by Feng Yise
. . . . . .
The moonlight was obscured. Hu Rong's figure quietly appeared in the tiger clan's sacred ground.
In an empty hall, a slightly aged looking figure was seated on the ground.
A blood light revolved around him, carrying a thick tiger race aura.
It was just that his two eyes were tightly shut, seemingly oblivious to the outside world's situation.
This person was precisely the Hu Yan who had already vanished for ten years in front of outsiders!
Hu Rong looked at Hu Yan and said, "Big Brother, the Wood Spirit Dragon Imprisoning Array will be set up complete tomorrow. This time, I'll definitely bring the Azure Spirit Tree back for you . . ."
As Hu Rong said, Hu Yan did not respond, as if he did not hear what he was saying at all.
Before long, Hu Rong turned around and left.
However, what he did not notice was that not long after he left, Hu Yan's eyes actually silently opened.
Chapter 666 - Return in Defeat
Ahead, was a stretch of lush green forest. The wood essence power emitting out of there made people feel refreshed.
Hu Rong looked at the clansmen currently bustling about, his gaze filled with anticipation.
Ye Yuan said that the Wood Spirit Dragon Imprisoning Array could not deal with the Azure Spirit Tree. But Hu Rong did not believe in this heresy.
How could ten years of effort be handed over on a platter?
Today, he brought over ten Darkfiend Tiger Clan Tier 6 experts. Apart from a few staying in the clan to hold down the fort, it could be said to be moving out in full force.
"Lord Hu Rong, the array formation is done!"
A clansman came in front of Hu Rong, with a face full of wild elation.
This array formation was laid down for ten years. Today, it was finally completed. How could they not be excited?
The demon race was not skilled in the path of formations. Plus, laying down the formation needed to avoid the Azure Spirit Tree's eyes and ears. The progress of this array formation was naturally very slow.
When Hu Rong heard, he was thrilled in his heart too. But he forcefully suppressed it.
"Prepare to activate the array formation! Don't lower your guard! This Azure Spirit Tree's strength is extraordinary, and no mistakes can be tolerated!" Hu Rong instructed.
Even though Hu Rong did not believe Ye Yuan's words, he was also not as optimistic at this time. Instead, he bucked all the spirits up.
"Yes, Lord Hu Rong!" The clansman received the order and left.
When all the preparations were ready, Hu Rong waved his hand and said, "Activate the array formation!"
Rumble!
A violent sound spread throughout the entire forest very quickly. A grand array instantly enveloped this wood-attribute spirit vein.
In an instant, a boundless fire essence power pervaded inside the grand array.
Those lush green trees drooped and withered away at a speed visible to the n.a.k.e.d eye.
Hu Rong took this spectacle fully into his eyes and was excited and worried.
Honestly speaking, he was really very afraid that Ye Yuan's words would come true.
Although Ye Yuan this youth was young, he completely could not be measured with common sense.
But looking at the current situation, Ye Yuan's concern was clearly uncalled for!
The Wood Spirit Dragon Imprisoning Array perfectly restrained those plants inside. Hu Rong did not see the slightest possibility of the Azure Spirit Tree retaliating at all.
"Hahaha! The Wood Spirit Dragon Imprisoning Array is indeed powerful! The Azure Spirit Tree is already an object in our Tiger Clan's bags!"
"It was not in vain for us to spend the price of ten years to set up the formation. Today, we've indeed achieved the effects!"
"When we capture the Azure Spirit Tree, Lord Hu Yan will be able to recover to his peak state! Our Darkfiend Tiger Clan will be able to roam the God Prohibited Demon Region unhindered again!"
These Darkfiend Tiger Clan members were all unbelievably agitated. When it was time for ten years of plowing and weeding to receive the harvest, agitation was hard to avoid too.
Hu Rong was a little calmer than them. But this sort of composure was also gradually being whittled away to nothing by the might of the grand array.
But he was not anxious. Because the Azure Spirit Tree had not shown itself yet.
It was definitely impossible for the Azure Spirit Tree, this sort of powerful spirit tree, to resign itself to death like this. He would definitely come out.
As was expected, before long, a great towering tree suddenly grew up in the grand array.
This tree was originally inconspicuous among all of the trees. But at this time, it covered everything.
To be able to still have such vibrant energies within the Wood Spirit Dragon Imprisonment Array, there was only the Azure Spirit Tree!
It was only to see the Azure Spirit Tree extended out many vines and violently bombarded the grand array.
But the Wood Spirit Dragon Imprisoning Array was indeed extraordinary. Those vines had yet to come into contact with the grand array when they were suddenly ignited by flames.
Those vines danced in the air just like humans waving their hands and stomping their feet when in pain.
"Hahaha! This Wood Spirit Dragon Imprisoning Array is indeed extraordinary! Even if here is the wood-attribute spirit vein, so what? Isn't the Azure Spirit Tree still going to submit to us without resistance obediently?" Hu Rong said ecstatically when he saw the situation.
At this time, the last trace of worry in his heart also melted away into nothing along with it.
"Deploy the grand array! Beat the Azure Spirit Tree to heavy injuries first!" Hu Rong immediately gave the order.
"Yes!"
The clansman presiding over the grand array received the order and immediately went forward to deploy the grand array.
Thick fire essence power crept towards the Azure Spirit Tree very quickly. The Azure Spirit Tree suddenly radiated a resplendent azure light, wanting to isolate these fire essence power.
Yet, all of this was a futile effort. This azure light only resisted for a little whole and was breached by the great fire.
The flames ignited the great towering tree very quickly!
This scene made all of the Darkfiend Tiger Clan members' hot blood boil over while they watched.
The Azure Spirit Tree inside the grand array was peak Tier 6. This fire looked to be incomparably powerful. But to talk about burning it to death, that was impossible.
What Hu Rong they all wanted was for the Azure Spirit Tree to be severely injured.
This moment did not let them wait for too long. That Azure Spirit Tree wilted away very quickly under the attack of the flames.
Right at this moment, Hu Rong gave the order!
"Charge inside! Capture the Azure Spirit Tree!"
The Darkfiend Tiger Clan members had long been raring to have a go. Under Hu Rong's command, over ten figure leaped, directly entering inside the grand array.
These ten over figures were all Tier 6 experts. Their movements were extremely swift, arriving in the proximity of the Azure Spirit Tree in a blink of an eye.
Yet, right at this time, a change suddenly occurred!
The Azure Spirit Tree suddenly gave off a dazzling azure light. Thick wood essence power welled up from under the ground, surging to an extent where it was practically going to burst forth.
Sensing such thick wood essence power, Hu Rong's expression changed drastically and he roared madly, "Quickly retreat! We fell into a trap! This fellow wasn't tricked at all!"
At this moment, Ye Yuan's words suddenly flashed across Hu Rong's mind, regretting until his intestines went green.
But at this sort of critical moment, he could not be allowed to think too much at all, bringing his clansmen far away immediately.
Yet, how could the Azure Spirit Tree be easy to bully?
How was there
still any hint of waning on the Azure Spirit Tree's body? It was even more powerful than before!
Countless rows of vines zigzagged out from the Azure Spirit Tree, intertwining over towards those dozen over figures with extreme speed.
Boom!
This attack, Hu Rong brought out all of his might!
Luckily, he was a late-stage Tie 6 expert too. Even though he could not compare to the Azure Spirit Tree, slightly withstanding a bit was still achievable.
This attack of Hu Rong's proved effective, delaying those vines a moment of time.
But even so, there were still three or four clansmen with slightly weaker strength who were tangled up by the vines.
They did not even get to yell out a cry for help and were drowned by countless vines.
How could Hu Rong still dare to remain at this time? He brought the remaining clansmen and charged right out of the grand array.
Once out of the grand array, Hu Rong's entire person was dead-exhausted, directly kneeling onto the ground.
Bang!
Hu Rong's fist smashed onto the ground with unspeakable remorse and vexation.
Looking at the other clansmen again, how was there still any trace of excitement from before?
. . . . . .
In the tiger clan, Ye Yuan slowly opened both eyes and spat out a long breath of turbid air.
"This Kun Peng blood essence can't compare to the dragon blood refined previously in the end. The difference between the two is too great!" Ye Yuan sighed.
"Big Brother, can your cultivation speed be a little slower? Your speed, I can't catch up even by whipping my horse!" by the side, White Light said gloomily.
Ye Yuan had just refined the Kun Peng blood essence the roc clan sent over and directly broke through to the Seventh Level Soul Sea!
Ye Yuan smiled and said, "You're a Tier 5, Taking Form, expert now. Why are you saying that my cultivation speed is fast instead?"
White Light said huffily, "Even though I succeeded in taking form, the strength disparity between us became even greater instead! Forget it, forget it, not talking about this anymore. Big Brother, could it be that you're not worried at all?"
Ye Yuan said with a smile, "I'm indeed quite worried. Worried that not one of them will return."
Chapter 667 - A List
"Cough, cough, is Mister Ye around?"
Ye Yuan and White Light were currently chatting when Hu Rong's embarrassed voice came from outside the door.
White Light gave Ye Yuan an odd look. Very clearly, Ye Yuan's prophecy had, unfortunately, came true once again.
"Come in," Ye Yuan did not seem to be very surprised and said nonchalantly.
After Hu Rong entered, his entire person was somewhat bashful and his gaze dodging non-stop, not daring to look straight at Ye Yuan. His face was even somewhat burning.
A late-stage Tier 6 powerhouse was rather like a girl, shy to meet people at this time, making people's jaws drop.
After entering, Hu Rong did not speak. Ye Yuan naturally would not open his mouth first either. For a moment, the atmosphere became quite awkward.
Finally, it was still Hu Rong who could not endure this awkward atmosphere and broke the silence, "I wonder if . . . Mister Ye has any ways to be able to capture the Azure Spirit Tree?"
Uttering this sentence was equivalent to admitting his mistake from before.
A Tier 6 powerhouse lowering his head to a Tier 4 martial artist. This was not a scene that should appear under normal circ.u.mstances.
Evidently, Hu Rong was already utterly helpless about the Azure Spirit Tree.
The Azure Spirit Tree's might far surpassed his imaginations. It was no wonder that Lord Hu Yan also suffered a huge loss at his hands.
Ye Yuan took a look at Hu Yan and said coolly, "You should remember the words that I said before, right?"
Hu Rong's face revealed a struggling look. The function of the Azure Spirit Tree was not just able to treat Hu Yan's wounds.
Otherwise, why would Hu Yan expend such a great price to capture him back then?
The Azure Spirit Tree was a heaven and earth spirit wood. The wood essence power was incomparably powerful.
Wood-attribute's cardinal characteristic was life. Regardless of whether it was for humans or demonic beasts, it had immensely beneficial aspects.
And the Azure Spirit Tree was even different from ordinary spirit woods. It had extremely great nourishing effects on martial artists' divine soul.
Tier 6 breaking through to Tier 7, there was a massive barrier!
That was the huge bottleneck from the middle three realms breaking through to the upper three realms. Regardless of whether human or demon, there were countless people stopped by this barrier.
This degree of difficulty was much, much harder compared to the difficulty of Sea Transformation Realm breaking through to Soul Sea Realm.
And the crux of breaking through this step was the divine soul!
Therefore, Hu Yan wanting to catch the Azure Spirit Tree back then was surely in order to break through to Tier 7!
It was just that he never expected that the Azure Spirit Tree's strength was so formidable. It could truly be called tried to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice.
This point, Hu Rong was definitely aware as well.
Hence, to make him give up on the Azure Spirit Tree, he really could not do it.
"This . . . Can Mister Ye change to another condition? The Azure Spirit Tree has immense significance to my clan, and we really can't yield. Mister Ye can state other terms. Even if the price is equal to the Azure Spirit Tree, it's fine," Hu Rong said.
But Ye Yuan shook his head when he heard and said, "The Azure Spirit Tree is useless to me. But it's a life-saving item to a friend of mine. If you all insist on the Azure Spirit Tree, then think of a way yourself."
Towards Hu Rong's attitude, Ye Yuan was not concerned.
Even the Wood Spirit Dragon Imprisoning Array was powerless. The Darkfiend Tiger Clan already had no other tricks left to play. Hence, he was not worried about Hu Rong refusing to give in.
As long as he did not make a move, Hu Rong could forget about getting the Azure Spirit Tree.
Hu Rong was incredibly aggrieved right now. He very much wanted to subdue Ye Yuan and force him to go capture the Azure Spirit Tree.
But White Light's existence made him very wary.
White Light's strength was not powerful. But his bloodline was too noble!
To their Darkfiend Tiger Clan, White Light's identity was not much different from their master.
And what made Hu Rong most fearful was about what happened that day when he accompanied White Light together to the outer-regions of the Dark Forest.
When White Light went near the Dark Forest, that aura emitting off of his body actually echoed together with the Dark Forest across a great distance!
Furthermore, White Light himself did not know that there were no demons in the God Prohibited Demon Region who dared to walk so near like him at all!
To say that White Light did not have any relations with inside there at all, Hu Rong would not believe even if he was beaten to death!
Losing the Azure Spirit Tree, Hu Yan would only lose the chance to become Tier 7.
But if any mishap happened to White Light, his Darkfiend Tiger Clan would probably be at risk of clan extermination!
To divine beast progenies, they, these lesser clans with impure bloodlines, were existences that could be blotted out at will.
This point was determined from before they were born!
If not for this case, even if the Tiger Lord appeared, on what basis should he, Hu Rong, be so respectful towards a junior?
Divine beast progenies were born proud!
"This . . . Alright then! But you must promise me to treat Big Brother Hu Yan's injuries!"
Struggling for a long time, Hu Rong still made this difficult decision.
Because he discovered that he could not do anything to this Tier 4 brat at all.<
br />
His background was too tough!
Ownself possessing terrifying dragon race bloodline, even pummeling the Dragon Lord to a pig's head, and was even a life-or-death good brother of Tiger Lord, His Excellency.
Such a person, who among the demon clans dared to provoke?
Ye Yuan nodded and said, "Rest assured about that. The Azure Spirit Heart Fusing Fluid will naturally distribute to you guys some."
Hu Rong felt his flesh hurt as he nodded and said, "Alright, deal!"
"Hang on, I never said deal. Did you forget the words that I said before?" Ye Yuan said coolly.
Hu Rong froze and could not help recalling Ye Yuan's words the last time. His expression became even uglier.
Ye Yuan said that if they came to find him again, he would raise the price!
"This . . . Mister Ye, you and Lord Tiger Lord are life-and-death good brothers and are also considered the tiger clan's honored guest. We already plotted for as long as ten years for the sake of this Azure Spirit Tree! Losing the Azure Spirit Tree is already a great loss of vitality to our tiger clan. If you list any more conditions. . ."
Hu Rong showed a difficult look but turned his imploring gaze towards White Light.
White Light said huffily, "You, this fellow, are really forgetful! That day when you wanted to be detrimental to Big Brother, what did I warn you?"
Hu Rong could not help sweating profusely when he heard, secretly protesting against the injustice in his heart.
Not that I wished to provoke this great deity, but he demanded an exorbitant price!
Moreover, the tiger clan plotted for ten years for the Azure Spirit Tree. How could he possibly give up hope without giving it a shot?
Ye Yuan said, "On account of White Light's face, I won't make things difficult for you. This is a spirit medicine list. You take it and help me prepare it will do."
Hu Rong was overjoyed when he heard and said, "Just preparing some spirit medicines? My tiger clan still has some forces in the God Prohibited Demon Region. Preparing some spirit medicines is naturally nothing difficult."
Ye Yuan just smiled. After Hu Rong checked the list, the smile on his face instantly became stiff.
The spirit medicines on the list had a large stack written densely. Among them even had quite a number that he had not even heard of the names before.