This humble Taoist priest, Qianhe, begins his quest for immortality by slaying demons and monsters.

Chapter 207 True Fire Burns the Tree Demon, Taking Over Lanruo Temple

As soon as Zhong Bai finished speaking, vines above Lanruo Temple coalesced into a hundred-meter-tall figure, looking down at the temple. The tree demon's anger at this moment was no joke.

Lord Black Mountain already knew about Nie Xiaoqian's affair and would send people to fetch her in a few days. But at the crucial moment, Nie Xiaoqian disappeared. The Tree Demon Granny knew that someone had to take the blame for this.

That person couldn't possibly be her, so the only option was to choose a righteous cultivator, and Yan Chixia was the perfect scapegoat.

The tree demon didn't care whether Nie Xiaoqian was killed by Yan Chixia or where she was now.

"This is too much!
Tree demon, don't try to pin this on me. The disappearance of your ghosts is your problem. I've only just arrived at Lanruo Temple and haven't killed a single one of your subordinates. How can you accuse me of this?

"Heaven and earth are boundless, the universe borrows its power, the divine sword of mountains and rivers, emerge!"

As the divine sword behind Yan Chixia was drawn, a beam of sword light shot into the sky. In an instant, countless sword energies rushed toward the body of the Tree Demon Granny. Wood chips flew everywhere, and a viscous, dark green liquid splattered with a foul stench.

At the same time, the Tree Demon Granny couldn't just take the beating without fighting back. One after another, vines gleaming with cold light shot out from the ground, each one aimed directly at Yan Chixia's vital points. For a moment, the battle between the human and the demon became quite intense.

Zhong Bai and Zhang Zhiwei watched as Yan Chixia's combat strength was still sufficient, so neither of them chose to make a move at this moment. Looking at Yan Chixia, Zhang Zhiwei said with a forced smile, "Fellow Daoist Qianhe, the cultivators in this world do not seem to be stronger than us. Their supernatural abilities and techniques seem rather crude and unsophisticated. Of course, it may be because Fellow Daoist Yan has a particular fondness for sword control techniques."

Zhong Bai listened without answering. He had his own guesses about Yan Chixia's situation. If Yan Chixia was really a disciple of Shu Mountain, then the Black Mountain Demon would definitely have to give him some face. And in fact... that already explained the situation.

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, you and Fellow Daoist Yan should meet this tree demon. I will go ahead and remove its heartwood to prevent future troubles."

Zhang Zhiwei nodded; he also wanted to test the tree demon's abilities.

"good!"

After saying that, Zhang Zhiwei transformed into a golden light and headed straight for the Tree Demon Granny.

"Five Thunders, Five Thunders, heed my command..."

As Zhang Zhiwei arrived and hovered in the void, a bolt of lightning suddenly struck down from the void with a hiss. Countless bolts of lightning spread in Zhang Zhiwei's palm. Even though Zhang Zhiwei had only just broken through to the Golden Core True Monarch realm, his use of the Five Thunder Orthodox Technique still made the Tree Demon Granny somewhat frightened.

"Thunder Magic Divine Power, who are you?!"

The Tree Demon Granny exclaimed in surprise. In her understanding, cultivators with true thunder magic were definitely not ordinary people. Not to mention others, even someone like Yan Chixia only knew the common palm thunder technique, while Zhang Zhiwei's Five Thunder Orthodox Technique...

"Hahaha, tree demon, your death is near! This Fellow Daoist Zhang is a true disciple of Longhu Mountain. He just used the Five Thunder Orthodox Method Great Divine Power of Longhu Mountain. Let's see how you survive!"

Yan Chixia laughed loudly, her sword flashing continuously, leaving the tree demon with no energy to pay attention to the lightning bolts hurtling towards her from the void.

Bang bang bang!
Bolts of lightning exploded on the Tree Demon Granny's body. As a plant spirit, she feared nothing more than lightning and fire. The lightning that entangled her was like a bone-deep pain, causing the Tree Demon Granny to scream incessantly.

Zhong Bai didn't have a chance to see this scene.

The instant Zhang Zhiwei rushed forward, Zhong Bai transformed into a streak of light and vanished from the spot.

......................................................

When Zhong Bai arrived at a 100-meter-deep underground space, ten miles away from Lanruo Temple, a powerful, throbbing sound was pounding incessantly within that space.

"Sir, this is Grandma's heartwood!"

Beside Zhong Bai, Nie Xiaoqian stared at the enormous, pulsating tree heart in front of her, her eyes filled with resentment.

If it weren't for the tree demon, she wouldn't have been controlled for over a decade. Now, she finally had a chance for revenge. She unleashed a large palm strike condensed from ghostly energy, but after a slight tremor upon landing on the tree heart, it continued to beat without stopping.

"Sir, Xiaoqian cannot be moved..."

Nie Xiaoqian felt a little bitter. She didn't have the ability to break through the tree's defenses yet, so she could only leave it to Zhong Bai to carry out her revenge.

"The heart of a peak demon king is quite a nice little trinket..."

After Zhong Bai finished speaking, he smiled faintly and grabbed the tree heart with his five fingers. In the void, powerful demonic energy tried to crush Zhong Bai's five fingers, but Zhong Bai did not care at all. His physical body had reached the level of the fourth level of the Shangqing Dragon Elephant Technique. He could kill a peak demon king with his physical body alone. How could he be blocked by a few demonic energies?

As expected, the moment Zhong Bai's five fingers touched the tree heart, a powerful force ripped the entire tree heart out!

Lanruo Temple.

The tree demon, who had been able to barely hold her own against Yan Chixia and Zhang Zhiwei, turned pale the moment Zhong Bai pulled out her heartwood. Her entire body rapidly disintegrated, and countless vines drooped limply and withered away.

"Damn it, who disturbed the tree's heart!"

The Tree Demon Granny's expression was uncertain, and she had no intention of continuing to entangle with Yan Chixia and Zhang Zhiwei. After a divine soul left her body, it quickly disappeared into the earth.

"Tsk, it seems that Daojun has destroyed the tree demon's heartwood."

Yan Chixia was incredibly excited, and his guess was indeed correct.

"Whether it is or not, wouldn't it be clear at a glance if the two of us followed along?"

Zhang Zhiwei smiled faintly, took a deep breath to suppress the true energy from their recent battle, and the two quickly chased after the direction in which the Tree Demon Granny had fled... When the Tree Demon arrived, she saw Zhong Bai suspending her tree heart in the void.

"And who are you, daring to touch my tree heart? Hand it over at once!"

At first glance, the Tree Demon Granny was only focused on the tree heart, but at second glance, she noticed Nie Xiaoqian standing next to Zhong Bai.

"Xiaoqian?!"

While surprised, the tree demon almost instantly deduced that it was all Nie Xiaoqian's fault. Her tree heart was hidden very well, and ordinary cultivators would hardly be able to find it. Even a Nascent Soul Dao Lord would need to put in a lot of effort to find it.

It just so happens that they were found so quickly. If it wasn't Nie Xiaoqian who led the way, then who else could it be?
"Grandma, I've treated you very well!"
Nie Xiaoqian, you!

Upon hearing this, Nie Xiaoqian snorted coldly.

"Grandma, you keep saying you've treated me well, but have you forgotten how Xiaoqian died in this Lanruo Temple? Or is your 'treating me well' just a euphemism for sending me to the Black Mountain Demon in the underworld to drain me dry...!"

Seeing Nie Xiaoqian's attitude, the Tree Demon Granny's face immediately darkened.

So what if it is!
Grandma is telling you, you'd better tell this young cultivator beside you not to make a mistake. Grandma has the Black Mountain Lord behind her. If he destroys Grandma's tree heart, then it will only be a fight to the death!

Zhong Bai listened and shook his head slightly.

"Xiaoqian, you go first to enter the seal..."

Upon hearing this, Nie Xiaoqian did not refuse and swiftly entered the seal.

"You mere tree spirit, yet you dare to utter such arrogant words. I truly wish to know what benefits that Black Mountain Demon gave you that make you so unafraid of the risk of death and annihilation..."

As Zhong Bai spoke, the aura within his body was revealed, and the oppressive feeling of a Nascent Soul Dao Lord made the Tree Demon Granny's expression immediately become solemn.

"You...you are Daojun!"

“I am Zhong Bai, from Maoshan. Tree demon, I will destroy your tree heart first.”

After saying that, Zhong Bai unleashed a burst of Samadhi True Fire from his palm, and in an instant, the tree heart that was suspended in the void turned into ashes and vanished into the air.

With the tree's heart destroyed, the tree demon grandmother's mind and soul became somewhat unstable.

"Your confidence stems from the fact that every blade of grass and every tree in Lanruo Temple carries your essence. As long as a wisp of your soul remains, you can be reborn..."

"Unfortunately, you've encountered me, a humble Taoist priest!"

boom!
After Zhong Bai finished speaking, his entire body ascended into the air on his sword. He didn't even glance at the tree demon. Her true form couldn't leave Lanruo Temple, and with the tree heart destroyed, she had no chance to escape the temple's territory.

"Samadhi Fire, heed my command!"

In the air, terrifying streams of blood energy condensed within Zhong Bai's body, transforming into a crimson cloud in the void.

As Zhong Bai's divine soul ignited his blood, streams of Samadhi True Fire fell like rain.

......................................................

Zhang Zhiwei and Yan Chixia, who had originally planned to get closer to see the situation, stopped in their tracks upon seeing this scene and fled frantically behind them. They were joking, of course; if those clusters of Samadhi True Fire were to fall on them, they would probably be nothing but a bloody mess.

Centered on Lanruo Temple, flames rose in a radius of more than ten miles. On the earth, all the grass and trees turned to ashes. The tree demon's own body was quickly burned by the flames, and all the lonely ghosts were burned to death in an instant. The tree demon wanted to escape, but its body could not be moved. It could only split its soul and attach itself to the grass and trees.

But soon the surrounding vegetation was completely consumed by the flames.

Zhong Bai watched the tree demon's true form below, the gigantic banyan tree a hundred meters tall, writhing in agony and emitting mournful howls, without being moved in the slightest.

"Heh, you think you can preserve the last shred of your soul using such methods?"

Zhong Bai's divine sense was locked onto the banyan tree, the tree demon's true form, below. Underground, one of her roots was rapidly traversing, trying to preserve a fragment of her soul for a future comeback.

"If plants and trees become spirits, it's quite troublesome to completely eliminate them..."

As Zhong Bai spoke, he descended from the sky and landed in front of the tree demon's true form. Looking at the still burning tree, Zhong Bai suddenly grabbed the hundred-meter-tall giant tree with both hands. The moment he exerted his strength, the tree swayed precariously, the earth tore apart, and without any surprise, the entire tree was uprooted by Zhong Bai.

Including that root that wanted to escape...

No! No!

"Lord Black Mountain, Lord Black Mountain will avenge me! You, you will all die!"

As the last wisp of her soul vanished in the flames, the Tree Demon Granny still couldn't resist uttering some harsh words. Unfortunately for her, Zhong Bai was truly unafraid of the Black Mountain Demon.

Such a threat is nothing!

(End of this chapter)