Peaceful Sea.
One of the most expansive seas in the Flame Realm.
At this moment, the once calm ocean had turned into towering waves.
Amidst the vast waves, endless thunder and rain mixed, as if presenting an apocalyptic scene.
Numerous demonic and strange beasts lurking in the abyssal sea burst out through the waves.
They greedily devoured the strange blood that was as red as rain.
They knew well that if they could absorb the essence of this blood rain, it would greatly enhance their cultivation.
Suddenly, a sword light, like thunder piercing through the clouds, came swiftly.
A demonic beast, caught off guard, was beheaded by the sword light in an instant and sank into the boundless deep sea.
This sudden scene made the beasts, who were refining the essence of the blood rain, vigilant.
Their eyes, filled with savage intent, burned with flames of anger.
"Boom!"
A presence that shook heaven and earth swept across, and a towering figure walked through the air.
Blood and energy surged around him like a true dragon leaping, shaking the void in all directions.
He wore battle armor, his expression stern, exuding an invincible aura with every movement.
With a punch, the immense power of blood and energy transformed into the illusion of a towering mountain, with a true dragon coiling at its peak, its pressure astonishing.
This terrifying force made the many beasts feel an unprecedented threat.
One of the newly ascended fourth-rank beasts roared and fiercely lunged at the towering figure.
"Boom!" A loud noise, as if the heavens and earth were shattering, and the beast, standing a hundred feet tall, was smashed and thrown out, its bones broken.
It was already dead before it completely fell into the sea.
"Slash!"
This powerful individual named Gu Fang, after killing a fourth-rank beast, looked coldly.
Without hesitation, he charged at another beast about to break through to mid-fourth rank.
Meanwhile, other high-ranking members of the alliance also arrived.
Seemingly with a mutual understanding, they each targeted and fought the beasts to the death.
This was the alliance's meticulously planned "Decapitation Operation."
During the large-scale beast hunts in the past year or two, the number of powerful fourth-rank beasts on the land within the alliance's territory had drastically decreased, nearly to the point of being undetectable.
However, countless beasts still lurked in the deep sea, making it difficult to eradicate them completely.
Despite various measures to clear the deep-sea beasts, the alliance had not been able to eliminate them all.
Now, with the blood rain descending again, the deep sea had become the most dangerous place.
Thus, the alliance decided to send most of their top cultivators into the sea first.
They swore to kill all the fourth-rank beasts to prevent them from breaking through with the help of the blood rain's power.
After all, if a beast managed to break through to the fifth rank, it would become a nightmare that the human race in the Flame Realm could not bear.
...
"Boom!"
A loud noise resounded as the ancient Wanqing Tree in the depths of the Hundred Thousand Mountains broke through the third rank's shackles and entered the initial stage of the fourth rank.
Following it, the Tian Gang, Tian Sha, Tian Shu, and Tian Guang Trees also broke through to the fourth rank.
After entering the new realm, they continued to steadily advance towards the mid-fourth rank.
Half an hour later, the towering Celestial Tree, standing at twenty thousand meters, shook violently.
It quickly grew to twenty-five thousand meters high, and its roots expanded as well.
...
[Name: Lu Qingyang]
[True Form: Divine Tree]
[Lifespan: 27/]
[Realm: Mid-Fifth Rank (0/)]
[Heavenly Court: Fourth Rank (/)]
[Divine Abilities: Immortal Tree Spiritual Root (Fifth Rank), Immortal God Spirit Fruit (Fifth Rank), Immortal God Whispers (Fifth Rank), Penetrating True Sight (Fifth Rank), Heavenly Court Domain (Fifth Rank), Control of Wind and Rain (Fifth Rank), Memory Extraction (Fifth Rank)]
...
"Finally reached the mid-fifth rank!"
Lu Qingyang was extremely excited.
In just half a day, he successfully advanced from the initial stage to the mid-stage of the fifth rank with the power of celestial blood.
Normally, it would take at least ten years to break through, or even several decades!
However, after reaching the fifth rank, the cultivation value obtained by devouring lower-ranked beasts significantly decreased.
Currently, the strongest beasts in the Flame Realm were only at the fourth rank.
With his fifth-rank cultivation devouring fourth-rank beasts, the cultivation value obtained was only half of the original effect.
If he wanted to advance by killing beasts, who knows how many beasts he would have to kill.
Now, the short half-day of refining celestial blood brought an improvement equivalent to ten years of hard work, which made Lu Qingyang extremely happy.
But at the same time, he deeply felt the terror of the Heavenly Dao.
The fall of the Heavenly Dao, and the celestial blood scattered in the Flame Realm, were the remnants of the Heavenly Dao's power.
This was enough to benefit the living beings of the Flame Realm, allowing him, already at the fifth rank, to quickly shorten his cultivation years, showing how powerful the Heavenly Dao was.
However, under the current circumstances, Lu Qingyang had no time to think about it.
The Heavenly Dao had perished, and the invasion of the otherworldly Heavenly Dao could happen at any time!
All he could do was quickly improve his strength to prepare for the imminent catastrophe.
Fortunately, after breaking through to the mid-fifth rank, his Heavenly Court domain expanded from five thousand kilometers to seven thousand kilometers, greatly enhancing the speed of refining celestial blood.
The vast area allowed Lu Qingyang to absorb celestial blood freely, and his extensive roots began to absorb endlessly.
And his cultivation was growing slowly but orderly!
...
In the blink of an eye, another day and a half passed.
In the Hundred Thousand Mountains, Lu Qingyang's cultivation once again soared, advancing from the mid-fifth rank to the late fifth rank.
At the late fifth rank, the Divine Tree's trunk stood at thirty thousand meters tall.
The Heavenly Court domain expanded to nine thousand kilometers.
Compared to the mid-fifth rank, Lu Qingyang's strength had undergone a qualitative leap.
The towering tree trunk now seemed to overlook the entire Hundred Thousand Mountains!
Watching the continuous fall of celestial blood, Lu Qingyang conceived a bold idea.
"Perhaps, I have the opportunity to use this chance to break through to the sixth rank."
The transition from the fourth to the fifth rank was a difficult barrier, and advancing from the fifth to the sixth rank was undoubtedly even more challenging.
If he could seize this opportunity and break through to the sixth rank in one go, Lu Qingyang was confident his strength would see a tremendous increase.
At this moment, Lu Qingyang suddenly sensed something unusual.
Above his head, the sky cracked open, and a seven-colored divine light shot down like a meteor, heading straight for his location.
This "tearing through space" was not an exaggeration!
Wherever the seven-colored divine light passed, a terrifying black crack in space was left behind!
A strong sense of crisis arose, leaving Lu Qingyang no time to think. He immediately mobilized his underground roots to break through the soil.
He must intercept this unknown object.
Just by its ability to tear through space, it proved to contain terrifying power.
If he allowed it to strike him directly, Lu Qingyang feared he might lose his life.
The roots of the Divine Tree, like a dragon emerging from the abyss, wielded the power of the late fifth rank, capable of easily stirring rivers and leveling mountains.
However, when this powerful force collided with the seven-colored divine light, it could not resist at all.
Instead, the roots of the late fifth rank were shattered inch by inch.
It was like dead wood meeting a red-hot iron, unable to resist!
For the first time since advancing to the fourth rank, Lu Qingyang suffered a serious injury.
Although such an injury would take only a breath to heal for him, it was not a big deal.
But he knew this strange divine light was no ordinary thing!
Finally, the seven-colored divine light broke through the roots' interception and directly struck his Divine Tree body.