Chapter 488: Outer Realm Death God
Black Wood Plain was a primeval ancient forest, stretching over three thousand miles deep, and was one of the most dangerous regions in the Wood Essence Ruins Realm.
Within Black Wood Plain, a vast number of Black Wood Longevity Trees grew.
This type of tree had an extremely long lifespan, capable of growing for tens of thousands of years.
Of course, the most important thing was that Black Wood Longevity Trees could develop intelligence and transform into tree men. The longer they grew, the stronger the tree men became.
At this moment, in the heart of Black Wood Plain, hundreds of thousands of tree men had gathered together. Some tree men were as tall as a hundred zhang, with thick trunks full of strength; others were only as tall as an ordinary person, short and fragile, as if even a commoner could split them apart.
All these tree men stood below an altar as tall as a mountain, solemn and dignified, maintaining complete silence.
That altar was cylindrical in shape, built from ten-thousand-jin giant stones, each carved with strange and mysterious patterns.
Looking from afar, the altar resembled a mountain that had been leveled by a sword, majestic and grand in scale.
A humanoid tree man stood at the top of the altar, appearing very aged, and said, "The great Tree God has issued a divine decree that an evil Outer Realm Death God is about to enter Black Wood Plain. If everyone cannot unite and kill that Outer Realm Death God, the entire world will be destroyed."
Its voice was very deep, but it carried over a hundred miles, reaching the ears of every tree man.
"What? The Outer Realm Death God is coming! What do we do now?"
"Even the Tree God has issued a divine decree; it seems that Outer Realm Death God is truly terrifying."
"How despicable! Those outer realm evil demons are pushing us too far; they want to wipe us out completely."
……
All the tree men fell into panic, realizing that a great calamity was about to descend.
A tree man a hundred zhang tall said with a full, vigorous voice, "May I ask the Tree Ancestor, what does that Outer Realm Death God look like? If I encounter him, even if I have to fight to the death, I will slay him."
The humanoid tree man standing at the top of the altar gathered a powerful force at the tip of its finger and pointed into the void.
"Hua..."
A speck of light expanded outward in all directions, forming a huge mirror of light.
On that light mirror, the figure of a young man appeared.
If Zhang Ruochen were here, he would realize that the person on the light mirror was himself.
All the tree men memorized Zhang Ruochen's appearance, regarding him as their great enemy.
However, at this moment, Zhang Ruochen had no idea that the entire tree man race had already marked him as the Outer Realm Death God, and that as soon as he appeared, he would be attacked.
After an entire night, nourished by dragon qi, some of Ao Xinyan's meridians had been reconnected, allowing her to circulate true qi again and recuperate on her own.
Zhang Ruochen walked to the other side, sat down cross-legged, took out a piece of Purple Cloud Sinking Wood, held it in his hand, and began to refine it.
Since he had already broken through to the Heavenly Extreme Realm Great Extreme Position, he could naturally refine more Purple Cloud Sinking Wood. Refining one jin was equivalent to the results of a year's cultivation.
When he was at the Heavenly Extreme Realm Middle Extreme Position, Zhang Ruochen could only refine three jin and two liang of Purple Cloud Sinking Wood before his body reached a saturated state.
He wondered, with his current realm, how many jin of Purple Cloud Sinking Wood he could refine.
The Purple Cloud Sinking Wood floated between Zhang Ruochen's palms. Under the opposing force of two streams of true qi, it burst apart with a bang, shattering into fine powder. The true qi enveloped the wood powder, turning it into a stream of air that surged into Zhang Ruochen's body.
After refining three jin of Purple Cloud Sinking Wood in succession, Zhang Ruochen finally felt his body beginning to saturate, but it was far from reaching its limit.
After refining the fifth jin, when Zhang Ruochen started on the sixth jin, it became quite strenuous, approaching the limit of his body.
In the end, Zhang Ruochen refined five jin and three liang before stopping.
Although he had not yet cultivated the Wood Spirit Treasure Body, it still far exceeded Zhang Ruochen's expectations.
"It must be because of the unique environment of the Wood Essence Ruins Realm, which greatly aids in cultivating the Wood Spirit Treasure Body, that I was able to refine five jin and three liang of Purple Cloud Sinking Wood in one go. It seems that before reaching the Heavenly Extreme Realm Great Perfection, I might have a chance to cultivate the Wood Spirit Treasure Body."
Refining five jin and three liang of Purple Cloud Sinking Wood was equivalent to five years of Zhang Ruochen's cultivation results.
Zhang Ruochen's martial arts cultivation had improved considerably, but to break through to the Heavenly Extreme Realm Great Perfection, he still lacked some refinement.
While Zhang Ruochen was refining the Purple Cloud Sinking Wood, Ao Xinyan's injuries were also recovering rapidly, appearing almost healed on the surface.
She activated her true qi, held the Dragon Pattern Blue Water Sword, and performed a set of sword techniques.
After practicing the sword techniques three times, Ao Xinyan stopped.
Zhang Ruochen walked over to her and said, "Your injuries seem to have recovered a lot."
Seeing Zhang Ruochen, Ao Xinyan's mind immediately recalled the scene of that night when Zhang Ruochen helped her heal. For some reason, her cheeks grew hot.
Logically, Ao Xinyan was also a martial arts expert. Although she lacked experience, her mental fortitude was still strong. Moreover, she and Zhang Ruochen had only embraced and kissed, without any more intimate acts.
But why, when she saw Zhang Ruochen, was she still so nervous?
"Ao Xinyan, when did you become so affected? It was just a kiss; why are you so afraid of him?"
Ao Xinyan clenched her fingers tightly, struggling to suppress the shyness in her heart. She met Zhang Ruochen's gaze, trying her best to stay calm, and said, "The injuries haven't fully healed yet. Right now, I can only exert about twenty percent of my strength."
"In that case, I'll lend you some more dragon qi," Zhang Ruochen said.
Hearing this, Ao Xinyan felt as if she had been electrocuted. Her eyes widened, her black-and-white pupils distinct, and her eyelashes stood on end.
For some reason, her heart was filled with anticipation.
Zhang Ruochen grabbed Ao Xinyan's hand, their fingers interlaced. Ao Xinyan's heart began to pound wildly. She quickly lowered her head, and even her breathing became rapid.
Zhang Ruochen was a bit puzzled and said, "Why are you so nervous? Now that your meridians are reconnected and your injuries have recovered a lot, you can withstand a direct infusion of dragon qi. There's no need to do it like last time."
"Oh! So it's just infusing dragon qi..."
Ao Xinyan let out a long breath, but her brow furrowed slightly, and she felt a hint of disappointment in her heart.
Zhang Ruochen, however, didn't bother to think about what Ao Xinyan was thinking. He quickly began to mobilize the dragon qi from the Dragon Pearl, channeling it through his palm into Ao Xinyan's body.
"What are you thinking? Hurry up and circulate your technique to absorb the dragon qi," Zhang Ruochen scolded.
Ao Xinyan was startled and quickly began to circulate her technique, moving the dragon qi to heal her injuries.
Three days passed. Ao Xinyan absorbed a large amount of dragon qi, and her injuries finally healed completely.
Of course, she had not yet cultivated the True Dragon Body.
Cultivating the True Dragon Body was no easy task. Only if she could swallow a Dragon Pearl would she have a chance to successfully cultivate it.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Since your injuries have healed, it's time for us to part ways."
"Why?" Ao Xinyan's heart panicked, and she asked in confusion.
Ao Xinyan had thought that now her relationship with Zhang Ruochen was very close. But she hadn't expected that as soon as her injuries healed, Zhang Ruochen would drive her away.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I have something very important to do, and it's very dangerous. You can't come along. Because of you, I've already delayed several days, so naturally, I can't let you hold me up any longer. From now on, take care of yourself and return to the Kunlun Realm as soon as possible. That's the most important thing."
Having said that, Zhang Ruochen stopped looking at Ao Xinyan and walked over to Xiao Hei. "Well? Has the Origin Qi shifted its position?"
Xiao Hei said, "No, it's still deep in Black Wood Plain. Over the past few days, I went into Black Wood Plain to investigate and found that the tree men have become much more ferocious. Their activities have also increased, as if they're searching for something. If we enter Black Wood Plain now, it will be very dangerous."
"Even if it's dangerous, we have to go." Zhang Ruochen's eyes showed a determined expression.