Reversing Falsehood and Preserving Truth: All Gods and Gods Are in My Hands

"Lin Yue!"

Shen Che's shout was concise and sharp.

Before he finished speaking, the Shadow Barrier around him suddenly contracted, abandoning its comprehensive protection of everyone. Shadows gathered in front of Liu Jiaqi like a tide, condensing into a thick shadow shield with scale-like patterns, exuding a cold and hard pressure.

"Bang!"

The ancient roots slammed into the shadow shield with a deafening roar that shook the very air. The shield instantly dented half a foot deep. Shen Che groaned, blood gushing from the corner of his mouth, dripping down his chin and splashing onto the cracked earth, leaving a dark red stain. But he gritted his teeth, the shadow in his palm continuously channeling energy into the shield, managing to withstand the fatal blow. The tips of the roots were only an inch from Liu Jiaqi's chest, but could not advance any further.

Another root system was already close to Sun Ruliang's eyes. He was so frightened that he closed his eyes tightly, his whole body stiffened, and he couldn't even scream. In the nick of time, a pale green vine suddenly shot out from the ground and wrapped around the tip of the root system like lightning. It was Lin Yue's wood control power, which he activated with his last bit of strength.

But the power of these ancient roots far exceeded expectations. The vines were instantly stretched straight, like taut bowstrings. Lin Yue's face turned blood red, his teeth clenched so tightly they cracked, and the veins on his arms bulged like writhing dragons. It looked like the vines were about to break. Zhao Changfeng's wind blades finally arrived. Three pale blue wind blades overlapped, tearing through the air with a sharp sound, and slashed fiercely at the junction of the roots.

This time, with the help of Shen Che's shadowy presence and Lin Yue's restraint, the roots were finally severed.

Lin Yue knelt on one knee and coughed up blood. Liu Jiaqi, disregarding her lingering fear, rushed to Shen Che and Lin Yue's side. She unleashed the full power of the pale golden healing light from her fingertips, and the gentle energy flowed into their bodies like a stream, relieving their exhaustion and injuries.

"Look," Shen Che said hoarsely, blood still seeping from the corner of his mouth, but his gaze was fixed on the center of the five people.

The wheat field suddenly froze.

It wasn't deathly stillness, but rather the wheat ears had ceased their attack. The metallic sheen on their surfaces receded like the tide, returning to the golden hue of ordinary wheat. The wind rustled through the wheat waves, carrying a hint of gentle warmth. Where the roots had previously pierced, a fine crack slowly appeared in the ground, and a strange wheat stalk emerged—a solitary ear, yet each grain was plump and translucent like amber, its interior flowing with golden light, exuding the purity of an ancient spiritual plant.

The wheat ears detached automatically, transforming into five tiny seeds that flew towards the five people as if possessing a spirit. Shen Che caught them with his hand; the seeds were warm to the touch, then transformed into a stream of light and merged into his brow. In an instant, he felt his control over the Shadow Hunting Power become several times more refined; he could clearly perceive even the faintest life pulse in the shadows, and the movement of the shadows became more agile, as if imbued with a trace of life.

"This is... a reward?" Zhao Changfeng clenched his fist, feeling the wind dance more smoothly at his fingertips. The sluggishness he had felt when activating the wind blades had completely dissipated, and both his strength and speed had subtly increased.

Before the words were even finished, the golden wheat field began to fade and crumble, turning into a shower of golden dust. The ground beneath their feet suddenly collapsed, and a wave of weightlessness washed over them, as if they were falling into an abyss. Time lost its meaning here—three seconds? Three minutes? No one could say for sure.

Shen Che was the first to land, his Shadow Hunting Power transforming into a soft shadow cushion beneath him, dampening the impact of the fall. The other four landed in succession, Lin Yue struggling to stay afloat as he activated his vines, which wrapped around everyone's waists like a spider web, preventing serious injuries upon landing.

They were standing in a paddy field.

This is no ordinary paddy field. The water is dark green, viscous like oil, and something is vaguely moving beneath the surface. All around are neat rows of rice seedlings with drooping ears, but upon closer inspection, those are not rice grains, but tiny, translucent eggs with something wriggling inside.

"Daomen," Sun Ruliang said hoarsely, "the detection shows that there are a large number of life forms underwater, and the energy reading of each one is... equivalent to that of an adult leopard."

Almost the instant he spoke, an egg on the nearest rice stalk burst open.

What flew out wasn't an insect, but a long, thin, semi-transparent thing, moving at incredible speed, heading straight for Zhao Changfeng's face. Zhao Changfeng instinctively swung out a wind blade, but the thing twisted strangely in the air, dodging the wind blade, and continued its attack.

At the critical moment, Shen Che's Shadow Hunting Power formed a thin shield, blocking Zhao Changfeng. The thing crashed into the shield, letting out a sharp screech, fell to the ground, struggled a few times, and then lay still.

Only then did everyone realize that it was an eyeless, leech-like creature with a ring of fine, sharp teeth around its head.

"It seems like all the eggs are hatching." Liu Jiaqi's voice trembled.

Looking out over the paddy fields, countless eggs on the rice ears began to tremble and burst. Hundreds and thousands of transparent leeches rose into the air, shooting forth like a rain of arrows.

"Water!" Shen Che suddenly exclaimed. "Lin Yue, can we make the rice seedlings grow wildly and absorb all the water?"

"I'll give it a try!" Lin Yue pressed his hands to the ground, veins bulging, unleashing his full power to control the wood. All the rice seedlings began to grow wildly, their roots spreading like a giant net underwater, greedily absorbing the viscous green liquid.

The water level was dropping at a visible rate. The leeches seemed to have some kind of connection with the water; as the water level dropped, their speed noticeably slowed down, and some even began to dry up and fall off.

But the consequences of the rice seedlings growing wildly soon became apparent—more eggs. The number of eggs on the newly grown rice ears was three times that of before.

"No, the more rice seedlings there are, the more monsters there will be!" Zhao Changfeng shouted as he used his wind blades to clear away the leeches that were swarming towards him.

"Then burn it!" Sun Ruliang took out a small device from his backpack. "High-temperature pulse, but only one chance, and the range is limited."

"Chang Feng, let's find a way to gather the monsters together." Shen Che quickly assessed the situation. "Lin Yue, continue absorbing water, but make sure the rice seedlings don't form ears anymore. Liu Jiaqi, prepare the largest possible healing barrier; the high-temperature pulse will affect us."

The plan was finalized in seconds. The five people quickly took their positions.

Lin Yue gritted his teeth; the rice seedlings stopped forming ears, but the roots continued to frantically absorb water. Zhao Changfeng and Shen Che cooperated, creating a vortex of wind and shadow that drew most of the leeches in the air towards a single point. Liu Jiaqi's healing light expanded to its limit, forming a semi-circular light shield to protect the five people.

"Now!"

Upon receiving Shen Che's command, Sun Ruliang pressed the detonation button without hesitation.

There was no deafening roar, only a blinding white light erupting from the device, instantly engulfing the leech vortex. The extreme heat distorted the air, and the remaining viscous water evaporated instantly, turning into white steam that spread outwards, turning the paddy field into scorched earth in a flash. The moment the white light swept across the healing barrier, Liu Jiaqi screamed, blood gushing from her nose. The light shield shook violently, covered with spiderweb-like cracks, but ultimately withstood the impact of the high temperature.

As the white light faded, in the center of the scorched earth, the leeches had all turned to ashes, leaving not a trace. Yet, miraculously, a rice seedling survived in the center of the ashes, its stalks and leaves emerald green, with five crystal-clear, jade-like grains on its ears, gleaming with a faint spiritual light, just like the wheat seedlings before it.

The rice grains flew automatically towards the five people and merged into their bodies.

This time, Lin Yue felt an increasingly close connection with the plants, and could clearly perceive their "emotions." The sluggishness when controlling the wood completely disappeared.

Zhao Changfeng's control over the wind has doubled, and the suction power of the whirlwind and the sharpness of the wind blades have been significantly improved.

The bleeding from Liu Jiaqi's nose stopped, and the healing power became even stronger, causing her previous injuries to heal rapidly.

Even Sun Ruliang, who had not inherited the Great Dao, felt as if his body had been reborn and was full of vitality.

Shen Che did not speak, but the shadows flowed around him like living things, and he could even make the shadows simulate human form.

"Next level."

Shen Che looked up at the edge of the scorched paddy field. A new portal was slowly opening, behind which were bean pods covered with thick vines. The emerald green vines intertwined and crisscrossed, exuding an eerie calm.

Shumen is already waiting ahead.