After Evan Chu dove underground, he found the soil choked with tree roots, making movement nearly impossible. Every root was massive—the smallest one before him would take several people joining hands just to encircle it.
And this was just a tiny part of the Millennial Tree Fiend’s root system. Who knows how huge the main root is? Luna, the Sword Spirit, actually told him to destroy its roots—it’s as hard as digging out a mountain bare-handed.
Evan gathered Chaos Force within his body and slashed a root before him with the Frostbane Sword. The blade struck solidly, producing a deafening crash and sending sparks flying.
The massive recoil nearly made Evan lose his grip on the Frostbane Sword. With his current defensive power, the fact that he almost couldn’t hold onto the hilt was honestly unbelievable.
Evan’s heart jolted in shock—the Millennial Tree Fiend’s defense was insane. Focusing his gaze, he saw that his last strike had left only a shallow mark on the root.
“Luna, what now? I really don’t think I have any way to deal with this thing. Even if I burn through all my Chaos Force, I’d barely be able to cut a few roots!” Evan blurted out to the Sword Spirit.
(Author’s note: Another chapter will be updated tonight—currently building up the stockpile.)
“The defense of this ancient tree really is monstrous—and this is still its weakest point. If you tried to kill it from above, you’d be even more helpless. Forget about that giant trunk and its overwhelming attacks—even if you kept hammering it with martial arts, you’d need ten years at least to make a dent,” the Sword Spirit said.
“So what do I do? I can’t just sit here and wait to die—is there any practical solution?” Evan asked urgently.
“Everyone has a weak point, no matter how strong they are—that’s a law of nature. The Millennial Tree Fiend is no exception. If you find its weakness, you might be able to kill it. But its body is so huge that finding that weak point is extremely difficult,” the Sword Spirit replied.
Just as Evan was about to speak, that ancient voice rang out again: “Kid, I didn’t expect you could even burrow into the earth. Do you really think you can destroy my roots? I’ll tell you now—it’s impossible. Down here, you’re just throwing yourself into my net. Let me show you what real power is.”
As soon as the voice faded, Evan saw the surrounding roots start to move. Two of them stretched rapidly toward his position.
“No way, it can even do this?” Evan blurted out in shock.
Underground, the soil was packed with the Millennial Tree Fiend’s roots—dodging was nearly impossible. The only thing Evan could do was fully merge his body into the earth element, making it so the fiend couldn’t sense him at all.
Evan immediately suppressed his aura, cloaked himself in dense earth element, and slowly melted into the soil. It looked simple, but was actually incredibly risky—if the Millennial Tree Fiend sensed him, he’d be a turtle in a jar, with no hope of escape.
Maybe luck was on Evan’s side. Once he fully merged into the soil, he found the roots stretching toward him stopped two meters away.
It was as if the roots lost their target, not knowing which way to go. Seeing this, Evan gave a bitter laugh: “That was close. The Millennial Tree Fiend really is terrifying. No wonder so few beasts ever leave this place alive—facing something this huge, with no Stellar Power, even the strongest would get slaughtered.”
Evan stayed still; the Millennial Tree Fiend didn’t move either. The standoff continued. After a while, Evan decided to leave and look for the fiend’s weak point.
But as soon as he shifted position, the fiend’s roots seemed to sense something—they started moving again, blindly groping around. A few times they brushed right past Evan, sending cold sweat down his back.
If those roots ever caught him, Evan knew escape would be nearly impossible. Their defense was just too strong—even using Fireshift wouldn’t let him break free instantly. If the rest of the fiend’s roots swarmed over and wrapped him up like a zongzi, no matter how strong he was, he’d be finished. It felt just as dangerous underground as on the surface.
“Kid, you can’t escape. I didn’t expect you could merge into the soil, but now I know exactly where you are. This time, just wait for death!” The Millennial Tree Fiend’s ancient laughter echoed.
Evan wasn’t sure if the Millennial Tree Fiend had really found him. Maybe it was just bluffing to make him expose himself. If so, its intelligence was frighteningly high. But if it had truly pinpointed his position, he’d need to be ready to run.
Right as the fiend’s voice faded, Evan saw all the roots in the soil stretching toward him, as if he’d really been discovered. His heart skipped a beat in alarm.
“Evan, stay calm! The roots can’t actually sense you—it’s just a trick. You need to lie low for a few more hours, let the Millennial Tree Fiend think you’ve escaped and lower its guard. Only then will you have a chance to find its weak point. If I’m right, its weakness is on the main root,” the Sword Spirit said.
Taking Luna’s advice, Evan stayed perfectly still, hiding himself completely. He knew he couldn’t move for a while, so he shifted his focus and began studying the final form of the Demon-Breaking Fist.
He quickly pulled out the martial arts manual from his storage ring—reading underground for the first time ever. To his surprise, there was no resistance at all, just like being on the surface. He wondered about it, but didn’t have time to dwell.
Soon, the key points of the seventh form of Demon-Breaking Fist appeared in his mind, and he started rehearsing it mentally. With his current cultivation, practicing the move felt almost effortless.
Combining insights from the sixth form, he quickly mastered the seventh. Its attack power was truly earth-shattering—Evan felt a strong urge to test it out.
Time passed. After fully comprehending the seventh form in his mind, several hours had gone by.
Checking the surrounding roots, Evan saw they were completely still. He knew it was finally time to hunt for the Millennial Tree Fiend’s weak point, so he began to move slowly.
This time, he found the roots didn’t react at all, so he crept toward the direction of the fiend’s main root…