Crimson Star Battle Form! Amethyst Phantom Spirit Incense Heart Image! Chaos Heavenly Fire! In an instant, Nie Kong unleashed these three techniques.

His massive form sat cross-legged in the void, encased by a thick wall of vines woven from the heart image of the "Amethyst Phantom Spirit Incense," with the Heavenly Fire burning fiercely outside the wall.

With these triple safeguards, let alone an ambush by an Eighth-Rank Spirit God, even if the opponent attacked head-on, Nie Kong could remain unharmed for a certain period.

As if to confirm Nie Kong's suspicions, another wave of dark aura silently swept in from behind.

"Hiss!"

The concentrated death energy tore through the wall of fire, pierced the vine barrier, and landed on Nie Kong’s spine with the faintest sensation, barely registering as a tickle.

Immediately following, the opponent launched a fierce assault.

"Hiss! Hiss! You..."

Streams of dark aura pierced the void one after another, sinking into the fire wall, each one as sharp as a blade.

Nie Kong ceased paying attention to the tidal wave of external attacks, quietly circulating the Chaos Divine Art, transforming the Chaos Divine Power into thick vitality, which he allowed to diffuse outwards.

"Ah-yah-yah!"

The little fellow was not idle either, continuously merging its innate medicinal power with the vitality, making it even purer.

Unbeknownst to them, speckles of green began to appear in the dark space, like countless green stars hanging beneath the dark firmament.

Time dripped away...

The attacks of dark aura continued, growing even more frenzied, sweeping like a deluge, seemingly intending to extinguish the Chaos Heavenly Fire outside the vine wall.

Nie Kong remained unmoved as the green points of light in the dark space continued to expand.

They first grew to the size of rice grains, quickly expanding to the size of walnuts, and after a short while longer, those specks grew to be as large as fists. At this point, some closely spaced specks began to connect and merge, and patches of vitality the size of millstones gradually materialized.

This vitality was like a pack of hungry wolves, constantly devouring the darkness in the space...

"This little one certainly knows how to use a trick."

In the wooden pavilion at the center of the lake, the Seven-Colored Grand Sovereign showed an expression of wry amusement.

Gu Quan couldn't help but chuckle: "The hardest part of the Spirit Liquid Seven Realms Bridge to break is this final Black Leaf Space, manifested from that black leaf, an Eighth-Rank peak Spirit God that is both intangible and formless, with incredibly unpredictable attacks. Yet, for Junior Brother Nie Kong, this hurdle seems to be the easiest."

In the illusory mirror surface before them, that inky black space was already flashing with green everywhere; if all this green vitality were gathered, it would account for at least forty percent of the entire space.

"Niu Ji is the bane of death energy!"

"..."

"Hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss..."

The dark auras struck like a continuous stream of sharp arrows, countless dense tips raining down and embedding themselves into the fire wall condensed from the "Chaos Heavenly Fire."

Nie Kong, shielded by the fire wall and the vine barrier, finally felt a trace of pressure.

Compared to before, the Eighth-Rank Spirit God's offensive had grown countless times fiercer. Nie Kong not only had to generate more vitality but also maintain the consumption rates of the "Amethyst Phantom Spirit Incense" heart image and the "Chaos Heavenly Fire's" Chaos Divine Power, which had reached an astonishing level.

At this moment, the pale white mass of Chaos within Nie Kong's body still occupied almost his entire chest cavity, but the interior of the Chaos was largely empty, with very little Divine Power remaining. At most, five or six more minutes, and the residual Chaos Divine Power in his body would be completely exhausted.

"The vitality now occupies nearly sixty percent of the space; that should be enough!"

Nie Kong took a deep breath, suddenly stood up, and instantly retracted the "Amethyst Phantom Spirit Incense" heart image and the "Chaos Heavenly Fire" on his body's surface. Simultaneously, the green specks in the surrounding space surged violently like a monstrous tide, their dazzling green light completely suppressing the darkness.

In less than a minute, almost all the vitality merged into a single expanse.

Nie Kong's body shifted slightly, and he immediately merged into that expanse of vitality.

Instantly, the vitality seemed to transform into a sentient life form, surging towards the dark auras squeezed in the center with the force of an overwhelming wave.

"Hiss! You..."

As if a massive explosive charge had been lit, the mass of dark aura violently scattered, threads of black light shooting outwards in all directions, resembling streaks of flowing light.

In a flash, the surrounding vitality was torn open by countless long, slender rents.

The dark auras immediately rushed through these fissures like a flood bursting a dam, desperately trying to break through the vitality's encirclement.

"Whoosh!"

The vitality surged like a tide, its green glow washing over them wave after wave.

In just a few short seconds, the rents torn open were submerged and then—closed—by the green light, and the dark auras that had squeezed through were swallowed. The dark auras seemed deeply unwilling, immediately launching a new round of attacks, but they were blocked back again.

After several such cycles, the dark aura significantly diminished, and the vitality occupied nearly seventy percent of the space.

"Roar!"

The dark aura churned fiercely, and a hoarse roar erupted from the opponent hidden within. A vague silhouette began to emerge.

Instantly, the dark aura defending against the vitality's encroachment suddenly retracted entirely, shrinking back into the silhouette in the blink of an eye.

The black shadow immediately became strikingly clear.

"Roar!"

With another roar, the silhouette’s palm thrust abruptly and without warning into the vitality that had just surged forward. Inky black energy rolled along the arm, surging inward, resembling whirling blades—the unparalleled sharpness threatening to tear apart any obstruction in front of it.

The silhouette’s hands abruptly separated, and with a tearing sound like ripped silk, the expanse of vitality was cleaved open by a streak of black light.

"Whoosh!"

The silhouette flashed, instantly rushing through the narrow black rift to the edge of the circular expanse of vitality. Sensing it was about to escape, a black vortex dozens of meters wide bloomed from the side wall of the space ahead. The silhouette moved like lightning, plunging headlong into the vortex.

However, just as the silhouette’s body was about to touch the vortex, a glowing green palm suddenly appeared, shooting into its back with blinding speed.

A moment later, the palm retracted.

The silhouette froze in the void, as if instantly turned into a lifeless statue, while the black vortex, now close enough to touch, dissipated without a trace.

Nie Kong strode out of the mass of vitality, a sliver of a black leaf held between the index and middle fingers of his right hand.

It was only when the silhouette condensed that Nie Kong realized it was different from the six opponents he had encountered previously. The previous six figures were formed from various pure forms of spiritual energy, and the spiritual leaf had merged into the space when those opponents materialized.

This black leaf, however, was different; it had not merged with the space but had consistently served as the core of the opponent.

As long as the black leaf remained within its body, it could never truly fail; once it slipped through the vortex into the side wall of the space, it could immediately restore its strength, and when it reappeared, it would be a brand-new Eighth-Rank peak Spirit God. All of Nie Kong's previous efforts would be in vain.

Fortunately, Nie Kong had sensed the existence of the black leaf at the last moment.

With the black leaf secured, the final trial should be passed!

Nie Kong circulated the Chaos Divine Art, drawing all the vitality into his body, then transforming it into the fierce "Chaos Heavenly Fire" to envelop the dark silhouette frozen in the void.

"Huh?" After a few seconds, Nie Kong let out a low sound of surprise. Although the shadow was condensed from pure dark divine power, its quantity was not large, only equivalent to a Seventh-Rank Spirit God, not at all matching an Eighth-Rank peak Spirit God.

Had it been consumed during the previous attacks?

Nie Kong frowned, then relaxed, his gaze falling upon the black leaf between his fingers, a look of sudden realization dawning in his eyes—the vast majority of the dark divine power was actually inside the black leaf.

It seemed he needed to refine the divine power within this black leaf completely to break through this space. With that thought, Nie Kong sat down, enveloping the black leaf with the "Chaos Heavenly Fire"...

"..."

"This is taking far too long. The first six trials only took two months, but this final one has consumed a whole month," murmured the Gourd by the lakeside, pacing back and forth before Tai Yan with its short, plump body, grumbling under its breath. "If I were a Seventh-Rank Spirit God, I could pass this final trial in ten days at most."

"You..."

The others around struggled to suppress their laughter.

Lan Ling studied the Gourd’s round body and teased, "I heard Gu Xian say the sixth trial of the 'Spirit Leaf Seven Realms Bridge' was Ice God Power. If you were a Seventh-Rank Spirit God, passing that sixth trial in ten days might be possible. As for the last one, perhaps a thousand sets of ten days wouldn't be enough."

Qing You laughed strangely: "Maybe, ten thousand sets of ten days would be required."

"You are too mean; you all underestimate me!" The Gourd’s little face turned bright red, glaring fiercely at everyone, its eyes brimming with tears, looking thoroughly disheartened.

"The Gourd is about to cry; everyone stop teasing him. Lan Ling, can you sense Big Brother’s situation now?" Tai Yan said with a smile.

"Still no."

Lan Ling shook her head helplessly. Once Nie Kong entered the Spirit Leaf Space, even she could not sense his condition, unless Nie Kong broke through the space and returned to the 'Spirit Leaf Seven Realms Bridge.'

A full month had passed since Nie Kong entered the seventh trial, and the group had heard nothing from him.

Tai Yan pouted in frustration, only to hear Lan Ling exclaim with great joy, "He’s out! Nie Kong is out! His power is even stronger than it was a month ago..."

"Finally, an Eighth-Rank Spirit God!"

Clear, bright light finally appeared in Nie Kong’s vision; the black spatial barriers surrounding him had completely vanished. The black leaf in his palm disintegrated, and Nie Kong realized the surroundings had drastically changed—gone were the gently rippling clear lake waters and the long bridge connecting to the pavilion in the lake.

Instead, Nie Kong now stood in an ancient, simple room; every plank composing this room exuded an aura of profound age. As his gaze swept around, two white figures instantly entered his view, both sitting cross-legged on cushions, their faces wearing smiles of satisfaction.

One was Gu Quan, and the other was...

Nie Kong’s heart leaped violently, and four words flashed through his mind: Seven-Colored Grand Sovereign!

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