Absolute Cleave cut through everything in its path, combining with the explosive fire-element particles in the air to unleash a terrifying assault on the Treant.
"His wind-blade barrier is broken, use Absolute Cleave now!"
The fake Princess Serena Hua’s eyes lit up as she quickly called out.
She knew that Evan Lin had come to this forbidden land to search for Ghostshade Herb. Now, as long as Evan killed the Treant and absorbed its pure wood-element energy to break through to the fourth layer of Woodshift, he would find Ghostshade Herb in the shortest possible time.
Once Evan Lin obtained Ghostshade Herb, he would definitely leave this place. As long as she followed in his footsteps, she could return to the God Realm and then have countless ways to find an entrance to the Demonic Realm.
Seeing the Treant abandon its wind-blade barrier under the interference of divine fire, Evan Lin shook the Frostbane Divine Sword in his hand, unleashing Absolute Cleave right after.
Boom!
Under the powerful attack, the Treant's branches and tentacles were instantly pulverized into dust. Whoosh—a streak of green light shot out from the main trunk.
"That's pure wood-element energy!" Evan Lin’s face lit up with joy as he quickly flew forward, preparing to finish off the Treant completely.
"Chaos Arm!"
Chaos Divine Power surged through his right arm as Evan Lin threw a fierce punch, completely destroying the last remaining branches and trunk. The now-sentient wood-element energy quickly detached from the main trunk, trying to flee.
"Where do you think you're going? So this Treant actually has intelligence, and this wood-element energy is even purer than I expected!"
"No, please, I beg you—spare me..."
The green light was gripped tightly in Evan Lin’s hand as it began to plead for mercy with divine sense. He had absorbed countless wood-element crystals before, but had never seen anything so miraculous. Sensing the terrifying energy contained within, Evan knew that breaking through to the fourth layer of Woodshift was now only a matter of time.
"Don’t wait—if you drag this out, the wood-element energy will slowly dissipate. Absorb it now, I’ll stand guard for you!"
Evan Lin glanced at the fake Princess Serena Hua, feeling uncertain. Although she had helped him obtain the wood-element spirit just now, he still couldn’t shake his wariness.
The appearance of this Princess Serena Hua was just too suspicious—he had to stay on guard.
"Young Master!"
"Lin!"
Just as Evan Lin was hesitating, two massive figures rushed over from behind. Evan looked and saw it was Silver Dragon and the Sea Dragon Hall Master.
"What are you two doing here?"
"Young Master, we just heard a huge tremor and thought you might be in trouble. Looks like we worried for nothing."
"I did run into some trouble, but I've already handled it—and got quite a harvest too."
You came at the perfect time. I'm about to absorb the wood-element spirit—guard me, both of you. If anyone tries to approach, kill them without mercy!
As Evan Lin spoke, he glanced at the fake Princess Serena Hua, making it clear he still didn't trust her. If she made any wrong move, the Sea Dragon Hall Master and Silver Dragon would deal with her.
Silver Dragon and the Sea Dragon Hall Master instantly understood what Evan meant. They immediately reverted to their true forms, coiling protectively around him, their eyes fierce as they watched the surroundings.
The fake Princess Serena Hua cursed inwardly. With these two insanely strong powerhouses present, she really didn’t dare act rashly.
Evan Lin gripped the wood-element spirit, ignoring its pleas for mercy and began absorbing it directly.
Torrents of wood-element energy flooded in, making Evan’s face change color. The sheer force of the energy caught him off guard; his face flushed red and it took him a while to steady himself.
But that only made him more delighted. With energy this powerful, breaking through to the fourth layer of Woodshift was absolutely guaranteed!
After a long while, Evan Lin emerged from his cultivation. Just as he expected, Woodshift had successfully advanced to the fourth layer—and even a bit beyond, surpassing what he’d anticipated.
On top of that, Evan was pleasantly surprised: after absorbing the wood-element spirit, he gained some of the Treant's memories. Although the spirit’s intelligence was still weak, the fragments included information about where Ghostshade Herb grows.
"Did you succeed?" the fake Princess Serena Hua asked.
"What do you think?" Evan Lin didn’t answer directly, just gave a mysterious smile. Then he turned to Silver Dragon and the Sea Dragon Hall Master and said,
"You two stay here and look after her. She’s a friend of mine—don’t let anything happen to her. I’m heading to the deepest part of this place; I’ve found something."
"Young Master, will it be dangerous? Should I go with you?"
"No need. You and the Sea Dragon Hall Master stay here."
Evan insisted, so Silver Dragon and the Sea Dragon Hall Master could only follow his decision.
From the memory fragments he’d absorbed, Evan deduced that in the deepest part lay a Spiritwood Cave—a cavern at the root of a gigantic ancient tree whose age was impossible to estimate.
The Treant he’d just slain was the key to the giant tree’s survival, and now that Evan had absorbed the wood-element spirit, the tree itself would wither before long.
The ancient tree was highly spiritual—given enough wood-element energy, it could create other wood-attribute life forms, and Ghostshade Herb was one of them.
"There’s actually this much Ghostshade Herb—now Mina should be able to break her seal easily."
Without hesitation, Evan Lin began picking the Ghostshade Herb scattered on the ground. But the moment he touched it, the entire space started shaking violently.
"Not good! The Treant’s been killed, the wood-element spirit absorbed—this place is about to collapse!"
Evan never expected this to happen. He didn’t dare waste any time, hurriedly picked the Ghostshade Herb, and then raced outward as fast as he could.
If this place collapsed, even with his cultivation he wouldn’t escape unscathed, because this was the Sea Dragon Forbidden Land, protected by a barrier.
With the giant tree that supported the forbidden land’s space gone—thanks to the Treant and wood-element spirit being destroyed—the entire area would be wiped out. The barrier’s self-protection force would also try to bury the culprit who absorbed the wood-element spirit here forever.
"Silver Dragon, Hall Master—run!"
Evan shouted, then dashed out with them at top speed.
"That was terrifying! What in the world just happened?"
Silver Dragon glanced nervously back at the collapsed space—it was exactly where they’d just been.
Evan Lin shot a sharp look at the fake Princess Serena Hua. "What are you really after? Did you already know that absorbing the wood-element spirit would make the space collapse?"
"Huh? How would I know? I was just trying to help you break through to the fourth layer of Woodshift."
The fake Princess Serena Hua looked completely innocent, with no hint of a flaw, which only made Evan Lin more frustrated.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off—the fake Princess Serena Hua’s appearance and the collapse of the space couldn’t just be a coincidence.
"Serena, are you hiding something from me? Shouldn’t you give me an explanation after all this?"
Evan Lin said with a displeased expression.
(Updates should return to normal tomorrow!)