Xu Mu broke free from the pull of his divine soul, thinking he had escaped Vilitan's ability. In reality, he had severed his connection with the Heavenly Tree.
Therefore, the scene of Vilitan tearing at his soul was an illusion.
And that illusion was not created by the Heavenly Tree.
But Xu Mu had still slashed it with his sword.
So the Tree Spirit of that Heavenly Tree was now glaring down at Xu Mu with burning rage.
First it extended an invitation to connect, and then inexplicably severed the connection and was slashed by him?
"Mortal, die!"
The Tree Spirit roared in rage, speaking the language of trees.
It was the commander of the entire Heavenly Tree tomb, protecting all Heavenly Trees. How could its dignity be trampled upon by others? Even if the human below was a descendant of that particular clan, it would not matter. It had to make the other party pay the price!
Rumble!
The King of the Heavenly Tree twisted its massive body, pulling out all its roots that were buried tens of thousands of meters underground.
Swish, swish, swish!
Countless roots surged out. The smallest tendril was already hundreds of meters high. Densely packed, the entire space was filled with roots, as if a forest had appeared out of thin air.
The King of the Heavenly Tree was enraged. The Heavenly Trees that were hiding behind it or enduring their fear to continue their inheritance, now began to tremble, just as Xu Mu had made them tremble.
"Human, you deserve to die, stop!"
...
The Tree Spirits communicated amongst themselves. Consequently, the Heavenly Trees that were enduring their fear and remaining in place to receive their inheritance, suddenly halted the process.
Several Domain Lords' consciousnesses rippled, and their faces turned pale as they opened their eyes.
Yao Huo from the Demon Extermination Division also opened his eyes.
However, compared to the dishevelled state of others, his face showed no pain, only confusion. He had already completed his inheritance, and his presence there previously was only for the protection of the Heavenly Tree, so he could meditate and comprehend his Dao with peace of mind.
"Hm?"
Yao Huo looked at the dissipating Heavenly Tree defenses around him and uttered a question.
He didn't know what was happening, wondering if the defense had a time limit.
Yao Huo stood up and then saw the forest of tree roots that now stood outside.
His face twitched slightly, and he asked with some surprise,
"What happened here?"
A few hundred meters away stood a group of Domain Lords, including two from the Demon Extermination Division. Yao Huo subconsciously asked.
He was very eager to know what had happened in the outside world during the days he had been cultivating.
But then, he noticed that even though there were a crowd of異人 (Yìrén - peculiar people/supernaturals) standing not far from him, no one answered his question. He was simply ignored.
Yao Huo frowned with displeasure, thinking if these people were deaf.
So, with an displeased expression, he was about to say something when he suddenly realized how spacious the surroundings were.
Yes, spacious, if one didn't count the upright roots.
Yao Huo turned to scan his surroundings. He found that all the Heavenly Trees around him had vanished, leaving behind only pitted holes in the ground.
This area resembled ruins, with the ground deeply fissured, soil churning, and many mounds of earth piled up, obstructing the view.
And those supernaturals who had ignored his question, whether from the Demon Extermination Division or from other factions' Domain Lords, had all turned their heads in the same direction.
They were engrossed, their expressions a fascinating sight, as if they were looking at something.
So Yao Huo, also curious, turned his head, but he couldn't see anything clearly due to the mounds of earth and the Heavenly Trees behind him.
Thus, he frowned and walked dozens of steps to the side, completely severing his connection with the Heavenly Trees above.
He had obtained his inheritance and had yet to fully digest it, but he was close. The rest could be consolidated through quiet contemplation upon his return.
Yao Huo, filled with doubt, floated into the air.
His immediate priority was to find out what had happened here while he was receiving his inheritance, and whether it was related to the holy relic. It was at this moment that the Heavenly Tree behind him, seeing that Yao Huo had voluntarily severed their connection, could no longer suppress its fear and began to move.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
With a loud roar, the ground trembled incessantly, as if a dragon was turning over.
Yao Huo sensed the source of the trembling and then, with surprise, turned his head backward.
He then discovered that the Heavenly Tree that had just been giving him inheritance was now automatically pulling its roots out of the soil.
Its thick body twisted wildly in the air, generating an incredibly terrifying force. Thus, he had to retreat first.
"What in the world is going on!"
Yao Huo cried out in terror, summoning the nascent form of his Dharma Idol.
He was ready to engage this Heavenly Tree in combat, or rather, to escape.
Ideally, he wanted to emerge unscathed and unharmed.
"I didn't do anything against the rules, why is it suddenly trying to kill me?"
Yao Huo's expression was grave. He thought he had done something wrong, violated the rules of this Heavenly Tree tomb, and that was why the Heavenly Tree had suddenly withdrawn its protection and pulled its roots from the earth, perhaps intending to attack him.
Therefore, he dared not be negligent and immediately became fully alert.
He had witnessed the power of the Heavenly Tree before. Due to his oversight, he had sustained internal injuries from flames.
Yao Huo shuddered. If he hadn't had a sixth-stage fire-elemental protective artifact last time, he would have been reduced to ashes by that Heavenly Tree, rather than just sustaining internal injuries.
He did not want to experience such a thing a second time, so this time, Yao Huo immediately summoned his Dharma Idol!
Boom!
The Dharma Idol, thousands of feet tall, towered into the sky, its entire body flowing with golden flames, incinerating all the surrounding root tendrils.
"Come on, let me see how much my strength has improved!"
Yao Huo's heart surged. He was far from being an opponent of the previous Heavenly Tree, but he was confident he could contend with this one. He was not far from becoming a Human King, and that Heavenly Tree did not possess many combat techniques. Even if he couldn't defeat it, he should be able to retreat!
But soon, Yao Huo realized he was wrong.
Because that Heavenly Tree was not here to kill him at all.
It had pulled out its roots and was charging forward with great might, only to run in the opposite direction of him.
Its appearance was strange, and the Tree Spirit shrieked, as if it was fleeing from something, not attacking him.
It was simply… running away!
"?"
Seeing this, the flames flowing from Yao Huo's Dharma Idol abruptly congealed.
He didn't understand what was happening. Why was the Heavenly Tree suddenly running away, and so hastily, as if terrified of something?
Could it be scared by his Dharma Idol? httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Yao Huo had this thought and immediately shook his head, because that was impossible.
According to the principles of the five elements' mutual generation and restraint, his fire attribute did indeed counter wood. However, the Heavenly Tree was a creature at the Human King level, and the gap in cultivation was immense. How could it possibly care about such things!
Unable to figure out what was going on, he could only gaze intently at the fleeing back of the Heavenly Tree, trying to discern any clue.
Then, he suddenly noticed that the direction the Heavenly Tree was running seemed to be the same direction that everyone else in the area was staring at intently.
Yao Huo focused his gaze.
He saw, tens of thousands of meters away, a Heavenly Tree.
A very large Heavenly Tree, large enough to rival a mountain.
Upon seeing this, Yao Huo exclaimed in his heart. This Heavenly Tree was considerably thicker than the one that had injured him before.
The inheritance from that previous Heavenly Tree was already an ultimate treasure that made him covetous and go mad. So, what kind of inheritance would the largest Heavenly Tree hold?
If it were fire, would it be Samadhi True Fire?
Yao Huo suppressed his amazement and reverie, then continued to gaze at the completely black sky, through countless obstacles.
Yes, the sky was black.
Yao Huo personally witnessed the Heavenly Tree that had just given him inheritance run behind that giant Heavenly Tree. And behind it, countless towering trees had already gathered. The fire-elemental inheritance Heavenly Tree that had injured him before was also among them!
Yao Huo was somewhat shocked. So many Heavenly Trees had gathered together, seemingly led by the one at the front.
Why were they like this? What had happened?
Before Yao Huo could figure it out, a branch, like a great river, suddenly descended from the dark canopy. The piercing sound of air being broken exploded, like a thunderous punishment from an enraged heaven.
As it swung, it stirred up a storm.
Yao Huo released his abilities to resist the erosion of the fierce wind and sound waves, his face filled with shock and confusion. He wanted to know what terrifying entity could force those Heavenly Trees, comparable to Human Kings, to gather, and why they were being attacked.
As Yao Huo watched, he then saw a familiar figure soar into the air. This made him gasp in astonishment.
A human? It was a human!
Yao Huo's face was shocked. He had originally thought that the Heavenly Trees would fear some unknown great demon in this ancient battlefield, because among the humans who had entered this dark palace from Xishan within this Heavenly Tree tomb, he was the strongest.
And since he was the strongest, and still inferior to these Heavenly Trees, then others would naturally be incapable. Therefore, humans had been ruled out by Yao Huo from the beginning.
But now, the undeniable truth was before his eyes. The target of the Heavenly Tree's attack was, in fact, a human.
Yao Huo was both shocked and suspicious, his eyes widening even further.
He wanted to know, what kind of person could force these Heavenly Trees to such a desperate state? Could it be someone in the top ten of the World Rankings secretly came here?
"Boom!"
The Heavenly Tree's branch fell heavily. A corner of it smashing onto the ground covered an area of over a hundred meters. The surrounding earth cracked inch by inch. The center of the impact, after the branch was lifted, had become a deep pit capable of burying nearly ten thousand people.
Under such a powerful assault, that human narrowly dodged it.
His body floated in space, his feet treading on golden light, seemingly a type of Daoist technique, agile and graceful.
Yao Huo stared intently at the person's profile for a long time. The more he looked, the more familiar it felt.
Holding a sword in his hand, with black hair falling over his shoulders, his figure thin yet not lacking vigor…
Boom!
The Heavenly Tree's attack missed. It then roared and launched another assault.
The person controlling the wind in the sky once again used his abilities, his body moving up and down, narrowly dodging the attack once more.
Then, he ran towards this side.
Finally, he could see his face clearly.
Yao Huo's pupils shrank to their smallest possible size.
"Xu Mu?!"
He was stunned. The words "Xu Mu" blurted out involuntarily.
Xu Mu, who was desperately fleeing for his life, upon seeing Yao Huo finally appear and call his name, couldn't help but escape towards him with tears of gratitude:
"It's me, Senior Brother Yao Huo, you're finally out of seclusion!"
Xu Mu's voice was strange, and his soul was about to fly out of his body in fear:
"This Heavenly Tree has gone mad and wants to kill me."
"Senior Brother Yao Huo, please, help me kill him!"
...