348: Saint

Everyone stared at the notice board in front of them, their expressions grave.

The unique nature of this area meant there was no turning back for them.

They could only press forward to the Holy Land.

But there was only one path to the Holy Land, and no way to go around.

This was very troublesome.

"How many exclusive items do you still have?"

Chu Tong asked in a deep voice.

Although this checkpoint seemed to offer no hope of passing, they had no choice but to continue forward.

They had a large number of people now.

If they all used their exclusive items... perhaps there was still a sliver of hope.

After all, the exclusive items they carried could affect a Saint.

However, when passing the third checkpoint earlier, most people had used up the exclusive items accumulated from the previous two checkpoints.

Currently, they didn't have many exclusive items left.

Just as everyone felt heavy-hearted,

Xiao Shi, who had been silent by their side, suddenly spoke.

"I think the situation might not be as bad as we imagine..."

As soon as he spoke,

Everyone's gaze focused on him.

"I don't think any Saint would put up such a notice board outside their domain to warn everyone; it's illogical in itself."

Xiao Shi said calmly.

"You mean..."

Everyone pondered this thoughtfully.

Given a Saint's status, it was indeed unlikely for him to put up a notice board outside his domain.

"I think such an action is rather like burying one's head in the sand."

Xiao Shi expressed his opinion.

The purpose of this notice board seemed to be to warn everyone.

But Xiao Shi felt the true intention was actually to prevent them from entering this area.

It was well known that

Saints were usually invincible within their own domains.

There was no need for him to put up such a notice board to warn others.

Many people nodded in agreement after hearing this.

It really did seem like burying one's head in the sand.

"Then what do you think the situation inside this domain will be like?"

Chu Tong looked at Xiao Shi with a serious expression, clearly treating Xiao Shi as the brain among them.

Xiao Shi shook his head.

"Currently, we have too little information to deduce the situation inside."

"But I believe... even if this checkpoint has a significant difficulty, it won't be to the extent of being impassable."

"Even if there truly is a Saint inside, it won't be an invincible Saint in his own domain under normal circumstances."

In fact, Xiao Shi still had a guess in his mind.

But since he couldn't confirm it,

He didn't say it out loud.

However, his words had already won everyone's approval.

After some thought, Chu Tong

Spoke.

"I agree with your view. Regardless, we can only enter this checkpoint; there's no retreat."

As he spoke,

He looked at the three Martial Demons from the Three Great Domains.

"You three, go first."

The three Martial Demons from the Three Great Domains were all taken aback.

Anger simultaneously appeared on their faces.

They realized that the other party clearly wanted them to act as pawns for scouting ahead.

As Martial Demons,

They were already considered important figures within the Three Great Domains, yet now they were being used as pawns for scouting, which was a huge humiliation for them.

Moreover, although this domain was not as difficult as they had previously imagined,

It wouldn't be simple either.

Once they encountered any crisis inside, they would undoubtedly be in the most danger.

Because of this,

They were all very angry and resistant.

But under Chu Tong's threatening gaze, they could only grit their teeth and compromise.

And so,

Their group passed through the notice board and began to enter the domain ahead.

Since each of them currently controlled an Iron Refining Corpse, they all positioned their Iron Refining Corpse as close to themselves as possible.

At the slightest sign of trouble,

They would have the Iron Refining Corpse step in immediately.

After his previous speech,

Xiao Shi gained Chu Tong's appreciation and was arranged by Chu Tong to be in the closest position to him.

As they entered this domain,

Everyone discovered... the trees within this domain were clearly taller than the trees outside!

Not only that,

On these trees, there even appeared a massive, eerie gaping maw, filled with dense, sharp teeth, and the teeth were tipped with potent venom.

At the same time, above this giant maw, a dark, evil-looking vertical pupil opened, staring coldly at everyone with strong hostility.

It was very obvious that

The trees within this domain were not ordinary trees; while possessing sentience, they also carried a certain threat.

However, they seemed unable to attack proactively.

As long as one didn't approach them, there would be no danger.

This caused everyone, as they advanced, to maintain a certain distance from these trees, thereby preventing attacks from them.

As Xiao Shi moved forward,

Besides constantly observing the surrounding trees, he also occasionally looked up at the sky.

Regarding his previous conjecture,

He became a little more certain.

"What are your thoughts?"

Chu Tong looked at Xiao Shi.

The others also listened attentively.

"These trees here harbor considerable hostility towards us, wishing they could devour us alive, but because they cannot move, they are unable to do anything..."

"If I'm not mistaken, these trees should be able to move under normal circumstances. The reason they cannot move now is because they are under a powerful suppression."

Xiao Shi spoke.

"Suppression?"

Chu Tong frowned slightly.

"But I don't feel any power fluctuations here. How did you determine they are suppressed?"

Not only was Chu Tong confused,

Everyone else was also puzzled by this.

They also didn't feel any power fluctuations in this place and didn't understand how Xiao Shi determined that these trees were suppressed.

Xiao Shi pointed to the stars in the sky.

"I believe you have all already noticed that each checkpoint in this special area represents a past era."

"If I'm not mistaken, the era represented by this checkpoint should be an era related to stars."

"But I couldn't be certain of this before, because I didn't see anything related to stars in this domain... I only saw many unusual trees, so I couldn't be sure whether this area was the Star Era or an era related to trees."

"It wasn't until I discovered that these trees couldn't move... that I could confirm that this checkpoint is an era related to stars!"

"The reason these trees cannot move is because they are suppressed by the stars."

"Not only these trees, but this entire domain... should also be suppressed by the stars!"

Xiao Shi analyzed seriously.

Everyone suddenly understood.

This explained why there was a notice board outside this domain.

Because this domain was a suppressed domain!

Naturally, it didn't want anyone to enter!

"So that means..."

"The Saint within this domain is also in a suppressed state!"

Chu Tong's eyes lit up.

This was very reasonable.

If it were under normal circumstances, a Saint in his own domain would be beyond their ability to contend with.

And such a Saint would likely have annihilated all of them the moment they entered the domain.

However, up until now, they had not encountered any crisis since entering this domain.

The trees here looked very threatening.

But if they couldn't move, they only needed to be avoided.

This perfectly matched the situation Xiao Shi had analyzed.

"Actually, the most important issue now is that we need to quickly figure out how strong the suppressed Saint here is!"

Xiao Shi said in a deep voice.

It could basically be confirmed now that

There was definitely a Saint present in this domain.

And the key to passing this stage also lay with the Saint here.

The trees here would not pose any threat to everyone.

But the question was, how strong was this suppressed Saint?

They could only analyze that this suppressed Saint would not be so strong as to be unconquerable, but the specific strength was unknown.

"Every Saint possesses power that Martial Demons cannot rival. Even if he is suppressed, he should not be underestimated..."

Chu Tong said with a serious expression.

Although he now had a Crimson Refining Corpse in his hand, without the Crimson Refining Secret Skill, the power the Crimson Refining Corpse could exert was very limited.

They followed the path through this primeval forest, constantly moving forward.

By continuously avoiding the surrounding trees along the way, they did not encounter any crises.

But even so,

Xiao Shi did not show any slackness, remaining vigilant and alert at all times.

When they had advanced for a considerable distance,

Suddenly,

A piercing shriek came, like the sound wave produced by a missile launch, sharp and shrill.

"Be careful!"

Xiao Shi seemed to sense it and urgently warned, his figure flashing as he dodged to the side.

At the same time, he manipulated his Iron Refining Corpse to charge upwards.

The others also made similar moves.

Some even took out a treasure.

Forming a barrier above their heads.

But in the next second,

This barrier shattered with a crash.

A thick afterimage broke through the barrier, descending from the sky and smashing towards everyone.

As many of the Iron Refining Corpses rushed out together to block it,

They bought time for the guardians.

Allowing these guardians to immediately retreat with the boxes containing the Demonic Body Clone at the fastest speed.

Boom!!

With a loud bang,

A deep gully appeared where they had originally stood.

Everyone looked intently.

They discovered that the thing that had struck the ground was a thick vine, as wide as a water vat, covered with clusters of green leaves. Its tip was sharp like a sword needle, and its root stretched endlessly into the distance, with no end in sight.

Xiao Shi used his diffused Soul Consciousness to extend along the vine.

He realized that this vine came from a colossal tree, a towering tree of unimaginable height!

At the same time, even with his Soul Consciousness, he could only sense a rough outline.

Unable to see its full appearance.

Even with all the Iron Refining Corpses blocking together, they were all sent flying by this vine.

Moreover, the bodies of some Iron Refining Corpses were damaged during the resistance.

After all, due to the passage of time, many parts of these Iron Refining Corpses' bodies had begun to rot.

Such high-intensity combat would accelerate the damage to their bodies.

"Saint!!"

Everyone's hearts trembled.

From the striking force of this vine, they realized that this was a terrifying power that only a Saint possessed.

The vine twisted like a large snake, raising its tip and staring at everyone.

Then it directly locked onto one of the Martial Demons.

Swish!

It lashed directly at this Martial Demon.

The Martial Demon attacked by the vine was one from the Great Wu Dynasty.

The moment the vine lashed out at him, an indescribable sense of crisis filled his entire mind, giving him a feeling of being unable to evade.

Since this person no longer had any exclusive items,

He could only use his own Iron Refining Corpse to block.

At the same time, the other Martial Demons who witnessed this scene also manipulated their Iron Refining Corpses to help block.

Including the three Martial Demons from the Three Great Domains.

Under these circumstances,

None of them wanted to see anyone on their side die; each person lost would make it more difficult for them to deal with the Saint at this checkpoint.

This was also the main reason Xiao Shi was willing to share information about this checkpoint with them.

After all, they were going to contend with a Saint in this checkpoint!

This was not something that could be dealt with by just one or two people.

It required everyone to work together wholeheartedly.

It was just that the attack of this vine was too powerful.

Even with all the Iron Refining Corpses resisting together, they couldn't fully block it and were once again repelled.

However, during the time the Iron Refining Corpses were blocking,

It did allow the attacked Martial Demon to retreat in time, temporarily avoiding the vine's attack.

"Chu Tong, what are you doing?! Why aren't you making a move!?"

The attacked Martial Demon couldn't help but demand.

While all of them were using their Iron Refining Corpses to block the vine's attack, Chu Tong had not let his Crimson Refining Corpse participate, and he himself was hiding far away, not exerting any effort at all.

Facing the Martial Demon's questioning,

Chu Tong said coldly,

"Shut up!"

His figure moved.

Taking advantage of everyone blocking the vine, he charged into the sky, breaking through the thick canopy.

His vision instantly became wide.

He saw that under the azure sky, not far from their location, there was a gigantic ancient tree.

Its height was immeasurable, like the legendary World Tree that connected with the heavens. Its canopy was like clouds, and its branches extended dozens of miles to either side.

Compared to it,

The trees in this primeval forest were like saplings and weeds.

At this moment,

From this cloud-like canopy, a vine hung down, as agile as a living great snake.

This was the very vine that was currently attacking them.

"The Saint of this domain... is actually a tree!!"

Chu Tong's mind was greatly shaken.

This was something he had completely not expected.

After all, in the current Tianwu Continent, there were only human Saints, no such plant Saints!

Although he knew this Saint Tree was currently in a suppressed state based on Xiao Shi's previous analysis, facing this Saint Tree, Chu Tong still felt an intense sense of being unable to defeat it, as if encountering a natural predator.

This made his expression grave.

After some deliberation,

He steeled his heart.

Made a major decision.

He looked down at the crowd below.

Said faintly,

"You must remember, your mission here is to assist me!"

Upon hearing this,

Everyone had a bad premonition.

"What are you going to do!?"