Jiang Qilin looked around as he muttered inwardly.
"Young Master Jiang, the Sea of Divine Wood contains rich Chaos Qi and elemental power, which is extremely helpful for cultivation. If you can cultivate here for three to five years, your strength will inevitably surge by a massive margin, and you might even leap straight into the Divine Transformation Realm," Qin Feiyang said with a smiling expression.
"Is it really that miraculous?" Jiang Qilin asked, looking at Qin Feiyang in surprise upon hearing this.
The Sea of Divine Wood, as the name suggested, had very few things inside that one could cultivate with. Aside from elemental power, there were also divine objects. However, these things were basically of little use to cultivators in the Divine Transformation Realm.
Therefore, ordinary cultivators in the Divine Transformation Realm generally would not enter. Going in would simply be a waste of time and life.
Yet, Qin Feiyang was different.
Qin Feiyang possessed a heaven-defying divine art like the Divine Art, which allowed him directly to absorb the Chaos Qi within the Sea of Divine Wood and rapidly improve his cultivation.
"That's right. Even if I were to cultivate inside the Sea of Divine Wood for a dozen years or so, I could still become a powerhouse of the Divine Transformation Realm," Qin Feiyang nodded.
"You're not just bragging, are you?" Jiang Qilin frowned.
"Every word I say is the absolute truth. If you don't believe me, you can try it out for yourself," Qin Feiyang said with an air of complete confidence.
"Well, as for that..."
"This Emperor might actually consider it," a sharp gleam flashed through Jiang Qilin's eyes.
Qin Feiyang sneered inwardly.
*You want to trick me into entering the Sea of Divine Wood to cultivate? Well, I refuse to go in.*
Outwardly, however, he still wore an expression of overwhelming gratitude as he said, "Many thanks, Young Master Jiang."
"No need to thank me," Jiang Qilin shook his head with a smile. He looked up at the sky and muttered, "I really must thank you this time. Without your help, this Emperor would never have been able to take down that towering ancient tree."
A charming, wicked smile curved the corners of Qin Feiyang's mouth.
That towering ancient tree must be extremely important to Jiang Qilin as well!
If Jiang Qilin secured that towering ancient tree, he would definitely pamper and cater to Jiang Xue with fine food and wine. Once that happened, Jiang Qilin would no longer come looking for trouble with him, and he could enjoy a period of peace and stability.
This was a win-win strategy—flawless.
"Let's go!"
"I'd like to see what kind of capability you really have," Jiang Qilin turned around and stepped into the ripples.
"My luck is truly fantastic!" Qin Feiyang murmured.
Swish!
Qin Feiyang closely followed and leaped into the ripples as well.
Rumble!
The figures of the two men vanished instantly.
"Huh?"
"Why did his cultivation suddenly surge so drastically?"
"Could there be some sort of fortuitous encounter inside this Sea of Divine Wood that allowed his cultivation to break through?" Jiang Qilin transmitted his voice secretly.
Hearing this, Qin Feiyang couldn't help rolling his eyes.
*Your imagination is running way too wild!*
*This is the Sea of Divine Wood; how could there possibly be any fortuitous encounters?*
Immediately, Jiang Qilin and Qin Feiyang rapidly sneaked toward the center of the Sea of Divine Wood.
At this moment, a group of people stood by the lake in the center of the Sea of Divine Wood, watching the situation unfolding on the water.
Qin Feiyang cast a glance and spotted a giant island deep within the lake. It was about a hundred meters long, silvery-white all over, and radiated a sacred majesty.
This island should be the core region of the Sea of Divine Wood, while the lake served as its base.
"Such an intense sacred aura!"
"My dantian actually feels parched and starved," Jiang Qilin swallowed hard, gulping secretly.
"This is only the ninth layer."
"If you were to cultivate up here for a few thousand years, you would truly understand how terrifying the Sea of Divine Wood is," Qin Feiyang said with a chuckle.
"Really?" Jiang Qilin asked skeptically.
"Of course it's true."
"Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to stay here for so long."
"This Sea of Divine Wood is even more miraculous than you imagine, and far more perilous," Qin Feiyang said.
Jiang Qilin glanced at Qin Feiyang and hesitated no longer, immediately dashing straight toward the small island at the bottom of the lake.
Watching the island, Qin Feiyang pursued closely behind.
"This is the Sea of Divine Wood. It truly lives up to its reputation as a place nurtured by a Chaotic Divine Beast." Landing before the island and gazing at the bluestone beneath his feet, Jiang Qilin couldn't help being stunned.
The island was not large, measuring only twenty to thirty zhang across, yet every inch of it was saturated with wisps of sacred aura.
"It seems there is a fortuitous encounter here," Jiang Qilin licked his lips.
Whoosh!
Jiang Qilin flashed, landing on the bluestone, and looked toward the center of the island.
"There is a crack on this small mountain."
"It looks ordinary, but it actually conceals a majestic aura. It feels like a divine object, yet it also seems not to be." Qin Feiyang looked at Jiang Qilin and said.
Jiang Qilin nodded.
Qin Feiyang smiled and said, "Then you should go down and take a look. If there is a divine object, take it with you. If not, consider it compensation for this Emperor."
"Alright then!" Hesitating for a moment, Jiang Qilin plunged straight down.
Whoosh!
The next instant, his figure completely vanished beneath the island.
With a wave of his hand, Qin Feiyang unleashed his divine sense, enveloping the entire island to scout out Jiang Qilin.
Soon, he detected that hidden beneath the island was a vast subterranean lake. In the center of the lake stood a massive monster formed from condensed lake water.
Growing out of the back of that monster were three thick vines, radiating a mysterious aura.
"A divine object!"
"Truly a divine medicine."
"If I could manage to uproot the spiritual vein of this Sea of Divine Wood, the value of this divine medicine would far surpass that towering ancient tree."
A cold glint flashed in Qin Feiyang's eyes.
However, he did not act hastily. The Sea of Divine Wood was guarded by divine beasts; the moment he made a rash move, the divine beast clan would undoubtedly grow vigilant, and that would spell trouble.
"Forget it." Qin Feiyang shook his head with a smile, reined in his aura, slowly retreated from the island, and quickly departed.
His departure did not attract anyone's attention, because his current strength was already insufficient to deal with the divine beasts, and naturally, no one cared to pay him any mind.
......
Eighth Layer.
Jiang Qilin lingered at the edge of the lake.
He scanned the center of the lake, his face filled with suspicion. Although the lake looked quite ordinary, it contained an inherent sacred aura, clearly making it extraordinary.
Yet, why was there a crack right in the middle of the lake?
Furthermore, this crack seemed to be expanding!
"Huh?"
"Not good!"
Suddenly, Jiang Qilin's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly executed an escape technique, darting toward the center of the lake.
Pfft!
Instantly, a mist of blood soared into the sky, dyeing the entire lake crimson.
Swish!
Jiang Qilin's body was torn to shreds by a several-hundred-zhang-long flood dragon in a single swipe of its claws!
Fresh blood spattered across the lake.
The lake water rippled with layers of bloody waves, rolling outward like a crimson tide.
"Divine beast bloodline!"
Watching that bloody scene, Qin Feiyang's pupils contracted, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes.
This lake actually possessed a divine beast bloodline, which implied that Jiang Qilin himself was very likely a divine beast!
A divine beast!
Qin Feiyang's heart pounded wildly; he wished he could immediately snatch that drop of divine beast blood from Jiang Qilin.
Swish!
Just as Qin Feiyang prepared to make his move, a sense of crisis crept into his heart.
"This is a divine beast at the Six-Star Divine Monarch Battle God level!"
"It seems the divine beasts of this Sea of Divine Wood haven't been idle either," Qin Feiyang swallowed hard.
Jiang Qilin being wiped out by a divine beast was also beyond his expectations. After all, he hadn't known there was a divine beast hidden beneath that crack.
"Roar!"
At that very moment, a heaven-shaking roar tore through the skies.
A colossal behemoth, a hundred zhang tall and covered from head to toe in purple-gold scales, charged out roaring.
This divine beast resembled a combination of a lion, tiger, leopard, and snake, and its body was entirely hairless. However, its eyes were pitch-black like ink, resembling two small obsidian moons.
"Roar!"
Simultaneously, another divine beast appeared, its pair of blood-red wolf eyes locked onto Qin Feiyang, filled with freezing coldness.
The aura of the divine beasts was terrifying!
Qin Feiyang looked at the divine beasts, his heart churning with stormy waves.
The cultivation of this divine beast had actually reached the peak of the Seven-Star Divine Monarch Battle Emperor level—even stronger than Jiang Qilin had been.
On the back of this divine beast sat a figure, though the person was lying face down.
That person also caught sight of Qin Feiyang, a flash of astonishment crossing their eyes before they immediately transformed into a stream of light and vanished on the spot.
"Little bastard, how dare you kill my younger brother? Today, I will definitely take your dog's life!"
Gazing at Qin Feiyang, the divine beast let out a ferocious roar, then transformed into a streak of lightning and lunged at him.
Qin Feiyang's expression sank, and without a moment's hesitation, he summoned the Divine Shadow Wings and fled through the air.
The speed of the Divine Shadow Wings was blistering, instantly crossing the void and plunging into the turbulent void currents.
Seeing this, the divine beast paused briefly before transforming into a streak of light, charging into the turbulent void as well.
Swish!
The two divine beasts pursued Qin Feiyang, one right behind the other.
Although the Divine Shadow Wings were extremely fast, they couldn't keep up with the even greater speed of their pursuers. Within mere breaths, they were intercepted.
"Roar!"
Opening its maw, the divine beast expelled a torrent of fierce flames that blasted directly against the surface of the Divine Shadow Wings.
Wisp upon wisp of steam immediately began to hiss from the scales on the wings.
Within moments, the Divine Shadow Wings were scorched to a crisp, reduced to a pile of mush.
Qin Feiyang tumbled out of the turbulent void, his entire set of clothes charred black.
The Divine Shadow Wings were equivalent to a pseudo-divine weapon, more than enough to deal with martial artists of the fourth or fifth tribulations of the Divine Monarch realm. Yet, he never expected that they couldn't even handle a small fry like this now.
"Kid, your Divine Shadow Wings are truly not bad!"
"Otherwise, how could they have withstood our attacks?"
"If I take them for myself, it'll be just like gaining an extra pseudo-divine weapon."
"Hahaha..."
Two boisterous bursts of laughter rang out in succession.
Qin Feiyang's gaze darkened. He glanced sideways at the Sea of Divine Wood and turned to run!
The Sea of Divine Wood was far too bizarre. Forget about Jiang Qilin; even an ordinary Pseudo-God wouldn't last long inside here. Therefore, he had to hurry and leave this place as fast as possible.
However, the spatial stability within the Sea of Divine Wood was nothing like the outside world. Once he entered, leaving wasn't an option.
Thus, escaping relied entirely on stealth.
Yet his stealth proved useless against the Sea of Divine Wood, whose spatial rules refused to be controlled by him.
What if he used fire-attribute and earth-attribute divine arts instead?
With that thought, he looked up at the sky and muttered, "Fire-attribute divine arts?"
His fire-system divine art had already reached the divine grade, and fire poison possessed fire-attribute toxicity as well—it should be able to suppress the rules of the Sea of Divine Wood.
Without further ado, he immediately closed his eyes, drove the fire-attribute divine art, and integrated it into his body.
Instantly, the energies of fire and earth raged wildly within his dantian, forming a sea of flames.
"The combination of fire and earth attributes!" Qin Feiyang murmured.
"With this, I should be able to contend against the rules of the Sea of Divine Wood!"
"When the time comes, as long as I operate the divine art, the Sea of Divine Wood should naturally break apart of its own accord, and I won't have to worry about being trapped inside," Qin Feiyang muttered.
He believed that as long as he didn't actively expose the fact that he used a dual-attribute divine art of fire and earth, the rules of the Sea of Divine Wood wouldn't block his departure.
"Roar!"
At that moment, the divine beast had already lunged to Qin Feiyang's side.
Raising its claws, it viciously slapped down with monstrous divine Might, suppressing him like a sacred mountain descending.
The power of the divine beast's strike was comparable to a Nine-Star Battle Emperor; its sheer might was enough to suffocate someone!
A cold gleam flashed in Qin Feiyang's eyes, and he threw a punch forward. Raging flames surged to meet the divine beast's divine power, detonating upon impact!
The divine beast was blasted flying backward.
Leveraging the rebound force, Qin Feiyang shot backward as well.
Yet this time, the moment he landed, the divine beast fiercely pounced toward him once more.
The claws of the divine beast were suffused with a terrifying aura of destruction, sweeping over in a devastating storm.
"The physical body of a divine beast is actually tougher than a divine artifact!"
Qin Feiyang cried out inwardly and hurriedly dodged aside.
Lunging right up to him, the divine beast slapped down with another earth-shaking wave of divine power.
Bang!
As the divine power struck the empty space before Qin Feiyang, spiderweb cracks rapidly spread across the area before culminating in a deafening roar. A massive crater a full thousand meters in diameter opened up on the ground.
"So powerful!"
"No wonder it can traverse the turbulent void currents!"
A chill ran through Qin Feiyang's heart. Hesitating no longer, he beat his wings and bolted toward the distant jungle.
"Trying to escape?"
"Not that easy!"
"After him!"
Roaring in fury, the divine beast immediately gave chase once more.
Qin Feiyang fled all the way, and the divine beast pursued relentlessly, closing the distance with every second.
Before long, the speed of the divine bird wings began to gradually drop.
If this continued, he would exhaust himself to death here before the divine beast even needed to strike!
Swish!
Qin Feiyang turned his head to look at the pursuing divine beast, his eyes filled with bone-chilling killing intent.
Had this divine beast been an ordinary Eight-Star Battle Emperor, he wouldn't have feared it at all. But now it was a divine beast of the sixth tribulation of the Divine Monarch realm; he had to fight with everything he had, or else his only outcome would be perishing right here!
Noticing Qin Feiyang's actions, the divine beast also halted its steps. Looking down at him from above, it grinned broadly and said, "Kid, weren't you acting so arrogant? Go on, be arrogant again! If you have the guts, keep running. Why aren't you running anymore?"
Ignoring it completely, Qin Feiyang kept his cold gaze fixed and glowing with intent.
The divine bird was a descendant of the Divine Eagle King, and the divine phoenix lineage was also the bloodline of the Divine Phoenix King, yet they belonged to completely different clans from the Divine Phoenix King.
The bloodline of the Divine Phoenix King was better suited for alchemy, artifact forging, and combat utility, whereas the divine bird was naturally suited for slaughter and frontline combat.
Therefore, the strength and combat techniques of the divine bird far surpassed those of the Divine Phoenix King by many times.
Much like a crowd having a leader who could successfully command a pack of underlings!
Because of this, Qin Feiyang wasn't worried in the slightest that the Divine Eagle King could rally reinforcements to encircle and annihilate the divine bird!