My Ambition Unseen, I Tread Snow to the Summit!

"We're saved!"

"It was Head Constable Lu who saved us!"

"Head Constable Lu is too powerful!"

Seeing the eerie black forest that was about to engulf them destroyed by Lu Xuenning, the crowd rejoiced.

Only Lu Xuenning's face turned pale, her expression grave.

The seemingly powerful strike had taken a heavy toll on her. Furthermore, she had only destroyed some black willow branches. As long as the main body of the black willow tree remained alive, these branches would return. And an attack like that was something she couldn't unleash many times with her current strength!

Still, she had managed to preserve herself and buy some time for Chen Fan.

Watching the black willow branches, which had just been shattered, sweep towards the crowd again, and even faster than before, Lu Xuenning's face grew even more grim.

"Chen Fan, you can do it!"

Lu Xuenning said silently in her heart.

Black Mountain.

Chen Fan was still steadily approaching the giant black willow tree perched atop Black Mountain.

His eyes were filled with crimson light, and the Meteorite Iron Blade in his hand emanated terrifying black and red blade energy. Combined with his perfected blade intent, its power was unparalleled!

He pushed forward relentlessly, his stamina seemingly inexhaustible, step by step, closing in on the Lord Willow at the summit of Black Mountain!

As he finally stood on the mountaintop, all the black willow branches that had transformed into demons and devils, ghosts, and monsters reverted into black willow branches and were reabsorbed by the Lord Willow's main body. The black root system that sprawled across the entire Black Mountain also began to retract.

"No one supported my aspirations to reach the heavens, so I tread through the snow to the summit myself!"

"Lord Willow, are you ready to become a soul to be slain by my blade now?!"

Chen Fan, clad in a black shirt, stood alone with his blade before the giant black willow tree, his gaze sharp as he asked in a deep voice.

"Insolent brat, you speak with such arrogance. How much strength do you have left?"

"A presumptuous fellow like you is destined to perish on the path of growth, and I am your end!"

The giant willow tree began to shake violently. Its black roots transformed into two massive feet, its thick trunk became its body, and its dense foliage formed its head. Suddenly, a monstrous creature covered in black scales appeared before Chen Fan!

"You're like a mecha demon!"

Chen Fan couldn't help but exclaim as he looked at the colossal being. But his hands didn't falter. He leaped forward, unleashing the Heaven and Earth One-Blade Cut, hacking fiercely at the Lord Willow, which stood nine zhang tall.

This strike carried terrifying Blood Sha true qi, corrosive to the bone and heart, and immensely fearsome!

Although Chen Fan had only opened thirty-six acupoints, according to the nine heavens of the Spirit Aperture Realm, with one hundred and eight divine acupoints as perfection, and each twelve acupoints representing one heaven, he was currently equivalent to only the third heaven of the Spirit Aperture Realm.

However, he had already mastered the blade intent to the great perfection stage, and in the Spirit Concealment Realm, he had reached the extreme of what his body could achieve, his physique comparable to that of a fierce beast cub. With such terrifying foundations supporting him, he possessed the ability to fight against stronger opponents, continuously raising his combat power!

As the Lord Willow willed it, what was initially empty in its hands condensed into a thick shield using black willow branches. It blocked in front of itself, taking Chen Fan's strike head-on!

Boom!

A massive explosion sounded. Chen Fan's blade cleaved through the Lord Willow's shield, and terrifying blade energy carved a deep gash on the Lord Willow's body.

Rustle rustle rustle!

Countless black branches and leaves immediately sprouted from the Lord Willow, healing the wound on its body. Then, it conjured a wooden spear out of thin air and thrust it fiercely at Chen Fan!

Chen Fan raised his hand and unleashed another slash, directly severing the giant spear!

The next second.

The Lord Willow manifested eight massive arms, each holding a spear, attacking Chen Fan from all directions!

Boom!

Chen Fan's fists were no match for eight hands, let alone the eight arms conjured by the Lord Willow. He was directly sent flying backward!

"Is that all you've got? Die!"

Seeing Chen Fan at a disadvantage, the Lord Willow boomed.

"Damn it!"

"This guy has too many tricks. My attacks are simply not fatal to it!"

"Immune to fire and water, unafraid of blades, ever-changing, regenerating severed limbs. How did it evolve like this?"

Chen Fan truly couldn't understand. Even top-tier Demon Kings had weaknesses. Flying creatures generally had weaker physical strength, while ground beasts were either too slow, had weaker attacks, or lacked intelligence. Plants that became demons usually feared fire and had difficulty moving their main bodies.

But the Lord Willow before him appeared to be a black willow tree, which should belong to the plant-type demons. Yet, it showed no signs of a plant demon. Its large feet, formed from black roots, moved with great speed. Apart from its slightly weaker attack, it was practically like a rolling stone, impossible to defeat!

"I'll take a gamble!"

"Its roots and branches change in countless ways, but the trunk that forms its body hasn't changed much. And it's covered in thick, scale-like bark. This indicates it cares deeply about its trunk and doesn't want it to be harmed."

"If I can break through its thick, scale-like bark and damage its trunk, I might be able to break this deadlock. Otherwise, I'll eventually be exhausted."

Chen Fan thought to himself while fending off the Lord Willow's endless attacks.

He circulated the Blood Sha Skill to its limit, exuding terrifying blood mist all around him. The Blood Sha true qi within his body erupted from his dantian, flowing through his meridians into the Meteorite Iron Blade!

Heaven and Earth One-Blade Cut + Blood Sha true qi + Blade Intent + Blade Energy!

As the Blood Sha true qi was injected, the Meteorite Iron Blade glowed with a black-red luster all over its body. The blade itself emitted crisp cracking sounds under the immense pressure, even beginning to show cracks!

"Slash!"

Chen Fan poured all his abilities into this single strike, then ferociously swept it towards Lord Willow. The terrifying blade aura radiated an demonic, scarlet glow. Wherever it passed, countless black willow branches shattered. The fearsome blade aura directly struck Lord Willow's trunk.

Its bark-like armor exploded with a metallic clang. The Meteorite Iron Blade deeply embedded itself into Lord Willow's trunk, severing more than half of its body.

"Explode!"

Chen Fan roared. The Meteorite Iron Blade lodged in Lord Willow's trunk shattered violently, unleashing a torrent of terrifying energy that blew the trunk apart into pieces!

Chen Fan saw a black, teardrop-shaped crystal embedded within Lord Willow's trunk. It radiated immense energy, which flowed into Lord Willow's roots and branches, fueling their growth. Now, this energy was rapidly repairing Lord Willow's trunk!

However, Chen Fan clearly wouldn't give it another chance. He discarded the Meteorite Iron Blade, which was now only a hilt, and threw a punch. He blasted away Lord Willow's damaged trunk and then smashed his fist directly onto the strange, teardrop-shaped crystal!

"No!"

Lord Willow roared as it witnessed this. An expression of utter disbelief flashed across its ancient face.

Crack!

Chen Fan punched the teardrop-shaped crystal out of Lord Willow's body. His fist, capable of shattering metal and stone, failed to break the peculiar crystal. Instead, it was the crystal that repelled his fist, causing it to crack and bleed profusely!

But the moment the teardrop-shaped crystal was dislodged, Lord Willow's remaining body began to tremble violently, eventually disintegrating into a pile of black dust that scattered and vanished in the wind.

[Killed Lord Willow, stole zero years of its remaining lifespan!]