“However, that is not actually the case.” The Divine Tree Venerable stepped forward and said in a deep voice, “We have discovered that every planet in the Demon Realm has this characteristic.”
“Every planet…” Long Shi’s lips twitched slightly. He smiled bitterly and said, “Venerable One, don’t tell me that the entire Demon Realm is afflicted with signs of destruction?”
The Venerable Shenmu lowered his head. Though his voice was soft, everyone could hear it clearly: "I regret to inform you that what you have said is indeed the truth. This realm is gradually heading towards destruction."
The crowd exchanged bewildered glances; if these words hadn't come from Venerable Shenmu, they would have found it hard to believe.
They all knew very well what the statement meant by "This world is heading towards destruction."
The Demon Realm, that's the whole...
An entire plane of existence, containing countless beings. If this plane were to perish, all these beings would vanish without exception.
"Could it be that life in this realm has come to an end?" Long Shi asked in astonishment.
"No, this aura of death is so heavy that it cannot have arisen naturally. Therefore, there must have been some unexpected force that caused this realm to perish," Venerable Shenmu said, shaking his head slightly.
"Intervention from outside forces? What kind of force could lead an entire realm to destruction?" Xiao Wenbing asked with a wry smile.
However, no one could give him the correct answer to this question.
“Dark God…” Feng Baiyi suddenly said.
"Dark God?"
"Do you still remember the divine language on the Dark God?"
Xiao Wenbing looked up, seemingly lost in memories of the past. He murmured to himself, "The box says that it contains a dark god, a dark god whose mind has been stolen by a divine spark. This thing is suppressed under a divine tree and will automatically perish after countless years. However, if it is moved by humans, it will break free and wreak havoc on the world."
"That's right, the Dark God was once suppressed under the Divine Tree."
"So what?"
"The Dark God is, after all, a demigod. To diminish it is not so easy. Perhaps, the price will be..."
Xiao Wenbing gave a bitter smile. Perhaps Feng Baiyi was right. If they wanted to reduce the Dark God, the price they would have to pay would be the life of the Tree of Life in this world. And once the Tree of Life died, would it mean that this world would also perish?
"Quiet, someone's coming." Suddenly, one of the dragon clan elders on guard shouted.
Everyone immediately fell silent. A flash of light appeared in the space again, and everyone's figures disappeared. It was Butterfly Fairy who had reactivated the Starry Sky Illusionary Realm.
Dozens of people walked up from the front. Long Shi and the others could tell at a glance that these people had extremely low cultivation levels. If they were in the cultivation world, they would be no more than the outer disciples of various sects.
They all shook their heads, secretly lamenting their own overreaction. In truth, anyone here had countless ways to easily deceive them, but when faced with these juniors, they instinctively hid in the Starry Sky Illusion Realm. If word got out, wouldn't they become a laughingstock?
The demon disciples did not notice the unusual changes here, which was to be expected. Even demons in the Tribulation Transcending stage could not detect them, let alone those who had not even comprehended the Qi.
They approached the group, and one of them wiped the sweat from his brow, saying, "It's so hot, Senior Brother, let's take a break."
The leading demon hesitated for a moment, then looked back and saw only hopeful eyes. He finally sighed and said, "Very well, let's rest for a while."
Upon hearing these words, the demons, as if they had just completed a long journey, immediately collapsed and slumped to the ground.
"Sigh... This awful weather, it's getting hotter and hotter." The man sighed, "We can't live like this anymore. Not only are the materials for refining weapons and making pills getting scarcer, we can't collect anything at all, but now even the food and grain supply is insufficient. Sigh... How am I going to explain this to my master and the others when we get back?"
"Junior brother, stop complaining. We're doing alright. Go and see the mortal world; that's where the real suffering is."
"Yes, Senior Brother."
The senior disciple shook his head slightly and said, "However, just bear with it a little longer. Perhaps this awful weather will pass soon."
"Really? How did you know?" one person asked in surprise.
After a moment of contemplation, the eldest disciple said, "I heard from the inner sect elders that several venerable ones recently obtained a magic treasure and are going to perform a ritual to sever the root of the calamity that has plagued our Flame Realm for hundreds of thousands of years."
"Cut off the root of the trouble?" The disciples immediately became excited and shouted at the top of their lungs.
"Alright, stop arguing." The eldest brother frowned, waved his hand and gave a light shout. His reputation among the group was obviously quite high. With just one sentence, the people around him immediately stopped talking.
"Remember, just listen to these words and forget about them. Don't talk about them again. If anyone tells anyone, don't blame me for turning against you."
"Yes." The group of junior brothers immediately fell silent, showing how much they feared their senior brother's methods.
After a moment, the same person asked again, "Senior Brother, do you think the Venerable One and the others will succeed this time?"
The eldest brother glared at him and sighed, "How should I know? But I hope it succeeds, otherwise..."
The disciples all lowered their heads and remained silent. Although they could not sense that this realm was heading towards destruction, they could all see that the environment was deteriorating day by day.
Perhaps, the efforts of these venerable ones are their last hope...
Volume 4, Chapter 290: Scarcity
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"I'll go ask," Xiao Wenbing suddenly said softly.
Then, a faint ripple suddenly appeared in the space, and the demon avatar appeared in front of these demons.
Faced with the sudden appearance of the tall, imposing man, the group reacted quickly, with the eldest disciple clearly being the best among them, leaping into the air in a single bound. However, while his reaction was indeed swift, the fastest reaction often comes with the worst fate.
The senior disciple had just leaped up at the speed he was most proud of in his life when he immediately realized something was wrong.
He had barely lifted half a foot off the ground when he felt a tight grip on the back of his neck; he had been grabbed and held. Fortunately, he was experienced in combat and remained calm in the face of danger. He braced himself with his feet and prepared to kick backward.
However, he had only completed a small part of his movements when he suddenly screamed in agony, curled up into a ball like a shrimp, and could no longer move.
Under Xiao Wenbing's remote control, the demon avatar had already infused a surge of spiritual energy into his body. How could a mere outer disciple withstand the spiritual energy attack of a Tribulation Transcending stage expert?
The fact that he didn't explode and die on the spot is already a result of the demon incarnation carefully, carefully, and carefully controlling his energy.
That's true. Using an old guy in the Tribulation Transcending stage to deal with some juniors who haven't even grasped the Qi, if he's not careful, he could definitely slap a whole group to death.
Seeing the dire situation, the other disciples didn't rush forward to their deaths. Instead, they let out a shout and fled in all directions. Xiao Wenbing was taken aback, never expecting that they showed no camaraderie whatsoever, scattering immediately when disaster struck.
This is just too spineless. No wonder they're called the race of the demon realm.
However, if these outer disciples really escape, Xiao Wenbing can just find a big tree and hang himself... Of course, whether he can actually hang himself is a very debatable matter.
The demon avatar extended a finger, from which a point of light emerged. With a flick of its finger, the light flew into the air and suddenly exploded.
As if it had been calculated perfectly, the light split into eight neat sections and caught up with the fleeing demons at lightning speed.
Screams filled the air. Anyone caught by the bright light immediately curled up like the senior disciple, even more like a shrimp.
Xiao Wenbing was furious that they had abandoned their friends and fled, so he used more spiritual power this time, and those people immediately suffered greatly. They felt a scorching heat coursing through their bodies like little mice, bringing them boundless pain.
"Please forgive me, senior..."
The faint sound came from beneath the demon's feet. Although the senior brother was also in pain and grimacing, he could still barely bear it. He immediately pleaded for help.
"They abandoned you, and you still plead for them?" A rumbling voice came from the avatar's mouth.
"If...if it were a junior like me, it would be the same...the same." Although the pain in his body was still unbearable, the senior brother still insisted on finishing his sentence.
Xiao Wenbing frowned, his divine sense swept over, and in an instant he possessed the avatar, pointed a finger, and withdrew the spiritual power from his senior brother.
The senior disciple breathed a sigh of relief and immediately knelt down, saying, "This junior is Soli, the head of the outer disciples of the Holy Temple. These people are all servants in the sect. Please forgive me, senior."
Sori had no idea why disaster had suddenly befallen him. But just by looking at the man's methods, he knew that this person's cultivation was extremely high, far beyond their reach. Moreover, this person had immediately resorted to ruthless tactics upon first meeting him. Clearly, he was a vicious and cruel individual. Once he understood this, he immediately became extremely respectful, daring not to have the slightest thought of resistance.
"Why are you pleading for them?" Xiao Wenbing asked through his avatar.
Soli bowed his head deeply, almost touching the ground, and said, "Senior, my skills are far superior to theirs. Since I am no match for them, any further attacks from them would be suicide. So, we should try to save as many as possible."
"Hmm? Is that the reason?"
"Yes."
Xiao Wenbing was taken aback, and then he realized that the thoughts of these people who were at the lowest level among cultivators were indeed very different from those of him, who were high and mighty top figures.
What are you doing out here?
"Collect tributes from various regions."
"What kind of tribute?"
A strange look flashed in Sori's eyes. He glanced at the avatar, as if he understood something, and said, "Senior is probably not from the Holy Star, so he doesn't know." He paused, glanced at the expressionless avatar, and said, "In the Holy Star, all the long-term cultivators will offer some items to the Holy Temple on time."
"Let me see it."
He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but hearing his junior brothers still screaming incessantly, he gritted his teeth, took the package off his back, and handed it to his avatar.
Upon opening the package, Xiao Wenbing was greatly surprised. Judging from the disciple's expression, he had assumed it contained some rare and precious treasure, but upon actually seeing it, he was inevitably disappointed.
The package contained a few scattered broken spirit stones and some basic refining materials.
Is this all? Incarnation
There was a hint of surprise in his voice.
“Exactly.” Sori nodded and said, “This is the savings of three hundred and twenty Golden Core stage masters from the East after searching for three whole months.”
"Searching for three months?" A thought flashed through Xiao Wenbing's mind, and he asked, "Are you looking for a spirit stone mine?"
Sori gave a wry smile and said, "There are hardly any spirit stone mines left now. Finding even a few scattered spirit stones is already considered extremely lucky."
"Have the resources of the Holy Star been depleted to this extent?"
“No,” Sori shook his head and said, “The resources of the Holy Star are the most abundant in our Flame Realm.”
“The most… generous.” Xiao Wenbing looked at the materials in front of him, which were even more rudimentary than when he first forged a weapon, and he didn’t know what to feel.
"Three hundred and twenty Golden Core experts searched painstakingly for three months on the most resource-rich planet before finally finding these...these..."
The word "garbage" circled twice in Xiao Wenbing's mouth, but he ultimately didn't utter it.
Looking up, a sharp, cold glint emanated from the eyes of the demon avatar, like two sharp arrows piercing deeply into Sori's eyes.
"You...you're not lying to me?"
Solidi's body trembled violently, and even his voice shook slightly: "No...no...I dare not..."
"Alright, I was reckless." Xiao Wenbing casually waved his hand. Several points of light flew out from the disciples.
This was the spiritual energy raging throughout their bodies; once it left their bodies, the excruciating pain vanished instantly. However, after enduring so much torment, they were all exhausted and weak, finding it difficult to stand up for the time being.
Xiao Wenbing coughed and said, "I am a cultivator on my way to the Holy Temple. I saw you acting suspiciously all the way, so I misunderstood you. Please forgive me."
Only then did the group realize where they had offended this strange cultivator. They hadn't expected that simply sitting down to rest for a while would lead to such suspicious behavior.