Within an hour, everyone regained their powers.
The first thing the Flaming Qilin did was to march towards Di Danqing. He summoned flames that he focused on his fists, ready to blast Di Danqing into bits and pieces.
“Wait. We need him. He could still be useful,” Chu Xun stopped him.
“Much good he can do us! Just blast him into ashes and be done with it!” The Flaming Qilin grumbled, but he stopped as he was bidden to.
“And what? Place your precious Sacred Maiden in danger? Last time I checked, she’s still in Di Yanjing’s hands. We need his brother as a bargaining chip,” said Chu Xun.
That dissuaded the Flaming Qilin from killing Di Danqing, but not without a round of walloping to vent his anger. By the end of it, Di Danqing was barely alive with his bones almost all shattered.
“All right. So I’ll leave those fiends to you all. I’ll see if I can do anything to that Tree,” said Chu Xun.
“Don’t worry. Just do what you need to do. Leave those filthy creatures to us,” said the Flaming Qilin who could have not been any more anxious for some action.
So were Shi Yifei and the others. For all their power and pride as Immortal-level champions, they had fallen into a trap and were so near to dying. One could imagine how angry they were.
Chu Xun flicked another spurt of Hong Meng Immortal Qi at the barrier enchantment that had kept the demons at bay. It disintegrated and vanished, allowing the Flaming Qilin and Gao Mohan, and the others to attack.
The battle of Man and Fiend barely began when the former side drew first blood all thanks to the Flaming Qilin.
The fiends were all high-tiered Emperor-class creatures, but even such might pale in comparison with the superiority of the Immortal-level champions.
Chu Xun conjured an enchantment to keep himself safe before he tried to communicate with the Divine Tree using his Divine Sense.
“Who are you?” the giant tree’s personification called out to him suddenly.
That filled Chu Xun with joy and relief. The Divine Tree was not yet fully corrupted. He quickly responded, “I am a friend of the Elves. They are in grave danger.”
“I know,” the Tree’s voice echoed in his mind, “but I am impaired. I cannot help them.”
“What’s wrong with you? Is there anything I can do to help?” Chu Xun asked.
“Come in and see for yourself,” said the Tree in a weakened and strained voice.
Chu Xun knew that he needed to look. He could care less about how weak the Tree was, but he needed to find out how the demonic horde appeared.
Chu Xun made sure that his enchantment was strong enough to keep him safe before the spiritual rendition of his own self – his Astral Projection – floated out of his body. With his mind, he conjured layers of shields around himself before he followed the mental link between him and the Tree.
Chu Xun found himself in a strange space in a flash of light that resembled Emperor Ao’s very own spiritual domain of his own creation, his Purple Mansion. This was the Divine Tree’s.
That it could create a realm of its own showed how incredible the Elf Divine Tree really was.
“But how could such a powerful being be under Di Yanjing’s control?” As he thought about this, a humanoid figure fully shrouded in blinding light appeared.
Chu Xun immediately turned wary before he knew it. Lights of different hues – one greenish and the other black and ominous – surrounded the humanoid shape, swirling around each other as if locked in a struggle to drown out one another.
“Elf Divine Tree, are you there?”
“I am here!” The voice sounded very close and he could hear how exhausted it must be.
Roar!
The humanoid shape let loose an angry roar at Chu Xun, the sound wave of its howls battered at Chu Xun like a sledgehammer that he wobbled unsteadily, the force causing his Spiritual Body to crack.
Chu Xun’s face fell. What terrible force was this?!
“GET AWAY FROM ME!” An angry voice reverberated from the midst of the churning lights. It was the Spirit of the Divine Tree.
Chu Xun’s eyes gleamed as looked closely. A foul aura was trying to take hold of the Divine Tree by corrupting its spirit.
Chu Xun dashed rapidly forward, racing towards the humanoid shape that could only be the Spirit of the Divine Tree. Every step he took was a carefully calculated one as purplish energy glowed at his feet.
When he stopped, his fingers weaved several hand seals quickly before he fired spurts of purplish Hong Meng Immortal Qi into the air.
“Purplish Lotus Enchantment of Purification, activate!”
From the tip of his finger, purplish sheets of light burst forth, blossoming into a dome of light that held the Spirit of the Divine Tree inside.
“Make use of the enchantment’s power!” Chu Xun cried to it.
Hum!
The entire dome rocked like an earthquake, causing the surface of its walls to tremble and its glow failing as if its walls could crumble any moment now.
Chu Xun sped around the dome, firing spurts of Hong Meng Immortal Qi into it to strengthen it.
The barrier enchantment shuddered. The Spirit of the Divine Tree was just too powerful and it was drawing too much cleansing magic from the enchantment to help keep the foul aura at bay.
The greenish light never stopped its fierce struggle against the black light that was the foul aura, emitting loud and deafening grunts and howls every now and then.
The enchantment never stopped shaking and Chu Xun scampered around hurriedly to make sure it did not falter.
“GET AWAY FROM ME!” the Spirit of the Divine Tree snarled. A growing light of purple was picking up in brightness and color, looking stronger and radiant as it slowly engulfed the foul aura.
The foul aura swirled and swirled more rapidly as if boiling in rage.
“Help me, boy!” the Spirit bellowed.
Chu Xun knew what to do. The barrier enchantment needed more power. He weaved more hand seals and channeled a huge efflux of Hong Meng Immortal Qi into the enchantment. What was only a purplish dome of lights had turned into a veritable monolithic tower of purplish glitters and effulgence.
That, however, sapped up more than half of Chu Xun’s powers that beads of perspiration mottled his forehead as he turned ashen pale.
“GO AWAY!” the Spirit was shouting again inside, but the lights that represented its powers were growing more blinding by the second that Chu Xun could hardly keep his eyes open.
At long last, the foul aura was condensed into one dark blob of pure malevolence and evil as it was finally, and completely, detached from the green light.
“Get out quickly!” Chu Xun cried, opening a little crack on the wall of the dome.
The Spirit of the Tree dashed out with the speed of lightning with the foul aura snarling as it chased after the Spirit like an angry beast, but Chu Xun closed the barrier swiftly enough as soon as the Spirit got out and the jet-black blob of wanton foulness smashed into the wall, causing the dome to shake.
Chu Xun’s gaze turned into a stern glare and he channeled more power into enchantment.
The Enchantment of Purification began working its magic as it started to erase the foul aura.
Meanwhile. Chu Xun nearly stumbled and fell from the exhaustion of his powers.
Roar!
The black blob of light expanded and took on the shape of a human too – a mass of sheer black with no visible features. Even so, Chu Xun could feel the creature’s gaze on himself.
“The Devil,” the black humanoid shape spoke in a feeble voice sluggishly. It was not real speech, but rather a form of telepathy of sorts.
Chu Xun’s pupils contracted with recognition. Coldly, he responded, “The Fifth Fiend Lord.”
“Indeed. Aren’t you a sharp one.”
Chu Xun was shocked. He did not think that the Fifth Fiend Lord would be present here and today. But he was certain that this was not the Fiend Lord’s actual self, but rather a figment of his creation – one of his many doppelgangers created through something akin to a Cultivator’s Spirit Severance technique.
And this was only the fifth strongest Fiend Lord. That would mean that the First Fiend Lord could very well give Emperor Ao a run for his money.
This realization sent a jolt of shudder through Chu Xun as he came to terms with how weak he still was. If the bulk of the fiend army did indeed made landfall on Earth this instant, all of humanity could be wiped out.
“I need to be stronger,” mused Chu Xun, clenching his fists tightly. First the Lost Races, then the Assembly of Immortals, and now the Subterranean Devils Clan… And these were only the enemies who had surfaced. Heaven knows how many more could still be lurking unseen…
“You are remarkable, Devil. Would you like to serve me?” called the Fifth Fiend Lord.
“Can’t say your offer is enticing enough. For far too long you’ve been trapped inside that forbidden area. Have you gone senile?” teased Chu Xun.
“I’d suggest that you sleep on my offer. Too easily you swing your blade and too quick you are to kill. Join me and I’m sure we could find somewhere where that talent of yours can be put to good use.”
“Nah, you overestimate yourself. What I want is more than what a petty Fiend Lord like you can offer. Rather, you should bend the knee to me. Perhaps calling me your liege might save you instead,” grinned Chu Xun.
“Interesting,” said the Fifth Fiend Lord, chuckling, “surely you realize that you owe me your life?”
“What? At the forbidden lands where your clan is sealed?” Chu Xun remembered how Mo Yan had said about how his every action there had been under the Fifth Fiend Lord’s scrutiny.
“Yes. If I had acted, you would have long perished,” said the Fifth Fiend Lord.
“Then what made you stay your hand?” Chu Xun was curious.
“Because you have been tainted with the Poison of Fire. Crossing to the dark side was only a matter of time. By then, you will gladly bend your knee to me.”
“What a pity that I have not.”
“Which is why I stayed my hand. But I’m curious. With your measly powers then, there was no way you could resist the Poison’s influence. How?”
“I’m blessed with extraordinary gifts. That’s not something you can learn,” Chu Xun lied.
“How about a trade, Devil?”
“What trade?”
“Tell me how you purged the Poison of Fire and I’ll go. How is that?” The Fifth Fiend Lord asked.
A reflection of the emerald-green luminescence flashed in Chu Xun’s eyes. “What’s it to you? Are you demons afraid of the Poison of Fire too?”
“That is not important. You only need to say if you’re agreeable to this trade.”
Chu Xun’s lips twisted wryly. From the behavior of the prime demon, the Subterranean Devils Clan must have suffered from the Poison of Fire as well. That explained the Fifth Fiend Lord’s insistence to find out the answer.
“Forget about the trade, I have a question,” said Chu Xun.
“Speak.”
“Is there another exit from the forbidden area where your clan is sealed?” It was the most pertinent question to Chu Xun; if the Subterannean Devils have other ways of escaping, that would be bad – very, very bad.
“Of course, how else do you think I am here? There’s also my best general and his demonic horde,” revealed the Fifth Fiend Lord.
Chu Xun could hardly hide his dismay. The nightmare that he had been dreading had come true after all.
“Therefore, swear your fealty to me and give me your idea of purging the Poison of Fire as a gift is your only way of survival. You will ride beside me when I emerge and we shall take the world together,” said the Fifth Fiend Lord imperiously.
Chu Xun said nothing. The only thing he wanted to do now was to warn Emperor Ao about the impending escape of the Subterranean Devils.
“Bend the knee, Devil. This is a chance for you and your friends and family. You have my word that I will do no harm to anyone who is related to you,” the Fifth Demon Lord persuaded with both the carrot and the stick.
Chu Xun paused for one moment to think. Then he realized someone was calling him.
“Gimme a minute. I’ll be back,” Chu Xun waved a hand and gave the Spirit of the Divine Tree a look. The Spirit had been using the time to recuperate. Then Chu Xun withdrew his Divine Sense, drawing his Astral Projection back into his physical body.
He opened his eyes and there was the Flaming Qilin calling him from outside his enchantment.
“Those monsters have been dealt with, Devil! Undo your enchantment and get out! We need to deal with that swine Di Yanjing!” cried the Flaming Qilin hotly.
Chu Xun spun around. The ground was bare and empty as if the horde had never existed before.
“Where are their carcasses?!” he asked.
“What carcasses?” the Flaming Qilin stared at him blankly before he understood what Chu Xun was saying and he explained, “Those things vanished once we killed them. Not even their armor and weapons remained. They were just gone in a puff of smoke. Rather wicked, if you ask me.”
Chu Xun looked at him, puzzled and confused. Then he broke into a gleeful chuckle. “I see… I get it now… That’s it…”
The Flaming Qilin and everyone else all stared at Chu Xun’s joyous outlook with dubious and incredulous looks wiped across their faces. “What’s wrong with him?!” A worried Gao Mohan asked him carefully, “Chu, are you really all right?”
“I’m fine… I’m fine… Now, wait for me here. Damn, I was nearly hoodwinked!” Chu Xun chuckled to himself. He sat back down and his Astral Projection returned back into the spiritual domain of the Divine Tree.
