Volume 14, Chapter 892 – Look, the National Preceptor Has Made Her Move

The ghosts didn’t pay much attention at first. After all, that massive tree had only grown “a tiny bit” faster than normal. Aside from that, nothing seemed particularly out of place.

Qi Huang didn’t think the same. There was no way the Immortal Alliance would create something harmless. And sure enough, the strange tree was now madly absorbing the surrounding fire-element spiritual energy, that’s why it was growing so quickly. As for its true purpose, that remained unclear.

Qi Huang couldn’t be bothered to deal with it for now and continued overseeing the bidding.

There were only seven Demon-grade corpses up for auction, a small number, but each one sparked fierce competition, which slowed down the bidding considerably.

Qi Huang’s smiling cheeks were growing stiff. Though this auction wasn’t her primary objective, she wasn’t about to turn her nose up at the huge profits rolling in.

Another day passed. By now, the tree had grown so tall it pierced the clouds, and its rate of absorption of fire-element spiritual energy had sharply increased. Even more terrifying was that its roots were extending endlessly downward, piercing through layers of solid rock and soil, digging toward the core of the Xiannu Planet.

Not long after, its roots reached the planet’s core, and began injecting the fire-element spiritual energy it had gathered from the surface into it at a frenzied pace. Since most of the beings present were evil spirits, who could only perceive Yin and Yang energies, no one noticed anything strange right away.

“Big Sis, that tree’s not right, is it?” Huang Tian asked through mental transmission.

“Of course not. It’s a trick by the Immortal Alliance.” Qi Huang answered casually.

“Then what do we do? Just leave it? Who knows what’s going to happen?” Huang Tian’s beautiful eyes were filled with worry.

“Don’t panic. Let’s keep watching. I don’t believe there’s any force in this universe that can transcend time and space itself.” Qi Huang said with easy confidence.

Seeing her main body so calm and certain, Huang Tian said no more.

The tree kept growing with no restraint. Fiery red blossoms began to bloom all over its branches. Even without sunlight, they glowed brightly and vividly. At a distance, they looked like countless torches hanging from the treetop. Scarlet pollen drifted through the air like fine mist, carried by the wind, releasing an intoxicating fragrance wherever it landed.

“What in the world?! Where is that scent coming from? It smells amazing!”

“It’s the pollen! It’s coming from that tree’s blossoms!”

“What kind of tree has pollen this fragrant? Even we ghosts can smell it clearly.”

“Haha, if this stuff were made into cosmetics, we’d make a fortune! I’ve decided, no matter what, I’m taking some branches back with me. This is a massive business opportunity!”

“Idiot! If you knew it was a business opportunity, why would you blab about it?!”

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The evil spirits started shifting their focus toward the strange tree, but none of them noticed anything amiss.

Qi Huang, knowing full well the tree was a creation of the Immortal Alliance, wasn’t about to let that pollen near her. She created a Divine Sense barrier around herself, her doppelgangers, Yaoyao, and her family members, blocking all the pollen outside.

The auction continued. Qi Huang had only two Demon-grade corpses left in her hand.

By now, the tree had injected a vast amount of fire-element energy into the planet’s core. The core of Xiannu Planet had not only grown significantly denser, but it was also becoming increasingly unstable, small and large earthquakes began shaking the ground.

“Strange… why do I feel heavier? Did I catch a cold or something?”

“Oh, come off it. You’re a zombie. How can a zombie catch a cold? You must’ve gone crazy.”

“Maybe he is crazy, but I feel the same… my body’s getting heavier too.”

“Really? I don’t feel that. What I feel is… heat. Like I’m burning up.”

“Yeah! My whole body feels like it’s on fire, like I’ve got a fever.”

“You’re all nuts. Spirits don’t get fevers!”

Confused murmurs spread among the crowd of evil spirits. Some said their bodies felt heavy, others complained of burning sensations, as though they were running a high fever.

Qi Huang understood perfectly. The increasing weight they felt came from the growing mass of the planet’s core, which was boosting the gravitational pull. As for the burning sensations… that was caused by the tree’s pollen, which carried extremely potent fire poison. Since the bodies of these spirits were of Yin nature, any contact with such heat-based toxins naturally caused them harm.

The spirits instinctively tried to resist by circulating their Yin energy, but the fire poison in the pollen was fiercely aggressive. Even a speck of it on their bodies acted like a spark igniting a prairie fire, spreading rapidly and burning away their Yin essence. Their power levels were gradually but steadily being drained.

“No! That tree… it’s the tree! There’s something wrong with it!”

Finally, someone figured it out.

“Yes! Its pollen is laced with fire poison! No wonder I felt like I was burning!”

“Damn it! I told you that tree was suspicious and none of you believed me! Haven’t you heard the saying: ‘Abnormality means danger’?!”

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“Forget the sayings. What do we do now?!”

“What else? We destroy it! Everyone, forget the auction. Let’s chop down that demonic tree! If it keeps growing, we’re all dead!”

The crowd of evil spirits finally snapped out of it and stopped caring about the auction. They moved to attack the tree, but the moment they tried to walk, they realized something horrifying.

The gravitational pull from below had grown unimaginably strong. Combined with the ongoing quakes, any spirit below the Master-grade Demon couldn’t even take a single step.

“Damn it! What the hell is going on?!”

One ghost cried out in panic.

“All high-level spirits, don’t just stand there! Follow me and destroy that demon tree! If we don’t do it now, we’ll be at its mercy later!”

A Monarch-grade Demon gave the call, and the others, understanding the urgency, quickly summoned their strength and rushed toward the tree.

Qi Huang and her family simply exchanged blank stares. For the moment, there was nothing to do.

“Big Sis, shouldn’t we help them?” Huang Tian asked, puzzled.

“No need. As long as they don’t die, the Immortal Alliance weakening them is actually doing me a favor. Otherwise, I wouldn’t dare send them off to the Cultivation World to grow vegetables.” Qi Huang waved her hand indifferently.

By now, the stronger spirits had reached the demon tree and unleashed their full attacks… only to find they couldn’t even scratch a single leaf. Panic immediately spread.

One by one, the other spirits arrived, only to face the same result: the tree was completely impervious to their attacks.

And as time passed, the gravitational pull kept increasing. Any spirit below the Kinship-grade Demon level was now forced to the ground. The invasive pollen weakened them further, and their power levels plummeted.

“National Preceptor, please help us! If you don’t step in, we’re all going to die here!”

“That’s right! Only you can turn the tide now!”

“National Preceptor, save me! I’ll… I’ll even plant flowers for the ghost clan for the rest of my life!”

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With no options left, the spirits cried out for help from Qi Huang.

“Big Sis, are we helping now?” Huang Tian asked again.

“Of course. Since they asked so nicely, I’ve got to step in. Got to protect my image, after all. Besides, I’m curious to see what this demon tree is really made of.” Qi Huang replied casually. She knew the auction couldn’t go on anymore, so she recalled all her doppelgangers, Yaoyao, and family members into her storage ring.

“Everyone, fear not. Your National Preceptor will now act!”

Qi Huang made a high-profile announcement, her figure vanishing like a ghost, reappearing in front of the demon tree. The increased gravity didn’t faze her in the slightest.

“Haha! The National Preceptor is making her move! She’s making her move!”

Some ghosts shouted in joy.

The surrounding spirits finally felt a sense of security and focused all their attention on Qi Huang.

With all eyes on her, Qi Huang gave a casual wave of her hand. The Cicada Wing Sword shot forth, slicing through the air with visible spatial ripples as it slashed directly at the tree trunk.

CLANG…

When blade met bark, a metallic shriek rang out. The Cicada Wing Sword shattered into countless fragments like a paper toy, scattering in all directions, while the demon tree’s trunk remained completely unscathed.

“Uh…”

A stunned look spread across Qi Huang’s face. She glanced awkwardly around, only to see every single ghost staring at her in the exact same way.

“Ahem, no need to panic, everyone. I was just testing its strength! It’s got some strength, but not much!” Qi Huang cleared her throat and forced a grin.

She no longer dared to hold back. Her Boundless Demonic Hair surged out from behind her, sweeping toward the tree. Hundreds of thousands of strands wrapped tightly around its trunk.

Qi Huang took a deep breath, and yanked hard.

A massive force surged through the strands, nearly ripping her scalp clean off. It felt like she was dragging an entire star system behind her.

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‘What the hell is this thing?! Are you kidding me?!’

Qi Huang cursed in her heart. But too prideful to back down in front of the crowd, she grit her teeth and kept pulling.

CRACK… CRACK…

A series of sharp tearing sounds rang out.

“Haha! I hear it! The roots are breaking!”

One ghost cheered.

“No! That’s the sound of the National Preceptor’s scalp tearing,” another corrected.

Qi Huang flushed with embarrassment. But for the sake of her reputation, she refused to stop, even as her face twisted in pain. ‘These Immortal Alliance bastards better show up soon. I can’t keep this up…’

“National Preceptor, you don’t need to force yourself. Just drop the Divine Sense barrier and let us off this planet. Let the damn tree grow all it wants.”

One spirit offered the suggestion. The others quickly agreed.

“Force myself? Do I look like I’m forcing myself?” Qi Huang shot back stiffly, baring a strained smile.

“Too late to think about escape now!”

Suddenly, a booming voice echoed from overhead.

The spirits froze. Forcing their heads up, they looked skyward, and were instantly overcome with terror.

Several teleportation gates had silently appeared in orbit around Xiannu Planet.

And from them, the armies of the Immortal Alliance poured out like a tidal wave.