Fraternal Strife!! Opportunists' Gain?

In the desolate mountains under the cover of night, a profoundly incongruous azure mist abruptly materialized. Within the swirling vapors, Brockman's footsteps precisely positioned him behind Adams, and his sharp Finger Sheaths mercilessly lunged for his own brother's heart!

The eerie, profound movement struck with astonishing suddenness!

"By the Heavens! You still resort to such tricks! Halt, I command you!" Adams roared in fury, a flash of cerulean light erupting from his form. His arms swung wide, unleashing an unrestrained, domineering aura, his presence a stark antithesis to Brockman's. That single bellow remarkably brought the swiftly moving Brockman to a momentary halt...

Du Chen, rubbing his nose, observed the spectacle, a cold smirk playing on his lips...

As the Brockman brothers engaged in a battle to the death, elsewhere, Tendon-Severing also made his move. His fingernails elongated monstrously as he darted towards the seven Mercenaries accompanying Adams. Among the Four Saints, Flaying excelled in explosive power and destructive capability! Deboning possessed the greatest speed and technique! But when it came to profound battle qi and sustained vital essence, Tendon-Severing was paramount!

The seven adversaries were even less formidable than Adams; only two were at the eighth rank, the rest seventh. Tendon-Severing closed the distance, and with his first strike, he severely wounded one. A swift turn of his body, and he tore open another's left flank; blood sprayed, and the man completely lost his combat capability. Only then did the remaining five react, hastily turning back-to-back to form a circle, combining their efforts to resist Tendon-Severing!

Witnessing this, Du Chen couldn't help but ponder: "No wonder Deboning always emphasized speed to me. If Tendon-Severing had possessed Deboning's speed just now, he could have surely dispatched at least three consecutively before being drawn into a relatively prolonged struggle against their combined might. No, that's not quite right either; superior speed is useless if battle qi's destructive power is insufficient... Alas, human potential is finite; the 'attribute point' distribution scheme truly warrants careful consideration!"

The thought of 'attribute point distribution' made Du Chen glance at Andy beside him – this fellow's attribute point allocation back then was extraordinarily eccentric, a sheer act of laziness, dumping everything into Spiritual Power! Even now, Beibei maintains that despite Andy's transformations and metamorphosis, a tiny vestige of Dragon's Might still lingers in his spiritual essence. However, apart from transcendent Spiritual Power masters like Beibei, no one else can detect it – certainly not Annie's aunt, Betty!

The battle in the mountains grew increasingly ferocious. Tendon-Severing, with victory firmly in hand, fought with the relaxed confidence of an old cat toying with a mouse, and the damage he inflicted was consequently much less. On the other side, however, Brockman and Adams were truly fighting for their lives!

"Upper left, behind you, underfoot..." Little Homan's tender voice incessantly echoed, cooperating flawlessly with Brockman. Amidst rumbling explosions, the nearby earth shifted, and dozens of sharp mountain stones suddenly erupted from underground, hurtling straight towards Brockman. Yet, Brockman, having heard his adopted son's timely warning by a fraction of a second, was already airborne. In a swift movement, he summoned a hazy mist, engulfing Adams from above!

The two brothers, one wielding mountain stones, the other water mist, yet upon closer inspection, the scars their Secret Techniques left upon the battlefield were eerily identical! Both acted like grinding stones, pulverizing and flattening everything. Despite wielding diametrically opposing Secret Techniques, their effects were precisely the same – utterly bizarre!

Their battleground, within a radius of several tens of meters, saw mountaintops reduced to hollows!

Du Chen, meanwhile, was secretly chuckling. 'Excellent, heh heh. Constructing the great dam requires an abundance of crushed stone. Upon my return, I shall instruct Porter to dispatch men here to transport the stone!'

Confident of his victory, Tendon-Severing intended to leave more survivors for interrogation about their assault on the Turaam base and the theft of the Star of Turaam; his movements were consequently somewhat slower. Meanwhile, Brockman, with the aid of the Tyran Beast, at the cost of a punch to his left shoulder and a mouthful of blood, plunged his sharp Finger Sheaths into Adams's abdomen, achieving his goal of critically wounding his twin brother! "My dearest brother, today you shall absolutely not escape death again! When you meet our deceased parents, please convey my regards to them!" he roared excitedly.

But Adams roared back, gambling on his belly being slashed open, and disregarding his profusely bleeding abdomen, he pulled away from Brockman with a sinister grin. Clutching his belly, he retorted, "My eldest brother, you've preempted my very words! When you meet our deceased parents, please convey my regards to them! Balu, you may commence!?" He roared skyward!

Du Chen's expression changed. It's coming. He had distinctly observed thirteen individuals earlier, yet only eight had made a move. What were the other five doing?

He activated his Precious Lotus Scripture and rapidly ascended some distance!

Just then...

From several distant mountain peaks of Hidden Boa Mountain, far from the battlefield, responses echoed: "Ready! Brothers, activate the Combined Assault Formation! Deal with that ninth-rank master!" Due to the extreme distance, neither the young Tyran Beast nor even Du Chen, observing the spectacle, had detected when they had set up such a Secret Technique!

No sooner had the words fallen than black, green, blue, red, and yellow – five columns of energy – rose from five different peaks near the battlefield, converging in the night sky into a vibrant cloud. Then, the cloud throbbed with lightning, and bolts of purplish-red thunder descended from the heavens, striking towards Tendon-Severing!

"This is... Damn it, could this be..." Tendon-Severing suddenly recalled something, shouting, "Lord Brockman, I shall endure this lightning! Be wary yourself!"

The furious thunder descended from the sky; Tendon-Severing had no escape. Raising his hands, he actually met the purplish-red heavenly lightning head-on with his profound ninth-rank battle qi!

This was the initial part of Adams's plan that Du Chen had not overheard earlier – Adams led the frontal assault, but Balu and the other five Mercenaries, who had "received immense favor and great benefits from Third Master," had journeyed to five separate peaks to set up the Combined Assault Formation! Though it had consumed a considerable amount of time, they had finally completed it just in time!

And everything Adams had done moments ago was merely to keep Brockman pinned in place, granting the Combined Assault Formation time to gather power and aim!

Adams coughed up blood, then laughed heartily. "In these past seven years, I have truly endured too much, things you cannot possibly imagine! My dearest eldest brother, depart upon your journey!" With a wave of his hand, the five survivors who had faced Tendon-Severing gathered around, encircling Brockman.

The sight of Tendon-Severing struggling against the heavenly lightning, barely holding on, sent a chill through Brockman's heart. "Not bad, indeed. You've certainly made some progress these years, to actually employ stratagems!" He cast a sidelong glance at the heavenly lightning. "No, not you. This scheme must have been concocted by your friends, wasn't it, my brutish younger brother?!"

Adams merely sneered, offering no reply.

The young Tyran Beast whispered into Brockman's ear: "Father, run! That lightning is too powerful; it's a mutation formed from five elements... Homan is so scared!"

A Combined Assault Formation that gathers and mutates five elements into lightning... could it be...

Brockman inwardly mused, 'No wonder Adams hadn't died; it seemed 'he' had saved him! The chance to slay Adams today was minuscule. I must swiftly escape and report The Clues about 'him' to Lord Philip; this information is far more crucial than the Star of Turaam!'

At this thought, he suddenly roared, "Adams, do you not desire the other half of the Star of Turaam?" With that, he abruptly tore a necklace from his neck, and with a mighty swing, flung it towards the heavenly lightning. Then, his form flashed like lightning as he darted eastward. "Tendon-Severing, flee!"

A shimmer of silvery-white radiance flashed past – this was, without a doubt, one half of the Star of Turaam!

Adams was aghast. The other half of the Star of Turaam was on Brockman all this time? Damn him, he threw the Star of Turaam towards the lightning of the Combined Assault Formation!

Though this object was not easily destroyed, under the bombardment of the Combined Assault Formation's heavenly lightning, who could guarantee its safety!? Who would dare to!?

The Star of Turaam was something Third Master specifically desired! It absolutely could not be damaged!

"Stop at once! Don't destroy the Star of Turaam, quickly!" Adams, grievously wounded, his spirit willing but his strength failing, could only order the other few to retrieve the Star of Turaam. Instantly, those individuals shouted, "Lessen the formation's power, don't destroy the Star of Turaam!"

A bizarre spectacle unfolded in the sky: lightning descended from the heavens, a beam of light shot towards the heavenly thunder, and behind that beam, several individuals desperately chased it! In the opposite direction, Tendon-Severing and Brockman were retreating with all their might!

Just then...

The instant the Star of Turaam was about to make contact with the heavenly lightning, it suddenly seemed to strike an Invisible Shield, rebounding in another direction. Then, its radiance faded, and it vanished into thin air!

Adams was dumbfounded, and the Mercenaries who had gone to retrieve the Star of Turaam were likewise stunned.

What happened? Had they seen a ghost?

Brockman and Tendon-Severing, meanwhile, were fleeing for their lives, heads down, and had long since vanished without a trace.

Upon the Precious Lotus Scripture, Du Chen retrieved the Star of Turaam, daringly snatched from Fourth Bro's Invisible Shield, and examined it with curiosity!

"Hahaha, the esteemed Divine Grant Earl Brockman has once again bestowed a gift upon me! And a truly generous one at that!" Du Chen, once a safe distance away, laughed heartily. Though the exact purpose of the half-moon-shaped white jade in his hand remained unclear, witnessing Brockman and Adams fight to the death over it, and a mysterious organization even dispatching a master like Tendon-Severing to reclaim it, it undoubtedly had to be something extraordinary, perhaps even a supreme treasure!

Andy looked up to see his master laughing, and he chuckled too. "Congratulations, Master, heartfelt congratulations! This must be something truly good. Having reaped such great benefits this time, shall we return and host a grand noble banquet to celebrate?" He smacked his lips, his long tongue already glistening with saliva. This fellow, he only reacted with such swiftness when contemplating delicacies!

Du Chen shot him a sidelong glance. "Have I not stated that during this period of disaster relief, we must share the trials and tribulations with the afflicted? Whatever they eat, we eat, no? Hmm? Haha!" Du Chen was in exceptionally high spirits; he hadn't felt this unburdened since the disaster had struck.

"Fear not, your belly shall not suffer!" Du Chen's single sentence made Andy giggle foolishly with happiness. He then casually tossed the jade into his Precious Lotus Scripture, which now served as a storage space. "Come, let us return to celebrate!"

"Celebrate what, you fool! Francis, what did you throw into Old One's body!? Do you mean to toy with the lives of us, your brothers and sisters?!" Old Five suddenly roared. His voice vibrated, sounding both shocked and furious; Du Chen had never witnessed Fifth Brother in such an agitated state before!

The instant the half-moon-shaped white jade entered the Qian Trigram's first Precious Lotus Scripture, the very one Du Chen used as a storage space, all the assorted items within silently floated in an ever-shifting, profoundly esoteric space. There were Gold Coins, clothing, official seals, and some snacks Beibei adored... At its very center, a tree seed!

This was the beam of white light Du Chen had captured from Mount Tianshan while rescuing the young Tyran Beast Homan—an item Old Five had deemed utterly wicked, so profoundly evil that even the most sacred Lotus Holy Light in all creation could only seal it, but never truly destroy it!

Now, the tree seed quietly floated within the Precious Lotus Scripture's space. Its oval body trembled incessantly, as if struggling to break free. But with each movement it made, a faint golden light would materialize within the Lotus space, striking it fiercely, preventing it from moving even an inch!

Ugh! What place is this? Why is it even more sacred than Mother's aura!?

Damn it, let me out!!

The tree seed's wretched howls had, in truth, echoed within its mind for a very long time... Yet, despite countless attempts, it simply could not break free from the Precious Lotus Scripture's imprisonment!

Damn it, the power within this peculiar space grew stronger each day, while it itself weakened day by day. Sooner or later, it would be utterly annihilated! What was to be done? Hahaha, perhaps Mother would be pleased to know its current state? It, an Undead, had escaped her Holy Light's pursuit only to land in an even more sacred place!

The tree seed had all but succumbed to despair, abandoning all hope...

Yet, just then, a brilliant radiance flashed, and a white jade stone appeared within the Precious Lotus Scripture's space—what Du Chen didn't know was that this object possessed another name: Brockman called it the 'lifeline,' and it was the same kind of artifact as the place on Mount Tianshan from which the tree seed had escaped...

"Mother, is this your essence!? Yes, it's one of your lifelines! This is Turaam's lifeline!" The tree seed roared excitedly in its mind. "Your power is split into two aspects, and each lifeline also has two halves! Let me pray, this is the half that shares my Undead attribute, not the one specifically designed to suppress me!"

Suddenly, an eye actually opened on the tree seed. Its eyeball was ghastly white, and its pupil blood-red!

But this eye was filled with extreme excitement, praising everything! This truly was the half with the same attribute as itself!

"Come, Turaam's lifeline, my brother of the same root and origin!" The tree seed exerted all its strength, and its red-and-white eye gleamed with dazzling light, shining upon the Star of Turaam. "Grant me your power, and perhaps I can escape this accursed place!"

It began to absorb the power from the Star of Turaam!

Yet, as the power entered its body, the tree seed abruptly realized something was amiss. "Damn it, this is clearly an Undead-attributed Star of Turaam, so why can't it merge with my body?! Instead, it's causing me harm!"

The tree seed did not realize that after being sealed within the Precious Lotus Scripture's space for a long time, its body had undergone a subtle transformation. This change had caused it to no longer be a pure Undead. Just like the Grand Matriarchs, it too had begun to transform, converting into the most sacred essence!

This half of the Star of Turaam possessed the most malevolent Undead attribute! Meanwhile, the tree seed had transformed into a being possessing the most sacred essence! When these two diametrically opposed powers converged, there could only be one outcome—an explosion!

BOOM!

Emerald green life essence intertwined with ghastly white Undead aura as a devastating shockwave obliterated everything within the Precious Lotus Scripture. Gold Coins pulverized, clothing shredded, seals shattered...