Upon seeing the scene before him, Cheng Xiaofan couldn't help but pause. Had his old eyes deceived him and conjured an illusion?
Just then, Mu Yisheng vanished!
Cheng Xiaofan quickly activated his Dragon Eye Perspective.
At this moment, he found no issue with his vision. The trees were indeed moving, but they were under Mu Yisheng's command, arranging themselves in formation.
And Mu Yisheng hadn't disappeared; he had merely cloaked himself within the trees.
He leaped from tree to tree, and under his control, the trees transformed as if they were fierce monsters, circling around.
All the nearby beasts, big and small, were terrified by this display, trembling on the ground as if the end of the world had arrived.
"Amazing!"
Cheng Xiaofan couldn't help but grumble internally.
To be able to command trees rooted in the ground to swirl around, it seemed this wood element cultivator was truly extraordinary!
He observed that the branches and leaves of the trees were imbued with a mysterious power, each one a deadly weapon!
He could sense the gusting winds and crackling lightning within the forest, which were actually a massive aura emanating from these trees.
An ordinary person falling here would have long since been crushed into bloody pulp and died from this aura.
However, Cheng Xiaofan was also keenly aware that although he had Dragon Power to protect him, over prolonged exposure, this aura from the forest would inflict some damage on his Dragon Power.
Cheng Xiaofan cherished his Dragon Power immensely and would not allow even the slightest damage to it.
"Heh heh!"
Cheng Xiaofan's gaze remained fixed on Mu Yisheng.
He thought, "To defeat the enemy, first capture the leader. Once you're gone, everything here will cease."
"Do you think you can hide among the trees and I won't see your tricks? Every move you make is visible to me."
"Boom!"
As soon as he thought this, the trees in the mountain suddenly lunged at Cheng Xiaofan.
The scene! The momentum! It was incredibly grand and exceptionally eerie.
A timid person would have died of fright long ago!
"Roar!"
Cheng Xiaofan let out a dragon's roar, transforming into a golden dragon.
This sudden change startled Mu Yisheng, who was hidden among the trees. His face changed, and he trembled all over.
Previously, he had seen Cheng Xiaofan as a being halfway between a human and a dragon, his image blurry, appearing both real and illusory.
But now, Cheng Xiaofan had completely transformed into a golden dragon!
What kind of legacy had this fellow obtained to be able to transform into a dragon?
At this thought!
Cheng Xiaofan let out another long roar. With a sweep of his dragon tail, the trees that lunged at him were sent flying backward.
As the trees behind attacked, a vast expanse of golden light spewed from his dragon claws, forming a vortex that sucked the trees in, then spat out a pile of dust.
Before Cheng Xiaofan, Mu Yisheng felt completely stripped of his offensive capabilities.
"Whoosh!"
Just then, Mu Yisheng saw Cheng Xiaofan revert to human form and pounce directly in front of him.
"Mu Yisheng, stop playing hide-and-seek, and come out!" Cheng Xiaofan reached out a hand, plunged it into a large tree, and grabbed Mu Yisheng by the collar.
At that moment, Mu Yisheng was almost scared out of his wits. How had this kid found him hiding in the tree?
Unwilling to be yanked out of the tree by Cheng Xiaofan, he struggled with all his might. With a tear, his upper garment was ripped off.
Immediately!
Mu Yisheng shifted and concealed himself within a large tree about ten meters away.
Panicked, he no longer bothered controlling the trees in the forest, and a sudden silence fell upon the surroundings.
After hiding and catching his breath, Cheng Xiaofan pounced again, as if he were a shadow, and plunged his hand into the tree.
"Mu Yisheng, let's see where you can hide!" This time, after inserting his hand into the tree, Cheng Xiaofan grabbed him by the waistband.
In truth, he could have easily strangled the man and dragged him out.
Cheng Xiaofan did this because he was worried that killing him outright might affect the quality of the crystallized core within his dantian.
Mu Yisheng couldn't believe he had been caught by Cheng Xiaofan again.
With a tear, he broke free from his pants once more, emerging naked.
Just as he was about to dash towards another tree, Cheng Xiaofan blocked his path and kicked him to the ground.
"Ah—" Mu Yisheng, in unbearable pain, rolled more than ten meters across the ground.
Cheng Xiaofan quickly caught up and stepped on him, sneering, "Mu Yisheng, a wood element cultivator who has reached the eighth realm of Xiantian, turns out to be nothing more than this!"
"You… you…" Mu Yisheng exclaimed in horror, "You can even tell that?"
Cheng Xiaofan chuckled, "The moment I first saw you, I could tell from your aura."
Upon hearing this, Mu Yisheng gritted his teeth and said, "I was utterly ruined by that bitch Yin Ruhua. I never expected you to be so formidable!"
He sighed again and continued, "Cheng Xiaofan, I admit I am no match for you. Please spare me!"
Cheng Xiaofan shook his head and replied, "As I said before, my second purpose here is to obtain the crystallized core from you. Although you are a vicious person who has wronged countless individuals, just like Yin Tiejiu, your crystallized core is incredibly pure!"
Hearing this, Mu Yisheng's face darkened. "Cheng Xiaofan, don't push it too far. If I die, you won't be able to save Tang Guoxing and Luo Cheng!"
Cheng Xiaofan narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Mu Yisheng, I know that before I came here, you poisoned Mr. Tang and Luo Cheng and imprisoned them in a dirt cellar behind the wooden building. In your mind, without your antidote, I wouldn't be able to save them. But you are mistaken! This shows you never frequent the martial arts forums. You don't know that I am an expert in detoxification. No matter what poison you've given to Mr. Tang and Luo Cheng, I can cure them. Your antidote is worthless to me. Anyone who dares to harm those close to me deserves to die!"
Mu Yisheng knew he couldn't threaten Cheng Xiaofan and that he had no hope of survival.
He roared with all his might, "Cheng Xiaofan, don't think you can take my crystallized core! I will self-detonate my dantian and destroy it!"
Cheng Xiaofan laughed heartily, "Mu Yisheng, you're a cultivator, yet you don't realize that with my foot on you, you can't self-detonate your dantian? Try it if you don't believe me!"
Mu Yisheng immediately attempted to channel his internal energy to self-detonate his dantian. However, he found his body to be limp, unable to muster any strength, as if he were paralyzed.
He asked in terror, "Why does it feel like all my strength has been drained?"
Cheng Xiaofan smiled, "You are correct. To prevent you from self-detonating your dantian, the moment my foot landed on you, I drained your internal energy."
As soon as he finished speaking, Cheng Xiaofan reached out and grabbed the air. A radiant green crystallized core shot out from Mu Yisheng's body and landed in Cheng Xiaofan's hand.
Mu Yisheng shrieked, "Cheng Xiaofan, you're despicable! That is the crystallized core I cultivated over many years! You stealing my crystallized core is simply too base!"
"Hahaha, Mu Yisheng, you don't know me. I have always appreciated my own baseness!" Cheng Xiaofan said with triumphant laughter.