Chapter 1470 - Great Dao of Wood's Fragment

The Vine Demon suddenly dropped to her knees and begged for mercy. This time, she changed into the form of a little girl, her half-formed limbs looking like twisted tree vines.

Earlier, she had taken on the guise of an old witch to appear more intimidating and better suited for combat. Now, she looked pure and youthful as she kowtowed on the ground, but despite that innocent appearance, she had already been living for ten thousand years.

While ten thousand years sounded unimaginably long to humans, Vine Demons spent the first seven to eight thousand years of their lives absorbing the energy of heaven and earth, unable to assume a human form.

This meant that this particular Vine Demon had only awakened and taken shape for a little over a thousand years.

The Heretic Blade had already pierced down to her roots, and if it sank any deeper, she would lose all her supply of energy. Once that happened, she would slowly wither and die.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Only Vine Demons who had advanced to the level of a great demon could tear free from their root system and roam freely.

In truth, this Vine Demon's combat power was not impressive; she relied entirely on illusions and seduction to ambush passing cultivators.

At best, her strength was merely comparable to that of experts at the fifth level of the Earth Immortal Realm.

"Give me a reason why I shouldn't kill you," Liu Wuxie said. He could end her life at any moment, and if the Vine Demon wanted to live, she first had to prove her worth.

"I can tell you a secret! There are many treasures over there," the Vine Demon said. She had merged herself with the environment, and with other Vine Demons scattered across this parallel world, they could communicate with one another.

"Let's hear what you have to say," Liu Wuxie replied, but he did not retract the Heretic Blade.

If her information proved helpful, he'd consider sparing her life. At worst, he would cripple several thousand years of her cultivation and force her to start cultivating again from scratch.

"I heard from the other Vine Demons that a fragment of the Great Dao of Wood was born somewhere around here, and many Vine Demons have rushed over. As long as they can consume it, they would be able to evolve into something even more powerful," the Vine Demon said, not daring to conceal anything.

She couldn't go there herself, as her roots had anchored her to this spot; otherwise, she would be vying for the fragment with the others.

When she mentioned a fragment of the Great Dao of Wood, Liu Wuxie's eyes brightened. The Astral Sea brimmed with wood-attribute energy, so it was only natural for a fragment of the Great Dao of Wood to appear here.

However, searching for it blindly would take many years, given the vastness of this parallel world. If the Vine Demon could guide him even roughly, it would save him an enormous amount of time.

"Tell me where it lies," Liu Wuxie said, motioning for her to continue.

"I don't know the exact location. I've only heard it from the other Vine Demons, but I can sense it if we get close enough," the Vine Demon answered, not daring to hide anything. Her wits were far inferior to Liu Wuxie's, and with her life in his hands, she dared not lie.

Compared to other Vine Demons, her cultivation remained relatively low, and her roots had not spread far. Those older ones had roots extending much farther away, and even if they left the Astral Sea, their roots could still feed them.

"So, you're trying to say that you can only sense it after getting close?" Liu Wuxie asked. He could tell that she knew the fact that a fragment of the Great Dao of Wood had appeared, but she was not aware of its precise location.

"That's right," the Vine Demon replied with a helpless nod, trembling in fear. She was terrified that Liu Wuxie would sever her roots the very next second.

"Since that's the case, bring me there," Liu Wuxie said. He needed her guidance while he searched for his third senior brother.

"But my roots are here; I can't leave this place. Without the nourishment of my roots, I will wither over time," the Vine Demon said, her face twisting in distress.

"That's not a problem," Liu Wuxie answered. He cleaved down with the Heretic Blade, digging out the roots buried deep underground. Then, he tossed the roots into the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, sending them into the desolate world and replanting them in its soil.

The Vine Demon's expression shifted rapidly. She could feel immense energy pouring into her roots and nourishing them. The aura in the desolate world was so dense that she nearly groaned aloud in pleasure, not to mention the Ancestral Tree that constantly released an endless supply of wood-attribute energy.

"What is that place? It feels great!" The Vine Demon sensed the desolate world through her roots, and the surge of energy intoxicated her.

The Astral Sea was a paradise for Vine Demons, but compared to the desolate world, it fell completely short.

Her hands began to transform rapidly, reshaping into more human-like palms and fingers. She underwent her second evolution in an instant, but she retained her youthful appearance.

"You are my slave from this moment on, and you'll do whatever I tell you. You'll know what will happen if you don't," Liu Wuxie said. Then, he drew the Vine Demon into the desolate world, making her the first living being inside.

When she entered and saw the towering Ancestral Tree, she trembled violently before she collapsed to her knees. The Ancestral Tree was the origin and ruler of all wood-attribute lifeforms.

"Xiao Rou greets master," the Vine Demon said obediently. After stepping into the desolate world, she immediately chose to submit to Liu Wuxie wholeheartedly.

With the Ancestral Tree above her, it was only a matter of time before she grew into a powerful Vine Demon that stood above all others of her kind. Xiao Rou was the name she chose for herself, and it sounded pleasant to the ear.

To ensure she could never betray him, Liu Wuxie condensed a restriction and sent it into her body. With it in place, if she even entertained the thought of betrayal, he could end her life instantly.

Even without that restriction, with her roots firmly planted in the desolate world, he could kill her with a single thought.

"I dare not. Xiao Rou will do whatever Master asks of me from now on," Xiao Rou said. Though she wasn't many years into her awakening, she had devoured plenty of humans and knew precisely what kind of form pleased them most.

After subduing Xiao Rou, Liu Wuxie resumed his journey, while Xiao Rou sensed everything outside through his perception.

He traveled a few hundred miles before Xiao Rou suddenly warned that another Vine Demon had already discovered him and was laying a trap ahead.

With her guidance, he detoured around the ambush. It wasn't that he feared a fight; he simply didn't wish to waste time.

According to Xiao Rou, the Vine Demon lying in wait ahead had cultivated for fifty thousand years and had the habit of slowly torturing any humans she caught to death, unlike Xiao Rou. Humans captured by Xiao Rou at least experienced a brief moment of gentleness before they died.

The difference didn't make Xiao Rou kindhearted; it was simply a matter of perspective. From a Vine Demon's point of view, Xiao Rou was relatively gentle. From a human perspective, however, all Vine Demons were monsters. They weren't of the same race, nor did they share the same world.

Vine Demons needed to absorb the energy of humans to continue evolving, and humans, in turn, could hunt Vine Demons and refine their energy. Who could claim that humans were kinder than the Vine Demons?

In the cultivation world, there was no absolute good or evil, only those who pursued the Immortal Path. Each race had its own path: the demon clan walked the Demon Path, the beast clan followed the Beast Path, and the abyssal race cultivated the Abyssal Path. Every race sought its own way forward.

......

"Master, there's a large number of Vine Demons on the right, and they're all heading in that direction," Xiao Rou said. If Liu Wuxie managed to refine a fragment of the Great Dao of Wood, she could benefit from it as well.

Given her current cultivation, she had no chance of competing directly against the other Vine Demons.

Liu Wuxie received a message from his senior brother, saying there was still no trace of their third senior brother, and now, their second senior brother had vanished as well. He ought to have reached the Astral Sea by now, yet he was nowhere to be found.

The Astral Sea was too vast, and even Xiao Rou didn't know its actual size.

Guided by Xiao Rou, Liu Wuxie increased his speed and soon saw a tide of Vine Demons rushing toward a specific direction. When he activated Ghost Eye and made his gaze pierce the astral clouds, he spotted a massive valley ahead.

The valley's depths were buried under a thick layer of vines, concealing whatever lay beneath. Several human figures stood around the perimeter, clearly drawn here after following the Vine Demons. Their mass migration naturally attracted the attention of human cultivators.

"Master, this is the place. There's a fragment of the Great Dao of Wood inside!" Xiao Rou exclaimed excitedly, practically dancing with joy within the desolate world.

For a Vine Demon, a fragment of the Great Dao of Wood held an irresistible allure.

"This is strange. Why haven't any Vine Demons discovered that fragment after so many years?" Liu Wuxie asked, frowning.

It didn't make sense that the fragment of the Great Dao of Wood remained unclaimed and that it only surfaced upon his arrival.

"I heard from the other Vine Demons that the fragment of the Great Dao of Wood has always been in the depths of the Astral Sea, and it only appeared recently because the structure of heaven and earth had changed," Xiao Rou explained.

The Astral Sea became a paradise for Vine Demons because of the fragments of the Great Dao of Wood. Those fragments nourished the entire Astral Sea, causing the wood-attribute energy here to flourish.

"Changes in heaven and earth?" Liu Wuxie frowned even deeper. He hadn't sensed any such shifts and couldn't help wondering if a great tribulation was approaching. However, that didn't match his understanding; if a tribulation were to descend, the Five Calamities would appear first, and humans would begin to wither and die.

Since no such phenomenon had occurred, the change had to be something else.

Within fifteen minutes, a few more human cultivators arrived, drawn in by the Vine Demons' movements. They were still unaware of the fact that there was a fragment of the Great Dao of Wood here, but the gathering of so many Vine Demons told them that something unusual was happening here.

When Liu Wuxie swept his gaze across the valley, he counted thirty Vine Demons in total, each occupying a different position as they approached the valley using the surrounding vines.

Something dangerous clearly lurked inside, as even the Vine Demons dared not move too close.

He turned his attention to the eight human cultivators. All of them were at the high levels of the Earth Immortal Realm, and from the murderous intent a few of them exuded, he suspected that a few of them could be hunters.

"Master, you must be careful. A Vine Demon mysteriously vanished after entering the valley, as if something had eaten her," Xiao Rou said, her tone laced with unease.

Moments ago, she had reached out to a nearby Vine Demon to figure out what had happened.

Even without Xiao Rou's warning, Liu Wuxie had already sensed that something was wrong. The Vine Demon that entered earlier had disappeared without a trace, and he suspected some monster lay hidden within.

Clusters of astral clouds descended and shrouded the valley, making it impossible for the human divine sense to penetrate. All they could do was wait for the clouds to disperse.

The vines inside the valley differed drastically from those outside; they bristled with poisonous thorns. When Liu Wuxie drove Ghost Eye deeper into the valley, he discovered the interior was hollow.

When his sight finally reached its deepest part, his pupils contracted sharply, and he involuntarily took a step backward.