484: Chapter 484 Reunion with the Blood Tree of Corrosion

Above Qixia City, the sky was filled with blood-red colors.

An Ruosu stood atop the city tower, her light green dress fluttering violently in the wind.

The longsword in her hand hummed, its tip pointing far toward the tide-like swarm of beasts rushing in.

"Form up! Earth Cultivators in front, Sword Cultivators in the middle, and ranged attackers in the back!"

Her voice clearly reached the ears of every Cultivator.

The Loose Cultivators in the city instinctively obeyed this steady female voice and quickly formed a formation.

An Ruosu took the lead, her sword light like a streak of silk, instantly cutting down a third-rank Golden Core Erosion Beast that was pouncing toward the city wall.

The giant beast, covered in dark red scales, fell with a miserable howl, startling the surrounding low-level Erosion Beasts into a momentary pause.

The battle instantly reached a fever pitch.

An Ruosu's sword was fast and precise; every strike hit the vital points of the Erosion Beasts perfectly.

Soon, she was fighting against a Nascent Soul Erosion Beast, steadily holding the upper hand.

"Good, Fairy An is mighty!" many Cultivators cheered with joy.

"That's right! Qixia City will be safe today!"

On the other side of the battlefield, a Golden Core female Cultivator was surrounded by three Erosion Beasts of the same rank.

She was covered in blood, her left arm had been torn with a wound deep enough to see the bone, and her figure was staggering, on the verge of being pierced through the chest by sharp claws—An Ruosu's pupils contracted.

She turned, her sword light sweeping horizontally, charging toward the female Cultivator at high speed.

The Nascent Soul Erosion Beast behind her sensed her distraction; its giant claws, wrapped in scarlet erosion qi, slammed fiercely into her back.

"Bang!"

An Ruosu took the hit head-on.

She let out a muffled groan, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of her mouth.

Her longsword swept across, and the heads of the three Golden Core Erosion Beasts flew off in response.

The female Cultivator was saved, landing unsteadily, looking at An Ruosu in the distance, still shaken.

"Sword Three!"

An Ruosu retrieved her spirit sword, shouted loudly, and turned to face the pursuing Nascent Soul Erosion Beast once again.

Blood spilled from the corner of her mouth, and the robes on her back were stained red, but she did not retreat a single step.

On the city wall, Ling Hao took in this scene.

He nodded slightly, then shook his head gently.

"Commendable, but playing with your own life is not right."

Yu Lingshuang stood by his side, glancing at him upon hearing this: "Why didn't the Sect Master make a move just now? This was a great opportunity to win a beauty's heart."

Ling Hao choked: "...I already said I have no interest in her."

"Hypocrite!"

The Erosion Beast Tide came fast and retreated just as quickly.

As the lead Nascent Soul Erosion Beast was slain by An Ruosu at the cost of sustaining heavy injuries, the remaining swarm dispersed like a receding tide.

Thunderous cheers erupted from the city wall.

"Fairy An! Fairy An!"

"We won! We won!"

The Cultivators raised their arms and cheered, while the Mortals knelt in their homes, thanking the heavens.

An Ruosu sheathed her sword, a look of relief appearing on her pale face.

But Ling Hao did not smile.

His gaze crossed the city wall and looked toward the northern horizon.

There, a faint scarlet light slowly permeated, like a bloodstain blooming on the earth, dyeing half the sky dark red.

"This is not so simple."

Several streams of light streaked from the horizon and landed on the city wall.

The leading woman wore a crimson palace dress embroidered with green wood patterns; her face was beautiful, and her arrogance was undisguised between her brows.

Behind her followed an old woman in gray robes and several Disciples, all with cold and arrogant expressions.

"Oh? Still alive?"

The crimson-clad woman swept a glance at the exhausted Cultivators on the city wall, the corners of her mouth curling into a sneer.

"With so many people, to be in such a sorry state defending against a single wave of the Erosion Beast Tide, you are truly trash."

The city wall instantly erupted.

"What did you say?!"

"We fought to the death to defend the city, what right do you have to call us trash!"

The Golden Core female Cultivator who had just been saved by An Ruosu was full of rage, stepping forward and shouting: "Who are you? Fairy An risked heavy injury to save the entire city; what qualifications do you have to be here making sarcastic remarks!"

A Disciple beside the crimson-clad woman sneered: "Fairy An? She's just a piece of trash at the fifth level of the Nascent Soul Stage. For the daughter of the dignified Qingmu Cliff Sect Master to have such low cultivation, it's laughable."

The Cultivators on the city wall looked at each other, some whispering in surprise: "Qingmu Cliff?! The eighth-rank Sect, Qingmu Cliff! Fairy An is the daughter of the Qingmu Cliff Sect Master?"

"This cultivation is indeed a bit low."

Someone immediately retorted: "Regardless of her status, she saved our lives! You high and mighty people, if you have the ability, go kill the Erosion Beasts yourselves!"

The Golden Core female Cultivator was trembling with rage: "Fairy An is at least better than you!"

Tang Yuanxiang frowned slightly, her gaze falling on that Golden Core female Cultivator, a flash of impatience in her eyes.

The Disciple beside her immediately understood and raised a hand to teach her a lesson.

"Dong Duoduo!"

An Ruosu's expression was gloomy.

"You are representing Qingmu Cliff; if you make a move here and it gets out, are you trying to tarnish Qingmu Cliff's reputation?"

Dong Duoduo paused, looking at Tang Yuanxiang, caught in a dilemma.

Tang Yuanxiang snorted coldly, withdrew her gaze, and said indifferently: "The Sect received news that an Erosion Source Blood Tree has appeared in the northern part of the Qinghuo State, at the sixth-rank level. Now that the north is in an emergency, as the Sect Master's daughter, you are duty-bound."

"Erosion Source Blood Tree?!"

Panic immediately swept the city wall.

"Erosion Source Blood Tree? The last time it appeared, it wiped out an entire sixth-rank cultivation state..."

"It is the root of the Erosion Beast Tide! With it here, the Erosion Beasts will be endless!"

"It's over, it's over, I'm afraid our city won't be able to hold..."

An Ruosu ignored the surrounding discussion and simply looked up toward the northern horizon.

Vaguely, a phantom of a towering blood tree swayed in the scarlet mist, its branches like ghost claws, stretching in all directions.

It was at the sixth-rank level, equivalent to the Body Integration Stage; she herself was only at the Nascent Soul Stage, with the Soul Transformation Stage in between.

An Ruosu was silent for a moment, then spoke slowly: "Fine, I will go."

The northern wasteland.

The earth was cracked, and not a blade of grass grew.

A giant tree, its entire body resembling solidified filthy blood, was rooted in the center of a rift valley.

Its trunk was gnarled, and from the tips of its branches hung countless semi-open dark red buds, containing a heart-palpitating blood-colored light.

Scarlet erosion qi dissipated from the roots and branches, spreading in all directions like poisonous fog.

Around the tree, dense swarms of Erosion Beasts moved like an ant colony, their roars shaking the heavens.

Ling Hao and the others stood on a distant mountain peak, looking at this giant tree.

"This Niding Alliance is truly troublesome."

Ling Hao sighed.

"Without the main root of the Fallen Immortal Ancient Banyan, they still manage to cause so much trouble."

He paused, then shook his head: "However, this tree is much weaker than the one in Qing State."

Yue Xinlan glanced at him, then suddenly lowered her head and frowned: "There is something underground."

"I know, there is actually an expert."

Ling Hao had already sensed it.

His gaze penetrated layers of rock and soil, landing deep underground.

An underground cavern.

A middle-aged man with a crazed expression was sitting cross-legged, holding a jade bottle in his hands.

The bottle tilted, and a drop of liquid, viscous like emerald marrow, slowly dripped down.

The middle-aged man inhaled deeply in intoxication, muttering to himself: "Bilu Spirit Liquid... This is good stuff. It's just too little. But with the help of the Erosion Source Blood Tree's erosion qi, this time, I can finally make a Breakthrough to the Void Refinement Stage!"

The liquid landed on the roots of the Erosion Source Blood Tree.

In an instant, the entire blood tree trembled violently.

The closed buds on the trunk swelled simultaneously, and dark red light shone from within, as if something was about to break out of its cocoon.

The scarlet erosion qi gushed out like a geyser, spreading rapidly in all directions.

The ground shook, dense and overwhelming, covering the sky and earth.