Chapter 2051: Soaring Skyward

Knowing her arrows were full of tricks, He Lingchuan didn't engage. Instead, he summoned the Haoyuan Golden Mirror and stepped straight into it.

He immediately reappeared behind Qingyang!

The "As Shadow Follows" technique couldn't be reused so soon, so he had to ingeniously use the Haoyuan Golden Mirror.

The moment he materialized, he aimed a cleaving blow at Qingyang's back, intending to split her in two.

In this fight, it was kill or be killed.

The blow connected, but a massive ethereal red plum blossom emerged from Qingyang, absorbing the full force of the attack.

She was unharmed, instead propelled about seven feet forward by the force of the blade.

However, after He Lingchuan cut through the illusion, his body hesitated slightly, no longer as agile as before.

Qingyang's defensive divine ability was remarkably potent, especially since He Lingchuan was currently infused with vital energy, giving him strong resistance to spells.

Any other opponent would surely have been immobilized, frozen in place.

The man nearby caught sight of He Lingchuan and once again made the gesture for a severing spell.

This time, He Lingchuan's posture was less rigid than before, and his movements were slightly slower.

Only slightly, but enough for the Heavenly Demon to notice.

So, the backlash spell from earlier had indeed affected him!

"Excellent," thought the Heavenly Demon, "Let's do it again!" He didn't believe He Lingchuan could withstand his divine art a third time.

If he could tear He Lingchuan to shreds now, this chaotic fight would finally end!

But, to his dismay, the outcome was once again unsatisfactory:

Space was indeed ripped apart once more, but what shattered wasn't He Lingchuan; it was a red mist that surged forth from the side.

The Blood Demon had arrived to save its master.

The ghost imp and Ayi, under the Blood Demon's control, had finally killed the other attendant. Meanwhile, the strange tree that the Blood Demon had been guarding had grown, its branches now tougher than steel, no longer requiring its constant proximity.

Free to move, the Blood Demon rushed over and intercepted the Great Severing Spell.

While other creatures' bodies would be ripped to shreds and die instantly from such a blow, the Blood Demon's form was inherently amorphous and intangible; fragmentation was its natural state.

The Heavenly God's Great Severing Spell had, in effect, severed nothing.

Meanwhile, He Lingchuan closed the distance in two strides and engaged Qingyang in combat.

He had just been struck by the backlash divine art; fortunately, the dual protection of his vital energy and the Resounding Dragon Battle Armor had shielded him, otherwise, he would have been truly torn apart.

Even so, he was not lightly wounded.

Qingyang, however, had regained her peak form, matching him in both strength and agility.

And in terms of combat intent, they were truly on par, each determined to kill the other!

Qingyang's fighting style was highly seasoned, her divine abilities deployed precisely into every opening, each subtly ingenious. Even seemingly insignificant at first glance, they consistently yielded unexpected effects.

In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged seven or eight furious blows.

As Qingyang fought, her alarm grew. He Lingchuan's saber art was deceptively simple, yet his saber intent was exquisite, relying little on divine abilities, instead targeting only his opponent's vital points. His offense was incredibly fierce; Qingyang felt as though she was fending off a raging deluge, and even with every ounce of her effort, the powerful tide threatened to overwhelm her.

And one shouldn't forget He Lingchuan's absurdly potent vital energy enhancement.

Furthermore, he was currently wounded, though his injuries were concealed beneath his battle armor, invisible to others.

After only a short clash, she realized that this man had entered the path through martial arts, and his future cultivation would undoubtedly be the Imperial Dao, a path of overwhelming power, capable of sweeping all before him!

Alas, his momentum was now unstoppable; she could no longer hinder him.

Just then, the strange tree suddenly shot up significantly, its branches and leaves finally unfurling.

Even the Wood King Cauldron could no longer contain its growth.

Moreover, the cauldron itself was wood-elemental, which ironically stimulated the tree's growth.

It was only when the tree truly straightened and displayed its full form that He Lingchuan instinctively blurted out:

"A Dao-Seeking Tree?!"

The Guluo Wood resembled a banyan, characterized by horizontal growth, with relatively straight branches and lateral trunks. The Dao-Seeking Tree, however, was its inverse: its trunk soared straight and tall, while its branches grew gnarled and robust, coiling like dragons—a visually magnificent "twist."

He Lingchuan had a profound impression of the Dao-Seeking Tree on Mount Xu. Seeing the tree's distinctive characteristics, he recognized it effortlessly.

At that time, the ancient tree had given him a crimson gold leaf. He had then immediately given it to the Divine Bone Necklace, only to learn later that it was a gift specifically left for him by the Wood Spirit Venerable before his nirvana, inscribed with three verses.

The very next morning, the Great Square Cauldron returned the Dao-Seeking Tree leaf to him. Later, he used this leaf to block the "Eye of Truth" divine ability's scrutiny from the Myriad Heaven Sect, effectively deceiving them.

He had been busy ever since and rarely thought of the Dao-Seeking Tree. Now, it appeared the Great Square Cauldron had extracted many elements from that crimson gold leaf, even infusing them into the Guluo Wood.

He Lingchuan instantly understood why the Great Square Cauldron had imbued the tree seed with the characteristics of a Dao-Seeking Tree:

Mount Xu harbored a live volcano beneath it, even giving birth to natural divine beings like the Great Fire Spirit, Jujun. Yet, a Dao-Seeking Tree could root itself directly into the subterranean fires to draw nourishment, showcasing its exceptional ability to consume fire.

The fiercely burning azure flames within the cauldron, rather than harming it, provided abundant nourishment, allowing it to grow rapidly.

Furthermore, it had been liberally watered with divine blood during the War of Immortals and Demons. He Lingchuan himself had experimented with the effects of divine blood on plants and monstrous beings. This young tree's explosive growth might also be a result of inheriting the mutations of the ancient Dao-Seeking Tree.

In essence, it was growing ever thicker and taller, destined to become a colossal tree piercing the heavens.

The space inside the cauldron grew increasingly cramped. He Lingchuan and the old ox were pushed aside by the tree's expansion, eventually choosing to leap onto its trunk.

At this point, enemy attacks no longer posed a fatal threat to it.

It continued to grow, uncontrollably surging upward.

Under True Monarch Muxiu's control, the Wood King Cauldron also diligently expanded its internal space, reaching a height of over thirty zhang from the ground—a truly vast area.

However, there was a limit to how much the cauldron could expand.

Yet, amidst the flames and azure smoke, the magnificent tree continued to grow, becoming increasingly majestic, until its crown finally pressed against the cauldron's lid.

Everyone then heard a dull yet distinct "crack," the sound of the tree's crown and branches breaking one after another.

But the vigorously growing trunk immediately followed suit, surging straight upward!

The struggle between the Wood King Cauldron and the Dao-Seeking Tree had, for a moment, reached a peculiar stalemate.

From their vantage point, they could see the cauldron walls being pushed inward.

This was no minor damage like He Lingchuan's earlier chipping at the walls.

The colossal tree's trunk grew steadily thicker, its branches harder, and its upward momentum became increasingly unstoppable.

From the outside, the wine-vat-shaped cauldron began to shed fragments, with crack after crack appearing on its surface.

"No, no!" True Monarch Muxiu exclaimed, enraged and alarmed. He suddenly threw himself forward, directly onto the cauldron.

A strange sight ensued:

The moment he touched the Wood King Cauldron, his body transformed into ancient vines, rapidly coiling around the cauldron over a dozen times, each coil appearing utterly unbreakable.

With True Monarch Muxiu's reinforcement, the cauldron's disintegration seemed to be temporarily halted.