Recruit black physique to start practice in wasteland

Chapter 2371 No Other Choice (Guaranteed minimum monthly votes next month)
The biggest weakness of the out-of-body beetle is that it doesn't recognize ritual objects.

However, this is perfectly normal. Even cultivators in the Cangwu Realm have rarely heard of ritual artifacts, let alone the insect race.

It could have escaped if it hadn't been touched.

When ritual objects receive offerings from other races, their destructive power is extremely strong, capable of overwhelming even those of the same level.

However, whether it's about hunting down alien races depends on the specific circumstances.

If someone were to activate the ritual implements, that would be fine, but now the activation of the ritual implements is purely by their own power.

Especially since this ritual object is damaged, how much power can it retain?

Previously, Qu Jianlei had used the ritual weapon multiple times, and his opponents were either imprisoned or semi-imprisoned.

If we attack the Golden Beetle now, and it's determined to escape, Broken Axe won't be able to keep up the pursuit for long using his own strength.

But for this insect to try to test its opponent is simply courting death!

There's no need for Broken Axe to pursue it any longer. Through the causal lines, he can not only kill the afterimage but also catch up with the real thing!
That's how powerful the causal killing technique is!

The astral golden beetle follows the path of becoming a deity through incense offerings; it's all about this, and it understands the horror of cause and effect better than most people.

It was very puzzled as to why it could not sense any causal signs from the shadow of the axe.

But that's not important now. Its biggest problem right now is how to escape!

Right after it shouted "Causal Divine Weapon," it decisively shattered the projection, with unusually swift action.

The enormous phantom of the golden beetle collapsed and vanished in an instant, as if it had never existed.

As for the losses... it no longer cares about them. As long as it can escape safely and its own body is unharmed, it can be content!
There was another premise that enabled it to make such a decisive choice: it had encountered a trap, a very big one!
Otherwise, it might actually risk its own death to fight the opponent, and it's quite possible that both sides would suffer heavy losses in the end.

Almost at the same time its projection collapsed, the projection of the Out-of-Body Mother Tree also collapsed, or even earlier.

While the scarab beetle was dodging, the mother tree was observing and pondering: why was it hallucinating, and why was it excited?
Then it vaguely grasped the source of its excitement: could it be... the scent of time?

Unlike most creatures, the tree race doesn't care much about the erosion of time; in fact, they are more delighted by the cycle of decay and flourishing!

Without experiencing growth and decay, without the test of time, how could the tree clan grow and thrive?

So, isn't this aura malicious—or rather, ineffective against me?
Just as the mother tree was trying to determine whether what she was experiencing was indeed the passage of time, she suddenly heard the golden beetle shout "Cause and Effect Divine Weapon".

"It was just an illusion after all!" Without saying a word, the mother tree shattered its own projection.

Losses are no object; escaping back home is the only right thing to do!
As a being wholly astral, it also understands the terror of cause and effect, and possesses some related tricks.

In many important matters, it uses cause and effect to judge, investigate, and even punish.

However, it also understands very well that its expertise in cause and effect is only so-so.

If it encounters an entity that dares to use causality to annihilate its opponent, it will definitely run as far away as possible!

Moreover, the Mother Tree was well aware that the Zerg's path to godhood through incense offerings far surpassed that of the Tree Clan in their understanding of cause and effect!

Even the mollusc beetle was terrified and cried out. If it were even the slightest bit slower, it would be a disrespect for cause and effect!
As for things like "time," it completely ignored them—it's all an illusion, just trying to use cause and effect to harm me.

"Just like that... ran away?" Qu Jianlei, inside the tree hollow, was pale-faced, but his eyes were unusually clear.

Behind him, the broken blade was poised to strike—his last trump card!
He chose to use the "Moment of Eternity" divine power, having previously considered whether it would be effective against the Tree Clan.
Unfortunately, he really didn't have many other options.

The Boundary-Breaking Shuttle can be used, but it's even more rigid than the Ritual Vessel; it's purely for hitting fixed targets and has no tracking function.

He was blocked by two projectiles; the opponent was not only agile, but was also merely projecting himself.

Even if this out-of-body projection is damaged, it won't be very serious.

After considering many options, he finally chose Moment Eternity, but what he valued was not the erosive power of time.

He knew very well that the passage of time had almost no destructive effect on the Tree Clan, and in some stages, it was even a very good catalyst!

The withering and flourishing that is slightly inferior to the years is even more favored by the tree race, and he has tested it in his personal cave.

What Qu Jianlei values ​​is the ability to withstand the ravages of time.

The phantom projected by the Astral Mother Tree is merely a form of energy utilization; although it can transform between the real and the virtual, its essence remains unchanged.

The passage of time is unlikely to cause energy to erode with time; it can only exacerbate energy loss—if the other party wants to maintain the phantom!

In other words, Qu Jianlei has to compete with the Nascent Soul Mother Tree in terms of output and resources!
Competing with Nascent Soul cultivators to out-of-body experiences... No matter how you look at it, this is not an idea that a normal person could come up with.

However, isn't this a case of having no other choice?

In Qu Jianlei's mind, the other party's phantom was energy projected from a distance, and there would be energy loss in the process.

The relevant principles do not need to refer to examples from the technology side; they are all around him—the four immortal venerables can project phantom images.

Qu Jianlei's goal is to use his own output to out-exploit the opponent's output!

Of course, this is still a crazy idea. If he hadn't cooperated with several immortal venerables for so long, he might not have dared to consider it.

Over the decades, he has been working hard to improve himself because he has been under immense pressure.

Having already reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, how can one further improve? The only way is to compress and refine the essence, squeezing out even a tiny bit of space to continue improving!
This is the source of his confidence to attempt and put it into practice.

Even so, just before launching his attack, he did some divination and the result was that he would suffer a terrible fate.

He had barely begun his calculations when the two beings opposite him, who had left their bodies, sensed it and immediately attacked.

From beginning to end, Qu Jianlei never imagined that the other party would be frightened by him.

While the possibility of intimidating an opponent objectively exists, he would never entrust his life to an opponent's misjudgment.

In his tactical plan, the key to victory was for Xizhao to use the cover of supernatural fluctuations to escape from the cave and launch an attack.

Whether it's fighting two opponents at once or a battle between a Nascent Soul cultivator and an Out-of-Body cultivator, you must take down one of them first to have any chance of turning the tide!
The chances of using a ritual object to kill a golden beetle are not very high, but the chances of it driving away its opponent are extremely high!
As long as he can secure a one-on-one opportunity, he is confident in his ability to protect himself and then seize the chance to escape.

This tactic is extremely dangerous, and there can be no room for error.

However, objectively speaking, as long as it is strictly implemented, the chances of escaping by chance are still quite high.

But Qu Jianlei never dreamed that the two bodies would perform so poorly!

As I said before, having spent so much time with the four Immortal Venerables, he truly understands all too well the terrifying nature of being separated from one's body.

If the two great beings insist on sparing his life, it would be far too easy for them.

However, he overlooked one point: these two Out-of-Body beings were not from the same species. Not only did they lack tacit cooperation, but they also harbored their own thoughts.

When Qu Jianlei heard Mu Shu believe that he had encountered an illusion, even he was dumbfounded: What kind of magical thought process is this?
After a little thought, he could guess why the other person thought that way.

He could guess it, but he still couldn't understand it—how could the tree race think like that? Were they really that dense?
In any case, thankfully, this unexpected turn of events resulted in a much better outcome than he had initially planned.

Then, the out-of-body golden beetle's reaction was also beyond his expectations... This one would actually take the initiative to provoke the ritual artifact?

Strictly speaking, it wasn't a provocation, but just a test. But testing in this way is just courting death, isn't it?

Needless to say, just think about how fierce the Broken Blade was back then, yet it was still directly subdued by the Broken Axe.

However, Qu Jianlei understood Jin Guizi's reaction: ritual objects were originally a relatively rare means.

In short, he was fully prepared to face an extremely dangerous battle—the Out-of-Body stage is really difficult to fight!

But the reactions and choices of the two beings that left their bodies surprised him quite a bit: This is... that's it?
Not only were the scarab beetles scared away, but even the mother tree decisively cut off its tail to survive, instead of sensing the opponent's weakness and looking for an opportunity to counterattack.

This time, Qu Jianlei's use of the "Moment of Eternity" technique was much more powerful than the last time, and he was still able to remain conscious!
It must be admitted that he has really grown a lot since returning to the empire.

Even with this outcome in the battle, he still didn't dare to let his guard down and forced himself to maintain his awareness of the outside world.

The enormous axe shadow still stood in space, clearly indicating that the battle between the ritual implements was not yet over.

Qu Jianlei could imagine that this person was probably following the cause-and-effect relationship to kill the Golden Beetle.

He was not qualified to interfere in a battle of this level, and could only sigh inwardly: What a pity.

If the golden beetle is the real thing, then it would be a perfect sacrifice.

Without a physical body from another race, the effect was rather unsatisfactory.

"Boss, boss," Feng Yiwang stammered, "Shall we... go?"

It was genuinely terrified, and its body had suffered some minor injuries—most importantly, it was worried about new variables arising!

For a fleeting moment, it thought it was doomed: Boss, you used the power of time to attack the tree race, isn't that ridiculous?
Even I'm not afraid of this, so why would the Mother Tree be afraid?
However, as it turns out, the boss is indeed the boss, and he really scared away the Mother Tree that had left her body!
Tree Demon couldn't fathom what kind of mentality the mother tree on the other side had that would be frightened away by the power of time!
But it doesn't matter if it doesn't understand; the boss can do this, which means it has obviously figured everything out.

That's why it's said that the boss is the boss; his plans are flawless and beyond anyone's comprehension.

But now, the eldest brother is clearly a bit exhausted, so there's no need for him to stay in this troublesome place any longer, right?
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(End of this chapter)