Chapter 580 553: Besieged by an Array

The Land of Wood was a dense forest, over fifty thousand li from the Land of Gold. Zhaang Ye estimated it would take him just two days to get there.

"AWOOO!"

A jet-black Long-winged Eagle with a wingspan of three hundred zhang suddenly dove from the void, its two razor-sharp talons aimed straight for Zhaang Ye.

"SWISH!"

Without even looking up, Zhaang Ye brandished his Broken Wave Saber. A fierce Sword Gang split the air, slicing the Long-winged Eagle in two and staining the void with blood.

After storing the Long-winged Eagle's carcass in the Fire Spirit Realm, a hint of confusion appeared on Zhaang Ye's face. He muttered, "Strange, so strange. The Barbaric Beasts in the Sword Monarch Ruins seem to have grown violent. Who could have provoked them?"

The Sword Monarch Ruins spanned hundreds of thousands of li, and while it was home to many Barbaric Beasts, they all had their own territories. For instance, that six-thousand-zhang Flood Dragon's territory was its lake.

Barbaric Beasts normally didn't leave their territory unless something unusual happened to make them roam. Since leaving the Land of Gold, Zhaang Ye had run into dozens of them, which was highly abnormal.

Zhaang Ye pondered for a moment before continuing on his way. After traveling another hundred li, he saw a massive swarm of giant, bloodsucking bats madly converging on and attacking a young man in yellow robes. Under the assault of the giant bats, the young man was covered in blood. A few bats had even sunk their sharp fangs into his body.

Zhaang Ye's brow twitched. The yellow-robed youth was from the Green Cloud Sect. If he didn't intervene, the man would surely die under the giant bats' claws.

With a quick thought, Zhaang Ye's Broken Wave Saber instantly slashed forty-nine times. Forty-nine Sword Gangs crisscrossed the void, flashing across several li in an instant to slaughter over a hundred of the giant bats. The hundred-jin bats rained down from the sky.

"SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!"

Seeing that the situation had turned against them, the giant bats let out a few sharp cries, spread their wings, and flew away.

Having casually dealt with the bats, Zhaang Ye continued to use his Body Technique, heading toward the Land of Wood.

Watching Zhaang Ye's departing figure, the yellow-robed youth's face revealed a hint of hesitation. After a moment, a vicious glint flashed in his eyes as he took a Jade Talisman from his robes.

"PUFF!"

The young man activated the Array on the Jade Talisman, and a strange ripple of energy shot off into the distance.

In a dense forest, Ba Xiongfei was sitting cross-legged under a giant fruit tree, silently engaged in Cultivation.

Suddenly, a world-shaking aura erupted from Ba Xiongfei. A vast power swept out, pulverizing everything within a thousand-zhang radius. The sound of displaced air was like the rumbling of deep thunder.

"HAHAHAHAHA! I've finally advanced to the True Dao Sixth Layer!" Ba Xiongfei shot to his feet, his hair whipping in the wind, his face ecstatic.

Now that Ba Xiongfei's Cultivation had reached the True Dao Sixth Layer, his strength had at least doubled. As he laughed boisterously, the trees for a hundred li around trembled faintly.

The elegant and beautiful figure of Jade Fox slowly appeared. She said softly, "Congratulations, Senior Brother, on your successful breakthrough. Now, I'm afraid even Qi Qingle is no longer your match."

Ba Xiongfei laughed heartily and said with arrogance, "Of course! I have only one opponent now, and that is Shui Daimai. Qi Qingle's combat prowess may be decent, but he's no longer worthy of my attention. As for Zhaang Ye, within one month, I will personally snap his neck and make him die in despair before my very eyes! I am now invincible among my peers!"

After another burst of laughter, Ba Xiongfei's gaze fell upon Jade Fox's face. Seeing her incomparably stunning beauty, his heart skipped a beat. Just as he was considering confessing his feelings to her, a strange ripple of energy emanated from his robes.

Ba Xiongfei took out a Jade Talisman. After glancing at the message on it, his eyes suddenly lit up. He clenched his fist and said, "Excellent! Someone has found Zhaang Ye! Zhaang Ye, let's see how you escape death this time!"

Jade Fox glanced at the message and smiled faintly. "Zhaang Ye is heading towards the Land of Wood. From what I know, Beibing Feng also entered the Land of Wood three days ago. We can inform him and have him intercept Zhaang Ye first."

Ba Xiongfei nodded. "Beibing Feng is a master of Arrays. If he secretly sets one up, he can definitely trap Zhaang Ye. As long as Zhaang Ye is trapped for a day or two, I can get there and kill him!"

…

After traveling for a day without rest, Zhaang Ye reached the outskirts of the Land of Wood. As far as the eye could see, there were lush, green trees, and all sorts of Barbaric Beasts roamed the forest.

"ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!"

Seeing Zhaang Ye approach, the Barbaric Beasts charged at him one after another.

The combat strength of these Barbaric Beasts was only equivalent to a True Dao Fourth or Fifth Layer expert, so Zhaang Ye had no difficulty dealing with them. With his Broken Wave Saber, he cut them down one by one, instantly slaying dozens.

"SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!"

As Zhaang Ye slayed the Barbaric Beasts, he collected their corpses into his Fire Spirit Realm. With the addition of the beast carcasses, the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi within the Fire Spirit Realm grew richer.

The Land of Wood was home to a vast number of Medicinal Herbs, many of which had grown for hundreds of years. After traversing several dozen li through the dense forest, Zhaang Ye had already collected quite a few, including three herbs that were a thousand years old. Although their effects were not as potent as Spirit Elixirs, they were more than sufficient for refining ordinary Elixirs.

A clear fragrance wafted from the distance, and large groups of Barbaric Beasts were madly stampeding in the direction of the scent.

The Fire Spirit suddenly popped out and clamored, "Master, Master, I smell a Spirit Fruit! A Spirit Fruit must be ripening in the distance! Let's hurry over and grab it!"

Zhaang Ye nodded and sped toward the fragrance. The Essence Qi contained in a Spirit Fruit was even purer than that of an Essence Stone and was very easy to absorb. Furthermore, different Spirit Fruits had different medicinal effects and could be used in Alchemy and for concocting remedies. Zhaang Ye would never pass up such a good thing.

After traveling another hundred li, a small, three-zhang-tall tree appeared before Zhaang Ye. It grew on a ten-thousand-zhang cliff, shrouded in mist, and bore three fist-sized fruits. Although the fruits weren't ripe yet, they were already emitting waves of alluring fragrance.

"ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!"

A large number of Barbaric Beasts had gathered at the base of the cliff. They stared at the small tree above and let out thunderous roars. Some of the larger, more powerful beasts began to ram the cliff, trying to knock the fruit down.

Zhaang Ye's gaze was fixed on the three fruits. He said in slight astonishment, "These three fruits seem to be Jade Marrow Fruits! Haha, to think that the Sword Monarch Ruins would actually have such a treasure!"

The Fire Spirit said excitedly, "That's right, Jade Marrow Fruits! This is a Seventh Grade Spirit Fruit! It can rapidly increase one's Cultivation! Master, if you consume a Jade Marrow Fruit, breaking through to the True Dao Fourth Layer Mid Stage will be no problem at all!"

The Jade Marrow Fruits slowly turned red, their fragrance growing ever more intense. The rich scent attracted Barbaric Beasts from hundreds of li around, and more and more of them gathered at the base of the cliff.

"ROAR!"

Conflicts immediately broke out among the gathered Barbaric Beasts, and they began to fight and kill each other.

Just as Zhaang Ye was about to fly up the cliff, a loud laugh suddenly echoed from above. With the laughter, a familiar figure appeared next to the Jade Marrow Fruit tree.

The person who had suddenly appeared was none other than Beibing Feng.

Zhaang Ye's pupils contracted slightly. He said, "Beibing Feng?"

Beibing Feng laughed. "The one and only! Zhaang Ye, you can forget about these three Jade Marrow Fruits. You should be more concerned with how to save your own skin right now."

Zhaang Ye's heart skipped a beat; he sensed that something was wrong. Just as he was about to attack, his surroundings suddenly went dark. The entire world seemed to spin, making it impossible to tell north from south!

Zhaang Ye was shocked. 'Hmm? This Beibing Feng actually set up an Array under the Jade Marrow tree, and I walked right into it! This is trouble!'

Beibing Feng's smug voice drifted over from the distance. "HAHAHAHAHA! Zhaang Ye, you've fallen into my Heaven and Earth Inversion Array! Let's see how you handle this! You're dead today, Zhaang Ye!"

"ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!"

Before Beibing Feng's voice had faded, Barbaric Beasts began charging toward Zhaang Ye. He swung his Broken Wave Saber repeatedly, cutting down the incoming beasts. But there were a startling number of them. Even after Zhaang Ye had slain dozens, the beasts kept coming in an endless, inexhaustible stream!

Beibing Feng's voice echoed again. "HAHAHAHAHA! After entering the Heaven and Earth Inversion Array, these Barbaric Beasts can't distinguish direction, nor can they tell heaven from earth. They can only rely on their sense of smell. The more you kill, the more will be drawn to you. Zhaang Ye, you are dead today! No one can save you!"

Zhaang Ye extended his Spiritual Sense, searching for an Array-Breaking Technique. However, this Heaven and Earth Inversion Array contained all sorts of mysteries and myriad Transformations. Zhaang Ye's Saber Technique was formidable, but he knew very little about the Array Dao. For the moment, he couldn't find a way to break it.

Feeling helpless, Zhaang Ye had no choice but to ask the Fire Spirit, "Fire Spirit, you spent a long time in a Spatial Array. This Heaven and Earth Inversion Array seems to involve the Space Dao. Can you break it?"

The Fire Spirit replied with certainty, "I can! I've never seen this Array before, but breaking it shouldn't be a problem. However, this Array is a full ten li wide, so it will take some time to decipher."

Hearing that the Fire Spirit could break the Array, Zhaang Ye immediately calmed down. "This Array can trap me, but it can't harm me. Go ahead and break it without worry."

At that moment, Beibing Feng's smug voice drifted down again. "Zhaang Ye! Just you wait! After I consume these three Jade Marrow Fruits and advance to the True Dao Sixth Layer, I will personally come down and kill you! HAHAHAHAHA!"

-

I broke my promise, my deepest apologies!