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"Attention, the enemy can draw on the earth's pulsating magical energy to replenish its strength and combat capabilities, and it can also absorb external magical energy, especially light-based magical energy. Moreover, it seems to lack combat experience but possesses a very strong learning ability. If we can't defeat it quickly, it might become very difficult to handle later," Li Jia's voice rang out again, letting everyone understand the troublesome nature of the enemy. Jin Luosha had already ceased her light-based magical attacks.

"Hey, do you know any inside information? You just called out this monster's strange name earlier. Do you know any of its weaknesses? This guy's strength is probably at the level of a super magical beast. Fighting a super magical beast in such a narrow space is very disadvantageous," Xi Luo asked loudly while swinging his sword.

Chen Xuanfeng shook his head and replied, "Unfortunately, we only know some information from an ancient text, but this monster wasn't arranged by the Twelve Sages. It likely spontaneously evolved during the years the underground palace was sealed, which is why it lacks combat experience. We can only guess its origins, but we don't know its abilities or weaknesses."

"Then, what is it?" Morova followed up.

"An artificial Golden Tree Demon," Chen Xuanfeng answered. Not wanting to turn against the two youths at this moment, he decided to cooperate and roughly explained the origins and speculations about the Black Gold Tree Demon.

"An imitation of the Golden Tree Demon? Its power seems to have surpassed the original," Xi Luo remarked, impressed by Chen Xuanfeng's explanation. He then added, "I remember that while the Golden Tree Demon can control all types of magic, it is very averse to extremely high-temperature fire. This guy might be the same."

"Oh, that makes sense. Let's try it," Chen Xuanfeng nodded. The magical weapon in his left hand, the "Emperor's Wrath Blade," immediately surged with flames, transforming into nine black flame dragons that lunged at the Black Gold Tree Demon. Although he knew that either he or Morova could defeat this giant if they exerted their full strength, under the current circumstances where everyone was hiding their true strength, finding an effective combat method to win seemed quite interesting.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—"

Unexpectedly, the nine flames, hot enough to melt metal, collided with the deep green earth-based magical aura emanating from the tree demon's body upon contact. After a brief struggle, they were repelled.

"Seems ineffective?" Chen Xuanfeng muttered.

Li Jia immediately interjected, "Not exactly. Because it's a fusion of dark and fire elements, although its destructive power is very strong, it will be repelled by the large amount of light-based magical energy within the enemy's body. Moreover, this monster has a strong resistance to magical flames. Non-magical flames might work better."

"I'll handle it," Morova immediately shouted. The flames on his body boiled into a golden-red color, and a giant firebird soared into the air. This was his "Flame Aura," enhanced by his super magical beast, the "Phoenix of Flames," evolving into the "Phoenix Aura" and gaining the lunar attribute 'Phoenix.'

The giant firebird lunged at the tree demon, causing it to retreat in alarm. The tree tendrils that came into contact with the golden-red flames immediately turned to ash. However, although the firebird's wingspan could reach over ten meters, it was still relatively small compared to the Black Gold Tree Demon's size. Additionally, the tree demon's tendrils regrew as quickly as they were severed, so it didn't suffer significant damage for the time being.

However, the underground space they were in, though relatively vast, was not infinite. With Chen Xuanfeng, Xi Luo, and Li Jia's restraint, the tree demon was soon engulfed by the firebird, turning into a raging inferno.

"Roar, roar, roar—" Seemingly in extreme pain, the Black Gold Tree Demon roared and violently shook its body in struggle.

"Success!" Xi Luo and Morova laughed as they watched the giant, torch-like enemy.

However, Chen Xuanfeng and the other two couldn't help but take a few steps back, adopting defensive postures. Unlike the two youths, they, who had deeply interacted with the style of the Twelve Sages—and one of them was even a creation of the Twelve Sages—knew full well that the works of those deceased super mages could not have such shallow flaws.

Sure enough, amidst the increasingly high-pitched roars, the sense of pain gradually diminished, replaced by a will full of desire. Even Xi Luo and Morova began to sense something was wrong. Then, from within the giant flames, something seemed to break free from a cocoon.

"Boom—"

A massive, flaming black fragment suddenly burst from the tree demon's body, directly smashing toward where Xi Luo and Morova stood. Morova swung his flaming axe to block it, and the fragment exploded like a high-level fire spell, creating a massive shockwave that forced everyone to retreat.

Immediately after, countless fragments burst from the Black Gold Tree Demon's body, scattering in all directions like a meteor shower. Whatever they touched, even Xi Luo's ice sword energy, would explode. Although these explosions couldn't harm the people present, the confined underground space caused the explosive power to reverberate and amplify, forcing everyone to retreat to the upper level.

"Huh? Wait, Li Lin, did you see her?" Chen Xuanfeng, upon exiting the lower level of the underground palace, immediately noticed someone was missing and quickly called out to Jin Luosha and Li Jia using their aliases.

"She was too far from this side, so she hid behind that large door," Jin Luosha replied, looking up.

However, this answer held a different meaning for Chen Xuanfeng. He knew Li Jia's capabilities well; she could summon the Crystal Dragon armor at any time, so such explosions wouldn't bother her. Her decision to move downward likely wasn't for evasion but for some other purpose. Jin Luosha, who had a telepathic link with Li Jia, probably knew her intentions but couldn't speak openly with outsiders present.

Deeply trusting the intelligence of the two girls, Chen Xuanfeng didn't press further. However, Xi Luo and Morova, hearing this, immediately said, "This is bad. The tree demon probably wasn't severely injured earlier. If that girl gets trapped, it's dangerous. The explosions have stopped; let's head down immediately!"