But the next moment, I felt something was wrong. I clearly saw that Vici's body was slowly changing.
Starting from the place where he was bitten, a force seemed to be spreading outwards.
Then, at a speed visible to the naked eye, his arm began to wither.
This withering was not like the withering from blood loss, but like the withering of tree branches.
Then, it continued to spread towards his arm. After a few breaths, his neck also began to wither, and then his entire face.
His whole person was like a withered ancient tree, yet I could still feel the breath of life within him.
At the same time, I could feel his aura becoming strange.
His entire being seemed to be slowly losing its human aura and vitality. At this moment, standing before me, he felt like a large tree.
At this moment, I suddenly understood what this guy was doing.
He was using his own power to assimilate the power of the Tree of Life, so that he could completely dominate and possess its power! Where the Tree of Life came from, why it existed, and for how long I didn't know, but I was very clear on one point: the power possessed by the Tree of Life was incredibly powerful!
This power even far surpassed the realm of a human or a cultivator.
At this moment, a sense of unspoken crisis enveloped me.
I knew Vici was ready to fight with his life on the line!
But I absolutely could not let him gain the upper hand. Without any hesitation, I swung my short sword, carrying a terrifying force, and slashed towards Vici.
However, Vici remained standing there, neither defending nor dodging.
The short sword struck Vici's body, making a sound like clashing metal.
The immense recoil made my arm go numb, and I immediately retreated.
At this moment, my mood also became heavy.
If he had such terrifying defensive power without even defending, how powerful would his offense be?
While I was thinking, Vici had already lowered his hand. He stood there like a large tree, a dead tree.
But at this moment, I felt an explosive power emanating from him.
"Lu Ziye... I didn't want to go this far..." Vici looked at me. "But your growth surprises me, and it makes me feel threatened. If I let you continue to grow, in some time, you will definitely surpass me..."
"But fortunately, I found you at this time and can kill you before you fully mature..." Vici stared at me, his eyes devoid of any emotion.
"Is that so?" I said, gripping my short sword tighter.
"You probably don't understand what level of power this is..." Vici looked at me, then his withered hand made a slight gesture.
A dazzling light appeared around his body. In the next instant, that terrifying force actually tore through the seawater.
The massive cruise ship split in half with a deafening roar.
At this moment, I could no longer remain calm.
With a casual wave, he could unleash such a powerful attack. If the fight continued, how would I possibly resist?
"Old Yu... are you there?" I called out in my mind.
"This... I can't help you..." Old Yu's voice came, filled with helplessness.
At this moment, I truly felt the crisis.
I considered myself to have experienced many crises and faced various difficulties before, but at this moment, I felt a sense of powerlessness.
Vici looked at me, then disappeared, and reappeared in front of me, his withered hand reaching straight for me.
I could clearly see him raising his hand and extending it, but I found I couldn't dodge.
Even if I brought my short sword to my chest at the fastest speed, it was still too slow.
That withered hand pierced directly through my shoulder. Blood flowed out, and the intense pain made my head swim. I covered my shoulder with my arm, and the water element's power flowed, desperately healing the wound.
"Do you see? Power that transcends levels..." Vici looked at me, his voice starting to sound stiff.
He was becoming more and more like a tree.
"Fire..." I gritted my teeth, and flames condensed into shape, charging towards Vici.
"Useless..." Vici spoke, raising his hand slightly, blocking the flames.
The terrifying flames vibrated violently in his hand.
"Explode!" I gritted my teeth and said.
But the flames did not explode; instead, they were crushed by Vici.
"I'll give you another chance... Give me your Tree of Life, and I can spare your life. What I said before still counts..." Vici said.
"Do you think I would agree?" I asked coldly.
"If you don't agree, there is only one outcome..." Vici's tone was emotionless.
I hesitated no longer. The powers of the four elements condensed madly within my body. In the next instant, the four powers erupted simultaneously, charging towards Vici.
"Boom!"
An explosion sounded. Vici waved his hand, and the terrifying explosive power was easily scattered.
A sense of powerlessness welled up from the bottom of my heart. I had learned many things before, but at this moment, I found that none of what I had learned was of any use.
In the face of absolute strength, any skill is a joke.
I couldn't break through his defense, so my attacks couldn't cause any damage.
But his attacks could easily injure me.
The pain in my shoulder made me feel terrible.
Even with the healing power of water, the effect was minimal.
"Do you still want to struggle?" Vici looked at me.
"You've turned into a tree, so what if you possess the Tree of Life?" I said, but my mind was constantly searching for a way to resolve this.
"That's not something you need to worry about..." Vici replied.
"I estimate you can't last much longer, right? Otherwise, you might be assimilated by the Tree of Life..." I looked at Vici. "Once the time limit is exceeded, you won't be able to undo this state..."
Vici paused. Just when I thought he would deny it, he surprisingly nodded: "You're right, I only have ten minutes. But these ten minutes are enough for me to kill you..."
I roughly estimated the time. It had been nearly two minutes now, meaning I still had to hold on for eight more minutes...