As fine as silk, only four or five meters long, it was the smallest among the thirty-three strands of "Chaos Immortal Qi," and consequently, it should hold the weakest power.
Having learned his lesson from the previous encounter, Nie Kong wasn't foolish enough to target the thickest strands of Immortal Qi.
Composing himself, Nie Kong slipped out of the area shrouded by the seven-colored glow and quietly arrived at the edge of the churning mist. The "Chaos Immortal Qi" tended to congregate, and the smallest strand was right in the center; it would be difficult for Nie Kong to reach the depths of the mist without brushing against them.
And if he did touch them, his fate wouldn't be much better than before.
Thus, Nie Kong could only wait patiently on the sidelines.
"Bang!"
Several minutes later, a rice-grain-sized wisp of "Chaos Immortal Qi" drifted silently towards him from the side. Nie Kong had to fly sideways for dozens of meters before he could barely stabilize his body. That wisp of "Chaos Immortal Qi" did not pursue him as it had previously; after circling a few times, it plunged back into the mist.
Nie Kong lifted his Lingxi Battle Robe to check, noting a red mark on his shoulder.
Returning to the periphery of the mist, sensing the tiny strand of Qi still darting around the center, Nie Kong couldn't help but furrow his brow slightly.
These "Chaos Immortal Qi" strands were truly elusive, vanishing without a trace, hiding within the churning mist and moving with its currents. Coupled with their extreme speed, one never knew when one might suddenly charge out from somewhere, and they were almost impossible to detect before impact.
"Bang!"
Two or three minutes later, Nie Kong was knocked flying again by another strand of Qi.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"..."
"It's truly impossible to defend against."
After being sent flying for the eighth time, Nie Kong finally couldn't help but frown deeply. With his spiritual sense rendered useless, Nie Kong had to rely solely on his eyes to observe his surroundings, making it incredibly difficult to track the smallest strand of "Chaos Immortal Qi" while simultaneously monitoring the movements of the other thirty-two strands.
On two separate occasions, Nie Kong had been less than a meter away from the target strand, but just as he prepared to strike, another strand would suddenly emerge and collide with him.
"Waiting passively won't work; I need a different approach."
Nie Kong’s form flowed like ethereal light as he drifted toward the mist once more.
He circled the mass of mist twice, stopping near the edge of a solid object closest to the side wall of space. With a thought, the mental projection of his Ziluo Illusionary Spirit Incense shimmered forth, and a slender root instantly pierced into the mist, speeding rapidly toward the small "Chaos Immortal Qi."
"Boom!"
It was as if he had disturbed a hornet's nest; the entire mass of mist swelled violently.
Hissing sounds of air being torn apart erupted continuously as the thirty-three strands of "Chaos Immortal Qi," like sharks scenting blood, swarmed toward Nie Kong.
Without the slightest hesitation, Nie Kong retreated rapidly, taking refuge within the seven-colored glow.
Strand after strand of "Chaos Immortal Qi" halted just outside the range of the glow, including the smallest one. At this moment, Nie Kong could have snatched it with a mere reach. However, Nie Kong dared not move rashly; if he truly extended his hand, his entire palm would likely be shattered by the Immortal Qi impacts.
After a few seconds, the "Chaos Immortal Qi" scattered in a swarm, drifting back into the mist.
Kong's mind raced. This trial had clarified one point for him: any foreign power entering the mist would incite the entire group of "Chaos Immortal Qi" to attack.
Attempting to use his Chaos Divine Power to draw out the strands was proving unfeasible.
Various methods flashed through Nie Kong's mind, but he quickly dismissed them—either their feasibility was too low, or they consumed too much time.
Time was what Nie Kong lacked the most right now.
Before entering the "Seven-Colored Heavenly Domain," he had been confident in raising his cultivation to the Ninth Grade Spirit God realm within nine months. After witnessing the "Chaos Immortal Qi" firsthand, his confidence remained, but a layer of urgency had settled in his heart. For the current Nie Kong, not an hour could be wasted.
"Xiangxiang!"
A minute or two later, Nie Kong set his sights on the little fellow.
"Aiyahe..."
The little creature twisted its stem and leaves, and a tendril of vivid green, vital medicinal power seeped out from Nie Kong’s fingertip.
This vital medicinal power enveloped an extremely subtle thread of Chaos Divine Power. Supported by this thread of divine power, the greenness continuously extended forward.
In the blink of an eye, the green tendril cautiously probed into the mist.
Nie Kong breathed a sigh of relief; the mass of mist remained completely undisturbed. Every strand of "Chaos Immortal Qi" possessed a degree of sentience; once an intrusive force was detected, they would react immediately. However, the little creature's vital medicinal power carried no aura of external power; it had successfully masked itself from their instinctive detection.
What reassured Nie Kong even more was that no matter how fast the "Chaos Immortal Qi" strands traveled, they never collided with the little creature's strand of vital medicinal power.
After a moment’s thought, Nie Kong understood.
The Chaos Divine Power he cultivated shared some characteristics with the "Chaos Immortal Qi"; his Divine Power contained his aura, which would inevitably provoke an attack from the Immortal Qi. Once the vital medicinal power veiled his aura, the "Chaos Immortal Qi" likely perceived it as one of their own kind.
This was the only way to explain why the vital medicinal power remained undisturbed by the Immortal Qi. Otherwise, the "Chaos Immortal Qi" would have already ripped it into two pieces, rather than instinctively avoiding the medicinal energy.
"Ayaya!"
The little creature also seemed to realize this, letting out a slightly excited cheer.
Soon, that wisp of green reached the central region of the mist, gradually closing in on its target.
When the strand of "Chaos Immortal Qi" passed directly in front of it, the green light flashed, and the vital medicinal power wrapped around the head end of the Immortal Qi. Then, with a gentle tug toward the edge of the mist, the strand of Qi, carried by inertia, shot forward ten meters before its trajectory finally shifted subtly.
It was exactly as Nie Kong had predicted!
The movement of the "Chaos Immortal Qi" had no fixed direction; they moved randomly, and even a slight external force would cause their trajectory to change imperceptibly.
The force added by the vital medicinal power gradually increased...
After only ten-odd seconds, the strand of Immortal Qi broke free from the mist, circling through space. With every rotation, it moved slightly closer to Nie Kong.
Watching the distance between them shrink, Nie Kong couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement as he quietly drifted out from behind the glow.
Before long, the Immortal Qi was less than a meter from Nie Kong.
"Swish!"
When the strand moved directly in front of him, Nie Kong’s right hand shot out with lightning speed to grasp it. At this moment, Nie Kong's entire palm was covered by the little creature’s vital medicinal power.
As the Immortal Qi was caught in his palm, the green energy wildly permeated outward, instantly enveloping it.
The next moment, the "Chaos Divine Power" contained within the vital medicinal power erupted violently, and an intense crimson flame ignited. The masking effect of the medicinal power vanished completely, and the strand of "Chaos Immortal Qi," like a slender fire snake, thrashed violently, struggling to break free from its restraint.
Waves of brute force reverberated outward. Nie Kong felt a numbing ache in his palm, quickly bringing his left hand over to grasp as well, before his figure flashed, retreating back into the seven-colored glow.
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