A strong gust of wind swept past, carrying the scent of decay and death, stirring up the gray-black dust on the ground.
The dust was light, weightless; it scattered as soon as the wind blew, like burned funeral paper, the ashes of life.
Jiang Huai instinctively raised his hand to cover his mouth and nose.
He shielded Ao Yao behind him, his black long robe flapping in the wind, the long sword in his hand pointing diagonally at the ground, with faint two energies of Yin and Yang flowing along the blade.
He looked up with a serious expression, meeting the gaze of the giant eye in the sky without flinching.
That eye was enormous, occupying nearly half the sky.
It stared fixedly at Jiang Huai, its gaze filled with scrutiny and confusion.
Then, it quietly closed.
At the moment the eyelid fell, a black crack seemed to split the sky, and then everything returned to calm.
“This is…” Jiang Huai hesitated, but did not lower his sword.
Ao Yao looked around, her delicate, doll-like face full of solemnity.
Holding her short sword, her emerald eyes swept across this dead silence of heaven and earth, shaking her head:
“I think this might be a world after the rule of the Extraterrestrial Demons.”
Her voice was especially clear in the empty wilderness:
“No life, not even a few Extraterrestrial Demons left.”
She recalled something, lowering her voice:
“In the secret realms I used to explore with Qin Xuange, there were rarely traces of these Extraterrestrial Demons.
Even if we encountered some, they were few, and some places even had native residents of the Small World.”
She looked again at the location where the giant eye had been, now only a gray sky remained, as if everything just now was an illusion.
Her voice dropped further:
“But here, it’s all traces of Extraterrestrial Demons, yet almost none alive.”
Jiang Huai nodded.
The environment here was indeed different.
According to what others said, even the most dangerous secret realms still had ruins, remnants of formations, traces left by past living beings.
But here…
No green mountains or clear waters, no broken walls or dilapidated structures, nothing that could be called life.
A complete dead silence.
The few Extraterrestrial Demons that had appeared earlier—where did they come from, and where did they disappear to?
They were like ghosts of this world, occasionally emerging, then vanishing, giving people a headache.
“What exactly are the Extraterrestrial Demons pursuing?” Jiang Huai muttered to himself.
He stared at the cracks beneath his feet, at the flow of dark magma, as if trying to discern something from this silence.
“The death of all living things? Or the end of everything?”
Logically, after ruling a world, it should be covered with nests of Extraterrestrial Demons, with countless monsters breeding and growing here.
But here, nothing remained, not even many of themselves.
Ao Yao did not reply; she just grabbed Jiang Huai’s clothes more tightly.
“Let’s go to the location of that giant eye first.” Jiang Huai withdrew his gaze and looked down at Ao Yao behind him. “Stay behind me.”
He could exert power above the Great Ascension Stage, as long as he summoned Ji Xi.
But Ao Yao couldn’t; leaving her alone here would surely cause trouble.
Ao Yao snorted softly, her delicate, doll-like face showing rare obedience.
She grabbed Jiang Huai’s clothes with her delicate hand and followed behind him step by step, muttering softly:
“You’re still more reliable; I’ll stick with you.”
Her voice was soft and coquettish, with a hint of dependence.
Compared to other Dragon Races, the Azure Dragon Clan’s characteristic non-competitiveness and slacker attitude were fully displayed in this Azure Dragon Saintess.
The two traveled by sword all the way.
The cracked earth beneath their feet flew past rapidly, while the twisted mountains in the distance moved slowly.
Occasionally, Extraterrestrial Demons appeared along the way, emerging from cracks, surfacing from shadows, and rushing at them with claws bared.
But those monsters were too weak.
So weak that even Jiang Huai didn’t need to act; Ao Yao handled them.
With a wave of her small hand, a flash of green, and the demon turned into black smoke and dissipated.
Until they encountered a large tree.
It was the only “sign of life” in this dead world.
The reason it was called “life” was only because of its shape: a thick trunk, gnarled branches, and a spreading canopy.
From a distance, it looked like an ancient tree that had grown for millennia, standing alone on the cracked earth.
But as they approached, Jiang Huai saw clearly.
The trunk was gray-black, like charred dry bones; the branches were twisted, like countless struggling arms; the canopy was bare, without a single leaf, only countless tiny wriggling tendrils gently twitching in the air.
Not a trace of life.
Just shaped like a tree.
Jiang Huai halted his step.
Suddenly the large tree shook violently!
The tremors came from deep within the trunk, as if a sleeping giant beast had been awakened.
The whole tree shook violently, branches quivered, tendrils madly flailed, and then it spoke in human language.
The voice was old, hoarse, with an eerie kind of kindness, like calling a lost child:
“Living beings?… There are still living beings?!”
“Come back… Come back to my embrace…”
Before the words faded, the large tree suddenly extended countless tentacles.
Those tentacles surged madly from the canopy, trunk, and roots, like countless pythons twisting, entwining, and gathering in the air.
They had various forms—some like humans, some like beasts, some completely shapeless—all standing simultaneously between heaven and earth, surrounding Jiang Huai and Ao Yao in a circle.
Jiang Huai’s pupils contracted sharply.
This strength was far beyond Nascent Soul and Spirit Transformation.
He could see at a glance that the auras of these demons were complex and immense; among them, at least several were above the Great Ascension!
Jiang Huai quickly summoned Ji Xi.
A white light flashed, a crystal coffin appeared, the lid opened, and the tall figure in green clothes drifted out upright.
At that moment, countless voices sounded in his ears.
The voices surged from all directions, like countless people whispering in his ears, buzzing, making his scalp tingle:
‘Don’t make a move… don’t…’
‘Lay down your resistance… lay down.’
‘Return to our embrace… return…’
Ao Yao covered her ears tightly, her face pale.
Jiang Huai gritted his teeth and forcibly activated Ji Xi.
The strange large tree seemed to sense Ji Xi’s presence and strength.
It abruptly stopped.
The countless surging tentacles all froze stiffly in midair.
After a moment, they withdrew sheepishly.
It temporarily halted its attack.
Since he could summon such a powerful being, it must be useful—better not provoke easily.
Ao Yao hid behind Jiang Huai, watching the retracted tentacles, couldn’t help but think:
‘Looks like it’s one that bullies the weak and fears the strong?’
“Don’t make a move.”
The tree’s tone changed, no longer eerily kind, but deep:
“We can talk.”
Jiang Huai’s expression was cold; Ji Xi’s tall figure floated beside him, the two energies of Yin and Yang slowly flowing.
He stared at the strange tree in front of him and said:
“We have nothing to talk about.
Return those three dragons to me.
They are my friends.”
The tree’s tone was unhurried, with a hint of emotion:
“They might not want to come back with you.
How can you decide for others without asking?”
Jiang Huai frowned.
The tree continued, its voice growing more eerie:
“You want to kill me, but have you asked for others’ opinions?
Like theirs?”
As soon as the words fell, the ground shook violently.
The cracked earth beneath their feet exploded, countless fissures spreading in all directions, dust flying, stones splashing.
The large tree was uprooted.
Its massive trunk slowly rose into the air, countless thick roots pulled from the ground, exposed to the air.
Jiang Huai’s pupils contracted sharply.
Those roots were crystals.
Countless crystals, densely packed, hung beneath the roots.
Each crystal was pitch black, like solidified tar, emitting a faint purple glow.
Only three among them were more conspicuous.
They were transparent.
The transparent color, amidst the black crystals, was like three faint little lamps.
And inside the crystals were three figures.
Qin Xuange.
Cang Ling.
Cang Jing.
They lay quietly inside, eyes closed, expressions peaceful, as if just asleep.
But that transparency was slowly being soaked into black.
Like ink dripping into clear water, spreading slowly.
Jiang Huai’s heart tightened sharply.
“I shouldn’t have wasted words with you!”
He bit his fingertip, essence blood fused, Ji Xi opened her eyes. Without giving the tree any time to speak, he swung his sword rapidly, striking at the roots.