99: Chapter 99 The Wounded Evil Tree

Qin Ling raised his sword above his head, gripped it tightly, and then hurled it down into the remaining hole in the ground.

The sword broke free from his grip, crashing down into the hole like a streak of golden thunder from the sky.

Wherever the sword light passed, the roots still struggling at the mouth of the hole were engulfed by the golden light and turned to ash.

The roots that had just retracted were caught by the sword light, twisting, struggling, and turning to powder within the golden illumination.

The sword light continued downward, blasting toward the deep subterranean depths, toward the place he could not see.

The ground trembled violently, as if something had exploded deep underground.

It exploded right at the very roots of those tendrils.

A muffled screech surged out from the fissure, followed by the entire ground trembling.

The refugees still in the courtyard were shaken into a crouch, covering their ears, their faces as pale as paper.

Filled with terror, they raised their heads to look.

They saw that the golden light was still there, suspended in the air above the village like a lamp that would never go out.

Floating in midair, Qin Ling looked down at the pitch-black hole in the ground.

His divine sense pursued the sword, following it all the way into the deep subterranean realm.

He felt the sword strike something—likely the main body of that evil entity.

Sword light exploded against it, and the divine power of Exorcism began to burn within its body.

It finally felt pain!

At the same time...

Guanhai County City.

The Evil Tree stood towering in the very center of the county city, its trunk absurdly thick, dark as if it would swallow all surrounding light.

The canopy covered the entire county city, dark evil qi flowing across the canopy like something slowly breathing.

On the trunk, a crack suddenly opened.

It was not split open by anything; it opened on its own.

Along the edges of the slit, the bark peeled back, revealing dark red, still-writhing tender flesh inside.

The slit opened wider and wider, revealing what was inside—

An eyeball.

The eyeball rolled around, first left and right, then up and down, as if searching for something.

Then it stopped, staring toward the east, in the direction of Qin Family Village.

Its pupil contracted slightly.

It felt it: its main root—the root of its main body that it had extended underground—had been severely injured by something.

This main root was different from those small roots; it was a part of its actual main body as an evil entity.

Having lived for so many years, this was the first time its main body had been injured.

It didn't know what that was; it had never tasted such an attack before.

There was an instinctive terror in that thing that made it want to flee.

If that thing could harm it, was it possible it could kill it?

Anthropomorphic emotions flickered within the massive pupil on the Evil Tree's trunk.

The eyeball stared east, staring in the direction of Qin Family Village for a long time, before the emotions in the eye slowly receded.

Then it slowly closed; starting from the edges, the bark rolled back.

Covering the dark red tender flesh, hiding the eyeball inside the trunk once more.

The crack on the trunk closed, as if nothing had ever happened.

Although injured, the Evil Tree still believed that its consumption of Guanhai County would not change.

It didn't believe that thing could truly kill it.

Because it was an immortal, indestructible evil entity!

...

Day broke.

The sun rose from the east, but blocked by the curtain of black evil qi, only a bit of orange-red light filtered into Qin Family Village.

Yet Qin Family Village grew lively.

In the alleys, courtyards, and outside the temple doors, people were everywhere.

The villagers of Qin Family Village mingled with the refugees who had fled from Wangjia Village and Sun Family Village.

Some stood, some crouched, and some leaned against walls, all jabbering incessantly about last night's events.

A refugee crouched at the base of a courtyard wall, holding a bowl of thin porridge in his hands.

The porridge was no longer steaming; he didn't drink it, focused entirely on talking.

His eyes were wide, terror and excitement still lingering in his pupils.

"I saw it with my own eyes! That golden light charged out of the temple, suspended above our heads, illuminating the whole village as bright as day!"

"Those pitch-black roots that sprouted from underground retracted so fast the moment that golden light shone on them!"

A nearby refugee chimed in excitedly.

"Not just that! There was also a light sword! It flew out from that golden figure's hand, plunged headfirst into the hole in the ground, and then a screech echoed from below."

"We all heard it last night. Even the ground shook, shaking me so hard my bones trembled!"

As he spoke, he shrank his neck, as if recalling that tremor from deep underground.

Another refugee, crouching on the steps at the temple entrance, said with an excited expression:

"I saw that golden figure. He was floating right above our heads, holding a sword in his hand, and then he plunged the sword straight into the ground."

"The light from that sword was so bright I didn't dare look."

The villagers of Qin Family Village were not quite as agitated.

The man who had previously been showing half his buttocks crouched under a tree, a willow twig dangling from his mouth, muttering as he picked his teeth with it:

"What's there to make a big fuss about? Our village is like this every few days. With Lord Qinling around, no evil entities or monsters can get in."

The man beside him nodded, holding a piece of flatbread. He broke off half and stuffed it into his mouth, chewed a couple of times, and said:

"Exactly. This is just your first time seeing Lord Qinling manifest his power. Once you've seen it enough, you'll know that with Lord Qinling here, there's nothing to fear~"

A woman from Qin Family Village stood at her courtyard gate holding a basin of water, splashing it onto the ground with a spray of water.

She straightened her back, wiped her hands, and said:

"Last night's commotion was much smaller than when Lord Qinling went out to sea to slay the dragon."

"Back then, thunder rolled incessantly, and golden light flashed wildly across the sea. We thought the sky was falling."

"And what happened in the end? The dragon died, and our village was perfectly fine."

After speaking, she turned around with her basin and went back inside, leaving a group of refugees stunned on the spot.

Village Chief Qin Zongliang, leaning on his walking stick, walked out of the temple and stood on the steps.

He watched the refugees who were chatting animatedly, observed them for a moment, and spoke:

"Lord Qinling has been in this temple for more than just a day or two."

"What you saw last night, we saw long ago. Lord Qinling has bestowed great favor upon our Qin Family Village."

"That all of you can stay safely in Qin Family Village is also thanks to Lord Qinling."

After speaking, he turned and paced back into the temple.

His walking stick tapped against the ground with a thud, thud, rhythmic and unhurried.

The refugees watched his retreating back, looked at the statue with lowered brows and gentle eyes inside the temple, and looked at the incense sticks still burning in the censer.

In their eyes, the terror slowly ebbed away, replaced by a sense of devotion.

They began to feel that perhaps in this place, they really could survive.

Realizing this, the refugees squeezed into Lord Qinling's temple one after another.

If yesterday more than half the refugees hadn't come to offer incense in Lord Qinling's temple,

then after witnessing Lord Qinling's divine manifestation last night, almost all the refugees came to offer incense at the temple today.