The Eight Desolate Fire Dragon let out a deafening roar that shook the heavens and charged forward into the Black Water Mystic Snake's poisonous breath.
In an instant, the red flames broke through the black wave, and even though the huge body of the red dragon shrank suddenly, it still remained fierce and ferocious, not afraid of the snake that was several times larger than itself.
"Bang!"
The dragon and snake collided with a loud boom. However, the Eight Desolate Fire Dragon was not a physical entity, and coupled with Li Xiu no longer controlling its solid form with spiritual energy, its body directly burst open, turning into a rough red fire wave that engulfed half of the Black Water Mystic Snake's body!
The red fire wave seemed almost substantial, not only causing the Black Water Mystic Snake to scream in pain, but also nearly knocking it off the Jianmu tree.
The once arrogant Black Water Mystic Snake was now half-bloodied, with its scales broken and charred. Its hindquarters were tightly wrapped around the trunk, suspending itself from falling off the Jianmu tree.
After being struck by the Eight Desolate Fire Dragon, the tree hole in the Jianmu tree that had already expanded suddenly widened even more. Compared to the entire Jianmu tree, it was now a ghastly wound.
After the raging red fire wave passed, the Black Water Mystic Snake's body tensed up and once again straightened its snake body, drilling into the tree hole. This time, there were no more annoying little bugs blocking its way, but the scene before it made its snake eyes widen in an instant: the stone door to the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury had actually closed again.
"Boom!"
The Black Water Mystic Snake swung its huge snake head and smashed it against the stone door. This ferocious force was enough to move mountains and oceans. The hundreds of feet thick Jianmu tree trunk trembled violently under this impact, as if it were about to break.
The Black Water Mystic Snake was like a predator that had lost its prey just before it reached it, and was forcefully yanked back. It was now plunged into uncontrollable rage, and its huge, solid snake head began to furiously hit the stone door.
The force and noise of the Black Water Mystic Snake's pounding were so intense that even the Ghost King and the others, who were several hundred feet away, couldn't help but change their expression.
It seemed as if something unexpected had happened. The Ghost King and the others hurried over to investigate, but from the side, they suddenly saw that the stone door of the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury had already been closed.
From the damaged trunk of the Jianmu tree, it was clear that not only one stone door but the entire treasury was embedded deep within the trunk of the tree. This meant that trying to enter the treasury by digging into the tree trunk next to the stone door was simply wishful thinking.
Furthermore, the gray and white strange stones used to construct the treasury were incredibly hard. Even the Black Water Mystic Snake's forceful blows, capable of knocking over mountains and boulders, couldn't leave a single crack on them.
The Ghost King, after realizing the situation, flew back with a dark and angry face. He had never expected that the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury could be closed even after being opened. He was frustrated and helpless, not knowing what to do next.
At this moment, in the midst of the Black Water Mystic Snake's rage, it realized that the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury could not be opened by force. It began to harbor the idea of venting its anger and turned its attention to the crowd in the sky.
Yun Yilan noticed the Black Water Mystic Snake's unusual movement and quickly flew back.
As expected, the Black Water Mystic Snake suddenly turned its head, straightened its body, and violently spewed out a black poisonous breath that covered the sky like a cloud. The poisonous breath spread hundreds of feet in an instant, accompanied by a violent wind.
Many disciples from both the righteous and demonic sects were unable to avoid it and were immediately poisoned. Their bodies began to wither and crack, and they fell to their deaths in mid-air.
Just this one breath of poison killed hundreds of people, causing both the righteous and demonic sects to suffer heavy losses. Those who managed to survive with the protection of their magic treasures dared not stay any longer and tried to fly out several miles before stopping to regroup.
Suddenly, the sky seemed to darken, and everyone was puzzled. They were already above the clouds, and it was just clear blue sky moments ago. How could the weather change so suddenly? They looked up at the sky.
They saw a large area of orange-yellow color appear on the sky above the nine heavens, covering several hundred feet in diameter, blocking out the sunlight.
Suddenly, accompanied by a phoenix-like clear cry, the orange-yellow clouds rapidly approached, and the figure became clear, revealing a giant bird covered in orange-yellow feathers, flapping its wings and diving down.
Before the people had a chance to scatter and flee, they were all killed by the hurricane-like wings of the bird, which were as large as mountains. Their bodies turned into clusters of blood mist that scattered in the air.
Now, looking around, only a dozen or so people were left, both from the righteous and the demonic sects. All the disciples had perished, and the surviving ones were all powerful elders and members.
Next, the giant bird hung in the air and not only showed no fear towards the Black Water Mystic Snake coiled around the tree trunk, but also looked at it coldly without any intention of attacking.
The Black Water Mystic Snake, facing this giant bird, put away its arrogant and disdainful attitude towards all creatures, coiled up its body tightly, and hissed with its tongue, ready for battle.
The Ghost King's face, covered in gloom, finally eased a bit upon seeing this orange-yellow bird. Without the treasures of the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury, having this Nine Heavens Divine Beast - the Yellow Bird - was also good.
In the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury, Li Xiu stood surrounded by darkness, with only a wooden platform in the distance flashing with rainbow light.
As he turned his head to look at the trembling stone door, his expression became somewhat strange. It wasn't he who had closed the stone door just now; after he had entered, the stone door had automatically closed, as if not allowing anyone else to enter.
The wooden platform was about half a person's height and approximately the thickness of an infant's arm. It was supported by a round wooden pillar that connected to the ground, with a one-foot platform on top of the pillar.
In the middle of the platform was an ancient and simple wooden cup. Upon closer inspection, Li Xiu realized that the wooden platform and the wooden cup were actually connected to the underground Jianmu tree.
The object inside the wooden cup was what caught Li Xiu's attention the most. The cup was about three inches tall and two inches wide, and contained a transparent liquid with a unique fragrance.
On top of the liquid in the cup was a small five-sided transparent stone that emitted light, forming a semicircular light screen on the small wooden platform. Despite the swaying of the Jianmu tree, the stone still kept the liquid inside the cup still, with no ripples appearing.
Li Xiu guessed that the reason why the wooden platform and cup were connected to the strange tree below was to use the strong vitality of the Jianmu to preserve the Heavenly Emperor's Dark Stone.
The reason why the Black Water Mystic Snake was driven crazy to enter was because of the spiritual liquid containing the vitality of the Jianmu and the Heavenly Emperor's Dark Stone in the cup.
Li Xiu reached out to take the cup but encountered a barrier of light. He gradually exerted force, and the golden light emitted by the Heavenly Emperor's Dark Stone became more intense.
Finally, the light screen could not withstand the pressure and shattered, and at the same time, the Heavenly Emperor's Dark Stone suddenly emitted a much larger and brighter golden light than before, shining directly on the dome of the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury.
Then, a mysterious and distant voice rang out from the treasury, like the chanting of a Buddha in a sacred mountain or the whispering of a lonely soul in the Nine Netherworlds.
The mysterious chanting voice grew louder and louder, and the golden light suddenly radiated and shot towards the walls of the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury.
Under the shining golden light, large golden characters appeared in mid-air, with vigorous and fierce strokes. The first sentence read: "Heaven and earth are heartless, treating all creatures as straw dogs..."
A clear look of joy appeared on Li Xiu's face. This was the third volume of the Heavenly Book that he had been missing. With this volume, the cultivation technique he had created might be able to reach perfection.