A Figure from Behind

Everyone froze as a soft green glow emerged from their bodies.

Especially the several Soul Douluo who had originally thought they would die for the honor of their clans and sects.

They had been forcibly roused from the brink of death. Feeling the comfort spreading through their bodies and watching their wounds heal at a visible speed, every face was filled with disbelief.

But before they could react further, their vision blurred. When it cleared again, everyone had been moved nearly a hundred meters away from the giant tree.

This included Ning Fengzhi and the several Titled Douluo.

Even with Ning Fengzhi's support, they had all suffered injuries to varying degrees. Yet under the green light, they had now recovered to their peak condition.

They looked at one another, but no one knew what had happened.

"Fengzhi..."

Seeing that the green radiance had vanished, Chen Xin frowned and looked toward Ning Fengzhi.

But Ning Fengzhi's brow was furrowed just as tightly. He did not even respond to Chen Xin at first.

Apart from the few Soul Douluo who had narrowly escaped death, everyone else was the same.

At that moment, they all had only one question in mind.

What had happened? What exactly had that green light been? Was it a warning from the giant tree?

The giant tree still stood there, but not a single member of the expedition team dared step forward again.

Just as they wore grave expressions and prepared to discuss whether to continue the expedition...

"Sect Master, seniors, fellow comrades, aren't we missing someone who didn't escape?"

A Soul Douluo suddenly spoke, interrupting everyone's thoughts.

They looked at one another, initially failing to understand what he meant.

Until they followed the direction of his pointing finger.

The giant tree was still there. Once they had left a certain range, it had stopped attacking them.

Everything had seemed perfectly peaceful.

But then they lowered their gazes.

Amid the ground covered in vines and branches, a small figure stood quietly there.

Though the distance was great, everyone present was among the foremost figures in the soul master world. They could all clearly see that it was a person.

Ning Fengzhi's brow immediately furrowed.

He exchanged a glance with the Sword Douluo beside him, and both looked behind them at the same time.

But after scanning the group, they found that their team was completely intact. Not a single person was missing.

"Who is he? When did he get over there?"

Chen Xin spoke in a low voice.

To appear silently before the eyes of their five Titled Douluo, this person could not possibly be harmless.

Everyone's gaze converged on the figure that had suddenly appeared, waiting to see what he would do next.

After all, they had already witnessed the terror of that giant tree.

Yet after waiting for a long while, the battle they had expected never came.

Instead, they witnessed a sight that several Titled Douluo would never forget for the rest of their lives.

Before their eyes, the indestructible giant tree that had just whipped them around like spinning tops actually bent its towering trunk before that figure.

The branches and vines that had been lashing about everywhere also withdrew to the ground at the same time, showing not the slightest intention of attacking.

"Sect Master Ning, this old man isn't seeing things, am I?"

"Do you think our escape just now might also have had something to do with this person...?"

No one replied, but everyone understood what Dugu Bo meant.

Meanwhile, the figure they were discussing stood with his back to them. It was Ning Yao.

As for Ning Fengzhi's group, he only needed to move them somewhere safe. As long as they behaved themselves, knew their place, and stopped meddling, he would not concern himself with them anymore.

As for the karma he had left behind, he would deal with it himself.

"I didn't expect it to truly succeed."

Looking at the giant tree before him, Ning Yao nodded slightly.

This was a true creation of Abundance.

After this period of accumulation, although the giant tree still could not communicate with him directly of its own accord, it had fully developed intelligence as it absorbed more and more Abundance.

It was no longer the ignorant sapling it had once been.

Withered Wood—the giant tree—had clearly understood what Ning Yao was to it.

The instant it sensed Ning Yao's power earlier, it had stopped attacking Ning Fengzhi and the others.

And after Ning Yao appeared before it, it had immediately chosen to bow its head.

Through some of its body language, Ning Yao had even understood its meaning.

It was telling Ning Yao about its experiences during this time, and also that it had never forgotten the one command Ning Yao had given it.

Ning Yao was quite satisfied with this.

"Since you are so loyal, how about I move you somewhere else now?"

He smiled faintly as he looked at Withered Wood before him.

Though it was no longer the dead tree it had once been, Ning Yao was still more accustomed to calling it Withered Wood.

The instant his words fell, every tree and vine throughout the area began trembling faintly along with Withered Wood's massive trunk.

It was expressing its happiness and gratitude toward Ning Yao.

After fully gaining intelligence, it had long since stopped wanting to remain rooted here.

It had only stayed because of Ning Yao. It had even endured the assaults of countless soul masters because of it, becoming branded a great menace by the entire human soul master world.

Yet at the same moment Withered Wood rejoiced, Ning Fengzhi and the others all shuddered as if struck by lightning.

With perfect unspoken coordination, they simultaneously retreated several kilometers.

They did not care to investigate who Ning Yao was. Only after the giant tree vanished from sight did they finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The people at the front looked at one another in silence. No one spoke.

They had truly been terrified by that bizarre giant tree.

It simply could not be killed.

Once it entangled you, death came slowly but surely.

Behind them, after coming to a stop, a Soul Douluo looked ahead with the expression of someone who had survived a disaster. That tremor from the giant tree had nearly scared his soul out of him.

"Sect Master, seniors, that giant tree wasn't going berserk again and coming after us, was it?"

Even the Soul Douluo's voice trembled.

During the battle earlier, he had thought he was already dead.

He was one of the Soul Douluo whose second life Ning Yao had casually forced back into him.

Having finally gained a second life, he did not want to die again.

But no one answered him.

Because no one knew. Even Ning Fengzhi had thought that bizarre giant tree had gone berserk again.

Only now, seeing that there had been no movement ahead after that disturbance, did they belatedly realize that the commotion might not have been directed at them.

"How about we go back and take another look?"