Chapter 309 Tree Demon

The sun had dipped below the horizon, and night was just settling in.

As had been the case the past two days, everyone was gearing up to face the midnight mist ghosts, leaving little time for aimless wandering. Instead, it was the calmest and most relaxed part of the day.

Old Wang found a secluded tree branch and, as usual, let loose the ice bees. But he quickly sensed something was off.

Unlike the nights before, the darkened ground no longer gave off those faint, hidden glows. The whole jungle was wrapped in a tranquil darkness.

But something about the air felt different. It seemed the energy that typically formed the night mist was now dispersing and gathering in the sky. The two moons had merged into one, and it was rising at an alarming speed. Within just half an hour of nightfall, the full moon was already high in the sky, as if it had become the epicenter of the converging energy, making it shine even brighter.

It wasn’t just Old Wang’s keen senses that picked up on this; even Mo Tong felt it, along with everyone else still in the Soul Illusion Realm. They all turned their gaze skyward.

The moon’s silver light grew increasingly intense and blinding. Soon, it seemed to hit a peak of brilliance, followed by a deafening explosion.

The light burst forth in the night sky, forming a colossal white beam that plummeted from above, slamming into the heart of the jungle.

Boom... The ground shook violently.

The blinding light flared, and the earth trembled. A massive shockwave rippled out from the jungle’s core, accompanied by an unearthly, guttural roar.

Creak, creak, creak... as if the very forest was groaning.

A loud, eerie sound echoed, as though some massive creature was stirring from its slumber.

"Wang Feng!" Mo Tong shouted, his voice brimming with excitement, "Check it out! There’s gotta be treasure over there!"

"Treasure? More like a boss monster!"

Old Wang shot him a look of disdain. This clueless junior brother just didn’t get the idea of ‘a smart man doesn’t stand under a crumbling wall.’ With all this chaos, whatever was coming was sure to be a force to reckon with, way beyond what Mo Tong and he could take on. Plus, this kind of ruckus was bound to draw in a crowd of powerful folks from all around. The heart of the jungle was probably swarming and downright perilous.

In times like these, it’s best to sit back and let others duke it out.

"What’s it to you?" Old Wang drawled, yawning, "Let the big guys deal with it if the sky comes crashing down. Let’s catch some Z’s. Who knows, by the time we wake up..."

Before he could finish, Mo Tong grabbed his arm and pulled him along like a kite. The terrifying speed made Old Wang feel as if he was about to float away.

"Let’s go! Let’s go! We’re going to grab the treasure!" Mo Tong shouted excitedly as they ran.

Meanwhile, at the center of the jungle...

The 'Grim Reaper' was roaring in pain. The beam of light from the sky enveloped it, causing a strange transformation.

Its body was gradually solidifying, growing roots that buried themselves into the ground. Beneath the surface, the blue energy 'roots' of the Grim Reaper spread rapidly like tree roots, covering an area of dozens of miles.

All around, various large trees were rapidly withering. The green leaves quickly dried up, and the sturdy trunks soon turned into bark.

Gurgling energy converged, and green light spots filled the air and the ground, exuding an intense vitality, all gathering towards the Grim Reaper at the center.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!" It let out furious roars, its body seemingly fixed in place.

Crack, crack, crack...

Vital branches sprouted from the ground beneath it and from its body, merging with it...

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

It grew taller and taller—ten meters, twenty meters, fifty meters, a hundred meters!

The terrifying giant tree had grown to a towering hundred meters tall and was still increasing in height. The enormous canopy at the top covered an area of several miles, yet it was completely leafless.

The sky-obscuring canopy was filled with dense, hand-like branches, extending and wriggling their slender, finger-like twigs, writhing and squirming in the darkness, as if countless tentacles were desperately stretching, squeezing, and growing outward, sending chills down one's spine.

In the center of the giant tree's trunk, there was a massive, grotesque ghostly face, vaguely recognizable as the previous 'Grim Reaper' specter, now more tangible. The tree bark formed distinct facial features, with black, hollow eye sockets glowing eerily. The huge mouth opened and closed, emitting a cacophony of ghostly wails and howls.

It appeared to be in immense pain. The beam from the sky had not yet dissipated, and every second, it was bombarded with a massive influx of energy, causing it to grow wildly while enduring immense suffering.

Around the withered forest surrounding the jungle, many pairs of bright eyes were fixed intently on the spectacle.

It had long been guessed that the opportunity for the next level would appear here, but no one expected it to be so cataclysmic. Looking at the hundred-meter-tall, still rapidly growing Tree Demon, many felt their scalps crawl.

The opportunity must lie within the Tree Demon, but who could seize it? Who would dare?

Just as everyone was watching, a white light suddenly shot out from the left side of the jungle, streaking like a comet toward the grotesque ghostly visage on the Tree Demon's trunk!

The white light was extremely fast, and at the same time, a black shadow swiftly emerged from the right side of the jungle. With uncanny synchronization, the black and white lights shot like meteors, their speeds perfectly matched, simultaneously converging on the Tree Demon.

But as soon as they entered the Tree Demon's range, the sky above was obscured, and the massive tree pressed down. The dense, countless tentacles on the tree simultaneously pressed down on both sides, instantly swallowing the two figures.

Boom...

Dust and debris scattered everywhere, and the terrifying force made the entire illusionary realm tremble, as if the heavens were falling and the earth was splitting apart. The subsequent tentacles continued to layer upon layer, pressing down to crush the two individuals, appearing densely clustered from a distance.

All the hidden observers slightly narrowed their eyes. Those who survived were smart; without absolute certainty, they wouldn't take the lead. After all, not everyone had Mo Tong's brain.

Such a terrifying attack, regardless of who the two attackers were, they were likely already crushed into pulp.

But the next second, black and white light simultaneously pierced through the dense thicket of tentacles, followed by...

"Yecha Wolf Fang Slash!"

"Sword Sect—Radiant Sky Dragon Flash!"

Buzz buzz buzz~~

Intense sword hums rang out simultaneously.

On the left, a massive sword shadow several meters wide and ten meters long soared into the sky from the dense pile of tentacles. In the center of the shadow, Long Feixue, clad in white, transformed into the heart of the giant Heavenly Sword shadow, erupting with a blinding white light, as radiant as the sun in the night.

On the right, dozens of arc-shaped sword energies simultaneously flashed, slicing outward with unstoppable force, cutting through the tentacles like butter.

Slap slap slap slap!

Instantly, countless tentacles were severed mid-air, but before the two could fully break through, more tentacles pressed down from above.

The Tree Demon had mobilized at least half of its tentacles, and this time, it wasn't merely a tentacle attack. Each tentacle's palm seemed to open an eye, flashing with a sinister glow, accompanied by a heart-palpitating, terrifying aura.

Both of their eyes flashed with brilliance. The Tree Demon's energy level was already at the mid-ghost level, beyond their ability to contend. However, this energy wasn't a single-target attack but a group attack. If it weren't for this, Hei Wukai and Long Feixue would have fled immediately. Having cultivated to this level, they obviously weren't fools.

Whoosh!

The sword light in the air retracted, and both chose to retreat simultaneously, their movements perfectly synchronized.

Boom...

The ground beneath everyone's feet shook violently, and a large number of tentacles slammed into the ground but missed.

Long Feixue had already retreated beyond the Tree Demon's attack range, one hand holding his sword, his white robes floating in the air. Opposite him, Hei Wukai stood firmly on the ground, hands in his pockets, the Yecha Wolf Fang Sword seemingly never drawn, a long piece of grass in his mouth, exuding an air of calm indifference. The two exchanged a glance, clearly understanding that this thing was troublesome, but not without opportunity.

The jungle was filled with people, yet at this moment, it was completely silent.

Crack, crack...

With no targets left to attack, the massive tentacles slowly retracted, revealing the ground that had been struck by them. The ground suddenly split open, with two massive fissures, several meters wide, spreading outward, reaching the edge of the jungle and stretching over a hundred meters long.

The severed tentacles on the ground, cut by the two, writhed as if still alive, with faint eerie lights flickering on their limbs, creating an extremely bizarre scene.

Hei Wukai and Long Feixue, however, ignored the eerie scene. They were undoubtedly the top fighters of the League of Blades and the Nine Gods. Unlike others, neither Hei Wukai nor Long Feixue cared about so-called treasures; what they sought was the experience. Both of their cultivation methods were aimed at pursuing the pinnacle of martial arts.

Truthfully, the first layer of the secret realm held little challenge for them. Perhaps the other person was a worthy opponent.

Though it was only a test against the Tree Demon, both had gauged each other's strength and resolve.

The battle was unavoidable, but neither felt the need to rush.

Suddenly, a figure appeared between them, hovering at the edge of the Tree Demon's reach, with two silver curved blades crossed on his back.

It was Ye Dun, the leader of the Holy Sanctuary, who had arrived.

"Long Feixue!" Ye Dun smiled slightly. He was the leader of the Holy Sanctuary, the one who spoke to Long Feixue.

He smiled and looked at Long Feixue: "Taking down the Tree Demon is clearly the way to the next layer. But the Tree Demon's mid-ghost level power is too much for any one person. Why don't we join forces first? As for the treasure, the capable shall take it!"

Even a Ghost Initial level ghost was unstoppable back then. The gap between realms isn't just about soul power—it's total dominance. The Tree Demon before them was at the mid-ghost level, something that couldn't be handled by just one or two people.

Long Feixue shrugged, his expression calm. Although he agreed, his gaze never left Hei Wukai. Frankly, compared to Ye Dun, he was much more interested in Hei Wukai. It wasn't about who was stronger or weaker, but because Hei Wukai seemed like someone who truly pursued martial arts to the extreme, just like him.

The sky's light pillar dimmed, and the Tree Demon's energy surge began to wane.

Long Feixue's tacit agreement seemed to have brought both sides to a consensus.

Ye Dun's voice, though not loud, echoed through the jungle: "Disciples of the League of Blades! Come out! The League of Blades and the Nine Gods shall cease hostilities for now. Let's defeat the Tree Demon first, and then we'll see who gets the treasure!"

Long Feixue remained silent, and Ye Dun naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity to speak, subtly asserting his dominance over Long Feixue.

Jiaoxi, Gule, Zhao Ziyue, and their teams swiftly rallied behind Ye Dun. Maxwell was nowhere to be seen—who knew where he'd wandered off. Soon, more Holy Sanctuary disciples joined, and in an instant, there were nearly eighty people gathered.

Three cloaked figures from Dark Demon Island appeared in the distance. They stood apart, eyeing the towering Tree Demon with clear interest. Dark Demon Island's members never vied for leadership—no one could command them.

"Brother Kai!" someone called out.

"Mo Tong, put me down! What the hell?" Wang Feng thrashed in protest.

Mo Tong ignored him, hauling both the Titan Axe and Wang Feng toward Hei Wukai: "Hei Wukai! I'm here to help you!"

Hei Wukai stood relaxed, a slight smirk on his lips. Xue Zhiyu, Aota, Kela, and the others who were still running saw that Wang Feng was safe and sound, their faces filled with joy: "Wang Feng, you're alive!"

"Piece of cake. You know who I am!" Wang Feng's confidence soared as his friends gathered.

"Keep it up!" Winnie chuckled, relieved to see Wang Feng unharmed.

The Holy Sanctuary's top ten had assembled, though split into three groups. Ye Dun's eyes swept over the other two groups, and he smiled slightly.

On the other side, the cohesion of the War Academy was clearly much stronger.

In the jungle, War Academy experts began to emerge one after another, but they did not scatter. Most of them instinctively rallied behind Long Feixue.

This was clearly not in response to Ye Dun's call, as everyone knew very well that although the Tree Demon was strong, with so many experts gathered together, they could definitely solve the problem by combining their efforts.

Risks bring rewards. If the Holy Sanctuary took the lead, it could spell disaster for them, but it could also mean that the treasure of this layer would fall into someone else's hands, as no one knew what form the treasure would take.

Shadowblade Fazang, masked and mysterious; Caesar Mo, with skin like iron; Princess Snow Cang; Aitaliya, the dancer of blades; Mingji, known as the golden left hand...

In terms of strength, Long Feixue was the undisputed number one in the War Academy. In terms of status, Long Feixue was a member of the royal family's celestial branch, the cousin of the crown prince, and the absolute core of the family's cultivation. In the highly centralized Nine Gods, the status of a prince could undoubtedly subdue everyone, even if they were not convinced in their hearts, they would never show it openly.

Long Feixue hovered effortlessly, he hadn't even said a word, but everyone else stood their ground firmly, lining up behind him.

Except for a handful of maverick top experts like the beast prince Obololo, the spiritualist Fu Yu, and the blood demon Manku, almost all the experts of the War Academy had gathered behind him. Such commanding presence and unity, compared to Ye Dun, the leader of the Holy Sanctuary, immediately showed the difference.

At this time, most of the forces from both factions had converged. In fact, everyone could feel that the soul power in the central jungle surged much stronger than other places in the past two days. Almost all the survivors had subconsciously come here, but at this time, the people from the Nine Gods and the Blade Temple combined were only about three or four hundred. Even counting those who were watching and unwilling to participate, and some who were injured and hiding somewhere, survivors from both sides likely numbered fewer than five hundred.

Although they were barely gathered together, it was obvious that there was a lot of hatred and wariness between them. Some had died at the hands of ghosts, and some had died in the crossfire between the two sides. Resolution was clearly not within easy reach.

At this moment, the last trace of the illusion's power was completely injected into the Tree Demon's body, and the colossal Tree Demon shuddered violently.

Its trunk seemed to stop growing, the ghost face closed its eyes, as if the pain had finally ended, and the next second, a fierce ghostly light erupted from the ghost face on the Tree Demon's trunk, followed by a dark blue light ring that swept around fiercely!

Boom!

A layer of ghostly light covered the entire field, and the branches' dense tentacles all morphed into a sinister dark blue, with a pair of eyes, a mouth, and a mouth full of sharp teeth growing in the palm of each 'hand'.

The real action was unfolding on the ground.

The ghostly light shone underground, and a horde of ghosts surged from the earth, merging into the severed tentacles that had been cut off by Hei Wukai and Long Feixue.

The writhing severed tentacles all sprang to life! Their bodies had grown a lot, the big ones were two or three meters tall, and the small ones were only half a meter, but each of them had grown hands and legs, and also had dark eye sockets and mouths, transforming into a legion of "Tree Children".

At the same time, more ghosts were constantly emerging from the ground, and if they couldn't find severed tentacles to attach to, they would densely float in the air.

The soul power reactions of these Tree Demons and ghosts were not very high, the strong ones were at Tiger Peak, about one in twenty, and most of them were ordinary Tiger level, but they had the advantage of quantity.

There were at least hundreds of Tree Demons on the ground, and thousands of ghosts swarmed and darted through the air, as if all the ghosts that had appeared in the soul illusion realm in the past few days had gathered here!

Jiang Ang!

On the trunk of the Tree Demon, the monstrous ghost face unleashed a piercing shriek.

The ground swarmed with small Tree Demons, and the air teemed with ghosts, all turning as one, facing the crowd gathered from both academies.

Jiang Ang! Jiang Ang! Jiang Ang!

All the small Tree Demons and ghosts let out shrill screams, the ghostly light in their eyes burning like flames. Their cries merged into a cacophony—high-pitched, sharp, and jarring. Those with slightly weaker strength felt their eardrums tremble and their heads dizzy just from hearing this roar, almost unable to stand steadily.

"Be careful!" Ye Dun's pupils slightly contracted, the Tree Demon group's attack was ready to go, and there was no time for everyone to discuss a strategy.

The group of Tree Demons and ghosts took collective action after the long roar, suddenly like a mountain flood, the momentum was fierce, and they were not limited by the Tree Demon's attack range, layer upon layer, they rushed out towards the groups of people from all directions.

The gathered disciples from both sides were already experts among experts, and they had long been accustomed to facing these ghosts in the past few days. Although there were quite a few ghosts and Tree Demons at this time, there were also more companions around, and there was no fear in everyone's eyes.

To solve the main body of the Tree Demon, at least these miscellaneous soldiers had to be dealt with first.

Old Wang clutched two Skyburst Grenades in his hand, silent and ready. He was carried over by Mo Tong, but since he was already here, there was no need to be pretentious.

Of course, charging was out of the question. With his little strength, if he didn't have a bit of self-awareness, he probably wouldn't know how many times he had died. Holding two Skyburst Grenades was his contingency plan, a way to support or shield the team. The most important thing was not to hold everyone back.

What is the most important thing for a support?

Of course, it’s awareness!

Old Wang hid behind Mo Tong and took a few steps back: "Brothers, go ahead, I’ll stay out of the way and cover you from the back."

Everyone was familiar with each other and knew that Wang Feng indeed didn’t have much combat power, so they naturally protected him by placing him at the back.

"Just stay hidden at the back!" Mo Tong grinned with pride, his eyes lighting up as he faced the oncoming Tree Demons and ghosts. He had been itching for action: "Watch me!"

While the others held their ground, bracing for the first wave of ghosts and Tree Demons, Mo Tong was so excited that he howled, wielding the Titan Axe, and leaped forward ahead of everyone else.

Winnie and the others couldn’t stop him. While everyone was testing the waters, he charged in recklessly, fearless and without hesitation.

In an instant, boundless soul power gathered, and the Titan Axe shone brilliantly. A faint phantom of a giant axe materialized around Mo Tong, as if he himself had transformed into a several-meter-long axe, slashing down from the sky!

Mo Luo Heaven-Splitting Slash!

The giant axe fell, shattering the first seven or eight Tree Demons and a dozen ghosts with a violent force, accompanied by a tidal wave of energy that swept to both sides.

Boom!

The force of the wave was overwhelming, and the densely packed, wave-like horde of Tree Demons and ghosts was split open by this axe, creating a several-meter-wide path.

The sheer power of that single axe caught everyone’s attention, and a faint smile flickered in Hei Wukai’s eyes. It seemed this kid had improved quite a bit in just a few days.

"Impressive, impressive!" Badeluo’s eyes sparkled as he grinned widely. Mo Tong was his ‘former rival’—having lost to him in drinking contests and arm wrestling. The stronger Mo Tong became, the stronger it proved Badeluo was!

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