Asura Mad Emperor

Entering the cave, there was a straight passage leading upward.

Following the cave's passage upward, through the intertwining paths, countless other branches appeared, making this underground world seem like a labyrinth.

Qinchuan was not affected by the maze; he had walked this passage innumerable times and had long committed it to memory.

All along the way was smooth and unobstructed, but the rumbling vibrations around them still rose without end. Every now and then, large rocks and soil would fall, randomly crushing a cultivator to death.

Many cultivators, not knowing how long they had been running forward, saw a ray of light appear at the end of the dark and pitch-black passage.

"We're about to come out onto the surface!" a wave of joy surged in their hearts.

But just at that moment.

"Ah—"

Suddenly, a ghastly scream pierced the air as something as thick as a wrist shot out unexpectedly, impaling a cultivator through the chest.

"What happened!"

Yin Yuexuan, who was at the very end of Qinchuan's group and closest to that cultivator, immediately realized that what had pierced the cultivator was something like a plant's stalk.

"This is a tree root!" Yin Yuexuan suddenly understood and exclaimed in shock, "We are beneath an ancient tree with spirit!"

As the root impaled the cultivator's chest, his body instantly withered away.

"These stalks are absorbing the cultivator's life essence!"

Jin Ling Saintess was horrified. She couldn't understand why these roots would actively attack and absorb the life essence blood of cultivators when there was such an abundant and vibrant life force all around them.

"Pff," "Pff," "Pff"

Stalks continuously shot out from the ground around them, piercing the nearest cultivators. Many cultivators had no time to dodge and were impaled on the spot, their life essence absorbed, leaving behind dry husks in a ghastly, horrifying state.

Having walked this passage countless times, Qinchuan knew what lay above their heads. These roots normally drew life force and spiritual energy from the surrounding spiritual soil and wouldn't attack cultivators without reason.

Now, their indiscriminate attacking of cultivators could only be due to one situation: The battle had caused the surrounding spiritual soil to shake and collapse, preventing the spirit roots from drawing life force, leading them to attack the passing cultivators at last.

"Let's go! The rock and soil that once restrained this massive tree are collapsing downward, the passage is about to cave in!"

Qinchuan's palm turned into a blade, releasing a burst of Divine Radiance Qi, swiftly cutting off a stalk that blocked their path, and spoke indifferently.

While speaking, he activated his movement technique once more, his figure rapidly rising towards the surface.

Before long, Qinchuan and his companions emerged, one after another. Many cultivators, who had seen Qinchuan at the tavern the day before and knew of his group's prowess, followed them closely and now had also successfully come out of the hole.

"Such a tall Divine Tree!"

As soon as they stepped onto the surface, the Jin Ling Saintess and the others were stunned by the sight before them.

Above their heads stood an endless Divine Wood so lush and robust that one couldn't see where it ended. The trunk of the tree twined like a mighty dragon, life force and spiritual energy welled up like a tide, and a cascade of light poured down like countless strands of immortal radiance.

The height and width of this Divine Wood were unknown; wherever one looked, be it upward or across the trunk, one simply could not see to the end.

In this realm, aside from this Divine Tree, there appeared to be not a single other living creature or plant!

In the Divine Realm above, there were giants and Divine Trees, but she had never witnessed such a shocking scene.

Even Ji Huo'er was so awestruck by the sight of this Divine Tree that she forgot to mock the Jin Ling Saintess and her companion.

"Although the Dao Palace Secret Realm is said to be a world of its own, it could also be called the ecosystem of this Divine Tree! The Dao Palace Secret Realm is this Divine Tree, and this Divine Tree is the Dao Palace Secret Realm!" Qinchuan said calmly.

"What!"

"A tree that forms a world of its own?!" The pair of Jin Ling Saintesses raised their brows, utterly astonished, "How many tens of thousands of years must it have grown to achieve such scale?"

Above the Divine Wood, the leaves were resplendent and glittering, like jade, crystal clear. Each leaf was a Mustard Seed World of its own.

Looking closely, it seemed as if countless creatures were dwelling within the leaves, Divine Dragons roamed, Phoenixes spiraled, and divine light faintly circulated amongst them.

The crowd standing beneath the Divine Wood was like a tiny grain on the vast ocean, a speck of dust in the universe, insignificant and frail.

A series of ethereal and elusive sounds faintly descended from above the Divine Tree, akin to the Great Dao Laws, yet also resembling the laws of life and death, like the whisper of gods and demons that echoed in everyone's ears, the sounds reaching them made it hard to resist being engulfed by it.

Just then, another ear-splitting explosion resonated from the void.

"Boom," "Boom," "Boom"

Looking over, they saw two shadows, one to the left and one to the right, standing in the void at opposite ends. One of these shadows was shrouded in black fog, hazy and indistinct. The other radiated dazzling splendor, too bright to see clearly what lay within the blinding light.

From afar, the shadows seemed like human figures, yet they might also be fierce beasts of extreme ferocity.

Both sides burst forth with radiant divine light, continuously clashing and striking each other, each assault causing a thunderous quake that shook the heavens and earth.

From their perch upon the Divine Wood, the impacts rained down toward the ground.

The two shadows emanated long breaths; with every movement they made, waves of Dao Magic surged tumultuously like towering ocean waves, exploding into clusters of splendid divine spheres, the terrifying energy slamming against the tree trunk.

The tremors that Qinchuan and company had felt underground were the result of these two shadows' intense battle.

And the fight was far from over. With each collision, the ground shivered slightly, showing that the earth was continuously collapsing.

At this moment, several more Cultivator figures shot out from the caves.

"So it's these two guys causing trouble above, almost costing us our lives underground!" A Cultivator who had narrowly escaped death from the underground cave couldn't help but burst out cursing when he saw this scene.

"What the hell are these ghastly shadows?!"

Having unexpectedly suffered an undeserved calamity, all Cultivators felt gloomy; as one person spoke up, immediately others chimed in.

"Let's join forces and give these two spectral entities a proper beating!"

Another Cultivator was egging them on from the side.

But before they could finish speaking, the two shadows atop the Divine Wood suddenly split apart.

"Swoosh—"

A golden Great Dao Rune Pattern burst from the golden divine shadow, a penetrating gaze shot forth.

With a rumble, the golden Dharma Pattern like an unending tidal wave swept across the air, shining upon those few Cultivators who had spoken.

With a "bang," the bodies of those Cultivators who had spoken instantly burst apart, blood splattering.

It was just a single glance.

Those few Cultivators were suppressed by the opponent!

Everyone was shocked and horrified.

"What kind of monster is this? How can it be so powerful?!"

The many Cultivators who had been itching to move suddenly halted in their tracks, looking towards the two shadows with fear and dread.

Meanwhile, the Jin Ling Saintess's divine eyes snapped open, a golden radiance overflowing from the golden whirlpools within her pupils, shining upon the one black and one golden shadow.

The next moment, the Jin Ling Saintess cried out in shock, "What... what is this?"