Chapter 662: 344: The Heavenly Serpent Fruit Ripens - Part 2
But when the time came, he would not be able to spare his attention to take care of others.
Both women were extremely intelligent, and they could read between the lines of Lu Yun’s implications.
“Junior Brother Lu, rest assured, we both have our trump cards. Just give Xiaorui a bit of attention after the scramble for the Tian She fruit,” Yuan Yao said with a smile.
Lu Yun pondered for a moment, then said to Chang Xiaorui, “Alright, after we get the Tian She fruit, make your way to me right away. Then hand it over to me for safekeeping; I’ll return it to you after we get back to the North Cold Mansion.”
Chang Xiaorui chuckled, “Hehe, then I’ll be troubling Junior Brother Lu.”
While the three were exchanging words, another peak Heavenly Human Realm level Demon Beast charged toward the Tian She fruit tree.
It was a gigantic white-haired bear, its strength no less than that of the stone giant.
However, as this powerful white bear approached the Tian She fruit tree, it suddenly came under surprise attack from the demon snake, the white bird, and the stone giant.
Not lasting long in resistance, the white Demon Bear was jointly blasted to death by the three Demon Beasts.
This scene left the surrounding Heavenly Human Realm powerhouses stunned, including Lu Yun and his companions, who watched in shock.
The white bird, the gray stone giant, and the snake demon, weren’t they at odds with each other? They had just been fighting fiercely over the Tian She fruit a moment ago. How could they suddenly unite and jointly kill the demon bear?
Amid their astonishment, these Heavenly Human Realm beings realized that the three Demon Beasts had obviously reached some sort of agreement in private and had temporarily united to eliminate outsiders. Even the white bear of the same Demon Race was mercilessly killed by them without hesitation.
Lu Yun, looking at the lifeless bear demon with a faint smile tugging at his lips, knew that provoking just one of those Demon Beasts was troublesome enough, let alone all three together. Even if he were to go all out, he feared it would be difficult to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
What he was worried about was also what troubled the other Heavenly Human Realm powerhouses.
The union of these three Demon Beasts undoubtedly formed a formidable force. The lion’s share of the Tian She fruits was bound to end up in their paws, which was something many Heavenly Human Realm beings absolutely couldn’t tolerate.
“Everyone, the Tian She fruit is about to ripen, and the Dark Ice Snake, the Xuan Ice Quadruped Bird, and the Stone Beastman have already joined forces. If we don’t take action now, it will be too late once the Tian She fruit is ripe,” warned Zhong Ziyi of the Eight Directions Sect.
Wen Shouzeng of the Palace of Shadows chuckled, “Brother Zhong is right. No matter what, we cannot let the Tian She fruit fall into the claws of these abominations. Let’s join forces to slay these few Demon Beasts first, then compete for the Tian She fruit with our true abilities.”
As he finished speaking, the presence of several powerful beings appeared behind him, each one at least at the sixth layer of the Heavenly Human Realm.
“Kill!”
Heavenly Human Realm powerhouses, previously hidden in all directions, revealed themselves and rushed toward the Tian She fruit tree at high speed.
The Dark Ice Snake guarding the base of the Tian She fruit tree opened its gaping maw and swallowed a seventh-layer Heavenly Human Realm powerhouse caught off guard.
At the same time, its massive tail swept fiercely, sending more than a dozen people flying, dead before they hit the ground.
In two other directions, the Xuan Ice Quadruped Bird and the Stone Beastman each unleashed a beam of ice-blue light and a burst of deep purple flames, respectively, pushing back the Heavenly Human Realm beings charging at them.
1
“Shall we join the battle?” Chang Xiaorui looked at the fight taking place dozens of miles away, appearing eager to make a move.
“No rush, let’s wait,” Yuan Yao replied, her beautiful eyes shining with a glistening light, peering through the thick snowflakes toward the direction ahead.
From their current position, it was clear that the Dark Ice Snake, Xuan Ice Quadruped Bird, and the Stone Beastman had formed an offensive and defensive alliance around the Tian She fruit tree, which other Heavenly Human Realm beings couldn’t breach for the moment.
But at the same time, these three Demon Beasts were also entangled by other Heavenly Human Realm beings and couldn’t easily break free.
“Yuan Yao is right; let’s wait until the Tian She fruit is nearly ripe before we make a move,” Lu Yun said. “It would be best if they are evenly matched in the fight by that time, so we could reap the benefits in the chaos.”
In the midst of their conversation, the battle tens of miles away, where the Tian She fruit was located, had reached a fever pitch. Five eighth-layer Heavenly Human Realm powerhouses surrounded the Dark Ice Snake, while other slightly less powerful beings waged an intense battle against the Xuan Ice Quadruped Bird and the Stone Beastman.
Both sides were evenly matched, their ferocious fight shrouded in darkness, obscuring the light of the sun and the moon.
Some disciples of the Eight Directions Sect and the Palace of Shadows broke through the defenses of the Dark Ice Snake, Xuan Ice Quadruped Bird, and the Stone Beastman and approached the Tian She fruit tree.
At that moment, hundreds upon hundreds of branches spanned the air, like a swarm of green snakes dancing wildly; the bodies of those in the Heavenly Human Realm were pierced through, their life forces sucked away by the Sky Serpent Tree.
“No wonder those Demon Beasts let them pass so easily, it turns out they knew that the Sky Serpent Tree was also a powerful tree spirit. Ordinary beings in the sixth level of the Heavenly Human Realm simply cannot get close.”
No sooner had Lu Yun finished speaking than his eyes suddenly narrowed.
Because he had suddenly seen that after absorbing the blood of several Celestial Humans, the last bit of green on the Sky Serpent Fruit was quickly disappearing.
Yuan Yao and Chang Xiaorui also saw this, and the three of them moved in perfect unison without a word.
They weren’t the only ones; more than a dozen figures also rushed out from the towering tree.
Clearly, these people were also cunning, waiting until the last critical moment to make their move.
“The Sky Serpent Fruit is ripe!”
The Dark Ice Snake, the Mysterious Ice Quad-wing Bird, the Stone Beastman, as well as many strong Celestial Humans from Eight Directions Sect, the Hall of Shadowy Ghosts, and others, all had their eyes turn bloodshot and lunged for the Sky Serpent Fruit.
“The Sky Serpent Fruit is mine!” The Mysterious Ice Quad-wing Bird flapped its wings and soared toward the Sky Serpent Tree, suddenly entwined by countless jade-green branches that lashed out like serpents.
Before it could react, the Dark Ice Snake’s tail, thick as the Pillar of the Sky, thundered towards dawn with a bang, smashing the Mysterious Ice Quad-wing Bird, causing feathers to fly and golden blood to splatter.
The Mysterious Ice Quad-wing Bird let out a scream filled with anger and despair.
However, what was more brutal was yet to come; thick branches rapidly extended and pierced the flesh of the Mysterious Ice Quad-wing Bird, frantically drawing its blood and vitality.
It wasn’t long before the Mysterious Ice Quad-wing Bird’s vitality was extinguished completely, and the aura of the Sky Serpent Tree surged, breaking the bounds of its previous realm, reaching the ninth level of the Heavenly Human Realm.
The Stone Beastman and the many Celestials from the Eight Directions Sect and the Hall of Shadowy Ghosts were stunned by this turn of events.
Lu Yun was also taken aback; the situation had changed so swiftly.
The Dark Ice Snake and the Sky Serpent Tree were in cahoots!
In an instant, Lu Yun figured this out.
The Stone Beastman and the other Celestials also realized this and felt an unparalleled anger brewing within them; they had been played by a snake and a tree.
Especially the Stone Beastman, whose anger was even more palpable.
But what could it do? Neither the Sky Serpent Tree nor the Dark Ice Snake was weaker than it.
“Gentlemen, we must set aside our previous grievances and join forces to slay this beast and the Sky Serpent Tree, then divide the Sky Serpent Fruit among ourselves, what do you say?”
The Stone Beastman, being of clever nature, knew that to obtain the Sky Serpent Fruit, it had to join hands with humans.
Although it was like seeking the Tiger’s skin, for the Sky Serpent Fruit, such concerns were secondary.
Most importantly, it believed that it could leave whenever it wanted; none of the human strong ones present could stop it.
Wen Shouzeng and Zhong Ziyi exchanged glances, both perceiving a hint of willingness in the other’s eyes.
With the power of both their groups, taking down the Dark Ice Snake and the Sky Serpent Tree would be somewhat difficult.
The addition of the Stone Beastman would undoubtedly increase their chances of victory.
Once the Dark Ice Snake and the Sky Serpent Tree were dealt with, what was there to fear from a mere Stone Beastman?
“Alright, the Sky Serpent Tree’s realm is unstable, let’s make our move now.”
The next second, Zhong Ziyi was bathed in a brilliant golden light, dazzling to such an extent that it was hard to look directly at him.
At the same time, Wen Shouzeng and the Stone Beastman transformed into a streak of white light and a bluish-purple flame, respectively, and they both attacked the Dark Ice Snake.
The rest of the eighth and seventh-level Celestials united to strike at the Sky Serpent Tree.