Demon Vine Devours Evil

That roar, originating from within the Sacred Tree and filled with endless resentment and greed, caused the temperature of the entire Wood Spirit Clan valley to plummet, instantly shattering the peaceful and serene atmosphere!

A terrifying evil suction force tightly coiled around the Qingluan Plume and Nightmare's arm, frantically devouring his vitality and Demonic Essence! Nightmare felt his arm shriveling at a speed visible to the naked eye, his life force pouring out like a breached dam!

"The Sacred Tree... how could it..." The elder Mu Huan beside him stood dumbfounded, his face deathly pale; clearly, the scene before him completely exceeded his understanding. The Sacred Tree he had guarded for generations actually hid such evil power!

A fierce glint flashed in Nightmare's eyes, and he instantly understood. This Sacred Tree hadn't withered naturally; it had been eroded at its Origin by some extremely terrifying evil entity, turning it into a lair and disguise for the evil thing! The vitality of the Qingluan Plume had not only stimulated the Sacred Tree's residual spirit, but had also completely awakened this dormant evil entity!

"Break for me!" Nightmare let out a wild roar, his Myriad Poison Demonic Body exploding with full force as he attempted to break free from the suction. At the same time, gray-black Demonic Essence condensed at his right fingertip, and he was about to strike the tree trunk with a "Soul Shattering Finger"!

However, the evil entity's power far exceeded his imagination. The suction force intensified violently, and Nightmare's struggle was like a mayfly trying to shake a tree. Before his Soul Shattering Finger could be unleashed, it was dispersed by the impact of that cold, deathly power! Even his Divine Soul felt as if it were about to be ripped out of his body!

Seeing that he was about to be completely devoured, a flash of madness and heartache crossed Nightmare's eyes!

Just at this critical moment!

Deep within his Dantian, the demonic vine seed that had been dormant all this while, as if stimulated by the extreme evil and deathly power from the outside, suddenly began to vibrate violently on its own again!

A sense of longing and excitement, ten times stronger than when it faced the Void Gazer stone, was transmitted from the seed! It felt as if a Vicious Beast, starved for ten thousand years, had finally caught the scent of the most delicious feast!

Hum!

On the surface of the demonic vine seed, those strange, porous patterns obtained from the Mysterious Black Stone's Origin suddenly lit up with a deep, dark glow! A more domineering, more greedy devouring force erupted from within Nightmare's body, not aimed at the outside world, but acting in reverse upon the evil suction force that had invaded his body!

The characteristic of the "World Devouring Demonic Vine" — to devour all things! And this evil power hidden within the Sacred Tree was undoubtedly an extremely "delicious" nourishment!

Sss, sss, sss!

Two equally terrifying devouring forces collided violently, using Nightmare's body as a battlefield!

Nightmare couldn't help but let out a painful grunt, feeling as if his body were about to be torn in two by the tug-of-war between these two forces! But at the same time, the evil entity's devouring of his vitality and Demonic Essence was forcibly blocked by the demonic vine's devouring power!

The demonic vine seed was like a bottomless black hole, frantically tearing and devouring that cold, deathly, evil power!

The evil entity within the Sacred Tree seemed not to have expected such a turn of events; it let out a roar of shock and anger, and the suction force surged again, attempting to overwhelm the demonic vine!

But the demonic vine's devouring characteristic was too domineering, especially since its Foundation was fused with the deathly silence of the Xiangliu Poison and the high-dimensional Origin of the Mysterious Black Stone; it possessed an Innate suppression over and greed for such negative, evil energy!

As one waned and the other waxed, the demonic vine seed actually began to plunder power from the evil entity instead!

"Roar!!!"

The evil entity inside the Sacred Tree let out an even angrier roar, laced with a hint of terror. The suction force coiled around Nightmare's arm and the plume suddenly retracted, as if it wanted to sever the connection with the demonic vine!

But would Nightmare let it have its way?

"Want to run? Too late!" A fierce glint flashed in Nightmare's eyes. Enduring the sensation of his body being torn apart, he didn't stop the demonic vine; instead, he actively circulated the "Myriad Poison Demonic Scripture", using his own Demonic Essence as a guide to boost the demonic vine's devouring power, tightly "biting" onto that evil force that was trying to retreat!

At the same time, he slammed his left hand onto the ground!

"demonic vine—Appear!"

Rumble!

The earth shook, and countless demonic vines, thicker and blacker than before, with faint, tiny, swirling porous patterns emerging on their surfaces, burst from the ground. They didn't attack; instead, like countless greedy giant pythons, they fiercely coiled around the Sacred Tree's trunk. With their devouring power fully unleashed, they frantically drained the cold, deathly, evil Origin from within the trunk!

"Creeak—!"

A teeth-grinding sound, as if trees were snapping or Souls were shrieking, emanated from within the Sacred Tree! The charred trunk trembled violently, and twisted, painful, illusory faces appeared on its surface, only to be quickly devoured and torn apart by the demonic vines!

The demonic vine seed, receiving a continuous supply of evil Origin, grew and strengthened at an astonishing speed! A black light flowed over its surface, and it became more solid, even beginning to sprout tiny, tender shoots that looked like black metal!

Nightmare could clearly feel the demonic vine feeding back a stream of pure yet icy energy, which merged into his Demonic Essence, actually causing his originally heavy injuries to begin recovering at an accelerated rate, and his depleted Demonic Essence was also quickly replenished! Even his cultivation had improved slightly!

This evil entity's power was a great tonic for the demonic vine, and for him, a Demonic Cultivator who cultivated the "Myriad Poison Demonic Scripture", it was likewise a supreme delicacy!

The elder Mu Huan beside him had long been rendered speechless by this earth-shattering turn of events. Watching the demonic vines frantically devouring the evil power and Nightmare's aura continuously climbing, his eyes were filled with shock, fear, and a trace of... complex hope?

Time passed amidst the frantic devouring.

The Sacred Tree's vibrations grew weaker and weaker, and the evil roars gradually became feeble, filled with unwillingness and despair.

Finally, when the last wisp of cold, deathly Origin was devoured by the demonic vines, the entire Sacred Tree jolted violently and went completely silent.

The charred trunk turned gray, white, and brittle at a speed visible to the naked eye, and finally, with a "crack", a huge fissure split open in it, revealing the hollow tree heart inside, which was covered in black, filthy slime.

And in the deepest part of the tree heart, a fist-sized, constantly twisting and shifting, black, tumor-like object, exuding the last remnants of stubborn evil Qi, was pulsing slightly.

That was the core of the evil entity that had eroded the Sacred Tree!

At this moment, the evil entity's core seemed to sense the arrival of its doom; it contracted violently, wanting to flee into the ground!

"Still want to escape?" Nightmare sneered, his mind shifting!

Those countless demonic vines coiled around the tree trunk, like sharks that had caught the scent of blood, lunged toward the fissure in the tree heart, instantly coiling around and wrapping tightly around that black tumor!

A terrifying devouring force erupted!

"Screech—!!!"

A scream, sharp to the extreme and piercing straight into the Divine Soul, emanated from the tumor!

The demonic vines glowed with intense black light, writhing frantically. The evil entity's core shriveled and shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye, and was finally completely devoured by the demonic vines, not even a scrap of residue left!

Hum...

When the evil entity was completely devoured, the demonic vines slowly retracted into the ground and disappeared. And the demonic vine seed within Nightmare's Dantian had already changed its appearance greatly!

It was no longer an illusory seed, but had turned into a seedling about the length of a finger, completely pitch-black like ink, with two tiny, tender leaves! On the seedling, more complex porous patterns had naturally formed, exuding heart-palpitating devouring fluctuations and a cold, deathly aura; there was even faintly a trace of the Sacred Tree's evil Origin qualities merged into it.

[Ding! World Devouring Demonic Vine seed has absorbed a large amount of high-quality evil Origin and successfully evolved to the [Seedling Stage]!]

[Devouring ability significantly enhanced; can split into more demonic vines. New characteristic: Evil Erosion (attacks can carry effects of mental corruption and vitality annihilation).]

[Feedback energy significantly increased; Host's injuries restored by 70%, cultivation consolidated.]

The System's notification sound finally rang out again; although still somewhat weak, it brought good news.

Nightmare let out a long sigh of relief, feeling the abundant power within his body and the evolution of the demonic vine, and was overjoyed.

And with the evil entity cleared, the split, withered corpse of the Sacred Tree actually underwent a strange change.

The gray, brittle trunk no longer exuded Death Qi; instead, from deep within the fissure, a soft, vibrant, emerald-green light slowly lit up, like a lighthouse in the dark night—though faint, it was firm and pure.

Immediately after, the Spiritual Qi of the vegetation in the entire valley seemed to be summoned, gathering toward that point of green light like a hundred rivers returning to the sea!

The green light grew brighter and brighter, more and more intense, and finally transformed into a soft pillar of green light, shooting straight into the sky!

Inside the pillar of light, a small, emerald-green, delicate phantom of a tree seedling slowly grew out from the fissure in the Sacred Tree's withered remains, radiating immense vitality and emotions of joy!

The Sacred Tree's residual spirit had finally shaken off the suppression of the evil entity and begun Nirvana Rebirth!

Although it was a long way from restoring its former glory, the spark of hope had been rekindled!

"The Sacred Tree... has the Sacred Tree been reborn?!" The elder Mu Huan fell to his knees with a thud, tears streaming down his face, bowing incessantly toward the small phantom tree seedling, his body trembling with excitement.

All the Wood Spirit Clan members in the valley were also alarmed by the commotion here and rushed over. Seeing the green pillar of light shooting into the sky and the phantom tree seedling, they were stunned at first, then erupted into earth-shaking cheers, falling to their knees one after another to pray devoutly.

Nightmare watched this scene quietly, slowly regulating his breath, consolidating his newly improved cultivation and the Demonic Vine seedling.

After a long while, the green pillar of light slowly dissipated, and the phantom tree seedling also faded into the withered remains, needing a long time to grow.

The elder Mu Huan stood up excitedly and walked to Nightmare, bowing deeply until his back was parallel to the ground: "Young Friend Ye... no, Benefactor Ye! Thank you for your intervention, for slaying the evil demon, saving our Sacred Tree, and rescuing our Wood Spirit Clan from collapse! This kindness and merit, our Wood Spirit Clan will never forget for all eternity!"

All the Wood Spirit Clan members also bowed to Nightmare at the same time, their eyes filled with endless gratitude.

Nightmare calmly accepted this gesture and said indifferently: "Elder Mu, there is no need for such formalities; it was just a coincidence."

Mu Huan stood up, looking at Nightmare, his eyes extremely complex—there was gratitude, awe, and a trace of lingering fear. He hesitated for a moment, then took out a palm-sized, emerald-green, leaf-shaped Jade Talisman from his bosom and handed it to Nightmare.

"Benefactor, this is our clan's token, the 'life leaf talisman'. It contains a trace of the Sacred Tree's Origin vitality. Wearing it can slowly nourish your Physical Body and Divine Soul, accelerate the recovery of injuries, and even ward off poison and evil. If you have any need in the future, just take this Jade Talisman to any Wood Spirit Clan stronghold in the Southern Wasteland, and our clan will surely assist you with all our might!"

Nightmare's heart stirred, and he took the Jade Talisman. It felt warm and smooth in his hand, and a majestic vitality surged into his body, making him feel incomparably comfortable; the recovery speed of his injuries seemed to have accelerated slightly. It was indeed a good item.

"Thank you." He put away the Jade Talisman and nodded. With this item, his recovery speed could be greatly accelerated.

"Benefactor, your injuries have not yet healed; why not stay..."

"No need." Nightmare interrupted, "I still have some urgent matters and cannot stay long. I shall take my leave today."

Although this place was good, it was not a place to stay for long. He needed to recover completely as soon as possible and then leave the Southern Wasteland Demon Domain. The trouble with Gu Qingying and the Qinglan Sect would absolutely not end here.

Seeing that Nightmare's intention to leave was firm, Mu Huan did not insist on keeping him, personally escorting him out of the valley's maze formation and informing him of a relatively safe route to leave the Southern Wasteland Demon Domain.

Bidding farewell to the Wood Spirit Clan, Nightmare's figure flashed and disappeared into the vast mountain forest.

He found a hidden cave, set up a Restriction, and prepared to go into seclusion for a while to completely digest his gains from this time and fully recover from his injuries.

However, just after he had entered deep meditation—

[Ding! System energy restored to 30%, Version V2.0 functions gradually restoring...]

[Warning! Detected extremely high-priority Destiny Assassination Order! Issuer: Immortal Master Yuheng of the Qinglan Sect! Target: Host!]

[The assassination order has been spread through special channels; some Human Race Cultivators and Demon Cultivators in the Southern Wasteland Demon Domain have already received it!]

[Risk Level: Extremely High! Host, please prepare to respond immediately!]

The System's warning sound was unprecedentedly urgent and grave!

Nightmare opened his eyes abruptly, cold light shooting from his pupils.

Assassination order?! It came so quickly!