Volume 1, Chapter 149 – The Tree

The man looked a bit helpless at the woman’s words and shook his head slightly.

This man and woman were clearly another pair of transformed demon kings.

Hearing the woman’s arrogant tone, Bai Weiyang’s expression did not change at all. He lowered his head again, eyes fixed on the command panel, and said calmly,

“Mister Lin, if you would.”

“In a chaotic age, these demon spawn are fit for anyone to cut down. This is merely my duty. Why speak of ‘please’?” Lin Yusheng’s expression turned slightly cold. The hundred-some scholars had, without anyone noticing, already gathered below the command platform, faces solemn.

A blinding white radiance, visible to the naked eye, rose above their heads and gathered into a towering human phantom several hundred zhang tall.

All demonic qi in the surroundings vanished. Boundless righteous qi pressed down in all directions.

“How irritating, that old thing.” The woman frowned and spat.

The other man also furrowed his brow. Hands clasped behind his back, he idly twined a strand of jade-green hair between his fingers.

“Insolent demon spawn. Before the Sage’s very face, how dare you spew vile, filthy words. Kneel and accept your execution!”

Lin Yusheng took a step forward, brows drawn, eyes blazing. A thunderous shout burst from his mouth.

The several-hundred-zhang phantom fell over him like a projection. With the Sage’s phantom upon him, Lin Yusheng no longer concealed his aura. It poured out unchecked, washing across heaven and earth.

“Begone!”

Boom.

A ray of divine light shot from the phantom, its world-crushing might like the collapse of the sky itself as it swept out, pressing down straight toward the woman.

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The woman had just begun to shift through space to dodge when the space around her solidified into substance, locking her movements in place.

Roar.

In the span of an instant, her body swelled thousands of times over, becoming a colossal black tiger wreathed in dark flame, which tore free of its restraints.

Hiss.

The divine light pierced straight through the giant tiger’s shoulder. Blood poured down like a torrential storm, spraying in all directions.

A howl of agony shook the air. The giant tiger’s gaze turned vicious. Its jaws gaped, and a jet-black pillar of flame thinned to a needle, shooting to punch through Lin Yusheng’s head.

That black thread dissolved into nothing a li away from Lin Yusheng, devoured by a sea of white light.

Lin Yusheng snorted coldly. Several more rays of divine light exploded outward.

A gentle breeze brushed by, refreshing to the point of comfort. Behind the man on the other side appeared the phantom of a towering ancient tree, reaching from earth to sky. Strands of demon power hung down like silken curtains, forming a screen that wrapped around the tiger.

The wound on the tiger’s shoulder stopped bleeding in the blink of an eye and began to heal rapidly, scabbing over in just a few breaths.

Clang.

Several beams of divine light punched through layers of that curtain, but eventually ran out of force and slowly faded.

“A spirit of plants and trees that has gained awareness and not yet stained itself with human blood still has a road back. Do not be stubborn!”

Divine light flickered in Lin Yusheng’s eyes as he raised a finger and shouted sternly.

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“Am I supposed to help you instead of my own kin? How many of my kind have died screaming between your human teeth? At least billions upon billions.” The man’s expression did not change, but cracks had begun to show in the ancient tree phantom behind him.

A hissing roar tore from the black tiger’s throat as it threw back its head. A tide of black flame surged from within the barrier, sweeping toward the warship as if to burn it all to ash.

The Sage’s phantom flared brighter. The sea of darkness crashed into that dazzling white light and vanished like snow tossed into boiling water.

Spears of divine light shot forth, once again punching holes through several layers of barriers.

The green-haired man’s brows knit. He glanced at the tiger and said softly,

“Xiao You, stand down. There is still one more on their side who has not lifted his hand. We do not have the advantage.”

“No. Today this king is going to show that old thing exactly how fearsome I am!”

The giant tiger let out a long roar and stepped out from the man’s protective curtain, black flames roaring all over its body until it looked like a dark sun hanging in the heavens.

The man shook his head helplessly. Green light blazed in his eyes. The ancient tree phantom behind him turned from insubstantial to solid as waves of verdant life force, visible to the naked eye, poured endlessly into that black sun.

Roar.

Fed with the essence of all plants and trees, the black tiger’s aura became even more terrifying.

“Today, this old man will act in Heaven’s stead and deal with this ignorant demon spawn.”

Lin Yusheng stepped into the air and merged into the Sage’s phantom.

“The Sage has spoken. Demons and fiends are to be exterminated!”

The hundred-some scholars shouted as one. The true words pouring from their mouths became countless sharp swords of qi, circling beside the Sage’s phantom before finally gathering into a single sky-cleaving greatsword.

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The Sage’s phantom raised a hand and pointed. The greatsword crossed space, spanning dozens of li as it chopped down toward the black sun in the sky.

A tiger’s head phantom of condensed black flame thrust out of the sun and bit at the sword.

A flash of blinding white light, and the tiger’s head shattered into a spray of burning embers. The sword did not slow in the slightest as it cut toward the giant tiger.

The tiger spewed a world-flooding sea of fire, drowning the sword, while waves of spatial ripples flowed over its body as it tried to slip away.

“Demon spawn, submit to judgment!”

A shout that seemed to shake heaven and earth rang out, filled with boundless might that locked space itself, freezing the black tiger in midair and forcing it to take the blow head-on.

The rage in the black tiger’s eyes vanished, replaced by fear. Panic crept into its expression.

It could not understand how a hundred-odd ants, along with one old man whose true strength was only a hair above its own, could unleash such terrifying power.

“Xiao You!”

The green-haired man’s face changed drastically. Without a moment’s hesitation, he merged into the towering ancient tree.

From nowhere in particular, countless ancient trunks and vines, strange flowers and grasses stretched into the void. In an instant, the empty sky turned into a dense forest, brimming with vigorous life.

The layers of forest closed around the tiger, forming barrier after barrier of astounding toughness that held it in the center.

The white sword cut through all before it, smashing through layer upon layer of obstacles. Not a single barrier along the way could slow it down.

In the blink of an eye, the sword had reached the final barrier.

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That last barrier was a crystalline wall like jade. The razor-sharp white greatsword struck it and, for a time, was actually held at bay.

Crack.

Yet in less than the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, a great rift split the crystal with a sharp sound.

“Changqing!”

A heart-rending roar tore from the tiger within the barrier.

A pillar of green light that seemed to pierce heaven and earth appeared. The essence of plants and trees poured out like mountains crashing and seas roaring, waves of it gradually swallowing the white sword.

The green glow slowly faded. A towering ancient tree more than a thousand zhang tall now stood in the void.

The tree’s roots sank into empty air. Its leaves were withered, branches fallen. Its aura was desolate, its trunk covered in cracks, its life force crippled, yet it still shielded the tiger clinging to its core.

The Sage’s phantom slowly dissipated as Lin Yusheng’s figure emerged. Looking at the vast ancient tree, he could not help feeling a bit surprised.

With a body that massive, the energy required to take human form was staggering. For a plant of this size to transform, it should at least possess the strength of a Nascent Soul Realm expert.

For this ancient tree to achieve transformation at the Myriad Phenomena Realm, it had surely encountered some great stroke of fortune.

Unfortunately, the sword of righteous qi cleaved straight to the source. That blow had already severed the tree’s life. No matter how great its luck had once been, now even Heaven itself could not save it.

“Changqing…” The giant tiger shrank back into human form, gently stroking the ancient tree’s scarred trunk, its eyes misting. For the first time since its birth, a feeling of regret rose in its heart.

“Go… quickly…”