62: The Shattered Temple, a Three-Way Battle
Liu Qingtian was like a ghost merging into the shadows; with his massive tree body under the dual enhancement of the Primordial Ancient Wood Visualization Diagram and the Thousand Illusions Jellyfish core, his aura was almost completely concealed as he swept silently over the Shattered Continent.
The closer he got to the center of the ruins, the more intense the energy fluctuations became; the sounds of rumbling, explosions, angry roars, and the unique, cold psychic howls of the Nihility Cult were constant.
Clearly, the battle there was at a white-hot stage.
Liu Qingtian cautiously climbed onto a massive, broken stone pillar and looked down.
The sight below made his tree eyes narrow slightly.
It was an extremely vast, ancient plaza, with the ground paved in a dark golden metal that remained incredibly sturdy even after countless years, bearing only a few cracks.
In the center of the plaza stood a half-collapsed temple; its style was somewhat similar to what he had seen in the Gatekeeper civilization ruins, but it was rougher and more ancient, appearing to be from an even more distant era.
And at this moment, this temple had become the protagonist of a brutal battlefield.
The warring parties were not two, but three!
One side was naturally Liu Qingtian's old "acquaintance"—the Nihility Cult.
There were about a dozen of them, led by a Black-Robed Priest at the Early Kaishan Realm, while the rest were at the Wutian Realm; they formed a battle array, constantly releasing gray-black Nihility energy that eroded everything in its path, attempting to rush into the depths of the temple.
Their attacks were vicious and tricky, carrying a strong corruptive nature.
The other side consisted of the "natives" of this place.
They were a group of humanoid creatures wearing simple leather armor, holding bone spears and stone axes, tall in stature, with bronze-colored skin and single horns growing from their heads.
They were numerous, at least a hundred of them, with individual strength generally between the Tongyou Realm and the Spirit Refining Realm, and only the few elders in the lead exuded the aura of the Wutian Realm.
They seemed to be defending the temple to the death, relying on their familiarity with the terrain and some simple yet effective totem arrays to struggle against the attacks of the Nihility Cult.
Their attacks contained a violent blood Qi and unyielding Battle Intent, but they were clearly at a disadvantage, with warriors falling constantly.
And the third party surprised Liu Qingtian somewhat.
They were five Cultivators with uniform clothing and similar Cultivation Technique auras, three men and two women; judging by their attire and energy attributes, they seemed to come from some Righteous Path Sect on the side of order.
The leading young man, with sword-like brows and star-like eyes, had a cultivation base that had shockingly reached the Kāishān Realm Mid-stage; he held a glowing, radiant magical sword, and his swordsmanship was incredibly sharp.
The other four were also experts in the Wutian Realm.
They also seemed to be outsiders with unknown motives, but at this moment, they were helping the natives resist the Nihility Cult, locked in an inseparable battle with the Early Kaishan Realm Black-Robed Priest.
The three-way melee created an exceptionally chaotic scene.
The Nihility Cult wanted to break through the defensive line to enter the temple, the natives were defending it to the death, and that group of Righteous Path Cultivators was clearly stopping the Nihility Cult, yet they maintained a certain vigilance toward the natives, seeming to have their own schemes as well.
Liu Qingtian's gaze swept across the battlefield, casting toward the depths of the half-collapsed temple.
The intense throbbing of the star key was coming from the very inside of the temple!
There seemed to be something there attracting the star key, and also attracting these three parties!
He had to go in and see!
But in this current chaotic situation, rushing in rashly would inevitably make him the target of everyone.
Liu Qingtian's tree soul raced, and he instantly had a plan.
When the snipe and the clam grapple, the fisherman profits.
Since you are fighting to the death, I will help you add fuel to the fire!
He quietly circulated his power, and a willow branch reached out silently, not to attack anyone, but to gently tap on the dark golden ground below.
The Primordial Ancient Wood Visualization Diagram granted him ultimate control over energy flow, and the power of Wither and Flourish spread quietly along the ground, like the finest root hairs, precisely finding several nodes in the battlefield where energy collisions were most intense and the Law was most unstable.
Then, quietly, he injected a weak yet perfectly timed force of disturbance!
It was like dropping a single drop of water into a pot of oil about to boil.
Instantly, the situation on the battlefield changed abruptly!
At a point where Nihility energy and Righteous Path sword light were deadlocked, a violent explosion suddenly occurred!
The forces that had been barely balanced were broken, and the shockwave of the explosion sent several nearby Void Cultists and a Righteous Path Cultivator flying, regardless of friend or foe!
An indigenous elder was chanting an ancient totem Spell, preparing to deal a heavy blow to the Nihility Cult, when the energy node he was condensing suddenly became extremely unstable and violently backfired, causing him to vomit blood and collapse on the spot!
The Kāishān Realm Mid-stage Righteous Path youth thrust his sword at the Black-Robed Priest's vital spot, when the space beside the trajectory of his sword suddenly produced an extremely subtle distortion, causing his sure-hit strike to deviate by half a fraction, merely tearing the opponent's robe sleeve!
All kinds of "coincidences" that looked accidental but were actually carefully planned occurred one after another!
The already chaotic battlefield instantly became even more out of control and violent!
"What is going on?!"
"Careful! There's something strange!"
"Who is messing around in the dark?!"
The three parties were all caught off guard by this sudden turn of events, filled with shock and anger, and their mutual suspicion and attacks became even more fierce!
They all thought it was the other side's hidden trump card, and their strikes became increasingly ruthless!
Especially that Black-Robed Priest and the Righteous Path youth, who had fought until they were truly enraged, frequently unleashing various lethal moves, with the aftershocks of their energy collisions turning the entire plaza upside down!
Taking advantage of this extremely chaotic moment, Liu Qingtian moved!
His massive tree body, like a ghost, hugged the shadows at the edge of the plaza and slid silently at an astonishing speed toward the entrance of the half-collapsed temple!
His hidden Divine Ability was pushed to the limit at this moment, and with the battlefield energy being incredibly chaotic, no one noticed him!
Occasionally, a stray arrow or energy aftershock would shoot his way, but he flexibly dodged them or gently deflected them with his willow branches.
In the blink of an eye, he had arrived at the temple's massive, damaged doorway.
However, just as he was about to step into the temple—
Deep inside the temple, the source that had been attracting the star key seemed to sense his approach and suddenly erupted with a powerful, pure, yet endless aura of sorrow and desolation!
At the same time, a dazzling pillar of starlight shot into the sky from the depths of the temple without warning, piercing through the collapsed dome and illuminating most of the temple's interior!
This sudden turn of events instantly attracted the attention of everyone on the battlefield!
"Did the Sacred Object manifest?!"
"Not good! Someone has gone in!"
"Stop him!"
The three parties stopped attacking each other almost simultaneously, their shocked and angry gazes casting in unison toward the temple entrance, just in time to see the massive Demon Willow about to disappear into the shadows of the temple!
"It's that Demon Willow!!"
The Black-Robed Priest let out a sharp roar; perhaps he had recognized Liu Qingtian through the Sect's internal wanted list!
"What kind of monster are you! How dare you covet the property of my Yuntian Sect!"
That Righteous Path youth also shouted sternly, his sword pointing at the temple!
The natives let out even angrier roars, as if their reverse scales had been touched, and they rushed toward the temple regardless of everything!
In an instant, Liu Qingtian went from a fisherman watching from the dark to the target of everyone!
Liu Qingtian cursed inwardly; why did this star key fragment have to resonate now, of all times, causing such a huge commotion!
But he didn't stop his movements at all; instead, he accelerated and rushed into the temple!
Get inside and grab the item first!
Behind him, violent attacks had already poured down like a rainstorm, slamming fiercely into the temple entrance and emitting a deafening roar!
The great battle had started because of him, but also because of him, it had temporarily shifted toward the temple!