Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 1295 - 701: Heaven-Devouring Giant Tongue (Part 2)

"Very well, I shall return with Senior Brother." Having already planned his departure, Zhao Sheng saw no reason to decline Wuzhiqi’s request.

A moment later, two silhouettes leaped into the sky, rapidly putting distance between themselves and the Demon Abyss as they raced toward the distant horizon.

Guided by an invisible pull, Zhao Sheng and his comrade finally began the arduous trek back to their home.

...

Time slipped away as more than twenty Ruins of Heaven passed by.

Traveling without rest, the pair covered hundreds of thousands of miles. They navigated around numerous forbidden zones and narrowly escaped death several times, managing to survive every encounter.

It had to be said that the lethal reputation of the Burial Immortal Ruins had once again forced Zhao Sheng to reevaluate his perspective.

The mysteries and unknown horrors of this place were beyond comprehension, possessing a level of lethality that defied the imagination.

Even with Wuzhiqi acting as an experienced guide who had traversed this return path many times, the trek remained plagued by obstacles and constant peril at every corner!

The most lethal threats were not the indigenous creatures inhabiting the "Green Oases" along their route, but rather the erratic "phenomena" that manifested without warning and the terrifying, immortal "entities" lurking in the shadows.

One day, at the edge of the parched wasteland, a flicker of green emerged, soon revealing a massive oasis spanning over a hundred miles.

A thick carpet of dark green vines crawled across the earth and climbed toward the sky, weaving together in a display of overflowing vitality.

Yet, this verdant oasis was eerily silent; no insects chirped, no birds sang, and not a single beast could be seen moving within its depths.

At the sight of this greenery, Zhao Sheng’s eyes lit up, and much of his exhaustion seemed to evaporate instantly.

Spotting the Spirit-eating Vine meant Gui Xu Square was nearby; another ten days of flight would bring them to the volcanic range bordering the workshop.

Wuzhiqi, clearly more acquainted with this vine-filled sanctuary, suggested, "Junior Brother Kui Niu, we have been traveling for quite some time. Shall we descend and rest for a moment?"

"Alright—"

Zhao Sheng began to agree with a smile, but before he could finish his sentence, a sudden catastrophe struck!

A strange, droning hum echoed from the high heavens. Out of nowhere, a massive gray-white vortex swirled within the clouds, its hollow center radiating waves of world-shaking terror.

Then, a colossal tongue, ten thousand feet long and bristling with purple-black barbs, thrust out from the vortex, exerting a crushing pressure. The void itself seemed to buckle under the weight of the massive tongue; violent tremors tore open numerous pitch-black fissures across the sky, turning the world dark in an instant.

Faces pale with shock, Zhao Sheng and Wuzhiqi shared a look of pure terror and shouted frantically as they tried to dive toward the ground.

However, their attempts were futile!

From the moment that giant tongue pierced the void, the two were like flies trapped in amber, completely paralyzed and frozen in mid-air.

"Damn it, what kind of monstrous entity is this!"

As the tongue appeared, Zhao Sheng’s expression shifted violently. He tried to trigger his life-saving Divine Skill, Space-Time Teleportation, but a soul-crushing dread surged from his Divine Soul, warning him of immediate death should he resist.

With eyes wide with horror, he instinctively stopped, his spirit sinking into total despair.

This hopelessness wasn't a choice; it was a primal biological reaction. When facing a supreme being, fear is an instinct, and that fear inevitably births despair!

This crushing weight was perhaps the collective dread of his Primordial Cells, a sensation he could barely fathom.

In that instant, time felt as though it stretched for an eternity while simultaneously slowing to a crawl.

Zhao Sheng watched as the sky-blotting tongue began to glow with a dark, obsidian light, shimmering with countless primordial runes.

Then, the tongue swept down, "gently" licking the earth. It appeared slow, yet its speed was beyond description.

In a heartbeat, the vine oasis was gone, and a massive portion of the earth had vanished with it, leaving behind a bottomless, gaping trench.

At the same time, threads of black light scattered through the air. A few stray strands struck Wuzhiqi, silently sinking into his body.

Seeing this, Wuzhiqi’s face twisted in agony; though he desperately wanted to fight back, he remained pinned like an insect in amber.

Zhao Sheng, positioned near him, was also caught by the black silken light, his body immediately wracked with unbearable pain.

"Ahh, ahhhh!"

Wuzhiqi let out an aggressive howl as a brilliant blue light erupted from him, manifesting a miniature Yellow River that flowed protectively around him.

Suddenly, his body below the neck detonated, turning into a deluge of blood that merged with the Yellow River. From the crimson waters, blood-red monkeys leaped out, sprinting across the surface as they scattered in every direction.

By sacrificing his physical form, Wuzhiqi shattered the invisible binds, using a forbidden technique to split his consciousness in a desperate bid for survival.

"Swallowing Heaven is peerless, run now!"

Wuzhiqi’s faint, dying voice reached Zhao Sheng’s ears.

Simultaneously, his Divine Beast Treasure pulsed with a ghostly blue light, swallowing Wuzhiqi’s head and vanishing in a flash.

Though it felt like an age, the entire event occurred in a mere heartbeat.

Above, the purple-black tongue twitched as if sensing something, but it quickly lost interest.

Caught in the black silken light, Zhao Sheng was powerless. His body withered rapidly, his flesh drying up until he was nothing but skin and bone.

His very will began to fray, turning into black threads that drifted toward the celestial vortex.

But just then, the massive tongue retracted into the vortex, and the black silken threads followed like a school of fish, disappearing into the depths.

Within seconds, the vortex vanished, the clouds settled, and the deathly silence returned as if the anomaly had never existed.

...

In a valley tens of thousands of miles away, two faint streaks of light landed, revealing a skeletal figure and a masked head—Zhao Sheng and Wuzhiqi.

Zhao Sheng immediately looked back. Seeing no sign of the Swallowing Heaven Tongue, he finally let out a breath of relief.

His will was now a flickering ember, so dim it looked ready to go out at any moment.

Having been drained of his vitality and Original Spirit, he knew a quick recovery was impossible.

Remembering the sheer power of that tongue, which surpassed even the Bone Dragon Bat, he realized they only survived because the entity viewed them as insignificant ants. The thought left him trembling with dread!

He scanned the quiet valley, deciding it was a safe enough place to begin their recovery.

"We are incredibly lucky to have survived the Swallowing Heaven Tongue; that was a true brush with death." Wuzhiqi licked his lips, his voice shaking with a mix of lingering terror and relief.

It was obvious he was deeply rattled.

"Senior Brother, what was that thing? Could its power rival that of a True Immortal?" Zhao Sheng asked, his voice raspy and full of fear.

"Junior Brother Zhao, such beings were once thought to be mere myths. How could I possibly know their true nature? Legend says they are the physical manifestations of the Dao, possessing power equal to an Immortal, or perhaps even... well, you understand. Do not speak of this again. To do so is to invite ruin." Wuzhiqi sighed, clearly unwilling to dwell on the subject.

In the Burial Immortal Ruins, naming forbidden entities is a grave mistake, as speaking of taboos often draws their attention. Swallowing Heaven was exactly such a taboo.

Sensing Wuzhiqi’s fear, Zhao Sheng chose not to press for more information.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and looked at Wuzhiqi’s severed head, letting out a weary, bitter laugh.

They had survived the journey from the Demon Abyss, overcoming countless trials.

Who would have guessed that on the doorstep of Gui Xu Square, they would stumble upon a forbidden existence and nearly lose their lives?

Truly, the whims of fate are bizarre, and the path of heaven is impossible to predict