Chapter 137 World Fruit Let's go together and pull off a big heist, and then...
Zhong Jiuli said, "According to what I've heard, they seem to possess an extremely ancient teleportation array. The reason all the demon races have gathered together is to pool their strength and jointly activate that array to send their army to the Nine Provinces."
Bai's heart sank. He looked at the woman beside him. "If...if I hadn't come, what was your original plan? To blend in with them and sabotage that teleportation array?"
Zhong Jiuli did not answer, but her expression said it all.
The land of Kyushu cannot withstand the trampling of the demon army. If this cataclysmic disaster is destined to come, she hopes that it can buy enough time for the younger generation to grow.
This generation of young geniuses are all extraordinary; they are the future hope of Kyushu. If she could use her own strength to buy them a hundred years, allowing them to truly grow up and become powerful figures in their own right, then...
Perhaps only then will Kyushu have any hope of resisting or defeating this catastrophe.
Bai also took her hand, held it in his palm, and gently stroked it, feeling the warmth of his lover.
After a moment of silence, she spoke in a deep voice: "Zhong Jiuli, you must know that individual heroism is the most unacceptable thing. Unity is strength, and this is the core value we should believe in."
"The power of one person has its limits. Even someone as strong as you has times when you are powerless. But the power of millions of people combined is a truly invincible torrent."
Zhong Jiuli gazed at her intently, her eyes filled with endless love and longing. She said softly, "Now that you're here, of course I'll make sure you're safe."
"No, I don't need your protection." Bai shook his head. "Zhong Jiuli, I won't be a burden to you. Let's do something big together, and then retreat back to Kyushu."
“Me too!” Jiao Jiao also reached out her paws and shook hands with the two of them.
Little Fire also appeared in a flash, "Me too!"
"See? The four of us will definitely turn this Void Demon Realm upside down." Bai Ye smiled, revealing two sharp little tiger teeth, without the slightest fear in his eyes.
“Alright, let’s turn things upside down.” Zhong Jiuli laughed.
The cold and lonely little stone house became much warmer because of Bai Ye's arrival.
"Let's rest for a bit." Bai also pulled Zhong Jiuli to lie down on the bare stone bed.
They stopped discussing those heavy topics and instead chatted casually about their experiences after leaving.
This time the account was much more detailed, and Zhong Jiuli finally learned that after she left, the various sects couldn't wait to launch an attack on the Sanqing Sect.
"I really didn't expect this." Zhong Jiuli's voice was somewhat emotional. Perhaps she had been standing at a high position for too long and never thought that those people would be so impatient after she left.
Before they knew it, a night had passed. None of the four of them had any intention of going out. The city was full of powerful demons, so it was more comfortable to stay at home.
Bai also chatted with Zhong Jiuli every day, while adjusting his state, conserving his energy, and enjoying the last calm before the storm. Several days passed in the blink of an eye as he stayed at home.
Until this day, both of them were awakened by a low horn sound.
Bai had just woken up and was still a little confused. He rubbed his eyes and asked, "What happened? Was there a war?"
Zhong Jiuli explained, "This is the sound of the horn summoning the demon army; they should be setting off soon."
"Let's go then, we'll go too." Bai said as she got up, hid Jiao Jiao in her dantian space, and with a flash of light, she transformed back into the small, round-headed, all-black beast.
Zhong Jiuli looked at her like this, a smile flashed in her eyes, and she also transformed back into her strange bird-beast-human form.
The two exchanged a glance and both found the other's appearance somewhat amusing. Bai, in particular, also found the birdman amusing. After learning that the other person was Zhong Jiuli, she began to see the birdman as somewhat handsome.
"Don't laugh." Zhong Jiuli warned shyly, picked up Xiao Meiqiu, and pushed open the door to leave the stone house.
The city was in an uproar as countless demons poured out from all directions, converging in the direction from which the horn sounded.
Countless powerful demons gathered together, their black aura soaring into the sky, making the already gloomy sky even darker.
The two followed the horde of demons. The black city was enormous, and it took them more than an hour to walk there before they finally arrived at an exceptionally spacious square.
In the center of the square stands a black statue, with a divine bird that blots out the sky perched atop it.
However, this divine bird was shrouded in black mist, its eyes were pitch black, and on its back stood a blurry humanoid creature, which was also shrouded in black mist, and could only be vaguely seen to be human.
"Is Little Gold a phoenix? How did it become their mount here?" Bai asked in his heart.
"They are descendants of the phoenix." Xiao Jin seemed reluctant to say more, only answering this question.
"Xiao Jin, do you recognize it? Is it a creature from your era?" Bai couldn't help but ask.
She activated her Golden Eyes of Truth and peered into the depths of the Phoenix Divine Bird's sea of consciousness. "Its sea of consciousness is pitch black. Has it been completely controlled by the Shadow Demon? In that case... is there any hope?"
"Little tiger, immediately put away your supernatural powers. This is a fourteenth-order great demon. If it notices you spying on such a being, you'll be in big trouble," Xiao Jin warned sternly.
As soon as Xiao Jin finished speaking, the humanoid creature's gaze swept over. Even though the creature was shrouded in black energy, Bai still felt like he was being watched.
She was startled and quickly lowered her head, nestled in the birdman's arms, curled up into a small ball, and pretended that nothing had happened.
Zhong Jiuli raised her hand and gently combed the little coal ball's fur, meeting the gaze of the humanoid creature with complete composure.
The humanoid being shifted its gaze from them, then looked elsewhere, slowly scanning the entire area. Finding nothing amiss, it then spoke: "Our Emperor is about to awaken. Are you willing to follow me into the Nine Provinces, offering the blood and flesh of countless lives as sacrifices to welcome our Emperor's return?"
"I'm willing to go! I'm willing to go! I'm willing to go!"
The shouts were deafening, and the pervasive murderous aura sent chills down people's spines.
"Very good! Let's set off!" The humanoid being waved its hand, and the phoenix bird let out a long cry, spread its wings and soared into the sky, leading the countless demon army below, surging towards the outside of the city.
The army moved at an extremely fast speed. The humanoid creature's use of the power of the void was superb. The entire army was enveloped by spatial power, and it sped across this desolate and lifeless land.
Several days later, the army stopped on a plain.
This plain was no different from the wasteland seen along the way; it was also a dry land. The only difference was that a mountain peak stood here, a huge mountain peak that seemed to connect with heaven and earth.
Bai looked up at the giant mountain and found it increasingly strange. Why did the mountain look somewhat like... the crown of a tree?
A thought flashed through her mind: Could it be that the upper half of the broken World Tree had also been stolen by the Void Demon Clan as a trophy?
Zhong Jiuli also recognized what it was, and the shock in her eyes was no less than Bai Yeli's.
Bai also transmitted his voice to her, "Zhong Jiuli, do you think it's possible that the emperor they're talking about, who's about to awaken, is inside the remains of the World Tree?"
Zhong Jiuli pondered and said, "It's very likely. The World Tree itself is a near-immortal existence. Even if this World Tree is broken and loses its roots, the vitality inside it has not completely dissipated; it has simply fallen into a slumber."
"You know, there's a little tree inside me, right? Actually, it might be a newly born World Tree. I have an idea, what do you think?" Bai briefly explained her plan.
After listening, Zhong Jiuli hesitated for a moment. She was not afraid of the mission failing, but she did not want the little tiger to be in danger with her. However, if the mission failed and they died together, it might not be such a bad thing.
"Then let's give it a try!"
As the two plotted their scheme, another large shadow loomed over the horizon.
Bai looked up and gasped in shock. "Damn, how come there are so many Void Demon Clan members?"
On the dim sky, even larger dark clouds surged in from all directions, and in just a short while, the sky was already crowded with people and horses.
There were ten humanoid beings, each a fourteenth-tier great demon, gathered here with ten squads of people. Most importantly, each of these humanoid beings had a descendant of an ancient divine beast as their mount.
Bai also saw the legendary Golden-Winged Roc, Qilin, and other mythical beasts, and even more so, that extraordinary, magnificent creature with golden markings on its forehead and jet-black eyes...
White Tiger!
That was her bloodline, her ancestor! How could the White Tiger, a divine beast that commands slaughter and protects its territory, become the mount of these demons?
A deep sorrow and anger welled up from the depths of his blood, and Bai tried to blink back the tears that were about to spill from his eyes.
Zhong Jiuli raised her hand and covered her head, gently rubbing it to soothe her silently.
"I'm fine, don't comfort me. I'll find a way... to free them," Bai transmitted her voice. She didn't know what to call those divine beasts, so she just used "them." Now, those disgusting shadow demons were in control.
Neither of them spoke again, and they hid among the demon army, looking up at the sky with them.
Beneath the ruins of the World Tree, a vast army of demons from all sides gathered.
Ten humanoid beings, led by the one riding a phoenix, stood in ten different locations on the remains of the World Tree. They resembled ten ancient demon gods, exuding an extremely terrifying aura.
They attacked simultaneously, and a jet-black pillar of light, formed from the condensed demonic power of the void, shot into the sky and poured into the ancient, silent remains of the World Tree.
The moment the beam of light entered the tree, the remains of the World Tree seemed to come back to life. One by one, the huge, withered but not fallen leaves began to glow with a dim starlight.
A primal aura that transcended the river of time swept over them, causing all the great demons present to lower their heads.
Thousands of leaves lit up at the same time, and space began to distort wildly. A huge beam of light shot up from the treetop. At first, the beam of light was unstable, as if it would go out at any moment.
But as the ten humanoid beings continued to pour their demonic power into the pillar, the light began to stabilize. The blazing light pierced through the dark sky, broke through the solid boundary wall, and led to another distant realm.
Above the sky, the rift torn open by the beam of light grew larger and larger, eventually becoming an enormous void passage.
"The passage has been opened! All troops, heed my command! Enter the passage and trample the Nine Provinces!" The humanoid creature on the phoenix's back roared, its voice like thunder, reaching directly into the ears of all the demons.
"Roar!!! Flatten the Nine Provinces!! Flatten the Nine Provinces!"
Billions of demons roared simultaneously, their eyes flashing with bloodlust. Countless powerful demons soared into the air, transforming into black torrents that disappeared into the void passage.
Bai Ye and Zhong Jiuli quietly retreated, hiding behind the demon army, and waited until most of the void demons had entered the passage before they made their move.
"I'll go distract them," Zhong Jiuli said, and immediately took action.
With a flap of her wings, she soared into the sky, a large bow appearing in her palm. Her slender fingers drew the string, and the bow opened to a full moon.
"It's you! You killed countless of my followers. Last time you managed to escape by luck, but you still dare to show up!" The humanoid creature standing on the back of the Qilin shouted. Even though Zhong Jiuli was disguised, the bow and arrow looked extremely familiar to it.
With a flick of its wrist, it instantly conjured a black spear, which pierced through the void and arrived in front of Zhong Jiuli in an instant.
Zhong Jiuli swayed, dodging the attack without even bothering to glance at it. Her immortal power circulated within her, and ten silver arrows instantly materialized. She decisively released her grip.
"call out!"
Ten streaks of silver light descended like stars and the moon, ignoring all defenses and instantly striking the ten humanoid beings.
"Ah, I'll kill you!" The humanoid creature on the Qilin's back roared after being shot by an arrow.
"Outrageous! Stop her, at all costs!" the humanoid creature on the phoenix's back roared.
The arrows of law pierced through ten demon emperors, causing their auras to weaken for a moment, and the passage immediately began to shake.
Upon receiving the order, some of the demon generals who remained behind took to the air and pounced on Zhong Jiuli.
A fierce battle erupted in the sky above the plains, where a five-colored bird-man, with astonishing fighting power, single-handedly fought against countless powerful demons.
In the midst of the chaotic battle, no demon noticed that below, a small, round, black beast was running on all fours, leaving a trail of afterimages.
Bai was like a black lightning bolt, flashing and dodging wildly in the chaotic battlefield. She ran towards the huge remains of the World Tree at almost the fastest speed she had ever used.
While running, she did not forget to circulate the Great Creation Scripture, using the creative energy that nurtures all things and evolves the heavens to inject into the remains of the World Tree, and began to forcibly purify and dispel the darkness that had entangled her for countless ages.
"Little Green, it's up to you now."
Bai also let out a low shout, and the small green in his dantian transformed into a beam of green light, which plunged straight into the remains of the World Tree.
"Buzz!"
A green light burst forth, and the remains of the World Tree emitted a dazzling, almost blinding, emerald-green divine light. This light seemed to carry a variety of emotions, including joy, sorrow, and anger.
This emotion was like a volcano that had been suppressed for millions of years suddenly erupting, a vast divine power far stronger than the combined might of the ten humanoid beings, gushing out from the tree.
The passage, which required the combined efforts of ten humanoid beings to awaken, began to sway precariously.
"No, what's going on? Why is the World Tree suddenly rebelling?"
"How did its will awaken again?"
"Hold on, secure the passage first, the army is still inside."
The ten humanoid beings were terrified. They no longer cared about Zhong Jiuli and focused all their efforts on maintaining the passage.
Under the resistance of the World Tree's own will, the passage that was maintained by violence became as fragile as paper.
"Crack!" A crisp sound of shattering echoed throughout the heavens and earth.
The massive void passage began to crumble from its edges. Inside, the billions of demon soldiers charging forward were horrified to discover that the passage beneath their feet was cracking.
A violent spatial turbulence swept in, and even an army of billions was powerless to resist this most terrifying destructive force in the universe. Almost instantly, they were pulverized by this spatial turbulence, their very souls annihilated.
Outside, after discovering that the void passage had collapsed and the demon army could not be saved, the ten humanoid beings immediately turned their attention to Zhong Jiuli.
"Kill her first! I will tear her to pieces and rip out her soul!" The humanoid creature on the back of the Qilin roared, and the Qilin beneath it also roared back, charging towards Zhong Jiuli with the force of collapsing mountains and splitting the sky.
"With your blood, sacrifice my people!" The humanoid creature on the phoenix's back cried out hoarsely. The Void Demon Clan had never suffered such a great loss in all their ages; today was the first time.
At this moment, the ten humanoid beings and all the demon generals who remained behind attacked simultaneously, unleashing countless attacks powerful enough to cause stars to fall and mountains to collapse, completely engulfing the area where Zhong Jiuli was located.
Faced with the combined attack of these great demons, the five-colored bird-woman remained calm, raising her delicate hand to create a time-freezing barrier in front of her.
The moment each attack approached, they all froze in place. Although the freeze lasted for less than a fraction of a second, that little bit of time was enough for Zhong Jiuli to escape from this destructive space.
To the other powerful demons, this scene looked as if Zhong Jiuli had been blasted into dust.
The next second, Zhong Jiuli reappeared before the demons, completely unharmed.
"Little Green, hurry up! Zhong Jiuli can't withstand the attack of so many powerful demons." Bai also slapped the roots of the World Tree's remains.
She didn't rush forward impulsively, as that would only distract Zhong Jiuli from protecting her and serve no other purpose. In a battle at the level of a Demon Emperor, even the aftershocks of the battle would severely injure her.
"Coming, coming!" Little Green's voice came from the heart of the tree. Her voice carried a strange Taoist charm, as if it were resonating with heaven and earth.
The remains of the World Tree, which had just awakened and was radiating endless divine light, truly demonstrated its supreme power as the foundation of antiquity.
The massive tree canopy swayed gently, its movement triggering countless laws of this world. Countless chains of law emerged from the void, forming a vast net that blocked a deadly attack in front of Zhong Jiuli.
"Boom!"
Various attacks landed on the large net, and the burst of light illuminated this dark world.
The counterattack begins in the next moment!
The vast net was unfurled, and the myriad chains of laws transformed into an ancient divine whip, sweeping towards the demon army with boundless rage and killing intent.
"Pfft!" A humanoid creature was pierced through, and the Bifang divine bird it rode on was also chained together by the laws, like a string of candied hawthorns. The life essence and cultivation of their bodies were forcibly extracted and used to nourish the World Tree itself.
"No! Help me!"
Another humanoid creature, already injured, along with its mount Suanni, was swept across the waist by a green whip shadow that swept across, instantly severing it in two. The remaining body withered rapidly under the erosion of the power of the law.
Even more humanoid beings that attempted to tear through the void to escape were entangled by countless slender branches as soon as they stepped into the void, and were forcibly pulled out of the void, their bodies and souls destroyed.
Working together with the remains of the World Tree, Little Green displayed unparalleled dominance at this moment.
The ten humanoid beings and their mounts were mostly killed in a short time, and the rest were all wounded. The remaining demon army suffered heavy casualties and was almost completely wiped out.
All the life essence plundered flowed into the core of the World Tree, where a World Fruit was hidden very deep.
In the midst of the chaos, a thin green light detached from the remains of the World Tree and transformed back into Little Green's original branch. Having gone through this ordeal, her aura grew even stronger and more ancient, and she seemed to have acquired a resemblance to the World Tree itself.
A strange fruit, about the size of a fist, wrapped in chaotic energy and the laws of heaven and earth, was entwined on Xiao Lü's branch. She rushed into Bai Ye's body along with the fruit.
"You stinky tiger, hurry up, it's about to wake up."
Almost the instant Bai heard the words, he flashed to Zhong Jiuli's side. Without exchanging words, the two simultaneously increased their speed to the limit and fled into the distance.
The moment they set off.
"Thump!"
A deep, resounding heartbeat, as if from the ancient wilderness, struck the hearts of everyone present.
This world seemed to freeze in time, as an indescribable, incomprehensible, and irresistible powerful will awakened from the deepest part of the World Tree's remains.
"boom!"
A colossal hand, seemingly formed from the laws of nature, emerged from within the World Tree and pressed down in the direction in which Bai Ye and Zhong Jiuli had fled.
"puff!"
Even though the two had already fled thousands of miles away, at the moment the giant hand pressed down, they were still as if struck by a star. They coughed up blood, their bones broke, and they fell from the sky, crashing straight into the depths of the earth, leaving behind a bottomless crater.
Even across thousands of miles, the Demon Emperor's power remains terrifying.
"Your Majesty, you have awakened!!!"
"Greetings, Your Majesty! We warmly welcome Your Majesty's return!"
The few remaining humanoid beings and some demon generals knelt down and kowtowed towards the remnants of the World Tree.
"waste!"
"You ants from all over the land have actually managed to find your way to this place and disturb my slumber! You deserve to die!"
A cold shout, carrying immense divine might, descended, causing all the demon generals present to kneel on the ground, trembling all over.
Another giant hand of law appeared in the sky and slammed down on the remains of the World Tree.
"Boom!"
The remains of the World Tree were as fragile as dry, rotten wood under the Demon Emperor's massive hand. Countless withered branches and leaves crashed to the ground, stirring up clouds of dust.
This scene astonished all the demons. The World Tree was extremely tough and could not be shaken even by a demon king. Yet, it was reduced to dust by the Demon Emperor's attack.
Amidst the billowing dust, an enormous figure strode out. It was a giant ape, entirely black, seemingly capable of supporting the heavens, with three heads and six arms.
Its appearance was extremely old, its face was covered with wrinkles, and even its fur, which should have been black and shiny, had become somewhat dull and grayish-white due to the erosion of time.
Below, the humanoid beings and demon generals kneeling on the ground quickly noticed the anomaly.
"Your Majesty's aura... seems to have not fully recovered to its peak? Could it be that the long slumber has failed to heal the injuries?" A humanoid being communicated with its companion through divine sense.
"snort!"
A cold snort, like muffled thunder, resounded above the heads of the demons.
"It seems I have been asleep for far too long, long enough that even you ants dare to transmit your thoughts to me in my presence?"
The black giant ape casually raised a finger and gently pressed it towards the location of the humanoid being who had just transmitted the message.
"puff!"
That powerful demon emperor-level being, who could rival Zhong Jiuli, was thus eliminated.
This seemingly casual strike sent shivers down the spines of all the demons present, who lowered their heads in terror. Even though this Demon Emperor had fallen from his original realm to a mere half-step Demon Emperor, he was still someone they could not contend with.
The black giant ape glanced at them indifferently, no longer paying attention to these trivial matters. Its divine sense reached out, and in that instant, the entire Void Demon Realm came into view.
Thousands of miles away, two figures who had just climbed out of the pit and were fleeing at high speed were locked onto by the black giant ape.
"Seize them and bring them back; they have stolen my World Fruit."
"We obey Your Majesty's decree!" The remaining demon generals soared into the sky and chased after the distant figure.
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Author's Note: My cat fed a stray cat, and now it's been sticking to me... Even after it's full, it comes to me for affection and chases me around. Why is that? (My cat is allergic to fur and can't touch anything with fur.)
It's already full, why doesn't it go out and wander? [Chin resting on hand][Chin resting on hand][Chin resting on hand]
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