Tree Demon

"That Human race brat's perception is sharp, and his reactions are so fast!"

Several dozen li away, the earth suddenly churned and mud flew everywhere. A huge snake head poked out of the ground, then rapidly shrank. A monster with a woman's body and a snake's head emerged from the cave, then waved her hand and buried the cave. She was none other than that Demonic Race's "She Junior Sister."

"His sword was even faster, leaving me almost no time to react. If I hadn't twisted my body in time, he would have cut me in half!"

"She Junior Sister" raised her hand and touched her own snake neck. Blood flowed down it, and a sword wound had nearly cut into her bones. It was obvious how fierce and fast Zhong Yue's thunderous sword strike had been!

"That boy isn't weak. It's just that he seized the initiative, allowing him to injure me. And that black-clothed woman seems to be the leader of their group. Could her strength be even greater than that boy's? The others aren't worth worrying about. I have to figure out everything about those two. Only by knowing both myself and my enemy can I remain victorious in every battle..."

"She Junior Sister" had a snake's head and a human face. She pondered carefully, strange light flickering in her eyes. She had suffered a minor loss in her first clash with Zhong Yue, but the reason she had withdrawn was that she still feared Yu Feiyan. In her view, Yu Feiyan was the leader of this batch of Sword Gate upper-court disciples. Since even Zhong Yue had not become their leader, Yu Feiyan's strength was naturally greater.

Zhong Yue was already so formidable. If Yu Feiyan was stronger than him, then facing two powerful opponents alone would certainly put her at a disadvantage. Thus, she had immediately retreated.

"Fine. I'll first let the little fellows from Beast God Ridge deal with you and test out the black-clothed woman's strength!"

The light in "She Junior Sister's" eyes grew even more sinister. A sharp whistle rang from her mouth. Before long, deep beast roars came from Beast God Ridge. "She Junior Sister's" figure flickered as she headed deeper into Beast God Ridge.

Almost at the same time, Lei Gun of the Leihu Clan, Li Xiuniang of the Lishan Clan, and the others were also besieged by Demonic Beasts, probing the abilities of the two groups of Sword Gate disciples. Lei Gun and Li Xiuniang revealed their ability to turn spiritual power from illusion into reality, causing Bear Senior Brother and "Gongyang" to refrain from striking directly.

"This is still the outskirts of Beast God Ridge. If we act here and even one of them escapes, it'll ruin Master's grand plan! Once these fresh Human race morsels enter the heart of Beast God Ridge, we'll be able to feast to our hearts' content!"

Zhong Yue, Yu Feiyan, and the others continued deeper into Beast God Ridge. Along the way, they encountered all kinds of strange Demonic Beasts. The beasts of Beast God Ridge were enormous beyond compare. At times, a giant crocodile would leap from a swamp, more than twenty zhang long and impervious to blades and spears. At other times, a huge fish would leap from a lake and charge across the land like a flying horse, pouncing on them.

There were even giant birds in the sky, with wingspans of more than ten zhang. When they swooped down, they stirred up hurricanes that nearly sent everyone flying!

There were also those bizarre creatures. For example, a giant spider suddenly emerged from underground and spat white silk around a female disciple, dragging her toward its cave. By the time Yu Feiyan and the others rescued the girl, she had already been bound into a human cocoon, while the spider was preparing to lay its eggs inside her body.

"Junior Sister Rou'er, be careful. Don't get dragged away by a spider again."

The girls teased her one after another. "You're really having terrible luck. Last time, Great Mountain Earthworm nearly ate you."

Junior Sister Rou'er was still shaken. Hearing this, she laughed. "That was just a coincidence. How could there be a third time? If a spider comes to eat me next time, I'll beat it until it's searching the ground for its teeth... Ah!"

Before the girl could finish, she suddenly flew upward with a whoosh, headfirst and feet-up, shooting rapidly toward a great tree.

"The third time came so soon..."

The girls stared in astonishment. The tree's crown covered a hundred mu of land, while its roots hung low. Root after root and branch after branch shot out, surging toward everyone. The roots and branches were as thick as venomous dragons and giant pythons.

"Man-eating Tree!"

Ting Lanyue cried out in alarm and hurriedly visualized a great fire. Flames instantly filled the sky. The other girls understood and visualized great fires as well, but the roots pierced through the flames. With a sweep downward, they bound one girl after another and dragged them beneath the tree.

Beneath the great tree, corpses and bones were piled as high as a mountain. They were all Demonic Beasts that had died under the tree!

Yu Feiyan immediately let out a thunderous shout. Wings sprouted from her back, and she flapped them to fly into the air. Just as she raised her soul weapon, countless roots shot toward her. Even the giant eagle swooping down at Yu Feiyan was not spared. It was bound together with her and dragged toward the tree.

The giant tree's roots lunged at Zhong Yue. The girls' faces paled, and they hurriedly shouted, "Junior Brother Zhong, run!"

In the next moment, Zhong Yue was bound tightly and tied together with all the girls.

"Flood Dragon Totem!"

Zhong Yue shouted in a low voice. A thunderous Flood Dragon flew from between his brows and coiled around the strange tree once.

"Thunderstorm!"

Zhong Yue roared. The thunderous power contained within the Flood Dragon Totem erupted at once. Thousands upon thousands of lightning bolts blasted the giant tree, forcing its roots and branches to stand rigidly upright. The girls fell to the ground, shocked and delighted, and hurriedly sprinted away.

After fleeing several li, everyone looked back. The giant tree had drawn out countless roots and suddenly "stood" up. It spread its roots like legs and chased after them.

Everyone hurriedly ran on. The giant tree was simply too heavy and clumsy to move. Enraged, it lashed its roots in every direction, smashing the rocks and mountainsides apart.

"This tree... I'm afraid it's about to become a demon..."

Ting Lanyue let out a sigh of relief and said, "Quite a few Senior Brothers from Sword Gate have arrived at Beast God Ridge, and they got here before us. I heard that Senior Brother Han, the number one of the Men's Court, also brought a large group of people here. I wonder if we'll run into them. Senior Brother Han is extremely capable. If they traveled with us, the danger would be greatly reduced."

"Beast God Ridge covers eight hundred li in every direction. It'll be difficult to encounter Han Qingmo and the others."

Yu Feiyan shook her head. "The Demonic Beasts of Beast God Ridge have indeed become extraordinarily powerful. When I came here to train in the past, they weren't this strong. Han Qingmo will also find it difficult to take even a single step here. Still, they should be heading straight for the center of Beast God Ridge. Perhaps we'll meet them when we get there."

Within Zhong Yue's sea of consciousness, Kindling Child awoke. Borrowing Zhong Yue's eyes, he looked outside and saw the rugged mountains all around. He clicked his tongue in wonder and laughed. "What enormous ribs! Whoever died here could truly be called a god or demon!"

"Ribs?"

Zhong Yue's soul stood atop his sea of consciousness. He was startled at the words. "What ribs?"

"That mountain!"

Kindling Child raised his tiny arm. Like a tiny flame splitting off a line of fire, it pointed toward a magnificent, precipitous mountain. "That mountain was formed from a rib. The god or demon who died was a huge fellow. With ribs this thick, it probably wasn't of the Divine Race or the Demon Race, but the beast race—a god of the beast race! Judging from the size of this rib, that fellow's strength in life should have been considerable..."

Zhong Yue was horrified. He raised his head and examined the magnificent mountain. It rose four or five thousand zhang high, steep as a wall and hexagonal in shape. An ordinary person could not climb it at all!

"Such enormous ribs..."

Zhong Yue drew a long breath and looked toward the other mountains of Beast God Ridge. Similar mountains appeared and vanished in the distance. There were as many as forty-eight of them, twice the number of human ribs!

"These can only be considered the ordinary ribs of a beast god. I've seen ones even larger than this."

Kindling pondered. "This place didn't exist before I fell asleep. It must have appeared afterward. What caused a beast god to perish here... Hm? What is this aura?"

The little flame grew astonished, then suddenly laughed. "Good stuff, good stuff! I originally thought all the essence of this beast god had already dispersed, its bones had petrified, and its soul had turned to ashes. I didn't expect that this fellow would still have essence remaining!"

Zhong Yue's heart stirred, and he asked doubtfully, "What essence remains?"

"When this beast god died, it should have sealed its own essence and soul, intending to preserve its soul and rise again one day, keeping its soul from dying. But so much time has passed. Its soul never received sacrifices from the beast race. Without sacrifices, it couldn't transform into a totem, so it likely scattered long ago. However, this beast god's essence should not have vanished yet. Haven't you noticed that the Demonic Beasts around here have been growing stronger and stronger, far stronger than before?"

Zhong Yue nodded in agreement. Ting Lanyue and Yu Feiyan had both said that the Demonic Beasts of Beast God Ridge were stronger than before.

Kindling Child said, "This is where the beast god sealed its essence and soul before death. The seal loosened, causing its essence to leak out. The Demonic Beasts absorbed some of it, and that is why they became stronger. I also suspect that this place became a paradise for Demonic Beasts in the past because the beast god's essence had already begun leaking out back then. It simply wasn't leaking as much as it is now. Little Yue, these Demonic Beasts absorbed only a wisp or strand of the beast god's essence, yet they became so powerful in such a short time. You should understand the benefits of the beast god's essence now, right?"

"So the Demonic Beast riot in Beast God Ridge was caused by the beast god's essence leaking out?"

Zhong Yue was greatly tempted. "Can the Human race absorb the beast god's essence? How does it compare with the effects of a Feather Spirit Pill?"

"A Feather Spirit Pill?"

Kindling Child gaped in astonishment. After a moment, he said, "A Feather Spirit Pill couldn't catch up to the beast god's essence even if it rode a horse! The beast god's essence is countless times better than a Feather Spirit Pill. In your Sword Gate, there probably aren't even many spirit pills that can compare with it! Still, you did ask one thing correctly. You absolutely cannot absorb the beast god's essence directly. If you recklessly absorb it, you'll definitely turn into a great Demonic Beast—a Demonic Beast exactly like this beast god was in life!"

Zhong Yue jumped in fright and blurted out, "Turn into a great monster?"

Kindling smiled broadly. "You could turn into a monster if you wanted, but why become one? Your Human race is descended from Fuxi, and Fuxi was descended from the Leize Clan and Huaxu. The Leize Clan is the Innate Dragon God, the clan of dragons, while Huaxu is the Innate Snake God, the clan of snakes. The ancestors of both clans became gods innately. And both clans are royal clans—the clan of the Divine Emperor! Their bloodlines were innately superior to that of a beast god by countless times. Perhaps the beast god's essence can awaken the Fuxi bloodline within you. After all, your bloodline is rather thin. The beast god's essence might be able to purify it somewhat."

"Kindling, are you certain that the beast god's essence can awaken the Fuxi bloodline?" Zhong Yue was greatly tempted, but also somewhat doubtful.

Although Kindling treated him well, he looked unreliable no matter how one viewed him. Zhong Yue could not help but doubt him.

"Don't worry. With me here, the success rate is one hundred percent. I guarantee that I can awaken your Fuxi bloodline! Come, come, let's head deep into these mountains. We'll definitely find the place where the beast god sealed its own essence!"

Kindling urged him repeatedly, though his heart was somewhat uneasy. Hm, as for whether it can awaken the Fuxi bloodline, I've never tested it either. The success rate probably isn't very high... Hm? There are other people here?

Zhong Yue sensed it at the same time. He suddenly turned his head and saw a great mushroom of miasma swaying in the distance.

"He noticed me again!"

"She Junior Sister" cried out in surprise. "This fellow is truly sensitive. But after following you all this way, I've finally figured out your strength. As it turns out, that black-clothed woman is mediocre, and only you are barely passable. In that case, I don't need to be courteous with you. I can simply eliminate you directly... Hm? Someone's coming! Could Bear Senior Brother have failed to capture these Human race people?"