Chapter 2245: Light Membrane

The golden dragon appeared, and the air seemed to congeal, the surrounding spiritual energy becoming more viscous.

The true strength of the Cloud Flood Heaven Sealed Divine King was fully revealed; space seemed on the verge of shattering at any moment.

Hum!

As soon as the golden dragon appeared, countless spirits rushed toward it like mad,不惜 self-destructing. In an instant, layers of spatial ripples rippled through the mountain stream.

Aofeng, subjected to successive attacks, had his scales crack open, hideous wounds appearing on his body. Golden dragon blood dripped to the ground, sizzling as it shattered the rocks beneath.

Whoosh!

A dragon breath shot out, and dozens of phantom spirits ahead exploded simultaneously, turning into air currents, leaving a large open space before him.

Swoosh!

Aofeng rushed forward urgently. Just as he was about to reach the Earth Treasury Spirit Liquid, a light membrane suddenly appeared, blocking him outside.

"It's a formation composed of phantom spirits..."

His face darkening, Aofeng's scalp tingled.

These phantom spirits not only had their own consciousness but could even unite to set up formations... far beyond imagination.

He raised his hoof and brought it down.

The light membrane shook, ripples appearing again. Even as powerful as Aofeng, exerting all his strength, he still couldn't break through this formation.

"I don't believe it..."

Having reached the spirit liquid but unable to obtain it, Aofeng's eyes reddened. If he couldn't break this thing, and everyone was killed by the phantom spirits, he would certainly not escape either!

So, he must get the spirit liquid as quickly as possible and return safely... otherwise, all efforts would be in vain!

Knowing how dangerous it was here, it would be nearly impossible to get anyone to come in again next time.

In other words... there was only one chance; he must succeed, not fail!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With repeated attacks, the light membrane shook incessantly but could not be torn open.

However, though unbroken, the membrane thinned considerably under the frenzied assault, with countless soul forces rippling out and dissipating into the surroundings.

"It's not a formation; this light membrane is a cocoon formed by countless phantom spirits extracting the essence of their souls..." Seeing this, Zhang Xuan paused, then his eyes lit up.

He had thought it was a formation set up by phantom spirits, but from the power dissipating from the attacks, it clearly wasn't.

If his guess was correct, it was because of this Earth Treasury Spirit Liquid that these trees and plants had gained spirituality. Thus, the spirit liquid was like their mother.

To protect it, countless phantom spirits extracted the essence within their bodies, accumulating over time to form this protective membrane.

In other words...

This light membrane contained the very essence of the phantom spirits!

"Absorbing ordinary phantom spirits no longer advances the soul. Would absorbing this... allow the soul to progress further?" Zhang Xuan pondered.

He had absorbed too many phantom spirits just now; ordinary soul power could no longer improve him. Since these were all essence, they should be effective.

Thinking of this, he casually swatted away two nearby phantom spirits and moved closer to the light membrane. Indeed, he felt that the power scattered by Aofeng's attacks greatly benefited his soul.

Just absorbing a trace brought significant change; it was foreseeable that absorbing more would allow his soul to take a big step forward.

What a treasure!

His eyes gleaming, he looked forward again and saw that under Aofeng's relentless attacks, layers of the light membrane were being shaved off, with powerful soul force surging everywhere, much of it absorbed by the surrounding phantom spirits, making them stronger.

"Such a waste..."

Seeing the phantom spirits absorbing it and increasing the pressure on them, Zhang Xuan felt pained.

Such a good thing being absorbed by these plant spirits was also a waste. If he absorbed it himself, the benefits would be far greater than even swallowing the Earth Treasury Spirit Liquid.

"No, this is all mine..."

Unable to hold back any longer, he walked toward the light membrane.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The golden dragon in the air attacked relentlessly, the violent recoil causing blood to drip from its hooves. Under the siege of the surrounding phantom spirits, its injuries grew heavier, and the entire dragon seemed barely able to endure, on the verge of falling from the sky.

"The Great Emperor has been so kind to me. This thing can help the Emperor advance; I must fulfill the commission and will not give up..."

Gritting his dragon teeth, Aofeng let out a long roar deep within.

For ordinary emperors, the title mostly referred to guidance and kindness, but the emperors of the Four Directions were the Four Divine Beasts, and their titles involved blood relations.

The bond was deeper!

Since the Emperor needed to advance, even if it cost his life, he would find what was wanted!

Attacking madly, the recoil grew stronger, and his four hooves cracked more and more, as if he could not hold on much longer.

His eyes bloodshot, knowing he had reached his physical limit and that continuing might mean death without obtaining the spirit liquid, Aofeng was about to stop and return in regret when he saw a young man who had somehow arrived at the light membrane, cheerfully absorbing the power he had shattered.

"..."

Lowering his dragon head, he soon recognized him.

It was the male divine king from the last pair to arrive.

"Don't mind me, keep going. I'll stay a while and then leave..." The young man waved his hand, speaking amiably.

"..." Aofeng wobbled, nearly falling from the sky.

Brother!

I almost got killed by phantom spirits just to reach this membrane, and I'm still bleeding now...

How did you get here without even wrinkling your clothes? And with that smile, what's so funny...

And the thing is...

If you had this ability, why didn't you use it earlier? I'm practically dying here...

With a resentful look, he continued watching as the young man absorbed frantically, the shattered membrane gathering around him like a tornado.

Two huge phantom spirits, sensing that the thing that made them strong was being absorbed by this guy, roared in anger and charged together.

"Watch out..."

Aofeng shouted, but before he could finish, the young man casually waved his hand.

Bang! Bang!

With two dull thuds, the two phantom spirits exploded into powder, also absorbed by him.

Having done this as if it were trivial, the young man looked up again and said earnestly, "Don't look at me; keep tearing at the membrane. It's already very thin now. If you hurry, it should break in about ten minutes..."

"Ten minutes..." Aofeng spat out a mouthful of blood.

He thought it would break at any moment, but it turned out to need another ten minutes...

After all his hard work, he had only damaged less than a tenth?

How could he break it like this?

His eyes full of anguish, he looked down and saw that the young man had already devoured the shattered airflow, looking at him expectantly: "Keep going... what are you standing there for?"

"Ah..."

With a roar, Aofeng attacked again with all his limbs, tearing off another large piece of the membrane, which radiated light.

Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction and continued absorbing, feeling very pleased.