Staring at the Wood Spirit Pearl in his hand, Evan Chu's heart surged with excitement. Claiming this Spirit Pearl had been a brutal ordeal—he'd even burned his only chance to use Lion Spirit Fist at his current realm, and couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.
But Evan remembered that Shadow had said he could use Lion Spirit Fist again once he broke through to a higher cultivation realm. Still, Evan couldn't figure out why Luna, the Sword Spirit, wouldn't let Shadow absorb the green wood-element liquid from the energy source core.
Evan glanced over at Alex Xiao, the Violet Thunder Fox, who was still busy collecting Life Essence crystals. He didn't go to help—right now, escaping this collapsing domain as fast as possible was the only priority.
After absorbing the liquid from the energy source, Evan felt his nearly depleted Chaos Dragon Force come roaring back—and not just restored, but actually stronger than before. The wood-element essence was even more potent than the Stellar Power found in top-grade Starstones.
If he could keep absorbing for a while longer, he felt he might even break through to Second Layer Divine Martial Realm. But there just wasn't time to sit and cultivate right now.
He looked at the tree wall in front of him and immediately circulated his Chaos Dragon Force. Then, channeling both ice and fire elements into his fist, he unleashed the seventh form of Demon-Breaking Fist at lightning speed.
With a thunderous boom, Evan saw cracks spreading across the tree wall where he'd struck. Just as Luna, the Sword Spirit, had predicted: once the energy source core was destroyed, the Saint-level Millennial Tree Fiend—the ancient master of the Life-and-Death Grove—lost most of its monstrous defenses.
So Evan kept hammering away at the tree wall, each magical impact sending cultivation shockwaves echoing through the Life-and-Death Grove, startling the spirit beasts outside.
"Someone's fighting inside the Life-and-Death Grove. We should go check it out," said the Fox Hall Lord to the Bear Hall Lord.
"Sounds like whoever it is packs a serious punch. We'd better be careful!" said the Bear Hall Lord.
The two of them immediately flew into the Life-and-Death Grove. Heaven Ape, seeing them leave, quickly followed—he was worried about Evan Chu, knowing that running into those two could spell trouble.
If it were before, those two would have run for their lives the moment they saw him. But now, with only half his strength recovered, if it came down to a real fight, he could at best fight them to a draw. And since this was Bear Hall Lord's territory, he had no choice but to be extra cautious.
Soon, Evan blasted a huge hole in the Millennial Tree Fiend's tree wall, but the wall was so thick that even after pounding away for ages, he still hadn't broken through.
By now, the Millennial Tree Fiend didn't even have the strength to speak. Its only hope was that the intruder inside would run out of energy soon, so it could slowly recover and regain its vitality. After all, its roots were still intact, and it could still absorb energy from the earth and Stellar Power.
After collecting dozens of Life Essence crystals, the Violet Thunder Fox finally stopped. She'd gone for the biggest ones, but they were stuck tightly to the tree wall, making them tough to pull off.
Looking at the Life Essence in Alex's hands, Evan said, "Alex, take a break. Once your big brother smashes through this tree wall, we can get out of here."
"Careful, big bro. The space in here is clearly shrinking—we don't have much time left," Alex warned.
Evan took the Life Essence Alex had collected and stashed it in his storage ring, then swung his fist at the tree wall again.
By now, the Fox Hall Lord and Bear Hall Lord had arrived in front of the Millennial Tree Fiend. They were puzzled to see the giant ancient tree slowly shrinking—and every so often, huge shockwaves rumbled from inside.
"Someone's inside that big tree. Looks like they're trying to break out. Should we give them a hand?" Bear Hall Lord asked.
"With a tree this big, there's bound to be treasure inside. Everyone knows the Life-and-Death Grove has a Wood Spirit Pearl, and I bet that's exactly what that person is after. If they make it out, we should find a way to snatch it," said the Fox Hall Lord.
"If either of you so much as touch a hair on that person's head, I, Heaven Ape, won't hesitate to fight you to the death. You'd better drop that idea right now," came Heaven Ape's voice from behind them.
"Who are you trying to scare, Heaven Ape? You think you're still as strong as you used to be? I'm not afraid of you!" Bear Hall Lord snapped.
"Bear cub, want to test that out right now? If I wanted to take your head, I'm pretty sure I could manage it," Heaven Ape said, staring Bear Hall Lord down.
Bear Hall Lord trembled with rage at being called 'bear cub,' gritting his teeth. "Like hell I'm afraid of you!" he spat.
"Don't be reckless, Bear Brother. Heaven Ape clearly cares a lot about whoever's inside that tree—there's got to be a close connection. If we can capture that person, Heaven Ape will have no choice but to yield. Once the Western Beast King Hall loses Heaven Ape, that monkey won't be a threat, and the two of us could easily take over," Fox Hall Lord reasoned.
Bear Hall Lord considered it and realized Fox Hall Lord's analysis made sense. His anger eased, but he still sneered at Heaven Ape. "I'm in a good mood today, so I'll let you off. But if you provoke me again, the two of us won't hesitate to finish you off."
Heaven Ape was surprised at their sudden change in attitude, but quickly understood their intent. "If you think you can threaten me, you're sorely mistaken. I suggest you leave now—otherwise, when that person emerges, you may not even get the chance to run."
Bear Hall Lord was about to retort, but Fox Hall Lord stopped him. Angering Heaven Ape further would do no one any good.
"Keep it up, Evan! There's only half a meter left until you break through the tree wall—you're running out of time, so hurry!" Luna, the Sword Spirit, reminded him.
Evan threw himself into the task, unleashing dozens more punches. Most of his Chaos Dragon Force was depleted, but he could just make out glimpses of the outside through the cracks in the tree wall—victory was within reach.
He glanced around and saw there was still a little time left, so he hurriedly began absorbing the remaining green liquid.
The green liquid restored his Chaos Dragon Force even faster than top-grade Starstones—within moments, half his strength was back.
Meanwhile, Alex watched Evan anxiously. The space inside the tree was shrinking fast—if they didn't get out soon, the two of them really might be trapped forever.
But Evan stopped absorbing and moved to the hole he'd made in the tree wall. With a powerful punch, he finally broke through, opening a hole about a meter wide.
"Alex, let's go!" Evan called.
The two of them quickly escaped from the Millennial Tree Fiend's body, but Evan found a crowd waiting outside, all staring silently at him.
Suddenly, a figure darted toward Evan. He was still holding Alex in midair, and had to dodge quickly—just barely avoiding the attack.
Then Heaven Ape appeared in front of him. "You damned fox! How dare you attack him? I'll tear you apart right here..."