Chapter 77: A True Apex Predator Crosses the River

Exhaustion usually heralds the fading of vitality; this is a general theorem of using divine abilities. Yet at this moment, relying on mortal-shedding cultivation to block the Butcher—a being capable of severely wounding a Life-Profound practitioner—Chai Qingshan did not grow old; instead, he appeared remarkably youthful.

Chai Qingshan kept his eyes tightly closed, his features visibly growing tender and childlike, while the bamboo leaves fell ever more fiercely. He remained utterly indifferent to everything else happening around him.

Even so, this could only be described as a dying struggle, differing merely in how long the inevitable could be delayed. But that would only hold true under normal circumstances. Unfortunately, a massive variable had now appeared in the form of Baonanzi.

Baonanzi drew a peach wood sword from his sleeve, looking thoroughly unremarkable and even rather crude in craftsmanship.

"Let us see where you can escape this time," Baonanzi said coldly. The peach wood sword in his hand radiated no immortal aura, but instead reflected a chilling intent to kill. Baonanzi felt no particular anger toward the Butcher for heavily injuring the robed elder.

What was there to say if one's skills were inferior to another's? Furthermore, he and the elder shared no deep friendship; they merely had a common enemy, Bai Yun, the chief of Black Cloud Fortress.

What truly vexed him was his own divine ability—the painstakingly crafted Star Dome Art, which had mysteriously and fruitlessly achieved nothing. How exasperating. Not to mention the reason for this failure was that he had lent a hand to his enemy, Bai Yun.

The Butcher, who had been tearing through the bamboo leaves like a whirlwind, abruptly vanished with a suddenness that felt jarring.

Baonanzi inwardly cursed, realizing he had grown somewhat careless. At this moment, he was the only one here. More importantly, because the Butcher had consistently refrained from attacking him, he had subconsciously ignored this fellow's combat prowess, which superficially made him seem capable of nothing more than fleeing. Yet Baonanzi felt no fear; after all, who dared to underestimate a Life-Profound master?

Five chilling gleams flickered in and out of view, lunging straight toward Baonanzi. A crimson needle stealthily emerged from a bizarre angle, entirely silent and soundless.

Chai Qingshan still seemed utterly oblivious to all of this, his hands moving incessantly as wave after wave of withered, racing bamboo leaves fell like a torrential downpour.

Wu Kongkong had departed. The moment Baonanzi appeared, he had vanished swiftly. Faced with a massive threat, he knew his own limits all too well; utilizing his innate talent to bully the Butcher by borrowing another's might was barely acceptable, but dealing with Baonanzi, a genuine powerhouse, was a bit outside his professional scope.

Elsewhere, the interior was unusually covered in dust. Containers of varying sizes were either completely empty or contained bizarre creatures, most of which were lifeless.

At this moment, Li Wenzhang, Zhao Qingzhi, and Lin Xiuxiu stood quietly in a corner with gloomy expressions. Just a few meters away, a figure waved a slender blade, casting a mesmerizing and formidable radiance. Yet no matter what, he remained trapped within that confined square inch, unable to break free by any means. Layer upon layer of runes flickered, growing increasingly dim.

Zhao Qingzhi whispered softly, "I have a feeling he is about to break through."

Li Wenzhang shook his head and said lightly, "This formation can no longer trap him for much longer. The gap in cultivation is simply too vast."

Following the changes at Base Zero, the three of them had been separated, encountering little bloodshed along the way and stumbling upon this place by sheer good fortune. But before they could properly rejoice and explore, they had run into this mortal-shedding cultivator—a true roller coaster of great joy followed by profound sorrow.

"Mosquito Li, do you have any other tricks up your sleeve?" Zhao Qingzhi continued, in his eyes, Li Wenzhang's little schemes seemed endless.

Li Wenzhang glanced at Lin Xiuxiu and said blandly, "I have no good methods."

He had no *good* methods, not that he had *no* methods at all. At this moment, Lin Xiuxiu was staring wide-eyed at Zhou Yihu, whose waving blade moved like a deity or a demon, completely failing to notice Li Wenzhang's gaze.

Zhao Qingzhi failed to catch the underlying meaning in Li Wenzhang's words. For some inexplicable reason, she thought of that peer of the same age traveling with them. Was she usually too fierce toward him? Yet who told him to be so irritating when he spoke?

Purple robes against white robes, blood staining the ground.

The two of them were like tigers in the mountains; a single mountain cannot accommodate two tigers, leaving only a choice between life and death. The rest were likewise like fierce beasts of the wilderness, locked in mutual slaughter and competition, or slipping away quietly.

As for Wu Yue? Well, Wu Yue was somewhat akin to a stray prey, waiting for one of those tigers to come and feast. Naturally, this prey possessed claws and fangs of its own.

However, right as Wu Yue was meticulously studying this laboratory while searching for his own escape route, a mighty dragon crossed the river and arrived.

The robed elder let out three loud laughs.

A lean camel is still bigger than a horse. A severely wounded Life-Profound practitioner still surpassed countless people present, including the seemingly peerless figures in purple and white.

It was as if the dark willow blossoms led to a bright new village, a reversal of fortune after extreme hardship. The robed elder swept his gaze casually across the laboratory.

"Very well." The immediate task now was to clear the board.

The robed elder's three triumphant laughs upon surviving a calamity had already startled several people. He had no intention of exchanging pleasantries; would a majestic dragon explain itself to a colony of ants?

Of course not. What could be more direct than crushing them with a single step? He was in a foul mood anyway, so why not kill a few people to vent his frustration? At a time like this, he had no patience for polite words, let alone maintaining the aura of an expert.

Stop joking around. Not everyone was bound by such pretenses. At least the robed elder wasn't. Although some of his powers could not be utilized here, what remained accessible was more than enough to clear the area.

"All of you," the robed elder's soft utterance rang out, sounding like a hundred thousand sudden thunderclaps, shattering the spiritual core of several individuals.

"Initiate Research Phase Three." It was that same voice once again. It sounded like the master of Base Zero, yet also like a gatekeeper. Each utterance usually heralded a major transformation within Base Zero, and what about this time?

The effect remained identical. Across the walls, the floors, and overhead, the entire Base Zero flashed with strings of green data, defying any attempt at disruption or cessation.

"Simulated Dao-Forbidden Space, activate."

All rules, powers, and spiritual energy vanished in a single instant, leaving behind nothing but physical might. How awkward.

Take this place, for instance.

Upon his entrance, the robed elder had swept in like a dragon crossing a river, slaughtering countless fish and shrimp. Yet at this very moment, at this final stage, the robed elder raised his hand... and let it fall, utterly powerless...

The speeds of the white-robed and purple-robed figures also visibly slowed down to the naked eye. Zhang Xuanzhi wielded a white jade sword, while Guoxiefeng threw punches with both fists.

The remaining cultivators also recovered from their shock, a collective sensation of surviving a disaster washing over them. Suddenly, countless gazes turned toward the robed elder... gazes fraught with malice so intense it gave one pause.

A Life-Profound master stripped of his power, a Life-Profound master bent on murder—discovering at this very moment that he possessed no power whatsoever, acting just like an ordinary mortal.

Cold sweat instantly poured down the robed elder in torrents.

Faced with such an astonishing transformation, even Wu Yue could not help being slightly stunned. Then, his eyes suddenly lit up as he searched for Lin Liu, the entity that should have functioned as an ultimate weapon at this juncture, only to find that the intelligent android had vanished without a trace.

It felt as though everything had abruptly reverted to the mundane. Fighting still depended on having numbers and a strong physique.