Chapter 54: Becoming a Long-Term Holdout

Ning Peach Blossom bristled with resentment. She shot Ye Chen a sidelong glance, and a flicker of icy killing intent passed through her eyes before vanishing once more.

Then she smiled faintly, serene and unruffled, as if no anger had touched her at all. Calm, composed, and steady, she said with a light laugh, “That black flood dragon came here to make trouble for me. That was indeed unexpected. But if you think you can simply cast me aside, then you are underestimating me.”

A sudden rain of blossoms fell from the sky.

The heavens and earth shuddered, and a gigantic peach tree, its entire trunk charred black, seemed to emerge in the distance.

Though separated by a stretch of space, it felt as if the void itself had been compressed together.

The tree’s enormous blackened branches extended outward like straight swords piercing the firmament, carrying a piercing, murderous sharpness that sent chills down the spine.

Then came a thunderous boom, as if even the sky itself were about to be torn open.

Ning Peach Blossom had no choice. She would have to draw upon the power of her true form after all.

At that moment, dense black clouds rolled down from above. Within them, streaks of lightning coiled and thunder gathered, ready to burst forth. Golden bolts of lightning twisted like electric serpents through the boundless void.

The peach tree seemed startled. A charred branch upon it snapped off at once, then shot through the void like black lightning, swift as a thunderclap.

But no matter how fast it was, there was always a limit. It was still a blind spot beyond the reach of mortal power, and before the majesty of heaven and earth, it remained woefully inadequate.

With a crack, a vast lance of lightning pierced the void and struck the branch. Layer by layer, its outer bark peeled away, revealing the charred core beneath, and then one shocking fissure after another began to appear.

Splinters of peach wood fell away, turning to dust and scattering into the air.

Clearly, the branch had originally been left as a hidden safeguard, meant to give Ning Peach Blossom’s avatar a little more protection.

But heaven had shown it no favor. The moment it had barely revealed itself, lightning had already come to slay it.

The branch had once been as hard as immortal gold and divine iron, by no means easy to destroy.

It was something no human force could shake, yet before the might of the heavens it was no different from a mantis trying to stop a chariot, utterly meaningless.

The branch was reduced to ash, though it did not leave behind nothing.

From the scattered remains, wisps of gray-black energy drifted forth like traces of lingering smoke. Intertwined together, they all surged toward the void realm.

At the same time, the peach tree itself hastily retreated, as if a clay bodhisattva crossing the river had no hope of saving even itself.

The torrent of thunder was dragged along with it, crashing down mercilessly upon the peach tree. Trying to run? It would not be so easy.

In the void realm, Ning Peach Blossom was startled. “This is bad. It didn’t even buy me enough time.”

“That gray-black energy is the essence left behind by a peach branch. After being refined by thunder, burned to charcoal, and reduced to dust, just how much support can this little remnant really give me?”

“If that branch had fallen into this dream world, I could have treated it as a vessel and used it to bear power. Then dealing with the black flood dragon would naturally be no trouble. But now it is much less certain.”

Ning Peach Blossom felt deeply helpless. To be so constrained and bound at every turn was simply too difficult.

And yet, all of this was part of defying heaven and changing fate. No hardship was too great.

The true form was indeed much stronger, but it was also far more restricted. If she wanted to seize the chance to alter destiny, she would most likely still have to rely on this split avatar. Otherwise, the matter would become truly troublesome.

Ordinary dream butterflies died after seven days. So how did they break free of their predetermined fate and achieve such a magnificent transformation?

It could be said that Ning Peach Blossom played a crucial role in this process. Otherwise, perhaps after endless ages there would still be dream butterflies that shattered the shackle of death and welcomed rebirth, but that would have had nothing whatsoever to do with Ye Chen.

That would merely be a matter of endless time increasing the odds, and there was nothing praiseworthy about it.

But for Ning Peach Blossom to copy that path was by no means certain.

Everything depended on chance and coincidence. Even if all the necessary conditions were gathered and everything were done again from the beginning, Ning Peach Blossom had no idea what the final outcome would be.

Ning Peach Blossom had seized the opportunity to plant a stake in Ye Chen’s void realm, intending to become a long-term squatter. If it were uprooted now, who could she complain to? She would suffer a tremendous loss.

Ye Chen coming after her had not truly surprised Ning Peach Blossom. Since she had plotted against others, she naturally had to bear the corresponding backlash.

But it had come too early. By Ning Peach Blossom’s estimation, even if all this were to happen, it should have been after Ye Chen’s wings had fully matured.

Just then, strands of gray-black energy fell into the void realm, and Ning Peach Blossom could no longer wait. No matter how useful that peach-branch essence might be, at this crucial moment it might be the final straw that broke the camel’s back.

Ning Peach Blossom was not unable to defeat the black flood dragon; it was merely that the dragon’s remaining strength was inexhaustible, making it difficult for her to continue.

Divine light roared all over Ning Peach Blossom’s body as she forcibly pushed the black flood dragon aside. Then her figure retreated swiftly before lunging toward the gray-black energy.

Just as she seemed about to pounce like a famished tiger on its prey and draw ever closer to that gray-black energy, an unexpected change occurred.

In an instant, heaven and earth shifted. The mountains, rivers, and skies all changed in temperament. A hazy curtain of light and rain surged forth like a great waterfall, rolling down in a violent sweep, and the strands of gray-black energy changed direction at once, shifted in an instant.

Ning Peach Blossom had been very close to the gray-black energy, so close it had seemed within reach. But with this sudden change, that distance, though only a single step, became as insurmountable as a heavenly moat.

She had been just about to obtain those strands of gray-black energy, and there would not have been any problem in refining them. After all, their essence was one and the same. Yet the meat that had nearly reached her mouth had flown away just like that.

“Are you truly going to oppose me?”

Ning Peach Blossom’s heart sank. No matter what she thought, seeing it become reality still left her deeply displeased.

Before this, Ye Chen had merely looked on coldly as the black flood dragon and Ning Peach Blossom fought, without directly joining the battle.

But now, did Ye Chen intend to break that tacit understanding?

Then this was dangerous. Ning Peach Blossom let out a cold laugh. “Is this because you see my true form under restriction and think I am easy to bully?”

“No. It is probably not just that. My true form, earlier on, was also affected and struck hard by thunder. To be honest, it was all thanks to this spirit butterfly.”

“But at that time the other side was still rather obedient. No matter how much malice he held in his heart, he did not dare to reveal it. Has he now swollen with arrogance?”

“That’s right. My true form is being deliberately targeted by heaven and earth, but that doesn’t prove I can’t still free my hands. Damn it, I had hoped to use the power of my true form to break this deadlock, but instead I have put myself in a desperate situation.”

Ning Peach Blossom seethed with anger. To be bullied by Ye Chen like this filled her with humiliation.

But her emotions did not matter.

If speaking a few soft words could resolve the crisis at hand, Ning Peach Blossom would not mind yielding temporarily.

Yet when she saw the cold, stern killing intent radiating from Ye Chen, along with the rise of myriad divine lights like endless flames draped over his body, she knew he was going to strike with full force and leave no room for mercy.

The entire aura of the void realm repelled Ning Peach Blossom. She cut away every trace of panic in her heart, forced herself to calm down, and cleared away all distracting thoughts.

Since there was to be battle, Ning Peach Blossom would not flee in fear. Besides, she could not escape even if she tried.