Evan Yang examined the strange piece of wood, curiously touching it. Instantly, a dense surge of power was absorbed by his Heaven-Cold Seed. With that single touch, the tree withered on the spot, losing its original glossy black sheen.
"No way, that's too much..." Evan was shocked inside. He quickly withdrew his hand and stared at the withered tree, unsure what to do next. After all, this was someone else's territory—if anyone questioned him, wouldn't that just cause trouble for Lady Enchantress?
Just then, a sudden aura swept over him, and a person descended—a young woman with purple-black eyebrows, long black hair, a petite waist, and wielding a three-pronged trident. She glared angrily at Evan from behind the withered tree. "Who are you? How dare you destroy the trees here!"
"Sorry, I just touched it by accident and it turned out like this," Evan explained awkwardly.
"Touched it by accident? Are you kidding me? Even a Demon Sovereign couldn't make this happen with just a touch. Be honest—who are you really!" the woman demanded, glaring at him.
"I truly didn't mean to. Please forgive me, miss," Evan said.
"Useless excuses! You're just a worthless man. I'm going to kill you!" With that, the woman hurled her trident at him at incredible speed. Evan dodged, and the trident pierced another tree behind him, instantly splitting it in two.
The woman jumped in anger. "You—you ruined another one!"
"What? That was clearly your doing," Evan said, frustrated.
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have hit it! Damn it, I'm going to make you pay for these two trees—with your life!" the woman shouted angrily.
Evan was helpless against this woman. If he weren't unusually strong, he'd have been killed by her already—her power was overwhelming. She wasn't a Demon Sovereign yet, but easily stronger than most Demon Emperors.
The two continued—one attacking, one dodging—unintentionally damaging dozens of trees around them. Finally, the woman exploded in anger. "You—you—I'm so mad! I'm going to kill you!"
With that, the woman released a barrier, enveloping Evan inside. Flames erupted within the barrier, as if trying to burn him alive—but for Evan, it barely had any effect. He felt almost comfortable inside.
Unaware of the situation, the woman sneered from outside the barrier. "Kid, you're dead for sure. I don't believe you can't be burned to death."
"To be honest, your flames aren't hot enough to hurt me," Evan said.
"What? Damn it! Fine, let me show you what real fire is." Furious at Evan's dismissive attitude, the woman instantly changed the flames' color—all around him, black flames erupted.
It was Evan's first time seeing black flames, and he was surprised. Not only was the temperature much higher, but the black flames could invade the body—and even affected the surrounding trees.
Just then, a gust of wind blew in, shattering the barrier. Two people appeared. The woman was about to curse whoever broke her formation, but Lady Enchantress called out, "Sara Sang, stop!"
"Aunt," the woman said, looking at Lady Enchantress.
Standing beside Lady Enchantress was a man, who looked Evan up and down.
"Sara Sang, what happened here?" The man glanced at Evan, then at the surroundings. Sara Sang snapped back to attention and hurriedly explained, "Master, he—he destroyed the trees here."
"What? You did this to my trees?" The man stared at Evan, clearly angry. These trees had been painstakingly cultivated, and now so many were dead.
In truth, Sara Sang knew Evan had only ruined one tree—the rest were her doing. Still, she kept blaming Evan. Lady Enchantress, knowing the man's strict temperament, also thought Evan had gone too far. She asked, "Evan Yang, what happened here?"
Evan looked at Sara Sang, then helplessly explained everything to Lady Enchantress and the man. As he spoke, Sara's voice grew quieter. When Evan finished, both the man and Lady Enchantress stared at Sara Sang. Finally, Lady Enchantress said, "He didn't know how important these trees were and accidentally ruined one—understandable. But what about you?"
"Aunt, I..." Sara Sang muttered, frustrated.
"Go back. Face the Demon-Tree Cavern. Without my permission, you are not allowed to leave," the man said sternly.
"What? Master, don't send me there! It's so boring!" Sara Sang protested, shocked.
Evan knew this mess was because of him. He wasn't sure what the Demon-Tree Cavern was, but he spoke up, "Senior, this all happened because of me. If not for me, she wouldn't have acted this way. Please reconsider her punishment."
"I don't need your fake sympathy! Ugh, not burning you to death was my mistake," Sara Sang snapped, furious that Evan spoke up for her.
The man said, "This is a matter for my sect. As for you ruining my trees, that's no small mistake. You must also go to the Demon-Tree Cavern. Without my permission, I will not see you."
"Senior brother, can't you reconsider?" Lady Enchantress asked in surprise.
"No." With that, the man left. Lady Enchantress sighed at Evan. "Go on. I'll try to persuade him to see you both."
"What? You want him to go with me? That's even worse than going alone. I'm not going!" Sara Sang protested, furious.
Evan didn't know what the Demon-Tree Cavern was, but since he'd caused trouble, he had to deal with it. He decided to wait until the man's anger faded. As for Sara Sang, Evan knew she wasn't acting out of malice—she was simply a straightforward girl.
Seeing Sara Sang resist, Lady Enchantress said, "Didn't you say you wanted to defeat Evan Yang, the troublemaker in Demon Mountain? He's right here. Why not go to the Demon-Tree Cavern and spar with him? See if you can really beat him."
"What? He's Evan Yang?" Sara Sang was clearly shocked.
"That's right, it's him," Lady Enchantress replied.
Sara Sang glanced at Evan, then finally said, "Fine, I'll take him there."
"Evan Yang, go ahead. She'll lead you to the Demon-Tree Cavern," Lady Enchantress said.
Evan nodded, and Sara Sang led the way. Every few steps, she glanced back to make sure Evan wasn't running off, warning him, "Don't even think about escaping. If my master or aunt finds out, they'll cripple you. Besides, the outer barrier can't be breached by anyone except my master and aunt."
"Miss, this is all just a misunderstanding. There's no need to keep fighting. Now we're both being punished—why not chat inside? Injuring each other isn't much fun," Evan said.
"Who wants to chat with you? My goal is to defeat you. If I'd known you were Evan Yang, I would've used my real skills against you," Sara Sang said.
"Why do you insist on beating me?" Evan recalled Lady Enchantress's earlier words—Sara Sang seemed eager to challenge him from the start.
"Because I want to be the top expert under the Demon Sovereigns in the Devil Realm. But your reputation is too great—only by defeating you can I claim that spot," Sara Sang snorted.
Evan seemed to realize something and asked suspiciously, "Are you the Demon Witch everyone talks about?"
"That's right, kid. At least you know who I am," Sara Sang said, grinning when Evan recognized her.
"See? You look much better when you smile. Scowling and getting angry doesn't suit you." Evan wasn't bothered by the Demon Witch's challenge—instead, he teased her. Sara Sang, thinking Evan was mocking her, snapped, "You—you scoundrel!"
"How am I a scoundrel? Everyone says I'm a nice guy," Evan replied with a smile.
"You!" Sara Sang was furious, but held back, deciding to teach Evan a lesson once they reached the Demon-Tree Cavern.
After her outburst, Sara Sang turned to a large tree hollow ahead and said, "If you have the guts, follow me."
Evan stared in awe at the giant tree before him—its trunk was massive and glossy black. He watched Sara Sang enter a tree hollow, so he followed. Inside, he found the passage went both up and down. Sara Sang said, "The Demon-Tree Cavern is below. If you dare, come on."
"Fine, I'm coming," Evan said, looking around curiously as he smiled.
He followed Sara Sang downward. Soon, they reached the base of the tree, where thick roots crisscrossed like roads.
After Evan entered, Sara Sang sneered, "Do you know why it's called the Demon-Tree Cavern?"
"Why?" Evan asked, genuinely curious.
"Look behind you at those paths," Sara Sang said, eager to see Evan's reaction.
Sure enough, Evan was startled—every path they'd walked had vanished, and only the way ahead remained. "Why is that?" he asked.
"That's the Demon-Tree Cavern—a giant maze. The paths disappear as you walk them. No matter how strong you are, you can't leave without my master's permission. The place is solid—nothing gets damaged. So I can torment you here all I want, and no one will know," Sara Sang said with a cold smile.
"Torment me? Well, you'd need the skill for that," Evan replied, resigned. This Demon Witch seemed obsessed with challenging him.
Whenever Evan implied she wasn't strong enough, Sara Sang grew furious. "Don't get cocky! I haven't used my full strength yet. Now I'll show you the Nether Demon Flame."
"Is that the black flame you used before?" Evan was genuinely interested in the fire, so he asked.
"That's right. My aunt dispersed it earlier, but now no one's protecting you. Who can help you?" Sara Sang thought her flame would work on Evan. If not for Lady Enchantress, Evan would have begged for mercy earlier. Now, feeling confident, she set up a barrier, and countless black flames appeared, surrounding Evan.