Forty-Thousand-Year Dragon Blood Wood

In the depths of a dense forest, countless towering trees stood tall.

At the very center of the forest, a rather short tree occupied a vast clearing. No plant within dozens of zhang of it stood taller than one zhang.

"Is this the place?" Jun Yan asked the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger lying beside him.

Gone was the tiger's earlier defiance. It obediently nodded its massive head.

Because of his Martial Soul, Jun Yan had studied plant-type Soul Beasts and recognized the one before him.

"This is a Dragon Blood Tree, isn't it?"

The Dragon Blood Tree was an exceptionally rare plant-type Soul Beast. Its trunk was translucent and pitch-black, but red sap flowed out when its bark was cut. Thus, legend held that Dragon Blood Trees grew only in soil bathed in dragon blood.

The Dragon Blood Tree's crown was small, but its roots were exceptionally extensive. It monopolized nearly all the nutrients in the surrounding soil, leaving few other tall plants able to grow nearby.

Jun Yan folded his arms and thought to himself, The Dragon Blood Tree ranks among the superior plant-type Soul Beasts. This one should have forty thousand years of cultivation, making it just right for my Sixth Soul Ring.

Plant-type Soul Beasts might not have been strong on the attack, but their defenses were certainly greater than those of animal-type Soul Beasts. Killing it would take Jun Yan considerable effort.

Fortunately...

"Go, beat it half to death and bring it back to me." Jun Yan pointed at the Dragon Blood Tree and gave the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger its orders.

"It's only a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, and I still have to deal with it myself."

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger had not yet reached a hundred thousand years of cultivation and could not speak, but as Jun Yan's puppet, everything it thought was known to him.

"Go on," Jun Yan urged at once.

However unwilling the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger was, it could only do as Jun Yan commanded.

As for its injuries, Jun Yan had already healed them while making it into an Animal Path puppet. Its strength might now have been below its peak, but it still had the combat strength of a standard Titled Douluo.

Dealing with a Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Blood Tree would naturally be as easy as taking something in its paws.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger stepped within range of the Dragon Blood Tree's roots. Wave after wave of distorted ripples swiftly began spiraling around it, and the gray breath it gave off turned into gray light. It burst forth in an instant, spreading over a range of several hundred meters.

Evil God Domain: the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's Innate Domain. It increased the tiger's own strength while weakening its opponent.

The Dragon Blood Tree immediately sensed the danger approaching. Its branches began to thrash wildly, and the main roots lurking underground pulled free. For a moment, it looked as though several giant pythons had appeared to guard the tree.

The normally sluggish plant-type Soul Beast also sensed how troublesome its opponent was and did not dare attack first.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, meanwhile, walked slowly toward the Dragon Blood Tree as though taking a leisurely stroll.

The Dragon Blood Tree finally could bear it no longer. One root rose high and lashed down at the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger. Its tip sliced through the air with a sharp, urgent whistle.

The root whipped down in an instant, smashing the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger to pieces.

It was only an afterimage!

Just as the root was about to land, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger had given the wings on its back a gentle flap and appeared on the other side as if it had teleported.

The force of a fierce wind howled around the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger. It truly had not teleported just now. Although it also possessed the power of space, there was no need to use it against the Dragon Blood Tree before it.

Its enormous body landed lightly on the ground. At the same time, countless streams of black light surged from it and turned into dozens of blades, each over a foot long, that tore through the air.

The Dragon Blood Tree immediately swung its branches to block the blades of light. They were formed from a fusion of wind- and evil-attribute energy. With the powerful cutting force of wind and the fierce corrosion of evil, their power was already no weaker than a human Soul Master's Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring skill.

A series of sharp hisses rang out as the blades of light sliced through dozens of tough branches in an instant, then struck the trunk with their remaining force undiminished. They cut straight through the sturdy bark, and red sap immediately flowed out.

Rustle, rustle-

The Dragon Blood Tree's branches shook incessantly, as though from the pain of its bark being cut open.

Its pitch-black roots slammed into the ground again and again, leaving craters several meters deep and sending dirt flying everywhere. The ground was a complete mess.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, by contrast, remained utterly calm on its feet. With gentle flaps of its wings, it easily dodged the Dragon Blood Tree's lashing roots. Not even the flying dust could land on it.

As it dodged, layers of gray light gathered into a sphere around its body.

Dark Demon Evil Thunder was another of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's immensely powerful skills. It fused its demonic power and evil power into one, then unleashed their terrifying might in an instant. It was an area attack combining the wind, lightning, and evil attributes.

With a beat of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's wings, a sphere of Dark Demon Evil Thunder flew straight at the Dragon Blood Tree.

The Dragon Blood Tree seemed to know how powerful the attack was. It did not dare take the blow with its trunk and hurriedly swung several roots in front of itself.

With a crack, the Dark Demon Evil Thunder suddenly exploded, blasting every root in its path to pieces. Dark red sap sprayed through the air.

"Something's wrong!"

Jun Yan, who had been watching the battle from the side, suddenly noticed something amiss. The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's blades of light had clearly cut through the Dragon Blood Tree's bark earlier, but now all those wounds had vanished.

Jun Yan immediately activated his Rinnegan and looked at the Dragon Blood Tree. A faint red light was radiating from it.

As mentioned before, the Dragon Blood Tree's roots were so extensive that no tall vegetation grew nearby, but there were still some weeds.

After the red light enveloped those plants, they immediately withered. The Dragon Blood Tree, on the other hand, was not only recovering from its injuries; even the roots that had been blasted apart were slowly regrowing.

It absorbs the life force of nearby plants to heal its own injuries. A Soul Skill like that ought to belong to me.

Thus, Jun Yan said in his mind, Finish this quickly. Stop dragging it out.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger immediately understood what Jun Yan meant and stopped holding back. A powerful current of gray air erupted around it, shielding its body. Then it unleashed its evil power and charged at the Dragon Blood Tree.

The Dragon Blood Tree tried to swing its roots to stop the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, but the evil power surrounding it shattered them in an instant.

Almost in an instant, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger reached the Dragon Blood Tree. It raised a paw wreathed in black light and struck the trunk, tearing out a large chunk of wood stained bright red, as though ripping silk.

Then it used Dark Demon Evil Thunder to bombard the Dragon Blood Tree's trunk without pause.

The Dragon Blood Tree's roots and branches struck wildly at the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, but they could not break through its defenses at all.

Of course, the Dragon Blood Tree's vitality was indeed tenacious. Even the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger needed a full half a quarter of an hour to beat it to the brink of death.

Finally, Jun Yan stepped forward and ended the Dragon Blood Tree's life.