Chapter 375: The Evolved Fear Tree (First Update)

"If I were a firebird, you would be the flame—"

The sharp claws on [Monster]'s feet dug fiercely into the ceiling. Several crimson eyes opened across his belly, staring at the bizarrely singing Wang Gang and at Yan Jing across from him.

Something bothered him.

It wasn't Yan Jing, nor the awful song coming from Wang Gang's mouth. What bothered him were the two figures cradled in Wang Gang's arms.

Though they were already a mess of mangled flesh and blood, their bodies even somewhat twisted, certain traits made it possible to vaguely identify them.

Feng Qiwen and Hacker K.

The crimson eyes on his belly darkened simultaneously.

Of course, he could kill Feng Qiwen and Hacker K.

But that didn't mean those two were weak.

On the contrary, he knew Feng Qiwen had deliberately hidden some trump cards before leaving the Great Prison this time. If he actually used them, it would be quite a headache.

As for Hacker K, he had been hiding his strength all along. In a real fight, he would highly likely prove stronger than Feng Qiwen, not weaker.

Moreover—even he could not kill Feng Qiwen and Hacker K without suffering injuries.

One of the two people across from him was very strong.

Very strong.

Vigilance flickered in his eyes.

He was indeed a madman, but there were plenty of madmen just like him in the Great Prison. If he failed to observe the details and maintain his vigilance, he would lose his life in an instant.

Thus, they faced off for several seconds. Amidst Wang Gang's completely off-key singing, tentacles extended from [Monster]'s back as he slowly crawled backward.

He was preparing to retreat.

Now was not the time to fight them to the death.

But a hint of mockery flashed through the eyes of the man opposite him. Several pitch-black Thorn Spears materialized in his hands, weird energy arcing around them like electricity, and he hurled them at a terrifying speed.

So fast! The eyes on [Monster]'s belly widened simultaneously. Several tentacles burst from his back, allowing him to scurry rapidly across the ceiling in a bizarre posture. Only by pushing his weird energy to the absolute limit did he narrowly dodge the spears.

But before he could even catch his breath, his eyes narrowed—he realized that the ceiling around his grip was already riddled with dark spears.

The edges of this section of ceiling had been completely severed by countless spears, turning it into an isolated island that was now plummeting toward the ground.

His deep-seated combat instincts kept him from falling with the debris. Instead, a massive, brown-haired hand shoved its way out of his mouth, punching straight through the several-meter-thick ceiling so he could leap out from above.

Landing on the ground, he looked at Yan Jing across from him. His body morphed, and for the first time since his mutation, he took on a humanoid form.

Though called humanoid, it was really just a body shaped like a gingerbread man made of flesh.

No nose, no eyes, no fingers, and no genitals.

"You've provoked me."

A mouth materialized on that meatball-like, dark red head, and he spoke:

"I didn't fight you because I had other concerns, but that doesn't mean you can do whatever you please."

"If you want to die, I can grant your wish."

"Good, that's exactly what I wanted to hear." Yan Jing clapped his hands together and said to Wang Gang, "Turn on the stream."

"..."

Wang Gang sighed and pressed a button in her pocket, removing the block on the cameras in the sky overhead.

In an instant, the citizens of the Peace Heavenly Kingdom, like blind people regaining their sight, flooded into Yan Jing's stream.

"They're back, they're back! Damn it, they finally showed up!!!"

"Quick, can any experts analyze where they are? Call the Law Enforcement Agency to go catch him!"

"Yeah, [Monster] has already destroyed three whole blocks. Hundreds of lives... that animal!!!"

"I hope these two humans can hold him off for a bit. I figure it'll take a few minutes at most for someone to find them."

"Come on, humans!! You can do it!!! Just stalling for ten minutes counts as a win!"

"Bullshit, go [Monster]! I bet on you to win!"

Similar sentiments were not in the minority.

However, regardless of which side they were cheering for, no one actually believed Yan Jing could win.

"..."

Watching Wang Gang's actions, [Monster]'s face darkened. He hadn't expected his opponents to avoid a direct fight and resort to such underhanded tricks instead.

"People like you wouldn't survive long in the Great Prison."

"Is that right?" Yan Jing smiled. "Good thing I don't plan on going there anytime soon."

"Consider yourself lucky today." [Monster] turned around. He had originally intended to teach Yan Jing a lesson, but now that the stream was back on, he was worried about exposing his location. Unwilling to waste any more time, he decided to spare Yan Jing's life.

But suddenly, a terrifying chill rose in his heart, making the hairs on his body stand on end.

Running purely on instinct, he threw himself into a violent roll to the side.

In the next fraction of a second, a Thorn materialized instantly, blooming completely where he had just stood, as dark shadows writhed.

Then, he looked back, a rare terror seeping into his gaze.

A towering phantom of a pitch-black tree was surging up from the ground behind Yan Jing.

In just one or two seconds, the tree phantom seemed to catch the wind, growing as massive and towering as the skyscrapers in the Peace District.

Thick branches drooped from high above, each one as wide as a highway and as stout as a Ferris wheel's base. The pitch-black leaves were nearly as tall as a person, their veins pulsating like streams, gnarled and intertwined.

And this... was merely a phantom of Yan Jing's Ritual.

A black-purple light (disguised by lowering its quality by two tiers) abruptly bloomed.

In the Surface World, the people watching Yan Jing were thrown into a frenzy.

"A Ritual phantom! A Ritual phantom is here! Purple! Which Rite is it?"

"It has to be the Third Rite! The perfect quality of the Third Rite is black-purple, and the extreme quality is black!"

"Could it be the extreme quality of the Second Ritual? That's also black-purple."

"It's not impossible. He was very dominant earlier, and—this Ritual is just a bit too massive."

"Keep dreaming! He Quan's was purple, purple, black, and black—triple extreme perfection. You think he can compare to He Quan?"

"Damn it, the He Quan fanboys are at it again. Just look at the size of this Ritual! Look at how awe-inspiring it is! How could it not be an extreme quality?"

"Does bigger mean stronger? Does older mean stronger?"

"..."

While the crowd argued endlessly, [Monster], standing opposite Yan Jing, was the one who felt the deepest impact of this absurdly massive tree phantom.

The tree phantom looming before him felt like a small domain of its own. It was as if it carried a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, bearing down on him with crushing pressure.

Those spears from earlier weren't the man's limit at all—

Realizing this, he hesitated no longer. The weird energy around him boiled over completely as he directly manifested his strongest form, his body expanding wildly.

His head vanished entirely.

In its place, a massive, horizontal golden eye tore open across his chest. His belly erupted with a dense cluster of mouths, their sharp teeth gnashing together. His feet twisted into several thick tentacles, while his arms transformed—one becoming a giant ape's arm, the other a cyan-grey, curved ox hoof. The terrifying strength within them was enough to slightly warp the space around him.

Flash!

The gaze of that golden eye swept across the ground, and everything it looked upon actually began to show signs of melting.

At this moment, [Monster] looked like an amalgam of five different supreme beings. In terms of aura alone, he didn't lose in the slightest to Yan Jing, who was backed by the towering phantom.

The terrifying pressure exuding from them both shocked Wang Gang so much that her eyes widened, her hair dancing wildly in the fierce wind kicked up by their auras.

"Kill!!!"

The thick ape arm and the ox hoof simultaneously erupted with terrifying light. Moving as if utilizing a blink, [Monster] blasted toward Yan Jing at an unimaginable speed.

It seemed as though he meant to punch right through that tree phantom!!

Meanwhile, endless threads bound and wove around Yan Jing, pulling him high into the air.

Only this time, he wasn't strung up in the shape of a cross like before. Instead, after rising into the air, the threads formed a pitch-black, throne-like chair beneath him.

Tens of thousands of black threads floated around him, drifting near and far.

This was the Fear Tree's second form after evolving. The price required had been vastly reduced, while its power...

Yan Jing slowly raised his thread-wrapped hand and pointed distantly at the charging [Monster], his gaze indifferent.

Hum!

As if by the decree of a Deity, several pitch-black spears manifested around Yan Jing. Each one was several times thicker and sharper than the ones he normally wielded.

In the next instant, divine punishment descended.

Bang! Bang! Bang!!!

The spears plummeted madly, crashing into the ape arm and the ox hoof. A terrifying, blinding light erupted, filling the entire sky.

In just a fraction of a second, dust and smoke billowed up from the ground!!!

Beyond the screens, whether in the Inner World or the Surface World, everyone who saw this scene fell into stunned silence.

Who won?

The question surfaced in everyone's mind.

A second later, a figure burst out from the smoke.

It was [Monster].

Some viewers widened their eyes in pleasant surprise, but in the next second, they froze.

Because [Monster] didn't look quite the same as usual.

At this moment, five spears pierced his body.

One was impaled into the ape arm. One pinned the ox hoof. One pierced right through the pitch-black tentacles. And another landed dead center among the cluster of sharp-toothed mouths on his belly.

But the most shocking of all was the spear in his chest.

That golden eye, which had looked as though it belonged to a Deity, was now completely dim. Several cracks spread out around the spear that was buried deep within its pupil.

"Roar!!!"

A roar that seemed to echo from ancient times tore out from the several mouths on his belly, and then—

He plummeted toward the ground!