Tree Demon

"That human kid has incredibly sharp senses and lightning-fast reactions!"

Dozens of miles away, the ground suddenly churned. A massive snake head emerged from the earth, then shrank down. A monster with a woman's body and a snake's head crawled out of a cave. She waved her hand, burying the cave entrance, revealing herself to be the Demonic Race's "Junior Sister She."

"His sword speed is even faster. I barely had time to react. If I hadn't twisted my body just in time, he would have cut me in half!"

"Junior Sister She" raised her hand and touched her snake-like neck. Blood flowed from a sword wound that had nearly reached her bones. It was clear how powerful and fast Zhong Yue's thunderous sword strike had been!

"This kid isn't weak. I was just caught off guard, which is why he injured me. And that woman in black seems to be the leader of their group. Could her strength surpass that kid's? The others are no threat, but those two must be thoroughly investigated. Knowing oneself and the enemy, one can win a hundred battles..."

"Junior Sister She," with her snake-like head and human face, pondered deeply, her eyes flashing with an eerie light. She had suffered a minor setback in her first encounter with Zhong Yue, but she retreated mainly out of apprehension towards Yu Feiyan. In her view, Yu Feiyan was the leader of this group of Sword Gate Upper Court disciples. Since even Zhong Yue wasn't the leader, Yu Feiyan must be stronger.

If Zhong Yue was already so formidable, and Yu Feiyan was even stronger, she would be at a disadvantage facing two powerhouses alone, so she retreated immediately.

"Good, I'll let the little brats from Beast God Ridge deal with you first and probe the strength of that woman in black!"

The light in "Junior Sister She's" eyes grew more sinister. She let out a sharp whistle, and soon, deep beast roars echoed from Beast God Ridge. "Junior Sister She" flickered and moved deeper into Beast God Ridge.

Almost simultaneously, Lei Gun of the Leihu Clan and Li Xiuniang of the Lishan Clan were also besieged by Demonic Beasts. These attacks were meant to test the abilities of these Sword Gate disciples. Lei Gun and Li Xiuniang displayed their Spiritual Power's ability to transform the virtual into the real, which prevented "Senior Brother Bear" and "Gongyang" from attacking directly.

"This is still the outer perimeter of Beast God Ridge. If any of them escape after we make a move here, it will ruin Master's grand plan! Once these human pretty boys enter the core area of Beast God Ridge, we can feast!"

Zhong Yue, Yu Feiyan, and the others continued deeper into Beast God Ridge. Along the way, they encountered all sorts of strange Demonic Beasts. The Demonic Beasts in Beast God Ridge were colossal. Sometimes, a giant crocodile, over twenty zhang long and impervious to blades and spears, would leap out of a swamp. Other times, a large fish would emerge from a lake and charge onto land at full speed, preying on them.

Even the sky was not safe, with giant birds spanning over ten zhang, creating hurricanes when they swooped down, nearly blowing everyone away!

There were also bizarre creatures, like giant spiders that suddenly emerged from the ground. One spat white silk, entangling a female disciple and dragging her into a cave. By the time Yu Feiyan and the others rescued the girl, she had already been bound into a cocoon by the spider, which was preparing to lay its eggs inside her.

"Junior Sister Rou'er, be careful. Don't let the spiders drag you away again."

The other girls teased, "You're having bad luck. Last time, a Great Mountain Earthworm almost swallowed you whole."

Junior Sister Rou'er, still shaken, laughed, "It was just a coincidence. How could there be a third time? Next time a spider tries to eat me, I'll beat it until it begs for mercy... Ah!"

Before the girl could finish, she suddenly flew up, headfirst, at high speed towards a large tree.

"The third time has come so quickly..."

The girls were stunned. The tree's canopy covered an area of a hundred mu, and its roots dangled down. Roots and branches shot out, swarming towards them like venomous dragons and pythons.

"Man-eating Tree!"

Ting Lanyue cried out in alarm and quickly visualized a great fire. Flames immediately filled the air. The other girls understood and also visualized great fires. However, the roots pierced through the flames in the air, wrapping around them and pulling them down towards the tree.

Beneath the giant tree, piles of bones lay stacked like mountains, all belonging to Demonic Beasts that had died there!

Yu Feiyan immediately shouted, wings sprouting from her back as she flew into the air. Just as she summoned her Soul Weapon, countless roots shot out, seizing her and even a giant eagle swooping down towards her, binding them all and dragging them towards the base of the tree.

The giant tree's roots lunged towards Zhong Yue. The girls, their faces pale with fear, cried out, "Junior Brother Zhong, run!"

The next moment, Zhong Yue was tightly bound, along with the other girls.

"Flood Dragon Totem!"

Zhong Yue let out a low cry. A lightning flood dragon flew out from between his eyebrows and coiled around the strange tree.

"Thunderstorm!"

Zhong Yue roared. The lightning power contained within the Flood Dragon Totem erupted, and thousands of bolts of lightning struck the giant tree, causing its roots and branches to stand straight up. The girls landed on the ground, both surprised and delighted, and quickly fled.

After running several miles, they looked back and saw the giant tree pulling out countless roots and suddenly "standing" up. It began to move towards them on its root-like legs.

They continued to flee frantically. The giant tree was too heavy and cumbersome, and in its rage, its roots thrashed wildly, shattering rocks.

"This tree is probably going to become a demon..."

Ting Lanyue breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Many Senior Brothers from Sword Gate have arrived at Beast God Ridge before us. I heard that Senior Brother Han, the top disciple of the Men's Court, has also brought a large group here. I wonder if we'll meet them? Senior Brother Han is extremely capable. If we had them with us, the danger would be much less."

"Beast God Ridge spans eight hundred miles. It will be difficult to run into Han Qingmo and the others."

Yu Feiyan shook her head. "The Demonic Beasts in Beast God Ridge have indeed become much more powerful. When I came here for training before, they weren't this strong. Han Qingmo will also find it difficult to move here. However, they are likely heading straight for the central area of Beast God Ridge. Perhaps we'll meet them when we get there."

In Zhong Yue's Sea of Consciousness, Xin Huo awoke. He looked out through Zhong Yue's eyes, marveling at the rugged mountains around them. He chuckled, "What large ribs! The beings who died here could truly be called gods and demons!"

"Ribs?"

Zhong Yue's soul stood in his Sea of Consciousness. He was surprised. "What ribs?"

"That mountain!"

The Kindling Child raised its tiny arm, extending a thread of fire like a small flame, pointing towards a majestic, imposing mountain range. "This mountain is formed from ribs. The god or demon that died here was enormous. These ribs are so thick; it shouldn't be from the Divine race or Demonic race, but from the Beast race, a Beast God! Judging by the size of these ribs, this fellow must have been quite powerful in life..."

Zhong Yue was horrified. He looked up at the majestic mountain range. It was four to five thousand zhang high, with sheer, cliff-like sides and a hexagonal shape, making it impossible for ordinary people to climb!

"Such large ribs..."

Zhong Yue took a deep breath and looked at the other mountain ranges in Beast God Ridge. Similar mountain ranges appeared faintly, forty-eight in total, more than double the number of human ribs!

"These are just ordinary Beast God ribs. I've seen bigger ones before."

Xin Huo pondered. "However, this place didn't exist before I fell asleep. It must have appeared after I went dormant. What caused a Beast God to perish here... Hmm? This aura?"

The small flame was surprised and suddenly chuckled, "Good stuff, good stuff! I thought all the essence of this Beast God had been lost, its bones petrified, its soul turned to ash. I didn't expect there to be any residual vital energy!"

Zhong Yue's heart stirred. "What residual vital energy?"

"When this Beast God died, it must have sealed its own vital energy and soul, intending to preserve its soul and make a comeback, to keep its soul immortal. However, after such a long time, its soul hasn't received sacrifices from the Beast race. Without sacrifices, it couldn't transform into a totem, and it has likely long since dissipated. But the Beast God's vital energy should still be here. Have you noticed that the surrounding Demonic Beasts are getting stronger and stronger, stronger than before?"

Zhong Yue nodded in agreement. Ting Lanyue and Yu Feiyan had both mentioned that the Demonic Beasts in Beast God Ridge were more powerful than before.

The Kindling Child said, "This is where the Beast God sealed his essence and soul before he died. The seal loosened, causing his essence to overflow, and some of it was absorbed by these demonic beasts, which is why they became stronger. Furthermore, I suspect that this place became a paradise for demonic beasts in the past because the Beast God's essence was already leaking then, just not as much as this time. Little Yue, these demonic beasts absorbed a trace of the Beast God's overflowing essence and became very powerful in a short period. Do you understand the benefits of the Beast God's essence now?"

"So, the demonic beast riot in Beast God Ridge was caused by the leakage of the Beast God's essence?"

Zhong Yue couldn't help but feel excited. "Can the Human race absorb this Beast God essence? How does its effect compare to the Feather Spirit Pill?"

"Feather Spirit Pill?"

The Kindling Child was dumbfounded. After a moment, he said, "The Feather Spirit Pill can't even compare to the Beast God's essence! This Beast God essence is countless times better than the Feather Spirit Pill. In your Sword Gate, there probably aren't many spirit pills that can compare to the Beast God's essence! However, you asked one thing correctly: you absolutely cannot absorb the Beast God's essence directly. If you rashly absorb it, you will definitely turn into a great demonic beast, exactly like the Beast God was in his lifetime!"

Zhong Yue was startled and exclaimed, "Turn into a great demonic beast?"

The Kindling Child grinned. "If you want to turn into a demonic beast, you can, but why would you want to? Your Human race are descendants of Fuxi, and Fuxi is a descendant of the Leize Clan and the Huaxu Clan. The Leize Clan are the Innate Dragon Gods, the Dragon God lineage. The Huaxu Clan are the Innate Snake Gods, the Snake God lineage. The ancestors of both clans were gods who achieved divinity from birth. And these two great clans are royal clans, the Divine Emperor's lineage! Their bloodline, from birth, is countless times superior to the Beast God's. Perhaps, the Beast God's essence can activate the Fuxi bloodline within you. After all, your bloodline is quite diluted; the Beast God's essence might be able to purify it a bit."

"Kindling Child, are you sure the Beast God's essence can activate the Fuxi bloodline?" Zhong Yue asked, greatly tempted but also somewhat skeptical.

Although this Kindling Child treated him well, he always seemed unreliable, which made Zhong Yue doubt him.

"Don't worry, with me here, the success rate is 100%! I guarantee you can awaken the Fuxi bloodline! Let's go, let's go deeper into this mountain range. We're sure to find where the Beast God sealed his essence and blood!"

The Kindling Child urged him repeatedly, but inwardly, he felt a little uncertain. "Well, I haven't tested whether the Fuxi bloodline can be activated before. The success rate might not be high... Hmm, is there someone else here?"

At the same moment, Zhong Yue sensed something and suddenly turned his head. In the distance, a large mushroom of miasma was swaying.

"He found me again!"

"Junior Sister She" exclaimed with a laugh. "This guy is really agile. But I've finally figured out your strengths along the way. It turns out that the black-clothed woman's abilities are mediocre, and only you are barely passable. In that case, I don't need to be polite with you and will directly eliminate you... Huh? Someone's coming! Did Senior Brother Xiong not capture these Humans?"