"Ning Caichen! Run! Go find Yan Chixia!"
Startled by the loud noise, Ning Caichen also noticed the tree demon behind Hao Yun. Without saying a word, he picked up his bag and ran faster than a rabbit.
"Dare to damage my foundation and ruin my cultivation! Prepare to die!"
Enraged, the tree demon controlled its main body to give chase, swiping its trunk repeatedly, making the ground rumble.
Chapter 36 Slaying the Tree Demon
"Tree spirit! If you keep chasing me, I'll turn on you!"
Hao Yun pulled out a bottle of cola and began threatening the tree demon.
"Believe it or not, I'll keep bombing you. I want to see how many more hits you can take."
The pursuing tree demon slowed its movements. The power of the thunderbolt was still fresh in its memory. Caught off guard, most of its roots were blown off.
Seeing the tree demon slow down, Hao Yun didn't hesitate and unleashed the full power of his Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada, instantly rushing a hundred meters away.
"Damn you! How dare you deceive me! Die!"
The ground began to shake violently and cracks appeared. The enraged tree demon was truly enraged by Hao Yun's actions.
The trees in the forest began to block Hao Yun, and vines grew on the ground, hindering Hao Yun's progress.
"Damn it, I didn't expect this tree demon to be so powerful."
Muttering to himself, Hao Yun took out his magic sword, cut off the vines wrapped around his body, kicked down the trees blocking his way, and continued running.
A human and a demon, one chasing and the other fleeing, broke through layers of blockades and finally arrived at Lanruo Temple.
"Hahaha, tree spirit! Do you dare come any closer?"
Rushing into Lanruo Temple, Hao Yun stopped and began to mock the tree demon with unusual arrogance.
The enraged tree demon still retained a sliver of reason. He and Yan Chixia were evenly matched, neither able to defeat the other; otherwise, Yan Chixia would have been killed long ago.
"You despicable and shameless bastard, come out here if you dare!"
The tree demon outside Lanruo Temple was cursing at Hao Yun.
"If you don't dare to come in, then get lost. What, are you waiting for me to chop you up and burn you for firewood? You dare to glare at me? I'll gouge out your eyeballs and use them as light bulbs."
Hao Yun's mouth was like a machine gun, and the tree demon, wanting to retaliate, found that it couldn't get a word in edgewise.
"Look at you, you're neither human nor ghost, you're a disgrace to the botany department. What are you still not happy about? If you're not happy, then come in. Listen to your voice, it's neither male nor female. The way you are is affecting the mood of all the other flowers and plants. If I were you, I would kill myself right here today!"
Hao Yun felt good after being scolded, but the tree demon was frustrated. As his anger rose, the sky grew darker and darker.
Click!
A bolt of lightning struck down from the sky and hit the tree spirit.
"Look at you, even God can't stand it anymore. How ugly do you look? You're such a grown man, how can you have no self-awareness at all? Why don't you find a place to hide properly instead of coming out here?"
The tree demon's already pale face turned even darker. He roared with his head raised, and lightning bolts continued to fall from the sky.
"Stop cursing. This tree demon is undergoing tribulation. If he succeeds, we'll all die."
Yan Chixia had somehow ended up standing next to Hao Yun.
"ah!"
With a gasp, Hao Yun's eyes widened like saucers.
"What should we do then? Should we suddenly stab him a couple of times?"
"No, if we make a move, we'll also be affected by the heavenly tribulation. Just wait, this tree demon has committed many evils, and this lightning tribulation won't be easy to overcome."
In truth, Yan Chixia wasn't entirely sure either. This tree demon was already capable of undergoing tribulation, but because of its excessive killings, it was worried it wouldn't be able to overcome the heavenly tribulation, so it suppressed its strength and secretly accumulated power.
This tree demon was unlucky to run into Hao Yun, who provoked it to the point of mental breakdown, accidentally revealing a trace of its aura and attracting a heavenly tribulation.
The lightning falling from the sky grew increasingly powerful, and the tree demon struggled to hold on. If it weren't for the profound power it had accumulated over the years, it would have been cleaved into ashes by the heavenly tribulation long ago.
The power of the heavenly lightning grew stronger and stronger, causing damage to the tree demon's trunk. Several thick trunks broke, and all the leaves fell off, leaving it bare and extremely ugly.
"The tree spirit can't hold on much longer."
Yan Chixia stared at the tree demon, sighing inwardly. If the tree demon hadn't harmed anyone, the heavenly tribulation wouldn't have been so powerful.
He once saw a snake demon undergoing its tribulation. That snake demon had saved many people. When it underwent its tribulation, it was struck by three bolts of heavenly lightning, none of which were very powerful, and it passed through easily.
Look at this tree demon, with nine bolts of heavenly lightning. Even if the Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain personally descended, he would be struck dead.
As the seventh bolt of lightning struck, the tree demon let out a mournful cry, and a section of its crown was sheared off.
"How hateful! If it weren't for you, I would surely have survived the Heavenly Tribulation. Since I can't, then you shall die with me!"
On the trunk of the tree demon, an ugly face grew out, its eyes glowing green as it glared fiercely at Hao Yun.
Hao Yun took two steps back and chuckled dryly.
"There are still two heavenly lightning bolts left. You must believe in yourself. You can definitely do it. It's not worth wasting your energy on me."
"You sharp-tongued brat! No matter how eloquent you are, you're going to die today!"
The tree demon's malevolent gaze sent chills down Hao Yun's spine. He was doomed; he had really messed up this time.
"Thunder is coming!"
With a shout, Hao Yun turned and ran while the tree demon was distracted. As for Yan Chixia, he had already dragged Ning Caichen far away to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
"Don't even think about escaping!"
The tree demon opened its mouth and spat out a demon core, which it then threw at Hao Yun's vest.
Watch out behind you!
Ning Caichen shouted, and Hao Yun felt his hair stand on end. He rolled on the spot and dodged the demon core's attack with a lazy roll.
The eighth bolt of heavenly lightning, which had been brewing in the sky for a long time, struck down. This time, the tree demon was caught off guard and its main body was split open, with thick smoke and flames rising from the tree trunk.
The screams were incessant, sounding like scraping glass, which was incredibly irritating.
The demon core that had been chasing Hao Yun fell to the ground. Without saying a word, Hao Yun grabbed the demon core and stuffed it into his system inventory.
"My inner core!"
The tree demon's voice became even more mournful. If his inner core were still intact, he would still have a chance to block the last heavenly lightning. Now that Hao Yun had taken his inner core, his last hope was extinguished. He no longer thought about anything else and only wanted to kill Hao Yun to pay with his life.
"You still want to catch me?! Go eat your fart!"
With a whoosh, Hao Yun fled, running a kilometer before stopping.
"I hate it!"
As the ninth bolt of lightning struck, the tree demon, under the dazzling light, finally succumbed to its life force and became a withered tree.
Yan Chixia shook his head and sighed, "If only I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place."
The cheeky Hao Yun peeked around curiously in this direction.
"Stop hiding, the tree spirit is dead."
Upon hearing Yan Chixia's voice, Hao Yun ran back.
"Phew~ That scared me to death."
"You're still afraid! If you were afraid, you wouldn't have provoked him in the first place."
Yan Chixia retorted to Hao Yun in an annoyed tone, saying that he found dealing with the tree demon troublesome, and he wouldn't be staying here if it weren't to save a few more innocent passersby.
A light rain began to fall from the sky, and the flames burning on the tree spirit's body gradually died down. After a while, the dark clouds dispersed, and a rainbow appeared on the horizon.
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While Hao Yun was taking shelter from the rain, his magical power began to surge, which subsided after a few minutes.
Is this what ten years of cultivation looks like? Not bad at all. Now my magical power is plentiful, and I can use Palm Lightning without restraint.
Hao Yun was quite envious when he saw Yan Chixia unleash palm lightning repeatedly. Although his own magical power is not as great as Yan Chixia's, he can still use palm lightning dozens of times.
At this moment, Yan Chixia arrived beside the tree demon's corpse, drew his longsword, and cleaved it in two.
"Master Yan, are you really planning to chop him up and use him as firewood?"
"Bullshit! There are good things inside this tree demon. If you don't want them, I'll keep them all."
Chapter 37 Tree Spirit Liquid
Upon hearing that there was something good, Hao Yun's eyes lit up immediately. Without saying a word, he picked up the wood-chopping axe and went over.
"Where is it? I'm coming, I'm coming!"
Yan Chixia glared at Hao Yun and shoved him towards her.
"Go away and stay out of the way. You're just wasting this good stuff.
Hao Yun gave an awkward smile, threw away the axe, and began to watch the commotion.
As for Ning Caichen, his attention was focused on the urn containing his ashes in his luggage.
"I don't know which one belongs to the lady from yesterday. I hope I haven't missed any."
"Master Yan, are you sure you can handle this? You're taking so long to chop down a tree."
Seeing that Yan Chixia was dawdling and hadn't made a move for a long time, Hao Yun couldn't help but urge him on.
"You don't know anything! I'm just afraid of hurting the tree's spirit sap; I'd be heartbroken if I spilled even a single drop."
Yan Chixia, who hadn't yet drawn his sword, retorted with a string of insults.
"Okay, you're right, then hurry up and get started."
Ignoring Hao Yun's incessant chatter, Yan Chixia took his sword and made a cut at the base of the withered tree.
After making eight holes, Yan Chixia quickly chopped off the excess parts and then slowly shaved away the useless pieces of wood, leaving only a wooden box the size of a fist.
A small hole was gently made at the top, and a strong fragrance spread out. Hao Yun took a sniff and felt as if every pore on his body opened up.