Chapter 744: Re-entering Divine Tree City

Twelve cultivators of the Three Flowers Realm, fully prepared, unleashed an attack whose power surpassed the peak of their current realm; each possessed methods to unleash burst combat power, and their preferred attack styles varied widely.

This meant that when the twelve joined forces, they could almost create an inescapable death trap, even overpowering opponents stronger than themselves.

Mu Xi, a Blood Warrior of the Divine Tree City lineage, was incredibly unlucky today—he fell into such an ambush. Even with his strength at the level of a Thirty-Mountain Lord, he felt utterly stifled; he never had time to unleash his full power before being buried under countless devastating attacks.

Not only him, but Mu Tuo, Mu Shu, and the ten Warrior Leaders of the Divine Tree lineage were also swept up by the residual power of the spells.

In that instant, the golden sun that had just risen was instantly obliterated by beams of divine light; a tremendous roar echoed through heaven and earth as the ancient land was violently torn open by monstrous force.

Even the clouds in the sky were scattered by the overwhelming residual energy.

Blinding radiance scattered everywhere, turning everything it touched into wasteland.

The first to perish were the ten Warrior Leaders; even their blue-gold battle armor offered no protection—their bodies shattered instantly under the spell's power, then turned to ash in the residual blast.

Mu Tuo and Mu Shu, both Blood Warriors of Mountain Lord rank, were not the primary targets, but they were too close to Mu Xi; as the residual force surged toward them, they had no time to evade and could only desperately squeeze every ounce of power from their bloodline, trying to survive the onslaught.

But instinct told them it was nearly impossible.

"Will I die here?" That was the only thought in Mu Tuo's mind.

Yet at that moment, a familiar bloodline power surged through the endless divine light—warm as the sun, it directly shielded Mu Tuo.

And Mu Shu beside him—and forcibly hurled them out of the danger zone.

"Run… quickly…" Mu Xi's desperate cry faintly reached them.

Clearly, he knew he was doomed today—no matter what, the enemy would not let him live. So, in his final moments, he unleashed all his power to protect Mu Tuo and Mu Shu, hoping they might survive.

Under the protection of that power,

Two figures shot backward at astonishing speed, transformed into golden light. Though still affected by the spell's residual force, the golden energy absorbed most of it; combined with their own status as Mountain Lord Blood Warriors and their crimson-gold armor,

They somehow broke free of the battle's radius and survived.

Even so, their powerful bodies were riddled with wounds, blood streaming endlessly from every cut.

"Mu Xi!" Mu Tuo snapped back to awareness and roared in grief.

But his cries received no reply.

Li Yi and the twelve Three Flowers Realm experts had struck too brutally; even the mighty Blood Warrior Mu Xi could only perish helplessly in this ambush.

When the spell's residual energy finally dissipated,

The shattered earth held nothing—no trace remained, only a broken crimson-gold battle armor and a crimson-gold greatsword left behind; Mu Xi's corpse had been reduced to

"Excellent. The most dangerous opponent is dead." Li Yi nodded in satisfaction upon seeing this.

In a fight to the death, he would show no mercy.

"With our combined force, the enemy had no chance of survival. But I didn't expect this Blood Warrior, at the last moment, abandoned protecting himself and instead pushed the other two away, saving their lives." Shen Xu Daoist stood midair, surveying the scene, clearly understanding what had happened in that critical instant.

What happened when it was a hair's breadth away.

"Foolish act," Yuan Yang Daoist said calmly. "The strongest among them died—how could the other two possibly live? Besides, those two are severely wounded; they're no longer a threat."

"The battle went smoothly—we won." Other cultivators smiled, stroking their beards.

This was how one dealt with enemies: unite, strike with full force, crush the opponent's hope, leave no chance for survival.

"Those two Blood Warriors might be useful. Capture them, take them to Divine Tree City to trade for Divine Tree Leaves. Come with me." Li Yi spoke, then moved instantly, stepping on auspicious clouds toward the surviving Mu Tuo and Mu Shu.

Seeing the battle decided, the other cultivators followed closely behind.

"Li Yi!" Mu Tuo, drenched in blood and covered in wounds, saw Li Yi appear and his eyes turned red—he roared in fury: "You vile man, how dare you ambush us!"

"Vile?"

Li Yi rode the clouds forward: "Compared to you, my ambush is honorable. Your Divine Tree lineage already decided to attack my Red Gold Mountain—I merely responded in kind. Mu Tuo, if your life weren't still valuable, you'd already be dead."

But before he finished speaking,

Another furious roar erupted—Mu Shu, the other Blood Warrior, his body blazing with golden radiance, wielding a crimson-gold greatsword forged from the same metal, unleashed all his strength and slashed toward Li Yi.

"Watch out, Tai Yi!" A cultivator cried out in alarm.

"No need to worry."

But Li Yi showed no fear—he saw clearly this warrior was weak, merely an ordinary Blood Warrior, not even a direct descendant, lacking even Divine Art.

He shifted his body instantly, evading the strike, then punched forward

With the power of Long Hu.

Instantly,

A thunderous roar echoed through the sky.

One strike—and the Blood Warrior Mu Shu, who had unleashed his full power, spat blood violently, flew backward again, and crashed into the earth like a meteor, sinking deep into the soil before collapsing unconscious.

Li Yi slowly retracted his fist. He still needed these two Blood Warriors to trade for Divine Tree Leaves—he didn't want to kill them yet.

"You wanted to challenge me, the Mountain Lord of Red Gold Mountain? Today, I'll grant your wish—after all, our old grudge remains unresolved."

Then he turned to Mu Tuo and strode toward him.

Mu Tuo, still furious, suddenly froze in shock.

Because the next instant,

Li Yi, who had been far away, appeared before his eyes in the blink of an eye.

A fist, carrying the power of Long Hu, wrapped in silver lightning, struck toward him.

"Damn Li Yi!"

Mu Tuo roared again, instantly unleashing his own tremendous power, swinging his fist to meet the blow. His wounded body flared once more with brilliant golden light, countless beams converging into his fist, making it dazzling and radiant.

But Li Yi was no longer the same man.

Their fists collided.

The roar of dragon and tiger, accompanied by silver lightning, instantly swallowed the golden fist-light.

Mu Tuo was stunned and terrified, his eyes filled with disbelief—how could Li Yi's power be this strong? It wasn't like this the last time they fought.

Had he grown stronger recently?

How was that possible?

Mu Tuo refused to believe such an absurd thing could happen—but reality forced him to admit: his strength was no longer enough to challenge this Li Yi.

Puff!

Another gush of blood erupted—he shattered his entire arm. Fierce divine force surged through his body, instantly pushing his already grave injuries to the brink of death.

"Take these two. We're going to Divine Tree City. It's time to negotiate with the Divine Tree lineage." Li Yi said.

Two cultivators immediately flew over, each taking one of the dying Blood Warriors, ensuring they stayed alive but unconscious—no trouble from them.

"Go to Divine Tree City now? Tai Yi, isn't this too impulsive? Shouldn't we wait a few more days?" Shen Nü Yun Feizi flew over and asked.

Li Yi replied: "Time is not our ally. We must secure the Divine Tree Leaves as soon as possible, then forge Crimson Gold Dao Artifacts to strengthen ourselves. I have confidence—trust me. Come with me."

He did not ask for others' opinions—he acted alone.

Shen Nü Yun Feizi, seeing this, said nothing more and obeyed.

The other cultivators also chose to trust Li Yi's judgment.

Quickly, they blurred the battle's traces and set out again for Divine Tree City—after all, Li Yi was right: only by obtaining the Divine Tree Leaves could they smelt Crimson Gold and forge Dao Artifacts to increase their strength.

The sooner they acted, the greater the benefit for all.

Even if it carried risk, it was worth it.

Not long after,

The group flew swiftly, and soon a towering, ancient city appeared before them. Within this city grew many ancient trees, one of them colossal, radiating brilliant golden light like the legendary Fusang Tree that supports the sun—its leaves were golden.

Feeling the powerful spiritual energy radiating from the Divine Art, every cultivator present widened their eyes, stunned and incredulous.

"Is that the Divine Tree? Such a rarity still exists in this world? Unbelievable—truly unbelievable."

"Even from this distance, we feel its spiritual energy. This tree's roots have turned hundreds of miles into a paradise—cultivation here would advance a thousandfold in a single day."

"Only in such an ancient world could such a Divine Tree remain. In the cultivation world, it's unparalleled."

After the brief shock, many cultivators' eyes burned with greed.

If they could seize this city and claim this tree, their future would hold infinite potential.

But the thought was quickly suppressed.

Such a vast, mighty city must be filled with experts; with only twenty or so cultivators, even at peak strength, they could not possibly capture Divine Tree City.

Such a magnificent great city must be home to many experts; even if their cultivation bases were fully restored, these dozen or so cultivators would likely still be unable to seize Divine Wood City.

Li Yi led the group toward Divine Tree City, but as they entered, they inevitably had to pay the entry fee.

After entering, he headed directly to the residence of the Merchant Lord Xiu Xiang.

He needed Merchant Lord Xiu Xiang's help.

After all, to negotiate with the Divine Tree lineage, he could not show his face—he needed a mediator, for he still did not wish to fully wage war against the Divine Tree lineage. He needed to build his strength.

After all, negotiating with the Divine Wood lineage, he could not show his face; he needed to find a mediator, for Li Yi still did not wish to fully go to war with the Divine Wood lineage—he needed to build up his strength.