As the light and heat generated by the Black Branch Willow's massive Immortal Energy self-detonation surged forth, King Mistflare released the Immortal Plant Life she had cultivated at great cost.
While shrinking her Divine Body, she commanded, "Ice Crystal, protect me!"
The pale blue flower, emitting waves of cold air, rapidly expanded, then its petals closed, engulfing King Mistflare after she had shrunk her Divine Body.
Numerous enlarged flower leaves extended towards the flower, wrapping around it.
Boom…
The terrifying light and heat surged forth, and the Ice Crystal Flower's Divine Body was also massive.
Its unexpanded Divine Body was continuously torn and melted, then instantly repaired due to its Immortal Body.
Under the impact of light and heat capable of melting Universe space fragments into particle streams, the Ice Crystal Flower's Immortal Energy loss steadily increased.
Even so, its many flower leaves continued to extend and wrap around the flower, striving to protect the curled-up flower.
"Damn it, how could there be an Immortal Plant Life equivalent to a High Stage King-Level Pinnacle here, and self-detonating in such a confined space?!"
Facing the surging light and heat, King Frost Steed unleashed his innate secret technique to resist, his several-kilometer-tall beast body enveloped in a thick layer of ice.
However, the ice covering his body was rapidly melting.
Although bolstered by his innate secret technique, it was also freezing and solidifying, yet it only resisted for an instant under the continuous impact of the massive Immortal Energy's self-detonation.
The defense force field of his refined and fused eighth-tier superb battle armor was breached, and King Frost Steed's Divine Body was torn and melted by the light and heat, then instantly reformed under the effect of his Immortal Body.
"I should have known not to restore my Divine Body's size!"
Feeling his Immortal Energy continuously being consumed, King Frost Steed felt death approaching, his heart filled with remorse and despair.
"Under such a wide-range self-detonation, my Divine Body returning to its original state will only cause me to lose more Immortal Energy."
On the other side, the pale white Five Hundred Vine Star-Eating Grass curled into a ball, enduring the terrifying light and heat impact.
"The Ten Thousand Branch Black Branch Willow, equivalent to a High Stage King-Level King Immortal, is only slightly smaller than the Star Eating Grass in Divine Body size, and its toughness and containment ability are not as good as the Star Eating Grass, but it is not much worse than a Cloud Vine with 360 main vines."
Protected by the Star Eating Grass's numerous vines and leaves, Ender observed the outside situation through his detector, immediately seeing the miserable state of King Frost Steed's Divine Body being continuously torn and repaired.
"A normal High Stage King-Level King Immortal's self-detonation, even one-thousandth of its power, is comparable to a normal High Stage King-Level Pinnacle's full-strength attack."
Ender felt lingering fear, "And the self-detonation of such a massive Immortal Plant Life, especially within this enclosed treasury, increases the self-detonation power exponentially, probably exceeding the self-detonation power of a Pinnacle Stage King-Level Immortal with a Divine Body over a hundred kilometers in size."
"Fortunately, I reacted quickly enough.
The moment I saw the Black Branch Willow, I immediately connected it to the so-called loyal guardians in the native text murals."
"According to the mural text, the loyal guardians of the Holy Land will use all means to kill those who violate the Holy Land's rules."
Ender murmured, "And those so-called 'all means' obviously include self-detonating their immensely massive Immortal Body!"
Outside.
The incredibly terrifying light and heat continuously impacted the entire treasury with the treasure chest as the center, with some of the self-detonation power diverting into the space interlayer through cracks.
But more of the self-detonation power still filled the treasury, which had a maximum diameter of only ten thousand kilometers.
From its eruption to its conclusion, the light and heat from the self-detonation power continued to impact within the treasury for several seconds.
When the self-detonation power ended, the entire treasury walls and floor, cast from special materials, had now turned bright red, all dust incinerated, with only a few pieces of battle armor, weapons, and a world ring remaining.
Within a hundred kilometers of the treasure chest, the ground had melted into bright red liquid, and the ceiling was constantly dripping bright red liquid.
The treasure chest, cast from G-level metal Scarlet Gold, remained completely intact even under such terrifying self-detonation power, its temperature merely slightly elevated.
And during the entire duration of the self-detonation power, four of the six Pinnacle Stage King-Level Immortals present indirectly or directly perished under the terrifying self-detonation power!
"It's finally over.
If it had lasted any longer, my Five Hundred Vine Star-Eating Grass, cultivated for only a few hundred years, would probably have perished directly."
Sensing the extremely weakened aura of the Star Eating Grass, Ender felt heartache.
"To resist the self-detonation of the Black Branch Willow's massive Divine Body, the Star Eating Grass lost nearly 80% of its Immortal Energy, and its strength is now less than one percent."
This Five Hundred Vine Immortal Star Eating Grass cost over a hundred billion Mixed units to cultivate, and now, in its first adventure, it lost nearly 80% of its Immortal Energy, a huge loss indeed.
Unless he spends a large amount of Mixed units to buy treasures that restore Divine Body, the Star Eating Grass will, like the Cloud Vine, only serve as a tool for Divine Kingdom teleportation.
"You worked hard, Star Eating Grass."
Ender put the heavily Immortal Energy-depleted Star Eating Grass into his world ring, then saw King Mistflare with coldness in her beast pupils.
Her fiery red fur was still smooth, and besides her weakened aura, she was otherwise no different from before.
"From the weakening of King Mistflare's aura, her Immortal Energy loss exceeds 30%, and her strength is less than one-tenth.
This is a good opportunity!"
Ender put his silver-white long spear 'Void Spear' into his world ring, took out 'Silence,' which had a purple shaft and a solidified Fei Mo Poison spearhead, and looked directly at King Mistflare with murderous intent.
"King Verdant End, you are truly generous, using the Five Hundred Vine Immortal Star Eating Grass, cultivated at great cost, to block the entire self-detonation power of that Ten Thousand Branch Black Branch Willow."
King Mistflare said coldly, "It seems your teacher truly dotes on you, making you not even care about such a precious Five Hundred Vine Immortal Star Eating Grass."
After the self-detonation power ended, King Mistflare had been continuously observing the only remaining enemy present.
When Ender switched weapons and his gaze revealed undisguised killing intent, she paused slightly, "Hmm? King Verdant End, you want to kill me?"
King Mistflare narrowed her eyes, sneering, "You want to kill me with your weak attack power? How ridiculous!"
Ender frowned slightly, feeling that King Mistflare was too arrogant and looked down on him too much.
"Even if my strength is less than 50% of my Pinnacle, I can still easily crush you, so…"
King Mistflare bared her wolfish maw, revealing sharp teeth, "It's better to be obedient, so you can avoid being crushed, otherwise, don't blame me for taking my anger out on you!"
"Heh, King Mistflare, you are truly arrogant."
Ender shook his head slightly, a disdainful smile on his face, "Your Immortal Energy loss exceeds 30%, and your strength is already less than 50%, where do you get the courage to bark here?
Or are you saying you think I am still the same as I was two thousand years ago?"
King Mistflare's vertical pupils widened slightly, her eyes filled with rage.
She was a top-tier among Pinnacle Stage King-Level Immortals, very close to a Limit stage King.
But now, she was being looked down upon by King Verdant End, who had only become an Immortal for less than ten thousand years, which made her, who was already angry, even more furious.
"Barking?!"
King Mistflare raged, "King Verdant End, if I don't teach you a lesson, you'll really think you can be fearless just because your defense is strong!"
Buzz!
Ripples spread through space, and King Mistflare's fiery red figure disappeared, reappearing behind Ender the next moment, her right front paw, refined and fused with a ninth-tier weapon, lunging out fiercely.
The Universe space not covered by Space Lockdown was quite fragile; a fiery red claw shadow easily tore through a spatial crack, striking towards Ender's face, which was covered by a closed helmet.
Ender activated the secret patterns on 'Silence' while parrying with his spear.
Instantly, the spear shaft glowed with a dark purple light, eerie and mysterious.
Boom!
As the fiery red claw and the dark purple long spear collided, a huge roar echoed, causing the Universe space to shatter and collapse, and invisible shockwaves spread in all directions.
"King Mistflare, your attack power is too weak compared to our last encounter."
Ender easily parried King Mistflare's attack, and while counter-attacking with his spear, he transmitted a mocking message, "Are you tickling me? Do you really think you can crush me with this level of attack power? How utterly ridiculous!"
Thunderbolt!
Ender unleashed his strongest secret technique, fiercely attacking King Mistflare.
In a flash, the dark purple long spear tore through space, transforming into a purple lightning bolt attacking King Mistflare, its spearhead shimmering with a faint glow, mysterious and dangerous!
King Mistflare snorted, not meeting the attack head-on.
Her figure flickered as she swung her two front paws, tearing open spatial cracks while unleashing two fiery red claw shadows.
The claw shadows collided with the long spear, shattering the space, and countless spatial fragments scattered everywhere.
Both Ender and King Mistflare had comprehended the profoundness of Space Teleportation, and they also applied Space Teleportation to their combat.
As spatial ripples continuously disappeared and reappeared, their figures would occasionally teleport to other locations to launch attacks.
Boom boom boom!
Waves of Law fluctuations spread and vibrated, the Universe space shattered and then repaired, and invisible shockwaves spread in all directions one after another.
"King Mistflare, is that all you've got?"
Although they had exchanged blows for several seconds, Ender had not yet injured King Mistflare's Divine Body, but he was not anxious at all; instead, he had the time and mood to mock her.
"Damn it!"
The more King Mistflare fought, the more alarmed she became, "How could this King Verdant End's strength improve so quickly? His attack power is not as weak as rumored!"
Although her Immortal Energy loss was negligible, she found that her defense force field, refined and fused with a ninth-tier battle armor, showed signs of being broken by 'King Verdant End.'
"No! I must teach King Verdant End a lesson, preferably forcing him to make his auxiliary Immortal Plant Life use Divine Kingdom teleportation to leave, otherwise I can't melt that treasure chest."
King Mistflare naturally did not want to miss the treasure chest that had re-closed in the center of the treasury.
That was a treasure chest that the Ten Thousand Branch Black Branch Willow was willing to self-detonate to protect; it must contain incredibly rare treasures!
"In this exploration, I lost over 30% of my Immortal Energy.
If I don't obtain the rare treasures in the treasure chest, my loss will be immense, requiring hundreds or thousands of epochs to recover."
Thinking of this, King Mistflare decided to go head-to-head, trying her best to crush 'King Verdant End.'
She attacked with her two front paws, which were refined and fused with a ninth-tier weapon, and fully activated the secret patterns on them.
King Mistflare's two front paws shone with fiery red light, and terrifying Law fluctuations converged on her sharp claws.
The momentum at this moment was no less than King Frost Steed unleashing his secret technique attack.
Ender swung his spear to engage her, also unleashing his strongest secret technique.
The dark purple long spear was like lightning, meeting King Mistflare's two space-tearing sharp claws.
Boom!
The Universe space collapsed, and the two continuously exchanged blows.
Each collision caused space to collapse, and the un-repaired Universe space collapse range continuously expanded.
"King Mistflare truly lives up to her reputation as a Pinnacle extremely close to the Limit stage King.
Even with over 30% Immortal Energy loss, her attack power at this moment is no weaker than an ordinary Pinnacle Stage King-Level Pinnacle."
Ender praised inwardly, "If it were before, I would indeed have no way against you, but I have 'Silence' with solidified Fei Mo Poison!"
With this thought, after exchanging blows with King Mistflare several more times, he instantly changed his combat style.
His long spear was no longer used for parrying, but directly attacked the opponent's body and torso.
King Mistflare didn't care about Ender's change in combat style, only thinking that he was trying to trade injuries with her.
At this moment, she had passed her initial alarm, because she found that although Ender's attack power was not weak, the Immortal Energy it could annihilate was very limited, and even more pitiful after being weakened by the ninth-tier battle armor.
Boom!
Ender was sent flying by King Mistflare's strike.
He immediately used Teleportation to appear above her body, then swung 'Silence' in his hand downwards to stab.
Thunderbolt!
Like lightning, the dark purple long spear transformed into a stream of light, instantly stabbing into King Mistflare's fiery red fur, but due to the obstruction of the defense force field, it was still one centimeter away from truly piercing.
"Go!"
Ender slapped the rear end of the spear shaft with his left hand, and the barely resisting defense force field was finally breached by the dark purple long spear 'Silence.'
Pfft!
The dark purple spearhead of 'Silence' only pierced slightly into King Mistflare's fiery red fur, and an incredibly terrifying Fei Mo Poison instantly began to corrode her Divine Body.
"No!"
King Mistflare, who had been completely unconcerned before, was utterly terrified by the effect of the Fei Mo Poison.
Upon discovering her Divine Body being corroded, she immediately separated a portion of it.
But… it was too late!
Fei Mo Poison was incredibly terrifying; a Limit stage King required 10 grams of poison to kill, while a Pinnacle Stage King-Level Immortal only needed 1 gram of poison to kill.
Although King Mistflare's strength was very close to the Limit stage King, she was ultimately only a Pinnacle Stage King-Level Immortal.
Even if her Divine Body was strong, she couldn't withstand 3 grams of Fei Mo Poison.
And this time, when she was pierced, nearly 1 gram of Fei Mo Poison corroded into her body, causing her already less than 70% Divine Body to directly lose nearly 30%!
However, the spearhead of the 'Silence' long spear did not fully pierce King Mistflare's Divine Body, which gave her a final choice.
"How could this be?!"
King Mistflare's mind raced, "How could King Verdant End's attack power be so terrifying? Has he been hiding his strength all this time, just to deliver a fatal blow to me?"
"No! I can't continue fighting him.
One attack from him cost me 30% of my Immortal Energy; I might perish on the spot."
With this thought, King Mistflare was about to teleport away through the space interlayer, but she found that the space was incredibly solid at this moment, and she couldn't use Teleportation!
"It's Space Lockdown!"
At this moment, King Mistflare finally realized that the treasury was now enveloped in a pale green light, and this pale green light came from a towering ancient tree over 1,000 kilometers tall, with a massive canopy that covered her.
This towering ancient tree, whose canopy almost covered the entire treasury, was precisely the Gu Yu Ancient Tree's Branch No. 2!
And that pale green light was precisely the Gu Yu Ancient Tree's innate secret technique—Gu Yu Cage!
"Another Plant Life, and one that can use Space Lockdown!"
King Mistflare felt despair.
She knew she couldn't escape, and now she didn't want to be Soul enslaved, so only one last resort remained…