Cultivation Starts from Farming Chapter 931 - 408: Turning the Tide
Previously on Cultivation Starts from Farming...
Ascension Dragon Technique!
A crimson dragon shadow materialized from Xu Ping, moving with a speed that defied Divine Sense, leaving a fading echo in its wake.
Xu Ping’s body had already fractured atmospheric layers, forcefully piercing the Ancient Demon, whose guard was momentarily down as it spewed forth insect clouds.
The Ancient Demon lacked the time to even react, only perceiving an untamed, dominant power, imbued with draconic authority, powerfully striking its form and causing its blood to churn as it staggered!
In the subsequent moment.
The scarlet dragon phantom had already positioned itself between the devastating insect swarm and Shan Tianyou!
Boom!
The crimson true dragon fiercely impacted the dense, black insect torrent.
No grand energy detonation occurred, only an intensely grating, tooth-chipping sound of shattering.
The crimson dragon shadow let out a sorrowful cry, breaking apart with a roar, reconstituting into Xu Ping’s individual form.
The Ascension Dragon Technique had been broken!
However, that formidable insect cloud, potent enough to consume a late-stage cultivator, was also arrested by this self-sacrificing strike, its relentless momentum paused.
This brief interruption was already a critical, life-or-death juncture for a cultivator like Shan Tianyou.
He jolted back to awareness, frantically activating his ancient mirror, emitting layers of clear luminescence as he retreated with urgency.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Xu, for preserving my life!"
Shan Tianyou, having narrowly skirted death, spoke with a slight tremor in his voice, his gaze conveying profound gratitude mixed with residual terror.
The other Human Race cultivators silently released waves of relief.
Had a late-stage cultivator truly been annihilated, they would likely have been compelled to beat a hasty retreat.
At this juncture, Xu Ping offered a subtle nod, signaling it was of little consequence.
Nevertheless, his entire focus was irrevocably fixed upon the terrifyingly beautiful figure positioned ahead.
His blood stirred faintly, mana surged without end, his divine sense intensely concentrated.
Xu Ping understood that if this Divinity Transformation-level demon was not contained, today at God Burying Bay would witness the downfall of the Outer Sea Human Race.
"Intriguing..."
The beautiful woman did not assail him instantly, her captivating eyes appraising Xu Ping from his head to his toes, her lips curling into an increasingly amused smirk.
"A mere mid-stage Nascent Soul, yet your Divine Sense and Divine Techniques are comparable to the late stage, even exceeding it."
"Such potential would be deemed exceptional even within my Holy Race."
Her voice possessed a languid allure yet harbored a chilling intent to kill, "Consuming you would further empower this incarnation of mine."
Xu Ping’s expression remained impassive, merely raising his hand slowly.
Seventy-three magic swords hummed to life once more, forming a tightly interwoven sword array before him.
"Consume me?"
Xu Ping's voice was measured, "Let us ascertain if you... possess the capacity for it!"
Upon hearing this, a flicker of darkness traversed the beautiful woman’s starry eyes, and in an instant, black insects swarmed the heavens.
Witnessing this spectacle, Xu Ping’s countenance grew exceptionally grim.
The sword array, confronting this deluge, might offer a slight impediment to its advance but would scarcely inflict damage upon its core, merely draining his spiritual energy.
Should he become ensnared, the magical treasures' radiance would swiftly wane, and his physical body would be gnawed into nothingness!
A different strategy was imperative.
Within the depths of Xu Ping’s gaze, an extreme, deathly gray hue slowly ascended.
A force capable of reducing all to utter oblivion erupted from within him!
"Annihilation!"
Xu Ping extended his fingers like a blade, pointing from a distance.
A gray-white divine light, not brilliant but rather somber, erupted from his fingertips, silently impacting the surging black insect cloud!
There was no thunderous explosion, no dazzling spectacle.
The instant that gray-white divine light brushed against the insect cloud, it resembled nothing more than a tiny stone cast into water, creating faint ripples.
Yet, those peculiar black insects, typically resilient to magical artifacts, seemed to have all life force and vitality instantaneously leached away, their minute compound eyes losing their luster.
They plummeted in droves, akin to autumnal foliage carried by the wind, rustling down from the sky.
In the span of a breath.
A dense "black rain" descended between Xu Ping and the beautiful woman!
The insect rain had not yet reached the sea's surface before it transformed directly into exceedingly fine gray powder, dispersing with the wind, as if it had never existed.
"Effective!"
Observing this, Xu Ping finally released a prolonged exhalation, having maintained taut control, feeling a slight ease in his previously clenched tension.
Indeed, this Life and Death Divine Light possessed an unparalleled potency; it bypassed any defense, directly draining vital essence.
If even this formidable technique proved insufficient against this peculiar swarm, he would likely be compelled to unleash his ultimate trump cards merely to survive the predicament.
At this critical juncture, the usually serene and composed visage of the beautiful woman betrayed a subtle yet discernible alteration.
A fleeting flicker of astonishment and surprise manifested within her captivating gaze, her exquisitely shaped eyebrows knitting together ever so slightly.
"Are you truly desperate?"
Through her keen insight, she readily perceived that such divine techniques frequently incurred substantial tolls, predominantly by consuming the caster's lifespan and primordial qi as their very essence; the greater the bestowed power, the more catastrophic the expenditure.
From her perspective, this gambit was no different than imbibing a deadly poison to quench an insatiable thirst.
"I wish to ascertain precisely how much lifespan a mere lower-realm Nascent Soul cultivator such as yourself possesses to lavishly expend, and how long you can possibly endure such a draining consumption!"
A chilling, derisive smile began to play upon the beautiful woman's crimson lips.
Once more, she parted her lips.
This time, an even more colossal and concentrated deluge of pitch-black insects erupted forth, akin to a dam breaching its confines, their sole aim being to deplete Xu Ping through sheer overwhelming numbers!
Upon witnessing this spectacle, Xu Ping felt no apprehension, but rather a surge of exhilaration, a hint of icy mockery even glinting in his thoughts.
To engage him in a contest of endurance?
To determine who commanded greater reserves?
Such a notion was tantamount to actively seeking one's own demise!
Let alone the fact that, having perfected the cultivation of the Life and Death Divine Light, his mastery over its power had attained the Transformation Realm, resulting in an expenditure far less than what external observers might anticipate.