The Demonic Beast Dies, the Fiend Devil Appears

This Gravel World, except for a few areas covered by ocean, is mostly covered by forests. If one could escape the outer boundaries of this world and look down from a distance, one would see that it is actually a green planet.

Gu Ding had been traveling at full speed through the dense forest for seven days, but because he was in a hurry, he hadn't killed many monsters.

"Our final destination is less than a hundred kilometers ahead!" The Sea Emperor's voice suddenly came. "The area where all the plants have disappeared, leaving only an empty space, is the area covered by the Crimson Flame Demon Tree. The Crimson Flame Demon Tree also adopts an attitude of complete annihilation towards other plants, so no plant can survive within the area covered by its roots. Don't step into that empty space rashly, wait and see."

Gu Ding nodded, and his speed gradually slowed down. In just a few seconds, he had covered a distance of over a hundred kilometers and appeared in front of the open space that the Sea Emperor had just mentioned.

That open space was so clean, not even a single weed grew, let alone a tree; it was as clean as a plate a dog had licked clean.

Gu Ding even saw two leaves blown down from a large tree not far away by a gust of wind, which slowly disappeared into the soil as they fell to the ground and vanished completely.

"What's going on?" Gu Ding couldn't help but ask.

"The leaves were directly absorbed by the roots because the surrounding plants also contain vital energy. Although each fallen leaf contains a very small amount of vital energy, the number of leaves falling every day is considerable. Over hundreds of thousands of years, the accumulated amount of vital energy contained in these leaves is also terrifying." The Sea Emperor's explanation reminded Gu Ding of the saying that quantitative change leads to qualitative change.

Gu Ding looked up at the towering, solitary tree in the distance, which was probably nearly ten thousand meters tall. It didn't even look like a tree. The twisted roots possessed a strange beauty, more like a graceful woman in a long, bark-bark dress dancing elegantly.

Not far from the tree, booming sounds and roars of beasts could also be heard, but they were too far away for Gu Ding to see clearly.

The Sea Emperor then projected videos of the demonic tree and the demonic beasts dozens of kilometers away. "That Crimson Flame Demon Tree is currently over eighty kilometers away from us. It's over nine thousand meters tall, a colossal creature with terrifyingly strong vitality. I can sense that the Fiend Devil attached to the tree are still asleep. That Ninth Sequence True God-level demonic beast has already eliminated over fifty other True God-level demonic beasts. It was a complete one-sided crushing victory; it was almost entirely unharmed."

In the video projection, Gu Ding saw the appearance of the Ninth Sequence demon beast: a gigantic feline with white fur and blood-red stripes, nearly a thousand meters long. Its mouth was filled with sharp, silver, steel-like teeth, and its head was protected by a black mask-like armor extending from its forehead to its nose. Only one blood-red eye was visible. A row of sharp black bone spikes ran from its neck to its tail, the tail itself being a double-edged spike. The tip of the tail resembled a pair of double-edged scissors, capable of transforming into Dual Blades to slay opponents, or closing together like a drill to pierce them. Almost every part of this enormous creature was a terrifying weapon.

Judging solely from its size, this enormous feline, of unknown species, was significantly larger than the other demonic beasts. Coupled with its formidable array of weapons, it instilled fear in the other creatures. Each of its movements inflicted at least a deep wound on its opponent with effortless ease, clearly treating the situation as a game and completely disregarding the other demonic beasts.

"This big guy is really strong!" Gu Ding couldn't help but exclaim in amazement. The feline creature had actually reached the Second Level of Martial Dao Intent, the Spiritual Affinity Realm, and this was the first time he had ever seen a demon beast that understood Martial Dao Intent.

"It's truly impressive. There aren't many humans in this world who understand the Martial Dao Intent. This big cat clearly figured it out on its own, without any instruction from anyone." The Sea Emperor was also somewhat impressed.

"When should I make my move?" Gu Ding asked in a low voice.

"Not now. There are still many demonic beasts heading in this direction. If you use the Crystal Card to clear this place now, you will definitely be surrounded and killed by the True God-level demonic beasts that arrive later." The Sea Emperor had already made a plan. "Find a place to hide nearby first, and we will wait patiently."

"Alright then." Finding a place to hide wasn't difficult for Gu Ding; behind him lay a dense primeval forest. He leaped onto a thick branch, sat down against the Gu Ding, and began to close his eyes to rest. The past few days of travel, while not yet exhausting, would allow him to rest and adjust his physical condition.

In front of him was a projection of the Sea Emperor's battle against the monsters.

The newly arrived monsters kept charging into that strange clearing, only to be repeatedly defeated by the feline behemoth, many of them perishing on the spot. The rest either fled wounded or attacked the feline behemoth in groups.

Time passed day by day, and Gu Ding had been living a leisurely life these past few days. The commotion caused by the battle between powerful True God-level demonic beasts had long since driven away other, weaker demonic beasts from the vicinity. As for those powerful True God-level demonic beasts, many of them had actually sensed Gu Ding's presence, given how close he was. However, they didn't perceive Gu Ding as a threat, and since he hadn't stepped into any open areas, Gu Ding remained unattacked.

Gu Ding watched the group of demonic beasts fight to the death every day, and he found it quite interesting. Sometimes, some of the more unruly ones would pounce directly on the fruit, only to be attacked by the Crimson Flame Demon Tree. After several such encounters, Gu Ding realized that the Crimson Flame Demon Tree was actually not much weaker than the giant feline beast. Its branches, once extended, were so dense they seemed to blot out the sky, instantly strangling any opponent.

Of course, with Gu Ding's eyesight, he couldn't see the actual movements of these battles clearly. He had to slow down the videos countless times to see them clearly.

This world is a world of physical cultivation. Although there are no advanced techniques, and even fewer body techniques, the foundation of physical strength is there, so basic movement speed will not be weak.

And so, Gu Ding waited for five days.

On this day, the Sea Emperor's voice finally reached his ears, "Gu Ding, once this wave of demonic beasts has been cleared out by that big cat, you can make your move."

"Have any more demonic beasts arrived?" Gu Ding immediately stood up, asking excitedly. He was getting impatient. The first two or three days were fine; watching the demonic beasts fight was a good way to pass the time. But starting from the fourth day, it began to feel rather dull. However, in this situation where danger could strike at any moment, he couldn't cultivate and could only wait idly.

"There are still some, but very few, only one or two occasionally. I'm worried that if we keep delaying, the harvesting season will be over." The Sea Emperor expressed his concerns, as he didn't know exactly when the fruit started to form.

"One or two pose no threat to me." Gu Ding leaped onto the treetop and gazed at the battle of the monsters in the distance. His fighting spirit began to rise.

"Make your move!" The Sea Emperor suddenly spoke the moment the feline behemoth finished off the last monster.

With a light step, Gu Ding sped towards the open space, quickly appearing above it.

His appearance quickly attracted the attention of the feline behemoth and the Crimson Flame Demon Tree. Their first thought was, "Why is a human here?"

The giant feline beast's single, blood-red eye looked down at Gu Ding in the air, its gaze filled with warning and murderous intent.

Before the Gu Ding behemoth could even make a move, Guding's soul attack struck its head directly. The feline behemoth was momentarily stunned, then shook its head.

Just then, a Crystal Card appeared in Gu Ding's hand. The next instant, the Crystal Card shattered, and a Blood-colored Giant Hand suddenly appeared out of thin air, clamping down on the feline behemoth before it could react.

With a "poof," a spray of blood spurted out from the giant palm, and the feline behemoth's aura instantly dissipated.

A moment later, the giant hand dispersed, and a pool of bloody flesh fell to the ground.

That Ninth Sequence true god feline demon beast was actually crushed by a single palm strike, leaving Gu Ding dumbfounded.

The Crimson Flame Demon Tree was also clever; it launched its attack before the demon beast's corpse even hit the ground.

Countless branches, like dark clouds, swept towards Gu Ding from all directions.

Gu Ding's pupils contracted sharply. He knew full well what the consequences would be if he were hit. As he retreated explosively, his soul attack transformed into countless sharp blades, shooting towards the Crimson Flame Demon Tree. Another protective Crystal Card appeared in his hand, ready to be reborn at any moment.

His attack, however, struck first despite being delayed, piercing deep into the Soul Space of the Crimson Flame Demon Tree, eliciting a shrill scream. The Crimson Flame Demon Tree, wounded in its soul, withdrew its attacking branches.

At that moment, Gu Ding launched a second Soul Impact, his soul power surging towards the opponent's Soul Space like a tidal wave, attempting to completely destroy it.

Just as the attack landed on the Crimson Flame Demon Tree, Gu Ding discovered that this wave of attacks was actually being hindered.

"What's going on?" A question arose in Gu Ding's mind.

"If I'm not mistaken, it was that Fiend Devil that blocked your soul attack," the Sea Emperor offered his conjecture.

As if confirming his guess, a thick aura of Fiend Qi surged from the Crimson Flame Demon Tree and continued to rise.

Gu Ding stared intently at the source of the Fiend Qi, wanting to see what this so-called Fiend Devil actually looked like.

Above the Crimson Flame Demon Tree, a gigantic phantom slowly materialized...

~~

[If I had known this chapter would take so long to write, I would have told everyone not to wait for the second update~~] (To be continued~^~)