234: Chapter 234 Zhou Hao's Defeat, the Heart of the Ancient Tree of Life!

Hearing the familiar voice, everyone present looked up.

Zhou Hao, in particular, struggled to lift his head and look toward the figure speaking to him.

It was the very youth who had crippled his Divine Body when he was a child.

“My dear brother, I never thought I would run into you here!” Zhou Hao said through gritted teeth, the long-accumulated fury in his heart seemingly on the verge of erupting.

“Oh! It’s my dear younger brother. Have you forgotten? We already met once in the medicine garden on the first floor!”

Zhou Yuxuan said with a faint smile.

He ignored the Hairless Turkey beside Zhou Hao, ignored the Nine-Headed Lion by his side, and even ignored the small pagoda hanging from Zhou Hao's ear.

In his eyes, there only seemed to be two figures: one was Zhou Hao, and the other was the Tree God residing within the willow branch.

“Young man, just who are you? I actually cannot see through you!”

After observing Zhou Yuxuan for a while, the Tree God finally couldn't help but ask.

“Haha! Senior, I am whoever you think this Prince is!” Zhou Yuxuan replied nonchalantly.

In the next second, he pulled back his smile.

“Everyone, this Prince will give you a chance. Leave this place. I'm taking this Heart of the Ancient Tree of Life!”

Hearing this, the expressions of Zhou Hao and the others changed drastically.

They had all been planning to use the ancient tree of life to Cultivate and increase their strength. Now that Zhou Yuxuan had arrived and immediately told them to leave, how could they possibly agree?

“Kid! Wanting to take the ancient tree of life isn't as simple as just saying so. You have to speak with your strength!”

The Nine-Headed Lion stood up, his tall frame giving off a suffocating sense of pressure.

However, Zhou Yuxuan was no ordinary person. After glancing indifferently at the Nine-Headed Lion, a cold sneer immediately appeared on his face.

“Fine!!!”

As the words fell, Zhou Yuxuan raised his hand and lightly struck forward with his palm.

Instantly, the Nine-Headed Lion, who still had a hint of a smirk on his face, suffered a drastic change in expression.

He raised his hand, just about to protect his heart's meridians.

But in the next second, with a loud bang, his entire body was sent flying backward.

Zhou Yuxuan's hand was now blood-drenched, and within his palm, he held a thumping heart.

“You! You!” Seeing his friend being killed, Zhou Hao's rage flared up. Two bones in his chest flickered with a dazzling divine light.

A terrifying pressure was brewing within them.

“Boss, there's no need to act!” Just as Zhou Hao was about to make a move, a familiar voice came from behind him.

However, one could tell from the voice that this person was currently extremely weak.

“Cough, cough!!” The Nine-Headed Lion slowly stood up, his nine lion heads all deathly pale.

In that hollow chest, a brand-new heart was being nurtured and reborn by a powerful aura of life.

Zhou Yuxuan watched this scene, then tossed the heart in his hand aside.

“As expected of the ancient tree of life. To not only be perfectly fine after such a severe injury but to even heal so quickly, tsk tsk!”

After making that one move, Zhou Yuxuan did not strike again.

This place was where the ancient tree of life resided, and the life aura was extremely dense. Trying to kill someone outright here was an extremely difficult and thankless task.

Fortunately, he chose not to do so.

Zhou Hao and the others shared the same thought.

They were also greatly shocked to see that Zhou Yuxuan could nearly kill one of them in a single blow.

Although Zhou Hao could also strike and heavily wound the Nine-Headed Lion, in his view, Zhou Yuxuan hadn't even used a fraction of his strength to do it.

If that were the case, and a great battle broke out here, even if they didn't die, they would just keep bouncing back and forth between being heavily injured and recovering.

Zhou Hao looked at the Tree God, his eyes holding a pleading gaze, hoping this Tree God would step in to help.

However, the Tree God paid Zhou Hao no mind—or rather, there was no need to.

What was here was only a phantom of hers, possessing only one-ten-thousandth of her true body's power. Relying on this bit of strength, she was still far from being a match for Zhou Yuxuan.

Therefore, she didn't do anything foolish like wasting the essence of the ancient tree of life she had absorbed during this time.

“Let’s go, Zhou Hao,” the Tree God said calmly, then began walking toward the cave exit.

Seeing this, and witnessing that even this Senior chose not to go head-to-head with Zhou Yuxuan, Zhou Hao and the others had no choice but to give up on the idea of competing for the ancient tree of life and followed the Tree God outside.

As soon as the group left, Zhou Yuxuan spoke with anticipation.

“Your Majesty, lend me your Immortal Artifact!”

Empress Donghuang Baiqing tilted her head arrogantly and said, “Hmph! If you beg me, I might lend it to you!”

However, as soon as her words fell, the ice and snow immortal artifact impatiently broke free from Empress Donghuang Baiqing's hand and flew to Zhou Yuxuan's side.

“Oh, you...” Seeing her own Immortal Artifact rush to Zhou Yuxuan's side like a lapdog, Empress Donghuang Baiqing felt a surge of irritation.

Ignoring Empress Donghuang Baiqing, Zhou Yuxuan grabbed the ice and snow immortal artifact and walked toward the ancient tree of life.

“Great Master, what do you want me to do for you?”

The little older-sister-type artifact spirit appeared by Zhou Yuxuan's side and asked with an expectant look.

“Just watch!” Zhou Yuxuan didn't give a direct answer. He searched the ancient tree of life for a bit.

Finally, he stopped at a certain spot.

“Great Master?” the little older sister continued to ask.

At that moment, Zhou Yuxuan suddenly raised the ice and snow immortal artifact and stabbed it fiercely into a specific position on the ancient tree of life.

*Puchi!!!*

In an instant, the ice and snow immortal artifact easily entered the body of the ancient tree of life. In the next second, a vast amount of white liquid emitting a dense life aura began to flow out.

“Is this... Primordial Life Fluid?” Looking at the liquid flowing from the wound on the ancient tree of life, Empress Donghuang Baiqing spoke in surprise, searching her memories.

“If you want some, bring something to collect it yourself. Otherwise, once I take out the Heart of the Ancient Tree of Life, there will be nothing left!”

As Zhou Yuxuan spoke, he increased the force of the ice and snow immortal artifact in his hand.

Instantly, an even larger wound appeared before Zhou Yuxuan's eyes.

At this point, what surprised Zhou Yuxuan was that even though he had caused such great damage to the ancient tree of life, it still hadn't attacked him.

He remembered that in the original plot, when those dozen or so Luck-blessed protagonists attacked the ancient tree of life, they were beaten until they cried for their parents.

If it weren't for the Luck protecting their bodies and the protection of the Heavenly Dao, they would have died long ago.

So now that so much time had passed and the ancient tree of life still hadn't attacked him, Zhou Yuxuan felt a wave of unease.

Could this ancient tree of life even know military strategy?

Just as Zhou Yuxuan was wondering, an old voice filled with immense love suddenly echoed in his mind.

“Child! I have waited for you for so long. You have finally come!”

“Come, quickly gouge out my heart and perform the Fusion with yourself!”