Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

  Clang!

  However, something flashed suddenly.

  “What’s this……”

  She sounded scared.

  Because Ji Ye had thrown a trident with black flames at her.

  The formidable power immediately tore the floating ghost face and jabbed into the trunk of the tree.

  It was the Superior Retribution Fire Trident Ji Ye obtained after killing the yaksha king yesterday. Its Transcendent power was that it would light up the sin of its target, and the more lives the target had taken, the more lethal the fire.

  Hum!

  Immediately, black flames covered the big tree in Lanruo Temple, and the heat had contorted the air.

  The souls of female ghosts, Yellow Turban Army soldiers, and normal human beings were screaming in the fire.

  “It’s the fire of retribution!”

  Granny Tree Demon’s voice was filled with terror and despair.

  Obviously, the fire was her natural enemy.

  The fire of retribution fed on sins, and Granny Tree Demon had set up illusions in Lanruo Temple and controlled female ghosts to drain men’s energy. One could only imagine how many people she had killed.

  Although Monk Bai Yun was still trapped inside the tree, according to Shi Fang, Bai Yun had the Unbreakable Golden Body, and trapping him was the only thing the Tree Demon could do.

  Moreover, Buddhist techniques made their practitioners resilient to such fire, so Ji Ye wasn’t concerned at all!

  “Old Demon Black Mountain, avenge me!”

  Granny Tree Demon had no ability to withstand the fire, and her soul was going to burn away.

  Just then, a black branch suddenly fell off and turned into a sparrow-sized, red-eyed crow. It then flapped its wings and flew into the sky!

  “No, she’s going to send a message to Old Demon Black Mountain!”

  Some distance away, Wuxin’s face paled when he saw this through a telescope.

  He was telepathic and could read its target’s mind.

  But the Thousand-Year Tree Demon was a Transcendent being and was beyond the range of his talent. He couldn’t see this coming.

  Moreover, what Granny Tree Demon did was unexpected.

  Because Dragon City knew that they were going to kill a Thousand-Year Tree Demon, they had secured the surrounding areas, making sure that she wouldn’t escape through underground.

  They never thought that, instead of escaping above ground, she chose to send a message to Old Demon Black Mountain through the air.

  From what they saw in the Battlefield of Providence, Old Demon Black Mountain was definitely more capable than the Thousand-Year Tree Demon. He might be Transcendent Rank 2!

  Ji Ye was very capable now, probably a top Transcendent Rank 1 fighter already.

  But he wasn’t so sure about fighting a Transcendent Rank 2. After all, the difference between the ranks in the Transcendent level was even bigger than that of the Extraordinary level.

  If Black Mountain really came here, even if Dragon City could manage to retreat, most of the people in Guobei County would probably be killed.

  They contained Souls of Civilization, natives that they could take in as settlement members.

  “Stop it!”

  \r \r \r

  “I can’t! It’s moving too fast!”

  The crow flew faster than Zhiqiu’s sword.

  In a matter of seconds, it was several miles away and pounced into a black cloud that was moving toward them.

  Immediately, it was nowhere to be seen.

  “Where do you think you’re going?!”

  The next second, the black cloud rolled and turned into a black eagle.

  With a squeeze of its claw, the small crow lost its black smoke and turned back to a section of black branch.

  “Master Ji!”

  Immediately after that, the black eagle landed in Lanruo Temple, turned into a black fan, and Qiao Daoqing appeared.

  He also came here to Guobei County, but Ji Ye had arranged for him to backtrace Li Dayan and find out how Black Mountain was doing.

  He had just finished the task and gotten back.

  “What a coincidence! Just in time to stop that messenger!”

  Qiao Daoqing handed the branch to Ji Ye.

  [Crow Messenger]

  [Level: Special]

  [Rarity: Refined]

  [Description: A special communication equipment made from Black Blood Crow’s soul by Granny Tree Demon. It can move extremely fast and can send messages to the netherworld. This one was sent specifically to Old Demon Black Mountain.]

  This would be a useful item to keep.

  Restrained by the terrain, Dragon City couldn’t communicate further than 10km.

  According to Qiao Daoqing, Black Mountain was tens of kilometers away, but this messenger bird could still get there in no time.

  If Ji Ye could figure out a way to replicate this method, it would make up for their shortage in long-distance communication.

  “Old Demon Black Mountain…… Avenge me!”

  Over on the other end, the Thousand-Year Tree Demon’s soul was burning fiercely. She had no idea that her message had been stopped by Qiao Daoqing.

  She was still screaming when the fire of attribution burned her to the ground.

  [“You’ve killed the Thousand-Year Tree Demon (Transcendent Rank-1, Commander. EXP gained: 9,038. Honor gained: 820. Rare Honor earned: 54!”]

  With the death of Granny Tree Demon, a few shiny rewards appeared as well.

  For instance, they removed a black whip from Bai Yun after they rescued him.

  [Hundred Ghost Whip]

  [Level: Transcendent Rank-1]

  [Rarity: Excellent Offering]

  [Description: A whip with the ability to damage one’s soul. When the Transcendent power was activated, it would elongate to increase its wrapping strength.]

  The whip was a fine treasure.

  In terms of its level, it was more advanced than Gongsun Sheng’s Dragon Beard Rope.

  Even Monk Bai Yun, who was at the Transcendent level and had an Unbreakable Golden Body, wasn’t able to fight back when he was tied up by the whip.

  Once one’s mental power reached Transcendent, something changed.

  They were now able to directly use offerings that were used for sacrificial rituals only.

  But to Ji Ye’s disappointment, there was no Soul of Civilization, which he had expected, in the rewards.

  Maybe because the Tree Demon wasn’t a hero and the rules of the Land of Inheritance deemed it, as well as the Yellow Turban Army soldiers she had killed, villains.

  Luckily, it dropped a ball of silver light.

  [Demon Duplication]

  [Rarity: Transcendent]

  [Rarity: Excellent]

  [Description: A Transcendent technique created by the Thousand-Year Tree Demon. She could use any section of her body and turn it into a “replica”, which could move freely within a certain range.]

  This was the only Transcendent technique Ji Ye had acquired.

  Moreover, this duplication technique seemed very powerful.

  The technique allowed the demon to change a section of her body into a duplication of herself. It was very useful in battles as well as when she tried to flee.

  It meant that unless one destroyed the entire tree, there was no way to kill the Tree Demon.

  But it would be very difficult.

  Granny Tree Demon’s “body” covered half of the Lanruo Temple, and its roots filled the space underground.

  Even with a nuclear bomb, the tree might not be able to be completely destroyed.

  Obviously, that was why Yan Chixia could only reduce her cultivation level by a few hundred years back then and wasn’t able to kill her.

  Back then in the Battlefield of Providence, because the Tree Demon was reduced to Extraordinary Rank 4, she lost this Transcendent ability, making it possible for him to devour her soul with the Totem Wolf Skin.

  The Tree Demon ran into the Retribution Fire Trident this time, which Ji Ye had just obtained from the yaksha king.

  The fire of retribution could burn souls, but unlike the Totem Wolf Skin, it could also trace the enemy.

  Even if the Tree Demon could divide herself into a million pieces, she still wouldn’t get away from the fire.

  “But that trunk is still usable……”

  Although the tree trunk had gone lackluster after Granny Tree Demon’s soul was destroyed, the tree was still alive.

  The fire of retribution burnt souls, not bodies.

  Therefore, the tree that was equivalent to a Transcendent body remained. It was the original form of a thousand-year-old demon, and it was an advanced material for refining weapons and medicines.

  More importantly, there was a Mutated Blood Soul Tree Demon in Dragon City, and it grew from a seed created in the Battlefield of Providence. Theoretically, that tree would be able to control the Thousand-Year Tree Demon, just like how Li Yuanba could control the demon body, exerting a Transcendent-level combat capability.

  “If that can happen, even if I go back to Dragon City, Guobei County’s defense would still hold.

  “Li Qing has gone invisible and is keeping an eye on the yaksha settlement. If they make a move, we’ll have time to react. Commander Qiao has stopped the message, so our only possible enemy now is the Yellow Turban Army……” Ji Ye said softly.

  “Master Ji, there’s no need to worry!

  “The Yellow Turban Army won’t have the energy to mess with Guobei County any time soon!”

  Qiao Daoqing fanned his illusionary fan and smiled.

  “I followed the track Li Dayan told me and indeed found a lot of Yellow Turban Army soldiers—about 20,000 of them.

  “Moreover, on the Black Mountain they stationed, there was a place with dense Yin energy that was transformed from an ancient battlefield. There were tens of thousands of ghost soldiers there, and it looked a lot like the den of the Old Demon Black Mountain you’ve mentioned.

  “So I played along. I turned into a Yellow Turban Army soldier, broke in, and killed over a dozen ghost soldiers. Right now, the Yellow Turban Army is busy fighting Old Demon Black Mountain and can’t spare any troops. Moreover, all the scouts are dead. Guobei County will be safe for the time being.

  “Master Ji, you can go back to the city for your breakthrough!”

  Qiao Daoqing looked as confident as when he tricked Tian Hu.

  He was indeed a great counselor. With a simple trick, the two enemies of Dragon City were fighting against each other.

  “Good. I’ll leave you and Wuxin in charge of setting up the sub-settlement.”

  Ji Ye nodded.