Chapter 493: Engaging the Tree King
Zhang Ruochen glanced behind him and saw three Tree Kings chasing after him. A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "The intelligence of tree people is still too low, far inferior to that of true humans."
Immediately, he mobilized spatial power, executed a Spatial Displacement, and vanished from his original position.
An instant later, Zhang Ruochen's figure silently appeared dozens of zhang behind the three Tree Kings.
Then, Zhang Ruochen continued to use Spatial Displacement, reversing direction and charging back toward the wilderness where the tree army had been stationed. His figure flickered rapidly, and in no time, he was dozens of li away.
"Where did he go? How did he suddenly disappear?"
The three Tree Kings stopped and looked around. There was no trace of Zhang Ruochen at all.
One of the Tree Kings glanced behind it and saw a human figure flicker once before vanishing. Startled, it exclaimed, "Not good! We've fallen for the Outer Realm Death God's luring-the-tiger-away-from-the-mountain trick. He's heading back toward the tree army."
"Hurry, catch him! We can't let him continue slaughtering our people."
All three Tree Kings were furious. Letting out long howls, they turned and rushed back.
Although the tree clan had many powerful beings, they were not a warlike race and rarely experienced death.
Earlier, Zhang Ruochen had used an imperceptible method to kill a millennium-old tree man, causing immense panic among the tree army.
The entire army had fallen into chaos.
Two Tree Kings had struggled to restore order, calming the tree people's emotions and gradually stabilizing the army.
But unexpectedly, at that moment, some tree man shrieked, "Oh no! The Outer Realm Death God is back!"
"What? He's back again!"
Instantly, the terrified tree people panicked once more, fleeing in all directions like headless flies.
"Bang! Bang!"
Many tree people collided with each other, turning into a chaotic mess.
Within the army, the two Tree Kings watched this scene and sighed repeatedly. They had never imagined that their mighty tree army would be so fragile.
In the end, it was because the Outer Realm Death God's reputation was too fearsome. Moreover, his actions were truly terrifying.
Zhang Ruochen charged into the tree army and immediately began a massacre.
"Swish! Swish!"
Sword light fell continuously, accompanied by piercing sword cries.
He targeted only the millennium-old tree men. In the span of a single breath, he killed three of them in succession.
By the time the other millennium-old tree men reacted and tried to surround him, Zhang Ruochen had already escaped, darting off into the distance.
Strike and then flee immediately.
"This infuriates me! I, the King, will definitely kill him!"
The Tianyu Tree King saw the three fallen millennium-old tree men and erupted with rage. With a great roar, all its branches shook violently, generating a hurricane.
Even a mud figure has a temper, let alone a Tree King.
Black roots burst from the ground, transforming into over a dozen long tentacles. The Tianyu Tree King then rapidly chased after Zhang Ruochen.
"Tianyu Tree King, don't chase! Don't fall for the Outer Realm Death God's trick!" called out the Mingyi Tree King.
But the Tianyu Tree King had already led a group of millennium-old tree men in pursuit, ignoring the Mingyi Tree King's advice.
Now, with the tree army in chaos, the Mingyi Tree King had to stay and manage the situation, unable to break away.
The three Tree Kings who had previously chased Zhang Ruochen returned to the tree army. One of them stepped forward and immediately asked, "Mingyi Tree King, did you see the Outer Realm Death God?"
The Mingyi Tree King replied, "The Outer Realm Death God returned a second time and killed three more millennium-old tree men."
"Damn it! If I catch him, I'll make sure he dies a miserable death."
That Tree King was towering, its trunk as thick as a pillar reaching the sky. To vent its fury, it swung one of its branches, striking the ground with a thunderous boom, shattering a hundred-meter-tall hill into pieces.
If only it could land such a blow on the Outer Realm Death God!
But unfortunately, the Outer Realm Death God was too cunning and extremely fast, making it impossible to catch him. The Tree Kings, despite their immense strength, had no way to use it, leaving them deeply frustrated.
Another Tree King asked, "Where is the Tianyu Tree King?"
The Mingyi Tree King said urgently, "The Tianyu Tree King saw the Outer Realm Death God kill three of our people in a row and was so enraged that he led a pursuit."
"Damn it! The Outer Realm Death God is not only powerful but also extremely cunning. Among the five of us, the Tianyu Tree King is the weakest. If he chases alone, isn't he walking into danger?"
"Mingyi Tree King, you stay and reorganize the army. We'll catch up and support the Tianyu Tree King now."
"I hope we're not too late."
The three Tree Kings followed the traces left by the Tianyu Tree King and quickly gave chase.
After pursuing for about five hundred li, they finally found the Tianyu Tree King.
But the Tianyu Tree King had already been cut down, and even the blood in its trunk had been drained, leaving it as a withered, yellowish-brown log.
Besides the Tianyu Tree King, seven millennium-old tree men had also been killed, reduced to a pile of bloody wood chips. The ground was covered with stumps.
The three Tree Kings trembled with rage, their trunks shaking violently, causing the ground to quake.
"Not good! The Outer Realm Death God must have returned to the tree army. The Mingyi Tree King is no match for him."
The three Tree Kings howled in fury and once again rushed back at top speed.
Just as the three Tree Kings had guessed, after killing the Tianyu Tree King, Zhang Ruochen had indeed turned back and charged into the tree army for the third time.
"Everyone, flee! The Outer Realm Death God is here again!"
This time, the tree people did not fall into chaos. Instead, they all fled in the same direction.
From a distance, one would see a strange scene.
A forest of towering black trees was running frantically ahead, chased by a massive ball of flame, at the center of which was a human.
That human was, of course, Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen had released the celestial phenomenon "Thousand-Zhang Prairie Fire." Under the influence of his true qi, the world's spiritual energy transformed into flames, suspended in the air, setting the entire wilderness ablaze.
The tree people had no choice but to flee desperately.
The Mingyi Tree King was stirred into a fury. Snorting coldly, it said, "Outer Realm Death God, you go too far! Today, I, the King, will fight you to the death."
The Mingyi Tree King had grown for three thousand eight hundred years. Although it was still a tree, ordinary flames could not harm it.
Moreover, its strength was formidable, comparable to a cultivator at the peak of Fish-Dragon Third Change.
"Boom!"
Just as Zhang Ruochen was about to catch up to the tree army, the ground in front of him suddenly split open, and a root covered in dense veins shot out.
The root was wrapped in a layer of black metallic light, carrying a powerful gust of wind as it struck toward Zhang Ruochen.
"Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, Divine Dragon Tribulation."
Zhang Ruochen unleashed the sixth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm. His palm emitted a crackling sound, and purple electric light surged forth.
From the center of the electric light came a low, resonant dragon roar.
A lightning dragon over ten zhang long flew from his palm, meeting the root head-on.
"Bang!"
In an instant, the root shattered the lightning dragon and then collided with Zhang Ruochen's palms.
Only Zhang Ruochen knew how terrifying that force was. It felt like a massive mountain had slammed into him, sending him flying backward.
But Zhang Ruochen's strength was not weak. He quickly stabilized himself and landed back on the ground.
"Such immense power."
Zhang Ruochen looked at his hands. His palms were cracked with bloody lines. The flesh on his five fingers had almost been scraped off by the root, revealing white finger bones.
Both arms felt as if they were broken, completely numb.
Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen had cultivated the Water Spirit Treasure Body, greatly enhancing his physique and hardening his bones. Otherwise, that single strike might have crippled his hands.
"This Tree King is several times more powerful than the previous one. The strength gap between two three-thousand-year-old Tree Kings is this vast."
It was like two cultivators at the Fish-Dragon Third Change: one could instantly kill the other.
Same cultivation level, but vastly different combat power.
Zhang Ruochen had killed the Tianyu Tree King without much effort, but against the Mingyi Tree King, he had suffered considerable injury.
"The gap in cultivation is still too great. I can't go head-to-head with a Tree King. Using the Abyssal Ancient Sword against them is the best approach," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
The five elements interact, with metal overcoming wood.
The Abyssal Ancient Sword was a Sacred Artifact-level war blade, sharp and powerful, making it the perfect weapon against Tree Kings.