Journey to the West: Treasure Vase of the Great Dao

Such formidable Sword Qi, so effortlessly nullified by the young willow phantom, without even making contact—Patriarch of the Nether River's brows furrowed tightly. Possessing such immense and eerie power, why had he never heard of it? For the first time, filled with confidence, he felt that there were many secrets hidden in the Three Realms that even he was unaware of.

"Damn Ksitigarbha, were it not for him trapping me so easily within the Sea of Blood, I wouldn't be so ignorant!" the Patriarch of the Nether River silently cursed in his heart.

Yet, his hands did not relax in the slightest, as the murderous energy-infused Sword Qi persistently attacked the young willow phantom, the frigid Sword Qi tearing through space, carrying a terrifying destructive force.

However, the willow phantom just stood there quietly in front of him, untouched by the myriad forces.

A nameless rage began to burn fiercely from deep within the Patriarch of the Nether River—he felt looked down upon by this young willow phantom, feeling humiliated by that sensation. As the master of the Sea of Blood, pride swelled in his heart; how could he tolerate such contempt?

He opened the gateway to the Sea of Blood, from which the raging blood surged forth, quickly covering the land. The thick scent of blood filled the air, making Red Child and the others feel almost sick.

The Sea of Blood slowly advanced towards where the three of them were, instantly devouring all living beings in its path, making them part of the Sea of Blood.

Soon, the Sea of Blood spread to where the young willow phantom was, looking as if it was about to make contact.

Red Child and the others held their breath, focusing on the advancing Sea of Blood. If the young willow phantom couldn't stop the Sea of Blood, they too would perish here.

The Sea of Blood approached the phantom, as if blocked by an invisible wall, unable to advance further. However, as time went on, the Sea of Blood kept rising, and with it came a sizzling sound—the sound of the invisible barrier being corroded by the Sea of Blood.

Seeing this, the Patriarch of the Nether River rejoiced, thinking that this Sea of Blood seemed to affect the unknown willow phantom.

"It seems your protective charms are about to fail," he said, controlling the Bull Demon King and laughing.

Following that, he whipped up the towering waves of the Sea of Blood, crashing them down on the young willow phantom with the force of a collapsing mountain.

Yet, his attack seemed to have completely enraged the willow phantom. The light became even more dazzling, and the hanging willow strands, as if coming to life, rose up like spears thrusting towards the blood-red waves.

"Moth to a flame!" the Patriarch of the Nether River sneered contemptuously.

His Sea of Blood could corrode all things, defile Magical Treasures, and sink Divine Spirits in filth—the utmost contaminant. And yet, this willow dared to let itself enter so ignorantly, truly courting death.

But to his surprise, the willow branches that thrust into the Sea of Blood weren't devoured at all. Instead, a strange force became apparent on them—an energy of regression and restoration that disintegrated and absorbed the filthiest of the Three Realms, the Sea of Blood.

The Patriarch of the Nether River, who had lived through the long ages, had never seen such a power. It seemed to be the natural enemy of all forces, with any kind of power being devoured, digested, and absorbed by it.

The endless Sea of Blood began to dissipate at a speed visible to the naked eye, but the glow above the Willow phantom grew even more dazzling. At that moment, the Willow bathed in the radiance, resembling a Divine Spirit overlooking all beings, exalted and infused with majesty and mystery.

"Impossible, how can such power exist in the world, what on earth are you?" The Patriarch of the Nether River found everything he witnessed today to be overturning his understanding; his previously unstoppable Sea of Blood had now become the best fertilizer, absorbed by that strange tree shadow, and at an accelerating pace.

He knew that at this rate, the blood of this place would soon be absorbed entirely, perhaps even reaching deep into the Underworld, threatening to damage his very origin.

Spurring the Treasured Swords Yuantu and Abi, the Sword Qi imbued with murderous intent struck the branches, yet they emitted a sound like metal on metal, the invincible Treasured Sword failing to breach even these ordinary branches.

"What kind of ghoul are you, to possess such strength?" the Patriarch of the Nether River roared in the Bull Demon King's body, his words filled with skepticism.

The scenes that had just unfolded gave the Patriarch of the Nether River the feeling of being in a dream; a tree phantom with unknown origins had rendered him, a being that claimed ancestral standing in the Three Realms, completely helpless - a fact that the proud Patriarch could not accept.

However, that was the reality, and even the Patriarch of the Nether River had no choice but to sever the connection between this place and his body, to prevent the enigmatic Willow from tracing it back to his location.

The Red Child and the others sighed in relief at this scene, their frantic hearts could finally settle, and only now did they have the leisure to examine the Willow phantom that had protected them.

Gazing at the towering trunk and trailing Willow branches, they felt profoundly comforted; the strength it exuded was simply too vast, beyond their imaginations.

With the dissipation of the Sea of Blood, the Willow tree seemed to return to its previous calm, its branches swaying in the wind effortlessly, showing no sign of the earlier wanton destruction.

Yet the Patriarch of the Nether River gradually discerned the truth; this Willow clearly lacked sentience, retaining only the purest instincts, thus it only acted when attacked or when it encountered its food, otherwise remaining inert.

So he said to the three little ones with a smile, "You can't escape this time. I have all the time in the world, and when this phantom's time is up, I'll deal with you then."

Having spoken, the Patriarch of the Nether River, inhabiting the Bull Demon King's body, casually seated himself on the ground, eyes intently fixed on the three youngsters hiding behind the phantom.

The atmosphere suddenly quieted down, the youngsters hadn't expected the Patriarch of the Nether River to be so petty, just blocking the outside, silently waiting for the phantom to disperse.

The Dragon Princess walked up to the trunk of the Willow, her delicate hand resting on the ethereal wood, she whispered softly, "Willow, oh Willow, could you take us back to the South Sea?"

The Bull Demon King, seeing this, slightly curled his lips, thinking to himself: After all, they are but children, to harbor such naive thoughts at a time like this. This Willow clearly bears no sentience; her words are merely a comfort to her own mind, and completely pointless.

However, as the Dragon Princess's words fell, the Willow phantom shone brightly and transformed into a ray of golden light. Wrapping around the three little ones, it flew off into the distance instantly, the Restrictions set by the Patriarch of the Nether River seemingly losing all effectiveness, not impeding in the slightest as they were whisked away into the far distance by the Willow.

The Bull Demon King, piloted by the Patriarch of the Nether River, was in disarray in the wind; he found that all his conventional knowledge seemed worthless before this Willow tree.