Within the large hole in the trunk of the Forgetful Soul Tree, there was an infant entwined by numerous branches and vines!
The infant's eyes were tightly shut, its brow furrowed slightly, as if enduring some unbearable pain.
Upon seeing the infant bound by branches, Chu Yuan's eyes instantly reddened, his body trembling with emotion. "Xue'er? Is that Xue'er?"
Although the figure in the tree hollow was merely an infant, Chu Yuan recognized it as Wu Xue at a glance!
Wu Xue had not transformed into the Forgetful Soul Tree!
"Xue'er! I'm coming to save you now!"
Realizing that Wu Xue had been imprisoned within the Forgetful Soul Tree all along, Chu Yuan's heart was instantly filled with boundless guilt. His entire being erupted with an aura equivalent to that of a Saint, and he unhesitatingly charged towards the large hole that Ye Ling had blasted open.
"He can actually convert冥气 into his own power." Ye Ling's eyes flashed with surprise as he witnessed Chu Yuan's cultivation instantly multiply several dozenfold.
Chu Yuan was merely a fragmented soul, with very little spiritual power remaining. It was estimated that any cultivator at the True Martial Realm could easily deal with him.
However, just now, Ye Ling had discovered that Chu Yuan had absorbed the冥气 from the Ten Thousand冥 Mountains to his own use, rapidly converting it into his strength.
More importantly, the power Chu Yuan absorbed was but a tiny fraction of the Ten Thousand冥 Mountains!
"With this much冥气, he can unleash Saint-level combat power. If he were to absorb all the冥气 from the Ten Thousand冥 Mountains, what kind of power would he unleash?" Ye Ling wondered curiously. As he watched Chu Yuan rush towards the opening, he noticed the area around the hole begin to writhe, sprouting numerous sharp thorns!
"That's..."
Upon seeing the thorns, Ye Ling's gaze sharpened. He immediately reached out, grabbed Chu Yuan, and pulled him back!
*Chii!!!*
The instant Ye Ling dragged Chu Yuan back, a multitude of thorny branches erupted from the tree hollow, sealing the entire opening.
The thorny branches were dripping with a glowing green venom. If Chu Yuan had entered the tree hollow moments earlier, he would have been pierced and likely died on the spot!
Seeing the poisonous branches blocking the opening, Chu Yuan was stunned, his face filled with disbelief. "Wh-why..."
He couldn't understand why the Forgetful Soul Tree would want to kill him.
Ye Ling glanced at the venomous branches sealing the hole and said to Chu Yuan, "This Forgetful Soul Tree must have long since broken free from Wu Xue's control and become a thoroughly evil tree."
"To it, you are no longer a husband, but an intruder."
Upon hearing Ye Ling's words, Chu Yuan became even more anxious. "Why has it become like this?"
However, despite Chu Yuan's panic, his aura continued to surge.
Under his unconscious influence, a large amount of冥气 surged from the Ten Thousand冥 Mountains into the valley, eroding the valley's spiritual energy.
A vast quantity of冥气 poured into the valley from the Ten Thousand冥 Mountains, beginning to corrode everything within.
The leaves and fruits on the Forgetful Soul Tree withered rapidly under the influence of the冥气 and fell from the branches.
Ye Ling glanced at the increasingly scorched ground in the valley, understood what was happening, and couldn't help but laugh at Chu Yuan. "You're still asking why? You've drawn all the冥气 from the Ten Thousand冥 Mountains here. This Forgetful Soul Tree painstakingly carved out its own domain within the Ten Thousand冥 Mountains, and you've destroyed it in a few strokes. Do you think it would welcome you?"
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Chu Yuan finally realized that his emotional agitation had drawn the冥气 from the Ten Thousand冥 Mountains. He reacted quickly and said, "I'll drive the冥气 away now!"
Ye Ling stopped him. "No need... The Forgetful Soul Tree has to be cut down anyway. By drawing the冥气 here and eroding the Forgetful Soul Tree's vitality, it will be more convenient for me to cut it down later."
The Forgetful Soul Tree was originally an evil tree born from Wu Xue swallowing the World Tree seed and being infused with冥气.
Logically, the Forgetful Soul Tree should have accepted the冥气. However, because it was formed from Wu Xue, the Forgetful Soul Tree was extremely repulsed by the冥气.
To repel the冥气, the Forgetful Soul Tree continuously absorbed surrounding spiritual energy to gain the strength to counter it.
Chu Yuan, in his emotional turmoil, had drawn the冥气 from the Ten Thousand冥 Mountains, disrupting the balance between the Forgetful Soul Tree and the Ten Thousand冥 Mountains. Regardless of how things unfolded, the Ten Thousand冥 Mountains would never be peaceful again.
Rather than expelling the冥气 and maintaining a fragile balance, it was better to let nature take its course and resolve the issue of the冥 Mountains completely!
Furthermore,冥气 was ultimately the fundamental cause of the Forgetful Soul Tree's birth. To see the Forgetful Soul Tree's true form now, it was only by stimulating it with冥气 again.
Additionally, Ye Ling also wanted to see what level Chu Yuan could reach after absorbing all the冥气 from the Ten Thousand冥 Mountains.
For all these reasons, Ye Ling did not want the冥气 to dissipate.
Seeing Ye Ling prevent him from dispersing the冥气, Chu Yuan's eyes flickered with hesitation. "But Xue'er is inside the tree now. If the surrounding冥气 erodes the Forgetful Soul Tree and affects Xue'er, how can we save her if we go in?"
Chu Yuan had previously asked Ye Ling to cut down the Forgetful Soul Tree because he saw no hope of rescuing Wu Xue. But now that he had seen Wu Xue's physical body and the hope of saving her, how could he allow the冥气 to erode the Forgetful Soul Tree, making it easier for Ye Ling to cut it down?
Ye Ling saw Chu Yuan's expression and instantly understood his thoughts, teasing, "It seems that after seeing your wife, you've lost your basic reasoning."
Chu Yuan was immediately taken aback. "Your Majesty, why do you say that?"
Ye Ling reached out and parted the branches blocking the hole, allowing Chu Yuan to see Wu Xue inside. Only then did he say, "Wu Xue is bound by numerous poisonous branches, and these poisonous branches are specifically designed to deal with spiritual bodies. This is clearly a trap targeting you. And you still want to rush in headfirst?"
Chu Yuan replied, "No matter if it's a trap or not, as long as I can save Xue'er, I will brave any danger!"
Hearing Chu Yuan's answer, Ye Ling couldn't help but sigh. "Fine, I'll attribute it to your concern clouding your judgment. I don't expect you to see through any subtleties."
"Let me put it this way: if you want to save Wu Xue, you must do as I say."
"This..."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Chu Yuan looked at Ye Ling's hand holding the branches at the hole. He noticed that those branches, as hard as metal and coated with potent poison, couldn't harm Ye Ling in the slightest!
Although Chu Yuan was anxious, he wasn't foolish; he understood the power of those poisonous branches.
Those branches couldn't harm Ye Ling, but a single touch would mean death for him!
Without Ye Ling, let alone saving Wu Xue, he probably wouldn't even be able to see her!
In other words, if he wanted to save Wu Xue, he had to rely on Ye Ling's power.
With this realization, Chu Yuan finally calmed down and respectfully bowed to Ye Ling. "Thank you, Your Majesty, for enlightening me. From now on, I will do whatever you say and will not act rashly!"
Although he was once a high and mighty ancient Chaos God, capable of shaking the primordial world with a mere gesture, now, as long as he could save Wu Xue, he was willing to serve Ye Ling like a beast of burden!
He could cast aside all his dignity and pride as an ancient Chaos God!
Ye Ling looked at Chu Yuan deeply before pulling off all the poisonous branches blocking the hole. He then sealed the area around the hole with demonic energy to prevent new branches from growing.
After completing these actions, Ye Ling said to Chu Yuan, "Continue drawing冥气 from outside. It would be best if the冥气 completely erodes the Forgetful Soul Tree. I'm going inside to take a look."
Chu Yuan quickly asked, "Does Your Majesty not need my help inside?"
To be honest, he would rather go inside and save Wu Xue than accumulate冥气 outside.
"If you want Wu Xue to die, then follow me inside," Ye Ling said indifferently, then walked into the tree hollow without looking back.
"Your Majesty!" Chu Yuan looked at Ye Ling's retreating back. After a moment of hesitation, he ultimately did not follow Ye Ling and chose to remain in place.
As Ye Ling entered, the demonic energy at the tree hollow's entrance dissipated, and a large number of poisonous branches grew back, blocking the opening and completely preventing Chu Yuan from entering.
Unable to see the situation inside the tree hollow, Chu Yuan could only sigh heavily, shifting his attention to the冥气 outside the valley.
"That thing hasn't been dealt with yet... I hope Your Majesty succeeds..." Chu Yuan muttered, a hint of worry in his eyes.
Inside the Forgetful Soul Tree, it was pitch black, so dark that one couldn't see their hand in front of their face.
Ye Ling stood in mid-air, scanning his surroundings with his divine soul, and sighed, "I didn't expect the interior of this Forgetful Soul Tree to be hollow, containing an independent space... Is this meant to nurture a new world?"
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*
Just as Ye Ling was marveling, several poisonous branches shot out from the darkness, aiming to strike him down!
Ye Ling slightly shifted his body, dodging the branches. At the same time, he casually grabbed one and infused it with demonic energy, analyzing the branch's strength.
"The thorns of these internal poisonous branches are even sharper than those at the entrance, and the potent venom they carry is enough to completely dissolve the cultivation of a Saint. I never imagined there would be such a place in the冥界..."
The thorns of the internal poisonous branches, as well as the intensity of the venom they carried, far surpassed those at the entrance.
A single drop of this potent venom would likely kill a Saint instantly!
This Earth itself was supposed to be a primitive civilization. Saints were generally the ceiling of combat power in this world, with only a rare few individuals capable of breaking through to the Emperor Realm.
However, such individuals had been exceedingly rare over millions of years, and Ye Ling had only encountered Arrogance so far.
Yet, in such an environment, an evil tree capable of instantly killing a Saint had somehow grown. Ye Ling would never believe this happened without external forces.
"Chu Yuan must be hiding something. This mutation of Wu Xue should not be solely caused by冥气..." Ye Ling muttered to himself, snapping the poisonous branch in his hand and flying towards Wu Xue, who was entwined by numerous branches in the center of the space.
There, he should find the answer!