Chapter 157: Chapter 152: The Return of the Radiant Ash Dragon

Anton raised his hand, and the Separation Fire Shield drifted into his palm.

He focused his senses on it for a moment and confirmed that the Magical Artifact’s internal seals were completely intact. Only then did he nod in satisfaction and store the Separation Fire Shield away.

Next, he looked inward at his Qi Sea.

Above his five-colored True Essence, sixty-two ink-jade droplets floated silently, each one as profound and dark as the frozen night.

Sixty-two drops of Dark Heavy Water.

This was the fruit of four years of tireless work, condensing them day and night.

Everything was ready.

’It’s time to clear out the Sighing Crystal Clusters.’

Anton stood up and stretched his limbs.

In the glow of the Light Source Stone, the long robe he wore faintly shimmered with a crisscrossing pattern of runic lines.

This was the Seven-Star Sun-Binding Robe he had refined for himself.

Although the Separation Fire Shield was powerful, if it was beaten to the brink of collapse like last time, it would be unusable for a short period.

With that in mind, he had refined an additional protective Magical Artifact for himself as an extra layer of security.

After leaving the treehouse, Anton summoned his sword light, which enveloped his body and shot off like a bolt of lightning toward the Thousand Rock Hills.

...

「Dark Nether Realm. The City-State.」

As usual, Anton used a Wuyin Protective Talisman and the Shadow Travel Skill to conceal his presence, silently arriving near the central cavern.

As expected, the swarm of Sighing Crystal Clusters was still gathered in the cavern, absorbed in their task of drawing energy.

Despite his significant increase in power, Anton didn’t act rashly. Just like last time, he hid in the distance and released his Five Camp Divine Soldiers into the cavern to lure the Sighing Crystal Clusters out.

Over the past four years, he had continued to refine more Five Camp Divine Soldiers, bringing the total to over 2,700. This was enough to form four Five Elements formations, each with six hundred and twenty-five soldiers.

Perhaps because so much time had passed since the last attack, the Sighing Crystal Clusters had forgotten their lesson. They fell for the bait again and were lured out of the cavern by the Five Camp Divine Soldiers.

Over thirty Sighing Crystal Clusters split into three groups and pursued the Five Camp Divine Soldiers.

Anton chose the largest group—fourteen in total—and silently tailed them.

Once they were a sufficient distance away, he revealed himself and struck without hesitation.

Eight streaks of sword light tore through the air like thunder, crashing down on the Sighing Crystal Clusters.

One of the Sighing Crystal Clusters was caught completely off guard and struck directly in the head by the sword light.

CRACK!

Its hard, crystalline shell shattered like an eggshell, sending grayish-white fragments flying.

The sword light pierced through its body and exited the other side, leaving a bowl-sized hole through its spherical form.

Dark green fluid gushed from the wound. The Sighing Crystal Cluster let out a piercing shriek, its massive spherical body trembling violently as the crystals on its surface opened and closed in a frenzy.

But before it could react further, a second beam of sword light followed, piercing its crystal core from the side.

The shrieking cut off abruptly.

Its massive spherical body swayed a few times before crashing to the ground.

In a single exchange, one Sighing Crystal Cluster was dead.

Anton’s expression remained unchanged. Under the control of his Divine Sense, the eight beams of sword light moved with incredible agility, as responsive as his own limbs.

After his sword advanced to the Profound Artifact level, the power of its light had increased dramatically.

The hard crystalline shells the Sighing Crystal Clusters prided themselves on were as fragile as paper before the profound-gold sword light.

Moreover, the petrifying mist that constantly shrouded the creatures had no effect whatsoever on the sword light.

What satisfied Anton even more was the profound connection between the Sword Pill and himself.

With every turn, acceleration, and change of direction, the sword light seemed to anticipate his intent, reacting the very instant a thought formed in his mind.

The sword light arrived before the thought was even fully formed.

Anton reveled in this feeling.

In just a few moments, thirteen of the fourteen Sighing Crystal Clusters had fallen.

Only the last one was left, struggling in its death throes.

Just then, Anton’s Divine Sense suddenly detected multiple auras rapidly approaching from a distance.

’The main force has arrived.’

He raised an eyebrow, quickly dispatched the last Sighing Crystal Cluster, and then turned to face the gray torrent surging toward him.

Fifty-three Sighing Crystal Clusters.

This was far more than he had faced in his two previous encounters.

This time, however, Anton had no intention of fleeing.

He waved his hand, and all sixty-two drops of Dark Heavy Water shot out, tracing a dense web of arcs through the air as they slammed into the Sighing Crystal Clusters at the forefront of the charge.

In an instant, the five foremost Sighing Crystal Clusters were riddled with holes and killed on the spot.

At the same time, Anton took out a command banner and waved it, releasing two thousand five hundred Five Camp Divine Soldiers. They formed four Five Elements formations, each trapping a group of Sighing Crystal Clusters.

He didn’t expect the Five Elements formations to be able to kill the Sighing Crystal Clusters; he only needed them to tie down some of the enemy.

Twenty-six Sighing Crystal Clusters remained.

With a flicker of his thoughts, the Separation Fire Shield rose above his head, and a crimson-gold screen of light enveloped him completely.

He didn’t just stand there and take a beating. Instead, he charged into the swarm of Sighing Crystal Clusters, using the incredible speed of his Sword Escape to kite them while picking them off.

Sixteen beams of sword light weaved through the gray torrent, and with every flash, another Sighing Crystal Cluster’s shell shattered.

Wherever the sword light passed, crystal fragments flew and dark green fluid sprayed everywhere.

In the span of a dozen breaths, sixteen Sighing Crystal Clusters had been slain by his sword light.

The Sighing Crystal Clusters counterattacked wildly. Dusky gray petrification rays shot from all directions, raining down on the Separation Fire Shield.

The crimson-gold screen of light trembled violently, sending out ripples in every direction.

The glow of the Separation Fire Shield dimmed at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Anton’s expression remained unchanged; he didn’t even slow the assault of his sword light.

He had expected as much.

While the Separation Fire Shield could still hold, he had to take out as many Sighing Crystal Clusters as he could.

SHK! SHK! SHK!

Another five Sighing Crystal Clusters had their cores pierced by the sword light, their massive spherical bodies crashing to the ground.

The Separation Fire Shield’s screen of light had now dimmed to its absolute limit, like a candle in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment.

Anton decisively recalled the Separation Fire Shield to prevent it from being damaged as it was last time.

The instant the crimson-gold screen of light dissipated, a pale cyan glow erupted from the Seven-Star Sun-Binding Robe. It flowed around him like water, blocking all the remaining petrification rays.

Only five Sighing Crystal Clusters now remained before Anton.

He pressed the attack with his sword light and quickly annihilated the remaining five.

Without pausing to catch his breath, he turned and charged toward the Sighing Crystal Clusters trapped in the Five Elements formations.

Some ten minutes later, with one final, piercing shriek, the last Sighing Crystal Cluster collapsed.

The battle was over.

Anton scanned the field of carcasses and let out a long breath.

’Finally taken care of.’

He focused his senses inward, taking stock of his condition.

Of his sixty-two drops of Dark Heavy Water, not one remained.

The True Essence in his Dantian was also nearly depleted, with only a thin layer remaining.

The Separation Fire Shield was dim, and the Seven-Star Sun-Binding Robe was heavily damaged, but thankfully, the damage wasn’t as severe as last time. They would be fully restored after a few months of nourishment.

He had, however, lost over five hundred of his Five Camp Divine Soldiers.

It was a steep price to pay.

But compared to the spoils of victory, it was all worth it.

Taking out sixty-seven Golden Peak Sighing Crystal Clusters in a single operation... what other Golden Tier cultivator could accomplish such a feat?

Anton was in high spirits. He took a Pill from his Qiankun Bag to restore his True Essence, swallowed it, and then began to clean up the battlefield.

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