Watching a Heavenly Venerable being pierced by a branch, his body vanishing, his clothes and longsword drifting down from the sky, even Long Chen was stunned.
A Celestial Venerable-level powerhouse—that's the strongest existence Long Chen has ever encountered. Even with their combined strength, they couldn't resist, and yet he was killed just like that?
For a moment, looking at this strange tree, everyone's scalp tingled; the scene before them was terrifying.
"Don't move, I'll go take a look."
Long Chen spoke as he headed straight for the altar.
When Long Chen rushed up to the altar, he found that the ground beneath his feet was indeed made of bone. In other words, the core of the altar was indeed a skull.
Long Chen approached the giant tree, his large hand gently stroking the bark of the tree's scales. His expression suddenly changed, and he shouted coldly:
"How dare you! When you see me, why don't you show yourself?"
Guo Ran and the others were stunned. What was the boss doing? Why do you shout at the strange tree?
The tree didn't move at all, showing no reaction at all. Long Chen was instantly furious and suddenly swung his large hand fiercely.
"Whoosh!"
Endless black earth flew out, heading straight for the tree roots. The black earth came from chaotic space.
"Buzz"
The moment Long Chen released the black earth, the giant tree suddenly erupted with endless black mist, blocking the black earth. At the same time, an anxious voice rang out:
"Great Son of the Nether Emperor, please forgive me. Please withdraw your punishment."
As endless black energy surged, a strange old man dressed in a black robe appeared. He was thin and withered, but on his head was a small tree. The leaves trembled, and patterns of eyes appeared, as if countless eyes had grown, evoking fear.
As soon as the old man appeared, he hurriedly prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowing and saluteing Long Chen with utmost respect.
Guo Ran and the others were stunned, mouths agape, not knowing what was happening before them. Such a terrifying presence actually kowtowed to Long Chen.
Seeing the old man appear, Long Chen waved his hand and recalled the endless black soil. He had long noticed something was wrong with this tree—it was a powerful tree demon.
When they landed, the tree demon had already sensed them but ignored them. However, in the brief moment its divine sense swept over everyone, Long Chen caught it.
At that moment, Long Chen knew that this tree demon was the one guarding this place. At the same time, he saw the Hellflower pattern on the altar below, which confirmed its identity.
However, Long Chen himself didn't understand why this strange tree ignored them, so he took the risk and actually scared it off.
According to Long Chen's philosophy, the Demon Eye is related to the Nether Emperor. Since he absorbed the Nether Emperor's imprint, the Demon Eye wouldn't make things difficult for him, which is why Long Chen came so boldly.
"Why do you ignore me?" I have already inspected several places, but you alone are the most arrogant. Why is that? Long Chen flaunted his tiger might, shouting sternly.
"It was my ignorance. Seeing you and the human race coming, I dared not rashly acknowledge you. Please forgive me, sir." The old man said anxiously.
"Nonsense! Do you think I would believe you? You wouldn't recognize the aura on me?
Why do others appear to greet you first, but you act so arrogantly? And killed a Celestial Venerable to show off to me? Long Chen shouted coldly.
"I wouldn't dare." The old man hurriedly said.
Seeing Long Chen scold the old man, the old man didn't dare to argue, looking utterly terrified. Guo Ran and the others were stunned. The boss was just too impressive—someone who could even kill a Celestial Venerable. What on earth is going on in this world?
"Let me ask you, how long have you been here?" Long Chen said coldly.
"Reporting to you, sir, I have been here for eighty-seven million years. During this time, I have been diligent and diligent, never daring to slack off even a little." The old man said respectfully.
Long Chen nodded and said, "Among all the guards, you're still considered young." "
Long Chen didn't know this person's background, so he could only speak casually to see how he would respond.
"Yes, yes, I have indeed served Lord Minghuang for not long. Compared to the other seniors of the Demon Eye, I am considered a junior. But I will definitely work hard and never let down His Majesty's expectations." The old man said.
Just as expected, no wonder he never mentioned the Ghost Emperor mark on me. It seems he couldn't sense the Ghost Emperor mark on me; otherwise, if he had doubts, he would have been suspicious long ago.
Even if he didn't dare ask directly, he would still test him in a roundabout way. It seemed its strength was not as strong as the one in the Demon's Eye we encountered last time.
"I have been ordered by the Nether Emperor to inspect the sixteen demon eyes in this area, to see your achievements and to assess your merits." Long Chen stood with his hands behind his back, his face arrogant as he spoke.
Anyway, he had the Underworld Emperor's mark, so this tree demon would definitely sense it. With this identity, he could spout nonsense without hesitation.
"Sixteen Demon Eyes?" There are only thirteen of these Tianhe sections in total, right? The tree demon elder was taken aback.
Damn, you exaggerated. If only I had said half of it, but who is Long Chen? He has thick skin and shows no panic, coldly saying:
"Is there no Demon Eye between Ming Haotian and Ziyan Tian?" Do you think I'm just bragging? "
I dare not. Since you wish to inspect the situation, please take a look." Only then did the old man stand up.
"Crack, crack, crack..."
As the tree demon elder finished speaking, the altar beneath Long Chen's feet cracked. Only then did he realize that beneath him was a vast space.
Standing here, one could see countless chains passing through this space, and at the core of the chains stood a massive crystal.
The crystal was square, a hundred li in size, and inside it could be seen endless energy flowing.
Long Chen's heart raced wildly. Within the crystal, pure life force flowed, formed from the fusion of countless life forms.
At that moment, Long Chen instantly understood that the life force of the dead corpses outside had all been extracted and infused into this crystal.
Long Chen also understood the significance of the Demon Eye: the Nether Emperor was slain by the Lord of the Nine Stars and was in the midst of nirvana rebirth. Therefore, the life energy collected by the Demon Eye must be the key to the Nether Emperor's nirvana.
For a moment, Long Chen was both shocked and furious. In the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, who knows how many Demon Eyes they had deployed—just how many humans had they slaughtered? This is so vicious.
"The vitality within this crystal is astonishing. Perhaps it truly has the power to bring the dead back to life and to flesh and bones.
But as a human, how could I heal myself with the lives of my own kind? It seems the only way is to destroy it. Long Chen made up his mind in secret.
"Don't destroy it, that would be too wasteful." Suddenly, the voice of a dragon clan expert echoed in Long Chen's mind.
"So what should we do?" Long Chen hurriedly asked.
"Bring it here and let the Qiankun Cauldron absorb it, reviving it." said the dragon clan expert.
"But if you want to get it, you'll probably need to find a way to deal with that tree demon first. That guy is not easy to deal with. With your current strength, you definitely won't be a match for it.
When you don't have absolute power, sometimes outsmarting is the only way. The dragon clan expert continued to remind him.
Long Chen suddenly looked at the tree demon elder. The elder's expression changed slightly, because Long Chen's gaze sensed danger in his eyes.