The tiny bug buzzed something unintelligible, then vanished—disappearing as if it could cross space itself.
"So many powerful bugs—it's practically a gift from the Lord. By now, it should be shuttling through space and entering the Immortal Realm." The Cloaked Greenclaw laughed.
As for the swarms of bugs that had just flown out, they had already destroyed much of the surrounding space, naturally drawing the attention of the Demon-Beast Realm's spirit beasts and powerful demon lords.
They mobilized one after another, rushing toward the scene.
Meanwhile, in a forest within the Wood Temple's territory in the Immortal Realm, Lan Wind had just finished his first-round match and claimed victory. Now resting, he continued to familiarize himself with his body. Just as he closed his eyes for a moment, a tiny bug appeared beside him, flickering in and out of sight.
Lan Wind was startled when he saw the bug. He hadn't seen one of these in years, so its sudden reappearance was a shock. But he knew it was a communication tool sent from above to deliver a message.
The bug buzzed the message to Lan Wind. When Lan Wind received it, he exclaimed, "Lord Greenguard has already launched an assault on the Demon-Beast Realm?"
Hearing this, the bug buzzed again, transmitting what Lan Wind wanted to know. After listening, Lan Wind frowned and said, "One hundred thousand years—sounds long, but I can't guarantee anything. There are too many uncertainties in the Immortal Realm now, especially since a freak has appeared. From what I know, he possesses many attributes. Not only that, he can defeat Immortal Sovereigns as an Emperor. I've been trying to wipe him out or seize his body for my own use, but I've failed so far. I can only keep cautiously working to defeat him."
The bug buzzed excitedly for a while, then Lan Wind asked, "You say I could just use my original body and defeat him directly?"
After listening to Lan Wind, the bug buzzed for a while. Lan Wind replied bitterly, "You don't understand. There's someone here called Elder Woodspirit. From what I know, he's currently the strongest being in the Immortal Realm, and he's not human. He possesses many powers I don't know about. My actions are meant to avoid being discovered by him. After all, I'm leading the Immortal Realm now. If anything happens to me, forget controlling the realm—surviving would be a problem."
After pausing for a moment, the bug buzzed at Lan Wind, who replied, "Alright, head back and report the situation here to Lord Greenguard. Tell him I'll do my best within a hundred thousand years. Once I deal with that freak and Elder Woodspirit, I'll contact him."
After the bug disappeared, Lan Wind muttered, "One is Evan Yang the freak, the other is the strongest being—this Immortal Realm is really hard to handle. If it weren't for those two, I could conquer the realm in a mere ten thousand years, let alone a hundred thousand."
After muttering, Lan Wind closed his eyes again. Right now, he's just looking for a chance to eliminate Evan Yang or take over his body. But with Elder Woodspirit here, he doesn't dare reveal his true form—otherwise, he'd be searching for Evan everywhere by now.
In a quiet wooden house deep within the Wood Temple, a deep voice spoke: "To think there are bugs that can travel through space. More and more mutated things are appearing."
The speaker was none other than Elder Woodspirit—the very figure everyone had in mind. Though not human, he possessed wisdom beyond human reach and powers few could match. At this moment, he was striving for peace in the Immortal Realm.
Elsewhere, Evan Yang had also won a match and was waiting for the next round. In the first match, he was barely affected—the wind-attribute opponent was fast, but couldn't get close before being subdued by Evan's ice-fire.
"Evan Yang, your ice-fire might not be fully unsealed yet, but isn't it already dozens of times stronger than before?" Morgana Dreamhaven watched Evan's ice-fire today and felt it was much more powerful than before.
Evan Yang smiled. "It's not just dozens of times. I've only controlled it for a few days, but if I really push it to the limit, it might be hundreds of times stronger."
"What?" Morgana Dreamhaven thought she was dreaming, her face full of surprise.
"I have no idea what it'll be like when it's fully unsealed," Evan Yang sighed.
"Don't lose heart. There will be opportunities." Morgana Dreamhaven said calmly.
Evan Yang nodded, then asked curiously, "Why hasn't Elder Woodspirit taken action against that person?"
"I don't know. I've already told the Wood Palace Lord, but he only told me to protect you well. Haven't you noticed? There are a lot more hidden experts around us now." Morgana Dreamhaven explained.
"I noticed long ago. At first, I thought it was to maintain fairness, so everyone was being protected. But now, it seems that's not the case." Evan Yang said.
"Exactly. You're the only one like this. This morning, I observed carefully and found those hidden experts are secretly guarding you." Morgana Dreamhaven explained to Evan Yang.
Evan Yang thought for a moment and said, "So Elder Woodspirit isn't planning to act? But why protect me—are they afraid I'll be harmed by Lan Wind?"
"I don't know. Elder Woodspirit's thoughts are beyond me." Morgana Dreamhaven replied.
"Well, I'll just wait for a chance to meet Elder Woodspirit and ask him directly." Evan Yang said.
"As long as you get first place, you'll definitely have the chance." Morgana Dreamhaven smiled.
Evan Yang smiled. "In the first group, aside from Lan Wind being a bit unpredictable, the others aren't much of a concern. In the second group, the fifth contestant hasn't competed yet, so I don't know their situation."
"So you're saying, if you defeat Lan Wind, you'll get to face the first-place winner from the second group?" Morgana Dreamhaven asked.
"Yes, that's exactly right," Evan Yang replied.
"Then do your best! If you can defeat the first-place contestant from the second group, you'll definitely get to meet Elder Woodspirit." Morgana Dreamhaven smiled.
"Senior Meng, have you ever met Elder Woodspirit?" Evan Yang suddenly asked, curious.
"No, I've only heard about him, never met him. I heard even the Wood Palace Lord hasn't met him. After all, he's been here for many years and has seen several generations of palace lords come and go." Morgana Dreamhaven replied.
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"So Elder Woodspirit really is a mysterious figure," Evan Yang said.
"Exactly, that's what you said," Morgana Dreamhaven replied directly.
Evan Yang fell into thought. Seeing this, Morgana Dreamhaven didn't ask further, simply telling Evan to rest and prepare for his next match.
In the Demon-Beast Realm, strange bugs covered the mountains and plains—every kind of bug imaginable, striking terror into the spirit beasts. Previously, many demon lords had joined forces in a massive extermination campaign, but it failed. Instead, many spirit beasts died, and some were even possessed, infiltrating various beast clans.
Seeing the mountains and plains crawling with bugs he had unleashed, the Cloaked Greenclaw laughed. "Ha! You demon lords are nothing special after all."
The defeated demon lords gathered together, discussing how to deal with the invading bugs and their master.
After a short rest, the Cloaked Greenclaw received news from the Immortal Realm. Upon hearing it, he frowned. "That Firebane is useless—he's been hiding in the Immortal Realm for years and even an Emperor can mess him up like this. And that so-called Elder Woodspirit—is he really that strong?"
The bug buzzed, but its message was unclear.
"Enough, don't speak up for him. Once I'm done with the Demon-Beast Realm, I'll go find him myself. Useless fool," said the Cloaked Greenclaw.
The bug vanished, leaving the Cloaked Greenclaw muttering, "Looks like I need to speed things up."
He released even more bugs from the void—bugs capable of possession and devouring space.
The Demon-Beast Realm became increasingly chaotic. One careless step could drop you into the void—weak ones were devoured, while the strong were possessed and infiltrated beast clans.
Many hidden experts among the demon lords sensed the crisis. At the invitation of the major demon lords, they appeared and gathered at the most prestigious place for demon lords—Demon Spirit Mountain.
All the demon lords of the Demon-Beast Realm assembled on this mountain.
On Demon Spirit Mountain, there was a demon tower packed with demon lords. In this lively place, a demon lord with a human form spoke, "Everyone can see it—the Demon-Beast Realm has lost a tenth of its land, and many powerful spirit beasts have been controlled. The reason I've gathered you here is simple: to defeat the mastermind behind all this." This was none other than the mountain's master, known as Demon Nine Freak. He had been in seclusion, but emerged upon hearing of the crisis.
"But that person is extremely strong. Last time, over a dozen demon lords couldn't defeat him—we barely survived," one demon lord said, frowning.
Demon Nine Freak said, "Rest assured. We've invited the ten strongest experts of the Demon-Beast Realm. They'll deal with the mastermind, and your task is to wipe out the bugs."
Everyone was instantly fired up—the ten strongest were the realm's greatest force, surely able to defeat the mastermind.
As for the bugs, without their master, they weren't much of a threat. So after finishing, Demon Nine Freak said, "Starting tomorrow, launch a full-scale attack. Use your strongest powers against the bugs, and leave the mastermind to the experts."
Everyone nodded in agreement. After Demon Nine Freak finished speaking, he left and met with nine others outside the tower. These ten were the strongest in the Demon-Beast Realm.
"Are you ready?" Demon Nine Freak asked.
"Of course we're ready. It's been ages since we've fought—thought the realm had no need for us anymore. But now, with this crisis, it's the perfect chance to stretch our legs," one said.
Seeing the other nine fired up, Demon Nine Freak smiled. "Alright, let's go." With that, he led the group into the distance.
Their sole purpose: to eliminate the Cloaked Greenclaw.
As they traveled, seeing the broken spaces along the way, their anger grew—they wished they could deal with Cloaked Greenclaw immediately.