Chương 165: Chapter 54: Thunderclap Walnut, Feigning Death, and the Ambush

"A Divine Sense strike!" Reyn's heart tightened as a cold, numbing sensation washed over his consciousness. The tumorous monstrosity's mental assault was far from weak; it caused his Primordial Soul to thrum with a dull, paralyzing ache. Had his soul not been tempered to a level comparable to a Golden Core initiate, that single mental pulse would have shattered his mind instantly, leaving him a hollow shell.

"Flicker!" His body locked up for a heartbeat, but the paralysis shattered almost as quickly as it arrived. Just as the ancient green vines were about to crush the life out of him, he ignited the Star-Chasing Demon Domain Art. His silhouette blurred into a streak of dark light, reappearing a hundred feet away in a violent displacement of air.

"That was too close. Half a breath slower and I'd be nothing but pulp," Reyn muttered, his fingers brushing the jagged tear in his azure robes. A cold sweat prickled his skin. Though his physical body was resilient, being ensnared by a dozen of those constricting, thorn-covered limbs would have been an inescapable death sentence.

"I cannot afford any more delays. If other cultivators arrive now, things will become needlessly complicated," he hissed.

"You had your chance to strike my soul; now, it is my turn to return the favor." Reyn's eyes flashed with a lethal, predatory glint. Channeling his Divine Sense through the golden seal, his mental power surged fivefold, momentarily peaking at the Mid-Golden Core stage. He unleashed the Soul-Piercing Awl, a concentrated spike of mental energy that hammered down upon the beast like a sledgehammer. The cyclopean eye of the tumorous mass widened in sheer shock.

It had used this combination of mental shock and vine-entrapment to slay countless foes stronger than itself, yet this human had not only survived but counter-attacked. Before it could retreat into the depths, the Soul-Piercing Awl struck home. The beast let out a silent, agonizing scream, foul emerald ichor spewing from its distended maw as its massive vines went limp, splashing helplessly into the lake like fallen logs.

"Now!" Reyn's killing intent erupted. Seizing the moment of the beast's mental paralysis, he slapped his storage bag and produced a nut-shaped artifact covered in layers of restrictive talismans: the Thunderclap Walnut. This was the devastating trump card he had looted from Qing Huo, a weapon feared even by Golden Core masters. He flooded the artifact with his essence. Lightning immediately arced across the walnut's surface, leaking the terrifying, primordial aura of Heavenly Thunder.

Lightning was the ultimate judgment of the heavens; from the most exalted immortal celestials to the lowliest of demons, all trembled before the wrath of a heavenly tribulation. The power contained within this walnut was several times more potent than any man-made lightning technique.

"Die!" Reyn hurled the artifact with a sharp, decisive flick. The beast, sensing the impending doom within the walnut, let out a low, desperate bellow that echoed across the water. Its single eye was filled with pure, unadulterated terror. BOOM! The Thunderclap Walnut struck the tumorous mass and detonated. A blinding pillar of white lightning erupted, swallowing the beast in a series of violent, crackling explosions.

The entire lake surface transformed into a sea of thunder, with arcs of electricity dancing across the waves. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work. As the radiance faded, the light in the beast's eye vanished. Its charred, massive carcass slumped into the water, its life force extinguished. Reyn felt a surge of grim satisfaction. Though the beast lacked a formal cultivation rank, its unique abilities made it more dangerous than many human experts.

He had baited it to the surface using Earth-Shaking Finger and Demon Flash Escape specifically for this opening.

"The beast is dead. Time to claim the Mu Jade Sword," Reyn thought. He sensed several rapid signatures approaching from the distance. A cold, mocking smile touched his lips as he prepared for the next confrontation. Splash! Reyn ignited his protective barrier, a shimmering translucent sphere of mana, and plunged into the frigid depths of the lake. He moved like a predatory fish, hurtling toward the source of the resonance that pulsed within his soul.

Deep on the silt-covered lakebed, nestled among jagged rocks beneath the gargantuan, motionless carcass of the demon beast, lay the Mu Jade Sword. Its faint, ethereal glow cut through the murky water like a beacon. A flicker of cold frustration crossed Reyn's face.

"To think the sword was hidden here all along," he mused, his voice a silent vibration in the water. It was clear that anyone seeking this prize would have had no choice but to engage in a life-or-death struggle with that monstrosity.

"Come to me!" Reyn reached out, his mana coalescing into a massive azure hand that materialized from the void. The phantom limb gripped the hilt of the Mu Jade Sword, pulling it from its rocky tomb. But as the sword began its ascent, the supposedly dead beast's cyclopean eye snapped open. It wasn't the dull gaze of a corpse, but a burning orb filled with sudden, abyssal malice.

Before Reyn could react, several slender green vines erupted from the beast's hide like striking vipers, coiling around him with lightning speed. Crack! Though the vines appeared frail and thin, their constrictive force was nothing short of devastating. They cinched tight, and Reyn's mana shield splintered under the immense pressure, spiderwebbing with white cracks in a single heartbeat.

"The beast feigned death to lure me in!" Reyn's heart hammered against his ribs, not with fear, but with the sudden surge of adrenaline. He slapped his storage bag, summoning a disk-shaped top-grade spirit tool. A hazy, protective luminescence enveloped him just as the beast unhinged its jaw to spit a glob of foul, emerald ichor. The liquid hissed against the disk's barrier like concentrated acid, eating through the spiritual light with terrifying efficiency.

Within seconds, the artifact wailed in a dying drone, its intricate runes flickering out. It sank into the silt, its power utterly extinguished by the corrosive bile. The vines tightened their death-grip further, the pressure mounting until the water around Reyn seemed to boil. Barbed thorns bristled along their length, morphing into hollow, needle-like suckers that drove into his flesh with the force of ballista bolts. Thud. Thud. Thud. The impact sounded like heavy hammers hitting tempered iron.

A dull red glow rippled across Reyn's skin as his refined physique—a body tempered to be comparable to a high-grade spirit tool—forced the thorns back. Cold fury replaced his initial shock. The beast had masked its life force so perfectly it had bypassed his Divine Sense entirely. Had his body not been forged through such extreme cultivation, he would already be a desiccated husk, his essence drained by those parasitic vines.

"You dare try to consume me? Die!" Reyn roared internally. He reached into his storage bag once more, and the Heaven-Turning Seal flew into his palm.

"One Seal to Overturn the Heavens—Crush!" He threw the artifact with a violent flick of his wrist. The seal expanded instantly, its golden surface glowing with a blinding radiance as it grew into a thirty-zhang mountain of solid metal. It churned the lake into a violent maelstrom, the sheer weight of the treasure displacing thousands of tons of water. The seal slammed down with the weight of a collapsing peak, the pressure waves shattering the nearby rock formations. BOOM!

The lakebed groaned and buckled as the beast was pinned beneath the golden monolith. Despite the catastrophic impact, the creature's resilience was terrifying. It wasn't reduced to a pulp; instead, though visibly withered and leaking emerald blood, it tightened its vines in a final, desperate act of spite. The thorns ground against Reyn's skin with renewed ferocity, the beast refusing to let go even as its bones were crushed into the mud. Reyn watched with cold eyes, his mana surging to finish the job.