"Boom!"
With a deafening roar, the golden Dao fruit shattered, subsequently forming a massive palace.
The branches of the Enlightenment Tree spread unceasingly, the entire trunk instantly expanding by a significant margin.
Following luxuriant foliage came the blooming and fruiting.
This force, which gathered the power of myriad Great Daos, converged at the branch tips, then bloomed into countless beautiful flowers.
After blooming, the transformation did not cease.
Mysterious fruits appeared on the tree; these were the top-tier heavenly treasures they were now pursuing: the [Enlightenment Fruit].
The [Enlightenment Fruit] could be consumed directly, not only greatly enhancing one's aptitude but also allowing for easy entry into a state of enlightenment to comprehend the Great Dao.
However, its effect was generally gradual. The higher one's cultivation, the more arduous it became to enter a state of comprehension.
Therefore, to allow the [Enlightenment Fruit]'s efficacy to manifest instantly, alchemists refined the power from the [Enlightenment Fruit] and integrated it with other immortal herbs, forging it into the ninth-grade pill, the [Enlightenment Pill].
For individuals with high cultivation, the [Enlightenment Pill] was extremely precious.
Aside from the [Enlightenment Fruit], the rarity of the other medicinal ingredients used to refine the [Enlightenment Pill] was not much less than that of the [Enlightenment Fruit], with the only difference being the relatively stringent conditions for the appearance of the [Enlightenment Fruit].
Now that the [Enlightenment Fruit] was resolved through Li Qingyun, the other medicinal ingredients were no longer as difficult to obtain.
The worlds they had saved had sent vast amounts of treasures each time they departed. Among these were some extremely rare medicinal herbs. If any were missing, they could also be found in Senior Brother Xian's medicinal garden.
Upon witnessing this phenomenon, Wang Teng was also overjoyed, exclaiming, "Haha! I see the [Enlightenment Fruit]! That's awesome, Brother Qingyun!"
The others were also immensely pleased.
"What a catch! As expected of a plant person, I want one too!"
"Damn it, you scoundrel, are you ambushing me while I'm watching my teammate?"
"..."
Returning to the battlefield, the moment Li Qingyun achieved the Immortal King realm, the entire strategic landscape of the battlefield underwent a seismic shift.
Of course, an Immortal King was still an immortal. The process merely involved the maturation of a Dao fruit, hence this realm did not have heavenly tribulations. The greatest heavenly tribulation a cultivator might encounter in their lifetime was the tribulation on the path to ascension.
In an instant, the balance between the two sides was shattered.
The native Immortal Kings of this world, upon seeing Li Qingyun break through to the Immortal King realm, were ecstatic!
Having cooperated with the Ice Sword Mercenary Group for so long, they had already deeply recognized the strength of these external reinforcements. Now, they were utterly convinced that Li Qingyun would be able to defeat Falana in a one-on-one combat.
Vast power surged into Li Qingyun's body. He was completely sublimated, all his injuries healing instantly. This was a transformation at the rule level.
Previously, he had unleashed a massive amount of spell arts on Falana, but the effect was minimal because his rules were a tier lower than Falana's.
But now, it was different. When both were at the same realm,
Falana's entire complexion turned pale, "I personally created an Immortal King, am I to become a sinner of the Sky-Slaying Clan?"
Yes, he was about to become a sinner.
Earlier, he had seemed to want to savor the look of despair in Li Qingyun's eyes, so he hadn't gone all out, fearing he might kill him with a single blow.
Before he could successfully humiliate him, the opponent had actually broken through to the Immortal King realm by borrowing his strength.
This was bad, a huge problem!
"I am no match for him!"
Before the fight even began, Falana had already concluded this about himself. It was truly a testament to the Ice Sword Mercenary Group's reputation of being unrivaled in the same realm.
Thus, he instinctively wanted to retreat. But how could Li Qingyun let him retreat?
"Trying to run after a beating? Do you think I have no temper!"
With a flash of light, Li Qingyun and Falana collided.
"Desolation Curse!"
Li Qingyun immediately unleashed a cast-on-the-fly [Desolation Curse]. Falana was utterly unable to dodge it.
Weakness immediately filled his entire body, and he was filled with terror.
Because his most prided strength was no longer able to gain any advantage in the previous collision.
"Damn it! Get lost! Don't force me to use [Demon Body Sacrifice to Heaven]!"
Li Qingyun sneered, "Can you even use it?"
With a wave of his hand, the [Creation Azure Lotus] appeared behind Falana.
Though he clearly sensed the incoming attack, he simply could not evade it, as if he had been locked on.
"Just an ordinary immortal artifact, nothing special..."
This was Falana's inner thought. If Li Qingyun knew his inner thoughts, he would probably burst into laughter.
This [Creation Azure Lotus] had just devoured a thousand immortal artifacts a few days ago. You call this an ordinary immortal artifact?
And so, when his head was struck by the [Creation Azure Lotus], it felt as if his head had been hit by an entire world.
The immense power of world origin erupted at this moment. His entire head was thrown into disarray, and he lost consciousness.
Following this, Li Qingyun raised his foot and delivered a fierce kick.
Azure petals flew everywhere. Falana was subjected to a powerful impact. By the time he regained his senses, almost all the ribs in his body were fractured.
"Pfft—"
He spat out a mouthful of blood, then turned and fled in panic, utterly terrified and unwilling to fight Li Qingyun any longer.
Seeing Falana flee, the others anxiously shouted, "Kid! Chase him quickly!"
"Don't let him escape!"
Li Qingyun, of course, would not let him leave so easily. About three seconds after Falana fled.
A mark resembling an azure lotus appeared on Falana's chest, flashing continuously.
This was planted into him during his earlier fight with Li Qingyun, and its effect was simple and brutal: direct detonation!
Li Qingyun's gaze was sharp. With a grasp of his hand, he commanded, "Explode!"
"Boom!"
A deafening roar split the heavens. Countless petals scattered amidst the explosion, and the phantom image of an azure lotus appeared within the blast.
Falana stumbled out of the explosion, his entire being extremely weakened. Even though he was a ninth-realm Sky-Slaying Clan expert and was being crushed, he wouldn't die so easily.
Li Qingyun was also slightly surprised. He had poured most of his world power into the azure lotus mark for this explosion, yet it hadn't killed him.
Falana, half-dead, taunted, "You're just so-so. Could you kill me if I wanted to run? Useless!"
He spoke with such arrogance, as if he were the victor.
But it didn't matter. Li Qingyun disdainfully curled his lips, "Although you think you're running very fast, I still have to remind you that you're injured, and severely so. You were also hit by my [Desolation Curse], and you're extremely weak right now."
"So what......"
As Falana finished speaking, he suddenly twitched. He looked at his wounds, and the blood seeping out turned purple. Greedy蛊 worms began to burrow into his body through the blood.