Chapter 555: Chapter 551: Depriving Vitality, Defeating the Enemy with One Move

Qin Feng paid no further attention to Ling Jiuyuan.

He could tell that this man was quite proud at heart and clearly disdained to join Zhuo Feifan in ganging up on him.

Besides, this was the territory of the Beast Taming Sect; when it came to the number of people, Taiyi Mountain was indeed at a disadvantage.

Moreover, when had the disciples of the Beast Taming Sect ever feared being surrounded?

After fighting for a while, Qin Feng felt it was almost enough; at least in the eyes of others, Zhuo Feifan’s combat prowess was definitely not weaker than Ling Jiuyuan’s and even lasted a bit longer.

Of course, he hadn’t fought with Zhuo Feifan for so long just to make him look good; rather, he treated Zhuo as a sparring partner.

Qin Feng had used most of his divine skills, testing his merged and advanced divine power, and gotten used to the intensity of fighting at the Purple Mansion Realm.

Having fought for so long, he felt he had roughly grasped the power of each of his divine skills. Thinking this, he suddenly waved his hand and summoned the Swallowing Sky Toad, the Undying Qingluan, and the Tree of Life, his major spiritual beasts.

Aside from certain hidden techniques, he had already used all his other powers during his match with Zhuo Feifan. As his spiritual beasts had also advanced rapidly and lacked experience, it was time for them to make an appearance, gain some combat experience, and incidentally defeat Zhuo Feifan to end the battle.

However, he did not release all his spiritual beasts together, especially the Death Curse Crow, the Spring and Autumn Cicada, and the Hellhound.

Among them, the Death Curse Crow and Spring and Autumn Cicada had different uses and were extremely valuable, and Qin Feng did not want to reveal too much in front of outsiders. Although some people knew about the existence of these two spiritual beasts, estimating their exact strength and capabilities was difficult.

Especially the Spring and Autumn Cicada, which was at the peak of its demon core a decade ago when he acquired it from the Spring and Autumn Academy and knew only to use Time Power but had yet to advance, so its combat power was weak.

Now, not only had the Spring and Autumn Cicada advanced to the Purple Mansion Realm, it had completely mastered a part of the Time Law, and with Qin Feng’s help, had integrated the bloodline powers of the Wood Cicada, Earth Cicada, Thunder Cicada, Gold Cicada, and other spiritual cicadas. The Spring and Autumn Cicada’s fighting techniques were now quite numerous.

More importantly, if it used the Time Law, it was almost like cheating; ordinary beings at the Purple Mansion Realm simply did not have the ability to resist the Time Law.

As for the Hellhound, it was currently the strongest under Qin Feng’s command, a fierce monster that could contend with the peak of the Dharma Image Realm. To use it against Zhuo Feifan was somewhat overkill, so he kept it in the Demon Refining Pot as a trump card, similar to the Spring and Autumn Cicada.

After summoning the three great spiritual beasts, Qin Feng straightforwardly let them join the attack.

As a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, spiritual beasts were naturally a part of his strength, just as a sword cultivator could freely command the Flying Sword during a battle; of course, a Beast Taming Sect cultivator could summon spiritual beasts to fight.

The only difference was that he, similar to Li Miaozhen, had very strong personal combat power, so powerful that he normally didn’t need to rely on spiritual beasts during battles. This gave the surrounding spectators a misconception. Now that he summoned his spiritual beasts, it felt somewhat unfamiliar to them.

Seeing Qin Feng releasing the spiritual beasts to fight him, Zhuo Feifan’s expression changed.

Although he and Qin Feng had known each other for a long time and even had secretive interactions and collaborations, they were openly adversaries and enemies, especially under the watchful eyes of the public. He could only treat Qin Feng as an enemy, and there was no mercy in his attacks.

If he had a chance to kill Qin Feng, he would not let it go. After all, their so-called collaboration was not as pleasant as it seemed on the surface, especially since Zhuo Feifan had some leverage over him. Naturally, he would prefer Qin Feng to die sooner rather than later, but unfortunately for him, Qin Feng was extremely strong and did not give him a chance at all.

Under the pressure of the new Spiritual Beasts, Zhuo Feifan’s anxiety significantly increased.

Initially, Qin Feng had been somewhat casual, using him as a whetstone to practice his Divine Power Magic. However, once Qin Feng got serious, not only did the power of his divine skills increase enormously, but the Spiritual Beasts also became exceptionally formidable.

The Swallowing Sky Toad controlled space; not only was it elusive and unpredictable, capable of jumping through the void, but it also used various Space Magics that made it virtually impossible to guard against.

After merging with the Phoenix’s Bloodline Divine Power, the Undying Qingluan’s power of flames became intensely fierce. It no longer just contained the Yang Harmony Qi, but had become explosively powerful. Naturally, its strength skyrocketed, and even its temperament grew more belligerent than before.

The Soul Devouring Vine Demon, originally the body of the Tree of Life, had transformed into a miniature World Tree after merging with a section of the World Tree’s Root. Since it was inherently skilled in the Life Principle, along with the nourishing effects of the Life Spring, it had extended its roots deep into the Life Spring to comprehend the principles behind its formation, strengthening its Life Principle close to advancing to the Dharma Image Realm.

This being had only merged with a section of the World Tree Root so far, much less than the other Spiritual Beasts, but the high level of the World Tree meant even this single root granted it countless benefits.

Furthermore, the nurture from the Life Spring and its ability to emulate the Power of Laws from within the spring meant the Tree of Life’s advancement rate was the fastest among Qin Feng’s Spiritual Beasts.

“Chirp…” With a clear cry, the Undying Qingluan was the first to unleash a fiery blast, attacking Zhuo Feifan.

The Swallowing Sky Toad leaped into the void, reappearing behind Zhuo Feifan and coordinating its attack with the Undying Qingluan to engage the enemy from both front and back.

Were it not for Zhuo Feifan’s Sword Heart Clarity and formidable Sword Dao, he truly would have struggled to fend off these two mighty Spiritual Beasts.

However, the most bizarre in its method of attack was the Tree of Life.

Despite its transformation into a tree and its seemingly slow movement speed–not to mention its lack of long vines for extended attack range–the reality was quite different.

As a being with control over the Power of Laws, this plant-type demon, like a Cultivator, could even influence areas much further away with its inherent laws.

As it was now, with merely a wave of its branches, the Tree of Life sent fluctuations of the Life Principle towards Zhuo Feifan.

Of course, it wasn’t enhancing Zhuo Feifan’s life force, but stripping away the vitality within his body.

This was a method of attack it had gradually mastered after rooting in the Life Spring and imitating the spring’s ability to absorb external energy and convert it into vitality, far more powerful than when it had still been a vine.

This type of life-draining Divine Power was exceedingly eerie. As soon as the fluctuations reached Zhuo Feifan, it startled him; he hadn’t expected such a formidable creature under Qin Feng’s command.

After sensing a drain in his body’s vitality, Zhuo Feifan’s complexion drastically changed. He swiftly erected nineteen defensive layers upon himself, all the while consolidating his origin in an attempt to resist the life-draining attack of the Tree of Life.

However, while defending against the Tree of Life, he also had to counter the other two great Spiritual Beasts, which made him quite uncomfortable.

So, in a short time, Zhuo Feifan furrowed his brows and retreated.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to continue the fight. The combat power of the Swallowing Sky Toad and Undying Qingluan was formidable, but it wasn’t enough to make him feel fear.

But the Tree of Life’s way of depriving life force made him extremely wary; he wasn’t willing to risk dozens or even hundreds of years of his lifespan for a battle he knew he couldn’t win.

Although he had a lifespan of a thousand years, he wasn’t willing to let it dissipate for no reason!

One must know that the disappearance of lifespan wasn’t simply about depletion of life force. For a genius cultivator like him, the passing of life force also involved peculiar things such as his personal fate and causality, potentially leading to further losses in the future.

Thus, he retreated.

The surrounding onlookers were somewhat surprised, because the Tree of Life’s method of depriving life force only enveloped Zhuo Feifan; hence, the others couldn’t sense anything and were puzzled as to why Zhuo Feifan was retreating so easily. After all, although the flames of Undying Qingluan were fierce and the Swallowing Sky Toad was elusive, they shouldn’t have caused Zhuo Feifan to admit defeat so quickly.

Could it be… that the green tree radiating with endless vitality had some miraculous method?

Regardless of what others thought, Zhuo Feifan had already left the arena.

His troubled complexion made it clear–he had opted to avoid battle, which also meant he was admitting defeat.

“What’s going on?”

Another True Disciple, Wei Xinghan, asked through a transmitted message.

“That tree is strange.”

“Strange?”

Wei Xinghan and Ling Jiuyuan looked towards the Tree of Life but could only see its robust vitality and nothing else.

This surprised them, as such creatures that grasped the Life Principle usually excelled in regenerative abilities or Healing Divine Power. Could this one be different?

“Exactly!”

Zhuo Feifan said directly, “It can strip the life force from my body. Had I not reacted quickly, it might have taken a hundred years of my life span in just that moment!”

“Shhh…”

Both were shocked by his words: “It’s that peculiar?”

Zhuo Feifan silently nodded and didn’t say more.

He was unwilling to risk losing life span; therefore, when he sensed something wrong, he immediately chose to retreat–it counted as conceding. Among the three of them, two had already fought Qin Feng. Given Ling Jiuyuan’s pride, he definitely wouldn’t step forward to fight Qin Feng again. That left only Wei Xinghan.

Both turned their gaze to Wei Xinghan, their eyes inquiring.

Wei Xinghan pondered for a moment, then sneered coldly and stepped towards the center of the arena.

As one of Taiyi Mountain’s prominent True Disciples of this generation, his pride wouldn’t allow him to shy away from a fight without trying.

If he dared not fight, it would likely leave a shadow in his heart, and might even develop into a Heart Demon, affecting his cultivation in the future.

Thus, he preferred to face defeat rather than simply concede and retreat!

“Qin Feng, your Spiritual Beasts might work on others, but using them in front of me, Wei Xinghan, won’t have much impact.”

“Is that so?”

Qin Feng looked at the proud young man before him and immediately recalled his identity.

Thousand-Illusion Divine Sword Wei Xinghan, a True Inheritance of Taiyi Mountain’s Illusion Sword lineage!

It was said this man’s Sword Dao was infinitely variable, profound and unfathomable, having reached the stage where the fictitious bore the real, and the illusory concealed the tangible. He once entered a den of the Demon Sect alone with his sword and slew several Demon Cultivators before escaping unscathed.

Wei Xinghan, with disdain, said: “Although Spiritual Beasts are strong, it also depends on who the opponent is. Try and find me first!”

Before his words fell, his figure suddenly changed during motion, from solid to ethereal, splitting into two, then four, and four into eight, each positioned in different directions.

Eight figures simultaneously drew swords, the movements were infinitely varied, and in the blink of an eye, sword shadows filled the heavens and the earth, making it impossible to tell which were real and which were illusions!

“Qin Feng, if you can defeat me, then do so, or else hand over the Red Lotus Sword today, otherwise you’ll understand the consequences of offending Taiyi Mountain!

The uncertain voice drifted from all directions, making it difficult to pinpoint a specific location.

“Is that so?”

The light in Qin Feng’s eyes flickered, covered with the shifting of Yin Yang, seeing through all illusions and the essence of life and death: “Since you wish to taste defeat, so be it!”

As he finished speaking, his thoughts moved, and the Swallowing Sky Toad suddenly croaked loudly, its figure swiftly appearing in a certain part of the void. Its large webbed foot whipped through the air, tearing apart the space.

Before that area of space could fully stabilize, the Undying Qingluan spat out a scorching flame that struck with a bang, sending Wei Xinghan’s figure flying and crashing harshly to the ground.