The Heavenly Tree leader stood fifty meters away, now awake.
Then, Xu Mu brazenly declared that the Heavenly Tree leader, comparable to a peak Human King realm existence, would obey his command.
The Wine Immortal Daoist looked at Xu Mu, then at the unresponsive Heavenly Tree before him, falling into a deep silence.
Since the tree had awakened but not attacked Xu Mu, what he said must be true.
But why?
The Wine Immortal Daoist couldn't hold back and asked,
"What do you mean? Did you actually subdue it in your sea of consciousness?!"
Xu Mu stretched his limbs, scanning his surroundings for Vilitan, and replied,
"Something like that, but I have to thank you for your help."
"Senior, I want to kill him, can you help me."
As Xu Mu spoke, his eyes suddenly sharpened, and he raised his hand to point at the grey silhouette darting around the area. Countless domain lords were attempting to corner it, but none could capture it, as its Daoist arts were too bizarre, and its spiritual body could immunize itself against most abilities.
Clearly, that was Vilitan in its spiritual body state.
The Wine Immortal Daoist glanced at the grey silhouette and furrowed his brow slightly.
"You want to snatch the Heavenly Book too? Of course, you can."
"However, if you truly go for it, you might have to become enemies with Yaohuo."
Xu Mu nodded and said,
"As long as you are willing to help me, Yaohuo and the like are not a problem. This Heavenly Tree will help us. It would be best to obtain the Heavenly Book, but it doesn't matter if we can't."
"I just want to kill Vilitan because he killed my foster father!"
Killing intent flared in Xu Mu's eyes. Gripping his demonic sword, he was ready to strike.
"Is that so? Then he is truly unlucky."
The Wine Immortal Daoist sighed and no longer concerned himself with the Heavenly Tree.
He could see now that Xu Mu had survived several near-death experiences, clearly possessing immense fortune. If Vilitan was targeted by him, and there was a deep-seated hatred between them, then the latter was destined to die today!
"The demon god's aura is nearby, but I cannot find him."
At this moment, the Heavenly Tree spirit spoke.
It sensed the demon god's presence but couldn't pinpoint its exact location, causing it some frustration.
"Then let's not worry about the demon god for now. Kill Vilitan first, he must die!"
Xu Mu could no longer hold back. He soared into the air, directly intercepting Vilitan.
The Wine Immortal Daoist glanced back at the Heavenly Tree leader and followed suit.
"Your Qiongqi friend is already lurking in the shadows and will deliver a fatal blow to Vilitan. Be careful not to be too impulsive; protecting yourself is paramount."
As the Wine Immortal Daoist spoke, his thousand-zhang Daoist dharma image unleashed a fierce sword light in the sky, its holy radiance seemingly capable of destroying all evil in the world.
Vilitan, who was being chased and cornered, felt the sudden sword light and cried out in panic,
"Demon God, I can't hold on! Save me quickly!"
He screamed, and the other domain lords surrounding him also noticed the terrifying sword strike, halting their pursuit with trepidation. Only Yaohuo, who was closely following Vilitan, was not afraid of the sword's ripple effect.
"Wine Immortal, are you declaring war on me?!"
Yaohuo roared, his thousand-zhang dharma image condensing fireballs in each hand before hurling them towards the direction of Vilitan and the Wine Immortal Daoist's sword strike.
Rumble!
An explosion echoed through the sky as Yaohuo's fireballs met the Wine Immortal Daoist's wooden sword. The violent explosion shook the entire Heavenly Tree tomb, the firelight and Dao source illuminating it as if it were daytime.
And at this very moment, one of the domain lords pursuing Vilitan suddenly increased his speed.
"Useless! Neither soul possession nor assassination works, what use do I have for you!"
That domain lord spoke, blocking Vilitan's path and facing Yaohuo's fireballs with both hands. He then tore them apart through the air as if they were strips of cloth.
Boom!
The fireballs were ripped apart and exploded out of nowhere.
Seeing this, Vilitan's face turned pale, and he said,
"Demon God, this is truly not my fault. Not only are there half-step Human Kings on the Realm Ranking helping Xu Mu, but there's also a Qiongqi that can traverse space freely!"
"So what? You are a pure spiritual body of the fourth stage, and you have the Daoist arts from the Heavenly Book, yet you can't kill that wooden post over there. What else are you if not useless!"
The demon god said, turning his head in anger towards Xu Mu.
Then, he suddenly noticed that Xu Mu was no longer the "wooden post" from before. He was now charging forward with his demonic sword, accompanied by a towering dharma image!
"Damn it! Even the Heavenly Tree couldn't kill him, what kind of luck does this kid have!"
The demon god was becoming frantic. Now that he and Vilitan were both exposed, they could only find another opportunity. The only thing that mattered now was how to withdraw from this place.
They were surrounded on all sides, forming a blockade that would be very difficult to break through!
"Isn't that Duan Qingcheng? He's been controlled by the demon god!"
The King of Linghai exclaimed in surprise. He recognized the domain lord who had torn apart Yaohuo's Daoist art, or rather, almost all the domain lords present recognized him, for he was the lord of the largest city in the northwestern region – Qing Shan City!
Even if not everyone had been to Qing Shan City, they had at least heard of the name Duan Qingcheng as its lord.
"Controlled by the demon god, you say."
Yaohuo had witnessed the entire process of his fireball being torn apart. Without even seeing the other person's face, he knew it was his subordinate, Duan Qingcheng, because his unique ability was tearing things apart.
The demon god, controlling Duan Qingcheng, led Vilitan towards a seemingly weaker corner of the encirclement, as there was only a little girl in a red dress holding a bear doll there.
"You... don't come near me!"
The little girl feigned a look of panic and then held up the teddy bear in her arms in front of her head, covering her eyes as if she were very scared.
"Something's not right!"
The demon god had been looking for an escape route in his panic. Seeing that this area had the weakest presence, he chose it to break through. However, he had forgotten that everyone who could come here was a domain lord, and those who appeared the most harmless were often the most dangerous.
Thus, with a sense of unease, he struck first.
"I don't care who you are, tear it open for me!"
Darkness flowed from Duan Qingcheng's eyes, and his unique domain emanated outward. A pair of hands from the void descended, reaching towards the little girl as if intending to tear her apart.
But suddenly, before the hands could touch the little girl, a large black hole opened up in the sky. From this hole, a brown giant bear, the size of a mountain and radiating flames, leaped out.
"Tiberius!"
The little girl in the red dress cried out with delight, her hands and feet dancing, her expression and actions truly like a playful, unrestrained neighborhood child.
However, whether it was Duan Qingcheng, controlled by the demon god, or the other domain lords, and even Yaohuo, looking at the great bear she summoned, they all felt a faint sense of fear.
"Boom!"
Duan Qingcheng's tearing hands were crushed by the bear's sit, and then the brown giant bear, covered in flames, swung a paw.
The demon god, unable to evade, could only raise his hands again, intending to tear the bear in front of him apart.
If he couldn't tear it apart, he could at least move it away. As long as it didn't block his path.
But this time, the demon god felt powerless.
Unlike the fireball, this summoned bear was alive. A great demon at the peak of the fifth stage, its immense size made it impossible for him to tear.
When using his tearing ability, his hands felt as if they were tied by ropes, completely immobilized!
"This is bad!"
And so, under the demon god's terrified gaze, Duan Qingcheng's body was swatted away by the bear.
Vilitan was also burned by the interspatial fire flowing from the brown bear, emitting a painful howl.
"Ah!!!"
A chilling scream echoed. The little girl in the red dress, upon hearing it, playfully stuck out her tongue.
"Why would you be scared?"
She giggled and jumped onto the brown bear's palm.
"I was just playing with you!"