This sudden turn of events truly caught every Realm Lord present off guard.
The black flames came from the demon tree. The instant it was gravely wounded, it had detonated every last scrap of power within itself without hesitation. As its life and cultivation perished, it also trapped every Realm Lord within the black flames.
Yes, trapped!
The black flames did not possess much truly destructive power. Instead, they had become a seal, combining with the power bestowed by this abyss to form the Black Flame Barrier before them.
Not only had the demon tree vanished, but the vine, a status spiritual material, had also merged into the Black Flame Barrier.
In other words, to obtain the vine now, they first had to break the Black Flame Barrier and force the status spiritual material out.
But none of that was the crux of the problem. The demon tree's sudden transformation had completely disrupted every Realm Lord's plans.
They had originally intended to kill the demon tree, seize the vine, and immediately withdraw, avoiding the tide of monsters surging in from the outskirts.
It was not that they had underestimated the demon tree. Even as they rushed toward the vine, they had launched attacks at it. Under normal circumstances, that strike should have annihilated it completely.
But just as secret realms always held unforeseen developments, the demon tree's final transformation had likewise caught them unawares.
The surrounding seal was not particularly sturdy. If it had truly been impervious to attack, the demon tree could simply have used it from the beginning and trapped them here until they died.
The problem now was that the incoming monster army was already only tens of thousands of miles away. It would not take long to fly here, and they had to break this barrier