Chapter 844: Northern Ocean Snake Clan
The Primordial Realm contained great power. Despite the Red Fire Tree Fruit being so powerful, it was useless inside.
After the fruit was put away, Long Chen sensed that the raging tree had stopped moving. The surrounding temperatures were also quickly lowering and everything soon returned to its original state. However, the ground below was filled with craters.
“It’s finally done …” Long Chen sighed in relief. He put the Three Thousand Star Clusters away, then headed outside. It was difficult to enter the trunk, but easy to exit, so he soon emerged. In front of him was Xiaolang, who had taken human form. Like Long Chen, he was also panting and his forehead was covered in sweat.
To be honest, this attempt had indeed been treacherous. If Xiaolang had not been able to accurately pinpoint the fruit’s location, it would have been very troublesome.
“This thing finally stopped moving! I think it’s back to a tree again,” said Xiaolang with a smile when he saw that Long Chen had successfully emerged.
Long Chen nodded and said, “I have retrieved the Red Fire Tree Fruit. I wonder how Yan’er and the others are doing. I’ll go check in Heavenly Wood City, then leave to search for a place where you can consume the fruit in peace. The Red Fire Tree Fruit contains powerful heat; it’s much more powerful than the other fire-type treasures you have consumed until now. I think it could even take you to the Emperor-tier.”
Xiaolang nodded.
They did not chat anymore. After Long Chen exited from the hole that Xiaolang had made, they went towards Heavenly Wood City. The ancient tree had moved a lot, so it had deviated from its original location. Beneath the tree, the ground was an utter mess. If there had been many people beneath the tree, this could have been a terrible tragedy.
Due to the flames, burnt wood was scattered everywhere, and many ancient trees were still burning. A large portion of the Wood District had been destroyed in such a short time.Thankfully, there were few people around the ancient tree; most were in Heavenly Wood City.
As for the city, it contained many experts, including more than ten people at the Ninth Earthly Martial Stage. With their defenses, the fire would take a while to kill them.
The flames that were wrapped around Heavenly Wood City were gone, and a burnt smell filled the air. Without the Red Fire Tree’s obstruction, Long Chen could quickly rush into the ruined city. He quickly found the residents using the Soul Swallowing Gaze’s third stage, Sight.
The remaining people had all gathered in the center of Heavenly Wood City. Bai Lan and Lei Ji were also there. When Long Chen saw that many people were still alive, his tightened nerves finally relaxed a little.
He was currently thinking about something else, and before he ascended to Heavenly Wood City, he had Xiaolang enter the Primordial Realm. Xiaolang’s mind was completely occupied by the Red Fire Tree Fruit anyway. However, Long Chen was wondering if anyone had seen him, as the Sun Devouring Wolf was gigantic.
The people in Heavenly Wood City should not have seen him, but there may have been people hiding in the shadows outside of the tree. If they saw Xiaolang and the news got out, they would connect Long Chen and the death or disappearance of Wu Guangyu.
Therefore, whether anyone knew or not, Long Chen decided to leave.
The Soul Swallowing Gaze allowed him to see that the two people he cared about, Suxue and Suyan, were unharmed. He sighed again in relief. However, the number of cultivators in Heavenly Wood City had decreased. The Thunder and Demon clans had likely suffered great losses.
They likely didn't even know what had happened.
After Bai Lan’s explanation, they finally did.
Long Chen approached. When they saw him, Bai Lan and Lei Ji hurriedly called him over. Their original plan was to save the survivors, but then the tree had stopped moving and even returned to normal. They did not know why.
Suxue and Suyan’s eyes were filled with tears.
“Long Chen, you and the demonic wolf …” Bai Lan started.
But Long Chen gave him a look and said, “I dealt with the problem alone. However, in case of other unforeseen circumstances, I advise you not to remain in Heavenly Wood City.”
When Bai Lan saw Long Chen’s complicated expression, he knew that Long Chen had more to say. Understanding the look, and seeing as the threat was removed, he nodded and said, “Then there’s no need to talk about anything else. We shall leave this place. The Thunder and Demon clans have incurred great losses from this tragedy; we cannot afford to have another incident.”
Under Bai Lan’s command, everyone left Heavenly Wood City. They were stunned to see the craters below the city.
“The tree actually started moving, and it was ablaze too. If the patriarchs had not come to save us, we would have been trapped in the fire and reduced to ashes …”
“Yeah. What the hell happened? How could such a bizarre thing happen?”
“That’s how scary the Ancient Graveyard is. Even the legendary Heavenly Wood City was destroyed just like that …”
Everyone discussed as they left.
Long Chen, Bai Lan, and the others stood together.
“Long Chen, do you know what happened to the tree? Not even we had any idea how to deal with it; how did you do it?”
If Long Chen attempted to explain the truth of the Red Fire Tree clan, it would trigger too many other issues. Therefore, he briefly answered, “It’s like this. I’ve told you guys about the demonic wolf who travels with me—he’s also my brother. Wu Guangyu snatched him away, but after the Martial Youth Competition, I snatched him back. He’s more sensitive towards fire-type treasures, and some object caused this tree to transform this way. The demonic wolf found the object’s location, and after I retrieved it, the tree stopped moving.”
Long Chen did not say what it was and displayed no intention of showing them the item. Bai Lan and Lei Ji trusted him, so they did not ask further. They were smart and knew that Long Chen had retrieved it with his own effort. If they pestered him more, it would make them look desperate.
Most of the time, they saw Long Chen as a friend too.
“That demonic wolf—I saw it when the Divine clan came. When did you …”
Long Chen said in a low voice to Bai Lan and Lei Ji, “I didn’t let you guys mention my wolf brother just now for a reason. Wait until we settle down in a safe place, then I will explain in detail.”
Long Chen was not in a hurry. Even if the Divine clan found out that Xiaolang had been spotted here, they would need time to get here. This was enough time for Long Chen to explain.
After Long Chen left, the five demons appeared in the original location of the tree. The five of them looked at each other.
“That brat took away the Red Fire Tree Fruit and even stored the demonic wolf. It’s probably some Beast Soul Crystal, the kind humans use to temporarily keep their demonic beasts. That evil human! How dare he treat my fellow clansman as a pet!”
“I don’t think so. I can tell that they have a great relationship. They called themselves brothers, and the wolf voluntarily entered the fire. However, what shall we do now?”
“Should we go over and ask that human to hand the wolf over directly?” asked the Red Fire Tree clan woman.
“Of course not. We can’t show ourselves recklessly. Our objective is for these people to search for the Five Emperors’ treasure. If we appear prematurely, they will panic and won’t dare enter the Five Emperors’ Secret Realm to take the stuff we want! If it wasn’t for the Five Emperors setting those restrictions, we would have entered on our own a long time ago!” said Tian Kun from the wolf clan.
“In that case, we shall observe for now and wait until the wolf emerges again. If it has reached the Emperor-tier, then it is related to the Sun Devouring Wolf. The Ancient Graveyard is our livestock farm; how can anything escape us if they are in our land?”
The group laughed, and for a moment, the heavens shook from their laughter.
The woman from the Red Fire Tree clan did not laugh.
Next to her was a solemn man with a chilling, snake-like aura.
“Hong Ying, what are you looking at?” asked the man.
Hong Ying was the woman from the Red Fire Tree clan.
“I am looking at the teenage girl over there. I think we’ve met before. Didn’t we meet a teenage girl next to the ancient tree before? You said she was good-looking, then I pressed your Northern Ocean Talisman into her body … Doesn’t the Northern Ocean Snake clan’s Northern Ocean Talisman increase the speed of aging?”
The man’s eyes lit up. His voice was filled with suppressed excitement as he cried, “Are you saying that the girl was hit with the Northern Ocean Talisman but didn’t die? That she is likely to have an immortal body type? And can become the Northern Ocean Snake clan’s Lady Saint?”
“I was thinking the same, but this is the tiny Ten Thousand Nations Territory. How could there be a person with an immortal body type here? We encountered a wolf resembling the Sun Devouring Wolf and a person with an immortal body type on the same day. We aren’t that lucky, are we?” Hong Ying asked, puzzled.
The man chuckled lowly and said, “No matter what, I must take her back for observation. If that really is the Sun Devouring Wolf, Tian Kun will surely become very rich. And if I can find the Northern Ocean Snake clan a human Lady Saint, I will be rich too!”
“In your dreams, hehe,” chuckled Hong Ying.
But she did not intend to stop him.
“Since we can’t expose ourselves, I’ll take the girl away when the Five Emperors’ treasure is about to be unlocked. There are still five more months before we leave; I don’t want to serve a human for that long.”