Chapter 730: The Divine Tree Line

No one expected that just as this great battle was about to end, another bloodline descendant of the Divine Tree Line, a mountain lord-level figure, would suddenly appear within Chi Yun City—he belonged to no faction.

Clearly, his appearance was meant to take advantage of the chaos and claim a share of the spoils.

With Chi Jin Mountain Lord Huohuo's defeat now inevitable, there was no better moment than this.

"Li Yi, this doesn't seem right." Jiang Mingtian had barely rejoiced before his face darkened again—he never anticipated a third party would intrude into this battle despite all his planning.

"Don't worry. He clearly came here to pick up leftovers. If he truly wanted to aid Chi Jin Mountain Lord, he would've acted already. His strength is limited—he'd be crushed instantly by either side, so he only dares show himself now."

Li Yi's expression remained calm and composed.

"Li Yi, help me today, and I'll give you ten Chi Jin Mountain mines." At this moment, Chi Jin Mountain Lord Huohuo seemed to see his last glimmer of hope and roared out.

Huohuo, as one of the Thirty Mountain Lords, truly controlled only twenty Chi Jin Mountain mines; offering ten at once meant surrendering half his wealth.

But money no longer mattered—unless he defeated the challenger, he would lose everything.

"This has nothing to do with you. If you wish to join, wait until I kill this mountain lord—then I'll take your life." Xiang Xiangzi shouted loudly, issuing a stern warning.

Xuan Yuezi also fixed her gaze on him with murderous intent—she didn't want some unexpected intruder to ruin everything at the critical moment.

Yet facing Xiang Xiangzi's threat, Mu Tuo of the Divine Tree Line showed no fear—he could see both sides were utterly exhausted, with nothing left to threaten him.

"I am a bloodline descendant of the Divine Tree Line. Chi Jin Mountain Lord, if you pledge to grant my lineage fifteen Chi Jin Mountain mines, I will aid you today, driving back these invaders."

Mu Tuo shouted loudly, Haobuyouyu choosing to stand with Huohuo.

Only this way could he secure the greatest gain.

And with these enemies present, Chi Jin Mountain Lord would be forced to ally with the Divine Tree Line in the future, Buganweiyue —otherwise, alone as he was, this exact scenario would repeat itself, for his bloodline warrior Beigong was already dead, and the beast Qiongqi had betrayed him.

"Fine. Fifteen mines—I pledge them to the Divine Tree Line. I, Huohuo, swear it." Chi Jin Mountain Lord Huohuo didn't hesitate—he bit his lip and agreed immediately.

Upon hearing this, Mu Tuo immediately smiled in satisfaction.

As he'd predicted, at this moment, no matter how outrageous the demand, Chi Jin Mountain Lord would agree—and with fifteen Chi Jin Mountain mines, his Divine Tree Line would grow far stronger.

Instantly, he gripped his Chi Jin spear tightly, his pale golden eyes locking onto Xuan Yuezi and Xiang Xiangzi across the field.

"Two mountain lords, please withdraw now. If I strike today, you may both perish." He issued his threat, seeking to resolve the battle without combat.

Xiang Xiangzi flew into a rage, desperate to kill this man on the spot.

But his magic power was nearly gone, and he dared not leave the Heavenly Dao Seal—he needed his Longhu power to suppress Chi Jin Mountain Lord; if the mountain lord broke free, killing him would become impossible.

Moreover, the beast Qiongqi could no longer hold back this new warrior—the Qiongqi's strength was only at the level of a Ten-Mountain Lord, already wounded by Huohuo's strike, and now fearful of an opponent stronger than itself, it hesitated and halted.

"If you want to fight, I'll fight you. After I kill Chi Jin Mountain Lord, your life won't be safe either."

At that moment, Li Yi gripped the Baoyue Bow and flew forward, his expression icy as he stared fixedly at Mu Tuo, the bloodline descendant.

"Li Yi, you're no match for him," Xuan Yuezi immediately whispered: "Fall back. We won't take Chi Jin Mountain today—regroup later."

"Immortal Lady, if I join forces with the beast Qiongqi to hold him off, can you kill Chi Jin Mountain Lord?" Li Yi replied silently.

"Hardly. With the Heavenly Dao Seal and our combined power, plus drawing spiritual energy from heaven and earth, we barely contained him—we no longer have the strength to kill him." Xuan Yuezi sighed helplessly: "We planned to use either the beast's power or your strength to eliminate him, but his appearance shattered our plan."

"Looks like our luck is truly bad," Li Yi sighed in resignation.

"Unless another expert arrives to aid us, we must abandon this and leave," Xuan Yuezi said.

Though unwilling, a prolonged fight would cost many lives.

"You're a powerful bloodline descendant, but you're not yet mountain lord level—you're no match for me. Leave Chi Jin Mountain now, and we can avoid battle. Otherwise, I'll take your head today."

Mu Tuo raised his Chi Jin spear, pointing it at Li Yi and barking the threat.

Had he not sought only profit and wished to avoid combat, he'd have struck already—why waste words?

Li Yi snapped: "A scavenger like you—do you even deserve to be called a bloodline warrior?"

"You dare insult me? Die!" Mu Tuo roared in fury, instantly gripping his Chi Jin spear, determined to slay this man and restore the Divine Tree Line's honor with his blood.

Li Yi gripped the Baoyue Bow, ready to draw a magic arrow—when suddenly, on a nearby mountain below him, the bloodline warrior Long Yu appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Master, your arrow." Long Yu had found the Wu Jin arrow—he shouted and hurled it toward Li Yi.

"You did well," Li Yi exclaimed with relief, instantly summoning the arrow to him through the air.

Mu Tuo's expression shifted slightly—he'd witnessed Li Yi's battle with Beigong and knew this arrow could pierce Chi Jin armor and grievously wound mountain lord-level warriors.

Even he had no confidence he could block such an arrow.

His only option was to kill Li Yi before he fired, seize the bow and arrows—otherwise, he'd become a fatal threat to the Divine Tree Line.

"Die!" Mu Tuo unleashed murderous intent, charging forward without hesitation.

His body erupted in brilliant golden light, like a sun rising across the sky—this radiance radiated terrifying power, capable of repelling all living things; anyone touched by the golden glow would turn to ash.

Yet at this critical moment—

Li Yi drew, aimed, and released in one fluid motion—the Wu Jin arrow shot forth the instant the golden light engulfed him.

The arrow pierced the sky, extinguished the golden radiance, pierced through the blazing sun, then vanished from sight.

And the moment the Wu Jin arrow disappeared—

The golden light faded.

Golden blood splattered across the Chi Jin Mountains. The once-ferocious bloodline warrior Mu Tuo staggered backward, flying hundreds of meters, his arm hanging limp, his shoulder cracked with deep fissures.

Even his Chi Jin shoulder armor had been pierced through.

Fortunately, he'd avoided vital organs—sacrificing one arm, he escaped the killing blow.

"The Divine Tree Line's bloodline warrior is wounded? I saw golden blood spill across the earth—the blazing golden light vanished instantly."

"That warrior, Da Yi, his bow and arrow are terrifying—Beigong was grievously wounded and died because of them."

"We thought Mu Tuo of the Divine Tree Line would easily claim fifteen Chi Jin Mountain mines—will there be another twist now? Can Da Yi use his bow to kill this bloodline descendant?"

The battlefield shifted again, and the merchants and warriors within Chi Shan City erupted in fresh exclamations.

Everything had been one twist after another.

Until the very end, no one could say who would win.

"You're out of arrows now, Da Yi."

Mu Tuo gripped his Chi Jin spear with his other hand, glaring at Li Yi and roaring—but the pain in his shoulder and the spreading cracks in his body made him hesitate to charge.

If Li Yi had even one more Wu Jin arrow, he might die here.

"You're severely wounded. With me and the mountain lord-level beast Qiongqi, you can't defeat us. Leave now, or you'll die here," Li Yi barked, gripping the Baoyue Bow tightly.

Seeing this, Jiang Mingtian immediately summoned Qiongqi, ordering it to abandon its fight against Chi Jin Mountain Lord and fly to Li Yi's side, joining him against Mu Tuo.

Mu Tuo's face darkened with humiliation—a single arrow had halted him.

But if he continued fighting, as Li Yi said, he might not win after all.

"Mu Tuo, use your divine technique—kill him! We can still win this battle!" Chi Jin Mountain Lord Huohuo shouted urgently: "He has only one arrow—don't fear!"

Mu Tuo was jolted by the reminder, his murderous intent surging again.

The golden leaf patterns on his body began to glow brilliantly, and within the radiance, a divine phantom rapidly materialized.

"Li Yi, can you handle this? He's using a divine technique!" Jiang Mingtian cried in alarm.

He knew Li Yi had only one Wu Jin arrow—if he had more, he'd have used them already.

Li Yi said nothing. His gaze was icy. He raised his hand—and a palace-like dao artifact appeared in his grip.

It was his Tianyi Palace.

The Tianyi Palace was merely a dao artifact-level residence—useful only for defense and self-contained space.

"I have no confidence I can withstand a divine technique strike. I'll retreat inside the dao artifact and rely on its defense to endure the blow—it's likely to work. He's already wounded by the Wu Jin arrow; his injuries will worsen. There's no retreat now—we must endure and gamble he breaks first. Using divine techniques drains immense energy—even the mighty Chi Jin Mountain Lord used his only once."

Li Yi whispered silently.

Jiang Mingtian gritted his teeth and nodded in agreement.

But as the golden light before them grew blindingly bright—

Suddenly—

A gentle breeze stirred across heaven and earth, dispersing the golden radiance and causing Mu Tuo, mid-casting, to freeze in surprise.

"Who?"

Mu Tuo snapped his head toward a direction.

There, leaning on a staff, an old man with white hair and beard drifted on the wind, speaking calmly: "Divine Tree Line warrior, cease your attack and leave immediately. Your battle is dishonorable. If you insist on striking Da Yi, I will stop you."

Nan Shan Bo?

Seeing the old man appear, Li Yi was momentarily stunned.

He'd forgotten—Nan Shan Bo had accompanied him to Chi Jin Mountain.

But in the heat of battle, he'd ignored the old man's presence—never expecting him to intervene at the final moment.

"Looks like my luck isn't always terrible," Li Yi breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Though the enemy gained a new ally, so had he.

(End of Chapter)