ushernet Chapter 103: The Nightshade Tree, Gu An’s Demonic Purge
Chapter 103: The Nightshade Tree, Gu An’s Demonic Purge
Chapter 103: The Nightshade Tree, Gu An’s Demonic Purge
“What tree?”
Gu An stared at the Spirit Tree, asking sharply. The tree was nearly 300 years old, and its ability to speak didn’t surprise him.
The Spirit Tree’s voice had a soft, feminine tone reminiscent of Jiang Qiong, likely because it had developed its sentience while frequently listening to her.
“I don’t know... but I can feel it. It will devour me...”
The trembling words made Gu An frown.
His first thought was the Human-Face Tree, another sinister plant from the Thousand Autumn Pavilion. However, the Human-Face Tree was of a lower grade than the Spirit Tree. Why would it inspire such terror?
“Where is it?” Gu An pressed.
“I don’t know...”
“Is it near?”
“Very far away... very far...”
This answer ruled out the Human-Face Tree.
Could it be related to the Nightshade Sect? Could the vanished citizens of entire cities have been consumed by some evil tree from the sect?
The more Gu An thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
His unease deepened when he remembered Zhong Liang’s enmity toward him. He wasn’t afraid of Zhong Liang but feared his concealed cultivation being exposed.
This won’t do! I can’t sit and wait for disaster to strike.
Gu An’s gaze turned steely. His terrifying divine sense as a Grand Ascension Stage cultivator spread outward, enveloping the entire Taicang Empire.
The empire was vast, but no match for the range of his divine sense!
He began a meticulous search, determined to locate Zhong Liang—even if it meant digging three feet into the ground.
In a dim underground chamber, Su Han sat cross-legged in a freezing pool. The water radiated icy mist, and beside him stood a white jade longsword that looked as though it were made of bone. Blood-red energy coiled around its blade, exuding an eerie menace.
Su Han’s face twisted in pain, but he gritted his teeth and endured.
After a while, a distant wail reached his ears, causing him to open his eyes. He turned to the meditating figure seated against the wall. “Master, what was that sound?”
Zhong Liang, eyes closed, replied coldly, “Don’t concern yourself. Just pitiful worms begging the heavens for mercy. Their fate is none of your business.”
His long white hair draped loosely over his shoulders, and his broad Daoist robes hung casually on his frame. His square face and perpetually furrowed brows lent him a domineering presence, the crease between his brows almost resembling a third eye.
The wails unsettled Su Han, making it hard for him to regain focus.
“Don’t forget why you joined the sect or why you took up my sword,” Zhong Liang snapped, his tone tinged with impatience.
Taking a deep breath, Su Han closed his eyes again.
Zhong Liang, however, opened his, casting a cold glance at Su Han. A chilling gleam flickered in his gaze.
“This boy’s hatred isn’t strong enough. I’ll have to capture his master to provoke him further,” Zhong Liang thought.
Suddenly, Zhong Liang’s heart lurched, a momentary feeling of dread seizing him. His brows knit together.
“What’s going on? Was that an illusion?”
Unease gnawed at him as he released his divine sense, scanning the area. Yet he detected no sign of an intruder.
Meanwhile, in the Eight Views Celestial Realm, Gu An’s eyes gleamed with determination.
Found you!
After scouring the Taicang Empire and finding no trace of the Nightshade Sect’s headquarters, Gu An had turned his search underground. Focusing on areas with unusual spiritual energy, he had discovered Su Han.
Next to Su Han sat an Integration Stage cultivator, and a few miles away in a vast underground chamber stood a colossal spirit tree. The moment Gu An saw the tree, he knew it was the entity that terrified the Spirit Tree.
The captives stared at the monstrous tree in despair as it consumed their companions.
“This is a demon... a demon...”
“You vile beasts! You tricked me into joining, only to feed me to this cursed tree!”
“What kind of creature is this—demon or monster?”
“Damn you all!”
Some cursed, some wailed, and others begged, their cries adding to the horrifying atmosphere of the cavern.
A seductive female demonic cultivator sneered. “Victory and defeat determine justice. Stop whining. None of you are saints. For all we know, the heavens might see this as purging evil.”
With that, she lifted a man beside her and placed her lips against his forehead, draining his life force. The man’s complexion turned pallid, and his eyes lost their luster.
Whoosh—
A sudden gust of cold wind rustled the grass at her feet. The demonic cultivator instinctively looked down, but before she could react, a blade of grass shot upward, piercing through her forehead. Blood sprayed from the back of her head.
She wasn’t the only one. At the same time, nearly all the other Nightshade Sect disciples were killed, their bodies falling lifelessly as blades of grass pierced them with terrifying precision.
The captives froze, their expressions shifting from despair to astonishment. They collectively turned their gaze toward the shadows.
A figure emerged from the darkness.
“It’s the Demonic Shadow Divine Art! Someone from the Thousand Autumn Pavilion!” a captive exclaimed with joy.
Before the echo of those words faded, Gu An accelerated, leaving behind only a series of afterimages as he moved past the captives, heading straight for the giant tree.
The captives remained frozen in place, as though paralyzed. A moment later, all of them simultaneously turned to ash.
Gu An’s eyes fixed on the enormous tree, and a notification appeared before him:
[Nightshade Tree (Eighth Grade): 340/42,000/230,000]
Eighth grade!
No wonder the Spirit Tree was so scared.
The tree’s trunk split open, revealing a massive human face embedded in its bark. The face was genderless but radiated greed and malice.
Vines detached from the tree, surging toward Gu An like a storm.
Clang—
The sound of a sword leaving its sheath echoed through the underground chamber, sharp and deafening.
In a single, devastating strike, Gu An cleaved the Nightshade Tree in two. Its vines fell like rain, and the grotesque face froze in its final expression of greed. The bisected tree shattered as sword energy erupted from within, creating a spectacular display of destruction.
Gu An sheathed the Tianxiu Sword, placed it into his storage pouch, and burned the remains of the Nightshade Tree with his spiritual fire.
A flurry of lifespan notifications appeared before him as he absorbed the Nightshade Tree’s life force.
An Eighth-Grade Spirit Tree was incredibly powerful, its aura comparable to an Integration Stage cultivator. However, it stood no chance against a Grand Ascension Stage opponent.
By noon, Gu An returned to the Third Medicine Valley, stepping off the teleportation array with a satisfied smile. The previous night’s battle had yielded over 40,000 years of lifespan, with the Nightshade Tree alone contributing 5,000 years.
Only Su Han remained alive from the Nightshade Sect base. Upon learning that the prisoners were demonic cultivators, Gu An showed no mercy, exterminating them all to eliminate future threats.
As soon as Gu An stepped off the platform, he sensed the auras of Lü Baitian, Gu Zong, and Ji Hantian in his loft.
He headed there immediately. As he reached the door, it opened.
Gu An stepped over the threshold and was about to greet them when Gu Zong waved a sleeve, shutting the door behind him and activating a restriction.
Noticing their grim expressions, Gu An guessed it might concern an impending attack by the Nightshade Sect.
He remained calm. If the Nightshade Sect discovered the Nightshade Tree’s destruction, they would likely be too preoccupied to attack the Taixuan Sect.
However, Lü Baitian’s pale and frail appearance startled Gu An. Gritting his teeth, Lü Baitian said, “I have a cruel piece of bad news to tell you.”
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