Chapter 1401: Peak of the Cloud Sea, The Mantis Stalks the Cicada

Chapter 1401: Peak of the Cloud Sea, The Mantis Stalks the Cicada (First update)

The stout Cultivator surnamed Xu performed Hand Seals, causing the beads of his abacus to spin rapidly around his body. With a wave of his hand, these beads transformed into a strange pattern that suddenly appeared before him.

The pattern looked like an unfinished chess game, and the beads, having become like chess pieces, were scattered as if they were stars in the sky.

The Cultivator wore a solemn expression, muttering incantations. He raised his right hand to perform Hand Seals and pointed forward urgently. In an instant, the abacus beads, resembling a chess game, shot straight toward the red mist.

In the blink of an eye, they approached the red mist. The mist suddenly churned, and a roar emanated from within. Immediately after, a surge of mist rushed out, moving to swallow the Restriction that resembled a chess game.

With a loud boom, the moment the red mist was about to swallow it, the chess game suddenly flashed with iridescent light. Illusory figures appeared, each performing Hand Seals and striking toward the red mist.

An invisible force seemed to permeate the area, causing the red mist to recoil violently; it had failed to swallow the object!

Seeing this, the surrounding Cultivators narrowed their eyes. A flash of joy crossed the eyes of the Lingdong Shangren, while only the middle-aged scholar wore a mocking smirk.

The stout Cultivator looked smug. He raised his right hand and pointed again. Surrounded by the illusory figures, the chess game approached the red mist amidst flashes of light.

Wang Lin watched this intently, a glint flashing in his eyes. The stout Cultivator's method of breaking the Restriction had some merit. This abacus Magic Treasure was clearly no ordinary object; each bead contained numerous Restrictions that could combine with one another, which was quite ingenious.

If it were an ordinary Restriction, he might truly be able to break it. However, relying on these clever little tricks to break this red mist Restriction was… impossible!

The Restriction within the red mist was extremely complex. It not only contained Ancient Soul Restrictions but also Time Restrictions. The Fusion of the two created a heaven-shaking power.

The moment the stout Cultivator's chess game approached the red mist amidst the light, it vanished inside. A violent roar and low growl erupted from the red mist. Just as everyone was watching intently, the stout Cultivator's expression changed, turning pale in an instant. He spat out a mouthful of blood; clearly, his Magic Treasure had been destroyed, and the connection between the Magic Treasure and his Primordial Spirit had been forcibly severed!

He immediately tried to retreat, but before he could take two steps, the red mist roared and went wild. The mist expanded violently, covering the sky like a red cloud, wrapping around the stout Cultivator's body and dragging him into the mist.

A piercing scream echoed through this Sealed land, followed by a crunching sound like bones being crushed, which shook everyone's hearts!

"Useless trash!" The Lingdong Shangren's expression was grim. If there was no way to break the Restriction, it would have to be forced open. But doing so would surely cause great damage to the Dao Spirit within, and even if the Restriction were opened, it would not be worth the loss.

"If I cannot obtain it, no one else shall. I might as well force it open; if it gets destroyed, so be it!" A cold light flashed in the Lingdong Shangren's eyes, and his body flickered as he prepared to step forward.

But at this moment, the middle-aged scholar holding the feather fan suddenly cupped his fists and said in a low voice, "Shangren, before forcing it open, please allow me to attempt it. Even if I cannot break it entirely, if I can break a little, perhaps it will cause less damage to the Dao Spirit when you force it open."

The Lingdong Shangren turned to look at the middle-aged scholar, pondered for a moment, then nodded and said slowly, "You must be cautious!"

The middle-aged scholar nodded with a smile, closed his fan, tapped it against his left palm, and walked slowly toward the red mist.

Wang Lin's expression remained unchanged, but he paid close attention. Under his feet, the Restrictions he was gathering unnoticed were becoming more and more numerous.

The middle-aged scholar approached the red mist. After observing for a long time, he raised his right hand and performed calculations with his fingers, a look of deduction flickering in his eyes. A moment later, he thrust his right hand forward, his hand becoming a blur as he instantly tapped onto the red mist.

A rumble erupted from within the red mist. Amidst the echoing roars, a stream of red mist as thick as an arm rushed out and coiled toward the middle-aged man. But the man seemed not to see it; his right hand did not pause in the slightest, performing Hand Seals and tapping again.

With a boom, though it was unclear where the middle-aged scholar had tapped, the incoming red mist trembled violently and, before it could touch him, suddenly collapsed and dissipated completely.

This scene caused the Lingdong Shangren's eyes to flash.

Wang Lin narrowed his eyes. This middle-aged scholar indeed had some skills; in terms of Restrictions, he far surpassed the previous few people.

Sweat beaded on the middle-aged scholar's forehead, but his expression was exceptionally calm. His body flickered, moving like a swimming dragon as he circled outside the red mist. His right hand did not stop, constantly performing Hand Seals and tapping into the mist as he moved. Gradually, the roar within the mist became increasingly intense, faintly revealing a sense of agitation.

Wang Lin's pupils constricted, and a cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. Although this middle-aged Cultivator was hiding his intentions well and appeared to be breaking the Restriction, Wang Lin had already seen through his methods and his true meaning.

Just then, the middle-aged scholar suddenly let out a low roar. His body came to a sudden halt, and he performed Hand Seals with both hands simultaneously, pressing them fiercely toward the red mist!

"Shangren, help me! Unleash your incense power! We can break half of this Restriction!"

His voice was urgent. The Lingdong Shangren clearly trusted this middle-aged scholar greatly. Hearing this, he did not hesitate at all. He took a step forward, and as he raised his right hand, wisps of incense power flew wildly from his body, instantly condensing on his right hand before he struck out across the air toward the red mist!

A palm print made of incense power surged forth majestically. Amidst the rumbling roar, it pierced through at high speed, heading straight for the red mist, and landed on it almost simultaneously with the middle-aged scholar's hands!

A loud boom echoed wildly throughout this world. The outer perimeter of the red mist suddenly collapsed, spreading outward in a ring, causing a small portion of the mist to dissipate!

But just as joy appeared in the Lingdong Shangren's eyes, the red mist roared heaven-shakingly. A gust of wind suddenly blew out from within, transforming into a large mouth that swallowed the middle-aged scholar, whose face had instantly turned pale.

A shrill scream echoed. At this very instant, the red mist, having absorbed the Lingdong Shangren's incense power palm print, suddenly erupted from within with a heaven-destroying shockwave!

The rumbling sound echoed wildly, like thunder, causing this Sealed world to shake violently. In that instant, the destructive force erupted, forming a storm that swept across the entire world, spreading wildly in all directions!

Viewed from afar, this storm was composed entirely of red mist. Its rapid expansion caused this Sealed world to begin collapsing!

Rumbling sounds rang out continuously. A few Cultivators failed to dodge in time; when their bodies were touched by the red mist storm, they screamed as their Physical Bodies collapsed and their Primordial Spirits exploded!

The Lingdong Shangren's expression changed drastically. The terrifying power contained within this storm made even him feel a sense of dread. He did not hesitate, retreating rapidly to the two-thousand-zhang tomb platform. With a flick of his large sleeve, he transformed into a long rainbow and shot rapidly into the sky!

Not only him, but all the Cultivators at this moment, the instant the destructive force began to collapse this place, retreated madly. A few who were slow to retreat were immediately caught by the storm and died with a bang!

Wang Lin retreated the fastest, even slightly faster than the Lingdong Shangren. Almost at the same time the middle-aged Cultivator was swallowed, the Restrictions he had been brewing under his feet for a long time suddenly left his body, falling straight toward the ground below. Immediately after, without the slightest pause, his body transformed into a long rainbow and shot toward the sky.

This red storm was like a tidal wave. The destructive force tore through the sky. As it continued to expand and swallow everything, the crowd fled wildly, rushing into the twisting Rifts in the sky, disappearing one by one!

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. In the blink of an eye, more than ten people were destroyed by this suddenly erupting red mist storm. Those who escaped numbered fewer than eleven!

Wang Lin also stepped into a twisting Rift and disappeared. The moment they left, the red mist completely filled this world, leaving no gaps.

A long time later, the mist churned as it slowly receded, eventually re-condensing on the platform on the Ancient God's back. The sky turned dark red, and those twisting Rifts disappeared completely, thoroughly sealing off every entrance to this place.

The roars within the mist also gradually faded, and the surroundings fell into silence.

Time passed slowly. Half an hour later, a person slowly walked out from within the mist. This person was none other than the middle-aged scholar who had appeared to have died in everyone's eyes!

A sinister smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and his eyes held a look of triumph.

"And what of the Lingdong Shangren! No one can snatch the treasure that I, Xiao Jing, have set my eyes on! With a small trick, I chased everyone out of here. Now, the Dao Spirit within this mist belongs to me alone!"

Amidst his wild laughter, the middle-aged scholar's triumph grew even more intense. He turned to look at the mist, greed in his eyes. He licked his lips, raised his right hand, and with a flip, nine Jade Slips appeared in his hand.

"Ancient Soul Restriction, Time Restriction! Although I cannot break them entirely, I can make these two Restrictions stop functioning for twenty breaths!"

The middle-aged scholar waved his right hand forward, and the nine Jade Slips immediately emitted a dim light. They arranged themselves into a circle and shot straight toward the red mist, landing on it with a boom. The mist churned wildly, and the roars within became even more intense, but after a brief squirming, the mist suddenly stopped all movement under the flash of the light from the Jade Slips!

The middle-aged scholar took a step forward and stepped directly into the circle formed by the Jade Slips. He tore forward violently with both hands, immediately ripping a crack into the mist that had ceased all operation. His eyes were filled with greed as he leaned forward, about to enter the crack.

But just at this moment, a scream suddenly rang out in this silent world!

"Impossible, there is actually another Restriction! I clearly had already stopped all the Restrictions…" The middle-aged scholar retreated violently. His face was a bloody mess, and his whole body was rapidly decaying. In the blink of an eye, having retreated only three zhang, he let out a boom, and his entire body rotted into a corpse.

Time flowed slowly. In the blink of an eye, the twenty breaths were about to pass. The light on the nine Jade Slips on the red mist dissipated rapidly. The mist faintly showed signs of activity, and finally, it became completely active again.

An incense stick's time passed in a flash. The corpse suddenly opened its eyes. Its appearance changed rapidly, becoming the scholar's appearance from before once again.

"It seems no one snuck in here…" The middle-aged man's eyes flashed as he walked toward the red mist.

First update!