Right now, if Ryan Ling doesn't figure out a way to survive, he's absolutely going to die here. The Three Graves Brothers have already unleashed their full power—under this kind of force, no cultivator could possibly withstand it. Unless Ryan breaks through to Immortal Emperor right at this critical moment, there's zero chance he makes it out alive.
But for Ryan, breaking through to Immortal Emperor right now is basically harder than climbing to heaven. His accumulated resources are pretty much spent, and what's worse, his Immortal Emperor barrier is way tougher than he first thought—he seriously underestimated it. To break through, he'd need a ridiculous amount of power, like swallowing all of Heaven City's essence in one go. Otherwise, there's just no way.
But right now, he can't even protect his own life, so there's no chance of absorbing all of Heaven City's power. At this point, Ryan is kicking himself—he was way too impulsive, way too young. If he'd just been a little more cautious, planned out every angle before charging into Heaven City, maybe set up a few backup plans, he wouldn't be stuck in this mess. Even with Primeval Heavenwood's strongest roots shielding him, he's literally one step from death.
Right now, the Three Graves Brothers have cranked their power to the absolute max. The whole underground of Heaven City is basically a living hell—every inch of dirt is getting shredded, like it's about to explode any second. And Ryan? He's stuck right in the dead center of the danger zone, could blow up on the spot, no question. With his current strength, there's just no way he can hold out. He's 100% dead meat!
At this point, Ryan's honestly lost all hope!
But right at this critical moment, Ryan suddenly feels a refreshing spring breeze by his ear—it's like a dying man in the desert suddenly spotting an oasis. Words can't describe how unreal this feels. Ryan freezes, totally stunned, like someone hit his acupuncture point!
"What the hell is going on?" Ryan shouts in his head, totally confused. But even in this mess, he suddenly feels like maybe he won't die here after all—maybe there's a shot at a comeback. Of course, he's way too hyped to show it; he forces himself to stay calm and carefully watch his surroundings. The crushing pressure hasn't let up, but he finally spots a glimmer of hope. With that, he manages to steady his mind.
Just as he's watching for any movement, Ryan suddenly notices a flower blooming right under his butt—a five-colored blossom, gorgeous beyond words. In this crushing environment, a flower this bright and pretty is just nuts. Ryan can't figure out what's going on, but one thing's clear: the Three Graves Brothers' insane pressure isn't touching this flower at all. That means something seriously powerful is backing it up. Otherwise, it would've been vaporized in a heartbeat.
"What's hiding under here?" Ryan's curiosity is off the charts, and he's running out of time. No hesitation—he plunges his hand into the dirt. Instantly, a powerful force yanks back, and the tug-of-war is so intense the ground flips upside down. But Ryan ignores the cave-in, because he suddenly spots a massive fruit underground, hooked up to that weird flower. He gets it—this fruit is the real deal. It looks just like a little kid, and it's totally zoned out, eyes closed, like a Primordial Ginseng Fruit still in its fetal phase!
Ryan knows full well this Primordial Ginseng Fruit is brewing some insane power inside—if he could absorb it all, he'd blast out of this deadlock for sure. Right now, he can sense the energy inside the fruit is almost equal to all of Heaven City's essence, maybe even stronger. What's crazier, the flow of qi throughout Heaven City seems to be revolving around this fruit!
"What kind of existence is this?" Ryan can't help but shout in his head, totally floored. But now, hope is right in front of him—no way he's hesitating. He unleashes all his power, instantly converting it to devouring force, and starts crazily swallowing the essence of that Primordial Ginseng Fruit.
For Ryan, this is a once-in-a-lifetime shot—he's gotta grab it and devour with everything he's got. But just as he goes all in, the Primordial Ginseng Fruit suddenly changes. It was out cold before, not even ripe yet, but the second Ryan touches it, its eyes snap open and shoot out blinding light. The glare is so intense that even Ryan has to squeeze his eyes shut. He's shocked and a little freaked out, because the power inside this fruit is way above his own—like, peak Immortal Emperor level, maybe even equal to the Three Graves Brothers combined. There's no way Ryan can take this thing head-on.
He immediately stops absorbing—he needs to see what this fruit is really about. Sure, it's tempting as hell, but for all he knows, it could be just as deadly as the Three Graves Brothers. If he messes up, this fruit could kill him in a heartbeat.
So he just watches and waits—no way he's taking any chances. But right at that moment, the fruit flashes him a sunny smile, totally friendly, no trace of hostility. Ryan feels a bit relieved, but he's still on high alert, because now the fruit's coming right at him. He takes a deep breath, eyes locked on it, heart pounding out of his chest. And then, just as he's about to have a panic attack, the fruit dives straight into his body—like it's snuggling up to its real master.
"Wait, what?" Ryan's mind is blown—he never saw this coming. The fruit's power is way, way higher than his, like a senior compared to a junior. If it were a person, he'd be kneeling in front of it, no questions asked. But now, the tables have totally turned—the fruit is treating him like the senior, and it's willingly offering up all its essence!
Ryan has no clue what's really happening, but one thing's clear: his situation just flipped. He was about to get crushed by those three experts, barely able to breathe. Even now, he's not totally safe, but with the fruit's help, he suddenly notices the pressure is fading—heck, it's almost gone!
"Wait a sec..." Ryan feels the relief kick in, and it clicks—the fruit is secretly helping him! Getting this kind of power is even better than swallowing all of Heaven City's essence. He doesn't waste a second and starts crazily boosting his strength. Right now, every second counts, and this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. If he really grabs it, he might just shoot straight to Immortal Emperor. And if he gets there, even if the Three Graves Brothers attack together, he won't be fazed at all.
Meanwhile, outside, those three top experts have no idea Ryan's hit the jackpot. Their attacks keep coming, but Ryan's not even flustered anymore—he's totally focused on mad cultivation. And it's not just him; Primeval Heavenwood beside him can feel this insane power too. Since they're both wood-type, its damaged body starts healing at a ridiculous rate. In a flash, all the roots invade the entire underground of Heaven City. It's like Ryan and Primeval Heavenwood have taken over the whole city!
But for Ryan, just getting this upgrade isn't enough. He needs to use this power to break through to Immortal Emperor—only then will he be truly safe, and only then can he crush the Three Graves Brothers and take full control of Heaven City!
"Charge! Charge!" Ryan shouts like a madman, his voice echoing through all the underground of Heaven City. The soil itself starts transforming, as if Ryan's using the fruit's power to suck up all the city's qi in one go. It's so wild, nobody could've predicted this!
"What's going on? Do you guys feel that? The whole underground of the city is surging like crazy—it's like we're stranded on an island in the middle of a giant underground river. I swear, I'm about to get swept away!"
"No mistake, I feel it too. It's freaky—even though we're standing on solid ground, it feels like we're getting washed down a river. I'm barely holding on here. If this keeps up, I'm gonna totally lose it!"
"I'm about to collapse, and I can feel my power getting sucked away bit by bit by something!"
......
Right now, the surviving top experts in Heaven City can't help but shout—they can't believe what's happening. Just when things seemed to settle down, Heaven City starts surging again, and this time the change is so wild it's hard to wrap their heads around. Not just them—even the high-and-mighty Three Graves Brothers are staring in shock.
"What the hell just happened? Why's the whole underground of Heaven City flipping out? Did that brat come back to life or something? This shouldn't be possible—what the heck is going on?" Even the Three Graves Brothers are yelling in panic, totally freaked out.
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But right as they finish talking, the three of them crank their power to the max and unleash a combined attack straight at the underground. Instantly, the whole place is filled with the sounds of brutal slaughter—anything alive down there is getting wiped out, not a single thing left.
"Heh, let's see if that brat can survive now! With this kind of bombardment, nobody could possibly make it out alive!" one of the Graves brothers shouts, clearly thrilled with their attack.
But right then, something happens that blows their minds—the energy they just blasted out suddenly bounces back like it hit a wall.
"Big bro, what just happened? Why did our energy bounce back?"
"Yeah, that shouldn't be possible! Our power is off the charts, and we're the top experts in Heaven City—this is our turf! How could our attack get bounced back?"
The other two Graves brothers can't help but yell, totally stunned by what just happened. Even the strongest brother is left speechless—unless there's some insane resistance, there's no way their attack should've bounced back.
"No way I'm letting this slide. Again!" The eldest Graves brother roars, refusing to believe it. He unleashes even more power, and the other two join in without hesitation. Three streams of force blast underground all at once.
In an instant, the whole underground of Heaven City is turned upside down—the chaos is off the charts. No one can believe it; the city looks like it's about to boil over. It's a scene straight out of legend.
But then, something even crazier happens—the Graves brothers' wildest attack gets bounced back again! Everyone knows this force is supposed to be unstoppable, but it's still getting blocked. Clearly, there's something way stronger underground fighting back, and besides Ryan, there's nobody else down there.
"Looks like we all guessed wrong—the brat's definitely still alive, and his power's growing like crazy!" More top experts in Heaven City start shouting, stunned by how fast Ryan's strength is skyrocketing. They can't believe such a monster exists.
The Graves brothers are totally dumbfounded now. They keep screaming and try to max out their power, but it's hopeless—they can't compete with the mysterious force underground.
Meanwhile, Ryan is just as tense as ever. Honestly, this clash of powers has nothing to do with him—he's not even fighting directly. It's all the Primordial Ginseng Fruit working its magic inside him. Its power is off the charts, and with its help, Ryan's strength starts skyrocketing. He feels like he's getting reborn. Before, he'd barely merged with his past-life body, but it was just mechanical—lots of his essence hadn't really fused.
Now, with this power surge, every last detail inside Ryan's body gets connected. He finally feels true relief. Looking back, he realizes the main reason he couldn't break through to Immortal Emperor before was that these internal channels weren't fully linked. Now, everything's open—it's finally time to break through!
Ryan doesn't hesitate for a second—this is his perfect chance. He pours all his focus into the breakthrough. Before, he was too exhausted to even try, but now the urge to break through comes naturally. His power surges upward uncontrollably—it's wild!
"Charge! Charge! Charge!" Ryan roars, seizing the opportunity of a lifetime. He goes all in on the breakthrough, and his whole body starts transforming. A powerful force erupts inside him, rampaging everywhere.
What really gets him hyped is that a true emperor's power starts forming inside him—it's insanely strong, way beyond anything else. Ryan is totally fired up; if he pulls off the Immortal Emperor breakthrough now, he'll reach an all-time high. With endless reserves and the Primordial Ginseng Fruit, his power could easily be top-tier Immortal Emperor. If he absorbs everything and refines it, his realm will leap like crazy—not just beginner Immortal Emperor, but way past that!
Inside, Ryan's mindset is changing too—he's full of confidence now, none of the nerves from before. A dominating emperor's aura swirls above his head, and he can feel himself mutating. With a wild boom, his power blasts to a whole new level. He's transforming inside and out, just a hair away from stepping into Immortal Emperor.
Suddenly, a furious roar surges inside Ryan—he doesn't hesitate, focusing everything on the breakthrough. As he charges forward, the underground of Heaven City erupts with endless flames...