Nie Tian’s face split into a brutal smile.
As powerful as Grand Monarch Blood Axe was, fear and astonishment appeared on his face as he lost his demonic tool and had his body penetrated by the seventy-two tree branches.
“Grow.” As Nie Tian spoke with an icy expression, wisps of wood power flew out of him into the tree branches.
After the wisps of refined wood power fused into the tree branches, countless mysterious patterns were activated and manifested on their surface.
The seemingly common tree branches instantly started growing at an alarming rate, as if they had received the Tree of Life’s blessing.
They became as solid and sharp as steel thorns. Even Grand Monarch Blood Axe’s tough body couldn’t stop them from growing deeper and deeper into him.
POOH!
Grand Monarch Blood Axe looked down, and discovered that the madly growing tree branches had pierced through his chest and into his internal organs and bones. He was bleeding incessantly.
Furthermore, he sensed a strange aura that only Floragrim grand monarchs had from the tree branches.
Grand Monarch Blood Axe shuddered. “This is the Tree of Life’s aura! My goodness!”
He didn’t have to rely on his eyes to see what was happening inside of the tree branches. Through the drops of refined purple Demon Blood inside of him, he could see that mysterious tree patterns were evolving inside of the emerald green tree branches that had pierced into his body, as if these were branches of the legendary Tree of Life growing inside of him.
“Tree of Life!”
According to the Floragrims’ legends, it was the Tree of Life that had given birth to them, a race of higher beings.
The Tree of Life’s meaning to the Floragrims was similar to the Nether River’s meaning to the Phantasms. It was viewed as the origin of the Floragrim race, and had layers of mystery added to it.
Now, ages had passed. Rumor had it that the Tree of Life on the Floragrims’ ancestral land had withered and died.
Even the Demons had learned from Floragrim grand monarchs that the Tree of Life had lost its wonders, and no longer protected the Floragrims.
Grand Monarch Blood Axe had never thought that he would see the wonders of the Tree of Life in the Domain of Heaven Span in the Mortal World from the tree branches that had flown out from Nie Tian’s wood domain.
FIZZ! FIZZ!
Grand Monarch Blood Axe activated bloodline talents to ignite drops of his dark purple Demon Blood, which morphed into clusters of flames that flew out to burn the tree branches.
However, the emerald green tree branches didn’t show even the slightest signs of being burned by the purple demonic flames.
On the contrary, they grew even faster.
Excruciating pain gradually spread to every inch of Grand Monarch Blood Axe’s body.
Newly-grown emerald branches pierced into his neck, internal organs, and many parts of his enormous, tough body.
Upon first glance, he seemed to have sharp emerald thorns splitting his skin and growing out of every part of him.
“AHH!”
Grand Monarch Blood Axe howled as he activated various bloodline talents, but still couldn’t break the tree branches.
Heavenly Wood Thorns allowed thorns to spread like weeds inside of living beings. It would be especially destructive when used on outsiders.
Within a very short time, Grand Monarch Blood Axe suffered severe internal damage. In unbearable pain, he morphed into a beam of purple light that shot away from this area of the starry river, as if he were eager to escape from this battle against Nie Tian.
In the depths of the starry river, the Star Behemoth bone continued to release crimson light to maintain Bloodline Suppression.
Some of the Demons and Bonebrutes had been plunged into senseless killing and by the five evil gods. While they madly attacked each other, those that hadn’t lost their minds couldn’t display the true power of their bloodlines due to Bloodline Suppression.
Death soon came for them.
One Demon after another was killed as the Bonebrutes had their bodies made of pale-gray bones shattered.
Grand Monarch Withered Bones, who was facing Zu Guangyao and Dou Tianchen’s joint attacks, suddenly cried out in the Bonebrute language.
The Bonebrutes retreated upon hearing his cry.
Seeing this, the Demons searched for Grand Monarch Blood Axe, only to see him fleeing farther and farther from this part of the starry river, spilling purple blood as he did.
Noticing the unfavorable situation, a ninth grade grand patriarch let out a furious roar. “Let’s get out of here!”
The Demons immediately broke away from their enemies and fled in different directions.
“Blood Axe, Blood Axe, Blood Axe…” Remote calls echoed through the void as drops of Grand Monarch Blood Axe’s Demon Blood were ignited.
FIZZ!
His demonic weapon that was flying off into the depths of the starry river flew back like a bolt of lightning.
Stimulated by his bloodline, the Blood Axe mutated.
It suddenly split into hundreds of smaller axes wreathed in slithering wisps of purple lightning that quickly flew into Grand Monarch Blood Axe’s enormous body.
Wielded by Grand Monarch Blood Axe’s bloodline and soul, the axes started chopping at the tree branches.
CLANK!
Metallic clanks that only he and Nie Tian could hear echoed within him.
Every time a Blood Axe that was dozens of times smaller than the original hacked at a tree branch, Nie Tian and Grand Monarch Blood Axe experienced a violent shake simultaneously.
Seeing this, Grand Monarch Blood Axe immediately infused those Blood Axes with more soul and flesh power. Nie Tian was also forced to summon and fuse more wood power into the seventy-two tree branches.
However, due to the excessive wood power consumption, his wood domain started shrinking at an alarming rate.
No matter how hard the Godspirit Tree tried, it couldn’t summon enough wood power from the surrounding starry river to support such scary consumption.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
At that moment, wisps of emerald green power suddenly flew over from the distant starry river.
Flesh power!
Grand Monarch Blood Axe had gone to great efforts to suppress the tree branches with his Demon Blood. However, as soon as the wisps of green power showed up, he shuddered violently and coughed up a mouthful of purple blood.
At the same time, Nie Tian discovered that the tree branches within Grand Monarch Blood Axe suddenly burst forth with dazzling light and vast life force.
Grand Monarch Blood Axe threw his head back and roared with demonic flames burning furiously in his eyes, “Primal Wood!”
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Explosions echoed inside of him. With every explosion, his heart took a violent beat, and about ten drops of his precious Demon Blood that had taken him thousands of years to accumulate vaporized.
With this method, he finally drove the tree branches out of his body.
Nie Tian’s expression flickered as he wrapped his wood power around the tree branches and pulled them back into his wood domain.
Grand Monarch Blood Axe turned to shoot Nie Tian a nasty glance before flying into the distant starry river after Grand Monarch Withered Bones and the other Demons.
“Elder Zu!” Fang Yuan, one of the Sons of the Stars, exclaimed in excitement. Apparently, he wanted to pursue the fleeing enemies.
Just as Zu Guangyao was about to say something, his expression suddenly grew grim, and he quickly gave Nie Tian an alarming gaze, signaling him to watch out.
Nie Tian frowned slightly.
He suddenly discovered that his wood domain had also absorbed the green power of an unknown origin. Both the Godspirit Tree and the tree branches he had retrieved blossomed with unusual light.
It was a fresh, green divine light!
Moments later, everyone’s gazes fixed on a dark corner of the starry river.
A senior Floragrim with wrinkles all over his face flew slowly towards them, his back stooped.
To them, this Floragrim seemed like a withering old tree that was nearing the end of its life. There was no way he could make any waves.
However, Nie Tian, by relying on his life bloodline, sensed extremely rich life force within him.
Zu Guangyao took a deep breath and exclaimed, “Grand Monarch Primal Wood of the Floragrims!”
He hastily jerked his head around to instruct disciples of the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace to pull back, and at the same time, sent a secret message to Dou Tianchen, saying, “Summon Vice Sectmaster Chu Rui and Fan Tianze from the Heaven Span Pavilion!”
Yan Zhan let out a low sigh and muttered with a grim expression, “Middle tenth grade.”
Both Grand Monarch Blood Axe and Grand Monarch Withered Bones were at the early tenth grade. However, this Grand Monarch Primal Wood in front of them was at the middle tenth grade, which meant that he was much more powerful than the two of them combined.
Since all of the peak human and outsider experts had gone missing recently, the peak strength that was fighting in the Domain of Heaven Span was represented by middle God domain experts like Chu Rui and Fan Tianze, and middle tenth grade outsider and Ancientspirit grand monarchs.
This Floragrim grand monarch before everyone was the one who had summoned and marched Floragrim troops into the Domain of Heaven Span.
“The Tree of Life’s aura…”
Grand Monarch Primal Wood didn’t take a single glance at Zu Guangyao or Dou Tianchen as he slowly stepped over. His eyes were fixed on Nie Tian the whole time. “I heard about you a long time ago. I wanted to meet you in the Shatter Battlefield, but things happened and deprived me of the chance.”
Adjusting his breathing, Nie Tian said, “Fata found me earlier.”
Grand Monarch Primal Wood nodded slightly. “I know that. He had an idea, one that isn’t shared by the majority of our people.”
Nie Tian frowned. “What about you? Do you share his idea?”
Grand Monarch Primal Wood burst into laughter.
FIZZ!
A spatial rift showed signs of splitting open in the midst of Zu Guangyao and the other humans.
Grand Monarch Primal Wood suddenly shot a sharp look at it, a strange light flashing across his eyes.
Then, the splitting spatial rift somehow slowly healed before it could fully form.
