Chapter 3278: The Saintess’ Retaliation
Chapter 3278: The Saintess’ Retaliation
The Celestial tree shuddered in response, as though recognizing a peer... or perhaps, something even higher.
For the first time it felt fear, and began to rise faster, as if trying to escape this world itself.
The cultivators, their fear momentarily subdued, watched in silence. The two Celestials stood opposed across the broken sky, one born of corruption and despair, the other radiating calm divinity.
In that instant, the very air grew still.
Every creature in the Marshes of Silent Skies felt the world itself hold its breath.
The Abbot pressed his palms together and bowed. "May the Heavens forgive the sins of the fallen," he whispered.
The Saintess extended her hand once more, and the clouds swelled outward, enveloping the remaining armies. Her divine Qi cascaded like a waterfall, restoring vitality and easing the crippling weight of the Celestial aura pressing upon them.
Lin Mu’s exhaustion lessened slightly. Even so, he could feel the price she was paying. The energy surrounding her wavered like a candle in wind, proof that even a Celestial acting here was straining against cosmic restrictions.
He clenched his fists. "She’s burning her limited energy to shield us..."
"Then we cannot let it go to waste," the Patriarch said grimly. "Prepare yourselves. The moment she opens a path, we retreat as far as possible again."
The Saintess’s power flared, and thunder rumbled through the heavens as clouds of pure light gathered above the Ephemera Tree.
The two Celestial forces were about to collide.
And the mortal realm trembled in anticipation.
As the Patriarch of the Xian Sword Sect watched the Saintess, countless questions formed within his mind.
Yet, there was no time to ask them. All he could do was watch as the Saintess stood like a divine guardian before them, her figure glowing faintly with celestial radiance.
She wove clouds and winds with effortless grace, forming shimmering shields around the cultivators while simultaneously directing the tempest to destroy the spreading roots of the monstrous Ephemera Tree.
But even with all her might, the Saintess’s attacks could not pierce the trunk of the main tree. The thing was colossal, its bark like living stone, its veins pulsing with eerie violet light.
It was then that Lin Mu heard a calm but solemn voice echo in his mind: the voice of the Saintess herself.
"Lin Mu," she said, her tone gentle yet heavy with divine exhaustion. "I only have a limited amount of Celestial Qi to use in the Silent Lotus World. I can protect you all for now, but I cannot destroy it. I can restrain the Ephemera Tree for a short while, but if I do that, I’ll use up all the Celestial Qi I’ve gathered here."
Her words struck Lin Mu with grim clarity.
He already understood how harsh the laws were for Celestials who entered lower worlds. Their Celestial might was resisted by the world itself, their Celestial Qi almost entirely sealed away.
Most Celestials could only use Immortal Qi while trapped in these realms, and those who could still wield Celestial Qi could only rely on what they painstakingly gathered... drop by drop, wisp by wisp, from a world that did not recognize their existence.
To gather even a thread of Celestial Qi could take weeks, sometimes years, as the worlds themselves refused to feed a being not born of their earth.
The Ephemera Tree, however, was different. It had been born here, nourished by this realm’s essence and the countless souls it had devoured. It was of this world. No restrictions bound it.
The Saintess knew that if the Tree escaped, it would spread its roots beyond this world, perhaps into the hundreds of worlds here, or worse... the immortal realm itself.
’If it manages to leave this world... who knows what kind of calamity it would bring in the future,’ she thought grimly.
If it fled into the outer space beyond the Silent Lotus World, she would no longer be able to chase it. Her Celestial Qi would be spent, her Celesital form diminished to a shadow of itself. That thought alone filled her heart with frustration.
Her options were limited, and time was slipping away.
Lin Mu felt her concern through the mental link. His thoughts raced as he considered what she had said.
The Saintess might be able to save them by restraining the Tree or shielding them long enough to flee, but doing so would allow the Tree to live. If it survived, it would one day threaten the entire Immortal Court.
The Tree had already transcended mortality. It was a proper Celestial lifeform, capable of striking down entire armies or leveling sects with a mere gesture. Letting it escape was unthinkable.
Lin Mu clenched his fists, his mind tearing between options, when suddenly—
HUMMMMMMMMM.
The Sword Cradle Divine Sheath on his back began to hum. It was not the ordinary hum of sword intent, but something deeper... something ancient.
"Huh?" Lin Mu muttered, startled. He felt a faint vibration resonate in his soul, followed by a whisper.
"Let me... fight."
The voice was heavy, like an echo from the depths of time. Lin Mu froze, recognizing at once that the voice was not coming from the sheath itself but from within it.
He knew who was speaking.
The Xian Sword Spirit.
"Can you destroy it?" Lin Mu asked, his tone low, the storm of sword qi rising faintly around him.
"I can," the voice rumbled, each syllable vibrating through his very bones. "If you are willing to pay the price."
Lin Mu’s response came without hesitation. "I’ll do it. Take what you wish."
He didn’t ask what the price was. Whether it was his life, his cultivation, or his very soul, he would pay it.
"Then so be it."
A pulse of immense energy rippled through the air. Lin Mu’s eyes hardened like tempered steel, and he called out to the Saintess.
"Saintess! Restrain it! I might be able to defeat it!" Lin Mu’s voice echoed across the skies.