The moment his consciousness returned, Xie Xie found himself in a dim, damp jungle.
Towering ancient trees surrounded him, their vines crisscrossing overhead. A faint, fishy stench hung in the air, and danger lurked in every corner of the primordial forest.
The next moment, his sixth sense suddenly blared an alarm in his mind.
Without the slightest hesitation, he lunged forward and hit the ground. A dozen beams of light skimmed right over his back.
Once the attack had passed, Xie Xie kicked off with his waist and sprang upright like a carp leaping from water.
He had barely steadied himself when the ground began to tremble.
Xie Xie saw more than a dozen eyes split open on the trunk of a tree, each one gleaming with a scarlet light.
And these things lived in packs.
Sure enough, dozens more enormous demon trees—bloodred from top to bottom, their trunks studded with sinister eyes—ripped themselves from the earth. Thick, crimson vines whipped about like countless venomous snakes, instantly surrounding Xie Xie.
The Scarlet Demon Trees were only ten-year Plant-type Soul Beasts, but they lived in groups, and there were a lot of them. Even an ordinary Two-Ring Soul Master would choose to give them a wide berth.
But Xie Xie's gaze only sharpened. Back down in the face of their strength?
One man was still one man. And one man had his own way of fighting!
With a thought, two rays of soul light shot skyward from his body.
In his left hand was the Light Dragon Blade, gleaming with golden brilliance, dragon patterns flowing across its surface, its edge razor-sharp.
In his right hand was the Shadow Dragon Blade, dark and unfathomable, its chill biting, devouring the light around it.
"Roar!"
The Scarlet Demon Trees struck first.
Dozens of crimson