Chapter 235: A Sword Cultivator Who Knows Wood Escape
Amid everyone's anticipation, Gu Mo's sword-cultivator avatar turned into a streak of sword light and shot toward the glowing jade treasure chest. Just when everyone thought the chest was within easy reach, a wooden wall suddenly rose up, blocking the avatar's path.
Seeing this, the sword light that Gu Mo had become swerved sharply, trying to bypass the wooden wall and attack from another angle.
But before he could get close, another wooden wall sprang up. Then several more appeared in succession, enclosing the jade treasure chest completely.
"Great Sun Golden Crow Sword!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Gu Mo's sword-cultivator avatar burst forth with full force once more. His blazing Great Sun Sword slashed down upon the wooden wall, splintering wood into flying shards.
Yet even this strike failed to shatter it. Compared to the vine net from before, the wooden wall's defense was far stronger.
"This… this trial's difficulty is way too high!"
Seeing this, the crowd of True Disciples who had been brimming with anticipation now voiced their doubts. That wooden wall was clearly the body of the plant-demon king itself.
Breaking through the body defense of a mid-stage fourth-rank plant-demon king was something a mere Core Formation cultivator simply could not do.
"Unless they advance to Nascent Soul…"
As that thought crossed their minds, everyone's faces changed. The arrangement of this jade treasure chest looked very much like it had been deliberately set up in advance.
And right now a Demon Sect True Disciple was in the midst of breaking through. Once he became a Nascent Soul, wouldn't that mean he could claim this jade treasure chest? With Nascent Soul cultivation plus the chest's treasure, he would be invincible in the Heavenly Chosen Battle.
"What a scheme!"
Outside, the righteous sect leaders thought the same. But since the two jade treasure chests had been arranged by Void-Refining sovereigns, even if they were dissatisfied, they said nothing.
Otherwise, the Taiqing Sect's patriarch would definitely have erupted in curses.
"Same goes for you!"
The Demon Sect side, naturally, was unwilling to concede. Wasn't the other jade treasure chest's setup tilted toward the righteous sects? The Demon Sect was inherently selfish in nature. Any trial requiring cooperation would put them at a disadvantage.
Even if their Heavenly Chosen eliminated all of the righteous disciples, in the end the Demon Sect's own would still fight one another to the death for the treasure chest.
The chest's conditions were a bait to lure Demon Sect geniuses into mutual slaughter.
In truth, this Heavenly Chosen Battle was riddled with schemes from both sides. For now, the Demon Sect held the advantage. After all, while the righteous sects had to preserve some appearance of honor when plotting, the Demon Sect needed none. "Face" was only granted by strength.
As long as you were strong enough, no one dared criticize you.
"Sigh!"
Gu Mo's avatar gazed at the wooden wall, then shook his head. With the sword-cultivator avatar's current strength, he could not break it.
After all, this avatar was only at early Core Formation. Relying on his twelve sword cores, the Great Sun Sword Intent, and Immortal Force as buffs, he could just barely defeat an early fourth-rank demon king.
But against a mid-stage fourth-rank plant-demon king, the gap was simply too great.
Still, Gu Mo had no intention of giving up. He possessed a newly acquired secret technique—the Heaven-Demon Disintegration Method. If he could master it, his sword-cultivator avatar's ultimate combat power would rise another tier, giving him a real chance to break through the wooden wall.
The problem was…
Gu Mo's gaze turned toward the distance, eyes narrowing. The heavenly tribulation there had faded, replaced by a surge of powerful aura. That meant the Demon Sect True Disciple had already succeeded in his breakthrough.
"Not good!"
The other righteous True Disciples also noticed. Their expressions instantly darkened. Next, they would have to face a True Disciple-level Nascent Soul Demon Lord.
If it were some ordinary Nascent Soul, they still had confidence. As top-tier sect disciples, they could fight on equal terms. But this was a top sect's True Disciple who had broken through—the kind whose strength would utterly eclipse others of the same realm.
As for using their identity tokens to withdraw immediately—none of them considered it. To flee without even fighting would be too disgraceful.
With countless eyes watching, whoever ran now would be branded a coward forever.
Win or lose, they had to fight at least once to show their stance. Righteous True Disciples each had life-preserving trump cards, so they were not entirely afraid of that Nascent Soul Demon Lord.
But Gu Mo's avatar had no such safety net. No one knew this better than Xuan Tianhen. At this moment, he was the most anxious.
Who had forced the Demon Sect to use its hidden trump cards early? Who had slain two of their True Disciples? It was Lin Wu of the Grand Yan Sword Sect. Any fool could guess who that newly ascended Demon Sect True Disciple's first target would be.
"Should I pull the avatar back?"
Even Gu Mo himself wavered. The Demon Sect had finished their breakthrough and would soon arrive. If he had time to comprehend the Heaven-Demon Disintegration Method, victory was still possible.
With the transmission jade slip, learning its basics was not difficult. The true challenge was bearing the immense price of its power.
Unfortunately, there was no time. That rising Nascent Soul aura was rushing toward them at great speed.
"One more try."
The avatar's eyes fixed on the wooden wall. He still had one other method to break through, though it would be better performed by his true body. With just the avatar, he wasn't sure.
But with things as they were, he had to try. If he struck before the plant-demon king prepared itself, there was still a chance.
With that thought, Gu Mo charged straight for the wall.
"It's useless!"
Seeing him attack again, both the distant True Disciples and the outside spectators shook their heads. They all knew the wooden wall conjured by the plant-demon king was absolutely beyond a Core Formation's ability to break.
Even the plant-demon king itself didn't believe this human could breach its defense. At this moment, it was far more concerned with the approaching Nascent Soul aura—that was the real threat.
In just an instant, Gu Mo's avatar had reached the wooden wall. Normally, this would be the perfect moment to strike with the sword.
But instead of slowing down, he rammed straight into the wall.
"What is he doing!"
Everyone was stunned. A sword cultivator abandoning his sword to smash in with his body?
Yet the expected violent collision never came. Instead, Gu Mo's avatar slipped into the wall like a stone vanishing into water.
"It's Wood Escape!"
The master of Shennong Valley was the first to react.
"What?"
Hearing this, the sect masters of Taiqing Sect, Yin-Yang Sword Sect, and even the other three demonic sects all looked stunned. What had they just heard? A sword cultivator actually used Wood Escape?
Did that make any sense?
"How should I know!"
The Shennong Valley master spread his hands, equally puzzled. Sword cultivators were said to be unable to practice escape techniques. Take Metal Escape, for instance—that was considered the most suitable for sword cultivators.
But Wood Escape? That really didn't suit sword cultivators. Since Lin Wu had the ability to comprehend Wood Escape, why hadn't he cultivated the far more suitable Metal Escape instead?
While everyone was baffled, shocked, and confused, the spirit-plant demon king let out an unwilling growl. At the same time, the wooden wall dissolved, revealing Gu Mo's sword-cultivator avatar standing in front of the jade treasure chest.
Gu Mo's true body and avatar shared a unified consciousness. That trace of Wood Escape comprehension grasped by his true body could naturally also be used by the avatar. However, since the avatar's body did not contain wood-element power, his Wood Escape was not nearly as smooth.
Even so, Wood Escape was still a top-tier divine escape technique. As long as there was vegetation, nothing could block it. Combined with the demon king's momentary carelessness, it gave Gu Mo the chance he needed. If the spirit-plant demon king had focused, he could have instantly rejected Gu Mo the moment he entered.
After all, that wooden wall was part of the demon king's own body. With such a gap in strength, forcing out an intruder was hardly difficult.
Unfortunately, the demon king's attention was fixed on the newly born human Nascent Soul far away, leaving an opening for Gu Mo.
Though Gu Mo had only grasped the outer layer of Wood Escape, making it impossible to move within, it was enough to pass through the wooden wall. Entering from outside and exiting directly within—no need to shift around.
And since the wooden wall was practically pressed against the jade chest, the moment Gu Mo emerged he was standing right before it. By the rules, anyone who reached the chest fulfilled the condition to open it.
At that point, the demon king had no choice but to stop. If he acted further, it would count as breaking the rules—and the consequences of that, the demon king clearly had no intention of testing.
"This, this, this…"
As the wooden wall faded and Gu Mo's avatar appeared, everyone was struck dumb. No one had expected things to unfold like this.
In that instant, the six sect masters of the righteous and demonic paths faintly sensed a subtle fluctuation in the sky. Someone was up there, and both sides knew it—that was the two Soul Transformation sovereigns, the very pillars maintaining order in this Heavenly Chosen battle.
Judging by that aura, one of the sovereigns was clearly displeased. As to which one… everyone knew.
High above.
"Wanxue Demon Lord, it seems your plan has failed," said a beautiful woman with pale skin, long dark-green hair, and a thorned crown upon her brow. She smiled as she looked at the burly man across from her, whose entire body radiated blood-qi.
"Qing Sovereign, that jade chest's treasure seems to have been placed by you, hasn't it?" Wanxue Demon Lord quickly reined in his emotions and asked casually.
At that, Qing Sovereign's smile froze. She had seen through his scheme long ago and had already countered it—by ensuring the jade chest contained an item that would not increase combat strength.
That way, even if the demonic sect's disciple obtained it, their power would not be improved.
Who could have guessed, however, that a monstrous talent would appear on her own side, someone who used the most unbelievable Wood Escape to pass through the demon king's wall and open the chest.
Now Qing Sovereign couldn't help but feel regret. If the chest had held a powerful artifact, victory might still have been possible for her faction. But instead…
"What… is this?"
Gu Mo's avatar opened the chest, and inside lay a spirit stone the size of a meditation cushion. It was the first time he had seen one so large.
"A supreme-grade spirit stone, and that big—engraved with a spirit-gathering formation too! That's an incredible treasure for cultivation!"
As Gu Mo lifted the cushion-sized spirit stone, the entire audience erupted.
In the cultivation world, spirit stones were hard currency. Supreme-grade stones were already at the level of treasures. Unlike ordinary stones, which were depleted once used, a supreme-grade stone could continuously draw in ambient qi, and with a spirit-gathering formation, the effect was even stronger.
The larger the stone, the greater the qi it amassed. With this cushion-sized supreme stone and the array, it could create a cultivation environment comparable to a tier-4 supreme spiritual vein.
Of course, only within that cushion-sized range—but for a single cultivator, it was more than enough.
"A tier-4 supreme spiritual vein environment… push it further, could it reach tier-5? A tier-5 environment could grow tier-5 sunflowers…"
As Gu Mo studied the stone, excitement welled in his chest.
It was a fine treasure, extremely useful to him—but for now, it did nothing to improve his combat power.
"Hahaha, outsmarted yourself—"
The demonic sect masters, gloomy after Gu Mo's success, suddenly brightened. Seeing that the treasure did not enhance strength, their hearts lifted.
But before one of them could finish his mocking remark, a cold snort thundered in their minds. Immediately, all three shut their mouths.
Still, in their hearts they already believed the demonic sects had won this Heavenly Chosen battle. Victory alone, however, was not enough.
Killing Lin Wu—and cutting down more righteous sect heirs—that would make it a true triumph. Especially Lin Wu. That freak had to die. So long as he lived, none of them could rest easy.
"He's here!"
The righteous sect disciples, who had retreated beyond the spirit-plant demon king's reach, now looked solemnly at the rolling blood cloud approaching.
This time, the one breaking through to Nascent Soul was Blood Demon Sect's heir.
"Lin Wu, come out and fight!"
From within the blood cloud strode a black-clothed youth. His voice spread in all directions. Having succeeded in his breakthrough, he brimmed with boundless confidence.
In his eyes, he was now invincible in this Heavenly Chosen battle. Even the spirit-plant demon king no longer frightened him—besides, with the jade chest already claimed, he had no reason to challenge it.
His foremost goal was to eliminate Lin Wu. Everything else could wait.
"So, within the demon king's range, the identity tokens really can't be activated."
Walking out of the woods with the jade chest prize in hand, Gu Mo's avatar felt this battle was already a success. He briefly considered leaving—after all, losing the stone would be a pity.
But within the demon king's aura, identity tokens could not be used. Whether this was merely the influence of its power, or deliberately set to prevent loophole abuse, Gu Mo felt the latter was more likely.
"Well then, let's test this demonic heir's new Nascent Soul strength."
Gu Mo fixed his gaze on the figure in the rolling blood cloud.
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