Before the competition began in the preparatory mud-and-sand chamber beneath the Mudflow Maze area in the western part of the labyrinth, someone had excavated an enormous underground cavern atop the original Quicksand Maze and planted a Great Locust Tree within it.
Several withered yellow leaves suddenly fell from the once-vigorous locust tree. Its vitality steadily diminished, and the body of a shriveled old man quickly separated from the trunk as Yuan Zhi regenerated.
"Gui Zhong, the most troublesome person in the current Zero Realm truly is interesting. The path he walks lies between the two utterly opposing Great Daos of life and death. Who knew what kind of extreme circumstances had granted him such insight? It seems that unless I show a bit of my real skill, these people really will not be easy to handle. Don't you agree, man-eater?"
The underground space trembled as a mouth emerged from an alternate space. It then spat out chewed-up bodily matter, restoring its body to its original state. An eye slowly opened above the mouth at Xing Tian's navel and looked toward Yuan Zhi. He seemed unable to communicate with words, conveying only through his gaze his hatred for Xing Shi, who had just killed him.
"You're this angry? Well, that makes sense... A tyrant from a former life had nearly become someone else's food. But the one who devoured your body just now was no simple opponent. Your strength should be evenly matched, perhaps he is even a little stronger. But at such a crucial moment, this is not the time for us to fight to the death. Calm down, will you?"
Xing Tian seemed unable to restrain the violent fury within his body and constantly wanted to go kill Xing Shi.
"You... fool who only knows how to eat! Calm