The Pu Ji Immortal Team, currently navigating the Earth Element World of the Seven Stars Pagoda, also received this news. Looking at the tens of thousands of military merits they had painstakingly earned through fierce battles, he instantly felt that cultivation was perhaps meaningless.
"Master suppressed the Thousand Spirit King of the Nine Abyss Starfield and the Mang Ya True Immortal on Thousand Stars Island?" Upon hearing this news, even though Nan Zun knew his master was no ordinary person, he was still shocked.
"I remember True Immortal Qiong Yu once said that killing a sealed king expert would earn ten million military merits. Doesn't that mean master now has over twenty million military merits?" Blood Demon Flood Dragon's voice trembled slightly.
This was simply too ruthless. In the tens of thousands of years since the Starry Sky Battlefield was established, no cultivator at the Soul Transformation stage had ever achieved this.
"With Senior Ten Absolutes' strength, he could likely enter the Void Returning realm at any moment. This is truly incredible," Pu Ji True Immortal even changed his form of address.
Previously, they could still address each other as fellow Daoists, but now, he could only respectfully call him Senior. This was because they were no longer on the same level; how could they be fellow Daoists?
...
The foremost expert stationed in the Nine Abyss Starfield was the Glazed Immortal King, who could rival Immortal King Zhen Cang. Due to cultivating a technique called the Glazed Immortal King Body, his skin appeared as lustrous as white jade.
"The Thousand Spirit King and Mang Ya True Immortal are not dead yet. It seems that Ten Absolutes True Immortal only suppressed them and hasn't refined them. There might still be room for maneuver in this matter," Glazed Immortal King transformed into a stream of light and flew towards the opposite side of the star river.
Sealed King level experts were crucial figures in the Nine Abyss Starfield. If possible, Glazed Immortal King naturally wanted to preserve their lives, even at some cost.
As long as they were alive, they had a great hope of condensing Dao Origin in the future and becoming supreme experts beneath Immortal Kings.
At the same time, with the emergence of the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable's dojo, Glazed Immortal King intended to meet Immortal King Zhen Cang to discuss how to deal with this Immortal Venerable's dojo.
...
Zhang Fan naturally knew the great stir his actions on Thousand Stars Island would cause, but he didn't care at all. As his strength grew, fewer and fewer things could capture his attention.
"The spacetime in the Dark Forest frequently changes, but the last time I went to that secret realm was a year ago. It shouldn't disappear so quickly," Fairy Zi Ling said as they approached the edge of the Dark Forest, looking at the endless darkness before them.
"Lead the way," Zhang Fan nodded and spread his primordial spirit power to scan the situation inside the Dark Forest. Here, eyesight was useless. Perhaps the Candle Dragon's Eye could help, but it wasn't necessary.
Vast amounts of dark matter accumulated, forming various bizarre landscapes. Dark stars floated in the Dark Forest, constantly devouring the surrounding dark matter.
Here, Zhang Fan could also sense the gentle flow of star river water, which gathered from all directions of the Dark Forest and eventually flowed into the star river.
"This must be your first time in the Dark Forest, right? How does it feel?" Fairy Zi Ling asked.
"Actually, it's not my first time," Zhang Fan shook his head. He had been to similar extraterritorial spaces formed by unique cosmic substances like the Dark Forest more than once. Although each was slightly different, they were largely the same, and nothing here surprised him.
Perhaps a moment ago he sensed a mountain peak ahead, but after taking a step, spacetime had already shifted. Fairy Zi Ling had left a special mark in that secret realm. Guided by the mark, she led Zhang Fan around the perimeter of the Dark Forest for several days before finally reaching their destination.
It was a valley-like terrain. Large amounts of dark matter had accumulated, forming two infinitely tall peaks. From tens of millions of miles away, Zhang Fan could sense the rich aura of Dark Origin Crystals in the valley.
"These are a group of ferocious beasts shaped like giant crocodiles. Their territory is within a million miles of that valley. If we step into it, we will be attacked. If we can't resist, they won't pursue us if we retreat outside that range. This is a rule I discovered with my life on the line," Fairy Zi Ling still felt a lingering fear recalling it.
"You stumbled into this place and managed to escape alive. That's quite lucky," Zhang Fan said with a smile.
The leader of the ferocious beasts was a peak Great Dao realm existence. Fairy Zi Ling, merely at the peak of the Soul Transformation realm, managing to escape from its clutches was indeed impressive.
"Just follow me later. If the situation turns bad, I'll retreat immediately with you," Zhang Fan instructed.
Although Fairy Zi Ling mentioned there was only one peak Great Dao realm expert, no one could guarantee that there weren't other powerful ferocious beasts hidden in the shadows. In this Dark Forest, even a powerful expert at the Void Returning level had to tread carefully. Zhang Fan was naturally not arrogant and was prepared to retreat at any time.
"Okay," Fairy Zi Ling's eyes held a peculiar look. She glanced at Zhang Fan with a strange feeling in her heart. In this Starry Sky Battlefield, she was once the strongest expert in the Violet Firmament Starfield, and other cultivators followed her on expeditions. Never before had anyone spoken to her like this.
As they drew closer, an incredibly oppressive dark aura enveloped her heart. If Zhang Fan weren't leading the way, Fairy Zi Ling would have already felt the urge to retreat. A peak Great Dao realm ferocious beast was still too powerful for her at the moment; a single mistake could cost her life.
"We're about to enter their territory. Once the dark ferocious beasts attack, I will quickly slay them. As long as we collect the primordial spirits of over thirty dark ferocious beasts, we can directly seize the Dark Origin Crystals," Zhang Fan whispered into Fairy Zi Ling's ear.
"Attack!"
As they approached within a million miles of the dark ferocious beasts' territory, the surrounding spacetime rippled. Dark ferocious beasts, shaped like ancient giant crocodiles, darted out and lunged at the two of them.
The dark ferocious beasts were enormous, each exceeding a hundred feet in length. Facing the overwhelming tide of dark ferocious beasts, Zhang Fan and Fairy Zi Ling were as insignificant as ants looking up at the sky.
Zhang Fan wielded his Blood Refinement Divine Weapon, his sword light like silk, easily slicing through the dark ferocious beasts. Simultaneously, he tossed out the Myriad Beast Cauldron, which hovered above his head. The primordial spirits of every dark ferocious beast he killed were absorbed into the Myriad Beast Cauldron.
"This is monstrous!" Fairy Zi Ling was also a master of the Sword Dao, but she found that her Sword Dao's power was still vastly inferior to Zhang Fan's, leaving her utterly perplexed. Could the Sword Dao truly have different levels of power?
The weakest of these dark ferocious beasts could rival cultivators at the late Soul Transformation stage. Among the strongest few, they had already approached Fairy Zi Ling's level, but before Zhang Fan, they were no different. He reaped the lives of the frenziedly surging dark ferocious beasts as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.
...