Chapter 229 - 222: Celestial Eye Black Pupil, Manifest

Chapter 229: Chapter 222: Celestial Eye Black Pupil, Manifest

Lately, Jiang Zuo had spent most of his time researching the Divine Sense Puppet technique, Blood Qi Avatars, fifth-tier Beast Patterns, and the Dao of Talismans.

The puppets described in the Divine Sense Puppet technique had to be crafted from special materials.

These "special materials" included not only rare Spiritual Materials but also things like a cultivator’s own flesh, blood, and hair.

Using such components strengthened a cultivator’s control over the puppet.

Jiang Zuo’s Blood Qi Avatars were completely different from the puppets used in the Divine Sense Puppet technique. However, thanks to the Mysterious Stele, he began experimenting to see if he could transfer other things from his body to his Blood Qi Avatars.

If he succeeded, it might lead to a surprising breakthrough when he later used the Mysterious Stele to modify the Divine Sense Puppet technique.

’Especially the black power from the Daoist Shackles in my body. If I can transfer that to a Blood Qi Avatar, it might even gain special abilities.’

Unfortunately, the power of the Daoist Shackles would not budge.

But after many attempts, Jiang Zuo made an unexpected discovery.

Perhaps it was because his refinement of the Mysterious Stele had reached 60%, or maybe it was an aftereffect of his Divine Sense Transformation.

Jiang Zuo discovered he could transfer a portion of his own Origin Power to a Blood Qi Avatar!

For him at his current stage, this Origin Power was, specifically, his Dao Foundation!

The transfer would cause a permanent, irreversible loss to his Dao Foundation.

However, Jiang Zuo’s Dao Foundation was astonishingly large. After discovering it could be transferred to a Blood Qi Avatar, he siphoned off just a tiny bit.

This tiny amount wouldn’t have any negative effect on him.

And with that tiny bit of Dao Foundation transferred to the Blood Qi Avatar, Jiang Zuo made an astonishing discovery.

The Blood Qi Avatar became stronger, but that wasn’t the important part.

Jiang Zuo could clearly sense that the portion of Dao Foundation he had transferred possessed the strong aura of a Five Elements Spirit Body.

If the Blood Qi Avatar hadn’t also been suppressed by a phantom image of the Mysterious Stele, this Five Elements Spirit Body aura would have been exposed.

’And if it were exposed, what would happen?’

’The Celestial Eye Black Pupil would reappear!’

Jiang Zuo had a strong premonition about this.

And despite this feeling, Jiang Zuo would naturally not test it out for real.

If the Celestial Eye Black Pupil were to appear at the Black Tortoise Dao Sect and be witnessed by many, he would be the primary suspect.

’Even a moment’s thought told him it would lead to endless trouble.’

Even now, with the Black Tortoise Dao Sect on the verge of destruction, if the Celestial Eye Black Pupil were to appear, Jiang Zuo would still become a target of suspicion.

Therefore, creating a Blood Qi Avatar infused with the Origin Power of his Dao Foundation was a risky endeavor for him.

Furthermore, in order to hold back those Demon Race Venerables, the amount of Dao Foundation Jiang Zuo transferred this time was not small.

This would undoubtedly damage his own foundation.

It was only because Jiang Zuo’s Dao Foundation was so immense. Had it been an ordinary cultivator, such an act would have crippled nearly half their foundation.

"Go."

Emanating faint traces of a mysterious power, the black-robed Blood Qi Avatar leaped from the Flying Ship. Under Jiang Zuo’s control, it raced toward the source of the Demon Race Venerables’ auras.

Compared to an ordinary Blood Qi Avatar, this special one was faster and appeared far more lifelike.

「Before the gates of the Black Tortoise Dao Sect.」

"Scatter and flee! While we can still hold them off, get as far away as you can!"

Gu Yunkui roared.

Knowing the Black Tortoise Dao Sect was lost, Gu Yunkui and the other Manifestation Realm Venerables prepared to help as many disciples escape as possible before abandoning the sect themselves.

They had come prepared, each carrying a Spirit Treasure.

The Demon Race Venerables, however, were not skilled with Magical Artifacts, relying almost exclusively on their innate Divine Techniques.

Thus, even though the Demon Race Venerables outnumbered them nearly two to one, the human Venerables were able to hold their ground. By relying on their Spirit Treasures to purely defend, they prevented the Demon Venerables from gaining any advantage for the time being.

However, if their Spirit Treasures’ power was drained too much, the battle’s outcome would be decided in an instant.

Under the frenzied assault of the nine Demon Race Venerables, the five human Venerables’ Spirit Treasures were rapidly being depleted.

The only exception was the Ten Thousand Dao Scripture Tower, which was faring better.

The previous night, Gu Yunkui had gone to the Ten Thousand Dao Scripture Tower and warned it of a possible Demon Race invasion. After gaining its consent, he had brought it with him.

Now, Gu Yunkui had released the Ten Thousand Dao Scripture Tower. It was simultaneously fending off the Demon Race Venerables’ attacks while drawing the disciples of the Black Tortoise Dao Sect inside itself.

The Ten Thousand Dao Scripture Tower was a sixth-tier Pocket World Spirit Treasure. As long as the disciples were nearby, it could easily absorb every last one of them.

"Die!"

Having failed to break through after a prolonged assault, the Cyan Ape Demon Venerable grew impatient.

Seeing the Ten Thousand Dao Scripture Tower continuously pulling disciples inside, it simply swung its great club, bringing it down viciously upon a distant group of fleeing disciples.

The moment the massive wooden club landed, that entire group of disciples would be turned into meat paste.

"HRAH!"

Just as it seemed this group of disciples was doomed, a figure shot forward with astonishing speed.

The figure’s entire body swelled with power, as if he had become a small giant.

BOOM!

The Cyan Ape Demon Venerable’s earth-shattering strike had been blocked by the figure.

In the next instant, however, the figure let out a wet cough and spat out mouthful after mouthful of blood.

His swollen form, like a deflating balloon, began to rapidly wither away.

"Elder Sect Leader Yue!"

Gu Yunkui rushed over, crying out in grief and fury.

Elder Sect Leader Yue was not his master, but he had been both a mentor and a friend.

Elder Sect Leader Yue already had little of his lifespan remaining. To block that strike from the Cyan Ape Demon Venerable, he had expended every last ounce of his strength.

With that single blow, his life force was all but extinguished.

Even if he wasn’t dead yet, he would die of old age in a year at most.

The Elder Sect Leader understood this perfectly. He simply smiled at Gu Yunkui, then shot forward once more, hurtling toward the Cyan Ape Demon Venerable.

"A mere Dao Fruit Realm cultivator, daring to throw your life away!"

The Cyan Ape Demon Venerable remarked with indifference.

With its mid-sixth-tier cultivation, an attack from a Dao Fruit Realm cultivator could, at most, inflict a superficial wound.

Unless it was actively seeking death, a Dao Fruit Realm cultivator could never be its opponent.

But the Elder Sect Leader had no intention of fighting it.

He knew full well that in his current condition, he would be killed within a few exchanges.

So, the moment he reached the Cyan Ape Demon Venerable, he directly self-detonated his Dao Fruit!

The Dao Fruit is what nurtures Divine Techniques. When a Dao Fruit cultivator self-detonates it, the resulting power is terrifying!

Even the Cyan Ape Demon Venerable hadn’t expected the Elder Sect Leader to self-detonate without a second word.

For a moment, it was as if a miniature sun had appeared in the sky.

A powerful blast, no weaker than an attack from a Manifestation Realm Venerable, slammed violently into the Cyan Ape Demon Venerable’s chest.

Even with its massive, twenty-to-thirty-meter-tall body, it was sent flying back several hundred meters.

"Don’t resist! I’m taking you into the Ten Thousand Dao Scripture Tower!"

Gu Yunkui witnessed the scene, but he had no time to grieve. He just shouted to the nearby disciples of the Black Tortoise Dao Sect.

Just as he finished pulling the nearby disciples into the tower, the Cyan Ape Demon Venerable charged back.

"We can’t keep fighting! We have to retreat! If we don’t go now, our own lives will be at risk!"

One of the Venerables shouted grimly.

The area where they were battling was now clear of guests and disciples.

They had done all they could. He no longer had any will to continue fighting.

He had a vague feeling that if the battle continued, he might lose his physical body here.

Although a Manifestation Realm cultivator could reconstruct their physical body after losing it, the cost was steep, and it would severely hinder their cultivation progress.

No one was willing to sacrifice their physical body for no good reason.

The other Venerables felt the same way.

"Thinking of leaving? It’s not that easy!"

"If we just let you walk away, wouldn’t we nine Demon Venerables, and by extension the Nine Nether Demon Emperor, be utterly humiliated?"

"Forget making an example of you, we’d become the laughingstock of the entire Demon Race!"

One of the Demon Race Venerables sneered viciously.

As he spoke, a talisman emanating a strange aura appeared in the hands of each of the nine Demon Venerables.

’What kind of Talismans are those?’

Upon seeing this, the expressions of Gu Yunkui and the other four Venerables darkened.

They didn’t recognize the Talismans in the Demon Venerables’ hands at all.

Recalling how the Black Tortoise Dao Sect’s Sect Protection Array had mysteriously failed, a terrible premonition surfaced in the hearts of the five Venerables.

’These Talismans... they might be able to trap us here!’

"Who is that person?"

But just then, Shi Youlin suddenly noticed a figure that had quietly appeared among the Demon Venerables.

The figure seemed to have materialized from thin air. None of the battling Venerables, human or demon, had noticed how he appeared.

"Where did this human insect come from? Since you’re here to die, then die!"

Finding the figure to be an eyesore, one of the Demon Venerables opened its massive maw, and a torrent of black-red flame swept toward him.

None of the Demon Venerables could sense any power coming from the figure.

He appeared to be an ordinary person who, for some unknown reason, had come here to die.

"Detonate."

Jiang Zuo scanned the positions of the Demon Venerables. Before the black-red flame could reach his avatar, he gave the quiet command.

BANG!

In the next instant, the Blood Qi Avatar violently exploded.

The phantom of the Mysterious Stele shattered along with it, its fragments carrying pieces of Jiang Zuo’s Origin Power as they shot towards the surrounding Demon Venerables.

"What is that?!"

"We’d better not let it touch us!"

The Blood Qi Avatar’s actions were too bizarre. The Demon Venerables were no fools; they all knew they had to avoid the fragments.

However, they had all revealed their massive true forms for the battle long ago.

And the fragments of the Mysterious Stele’s phantom were, in fact, under Jiang Zuo’s complete control.

The Demon Venerables tried to dodge, but aside from two who excelled at speed, the remaining seven were all struck by the fragments of the exploded Blood Qi Avatar.

The power within the fragments of the Mysterious Stele’s phantom instantly dissipated, and a strange energy began to radiate from the bodies of the seven Demon Race Venerables.

In response to this energy, a gigantic black eyeball materialized in the sky!

"The Celestial Eye Black Pupil?"

Whether it was Gu Yunkui and his fellow human Venerables or the host of Demon Race Venerables, all of them paled at the sight of the giant black eye in the sky.

Any cultivator who had been around for a while was familiar with the Celestial Eye Black Pupil organization.

The Celestial Eye Black Pupil instantly locked onto the seven Demon Race Venerables below.

To their horror, the seven Demon Race Venerables discovered they were completely unable to move.

They could only watch helplessly as jet-black chains emerged from the void, snaking toward them!