“What do you want to do?” Duan Ze looked at Xiao Wuchen sitting next to him, his heart sounding alarm bells.

Among those present, no one was a match for Xiao Wuchen. If he went berserk, the entire Hunling Sect would be in grave danger.

Xiao Wuchen was clearly aware of this, which is why he appeared so calm and composed.

The soft white light emitted by the Sky-reaching Iron Tree cast a layer of light and shadow on the lines of his profile. The horns on either side of his forehead were retracted, and with his light green robe, Xiao Wuchen looked just like an ordinary cultivator, having shed all his hostility.

“This is the Sky-reaching Iron Tree…” Xiao Wuchen turned his head to look ahead, his eyes sparkling, a smile playing on his lips. He released Duan Ze’s wrist, raised his hand to point at the iron tree, as if suddenly changing his mind, “Let’s put this matter on hold for now.”

Duan Ze saw that the other party indeed had no intention of dueling with him for the time being. Just as he retracted his hand, planning to talk things over, the person sitting next to him suddenly stood up and ran towards the iron tree.

Duan Ze’s position was set by Du Ling for ordinary cultivators to accept the maximum range.

Further inside, the concentration of spiritual qi was unbearable even for cultivators who practiced with it, let alone for a demon like Xiao Wuchen who didn’t use spiritual qi at all.

Could he be trying to destroy the Sky-reaching Iron Tree?!

Duan Ze’s heart tightened. He immediately stood up from the cushion, glanced at the people behind him who had already entered meditation, and then followed Xiao Wuchen towards the iron tree.

As the distance closed, the concentration of spiritual qi in the air grew larger, eventually condensing into a visible white mist. Even Duan Ze himself felt a bit intoxicated by the excessive spiritual qi intake, his body heating up and feeling slightly drowsy.

He continuously accelerated the digestion and absorption of spiritual qi within his body and used his divine sense to shout at Xiao Wuchen running ahead, “Stop!”

Xiao Wuchen’s figure was faintly visible in the white mist, but he did not stop moving forward.

Just by seeing the occasional wisp of demon qi emerging from the other party, Duan Ze could sense that he was desperately resisting the spiritual qi outside. After all, the Sky-reaching Iron Tree was a divine miracle.

Fortunately, the spiritual qi here was too dense, cleverly masking the demon qi on Xiao Wuchen. Plus, everyone from various sects was sitting far away and had entered meditation, and no one would expect the Demon Lord to run near the iron tree, so they hadn’t been discovered.

If Xiao Wuchen were discovered, it would inevitably cause chaos, making it even harder to handle than now.

When Xiao Wuchen reached directly beneath the iron tree, his eyes were already bloodshot to a terrifying degree. He tightly clenched his hands, looking up at the top of one of the trees. At the very top of the iron tree, there was still one iron ball that hadn’t bloomed, only a few cracks had appeared, and a continuous fragrance wafted out through the cracks.

In no time, mermen from the deep sea, attracted by the scent, swam up from the seabed, their melodious singing spreading out.

Upon hearing the song, Duan Ze, who was originally close, suddenly found Xiao Wuchen and the iron tree much farther away. He quickly concentrated, sealing his hearing, and his vision cleared significantly.

Looking again, Xiao Wuchen, who had been standing under the tree, had already climbed quite a distance up the iron tree.

However, every step Xiao Wuchen took was especially difficult, leaving a deeply imprinted shoe mark on the iron tree. By the tenth pair, there were already specks of blood on the shoe prints.

What exactly was he trying to do?

And that mermen song just now, wasn’t it supposed to have a calming effect? Why did he feel like his consciousness was being disturbed when he heard it?

Something’s wrong.

Duan Ze spread part of his divine sense to cover everything near the iron tree and then chased after Xiao Wuchen by stepping on the tree trunk.

Unfortunately, Xiao Wuchen was climbing as if his life depended on it. By the time he reached the back of the iron tree, there was almost a blood footprint with every step.

Duan Ze watched, thinking to himself: this guy’s ruthless.

He could almost confirm now that Xiao Wuchen was likely after the fruit of the iron tree.

The book once described that the fruit of the Sky-reaching Iron Tree could enhance one’s cultivation and temper the body, and it could be consumed by humans, demons, and cultivators alike.

However, beings like the demon clan would be repelled by the iron tree itself. Even if they reached the Hunling Sect, it would be difficult to obtain the fruit.

The problem was that both he and Xiao Wuchen’s bodies had already reached their limits. Even if there were some old ailments, like the aftereffects on the original host’s body, the fruit’s effect would be negligible for them, not as effective as slowly absorbing the spiritual qi it emitted, which would nourish them gradually.

While chasing, Duan Ze continued to ponder what use the fruit might have for Xiao Wuchen.

After passing a few horizontally growing iron branches, the fragrance from the flowers on them clung to the man’s lapel. He cast a cleansing technique on himself and suddenly remembered that the fruit also had soul-condensing effects.

Previously, when he and Xiao Wuchen went to the ruins together, the other party seemed to have obtained a top-grade magical artifact called the Soul Gathering Lamp.

Both items were related to souls. Could Xiao Wuchen be planning to use these things to summon souls and drive away ghosts?

Summoning souls and driving away ghosts was a cultivation method second only to the demon realm in terms of disdain on the continent. What exactly was Xiao Wuchen’s purpose in doing this?

However, based on his experience, stopping Xiao Wuchen from doing anything was the right move.

With this in mind, the man exerted a bit more force with his feet, speeding up his pace. Even though the Sky-reaching Iron Tree was extremely tall, it ultimately had an end.

When the two reached a height where they could barely see the people below, they finally saw the tree top. At the same time, within the range covered by Duan Ze’s divine sense, a slippery sensation suddenly appeared.

Something was approaching them, and it wasn’t slow.

Duan Ze focused slightly, exploring the shapes of those things below the tree, his eyelid twitching, “Mermen? How did they come ashore?”

Duan Ze suddenly recalled that when Li Qingyuan and the others recounted the story to the original host, they only mentioned the fragrance but never the fruit. Could it be that the mermen secretly stole it while everyone was meditating?

“Something’s coming.” Duan Ze flipped over, intercepting Xiao Wuchen before he could grab the unripe fruit, placing his hand on it.

Xiao Wuchen grabbed the lower half of the fruit with his other hand, extending his divine sense to the tree below, then sneered, “Just a few stinking fish and shrimp, are you afraid?”

“A thousand miles of dike can be destroyed by an ant hole. Don’t underestimate those small forces.” Duan Ze’s expression was serious, raising his eyes to look coldly at Xiao Wuchen.

Meanwhile, he quietly tightened his grip on the fruit, trying to pull it off.

It didn’t budge.

Xiao Wuchen paused, noticing the fruit being pulled upwards, his hand suddenly tightened, a smile appearing on his slightly pale face, “When will you righteous path folks ever be consistent in word and deed? Hmm?”

As soon as he finished speaking, he swung his free hand towards Duan Ze’s chest. Duan Ze quickly dodged sideways, still holding the top of the fruit. Just as he was about to counterattack, Xiao Wuchen suddenly released the fruit and turned to fly towards another iron tree.

Duan Ze, caught off guard, almost fell off the iron tree. He steadied himself and saw that there was indeed another fruit on a different tree.

Xiao Wuchen’s previous actions were to mislead him.

“There’s another one?”

This tree that blooms once in ten thousand years, why does it bear so many fruits?

Just as he was about to follow, the fruit in his hand completely shattered, and a strong fragrance spread. Duan Ze felt a sting in his palm, and a soft white ball of fur was in his hand.

Seeing this, Duan Ze instantly got goosebumps. Why does this fruit have fur?

He tried to throw it away but couldn’t, as if it were stuck to his hand.

While pondering how to get rid of the furball, he suddenly smelled a fishy scent. Duan Ze stood still, raising a barrier around himself. The next moment, the barrier shook, and in a breath, it was covered with strange-looking fish—the mermen had climbed up.

Mermen are creatures with a human-like upper body and a fish tail. They can’t speak, but their voices can disturb the mind, luring people to them before killing them.

However, due to the rumor that mermen tears turn into pearls, they were hunted extensively, drastically reducing their numbers, forcing them to reside in the deep sea, rarely venturing out.

Duan Ze looked at the mermen frantically gnawing at his barrier, trying to get close to him, feeling somewhat disappointed.

It was said that mermen were extremely beautiful, but now what he saw were all sharp-toothed, more like spirit beasts than humans.

They were likely attracted by the fragrance of the iron tree fruit.

While searching for Xiao Wuchen earlier, he noticed that apart from the medicinal herbs planted in the Hunling Sect, there were no spirit beasts. Of course, it couldn’t be ruled out that Du Ling and others had confined them in some spatial magical array.

Perhaps because of this, the only ones attracted were the mermen from the nearby deep sea.

Whether Du Ling did it intentionally or it was an oversight was unknown.

Duan Ze glanced at his slightly fluctuating barrier, grateful he had sealed his hearing in advance. Otherwise, he would have been irritated by the mermen’s howls.

Through the gaps between the mermen climbing up, Duan Ze saw that Xiao Wuchen had already obtained another fruit. His tree was also covered with mermen, but they were knocked down wave after wave, like dumplings being dropped.

The other party dealt with the mermen with ease. During this time, Duan Ze noticed that the fruit in Xiao Wuchen’s hand was completely different from the one in his own. The other party’s fruit was crystal clear, more like a fruit, resembling a peeled, seedless lychee.

He exerted a bit of force, shaking off all the mermen clinging to his barrier. The next moment, Xiao Wuchen had already eaten the fruit in his hand.

Duan Ze: “Hmm?” Just like that, he ate it?

Xiao Wuchen went through all this trouble just to eat a fruit that was useless to his body?

Duan Ze originally thought the other party wanted to use the item to refine some world-destroying magical artifact, but in the end, it was just for eating?

The mermen, seeing that one of the spiritual fruits had been eaten, turned their attention to the one Duan Ze had.

The latter happened to feel full of spiritual power with nowhere to expend it, so he used the most energy-consuming method of standing in the air, walking on air to the mid-air, looking calmly at the mermen constantly pouncing towards him, as if watching a clown.

“Heh.” Suddenly, someone nearby used their divine sense to sneer at him. Duan Ze looked down and saw Xiao Wuchen standing on the topmost iron branch of the iron tree. Without the fruit, the upper half of the iron tree had darkened, enveloping the person standing on it in darkness.

The other party had switched back to black clothes, fluttering freely in the wind, and the horns representing the demon clan reappeared, the air carrying the bloody scent left by the other party while climbing the iron tree.

Duan Ze, on the other hand, wore a white robe, with a moon disc glowing blue behind him, his entire being bathed in moonlight, like an exiled immortal.

It seemed as if the two were naturally on opposing sides, representing good and evil, never able to stand together.

“If you want to duel, take it outside.” Duan Ze used his divine sense to communicate.

“Why?” Xiao Wuchen was completely uncooperative. He pointed at the people below, “If Benzun takes those people as hostages, wouldn’t defeating you be a matter of minutes?”

“You dare!” Duan Ze was anxious, so he raised his hand to reveal the fruit still clinging to his hand. If Xiao Wuchen just wanted to eat this thing, then it wouldn’t hurt to give it to him, “Aren’t you after this fruit? If you promise not to cause trouble here, I’ll give it to you.”

Xiao Wuchen’s figure moved slightly, and in a blink, he stood opposite Duan Ze. Under the moonlight, the man’s features slowly emerged, the horns representing the demon clan glinting coldly, “Now you have no qualification to negotiate with Benzun…”

Before the man could finish speaking, his expression suddenly changed, clutching his chest forcefully, the blood on his face draining away instantly, “How could this be…”

Then, right in front of Duan Ze, the previously overbearing, confident Xiao Wuchen suddenly lost consciousness and fell straight down.

Author’s Note: Duan Ze: “That’s what you get for eating recklessly, now you’ve got a stomachache!”

——

Thanks to the little angels who voted for me or watered me with nutrient solution between 2020-09-15 20:48:04~2020-09-16 20:36:36~

Thanks to the little angel who threw the landmine: Cang Jiu Yun 1;

Thanks to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Lan Shi 20 bottles; You Yi 16 bottles; Bei Shang Nan Tian, Qi 10 bottles; Nan Nan Wan An’ 3 bottles; Qi Yuan Yuan Yuan 1 bottle;

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!