would become a deep-seated inner demon that he would find difficult to shake off in the future.
In a daze, he seemed to see countless demons wailing and crying for help. The scene shifted, revealing Ronaldo's face, his eyes filled with tears, as he cried out, "Master, why did you deceive us..."
Xiao Wenbing jolted awake; Ronaldo vanished from his sight, replaced by Quini's fierce, fiery face, roaring in grief and rage: "I will take you down with me..."
Boundless darkness surged in from all directions, seemingly trying to drag him into that endless abyss. Xiao Wenbing's mind struggled to resist, but he was like a dying man trapped in a quagmire, his hands flailing helplessly in the air, unable to grasp anything.
Inner demons...
His last shred of consciousness told him that he was in deep trouble.
Old dragon, what brings you to me with these words? Aren't you deliberately trying to harm me?
It's truly unbelievable that Long Shidi's words have actually triggered his own inner demons to suppress him. If he were to die because of this, that would be the most ridiculous thing in the world.
He inwardly groaned, lamenting that his cultivation had advanced too rapidly recently. From comprehending the Qi mechanism to forming the Core, from the Golden Core to the Nascent Soul, and now to the mysterious realm even surpassing the Divine Sage realm, it had only taken him a few years. However, this rapid increase in strength did not mean that his mental cultivation could keep pace.
Without sufficient moral cultivation, suddenly acquiring formidable military power may not necessarily lead to a good outcome. Xiao Wenbing, at this moment, deeply understands the bitterness of this situation.
Forget about complaining about Lao Long, Xiao Wenbing desperately tried to calm himself. He wanted to struggle out of the boundless darkness, but the harder he tried, the deeper he sank. Gradually, a feeling of despair filled his heart, filling him with extreme panic.
However, just when he was powerless to resist any longer, a warm and gentle current of air surged from his waist, traveling upwards along his body. Wherever the air passed, it was like a spring breeze caressing his face, refreshing and pleasant. His mind also felt this warmth, which was gentle yet incredibly resilient.
The darkness in my heart seemed to have met its nemesis, retreating rapidly until it finally disappeared.
Xiao Wenbing let out a long sigh, opened his eyes, and wiped his forehead, which was covered in water stains.
It felt like a fleeting dream, yet so real and believable. Xiao Wenbing knew he had just narrowly escaped death. He reached down and pulled an ancient jade pendant from his waist.
It was the love knot that Zhang Yaqi gave him before parting.
Touching the jade pendant in his hand, Xiao Wenbing murmured, "Yaqi, so it was you who saved me."
Suddenly, a flash of light appeared on my wrist, and the Wood Spirit had appeared.
"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Xiao." Mu Ling was as polite as ever.
"Well, thankfully, he won't die," Xiao Wenbing blurted out.
"What?" Mu Ling was taken aback. What kind of talk was this?
Xiao Wenbing suddenly realized that no one knew about his inner demon possession, so such an answer was indeed a bit unbelievable. He quickly smiled and said, "I mean it's very good, um, your body is in great shape."
"Really?" Mu Ling looked him up and down suspiciously. Xiao Wenbing was still Xiao Wenbing; there was no difference...
"Brother Muling, is there something you need?" Xiao Wenbing immediately changed the subject and asked.
As expected, after hearing Xiao Wenbing's question, Mu Ling stopped probing and asked, "Fellow Daoist Xiao, what do you think of what Elder Long just said?"
After pondering for a moment, Xiao Wenbing couldn't figure out Mu Ling's intentions. Could it also be trying to persuade him?
Seeing that Xiao Wenbing remained silent, Mu Ling was clearly getting anxious and said, "Fellow Daoist Xiao, this is absolutely not allowed."
Xiao Wenbing secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As expected of the spirit of the divine tree, Mu Ling was a good child who loved life...
Unexpectedly, Mu Ling changed the subject, saying, "At least, this is absolutely not feasible before we see Huo Lingxian."
Xiao Wenbing was stunned, and he couldn't catch his breath. It turned out that Mu Ling wasn't worried about the billions of creatures in the Demon Realm, but like the Mirror God, he was also concerned about some Fire Spirit Immortal.
“Fellow Daoist Xiao, think about it. Fire Spirit Immortal comes from the Flame Realm. If you destroy the Flame Realm, how could Fire Spirit let it go when it finds out? But if you save the Flame Realm, Fire Spirit Immortal will definitely be grateful and repay you. Then things will be much easier to discuss in the future.”
"What are you discussing?" Xiao Wenbing asked. Since both the Wood Spirit and the Mirror God valued the Fire Spirit Immortal so much, this item was clearly extraordinary.
"This... the Qiankun Circle currently only contains the Earth and Wood elements. It is still missing three major spiritual objects."
Xiao Wenbing raised an eyebrow. What a boastful tone! The spirits of the five elements are something that can only be encountered by chance, but judging from the Wood Spirit's words, it actually wants to gather all the spirits of the five elements. How is that possible?
After a moment's hesitation, Xiao Wenbing asked, "Fellow Daoist Mu, do you think it's worth trading the future of the cultivation world for a Fire Spirit Immortal?"
Almost without hesitation, Mu Ling said emphatically, "It's worth it. Even if it were ten worlds, it would still be worth it, let alone exchanging one world for it."
Xiao Wenbing's expression changed; he truly didn't know how to talk to the Wood Spirit.
Long Shi was willing to plunge himself into an abyss of no return for the sake of the future of the cultivation world, but Mu Ling was completely different. For the sake of a Fire Spirit Immortal, he even said he would sacrifice two realms.
They're both from the three great holy lands. How could they be so different?
"Fellow Daoist Mu, how do you expect me to explain this to Long Shi?"
Hearing that Xiao Wenbing had relented, Mu Ling said with a sigh of relief, "Fellow Daoist Xiao, rest assured, as long as we rescue our master, we will go to the Divine Wood Palace together. Hmm... no, as long as we reach the cultivation world, I will immediately contact the Ancestor and ask him to intervene. I guarantee that the Dragon and Phoenix clans will not have a single complaint."
"This..." Xiao Wenbing hesitated for a moment before finally asking, "Fellow Daoist Mu, aren't you afraid that thousands of years later, the people of the Flame Realm will invade again?"
Mu Ling smiled and said, "I'm not afraid."
"Aren't you afraid?"
"Exactly. Long Shi's assumption only applies when the resources of both sides are vastly different. But if the difference is limited and our strength is definitely superior, then this situation is impossible."
"The difference is minimal. How is that possible?" Xiao Wenbing asked in surprise. Even if he had successfully revived the Tree of Life in the Flame Realm, how could the damage caused over hundreds of thousands of years be repaired in just a few thousand? Without hundreds of thousands of years of cultivation and accumulation, it would be impossible for the Flame Realm to possess the abundant resources of the cultivation world.
The Wood Spirit smiled mysteriously and said, "Of course, as long as both of our Trees of Life are willing, we can open a passage. All we need is for our ancestor to throw a thousand or eight hundred leaves over each year."
Xiao Wenbing was stunned. Thousands of leaves? What was the Wood Spirit talking about? Each leaf of the Divine Tree Ancestor represented a planet. Did it mean that it would throw some planets in every year?
Seeing his confusion, Mu Ling said, "Actually, when I went back this time, the ancestor also told me that he has been growing and developing too fast in recent years and is somewhat unable to control it. So if someone is willing to help him consume some of it, he would definitely be more than happy to do so."
"Ah...is that so?" Xiao Wenbing twitched his lips. Growth and development? Using this word to describe Ancestor Shenmu is truly...quite strange!
"Understood, then I'll leave everything to Fellow Daoist Mu."
Mu Ling readily agreed, and with a flick of her body, she returned to the Qiankun Circle to recuperate.
Xiao Wenbing was carefully pondering Long Shi and Mu Ling's words when suddenly, a thought struck him, and he found himself inside the Heavenly Void Ring.
"Mirror God, come out."
"What are you doing?" A lazy voice came from the small bronze mirror. Although the mirror god was extremely unwilling, he still appeared.
Xiao Wenbing didn't hide anything and told the truth about what had just happened. Then he asked, "Mirror God, whose opinion should I take?"
"Nonsense, of course we have to listen to the Wood Spirit. As long as you can get the Universe Ring to take down the Fire Spirit Immortal, let alone the two insignificant planes of the Cultivation World and the Flame World, even if we lose another seventeen or eighteen, it will still be a very worthwhile deal."
The fact that it used the word "very worthwhile" twice in a row to describe it clearly shows that in the heart of this Mirror God, the importance of the Fire Spirit far exceeds that of the billions of living beings in the plane.
"But that's really strange. Even if you're lucky, it can't be this good."
"What's the meaning?"
"Of the five elements, apart from the wood element, the other four are extremely rare. Even the gods might not be able to encounter one. However, the cultivation world has produced an earth element, and the fire realm has produced a fire element immortal. In just two realms, two such spiritual beings have appeared."
Xiao Wenbing was greatly surprised and was about to ask what was going on when his expression suddenly changed. He said, "Someone is triggering the barrier. I'll go take a look." After saying that, his consciousness quickly returned to his body.
The Mirror God watched him leave, scratching his head as he muttered to himself, "He only knows the whereabouts of three spiritual objects in the second realm, so collecting five spiritual objects is not impossible."
Volume 4, The Divine Artifacts, Chapter 341: Safe Return
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Stepping out of the Heavenly Void Ring, he vaguely saw that there was another person besides himself in the pavilion, and he was immediately shocked. This was within the Star Dou Illusion Realm, and he hadn't activated the Butterfly Cocoon Barrier after seeing Long Shi off!
Upon closer inspection, he immediately understood. He had thought that someone possessed such great supernatural power to invade this treasure, which was no less powerful than a celestial artifact. Now he realized that it was actually Butterfly Fairy, the true master of the Starry Sky Illusionary Realm.
"Butterfly Fairy, what's up?"
He knew that he could sense the Butterfly Fairy entering because she did it on purpose; otherwise, this Starry Sky Illusion Realm was her home, and he wouldn't have noticed it at all.
"The Phoenix Mistress is looking for her master."
"Oh." Xiao Wenbing was about to leave when he stopped and asked, "Butterfly Fairy, what did you just say?"
"The Phoenix Mistress is looking for you."
"Wait a minute, who told you to call the woman in white 'Phoenix Mistress'?"
"Elder Fenghua."
"Feng Hua?" Xiao Wenbing frowned. He wondered what this phoenix was up to. If Feng Baiyi heard about it, it would be another problem.
After a moment's hesitation, Xiao Wenbing decided to give some advice: "Well, Butterfly Fairy, don't call me that anymore."
"Okay." Butterfly Fairy replied, "So Elder Fenghua was wrong. Sister Feng is not the mistress."
Just as Xiao Wenbing was about to leave, he stumbled upon hearing this and almost fell over for no reason. He turned around and looked at Die Xian, who was watching him with a worried expression, and he really didn't know what to do.
They stepped out of the pavilion. Not only Feng Baiyi, but also Long Shi and Quini were already waiting outside.
At this moment, the Earth Dragon and Phoenix Venerables and Quini stood on opposite sides of the pavilion, seemingly separated by an invisible line, clearly distinct from each other.
He frowned. It seemed that improving the relationship between the cultivation world and the fire realm would require a great deal of work. Fortunately, he no longer needed to worry about this. Mu Ling had said that as long as the Divine Wood Ancestor knew of the Fire Spirit Immortal's existence, everything would be negotiable. With this ancestor interfering, Long Shi's plan would likely be difficult to implement.
Even now, Xiao Wenbing still doesn't understand why the Wood Spirit is so interested in the Fire Spirit Immortal. Logically, fire overcomes wood, so it should hate the Fire Spirit Immortal. But in fact, both the Wood Spirit and the Mirror God value the Fire Spirit Immortal far more than the combined interests of countless billions of beings in these two realms.
They stepped out of the pavilion. Long Shi and Kuini went forward at the same time, but after exchanging a glance, they stopped.
Sensing the discord between them, Xiao Wenbing was somewhat amused and exasperated, so he took the initiative to greet them: "Greetings, seniors."
These meaningless words immediately drew a chorus of greetings, and then, with guidance from some senior figure, Xiao Wenbing realized that they had arrived at the entrance to the passage.
Under the escort of the Great Serpent and the Starry Sky Illusion Realm, this part of the journey was very quiet. It was rare to even see a single person, let alone be robbed.
"Now that we're here, let's go over there." Xiao Wenbing glanced at Long Shi with a puzzled look. This is such a small matter; you can decide for yourselves. Why bother me? Don't you know I'm very busy considering your suggestion...?
Long Shi smiled awkwardly and said, "It's not Old Dragon who's looking for you, it's the Heavenly Venerables of Thunder Palace who are looking for you."
"White clothes?" Xiao Wenbing was greatly surprised and looked at Feng Baiyi.
“That’s right. This snake is too big; our Heavenly Thunder Barrier can’t contain it. You can put it away. Or, if you want to leave both you and the snake behind, we won’t object,” a Celestial Venerable said with dissatisfaction.
Making so many people wait for him... this is intolerable!
Hmph... If it weren't for the ambiguous relationship between this person and the current Palace Master that even a blind person could see... No, this Celestial Venerable repented in his heart, he shouldn't have spoken ill of the Palace Master.
They glanced at Xiao Wenbing again. If it weren't for the strange relationship between him and the Palace Master, these Heavenly Venerables would have already waved their hands, dusted themselves off, and returned to the cultivation world to enjoy their blessings. Why would they be waiting for him here alone?
Xiao Wenbing naturally couldn't sense the profound meaning contained in that gaze, but he also knew that with the current size of this giant snake, the Heavenly Thunder Barrier definitely couldn't contain it. So he greeted Butterfly Fairy, one of them put away the Starry Sky Illusion Realm, and the other waved her hand. The Dark Infant dormant inside the giant snake heard the message and moved, transforming into a small earthworm and flying into the Heavenly Void Ring.
Feng Baiyi smiled slightly, stretched out her snow-white wrist, and spread out her slender, jade-like fingers. A terrifying energy gradually condensed in her hand, and slowly, a Heavenly Thunder Sword composed of destructive power took shape in her hand.