Chapter 2823: Shenshou, Ice Dragon, Flying Bloodthirsty Ant

A vast, dense black forest stretched out, filled with towering trees over a hundred zhang tall. Their luxuriant branches and leaves blocked out much of the sunlight, making the area appear somewhat dim.

A tall, slender youth in a red shirt slowly walked forward. Judging by his attire, he was clearly a disciple of the Guo family.

After a moment, he stopped.

Several hundred zhang away, a green fruit tree, only about a zhang tall, stood out awkwardly from the surrounding large trees.

The green fruit tree had round leaves, and its branches were covered in sharp green thorns. Dozens of light green fruits hung from its branches, their surfaces also covered in green thorns, resembling hedgehogs.

“Green Chestnut Fruit.”

The red-shirted youth recognized this spirit fruit. The Green Chestnut Fruit bloomed once every ten thousand years, bore fruit after another ten thousand years, and matured after yet another ten thousand years. It was known to enhance vitality and strengthen the physical body.

He extended his spiritual sense widely, but found no anomalies or demonic beasts, which struck him as odd.

After a moment's thought, he raised his right hand. A slender red silken thread shot out, coiled around a Green Chestnut Fruit, snapped its stem, and reeled the fruit back.

Just then, the void rippled, and a massive black beast claw materialized out of thin air, striking towards his skull. Simultaneously, a black light shot out from the void, heading directly for the red-shirted youth.

The red-shirted youth reacted quickly. The red jade lock on his chest glowed with dazzling red light, and a crimson barrier materialized, shielding his entire body.

The black beast claw and black light struck the red barrier successively, producing dull thudding sounds.

With a flash of black light, a massive, entirely black beast appeared out of nowhere. It had the head of a snake and the body of a frog, its golden eyes constantly shifting.

“A Rank Six peak-grade Mirage Beast!”

The red-shirted youth exclaimed in surprise, his eyes wide with terror.

Mirage Beasts possess a trace of the Mirage Dragon bloodline, are proficient in illusions, and are extremely difficult to deal with.

No sooner had the Mirage Beast appeared than a gigantic phantom of a Mirage Dragon materialized above its head, exuding an aura of disdainful dominance over all directions.

“A Mirage Dragon Dharma Idol!”

The red-shirted youth was greatly alarmed. The fact that this Mirage Beast could summon a Mirage Dragon Dharma Idol indicated a purer bloodline, signifying its evolution towards a Mirage Dragon.

He dared not be careless. While controlling his spirit insects to attack the Mirage Beast, he flew back along the path he came.

The Mirage Dragon let out a dragon's roar that echoed through heaven and earth. The red-shirted youth felt his surroundings shift; he suddenly appeared in a magnificent grand hall, where Guo Yulin sat on the main seat, his face stern and authoritative.

“Ancestor! No, an illusion!”

The red-shirted youth broke out in a cold sweat. He felt a heavy object strike him, and his body was uncontrollably sent flying backward. He coughed up a large mouthful of blood and slammed heavily onto the ground.

Before he could even get up, a misty black light descended from the sky, enveloped the red-shirted youth, and swept him into the Mirage Beast's mouth, where he vanished.

From the moment the Mirage Beast appeared until it killed the red-shirted youth, only five breaths passed. The red-shirted youth had no power to resist whatsoever.

The Mirage Beast let out a strange roar. The surrounding scene shifted, revealing the bodies of a man and a woman lying on the ground, with several damaged treasures scattered around them.

It sprayed out a cloud of black mist, covering itself. A gust of wind blew, dispersing the black mist, and the Mirage Beast vanished.

Several hundred miles away, on a steep peak.

Wang Chan stood on the mountaintop, his expression solemn.

The Twin-Pupil Rat was perched on Wang Chan's shoulder, its eyes glowing with dazzling spiritual light.

“A Rank Six peak-grade Mirage Beast! Gather with the others and slay it.”

The Twin-Pupil Rat spoke in human tongue. They had been drawn by the dragon's roar and unexpectedly discovered a Mirage Beast.

This Mirage Beast had a relatively pure bloodline; otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to summon a Mirage Dragon Dharma Idol. If they killed the Mirage Beast, its inner core could be consumed by the Mirage Dragon, which would be somewhat beneficial for its advancement.

Wang Chan nodded, took out a spell disc shimmering with green light, and infused several incantations into it. The green spell disc showed no reaction.

“I can’t contact them. How about you stay here and guard, and I’ll go look for them elsewhere?”

Wang Chan suggested this. Although he had transformed first, he knew the Twin-Pupil Rat’s standing in Wang Changsheng’s heart.

In terms of seniority, the Twin-Pupil Rat was the eldest, so Wang Chan still had to obey its commands.

“My strength isn’t great. If I encounter those exceptionally powerful Void Refinement cultivators, they might just kill me. So, let’s stay here! As long as they pass nearby, we’ll be able to contact them. We absolutely cannot let this Mirage Beast escape.”

The Twin-Pupil Rat instructed. It hadn’t fully transformed yet, and if it truly encountered powerful Void Refinement cultivators, simply escaping would be a good outcome.

Wang Chan heard this and agreed.

A deafening dragon's roar erupted from a hidden underground cave, causing the ground to shake.

A white-faced, beardless elder in a green robe and a beautiful young woman in a red dress flew out from the underground cave. Their expressions were full of terror, and judging by their attire, they were clearly disciples of the Liao family.

Both were covered in wounds, and the green-robed elder’s left arm was missing.

“There’s actually a Rank Six peak-grade Ice Flood Dragon here! Retreat quickly, we are no match for it.”

The green-robed elder exclaimed, countless green runes appearing on his body, and a thick green barrier materialized out of thin air.

A surge of crimson flames erupted from the red-dressed young woman’s body. Just then, the void rippled, and a massive white dragon claw materialized, striking towards them.

Before the white dragon claw could even descend, the void tightened, and a large quantity of white ice shards appeared simultaneously.

The white dragon claw shattered the green barrier. With a flash of green light, the green-robed elder transformed into a light green piece of wood.

With a pained shriek, the red-dressed young woman was struck by the white dragon claw and rapidly plummeted towards the ground, slamming heavily onto it and spitting out a large mouthful of blood.

Before she could even get up, an entirely white flood dragon descended from the sky. It spewed a stream of white mist that enveloped the red-dressed young woman, sweeping her into its mouth and swallowing her whole.

The white flood dragon swept its tail, shattering the green piece of wood into two halves, and then returned to its nest.

A thousand miles away, in a vast forest filled with towering trees.

A dazzling green light shone from a towering tree, revealing the green-robed elder's figure. His eyes were filled with terror, and he was drenched in sweat, his face pale.

A buzzing sound arose, and a crimson cloud flew out from a patch of bushes.

The green-robed elder's gaze swept over it, his pupils constricting, utterly terrified.

The crimson cloud was, in fact, millions of blood-colored ants. They varied in size, had exposed sharp mandibles, four wings on their backs, and blood-red eyes. Their queen was a Rank Six peak-grade ant.

“Flying Bloodthirsty Ants!”

The green-robed elder exclaimed. The Flying Bloodthirsty Ants were ranked one hundred thirty-seventh on the Myriad Insect List; they were ferocious, venomous, and lived in colonies.

The green-robed elder quickly conjured a short ruler shimmering with green light. The green ruler fell to the ground, quickly rooted and sprouted, transforming into a colossal tree over a thousand zhang tall.

The Flying Bloodthirsty Ants all spewed crimson flames, attacking the green-robed elder.

With rumbling sounds, green light and crimson light intertwined.

If he had been at full strength, the green-robed elder would have had a chance to escape, but now, severely weakened, he couldn’t run at all.

Not long after, a dazzling green light shot into the sky, and a miniature nascent soul flew out from it, soaring upwards. Before it could fly far, a beam of crimson light descended from the sky, enveloped the miniature nascent soul, and swept it into the queen ant’s mouth, where it vanished.