Volume Three: Rising Fame - Chapter Eighty-Two: Soul-Devouring Tree Spirit

Currently, the spiritual energy contained in a single one of his thunder apertures was equivalent to the total spiritual energy in the dantian of a cultivator who had just stepped into the fifth rank.

This was also the reason why Li Yu was able to utterly crush the Soul-Devouring Golden-Wave Tiger after absorbing the internal fluid of the Snow-Blowing Ghost Crystal; in every aspect, he vastly surpassed the majority of fifth-rank cultivators.

As for this massive tree, although he did not know its origins, he understood that foolishly attempting to rely on a cocoon of branches to withstand the explosive might of a fifth-rank cultivator was practically wishful thinking.

Sure enough, once the power of the thunder sphere erupted completely, it half-charred the main trunk into coal.

"Hiss-hiss!"

The branches swayed, emitting a bizarre and eerie sound.

It was as if the great tree was venting the rage burning in its heart!

The very next moment, a sky-full of branches swept outward, lashing toward Li Yu with a speed and force that far exceeded the previous strike!

"It's cornered and fighting back desperately!"

Li Yu twisted his body, widening the distance once more. Not only that, but another massive thunder sphere materialized in his palm, and the thunder apertures within his body immediately began channeling energy into it.

"Isn't combat just this simple?"

Li Yu sighed.

Since he had already grasped the opponent's fatal weakness, he could launch targeted attacks. Since this strange, mutated tree guarded this island with such desperate vigilance, it was likely because, being a plant, it found it difficult to relocate.

He didn't need to know the exact reason. As long as he understood that this massive tree would protect the island, Li Yu didn't need to do anything else. He only needed to continuously draw energy from his thunder apertures and bombard the island.

Regardless of whether the tree could dodge or not, as long as it was forced to defend, it would have to take the beating!

"Hiss-hiss!"

The branches trembled with increasing frequency, clearly showing that the tree had comprehended Li Yu's intent. The previous blow had already injured it, and a sense of urgency was now evident.

Yet Li Yu's figure in mid-air was as slippery as an oiled loach, making him impossible to catch. Even though the tree unleashed every single one of its branches, it still achieved nothing, failing to even graze the hem of his robe.

"Boom!"

Another massive thunder sphere flew outward. Some of the branches attempted to intercept it prematurely, but the ordinary branches were simply blasted apart by Li Yu's casual counter-attacks.

Seeing the thunder sphere drawing closer and knowing its terrifying power, the anxious tree simply extended its main trunk to block it.

"Truly a magnificent sight!"

Li Yu watched the collision between the thunder sphere and the trunk, narrowing his eyes with a hint of admiration.

Suddenly, however, pitch-black darkness consumed his vision. Before he could even steady his posture, he plunged directly downward into the pool of water. Worse still, dozens of pitch-black roots suddenly lunged upward from the water, binding Li Yu tightly and dragging him beneath the surface!

"Glug, glug!"

Choking on the water, Li Yu finally snapped back to his senses. The moment he struggled, the roots wrapped around his entire body tightened like a boa constrictor, constricting with growing force.

"Cough, cough!"

With a single thought from Li Yu, fierce lightning surged through his body, snapping the wrapping roots. He shot toward the surface of the water, but behind him, a dense swarm of pitch-black roots surged upward, preparing to wrap around him once again.

The closest root had already brushed against the youth's ankle, just moments away from entangling him once more.

"Bang!"

The water's surface exploded. Li Yu, with his spiritual domain fully unfurled, shot upward and only breathed a sigh of relief when he reached the cavern ceiling.

Far below him, the black roots stopped rising after reaching a height of ten meters, swaying back and forth as if waiting for Li Yu to plummet back down.

*Can they only reach ten meters out of the water?*

"Huff!"

Li Yu's face was deathly pale, and he staggered so heavily he nearly fell back down. Gritting his teeth, he drove one hand deep into the cavern ceiling, hanging his entire body from it before finally relaxing slightly, his body swaying gently in the air.

When his eyes fell upon the massive tree on the island, his gaze was filled with deep solemnity.

"What a bizarre attack!"

Li Yu said in a raspy voice. Just then, it felt as though someone had struck his mind a heavy blow with a sledgehammer, causing him to lose consciousness for a fraction of a second.

Moreover, this attack had completely ignored the presence of his spiritual domain, striking him before he could even react.

If not for the shock of the cold water rousing him, his fate right now would have been unpredictable.

Or rather, if the tree had chosen to pierce him with those roots instead, the outcome of life and death would have already been decided!

Only after his vision cleared and the double vision faded did Li Yu float back into mid-air, gazing down at the stunted giant tree.

He softly murmured, "I know what kind of mutant beast you are—a Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite!"

This was a mutant beast classified as extinct. In many ancient records, the Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite was even regarded as a demon hailing from the depths of hell, which was why all known Soul-Devouring Tree Sprites in the outside world had long since been exterminated.

Who could have expected that one would still be found within a secret realm?!

Li Yu's expression grew solemn. He narrowed his eyes and carefully scrutinized the body of the stunted giant tree.

"1, 2... 3... 6!"

"It's reached the fourth rank?"

The tier of a Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite was easy to determine; faint halos of light would appear on its trunk. If one didn't observe carefully, they were easily overlooked. Each halo corresponded to one rank, and on the trunk of this tree, a full six halos had appeared.

"No, wait, it should be on the verge of advancing?!"

Li Yu felt a mixture of shock and uncertainty. Compared to the other halos, the sixth halo was far more ethereal and slightly smaller. This was likely the result of the Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite currently lingering on the threshold of a breakthrough.

And this was precisely the reason why the Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite had to protect the island.

*A human moves and lives; a tree moves and dies.*

For a mutant beast like the Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite, such restrictions were normally close to negligible. However, during a breakthrough, the Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite had to plunge its roots deep into the earth on a massive scale to absorb energy in preparation for advancement.

Realizing this, a wave of deep fortune washed over Li Yu.

Better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early.

Even a fully-realized Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite of the fifth rank would have posed a formidable challenge to him; this was a mutant beast renowned for being invincible in one-on-one combat! If this were a true fourth-rank Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite, he would probably have only one option left: flee!

However, a Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite undergoing advancement found itself in an awkward predicament. It could only utilize a small fraction of its most threatening roots, and even its mysterious, formless mental attacks suffered the same restriction—both their frequency of use and destructive power were drastically reduced!

"When a tiger falls from the heights, even dogs will bully it!"

Having identified the creature's origins, the boulder weighing on Li Yu's heart lifted considerably. "Strike while the iron is hot!"

This time, massive thunder spheres appeared in both of his hands. Under his control, the lightning force within his thunder apertures poured endlessly into them.

"Boom!"

Thunder sphere after thunder sphere shot forward, only to be intercepted by the branches and vines of the Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite, detonating prematurely.

Flashes of lightning tore across the surface of the pool.

"Let's see how long you can block!"

A cold smirk played at the corner of Li Yu's lips. He could condense at least several thousand such massive thunder spheres, and given that the internal fluid of the Snow-Blowing Ghost Crystal still had considerable residual energy lingering in his body, he could squeeze out even more thunder spheres if necessary.

Yet, no matter how strong the regeneration ability of a Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite was, there were still limits. Once it reached a certain threshold, it would struggle to sustain itself.

Case in point: although the Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite concealed it well, Li Yu had been keeping a watchful eye and naturally noticed that one of its primary trunks had not moved for a long time.

This was a clear sign that it had reached its tolerance limit.

"Beating a drowning dog is such a gratifying experience!"

Li Yu murmured softly. Keeping a safe distance, the Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite could only suffer passive beatings, completely unable to organize an effective counterattack.

In past years, constrained by the terrifying demonic might of the Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite, whenever one was discovered, all the clansmen had to mobilize to eradicate it.

Though the results were commendable and many Soul-Devouring Tree Sprites had been exterminated, the cultivators of the clans also suffered heavy casualties.

When facing plant-based mutant beasts, fire-attribute cultivators should theoretically have held the upper hand. However, the Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite possessed an extremely strong immunity to fire. Furthermore, when not in a state of advancement, a Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite retained mobility and could evade many crises.

It wasn't until someone discovered that a Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite entering a state of advancement might appear more frantic, but that this period was actually its most vulnerable phase.

This discovery filled everyone with excitement, yet also lingering anxiety; a Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite with such high intelligence, if allowed to grow unchecked, would inevitably become an unmanageable future catastrophe—an apocalyptic disaster for humanity.

Consequently, even grander "Tree-Extermination" campaigns were launched thereafter.

"Truly crafty. Earlier, it deliberately feigned mediocrity constrained by its advancement state, and that hallucinogenic toxin must have been released by its symbiotic plants as well!"

Li Yu launched yet another massive thunder sphere, fixing his gaze on the Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite.

Just how many more of these attacks, each equivalent to the self-detonation of a fifth-rank cultivator, could it endure?

In its advancement state, the strength of a Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite plummeted, dropping to roughly the level of a lower rank, while its bizarre abilities became nearly impossible to deploy.

Yet under such conditions, he had still nearly fallen into its trap?!

If not for the fact that lightning energy naturally diffused when submerged in water, instantly paralyzing the swarm of attacking roots, dragging him any deeper would have made escaping a vastly more difficult ordeal.

"Hoh, is it entering a defensive stance already?!"

Li Yu stared at the Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite. Around the perimeter of the island, countless branches and vines intertwined and spread, wrapping the entire island tightly like a giant insect cocoon.

This was the textbook execution of a turtle shell strategy.

"Boom!"

As the massive thunder sphere exploded against it, countless branches and vines converged from all directions, layer upon layer, blocking the path of the thunder sphere to wear down its energy.

Several more thunder spheres slammed into it, yet they were continually obstructed by the endless sea of foliage.

Though visible consumption was taking place, looking at the sheer density capable of wrapping the island in three thick layers inside and out...

*Why does this feel somewhat strange?* Li Yu's thoughts churned chaotically. He halted his actions and carefully observed the "turtle shell" before him.

The main body of the Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite remained stationary. Its main trunk branched out extensively, and the branches from all four directions intertwined with one another, forming an outermost layer of defense.

Through careful observation, he discovered that the tips of these branches were mostly rooted in the soil around the periphery of the island. At a glance, they almost looked like slender shoots sprouting directly from the earth.

*These branches... why do they feel completely fused with the terrain?* Shock flickered in Li Yu's eyes; this was an unprecedented phenomenon.

Extrapolating further, could there be a connection between this bizarre mountain, the mist of unknown origin, and the Soul-Devouring Tree Sprite resting at the very center of the mountain?

"Glug, glug..."

Just as Li Yu momentarily lost himself in thought, several dark shadows silently rose from the distant pool of water.

"Who's there?"

Sudden perception striking him, Li Yu whipped his head around and shouted sharply.