Chapter 2544: Tree Of Lightning

Xu Yue arrived at the same conclusion as Lu Yin. Without any hesitation, the blue phoenix charged forward. Even if Luo Zang died, it had nothing to do with her. The mighty Voidforce Universe did not fear the Three Monarch Universe, and besides, Monarch Luo had plenty of other sons.

The blue phoenix’s power surged and swept out in every direction, reducing all to ash. It arrogantly raised its head, and was about to let out a cry, only to abruptly stop. Luo Zang's stone mace was pressed to Xu Yue's forehead. Both of them were pale, though Xu Yue was in just a slightly better condition than Luo Zang.

"How did you do it?" Xu Yue asked, confused.

Luo Zang smiled. "Have you ever heard of the secret techniques that can only be created by peak powerhouses?"

Xu Yue glared at him. "Despicable."

Luo Zang shook his head. "Secret techniques are another form of strength. There is nothing despicable about using them."

He then lowered his stone mace. "Enough; I win."

Xu Yue snorted and reluctantly muttered, "Blue phoenix, return."

The blue phoenix stared at Luo Zang, also clearly reluctant. It could burn the tiny human to death without much effort.

"Blue phoenix, return!" Xu Yue shouted sternly.

The blue phoenix released a cry and transformed into a blue flame that disappeared into the void.

Luo Zang breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks. I wouldn’t have any idea how to escape from your voidforce puppet."

Xu Yue did not want to even look at the man, and instead turned to Lu Yin. "How long are you going to just stand there and watch? If you want to steal it, then do so. If you don't have the courage, then leave."

Luo Zang looked at Lu Yin. "Brother Xuan Qi, there's only the one tree. While there’s no rule that each tree can only grant an innate gift to one person, it's better for one person to try than two. Are you going to fight for it or not?"

Lu Yin leaped down. "I won't fight. First come, first served. Go on ahead."

"Coward," Xu Yue scoffed.

Luo Zang nodded. "In that case, I won't hold back."

He then made his way straight for the thunderstorm.

Kacha!

A bolt of lightning pierced the void, splitting the earth right in front of Luo Zang, but his expression remained unchanged as he continued to approach the great tree one step at a time. Even with the lightning raining down on him, his stride never faltered. He continued walking forward, making his way closer to the tree.

Xu Yue gritted her teeth, still feeling rather resentful. Even so, she had lost to Luo Zang, and thus could only watch. Only if Luo Zang failed could she make her own attempt.

Despite hoping for Luo Zang's failure, if he did, it would mean that Xu Yue would also be incapable of succeeding.

Complicated emotions ran through her, and she glanced at Xuan Qi with irritation. The guy looked completely indifferent, which only aggravated her annoyance.

"Hey, don’t you understand what this tree represents? It's most likely the most powerful tree in the entire Arboreal Sanctuary," Xu Yue said.

Lu Yin nodded. "Yes, that's very likely."

"And yet you're just going to watch him?" Xu Yue raised her voice.

Lu Yin looked over at the woman. "I can't defeat him."

Xu Yue opened her mouth to respond, yet ultimately remained silent. It was true, even she was incapable of defeating Luo Zang, so what could Xuan Qi hope to accomplish?

"Hmph, useless!" Xu Yue turned her head back to continue watching Luo Zang.

At the moment, less than a hundred meters separated Luo Zang from the tree. The area between them was densely filled with bolts of lightning, to the point that hardly any gap could be seen.

He stopped and did something, and when he was done, a shadow identical to his own appearance appeared in front of him.

Xu Yue’s eyes went wide. This was it. This was the technique that had defeated her. With this, Luo Zang had evaded the blue phoenix and moved close to Xu Yue to threaten her. This was the secret technique he had used.

Lu Yin was also amazed. A secret technique? The shadow that he was looking at appeared to be similar to a mirage, though Luo Zang could trade positions with the shadow. This was not a bad secret technique. When it came to movement, it was not as effective as the Ce Secret Art, but a shadow like this could occasionally create miracles during a battle.

Luo Zang's intention was to exchange positions with his shadow so that he could appear directly next to the big tree.

However, right at the moment when Xu Yue believed that Luo Zang was about to succeed, the thunderstorm suddenly became a furious downpour, and the entire area within a hundred meters of the large tree was reduced to dust. Luo Zang was terribly startled, and he quickly retreated. Luckily, he had managed to react quickly. If he had stood even another half meter closer, he would have been struck by the lightning.

The tree’s lightning was horrifying, and it far exceeded anything that Luo Zang could hope to withstand.

His eyes flickered as he stared at the tree before him. After a moment of consideration, he sighed and turned to leave.

Xu Yue frowned. He had actually failed.

Luo Zang walked out of range of the thunderstorm. He gave Xu Yue and Lu Yin a look of resignation. "I failed. That tree doesn't acknowledge me. Xu Yue, you can try."

Xu Yue rolled her eyes. "If you failed, so will I. I’d say that only someone who picked a tetra-chromatic fruit stands even the slightest chance of success."

As soon as she said that, they both turned to look at Lu Yin. Of the three of them, only Xuan Qi had any hope of success. He had not merely picked a tetra-chromatic fruit, he had also obtained a penta-chromatic fruit. It was infuriating to the other two.

Lu Yin looked at the huge tree that was in the distance. From it, it should be possible to receive an innate gift of lightning. Lightning was not a bad power, but he felt that it was not what he wanted.

He had not had many interactions with lightning throughout his time cultivating. The most powerful lightning he had ever encountered had been the bit that he had used to block Corpse God that he had obtained from the jiao's head. The terrifying power of that lightning was still vivid in his memory. Was he going to obtain a similar innate gift of lightning?

"Brother Xuan Qi, are you not satisfied with this tree?" Luo Zang asked curiously.

Lu Yin replied, "It’s not that. I'm just wondering if there is any danger."

Xu Yue sneered at him. "You don’t need to wonder about that; you can't go."

Lu Yin grew puzzled. "Why not?"

Xu Yue took a few steps forward and positioned herself so that she was blocking Lu Yin's path. She raised her head. "Do you remember a few months ago when you ruined my trial?"

Lu Yin shook his head. "Not at all."

Xu Yue glared at him. "Whether you remember it or or not doesn't matter. I will have revenge. You ruined my trial, so now, I won't let you get anywhere close to that tree unless you can defeat me."

"Xu Yue, preventing others from obtaining something simply because you can’t have it for yourself demonstrates a lack of moral integrity," Luo Zang said.

Xu Yue retorted, "What does this have to do with you?"

Luo Zang shook his head. "Xuan Qi, I can't help you here."

Lu Yin smiled. "Both of you are talented elites, and I can't compare to either of you. If you won't let me get close, then I’ll just leave."

Even as he spoke, he turned to walk away.

Both Luo Zang and Xu Yue were stunned. Was Xuan Qi really going to give up so easily? Both of them understood how valuable and precious this large lighting tree was, and yet Xuan Qi was just abandoning the opportunity?

"Hey, don’t you want it anymore?" Xu Yue asked, growing slightly flustered.

Lu Yin replied, "You’re blocking the way."

"You could try to get past me.”

"I can’t evade you.”

Xu Yue no longer knew how to respond to this man. She had just wanted to find an excuse to teach him a lesson, and had never wanted to actually stop him. After all, he was already more or less regarded as a member of the Voidforce Universe, which meant that the Voidforce Universe would be the one to benefit if he obtained a powerful innate gift from the Arboreal Realm. Xuan Qi was not truly Xu Yue’s enemy. However, the guy was simply too honest, and it was also difficult for Xu Yue to back down.

Most importantly, if Xuan Qi did not manage to obtain a good innate gift from any tree, if he later complained to whoever became his master, it would mean trouble for Xu Yue. Given Xuan Qi’s talent for voidforce energy, there was no doubt that a peak powerhouse would become his master.

The more she thought about it, the more nervous Xu Yue became.

However, Lu Yin had already left. Xu Yue could not simply drag him back, either.

"Hmph, if he doesn't want it, then forget it," Xu Yue muttered as she also turned to leave.

Luo Zang watched as Xuan Qi left, surprise filling his eyes. It was odd how quickly Xuan Qi had given up, and Luo Zang had not been able to sense any discontentment from the man. There was something odd about Xuan Qi…

With that though, Luo Zang started to follow behind Lu Yin.

Lu Yin had ultimately decided not to choose an innate gift of lightning. After all, he had never cultivated any sort of lightning power, and he was more interested in discovering what other kinds of trees were in the Arboreal Sanctuary.

Besides, even if he was unable to find a suitable tree, it would not be the end of the matter. He could always adopt a new identity and try again.

Luo Zang silently trailed behind Lu Yin, always remaining out of sight.

The first impression that Luo Zang gave off was that he seemed to possess an extraordinary bearing. Give the fact that he was Monarch Luo's son, Luo Zang had an impressive background, and yet he was willing to set that aside to interact with others. No matter how one looked at the young man, he was a genius. Even so, he had decided to test his strength against Xu Yue, and was currently following behind Xuan Qi. His behavior mirrored that of most cultivators, or more accurately stated, he was a true cultivator at heart. He could not be regarded as righteous, nor could he be considered evil.

However, while Luo Lao'er possessed impressive concealment abilities, Luo Zang was not nearly his brother’s equal, despite receiving far superior resources for his training and cultivation.

At this same time, Jiang Xiaodao was laughing maniacally. "Success! Hahaha, Grandpa Dao has obtained an innate gift!"

As he laughed, he manipulated a stream of water around him. The water revealed different colors, and was beautiful to look at as it flowed around. It was the innate gift that Jiang Xiaodao had obtained from a tree; River Chroma. It matched the young man’s abilities almost perfectly.

He believed that his new innate gift would allow his combat power to soar to new heights. His mastery over the Sky River battle technique would also improve tremendously. "Mu Mu, just wait for me to come back! Grandpa Dao will teach you a lesson you’ll never forget."

Elsewhere in the Arboreal Sanctuary, He Shu was slowly approaching an odd tree. Its branches were covered with stones instead of fruit.

That did not seem right. How could stones grow on a tree?

He Shu wanted to get a closer look, which was why he was approaching the tree. Suddenly, one of the branches rose up. It arched back, and then released its stones at He Shu. He quickly dodged the sudden projectiles. The stones shot through the air with impressive speed, much like arrows, and he nearly failed to evade the attacks even with his quick reflexes.

Right after that, more of the tree’s branches arched back, and a storm of stones shot at He Shu from the tree.

Startled, He Shu quickly used all sorts of abilities to defend himself. Even so, he was eventually struck by a stone and sent flying, coughing up blood. He looked back at the large tree. It was undeniably remarkable, but he decided not to approach it. An innate gift of stone-throwing would be too embarrassing to ever use, so he chose to move on and seek out another powerful tree.

Shortly after He Shu had left, a young child arrived. As soon as he saw the tall tree, he excitedly ran forward. He was one of the three children from the Arboreal Realm.

The child was not struck by any stone, and he managed to successfully approach the tree. He placed his hand on the tree, and attempted to receive an innate gift from it.

Not just anyone could approach a given tree. Just as people chose their trees, the trees also chose their humans. One criteria for the selection was the fruit that a person picked. He Shu had picked a tri-chromatic fruit, which qualified him to enter the Arboreal Sanctuary and seek a tree, but did not qualify him to approach all of the trees in it, just the same as Luo Zang and Xu Yue.

There was only one exception to this, which was the people who picked a penta-chromatic fruit. That fruit could allow a person to approach almost any tree. This was also why Mu Sanye had decided to fight Xu Xiangyin for Xuan Qi.

Only people from the Arboreal Realm had any knowledge of what trees inhabited the Arboreal Sanctuary. Some of the innate gifts that could be obtained there were extremely powerful. After Lu Yin obtained one of those, Mu Sanye could not even imagine what would happen. All that seemed certain was that humanity would most likely gain another peak powerhouse in the future. Given that, how could Mu Sanye ever abandon Xuan Qi?