Chapter 599: Void

"My Avatar of Essence Soul is no match for it, but I'm quite good at escaping," Meng Chuan suggested to his three companions. "If you all hide inside my grotto-heaven treasure, I can use all my strength to escape and shake off that forbidden creature."

His previous Avatar of Essence Soul had been forced to flee.

"Haha, there's no need for that," Meng Hu said with a laugh, full of fighting spirit. "I've come to this ruin world, and I haven't fought any forbidden creatures yet."

"Brother Dongning, just watch what we can do," Fu Sui said, also quite confident.

Old Demon Heifeng, on the other hand, asked, "Brother Dongning, could you tell us what abilities that forbidden creature possesses?"

"Its body is very strange; none of my attacks can harm it," Meng Chuan said with a frown. "It's as if it's illusory, a phantom existing right before your eyes. All attacks seem to pass right through it, posing no threat."

"Oh?"

"You can't harm it?"

Fu Sui speculated, "Is it hiding in the deepest parts of the void, or in some interlayer space beyond the true void? Or perhaps what's in front of you isn't its true form?"

For Five Tribulation Realm mighty figures, a seemingly illusory body could have many explanations.

"I don't understand it," Meng Chuan gently shook his head. While he was very confident, being close to mastering the Six Tribulation Realm rules, that forbidden creature left him utterly perplexed.

"Many forbidden creatures are indeed strange, representing peculiar phenomena within the River of Spacetime," Meng Hu said with a smile. "However, they only rely on innate abilities. We cultivators are the ones who truly grasp the essence of power. At the same level, they are no match for us."

As they spoke, a blurry figure quickly flew towards them from a distance.

"It's here,"

Meng Chuan watched the distance, and Meng Hu and the others also looked.

It was a humanoid creature with purple skin, draped in a grayish-green robe, its eyes cold.

The ruin world's suppression was strong. Although the forbidden creature traveled fast, it was still slower than Meng Chuan.

"Let me see what it can do." The most slender of them, Meng Hu, exuded confidence. He let out a low hum, and two invisible waves shot out from his nostrils. The moment they appeared, they instantly reached the forbidden creature.

The green-robed, purple-skinned figure was struck by the two waves but showed no reaction, continuing its flight.

"It really is like nothingness; I didn't even touch its body," Meng Hu exclaimed in surprise.

"Let me try," said Old Demon Heifeng, throwing a punch.

A black fist-shadow distorted the void as it surged towards the forbidden creature.

During his last exploration of the ruins, Old Demon Heifeng lost a true body, but his realm had greatly improved. Now, he even had the confidence to overpower Palace Lord Xueyu.

However, this fierce black fist-shadow passed straight through the forbidden creature without harming it in the slightest.

"It didn't touch it at all; it was like punching empty space," Old Demon Heifeng said, also somewhat shocked.

"Leave it to me," Meng Hu said, his expression turning serious. A rhomboid crystal appeared on his forehead, its surface shimmering with countless secret patterns, and his entire aura surged dramatically.

Old Demon Heifeng and Fu Sui watched this scene with anticipation.

Meng Chuan watched with curiosity: "Is this the power of a Celestial Dream General?"

Every higher world possessed profound foundations.

In many aspects—cultivation systems, unique inheritances, rare treasures, reincarnation—they surpassed most cultivators.

The Celestial Dream Realm also held special inheritances.

The 'Celestial Dream General' was one such inheritance.

Meng Hu, it was said, had mastered two Five Tribulation Realm rules. Due to his talent, cultivation path, and other factors, he had fortuitously passed the Celestial Dream General's trial and become one. Although his realm was still low and he could only unleash a fraction of a Celestial Dream General's power, his strength was sufficient to place him among the peak Five Tribulation Realm experts.

Even Meng Chuan was currently considered almost on par with Meng Hu.

"Break!"

The slender Meng Hu stood his ground, his left hand gathering power, and his right fist striking out.

"Boom!!!"

The void of the ruin world trembled. The forbidden creature charged in ferociously, disdaining to dodge or defend itself. However, when the punch struck it,

"Hmm?" The green-robed, purple-haired forbidden creature showed signs of pain. Its body twisted and deformed in the void, and its movements halted for a moment. But then it instantly recovered, its eyes growing even more ferocious as it lunged directly at Meng Hu, who posed the greatest threat to it.

"It's not dead?" Meng Hu was surprised that his punch hadn't annihilated the opponent.

Meng Chuan, observing from the side, understood somewhat: "Meng Hu's punch primarily focuses on the void lineage, but its power is unbelievably immense. Such overwhelming force affected the forbidden creature's physical structure, effectively breaking through its defense with raw power."

Energy could affect spacetime.

When power reached a certain level, it could also break through defenses.

"However, the forbidden creature's injuries weren't severe enough, and it recovered quickly," Meng Chuan vaguely sensed something was amiss.

Boom! Boom!

Meng Hu and the forbidden creature had both targeted each other. Meng Hu actively met the charge, and they began battling in mid-air.

"Rip!"

The green-robed, purple-haired forbidden creature reached Meng Hu, its claw tearing a wound across his chest. As blood was about to flow, the wound rapidly healed.

"Die!" Meng Hu also entered a frenzy. The crystal on his forehead pulsed with light, and his close-combat techniques became terrifyingly powerful. Each move landed on the forbidden creature, causing it to twist and deform in pain repeatedly, only to swiftly recover. Meng Hu, however, appeared more miserable. Though his numerous wounds healed quickly, dozens more appeared in the blink of an eye.

"Let's go together," Fu Sui said solemnly. Meng Hu's full-power attack hadn't killed the forbidden creature, so they all had to join in.

Old Demon Heifeng's techniques were ferocious, strange, and ethereal.

Fu Sui also unleashed his blade techniques. His blade movements were imperceptible to the naked eye; only streaks of blade light were seen landing on the forbidden creature.

"Go!" Meng Chuan, meanwhile, unleashed the forbidden art 'Demonic Cone.' It instantly assaulted the forbidden creature's body, and though it shattered, it still caused the creature to shriek in pain.

"Yaaah!"

If Meng Hu's direct, forceful assault could injure it, it was merely superficial damage.

Meng Chuan's 'Demonic Cone' reached deep into its spiritual core, inflicting pain a hundred times more intense.

When one Demonic Cone shattered, Meng Chuan immediately condensed another, launching one after another into the forbidden creature's body.

"Yaaah!" The forbidden creature shrieked, abandoning Meng Hu and lunging toward Meng Chuan instead.

"Don't escape!" Meng Hu was indeed formidable in close combat. He entangled the forbidden creature with his moves, trying his best to slow it down. Meng Chuan also used his movement technique, pulling Fu Sui and Heifeng away from the forbidden creature.

"Yaaah!"

The crazed forbidden creature in the ruin world only acted on instinct, killing and devouring other life forms. Now, Meng Hu's attacks and Meng Chuan's 'Demonic Cone' subjected it to immense pain. Unable to kill Meng Chuan and his companions, it immediately shrieked in agony and swiftly fled into the distance.

Meng Hu did not pursue, letting the creature escape.

"Whew." Meng Hu let out a breath of relief, the crystal on his forehead receding. "I could barely injure this forbidden creature even with my full strength. Killing it is simply impossible."

"At least you could injure it; none of us could even touch it," Fu Sui said with a laugh. "Brother Dongning's Essence Soul weapon, though, is formidable. It couldn't stand the pain and ran away."

"It was only in pain."

Meng Chuan sighed, "If it were lucid and rational, it would be far more troublesome and wouldn't leave so easily."

Meng Hu and the others all agreed.

With rationality and conscious awareness, the threat would indeed be much greater.

"Let's continue our journey. We shouldn't stay here too long; the commotion from the battle might attract more forbidden creatures," Fu Sui advised.

"Let's go."

The rest of the journey was smooth. They didn't encounter any new forbidden creatures before reaching the black mountain, as Meng Chuan's Essence Soul avatars had blocked them all.

"We're here," the four of them said as they arrived at the foot of the black mountain.

"You two try stepping onto this mountain," Fu Sui said, pointing at the ground beneath them. They were still standing on solid ground, but just a few yards away lay black rocks, marking the boundary of the black mountain's territory. This boundary was extremely clear.

Meng Chuan and Meng Hu exchanged glances, then took a few steps forward and stepped onto the black rock.

The moment they stepped on it,

Meng Chuan heard the gurgling of mountain springs, the whistling of wind through the forest, the rustle of falling leaves... and various floral scents. The combination of smells and sounds made Meng Chuan feel incredibly comfortable; his Essence Soul became ethereal, and his thoughts accelerated many times over.

"This... this?" Meng Chuan said in disbelief. "My Essence Soul feels even more ethereal, my thoughts are quicker. As I lightly perceive the surrounding profound rules, inspiration surges forth, as if I've consumed a rare spiritual fruit that aids cultivation."

Some rare treasures, upon consumption, could almost induce an 'enlightenment' effect.

Although this was not as potent as full enlightenment, it was still far more powerful than usual.

"If I simply cultivate here, I estimate I could comprehend the Six Tribulation Realm rules in just one or two months," Meng Chuan realized. He was already close to mastering them; in the outside world, it would take decades, or even over a century, to achieve. But on this black mountain, merely stepping onto it provided astonishing benefits to cultivation, naturally shortening the required time significantly.