Chapter 208 : Emergency Breakthrough
On the Ice Plain within the secret realm, righteous disciples and demonic cultivators were locked in an intense battle that neither side could break.
Both Su Hao's group and Chu Yang's forces were counting the days. The secret realm opened for a total of one year, and now more than 11 months had passed, with roughly half a month remaining until closure.
Based on their previous experience entering secret realms, they all calculated time based on complete years, so they hadn't considered that the secret realm might close earlier. Additionally, with everyone's full attention focused on combat, where the slightest distraction could result in death, no one noticed the harbingers of the secret realm's closing during the chaotic battle.
The system, watching from the sidelines, did sense something and warned: "Host, the energy fluctuations around us seem unusual."
However, the White Tiger was currently surrounded and under attack by a group of demonic cultivators. With several wounds on her body and nerves stretched taut, how could she spare attention to hear what the system said? Or even if she heard it, she had no mental capacity to consider what it meant.
With an agile leap, the White Tiger dodged an ambushing Judge's Brush, then swept her powerful tiger tail like a steel whip, sending the attacking demonic cultivator flying. Upon landing, the White Tiger exhaled deeply, her warm breath immediately condensing into a layer of white mist in the extreme cold of the Ice Plain, almost completely blocking visibility.
No demonic cultivator dared take advantage of this opportunity to ambush the White Tiger anymore. Previous sneak attacks had not only ended in failure but had also cost several lives. Though demonic cultivators didn't value others' lives, they cherished their own and were unwilling to risk themselves further.
Chu Yang hadn't joined the battle, merely standing at the rear watching his subordinates fall one after another, his expression growing increasingly grim: "All of you, attack! It's just one White Tiger—how can so many of you fail to subdue it?!"
The demonic cultivators wore bitter expressions, their hearts even more bitter—that was a White Tiger divine beast; how could it be described as "just"?
Yet Chu Yang knew clearly that the White Tiger before them was still young, essentially still a cub, and theoretically should be unable to withstand the siege of so many people. So he placed all responsibility on his subordinates, believing they weren't exerting full effort. Especially when glancing at Wuxiang fighting alone on the other side, where several righteous disciples had been beaten to a miserable state, the contrast became even more stark.
The White Tiger ignored these thoughts, suddenly leaping forward out of the white mist. The surrounding demonic cultivators, having suffered several defeats, immediately retreated before she could act, but unexpectedly, the White Tiger paid them no attention and pounced directly onto the demonic cultivator she had previously sent flying.
Her tiger claws plunged toward his dantian, causing the demonic cultivator to scream in agony as his cultivation was crushed along with his Nascent Soul.
The surrounding demonic cultivators felt their scalps tingle at the sight. Though typically lacking in empathy, they couldn't help but feel a vicarious sense of pain. With hearts tightening, they didn't miss this excellent opportunity, and seven or eight attacks launched toward the White Tiger... They had assumed that given her agility, she would easily dodge, but surprisingly, she neither evaded nor avoided, directly taking the hits with her back.
In an instant, her thick fur was blasted open, exposing bright red flesh. The White Tiger was in such pain that she bared her teeth, eyes welling with tears. Yet her movements didn't stop, and with one swipe of her paw, the demonic cultivator whose Nascent Soul had been extracted breathed his last.
Before the demonic cultivators could rejoice in their success, a warm current suddenly swept through the White Tiger's entire body. As if bathing in a restorative spirit spring, it not only dispelled the cold brought by the Ice Plain's extreme temperatures but also instantly healed the severe injuries on her back—undoubtedly, the White Tiger, who had remained at level 50 for nearly half a year, had leveled up at this moment. The energy from the level-up restored her to optimal condition.
With her wounds gone and fur restored to glossy smoothness, the White Tiger let out an imposing, majestic roar.
The demonic cultivators who witnessed this were dumbfounded, but sensing the suddenly surging aura from the White Tiger, they quickly understood what had happened: "She—she broke through! The White Tiger broke through to the Void Crossing realm!"
At these words, the attacking demonic cultivators felt their hearts sink—the White Tiger divine beast was already difficult to deal with. Earlier, when they were all at Nascent Soul, they could still wound her, but now that she had broken through to Void Crossing, wouldn't she completely crush them? Immediately, ignoring the Young Master's presence and the fact that their life tokens were in his hands, the demonic cultivators who wanted to live a moment longer turned and fled.
The White Tiger didn't bother to chase them and didn't even spare attention for Chu Yang, instead turning and pouncing toward Wuxiang.
There was no choice—Su Hao and the others had held out to their limit, with several already severely injured and unable to rise. If she didn't hurry to their aid, it would likely be a total party wipe in minutes.
If not for trying to buy this precious time, she wouldn't have needed to tank that damage.
The White Tiger at level 51 was indeed vastly different from before. Although in the system's game levels, this was only a one-level difference with a combat strength increase of just over 500, the difference in the cultivation system was entirely different. Nascent Soul and Void Crossing could be described as worlds apart—most intuitively, this time when the White Tiger's claws scratched Wuxiang, there was no "MISS" displayed.
Discovering this, the White Tiger's eyes immediately brightened, her confidence significantly bolstered, and her attacks became increasingly fierce. Even though Wuxiang's cultivation level was still considerably higher than hers, he was momentarily thrown into disarray.
Just as this human and tiger were locked in fierce combat, a special spiritual energy fluctuation suddenly erupted within the secret realm, followed by violent shaking of heaven and earth.
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From the first signs of the Canglán Secret Realm's closure to the gradual appearance of the exit, the time consumed was actually quite long—that water-like undulation in midair continued for nearly half a day before the pinhole-sized exit slowly emerged.
Peak Master Qingyu and the others guarding the secret realm exit now became even more vigilant rather than relaxed.
Sure enough, the previously silent demon ships now showed activity. Several streaks of light suddenly transformed into human figures appearing not far away. Leading them was a woman with seven or eight followers behind her, both male and female, dressed differently with varying auras.
The leading woman was beautiful, appearing to be in her early twenties, dressed all in white. Her eyebrows and eyes held a certain allure, and with just a glance, she exuded charm, making one almost think she was from the Harmony Sect.
But in fact, she was not.
In reality, she was the Sect Leader of the Crimson Blood Sect and the only demonic sect leader to appear here today. One could say she killed people as easily as cutting grass, but to call her alluring and seductive—even the most hard-headed demonic cultivator wouldn't dare say such a thing. Through her seemingly charming exterior, once one met her gaze, the cold ruthlessness within was like walking into a ghost realm, inducing fear in people's hearts.
The elders on the righteous path side immediately raised their vigilance from ten to twelve upon seeing her arrival, with tension thick enough to spark at any moment.
Demonic cultivators are combative and unreasonable. Seeing the reaction of the righteous group, those behind the Crimson Blood Sect Leader immediately developed a fighting spirit, appearing eager for battle—the bellicose member from Crimson Blood Sect brought out dual hammers, the elder from Nine Abyss Sect took out his Mourning Staff, the Vice Sect Leader of Celestial Demon Sect touched his skull artifact, and the female cultivator from the Harmony Sect held a strange flower, smiling beautifully yet seductively.
They had prepared for battle, planning to seize the secret realm exit from the righteous path. In their view, this wouldn't be difficult, especially with the Crimson Blood Sect Leader present, who could crush the opponents with her strength.
But as they held their respective magical treasures, ready for battle, staring at the back of the Crimson Blood Sect Leader, waiting one breath, two breaths, three breaths, the latter hadn't even raised her little finger, let alone attacked. She merely raised her eyelids slightly, glanced at the secret realm exit that was gradually expanding from a pinhole, then ignored it, her gaze falling only on a certain person across from her.
The atmosphere was tense yet peculiar, but before others could investigate further, the Crimson Blood Sect Leader withdrew her gaze.
At this moment, the Vice Sect Leader of Celestial Demon Sect spoke up with a reminder: "Sect Leader Zhu, the secret realm exit is about to open, and our four sects still have many disciples inside waiting to come out. We cannot let the other side control the exit, or our disciples might suffer."
Although demonic cultivators are hard-hearted and far less concerned about disciples than those on the righteous path, these were still people they had nurtured for many years, investing considerable resources. Now as these people emerged from the Canglán Secret Realm, they might bring back unique opportunities, so naturally, they couldn't be lost at this final stage. That would be too costly and embarrassing if word got out.
The Crimson Blood Sect Leader seemed uninterested. Hearing this, she nodded indifferently: "Then let's proceed."
As her words fell, those behind her charged forward, and soon a battle erupted at the secret realm exit. However, the Crimson Blood Sect Leader, in whom the demonic cultivators had placed great hopes, didn't move. Her gaze calmly watched the figures engaged in battle, unclear exactly whom she was observing.
Time flew swiftly during the battle. Before the external conflict could reach a conclusion, the secret realm exit suddenly underwent a transformation—the originally pinhole-sized exit began to expand, initially at a very slow pace, growing only slightly more than double in size over a quarter-hour. But once the exit gradually expanded to the size of a bowl, the expansion speed suddenly accelerated.
In just two breaths' time, the exit expanded from bowl-sized to bucket-sized, then to well-opening size, and then to the size of a door. The secret realm exit was clearly about to fully form.
At this point, both sides in the battle stopped fighting, each occupying one side of the secret realm entrance.