Chapter 3437: Tellurium
Compared to its initial state, the Lục Phương Thiên Tôn Đỉnh now exuded an even more profound ancient charm and surging momentum, as if the Witch Ancestor had reappeared in the world, using the cauldron to suppress all nine directions of the universe.
With such an aura emanating from it, how could they not be tense?
The dark power surrounding the cauldron rapidly contracted, flowing back into the hollowed-out patterns.
"Whoosh!"
It transformed into a tiny black speck of light, pierced through the protective formation of the divine ship, and vanished near Trương Nhược Trần at a speed that was utterly impossible to intercept.
"Where did it go? Just now, I clearly saw it flying toward us!" Si Hình Thiên, gripping his battle axe, retreated backward while his eyes searched Trương Nhược Trần's body.
Thiên Cốt Nữ Đế, protected by her sword aura, said, "It seems... after entering within three feet of Trương Nhược Trần, it disappeared!"
Trương Nhược Trần immediately mobilized his mental power and divine soul to inspect his physical body internally.
But after checking three times, he found nothing.
He then proceeded to inspect the internal spaces of the various war artifacts and ancient treasures on his person.
This was too bizarre; his heart felt heavy.
He had personally witnessed the Lục Phương Thiên Tôn Đỉnh shatter the divine technique of that mysterious Heavenly Circle Perfection expert, as well as Phượng Thiên's divine power. The artifact spirit was definitely an extremely terrifying existence.
Being targeted by such a level of bizarre entity would give anyone a headache.
Trương Nhược Trần shook his head at Thiên Cốt Nữ Đế and Hoang Thiên.
Si Hình Thiên, unable to let it go, said, "That shouldn't be the case! With your current cultivation, Trương Nhược Trần, and your perception abilities far surpassing those of cultivators at the same realm, how could it possibly hide from you?"
Thạch Phủ Quân looked at Trương Nhược Trần in terror, his face pale as death, and said, "It's over, Trương Nhược Trần, you're finished. The artifact spirit of the Lục Phương Thiên Tôn Đỉnh has set its sights on you. You're doomed to a bad end."
"Bang!"
Si Hình Thiên slapped Thạch Phủ Quân flying with one palm, sending him crashing through the wall and tumbling into the ship's cabin.
A series of falling and shattering sounds echoed from within the cabin.
Hoang Thiên pondered, "The artifact spirit of the Lục Phương Thiên Tôn Đỉnh definitely has cultivation far surpassing ours. Could it be that what we just saw was merely an illusion, making us think it entered Trương Nhược Trần's body? In reality, it has already fled?"
Just as he finished speaking, another hair-raising aura appeared in front of the divine ship.
At the bow.
Ngư Dao, who was standing within the formation controlling the divine ship, saw a headless stone figure appear ahead.
That headless stone figure was about two meters tall, with many parts of its body damaged and incomplete. Its right arm had been severed, leaving only the left arm. Its body appeared to be carved from stone, quite rough in craftsmanship.
But it had appeared silently and without a sound.
No one knew which direction it had flown in from.
The divine ship suddenly came to a halt. No matter how Ngư Dao activated the formation, the ship simply could not move forward, as if it had been imprisoned within space itself.
Trương Nhược Trần looked around and said, "The spatial inscriptions have completely stopped flowing, locked down tightly. This power..."
"Clang!"
The Vô Gian Thần Kiếm manifested in front of Thiên Cốt Nữ Đế, radiating dazzling brilliance as she swung it horizontally in a slash.
The moment it flew out of the divine ship, the Vô Gian Thần Kiếm seemed to strike an invisible iron wall and was deflected back, its tip piercing through the deck beneath Thiên Cốt Nữ Đế's feet and penetrating the entire ship.
Everyone on the divine ship held their breath.
For space to be locked down to this degree, to the point where even a Thần Tôn and a divine sword could not break through, it was clear that the opponent had mastered the order of space.
Si Hình Thiên stared at the broken stone figure and whispered, "Could he be that taboo existence from the Night Soil? He doesn't look like it, though... doesn't seem all that powerful..."
Suddenly, the protective formation of the divine ship was crushed.
Spatial compression forces surged from all directions, and in an instant, the ship's hull shrank to the size of a palm, like an iron ball.
Within that palm-sized space, Trương Nhược Trần, Hoang Thiên, Thiên Cốt Nữ Đế, Si Hình Thiên, and Ngư Dao all exerted their utmost strength, each employing their own methods to barely maintain their existence.
Even so, the iron ball continued to shrink...
Until it was only the size of a jujube pit.
Trương Nhược Trần used the Thái Cực Tứ Tượng Đồ to hold up such a tiny sliver of space for everyone.
"I take back what I said earlier. This is indeed a formidable character, at least at the level of Chư Thiên." Si Hình Thiên, covered in demonic patterns, strained with all his might to hold on.
Trương Nhược Trần, his body now only the size of a grain of sand, summoned the Địa Đỉnh and said, "The opponent's realm is unfathomable. We cannot fight back. Let's hide inside the Địa Đỉnh first."
"We can't move. Space has been compressed into a solidified state. We're now as if inside a spatial crystal. The density of space here is even higher than the interior of a divine source!" Hoang Thiên said.
Seeing that he could not directly use spatial power to force the Lục Phương Thiên Tôn Đỉnh out, the headless stone figure extended its left arm and spread its five fingers.
The jujube-sized iron ball flew toward his palm.
"Whoosh!"
At that moment, a dazzling golden light came from the north, colliding with the iron ball.
Together, the iron ball and the golden light flew millions of miles away, putting a vast distance between them and the headless stone figure.
The golden light condensed into a dashing figure—dragon horns on his head, broad shoulders and a thick build, golden hair flowing in the void. It was the Long Chủ, who had come to rendezvous with Trương Nhược Trần and Thiên Cốt Nữ Đế!
Not far away, the jujube-sized iron ball shattered and rapidly expanded, and Trương Nhược Trần and the others flew out from within.
The Long Chủ was confronting the headless stone figure. Though he had not made a move, the space between them had already collapsed, shattering into a chaotic zone.
"Pfft!"
Blood sprayed from the Long Chủ's mouth as he staggered backward.
Trương Nhược Trần and Si Hình Thiên rushed forward, supporting him from both sides.
"You all need to leave now. I'll hold him off."
The Long Chủ's expression was extremely grim. He knew full well how terrifying the headless stone figure was—with his cultivation, there was no way he could safely lead Trương Nhược Trần and the others to escape.
But strangely, the headless stone figure did not press the advantage. After taking two steps forward, it stopped.
Trương Nhược Trần turned to look and saw an old, worn wooden boat appearing dozens of miles away.
An old man with graying hair stood at the bow, holding a fishing rod.
A vast sea of stars spread out beneath the wooden boat.
The spatial rules flowed rapidly, and the headless stone figure, which had been millions of miles away, was pushed back to billions of miles away.
The arrival of the Tinh Hải Thùy Điếu Giả instantly relaxed the tense hearts of everyone.
The Tinh Hải Thùy Điếu Giả said, "You are indeed a hegemon of an era, and I admire that. But the heavenly rules of the current universe have long since changed. Until you adapt to them, you are far from being invincible under heaven."
"When I become invincible under heaven, you will all pay the price you deserve." The headless stone figure left these words and vanished into the void.
"I hope you still have that day."
The smile on the Tinh Hải Thùy Điếu Giả's face gradually faded, his gaze turning heavy. He then looked at Trương Nhược Trần and the others and said, "All of you, come aboard!"
The wooden boat was not small, about thirty meters long, with a wooden mast standing at its center.
The mast was severely decayed, as if it might snap at any moment.
Everyone knew that this wooden boat was by no means ordinary—it could be considered one of the most mysterious treasures in the universe. But once aboard, no one dared to act rashly. Even Si Hình Thiên behaved himself, not daring to touch or look around carelessly.
Thạch Phủ Quân cautiously glanced down beneath the wooden boat and saw a brilliant starry sky stretching for trillions of miles.
But how was that possible?
From outside the boat, one could also see a starry sky beneath it, but it was nowhere near that vast!
Could it be that this was the true scene?
Did the wooden boat possess a special spatial domain, always accompanied by a sea of stars spanning trillions of miles? To board the boat, one had to cross that sea of stars?
Thạch Phủ Quân looked toward Si Hình Thiên, only to see Si Hình Thiên standing tall and proud, looking completely composed.
Inside the wooden boat.
The old fisherman suspended his palm above Trương Nhược Trần's head, his mental power descending like a mist of light. After a long moment, he withdrew it and gently shook his head. "The Lục Phương Thiên Tôn Đỉnh should not be on you. Of course, if it truly is on you and I cannot detect it, then that can only mean its artifact spirit is, as the old stone ghost speculated, the Thạch Cơ Nương Nương of that era."
Everyone in the boat was as if turned to stone, staring at the old fisherman in disbelief.
Even the Long Chủ, seated in his chair, was filled with shock, having lost his usual composure and elegance.
The old fisherman chuckled. "Scared by that? Since ancient times, the universe has given birth to many extraordinarily gifted figures, each achieving great accomplishments. But no matter how glorious or dazzling they were, none could contend with heaven and earth, and in the end, none escaped death."
"Many people saw through all of this, knowing that the universe has its fixed destiny, and that immortality is nothing but an illusory dream."
"But some refused to accept it, using every conceivable method to prolong their lives. Many of the bizarre occurrences in this world were caused by them! Unfortunately, the endings of these people were all tragic, meeting bad ends. Heaven and earth would suppress them from every angle, severing their power."
"Even at the peak of their glory, they could not contend with heaven and earth—let alone now?"
The old fisherman was exactly as Bạch Khanh Nhi had described—simple, easygoing in temperament, and bearing no aura of authority.
Trương Nhược Trần said, "So you're saying that Thạch Thiên suspects the Thạch Cơ Nương Nương might have used the cicada shedding its shell trick—abandoning her original stone body, borrowing the Lục Phương Thiên Tôn Đỉnh as her new vessel, concealing herself from heaven and earth's perception, and awakening in this era?"
The old fisherman said, "In the universe, for a Vô Lượng-level powerhouse to be born silently is not impossible, but it is truly too difficult! Moreover, the power the Lục Phương Thiên Tôn Đỉnh unleashed is not something an ordinary Bất Diệt Vô Lượng can compare to. Tellurium's head was broken off by it and taken into the cauldron. That is also why Tellurium came after you all!"
Thiên Cốt Nữ Đế voiced the doubt in her heart, "Is Tellurium really a Bán Tổ?"
"Perhaps so! But parts of its stone body were taken by each of us, and the heavenly rules of this era suppress it. For now, it cannot be invincible under heaven!" the old fisherman said.
The Long Chủ said, "It is still a great threat!"
The old fisherman appeared quite indifferent. "Let Hạo Thiên and Phong Đô Đại Đế worry about that. They are the current Thiên Tôn and should bear the greatest responsibility. What a pity... ah, the decisive battle between Địa Ngục Giới and Thiên Đình should not have erupted at this time. Kình Thương, Diêm Nhân Hoàn, Cửu Tử Dị Thiên Hoàng and the others were too arrogant, misjudging the situation. Pulling one hair moves the whole body—they gave the Lượng Tổ Chức and the Loạn Cổ Ma Thần an opening! The times are truly about to change!"
Trương Nhược Trần was the one with the real headache.
Although the old fisherman said the probability that the Lục Phương Thiên Tôn Đỉnh's artifact spirit was the Thạch Cơ Nương Nương was very small, and that it probably wasn't on him—but what if?
Even if it was only a one-in-ten-million chance, it was enough to keep Trương Nhược Trần from sleeping or eating in peace.
What was even more troubling was that Tellurium seemed convinced the Lục Phương Thiên Tôn Đỉnh was on him. In order to reclaim its head, it would definitely come after him again.
He had finally achieved perfection in the four images, entered the Vô Lượng level, and could be crowned king and honored as a lord—yet now he had provoked two legendary ancient figures, each more taboo than the last.
Even the old fisherman could not completely resolve the hidden dangers on his person.
(End of Chapter)