When Jiang Ruan stood beside Gu An, unafraid of the sparks, the other three people also came down.

Even if Hu Lai was forced into it, he had no other choice.

"Oh, you think you can intimidate us with just a few more people? That's wishful thinking. My Black Divine Wood is no ordinary thing. You bunch of petty scoundrels can only look up to it and never catch up to it in your entire lives."

Seeing that the Black Divine Tree had already displayed its power, the leader immediately became arrogant and stood fearlessly at the front of the group.

Jiang Ruan took a step forward, thought for a moment, and said, "Black Sacred Wood?"

Familiar memories were unlocked and surged forth.

Jiang Ruan remembered that the Black Sacred Wood belonged to Du Ning; it was a family heirloom that he never showed to anyone.

In his previous life, during a time of great peril, the Black Sacred Tree in his arms saved him, taking him away from the zombie vortex and to a safe place.

This black sacred wood doesn't seem to have any special effects on its own; it looks like just an ordinary piece of charcoal wood. But its magic lies in its attraction and deterrent effect on zombies.

What is an ordinary charcoal stick in the hands of an ordinary person can become a peerless treasure in the hands of a superhuman!

The stick began to radiate intense heat as it was gently rubbed between the superhuman's hands. When it sensed the unique aura of the zombie, it instantly expanded, transforming into a sky full of dazzling fireworks that incinerated everything in its path.

This raging fire was as powerful as the legendary Samadhi Fire, and ordinary drops of water could not extinguish it in the slightest.

To extinguish this fire, it is necessary to rely on water-based ability users to use their own power as a catalyst, causing their sweat to flow continuously, and then use the water-based ability—Raging Waves—to successfully suppress the fire.

Unfortunately, none of the four people present were water-based ability users.

Zhang Yang possesses both fire-based and poison-based superpowers.

Jiang Yan not only possesses divine power but is also a lightning-type ability user;

Gu An is somewhat special. Judging from the current situation, he seems to have mastered some kind of defensive magic like me, but he is a metal-type ability user, not a water-type one.

So what about Jiang Ruan herself?

She frowned slightly and fell into deep thought.

After a while, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she thought to herself, "Maybe it doesn't matter if it's not water-based! After all, the fact that this leader can control the Black Divine Tree means that it hasn't been subdued by anyone yet. If that's the case, then I have a chance to take it for myself."

Hehe, as long as I snatch it away and make it my own…

Thinking of this, Jiang Ruan couldn't help but reveal a sly smile, which grew even brighter, as if she could already see the dawn of victory.

At this moment, the leader, who had been closely watching their every move, was so frightened by Jiang Ruan's sudden change that he broke out in a cold sweat.

"Gu An..." Jiang Ruan called softly.

Gu An turned around and looked at Jiang Ruan with a puzzled expression.

“I have a great idea!” Jiang Ruan said, gesturing with her hands, her meaning quite clear.

"Oh, that's interesting. We can give it a try." Gu An's icy expression softened slightly when he saw Jiang Ruan, as he understood perfectly what she meant.

After all, he himself found the idea brilliant and had long harbored the desire to possess it.

When the two sides reached an agreement, Hu Lai, who was standing at the back, broke out in a cold sweat.

Hu Lai is a cunning and clever man who is good at observing changes in other people's facial expressions and demeanor.

He understood the deeper meaning simply through the undisguised exchange of glances between the two.

At that moment, only two words came to mind: "Bold!"

You must know, those are Phantom's subordinates! Since this Black Divine Tree can manifest and unleash powerful energy, there is no doubt that there must be a large number of zombies nearby.

As darkness falls, hordes of zombies will be quickly drawn to this place.

And since Phantom has the ability to control zombies, wouldn't they just be throwing their lives away in vain?

So, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Hu Lai suddenly leaped out of the crowd and shouted, "I admire Lord Phantom and regard him as the supreme being. Please don't kill me! I am a good person and am not like them."

His sudden movement caught Zhang Yang and Jiang Yan off guard. The two were supposed to be keeping an eye on him, but he still managed to escape and run straight towards the other side.

"Hey, you... are you out of your mind!" Zhang Yang's words disappeared in the howling wind, and Hu Lai, who was in a hurry to run away, did not hear them.

Jiang Ruan and Gu An were standing in front of him. They could have reached out and grabbed him, but surprisingly, they didn't.

Someone actually willingly acted as bait to die!

Clearly, these people are no good, so why bother stopping them?

Just then, Hu Lai ran up to the leader and whispered something to him, which instantly relaxed the ten people who had been on high alert and tense. They all looked at the four people in front of them with mocking smiles.

Not long after...

With a muffled "thud," a sharp, gleaming sword pierced through Hu Lai's chest, ripping out his stomach. As Hu Lai opened his mouth in terror and uttered his last question, his life came to an abrupt end.

After Hu Lai collapsed to the ground, the leader casually sprinkled some medicine on his corpse, then looked up at the Black Godwood with a joyful expression and burst into arrogant laughter.

"Hahahaha, of all times, you had to come at this crucial moment! It's better to arrive at the right time than early! I was just worried about not finding a suitable zombie host to control the Black Godwood, and you just delivered it right to my doorstep! Don't worry, I will remember this 'merit'!"

As they spoke, the leader performed a series of dazzling maneuvers, and Hu Lai's stiff body suddenly sprang up, clearly now an infected zombie.

The once lifeless and deathly silent Black God Tree seemed to suddenly smell the aura emanating from the zombies, and instantly burst forth with dazzling and mesmerizing light.

Countless dazzling fireworks rained down from the sky like a meteor shower, overwhelming everything below and leaving no room for escape.

Seeing this, Jiang Ruan and Gu An hurriedly used their respective defensive spells to try to block the fireworks from their encirclement.

However, this defense is not unlimited; it has a certain time limit, which undoubtedly serves as a stern warning to the four individuals.

They had to prepare as quickly as possible, because once the energy in the shield was depleted, it would disappear prematurely. At that point, even the most skillful dodging techniques would likely be insufficient to avoid the thousands upon thousands of sparks attacking them.

Their only fate is death!