Chapter 498: Let Me Have a Try
Upon noticing the arrival of a Profound realm Poison Sect expert, Nie Tian ended his cultivation and observed closely via his Heaven Eyes.
The man was Lu Bai, a late Profound realm expert and the leader of the Poison Sect’s team in this dimension.
Before arriving, he had learned about the anomaly the other Poison Sect disciples had encountered here.
Upon seeing him, Zhang Jiu and the others bowed respectfully towards him, and referred to him as their martial uncle.
Lu Bai nodded and quickly unleashed his soul awareness, hoping to conduct a thorough examination of every inch of this floating continent.
However, in the next moment, he said with furrowed eyebrows, “This is strange...”
Even his soul awareness couldn’t pass the special barrier that surrounded the entire continent. As his soul awareness made contact with the barrier, he could sense a strong force of expulsion.
Even though he cast several exquisite spells in a row, he failed to get his soul awareness past the barrier.
“This continent is very special, martial uncle,” Sun Xuan explained. “When we arrived, we tried to scan it with our soul awarenesses as well, but that barrier warded off all of our soul awarenesses.”
Lu Bai’s eyes slightly widened as he asked, “Have you tried using your spirit vermin?”
Every disciple of the Poison Sect raised their own spirit vermin and life-spirit vermin.
In Lu Bai’s eyes, if they indeed couldn’t pass the barrier themselves, maybe they could try to send their spirit vermin past it.
With a bitter smile, Sun Xuan shook his head and said, “Perhaps because our spirit vermin carry our aura, they were also denied entry by that barrier.”
The tips of Lu Bai’s eyebrows rose, as if he found it more interesting than troubling. “All of the floating lands we saw on our way here were completely devoid of spiritual energy. This continent is the only exception. Not only do sky-reaching trees grow on it, but it’s also wreathed in rich wood power. This continent must be beyond ordinary. I bet there are secrets about this continent that we don’t know yet.”
With these words, he started trying more profound Poison Sect magics, hoping to make a difference.
Countless tiny spirit vermin shot out of his leveled cuff, which fell towards the floating continent like raindrops.
Upon seeing this, Nie Tian, who was in the central area of the floating continent, suddenly grew nervous.
It was beyond doubt that that spirit vermin raised by a Profound realm expert would be extremely powerful. Even if just Lu Bai’s spirit vermin managed to pass the barrier, they would cause Nie Tian and Pei Qiqi serious trouble.
Hence, he paid close attention to them and everything around him.
Immediately afterwards, he sensed that the ancient trees, which were deeply rooted in this continent, seemed to be activated.
Green, flickering spots started to rise from the huge trees and infuse into the invisible barrier around the floating continent, gradually making it visible.
Soon, a ellipsoidal, translucent, dark-green ward presented itself.
Innumerable complicated patterns could be vaguely seen on the translucent, dark-green ward, which looked very much like tree patterns. Instead of staying in one location, the patterns constantly shifted about on the ward.
As the spirit vermin unleashed by Lu Bai fell on the dark-green ward like countless leaves, the patterns on the ward instantly lit up.
As bright light spread out from the contact points like ripples, some mysterious power quietly counterattacked.
Each and every spirit vermin that fell on the dark-green ward let out ear-piercing shrieks and flew back to Lu Bai’s side.
Lu Bai gasped slightly and looked even more intrigued as he said, “Impressive! This continent must be beyond ordinary!”
With these words, he took the initiative and pulled all of his spirit vermin back, and then said to Zhang Jiu with a grim expression, “Soon, all of our Greater Heaven stage disciples will rush over here. When they arrive, lead them into the forest and get rid of those two first, and then conduct a thorough scan of the continent.”
“There must be something very special about this floating continent. Perhaps some fortune that’s only meant for you is hiding somewhere.”
“As you say, martial uncle.” Zhang Jiu behaved politely and modestly before him.
Very happy about his attitude, Lu Bai nodded and said, “As for your life-spirit vermin, you can pick another one to tame after we return to our sect.”
“Many thanks, martial uncle,” Zhang Jiu said with a smile.
…
In the central area of the floating continent.
Having seen and heard everything with the help of his Heaven Eyes, Nie Tian let out a sigh of relief as he realized that the late Profound realm Lu Bai wasn’t able to pass through the ward.
As for other Poison Sect Greater Heaven stage disciples, he wasn’t worried at all.
Hence, he found his inner peace and started practicing cultivation wholeheartedly.
As Lu Bai withdrew his swarm of spirit vermin as well as his soul awareness, the dark-green ward gradually faded away.
Without Heaven Eyes to use, Pei Qiqi didn’t know exactly what had happened.
However, seeing that Nie Tian had resumed his cultivation, she realized that they were temporarily safe.
She had great confidence in Nie Tian’s mysteriously keen perception.
Sitting in silence, Nie Tian examined his spiritual sea in his dantian region, and discovered that earlier, as the dark-green ward had gradually presented itself, the reintegration of the broken will of the titan floating within his vortex of wood power seemed to have accelerated significantly.
“What’s...” He was increasingly certain that this floating continent might have some sort of connection with the magical land where he had obtained Fruits of Life.
“Is this continent somehow related to titans?” With such thoughts on his mind, he paused his cultivation with spirit stones and suddenly stretched his hand up towards the heavens, as he summoned his spiritual power with the special technique he had picked up from that mysterious land.
As soon as he did, he instantly felt rich and pure wood power converge on his raised palm from all directions.
In a flash, that hand was wreathed in swirling wisps of freshly-green wood power. Gradually, an emerald-green energy ball came to form.
However, his accumulation of wood power and the refinement of his vortex of wood power had long since reached the point where they were ready for his next breakthrough.
Therefore, he wasn’t able to channel more wood power into his brimming vortex of wood power.
He could only watch the emerald-green energy ball gradually expand in his palm.
After pondering for a while, he looked up at the energy ball and thought to himself, “Maybe I can use it as a means of attack.” He was more and more expectant for more Poison Sect Greater Heaven stage disciples to come to this floating continent.
Just as he was about to test out the might of the ball full of wood power, Pei Qiqi’s eyes snapped open. She looked over, her eyes filled with surprise.
Her eyes shone with sharp, intelligent light. “What’s that you’re forming in your hand, Nie Tian? I can sense very rich wood power from within that emerald-green ball of energy.”
“It’s one of my means of attack,” Nie Tian answered.
“A means of attack?” Confusion appeared in Pei Qiqi’s eyes. After a moment of hesitation, she asked, “Then why am I sensing nothing but vigorous wood power from it? I only heard wood power could be used to heal injuries. Well...”
With these words, she grew somewhat bashful. “I actually sustained some injuries before.”
Nie Tian instantly understood what she wanted to say. With a hearty smile, he said, “I don’t plan to absorb the wood power within this energy ball anyways. Do you want me to try to heal your injuries with it?”
Pei Qiqi’s eyes lit up slightly as she said, “That’d be good.”
Nie Tian rose to his feet and circled to her back, carefully carrying the energy ball in his palm.
He pressed his empty hand on Pei Qiqi’s back and sent a wisp of soul power from his fragmentary stars into her to examine the injuries she had told him about.
However, as soon as his wisp of power entered Pei Qiqi, Nie Tian’s expression flickered.
Thanks to the keen perception of that wisp of soul power, he instantly discovered that Pei Qiqi’s meridians and veins were currently filled with glowing, tiny blades of spatial energy, which carried an aura that didn’t belong to her.
Those tiny, sharp blades of spatial energy were roaming her system and damaging her from the inside.
As Nie Tian sensed the situation inside her with rapt attention, he soon realized that those blades of spatial energy were probably from the floating volcano with a penetrating hole in it.
“Do you see them?” Pei Qiqi asked with a soft voice.
Nie Tian nodded with a grim expression and said, “These are some serious injuries.”
“The blades of spatial energy came from the profound energy the outsider had used to kill that Earth Flame Beast.” Pei Qiqi looked down at the ground. “Due to my insufficient cultivation base, as I allowed it into myself to derive enlightenment from it, I began to suffer from it as well. It’ll still take me a long time to solve all of the mysteries in it and refine it fully.
“If we weren’t surrounded by enemies, that wouldn’t be a problem. But now, Poison Sect disciples could rush in here at any moment.”
With a deep breath, Nie Tian said with a solemn expression, “Let me have a try.”