After the a round of jade light bombardment, almost half of the individual's standing on the lake surface had been wiped out. Of course, the ones that were left naturally had some ability. In front of each of them stood a flickering translucent light shield similar to Zhou Yuan's, that fully protected their bodies.
With their bodies protected by Spirit shields, the footsteps of Zhou Yuan and the rest did not stop as they continued their cautious advance towards the small island.
As they approached, the Jade Infant Tree sent out another two waves of jade light bombardments, shattering the shields of several individuals, causing them to fall into the water and transform into pools of blood.
By this time, Zhou Yuan and several others were only twenty feet from the island, practically moments away from reaching it.
At the lakeside, everyone held their breath in silence as they watched.
Zhou Yuan's eyes were tightly fixed on the small island. The nearer he got, the more tense he became. He had a feeling that the obstruction from the island was not merely limited to its earlier antics…
Step by step, Zhou Yuan and the rest approached the island and soon reached the distance of only ten feet from its shore.
Bang!
It was at this moment that jade light once again exploded from the Jade Infant Tree on the island, sweeping outwards in a circular fashion.
Zhou Yuan and the rest were immediately engulfed by the light.
Buzz!
A buzzing noise immediately rose in the heads of Zhou Yuan and the rest as the scenery before their eyes faded into darkness. A wasteland quickly appeared before them. Only one thing stood on this barren land, a giant jade colored tree.
Tiny as ants before this giant tree, an indescribable pressure swallowed them, causing them to feel intense fear. Fear that made one's Spirit tremble so hard that it began to show signs of dissipating.
By the lakeside, Su Youwei gazed upon the surface of the lake where Zhou Yuan, Zhao Qingfeng and the rest had stopped moving, their bodies now completely still. She immediately sensed that there was something wrong, worry flashing in her eyes as she turned towards Yaoyao and asked, "Big sis Yaoyao, what is going on?"
Yaoyao frowned a little. "It's Spirit pressure. They've been caught by a certain type of Spirit attack and if they are unable to endure, even their Spirit will be crushed to pieces."
The expressions of Wei Canglan, Wei Qingqing, Lu Tieshan and the others changed. If the Spirit was shattered, one would become a vegetable. In other words, the consequences were extremely serious.
Wei Canglan declared in a low voice, "We must save his highness."
Yaoyao shook her head as she softly said, "Don't worry, he is not so easily defeated."
If it was anyone else, Yaoyao would not have spoken with such confidence, but since it was only a Spirit attack, hurting Zhou Yuan who had learnt the Primal Chaos Divine Grindstone Visualisation Method was practically impossible.
While they were conversing, the remaining figures on the lake began to fall one by one. The eyes of each one becoming hollow as if their minds had been wiped clean.
Splash.
Their bodies fell into the water, sinking to the bottom of the lake where they were ripped to shreds by the damaged Genesis Rune boundary before rising again as pools of blood.
In the short span of a few breaths, only two figures were left atop the lake.
Zhou Yuan and Zhao Qingfeng.
...
The colossal jade tree towered before the eyes of two individuals as waves of pressure swept over them.
"Spirit pressure huh…"
Zhou Yuan stared at the incomparably gargantuan jade tree. Although his Spirit was trembling due to the overwhelming pressure of the tree, he did not crumble in fear.
After all, the terror he had experienced before was far greater than anything this jade tree could produce.
"Let me show you the meaning of true terror."
With a thought, formless and primal chaos began to descend from outside the barren land. From within the void emerged a mottled divine grindstone as a seemingly infinite shadow slowly descended.
A slowly turning divine grindstone evaporated everything into nothingness.
The giant jade tree was already frozen with shock. Before the mottled divine grindstone, the former was extremely small and tiny.
The divine grindstone slowly approached and the jade tree together with the barren land were turned into nothingness…
On the lake, Zhou Yuan's tightly shut eyes suddenly opened. The life flowing within them made it clear that his Spirit had not been destroyed by the Spirit pressure.
He turned his head and waved towards the anxious Su Youwei and the rest on the bank, indicating that there was no need for them to worry.
Wei Canglan, Su Youwei and the rest breathed a sigh of relief when they saw this.
After freeing himself from the Spirit pressure of the Jade Infant Tree, Zhou Yuan walked forward once again, and soon stepped foot onto the small island. He did not face any obstructions this time.
When Zhou Yuan stepped onto the small island, Zhao Qingfeng's body shook and his tightly shut eyes slowly opened, fear flashing within them.
The giant jade tree had previously immobilized him with fear. Fortunately for him however, he had managed to endure till the bitter end.
"How the hell does this Jade Infant Tree possess such a powerful Spirit pressure? Thank god my Spirit is strong. I should be the first to have broken free."
Zhao Qingfeng wiped away the cold sweat on his brows as he mumbled to himself. He then lifted his head, only to see Zhou Yuan stepping onto the island, a sight that made the former's expression abruptly change.
Zhao Qingfeng cried out in alarm, "How?!"
Angry white and green interlaced on his face. He had originally believed that his mid Illusory stage Spirit was enough for him to turn his nose up on everyone else here. Yet, how could he have imagined that the youth that looked even younger than himself be freed from the Spirit pressure before him.
The fluctuating emotions within Zhao Qingfeng's eyes ultimately culminated into a flash of viciousness.
As someone who had already aligned himself with Qi Manor, if he failed here, his value in Qi Hao's heart would surely fall, something that was undoubtedly extremely disadvantageous to him.
Hence, he had to obtain the Jade Infant Fruit.
As this thought flashed in his mind, Zhao Qingfeng's Genesis Rune Brush abruptly streaked across the air, the Spirit between his brows flickering. A Genesis Rune was completed a split second later.
"Grade 2 Genesis Rune, Ghost Face Spirit Devouring Rune!"
In the wake of Zhao Qingfeng's final stroke, light exploded from the Genesis Rune, transforming into a ray of greyish-black that shot towards Zhou Yuan's back.
The expressions of Su Youwei and the rest instantly changed upon seeing this as they anxiously shouted, "Careful your highness!"
A piercing noise rang out as the greyish-black light shot through the air. If one was struck by this Spirit attack, the body would be fine, but one's Spirit would definitely be gravely injured, an outcome that was even worse than losing a limb.
From this, one could see just how malicious Zhao Qingfeng's attack was.
As the greyish-black light whistled towards Zhou Yuan, he too sensed something and abruptly turned his head. Murder flitted across his eyes as the view of the attack and Zhao Qingfeng entered his eyes.
"I originally planned to ignore you, but since you want to die so badly, I'll just have to grant your wish!"
Light flickered between Zhou Yuan's brows as a rune of light slowly emerged. It was a Genesis Rune that had been prepared in advance.
"Grade 2 Genesis Rune, Spirit Severing Rune!"
With a swish, the rune turned into a ray of invisible light as it shot forth. Like a blade made of Spirit, it powerfully slashed downwards at the incoming greyish-black light.
Zhou Yuan had made use of the time while they were journeying towards Blackwater to learn several grade 2 Genesis Runes from Yaoyao. The Spirit Severing Rune was one of them and utilised Spirit power to attack.
He had originally planned on saving this rune for Qi Hao. Who could have expected that he would end up using it at this juncture.
Ch!
A faint 'ch' sound was heard as the greyish-black ray was split into two.
Zhao Qingfeng's pupils shrank as he involuntarily cried out, "What?!"
His grade 2 Genesis Rune had actually been sliced into half by Zhou Yuan?
"Mid Illusory stage. So you too are at the mid Illusory stage!" It was at this same moment that Zhao Qingfeng finally sensed Zhou Yuan's Spirit undulations, Spirit undulations that were the same mid Illusory stage as himself.
Zhou Yuan's eyes were cold. The Spirit between his brows flashed as a blurry silhouette shot out. A second later, it appeared in front of Zhao Qingfeng and rushed towards his forehead.
"Since the jade tree was unable to satisfy your craving for fear, let me send you another helping!"
As Zhou Yuan's icy voice faded, the scenery before Zhao Qingfeng's eyes began to ripple. This time however, instead of a barren wasteland, it was a formless void.
Rumble!
A loud sound was suddenly heard. Zhao Qingfeng raised his head and quickly saw the endless giant shadow of a divine grindstone slowly looming towards him.
Before the divine grindstone, the towering jade tree from earlier now seemed so insignificant in comparison.
An indescribable feeling of dread surged in Zhao Qingfeng's heart as his Spirit began to tremble uncontrollably. A faint breaking sound was heard as cracks started to surface on Zhao Qingfeng's spirit.
AAHHH!
Zhao Qingfeng let out a blood-curdling scream as his eyes rapidly became hollow and blank. His Spirit had crumbled on the spot, unable to withstand the fear of the divine grindstone.
Splash!
His body fell into the water, ultimately transforming into a pool of blood.
The lake bank was completely silent as everyone watched this scene in shock. Though a bout of Spirit power was not visible, everyone clearly understood just how dangerous it was.
However, none of them had expected the one to make the first move, Zhao Qingfeng, would suffer such a pathetic defeat mere moments later…
This was clear evidence of just how powerful prince Zhou Yuan's Spirit was!
"Useless!" A terrifyingly icy voice escaped from between the teeth of a stormy-faced Qi Hao as he watched this scene. Zhao Qingfeng had bragged of how great of a genius he was in front them earlier. Yet, this very same 'genius' had turned out to be such weakling in front of Zhou Yuan and was defeated after a single exchange.
On the small island, Zhou Yuan cast an indifferent glance at the body that had fallen into the lake. Without further ado, he turned around and walked towards the Jade Infant Tree at the center of the island.
As he raised his head to gaze at the two crystal infant-shaped fruits hanging on the tree, a look of excitement surged in his eyes.
"Eh?"
However, just as he was about to pluck the Jade Infant Fruit, he suddenly turned towards one of the branches where a dull silver ring was hanging.
A faint but peculiar ripple pulsed from the ring.