Chapter 252: Sacrifice, the Appearance of Tree Ancestor, Long Tianxing’s Idea


    “A middle-rank Demon General at its peak, a Tree Demon!”


    Ye Feng looked at the image of therge tree, “Daring to capture a disciple of this Sect Leader, it seems you no longer wish to live.”


    Since this ce was hundreds of miles away from that valley, it was impossible for him to arrive immediately, so he could onlymunicate with Thousand Faces Demon Monarch through the Heaven-Asking Mirror first.


    “What’s the situation?” Ye Feng asked.


    “That Tree Demon possesses an innate talent ‘Soul-Suppressing Nail.’ Once it hits the center of the forehead, any cultivator with a lower cultivation level than it cannot withstand it; their cultivation will be firmly sealed,” Thousand Faces Demon Monarch exined.


    He had eavesdropped on the conversation between Shi Lei and the elderly man, obtaining a lot of information.


    Whoosh!


    At that moment, a gust of wind suddenly blew through the valley.


    All the trees shook, the leaves rustled, and countless leaves fell to the ground, forming a thickyer.


    “What’s happening?”


    The four disciples, including Shi Lei, were shocked.<div>


    The elderly man in the neighboring cage looked up at the sky and said, “It’s starting again, the sacrifice that happens every seven days… I wonder who will be the ‘lucky one’ this time?”


    “Hiss!”


    Wang Ping’an trembled all over, “Elder, don’t worry, I feel that you have an enormous luck and will surely survive until the end.”


    “If only!” the elderly man murmured.


    After being trapped, as he watched his fellow cultivators being continuously sacrificed by the Tree Demon in exchange for Wood Spirit Power from the Tree Ancestor, he had be hopeless.


    Crack!


    The elderly man’s cage suddenly burst open.


    A vine, tougher and sharper than a lower-grade Spiritual Artifact, impaled him and flung him high into the air, mming into a pre-condensed Hexagram Formation.


    Bang!


    Even though he was a second-level cultivator in the Element Gathering Realm, he couldn’t resist the devouring power of the sacrificial formation with his cultivation sealed and instantly turned into mist.


    “Damn it!”N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The four disciples were stunned.


    The elder with whom they had just been chatting was gone in the next moment; it was truly regrettable.


    Then, Shi Lei, Huo Yunjie, and Long Tianxing all thought of something and turned to look at Wang Ping’an, saying in unison, “Junior brother, what did you just say?”


    Wang Ping’an blinked, “Just now I only said that the elder could survive until the end, but who knew he would be the first to die…”


    Reverse jinxing?


    This idea simultaneously popped into the minds of the three disciples.


    No one whom Wang Ping’an paid respects to as a master survived, and those he verbally assured would live until the end died immediately.


    Therefore, the spection of “reverse jinxing” could indeed be true!<div>


    With this thought, Shi Lei and the others grew excited.


    They finally saw a glimmer of hope for escape!


    Behind the scenes.


    Ye Feng watched the entire scene through the Heaven-Asking Mirror and felt an intense oppressive force from within the Hexagram Formation.<div>


    Within it, a terrifying presence seemed to appear!


    Rumble rumble…


    Sudden bursts of thunder exploded above the valley where the Tree Demon resided, and the Hexagram Formation began to converge toward the center, with a faint shadow appearing below.


    That was a gigantic human face!


    It had a head full of green hair, resembling countless vines; its cold eyes looked down at all living beings below with indifference. Although its lips didn’t move, a voice was already heard.


    “Delicious taste, I reward you with Wood Spirit Power.”


    The humanoid face exhaled three strands of green spirit silk, the size of hairs, which slowly drifted down from the sky, merging into the hundred-meter-tall Tree Demon, causing its aura to surge dramatically, on the verge of breaking through to a high-rank Demon General.


    “Thank you, Tree Ancestor!”


    The tree demon’s trunk materialized into an aged human face, expressing gratitude to the green face in the sky.


    The Tree Ancestor didn’t continue speaking.


    His enormous face slowly dissipated, gradually turning into a pale blue light which then shifted to green before vanishingpletely.


    On the ground.


    The tree demon looked toward the sky, feeling the strength within it steadily growing, and mused, “Very well, my energy has umted to its limit. After I ovee the Minor Thirty-Nine Heavens Tribtion, I will be able to ascend to a High-Rank Demon General.”<div>


    As a tree demon of a lowly bloodline, it had only reached its current cultivation level through years of umtion and the wood spirit power attained from sacrificing countless cultivators to reform itself. It was now finally on the verge of a breakthrough, and it was very pleased.


    Inside the vine prison.


    Shi Lei, Long Tianxing, and Huo Yunjie glimpsed at each other when they heard the term “Minor Thirty-Nine Heavens Tribtion,” making a decision.


    Long Tianxing leaned in close to Wang Ping’an and whispered, “Ping An, can youy it on thick with praise for this tree demon? Praise it to the skies, and also, haven’t you been wanting to take a master? Hurry and acknowledge it as your master. That’s the only way it will let the four of us leave.”


    “Huh?” Wang Ping’an was surprised.


    But the simple-minded Wang Ping’an was unaware of Long Tianxing’s true intentions and thought genuinely ttering the tree demon would appease it.


    So, trembling, Wang Ping’an spoke, “Tree… esteemed tree demon elder, you are so magnanimous. Could you let us few leave?”


    The tree demon let out a light gasp, extended the vines holding the cage, and brought it close to its enormous face, examining closely.


    Upon realizing that Shi Lei and hispanions were young but had reasonably good cultivation levels, a sinister smile crossed its lips, “You must be sect disciples. Letting you go would only invite a powerful enemy against me, wouldn’t it?”


    Wang Ping’an hastily waved his hands, “You are overthinking it, esteemed tree demon elder. We just think you are peerlessly brave, and you can evenmunicate with the esteemed Tree Ancestor. Your future achievements are undoubtedly boundless; to be a king or even an ancestor is as good as settled.”


    Hearing this, Shi Lei, Huo Yunjie, and Long Tianxing nodded repeatedly, as if everything Wang Ping’an said would surely be true.


    But in their hearts, they were all shouting, “Yes, that’s it, butter it up, tter it to the extreme!”


    Listening to Wang Ping’an’s unctuous ttery, the tree demon felt somewhat pleased, emitting a cruelugh, “Letting you go is impossible, but seeing as you, boy, are quite the talker, I shall allow you to live a while longer.”<div>


    “Keep praising!” Long Tianxing nudged Wang Ping’an with his elbow.


    Upon hearing that he could live a bit longer and reminded by Long Tianxing, Wang Ping’an immediately knelt and continuously kowtowed, “Esteemed tree demon elder, I am so thankful to you. In order to express my gratitude, please ept me as your disciple!”


    “I can concoct elixirs, and I’m also adept at identifying various medicinal herbs. After you transform, I can concoct all kinds of marvelous elixirs for you.”


    “Also, let me congratte you in advance, esteemed tree demon elder, for oveing the uing Minor Thirty-Nine Heavens Tribtion and smoothly ascending as a mighty High-Rank Demon General.”


    Wang Ping’an showered him with endless praise.


    The tree demon, basking in the ttery, said, “You’re not bad, kid, quite the silver tongue. Plus, you’re an alchemist. So be it, after I survive the tribtion, I will take you as my servant.”


    With that said, the tree demon turned its gaze to the gradually darkening sky.


    The Minor Thirty-Nine Heavens Tribtion was approaching.


    As a tree demon of an inferior bloodline, it needed to ovee tribtions to continue breaking through. Typically, these tribtions were merely ordinary lightning, posing little danger.


    It had survived safely through the two previous ones.


    And this time was bound to be no exception.


    ncing back at Wang Ping’an, the tree demon thought, “A little fellow who praises me and wishes to acknowledge me as master can’t have any bad intentions, can he? In that case, once I ascend as a High-Rank Demon General, I will devour him. Who knows, maybe I’ll gain the talent to be as eloquent as him. Splendid!”


    Boom rumble…<div>


    Thunder rumbled across the sky.


    The third Minor Thirty-Nine Heavens Tribtion was about to begin!


    “Mere Heavenly Tribtion, thinking it could stop me from ascending as a High-Rank Demon General with just three ordinary bolts of lightning, what a joke!”


    The tree demon scorned, gathering its energy in preparation for the tribtion.


    Behind the scenes.


    Ye Feng watched the entire process of Wang Ping’an praising the tree demon through the Heaven-Asking Mirror and blinked, instantly understanding Long Tianxing’s malicious intent.


    “Taking a master… toxic ttery? Splendid!”


    Ye Feng uttered his praise, his smile turning wicked.